Post WWII, The 60s,

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Post WWII, The 60s, The Era of Reform
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Hey! We skipped the 1920s - 1945
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Interwar Period

• Roaring 20s
• 1930s Great Depression
• Kids paid to go to high school
• Many services provided by schools
• WWII ends Great Depression
• Issues of schools in background due to war
• Shift in women working

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Post-WWII

• 1945 - 1965

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Society / Ideology

• Self-employment (esp. farming) was eliminated as
  an option for about 90 of the workers, nearly
  everyone was managed by someone else.
• The American economy had become the envy of the
  world, but abundance for some overshadowed the
  hardships of others.
• Racism and poor working conditions continued.
• Reacting to the new prosperity and peace, and
  increasing power of large corporations, a
  consumer-buying binge began in the U.S.
• Americans showed little sympathy for the poor and
  the dispossessed in the form of the popular press
  or in legislation.

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Society / Ideology

• Myth of the 1950s the lost generation
• Birth of the Cold War
• To continue to prosperity, the U.S. had to
  maintain its military-industrial complex. The
  Soviet Union became the new foe due to U.S. fear
  that communism was going to spread around the
  globe.
• Senator Joseph McCarthy, the House Committee on
  Un-American Activities, and the John Birch
  Society all accused government agencies of
  harboring communists.
• Teachers were increasingly required to take
  loyalty oaths and to forswear any involvement in
  the Communist party.

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Cold War Continued

• Bomb drills in schools.
• Anti-communism taught in schools.
• Democracy had come to be regarded as a form of
  government that was properly administered by
  experts with only limited consent of the
  governed.
• Provisional Freedom Many felt that the
  government knew what it was doing, even if the
  people did not, and could not know. Thus, to
  enjoy the freedoms of the United States, it
  seemed necessary to leave the decision-making to
  others.
• The identification of the United States with
  freedom itself, politically and economically
  stifled critical discourse about our own social
  system.

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Schooling

• The national mood began to shift the first half
  of the 1950s was marked by vocal, bitter attacks
  on the public schools in general and on any
  educational program or practice that remotely
  resembled Deweyan progressivism.
• The comprehensive high school was depicted as an
  intellectual and moral wasteland.
• Back to Basics approach of Essentialism.
• Reaction to Sputnik

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GI Bill Reaction

• James Bryant Conant chemist, president of
  Harvard starting in 1933. Followed Eliot in this
  post (1869-1909)
• 11 of graduates were going on to college
  Conant felt these were the wrong 11
• Was concerned that an excessively large
  population of college students might cause
  disruptions in the social order.
• I doubt if society can make a graver mistake
  than to provide advanced higher education of a
  specialized nature for men and women who are
  unable to subsequently to use this training.
  Quite apart from economic considerations the
  existence of any large number of highly educated
  individuals whose ambitions have been frustrated
  is unhealthy for any nation.

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The 60s

• 1965-1980

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Societal Shift

• War on Poverty
• Title monies
• Funds for higher education
• TV education
• Civil Rights movement Brown begins to take
  effect bussing
• Womens movement
• Youth gain influence
• Demand relevant curriculum
• Expose myth of 50s created by their parents

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Schooling

• Experimental education
• Results of a 1973 survey showed that since 1960,
  proportions of students enrolled in traditional
  courses generally declined, while enrollments in
  courses such as sociology, environmental science,
  consumer education and drama increased.
• Elective Courses very popular in the 60s and 70s
  attempted to bring relevance to the
  curriculum.

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Era of Reform

• 1980 - Present

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Ideology of Education

• 80s Backlash new conservativism reaction to
  flagging American prowess in international trade
  as well as domestic economy.
• Renewal of Cold War
• Corporate liberal philosophy commitment to a
  business ethic and to a close working
  relationship between business and government
• Rather than beginning their analysis of society
  by looking at the entire system and its effects
  on individuals, both groups begin their
  examination of social ills by focusing directly
  on individuals themselves.

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• New educational coalition between state and local
  governments and corporate America was the way to
  upgrade the nations educational system and
  thereby upgrade its labor force
• Corporate and government leaders seek a national
  plan for education that will establish national
  standards for satisfactory school performance.
• Nation at Risk (1983) points to rising tide of
  mediocrity
• Neo-Essentialist proposals called to reduce the
  comprehensive high school to narrow college prep
  aimed at science and technology.

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An Open Letter to the American People A Nation
At Risk The Imperative For Educational Reform,
April 1983

• Our Nation is at risk. Our once unchallenged
  preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and
  technological innovation is being overtaken by
  competitors throughout the world. We report to
  the American people that while we can take
  justifiable pride in what our schools and
  colleges have historically accomplished and
  contributed to the United States and the
  well-being of its people, the educational
  foundations of our society are presently being
  eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that
  threatens our very future as a Nation and a
  people. What was unimaginable a generation ago
  has begun to occur--others are matching and
  surpassing our educational attainments.
• If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to
  impose on America the mediocre educational
  performance that exists today, we might well have
  viewed it as an act of war. As it stands, we have
  allowed this to happen to ourselves. We have even
  squandered the gains in student achievement made
  in the wake of the Sputnik challenge. Moreover,
  we have dismantled essential support systems
  which helped make those gains possible. We have,
  in effect, been committing an act of unthinking,
  unilateral educational disarmament.
• http//www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/index.html

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1990s

• America 2000 promoted a national plan for
  schooling, sought at the same time to embrace
  laissez-faire, free market principles by
  advocating school choice. (First Bush
  administration)
• The tension between top-down management of school
  policy and local funding and control of schools
  has continued to be a problem for the school
  reform movement.

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Goals 2000

• (1) SCHOOL READINESS. By the year 2000, all
  children in America will start school ready to
  learn.
• (2) SCHOOL COMPLETION. By the year 2000, the high
  school graduation rate will increase to at least
  90 percent.
• (3) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND CITIZENSHIP. By the
  year 2000, all students will leave grades 4, 8,
  and 12 having demonstrated competency over
  challenging subject matter including English,
  mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics
  and government, economics, arts, history, and
  geography, and every school in America will
  ensure that all students learn to use their minds
  well, so they may be prepared for responsible
  citizenship, further learning, and productive
  employment in our Nation's modern economy.

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• (4) TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL
  DEVELOPMENT. By the year 2000, the Nation's
  teaching force will have access to programs for
  the continued improvement of their professional
  skills and the opportunity to acquire the
  knowledge and skills needed to instruct and
  prepare all American students for the next
  century.
• (5) MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE. By the year 2000,
  United States students will be first in the world
  in mathematics and science achievement.
• (6) ADULT LITERACY AND LIFELONG LEARNING. By the
  year 2000, every adult American will be literate
  and will possess the knowledge and skills
  necessary to compete in a global economy and
  exercise the rights and responsibilities of
  citizenship.

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• (7) SAFE, DISCIPLINED, AND ALCOHOL- AND DRUG-FREE
  SCHOOLS. By the year 2000, every school in the
  United States will be free of drugs, violence,
  and the unauthorized presence of firearms and
  alcohol and will offer a disciplined environment
  conducive to learning.
• (8) PARENTAL PARTICIPATION. By the year 2000,
  every school will promote partnerships that will
  increase parental involvement and participation
  in promoting the social, emotional, and academic
  growth of children.
• http//www.ed.gov/legislation/GOALS2000/TheAct/sec
  102.html

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Changing Realities of the Workplace

• 1990-92 nearly one million manufacturing/industria
  l jobs were eliminated
• Five fastest growing jobs computer service tech,
  computer systems analyst, computer programmers,
  computer operators, office machine repairers
• Fastest growing jobs in total numbers
  custodians, secretaries, office clerks, sales
  clerks, (service!)
• Employers want reading and comprehension skills,
  written and oral communication skills, thinking,
  problem-solving, decision-making and
  computational skills (General Education in high
  school or college)
• Most jobs require little education and offer
  little hope of advancement
• Service jobs pay less than many manufacturing
  jobs, fewer benefits, not full-time work

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Perkins Act Amendments of 1990

• Funding required to be concentrated in low-income
  school districts
• Initiatives must come from local school districts
• Reject high school training for specific job
  skills in favor of a tech-prep approach
• Emphasis on integrating academic and vocational
  studies

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New Vocational Education (Education Through
Occupations in American High Schools. 1995)

• Should educate student about the new workplace
• Should educate through occupations rather than
  for occupations (Dewey)
• Low academic achievers now need the most
  effective instruction possible in reading,
  writing, math and critical thinking
• Should prepare students for post-secondary
  education, employment, or a combination of both
• Reduce tracking and segregation
• Involve students in making decisions about their
  learning knowing consequences
• Establish connections with institutions outside
  the high school (colleges and employers)

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2000sNo Child Left Behind (NCLB) 4 Pillars

• Stronger Accountability for Results Close the
  achievement gap and make sure all students,
  including those who are disadvantaged, achieve
  academic proficiency.
• More Freedom for States and Communities School
  districts have unprecedented flexibility in how
  they use federal education funds. For example, it
  is possible for most school districts to transfer
  up to 50 percent of the federal formula grant
  funds without separate approval.
• Proven Education Methods Puts emphasis on
  determining which educational programs and
  practices have been proven effective through
  rigorous scientific research.
• More Choices for Parents In schools that do not
  meet state standards for at least two consecutive
  years, parents may transfer their children to a
  better-performing public school, including a
  public charter school, within their district.