Modern American Education

From the Progressive Movement to the PresentChapter 7

Melinda Butlermkbutler@lcsc.edu2011

The beginning of the 20th century brought significant changes in American social, economical, political, and

educational life.

Things Were Changing

• In the dawning of the 20th Century. contemporary American Education begin to unfold.o Many of the ideas that characterized this era had begun to take form in the

last portion of the 19th century.

• By 1918, school had become compulsory in every state.

• Programs were being developed and new curriculum, beyond the ‘basics’ began to be taught in schools

What Would Your Grandparents Say About School?

How has the concept of “school” changed over the years? 

N.E.A.• In 1857 the National Education Association (NEA)

was founded. It’s goal was to "elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching and to promote the cause of education in the United States.”o It continues to be a strong voice in Education today.  

View their website – NEA YOU MIGHT NEED TO LOOK BEHIND THIS SLIDESHOW WINDOW

• In 1901, Margaret Haley became the first woman to speak to the general assembly of the NEA. She continued to be a leader and advocate for teachers and the labor policies that affected them

A.F.T• The American Federation of Teachers was founded

in 1916 and they lobbied extensively to improve working conditions and increase the prestige of the teaching profession.

• Still strong today, their goal is to “represent the economic, social and professional interests of classroom teachers”

• Ella Flagg Young, the first female superintendent and president of the NEA, Catherine Goggin and Margaret Haley played an important role in the development of the AFT.

• The roaring 20’s was also the decade of the birth of the Progressive Movement in Education.

• Curriculum began to be student centered, student driven, and attempted to create a balance between collectivism and individualism.

• Programs were being developed to serve the needs of studentso School lunch programs, transportation,

Progressive Education in the 1940’s

• How does this differ from today?• What do you think about the original “progressive” for of education?

• Watch the following video --  

AN INTERESTING OLDIE!

Compare and Contrast with today’s schools!

Who do you think might have benefited from this form of education back them?        Who do you think did NOT?

The Way We Were

Educations From 1900's to 1950's

Sputnik Era• The 1950's escorted in a new political concern for the United States as the

Soviets moved into Eastern Europe and asserted control over the many of the countries in that region.

• The United States believed its mission was to prevent the further spread of Communism and dominate the Soviets in every aspect.

• In 1957 the Soviet Union, set off a shock wave in the United States with the first successful launch of an artificial satellite called Sputnik.

• Almost immediately politicians blamed this failing on the American educational system claiming it wasn't rigorous enough and that more attention needed to be paid to mathematics and science education.

• The federal government appropriated millions of dollars for educational reform.

• Skim this article  • The article is also available on the weblink. Very interesting worth a

look!

In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that segregation was constitutional as long as separate facilities were equal. Since the 1930s, lawyers for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had traveled throughout the South, gathering evidence to prove that segregated schools were never equal and that black schools were often desperately underfunded. By ending inequality in schools, they hoped to bring down all segregation in America.

In 1950, having laid a foundation of protests and legal challenges, the NAACP was ready to take its case to the highest court in the land. That year, the NAACP enlisted thirteen black parents in Topeka to serve as plaintiffs in the case they were building. They advised the parents to try to enroll their children in white schools near their homes. That fall, the Reverend Oliver Brown walked his eight-year-old daughter Linda to the Sumner School…

The case, filed as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, went to the Supreme Court, where it was argued by Thurgood Marshall and other attorneys from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. They spoke on behalf of plaintiffs not only in Topeka, Kansas, but also in South Carolina, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. On May 17, 1954, Chief Justice Earl Warren announced the court’s unanimous decision: “It is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity…is a right which must be available to all on equal terms. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal

Desegregation – Still took yearsRuby Bridges - 1960

The case, filed as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, went to the Supreme Court, where it was argued by Thurgood Marshall and other attorneys from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. They spoke on behalf of plaintiffs not only in Topeka, Kansas, but also in South Carolina, Delaware, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. On May 17, 1954, Chief Justice Earl Warren announced the court’s unanimous decision: “It is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity…is a right which must be available to all on equal terms. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

THE PROGRESSION OF EDUCATION IN THE 1900’S

(In Three Minutes)

So How Far Have We COME?

What do YOU think should be the role of Public Education? 

How should our students be taught? 

What do you see as the Pros or Cons of the Progressive Movement and how it has 

influenced education today? Positive or Negative

What About The Issues WE Face TODAY?

What is YOUR Commentary on This?

Your Assignment• Create your own timeline of the History of

American education in this past century, o 1900 – present and divided into 20 year periods.

• For each set of 20 years include the dominant occurrences or movements that have affected the development of American education as well as the significant individuals for that time period. Identify the educational focus for that time period as well …….

Example of Some of the Info that should be included

• 1900-1920 - Emergence of Progressiveo Education Movement John Dewey, Francis W.

Parker, Ella Flag Young o Education was centered on the child. o The notion of “learning by doing” was popularized. o Schools took on a more democratic atmosphereo The project method was introduced.

You May Be Creative!

You can create any kind or form of timeline as long as the information is included.