homerwork due tonight -
allisky
b012y5ipa0_ebok.pdf
Confi rming Pages
School and Society
Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd i
21/09/12 11:28 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Confi rming Pages
School and Society
Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Seventh Edition
Steven E. Tozer
University of Illinois, Chicago
Guy Senese
Northern Arizona University
Paul C. Violas
Late of University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd iii
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
SCHOOL AND SOCIETY: HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES, SEVENTH
EDITION
Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10020. Copyright © 2013 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Previous editions © 2009, 2006, and 2002. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.
Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 QVR/QVR 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
ISBN: 978-0-07-802440-5
MHID: 0-07-802440-4
Senior Vice President, Products & Markets: Kurt L. Strand
Vice President, General Manager, Products & Markets: Michael Ryan
Director: Michael Sugarman
Brand Manager: Allison McNamara
Executive Director of Development: Lisa Pinto
Managing Development Editor: Penina Braffman
Editorial Coordinator: Adina Lonn
Marketing Specialist: Alexandra Schultz
Senior Project Manager: Lisa A. Bruflodt
Buyer: Laura Fuller
Cover Designer: Studio Montage, St. Louis, MO
Cover Image: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
[LC-USZ62-90603]; Ron Nickel/Design Pics/Getty Images
Media Project Manager: Sridevi Palani
Typeface: 10.5/12 Garamond
Compositor: Laserwords Private Limited
Printer: Quad/Graphics
All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tozer, Steven.
School and society : historical and contemporary perspectives / Steven E. Tozer, Guy Senese, Paul C.
Violas.—7th ed.
p. cm.
ISBN: 978-0-07-802440-5 (alk. paper)
1. Educational sociology—United States. 2. Education—United States—History. I. Senese, Guy B.
II. Violas, Paul C. III. Title.
LC191.4.T69 2012
306.43’20973–dc23
2012026260
The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill, and McGraw-Hill does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
www.mhhe.com
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd iv
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
We dedicate this book to two historians of education who
have influenced us and countless others
Clarence J. Karier and Paul C. Violas
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd v
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
About the Authors
Steven E. Tozer is Professor of Education in
for the Illinois State Board of Education. He has
the College of Education at the University of Illinois,
written in the fields of social philosophy and multicul-
Chicago, where for 10 years he has taught preservice
tural curriculum, Native American education, critical
and graduate-level courses in Social Foundations
theory, and cultural studies in education. Professor
of Education and Education Leadership. He for-
Senese is a coauthor of Simulation, Spectacle and the
merly taught at the University of Illinois, Urbana-
Ironies of Education Reform and author of Self-Determi-
Champaign, for 12 years, serving as the Head of the
nation and the Social Education of Native Americans and
Department of Curriculum and Instruction from 1990
Throwing Voices: Five Autoethnographies on Postradical
to 1994. He taught the preservice course in Social
Education and the Fine Art of Misdirection. He has also
Foundations for eight years, receiving the college
published in Educational Theory, Journal of Thought,
and campus awards for Excellence in Undergraduate
Educational Foundations, and Harvard Educational
Instruction.
Review. He is past president of the Midwest History of
Professor Tozer has been Chair of the Commit-
Education Society.
tee on Academic Standards and Accreditation for the
American Education Studies Association and President
Until his death in 1999, Paul C. Violas was
of the Council for Social Foundations of Education.
Professor of History of Education in the College
He also served on the Board of Examiners for the
of Education at the University of Illinois, Urbana-
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Educa-
Champaign. During his last decade as a teacher,
tion. He has written for such journals as Education
he received the College of Education Award for
Theory, Education Studies, Educational Foundations,
Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the College
and Teachers College Record and is coeditor of two
Career Teaching Award, and the University’s Luck-
books in social foundations.
man Award for Undergraduate Teaching. During
Professor Tozer completed his A.B. in German at
the 1970s, with the aid of his graduate students, he
Dartmouth College, his M.Ed. in Elementary and
designed the social foundations of education course
Early Childhood Education at Loyola University of
on which this text is based. More than 40 of his for-
Chicago, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy of Education
mer advisees and graduate assistants have gone on to
at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He
teach at colleges and universities in the United States
has taught at the early childhood, elementary, and
and Europe.
secondary levels.
Professor Violas received his baccalaureate and mas-
ter’s degrees in history at the University of Rochester,
Guy Senese is Professor of Foundations and
where he later received his Ed.D. degree. He taught
Educational Leadership in the College of Education
secondary school social studies for six years before
at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. He taught
embarking on his career in higher education. In addi-
for 11 years in Social Foundations and Philosophy
tion to teaching and lecturing assignments in England
of Education at Northern Illinois University. He
and Greece, he served for six years as Associate Dean of
received his Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies and
Graduate and Undergraduate programs at the College
his M.A. in Social Studies Education at the University
of Education, University of Illinois, Urbana-Cham-
of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). He received
paign. He was a regular contributor to such journals
a baccalaureate in Philosophy at Northern Illinois
as Education Theory, Teachers College Record, Harvard
University. He taught high school at the Rough Rock
Education Review, and The History Teacher. He was
Demonstration School on the Navajo reservation in
also the coauthor of Roots of Crisis and the author of
Arizona. He also served as Title One program specialist
The Training of the Urban Working Class.
vi
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd vi
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
Brief Contents
Preface xiv
Part Two
Educational Aims in Contemporary
Part One
Society 251
Educational Aims in Historical
9 Liberty and Literacy Today: Contemporary
Perspective 1
Perspectives 252
1 Introduction: Understanding School and
10 Teaching in a Public Institution: The
Society 2
Professionalization Movement 288
2 Liberty and Literacy: The Jeffersonian
11 Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market
Ideal 22
Preparation, and Contemporary School
3 School as a Public Institution: The
Reform: The Post–Cold War Era 324
Common-School Era 50
12 Diversity and Equity Today: Defining the
4 Social Diversity and Differentiated
Challenge 356
Schooling: The Progressive Era 82
13 Diversity and Equity Today: Meeting the
5
Challenge 396
Diversity and Equity: Schooling Girls
and Women 124
14 School and Society: Teaching and Teacher
6
Leadership in the 21st Century 432
Diversity and Equity: Schooling and
African Americans 156
7 Diversity and Equity: Schooling and
Notes N–1
American Indians 192
Glossary G–1
8 National School Reform: The Early
Photo Credits C–1
Cold War Era 222
Index I–1
vii
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd vii
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
Contents
Preface xiv
Ideology of the Jeffersonian Era 28
The Breakdown of Feudalism 28
The Classical Roots of Liberal Ideology 29
Part One
Jefferson as Classical Liberal 33
Educational Aims in Historical
Jefferson and Intellectual Freedom 34
Perspective 1
Jefferson, Democracy, and Education 35
Government by a “Natural Aristocracy” 36
Jefferson’s Plan for Popular Education 36
Chapter 1
Elementary School Districts 37
Introduction: Understanding School
Grammar Schools 38
and Society 2
University Education 39
Introduction: Conducting Inquiry into School
Self-Education 40
and Society 4
Jefferson’s Views on Slavery, Native Americans,
The Place of Social Foundations in Teacher
and Women 41
Education 4
Building a Philosophy of Education 44
The Meaning of Democracy in Educational Practice 5
Primary Source Reading
Education of Diverse Students 5
From The Rights of Man 45
Tools of Inquiry 6
Social Theory 6
Primary Source Reading
Schooling 7
Exchange between Benjamin Banneker
Training 7
and Thomas Jefferson 46
Education 8
Political Economy 9
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 49
Ideology 9
Questions for Discussion and Examination 49
Analytic Framework 10
Online Resources 49
Applying the Terms of Inquiry: An Illustration
from History 11
Chapter 3
Schooling and Culture in Classical Greece 11
School as a Public Institution: The
Building a Philosophy of Education 15
Common-School Era 50
Primary Source Reading
Introduction: Schooling in New England 52
The Politics of Aristotle 17
Political Economy of the Common-School Era 53
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 20
Demographic Changes 53
Questions for Discussion and Examination 20
Political Developments 54
Online Resources 20
Economic Developments 55
Ideology and Religion 56
Chapter 2
Consolidation of Classical Liberalism 57
Liberty and Literacy: The Jeffersonian Ideal 22
Horace Mann: An Exemplar of Reform 58
Early Life 58
Introduction: Why Jefferson? 24
Mann’s Political Career 59
Political Economy of the Jeffersonian Era 25
Mann and the Common Schools 60
Geography, Transportation, and Communication 25
School Buildings 61
Early American Governance 27
Moral Values 62
viii
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd viii
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
Contents
ix
Lessons from the Prussian School System 64
Chapter 5
School Discipline and the Pedagogy of Love 66
Diversity and Equity: Schooling
The Quality of Teachers 67
Girls and Women 124
The Economic Value of Schooling 70
Opposition to Mann’s Common-School Reforms 72
Introduction: Why a Separate Chapter on Females? 126
Accounting for the Success of the Common-
Ideological Origins in Early Christianity 127
School Reforms 74
Gender and Education in Colonial America 128
Lessons from Horace Mann’s Common-School Reforms 74
Private Schools 130
Building a Philosophy of Education 75
The Revolution and the Cult of Domesticity 130
Competing Ideological Perspectives in
Primary Source Reading
the Nineteenth Century 132
Decentralization: Alternative to Bureaucracy? 77
The Conservative and Liberal Positions 132
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 80
The Radical Position 134
Questions for Discussion and Examination 80
Catharine Beecher: The Liberal Education
Online Resources 80
of the Homemaker 134
Ideology and Life: Emma Willard 136
A New Vision for Women’s Education 136
Chapter 4
The Troy Female Seminary 138
Social Diversity and Differentiated
Anna Julia Cooper 140
Schooling: The Progressive Era 82
Higher Education for Women 141
Introduction: “Traditional” versus “Progressive”
Academies 141
Education 84
Normal Schools 141
The Political Economy of the Progressive Era 86
High Schools 142
Urbanization 86
Colleges 143
Immigration 86
Women and Vocational Education 144
Industrialization 90
Domestic Science Training 144
Worker Responses to Industrial Management 93
Commercial Education 147
New Liberal Ideology 100
Building a Philosophy of Education 148
Natural Law 100
Primary Source Reading
Scientific Rationality 101
Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions 149
From Virtue to Rational Ethics 101
Progress 101
Primary Source Reading
Nationalism 102
The Education of the Girl 151
Freedom 102
Progressive Education 105
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 155
Two Strands of Progressivism: Developmental Democracy
Questions for Discussion and Examination 155
and Social Efficiency 106
Online Resources 155
Deweyan Developmental Democracy 107
Chapter 6
The Nature of the Child 108
Diversity and Equity: Schooling
A Unique Meaning for Progressive Education 109
and African Americans 156
Charles W. Eliot and Social Efficiency 109
Building a Philosophy of Education 116
Introduction: Common Schools in the South 158
Political–Economic Dimensions of Reconstruction
Primary Source Reading
and Redemption 158
Education and Social Change 118
Redemption 159
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 123
Reconstruction, Redemption, and
Questions for Discussion and Examination 123
African American Schooling 160
Online Resources 123
Schooling in the Black Belt 161
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd ix
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
x
Contents
Booker T. Washington’s Career 168
Willard Walcott Beatty: Progressive Education for
Washington and Schooling in the Black Belt 169
Native Americans 210
An Ideology of African American Inferiority 172
Schooling and Assimilation of the Indian Child 212
A Liberal Justification for Racial Oppression:
Afterword: The Case of the Navajo 212
Darwinian Evolution 172
Building a Philosophy of Education 214
Avoiding the Issue of Political Power 173
Primary Source Reading
A Liberal Faith: Social Progress through the Marketplace 174
The Hopi Way (1944) 214
The Washington Solution 176
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois 179
Primary Source Reading
Building a Philosophy of Education 181
Statements by Three American Indian Educators 216
Primary Source Reading
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 221
Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others 184
Questions for Discussion and Examination 221
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 190
Online Resources 221
Questions for Discussion and Examination 190
Online Resources 190
Chapter 8
Chapter 7
National School Reform: The Early Cold
Diversity and Equity: Schooling
War Era 222
and American Indians 192
Introduction: The Best and Brightest . . . 224
Political Economy and Ideology of
Introduction: Assimilation through Scientific
the Early Cold War Era 225
Management 194
U.S. Fear of Soviet Communism 225
Pluralism versus Assimilationism 195
New Liberal Ideology in the Cold War Era 227
Political–Economic Foundations of
James Bryant Conant 230
Indian Schooling 197
Standardized Testing and Student Selection 231
A World before Europeans 197
Who Merits a College Education? 232
The Ambiguous and Paradoxical 197
School Reform Reports and Social Stratification 233
Treaties and the “Trust Relationship” 198
Education in a Divided World 234
Ideology 200
School Reform in the Postwar Era 235
Traditional Knowledge versus Science and Progress 200
The Great Talent Hunt 237
Schooling the Native American 201
Slums and Subversives 240
Social Education, from Land Allotment
Building a Philosophy of Education 243
to Boarding Schools 202
The Progressive Reform Movement 202
Primary Source Reading
Scientific Management and Educational Reform 203
Excerpts from “Education for All” 246
“Progressive” Indian Education: Early Years 204
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 249
The Influence of John Collier 205
Questions for Discussion and Examination 249
Collier’s Early Career 206
Online Resources 249
Collier as Commissioner of Indian Affairs 207
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd x
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
Contents
xi
3. Pedagogical Authority: The Authority of Community 293
Part Two
The Professional Teacher: Remembering
Educational Aims in Contemporary
Horace Mann 295
Professionalization of Teaching: Historical
Society 251
Perspective 296
Common-School Reform 296
Chapter 9
Progressive Era Reform 297
Liberty and Literacy Today: Contemporary
Conant Era Reform 297
Perspectives 252
Professionalism and Contemporary
School Reform 298
Introduction: Revisiting Literacy 254
Comparing Teaching to Other Professions 299
A Brief Historical Perspective 256
Professionalism versus Neoliberal Market Competition 300
Literacy and Power: Literacy as a Social
Traditional Criteria for the Professions 303
Construction 257
Teaching as a Public Profession 304
Ideological Hegemony Theory: Democracy and the
Teaching “Job” versus Teaching Profession: The Issue
Consolidation of Economic Power 258
of Professional Control 305
Mass Media and Ideological Hegemony 260
Political–Economic Dimensions of Teaching
The Paradox of Media Property Rights and Public
as a Public Profession 306
Information Rights: From NBC to GE to Comcast 261
Public Control versus Professional Autonomy 311
Communications Technologies: From Jefferson’s
Who Controls the Schools? Who Should? 311
“Free Marketplace of Ideas” to the “Information
Statutory Control Structure 313
Marketplace” 263
Who Controls the Schools? Extralegal Influences 315
The Rise of Social Media 264
Professional Satisfaction and Professional Ethics 316
Contemporary Perspective on Literacy:
Teaching and Teacher Learning as Collaborative
Conventional Literacy 268
Activities 319
Functional Literacy 269
Democratic Ethics and the Profession of Teaching 320
Limitations of the Functional Literacy Perspective 270
Building a Philosophy of Education 320
Critical Literacy 271
Critical Literacy Method 272
Primary Source Reading
Cultural Literacy: Arguments for High-Status
Making Teaching a Profession 322
Curriculum 274
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 323
Cultural Literacy: Whose Interests Are Served? 274
Questions for Discussion and Examination 323
Schooling and Ideological Hegemony 276
Online Resources 323
Building a Philosophy of Education 279
Primary Source Reading
Chapter 11
The Future of Reading 281
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market
Preparation, and Contemporary School
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 286
Questions for Discussion and Examination 286
Reform: The Post–Cold War Era 324
Online Resources 286
Introduction: The Purposes of Schooling 326
The Future of the Workplace 328
Chapter 10
Future Jobs 328
Teaching in a Public Institution:
Educating for the Workplace 329
Income and Benefits 331
The Professionalization Movement 288
Vocational Education as a Teaching Method 333
Dominant Ideology and the Teacher’s
The Meaning of a Liberal Education 335
Professional Authority 290
Historical Perspectives 335
1. Using the Authority of the Rules to Educate 293
Contemporary School Reform 339
2. The Authority of the Expert 293
Social Changes and School Reform 339
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd xi
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
xii
Contents
Schooling as a Response to New Social
Societal Definitions of Gender 383
and Economic Conditions 340
Building a Philosophy of Education 388
The New Consensus on Excellence in Education 344
Primary Source Reading
Restructuring 345
A Public Education Primer: Basic (and Sometimes
Contemporary School Reform: A Critical View 346
Surprising) Facts about the U.S. Educational System 390
The Political–Economic Origins of the Contemporary School
Reform Movement 346
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 394
School Reform Today: New and Continuing Initiatives 348
Questions for Discussion and Examination 394
School Choice, Vouchers, and Charters 349
Online Resources 394
Building a Philosophy of Education 350
Chapter 13
Primary Source Reading
Diversity and Equity Today: Meeting the
Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing
Young Americans for the 21st Century 352
Challenge 396
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 355
Introduction: Does Social Inequality Necessarily
Questions for Discussion and Examination 355
Determine Educational Outcomes? 398
Online Resources 355
Jane Elliott’s Experiment 399
An Important Note of Caution 401
Chapter 12
Theories of Social Inequality 401
Diversity and Equity Today: Defining the
Genetic Inferiority Theory 402
Cultural Deficit Theory 403
Challenge 356
Critical Theory 404
Introduction: Inequity and Inequality 358
A Useful Digression: Bilingual and ESL Instruction
Liberal Ideology: Meritocracy Reexamined 359
as Bridges to English Proficiency 410
Social Conditions behind the New Debate 359
BEV: Language and Cultural Subordination 411
The Coleman Report 361
Pedagogical Approaches to Pluralism 413
The Cultural Deprivation Studies 361
Gender Theory: An Illustration of Sensitivity to Differences 413
The Political–Economic Context 363
Multicultural Education and Democratic Pluralism 416
The Demographics of Modern American Society 363
Programs That Work 419
Race, Ethnicity, and the Limits of Language 363
Diversity, Equity, and Special Education 421
Gender 369
Building a Philosophy of Education 423
Socioeconomic Class 371
Primary Source Reading
Education: Ethnicity, Gender, and Class 373
Teaching Diverse Learners 424
Race, Ethnicity, and Education 373
Socioeconomic Class and Education 379
Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 430
Equity, Education, and Disabling Conditions 381
Questions for Discussion and Examination 430
Gender and Education 382
Online Resources 430
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd xii
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
Contents
xiii
Chapter 14
Teacher Leadership and Professional Learning
School and Society: Teaching and Teacher
Communities 442
Leadership in the 21st Century 432
Primary Source Reading
Organizing Schools for Improvement 442
Introduction: So What? The Importance of
a Theory of Impact 434
Social Context: Understanding Students, Self,
Notes N–1
and a Theory of Impact 435
Glossary G–1
You and Your Theory of Impact 436
Photo Credits C–1
Why Teach? 438
Index I–1
Orientations to Teaching and Theories of Impact 438
It’s Mostly about the Kids 439
It’s Mostly about Social Change (or Democracy,
or Social Justice) 440
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd xiii
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
Preface
School and Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspec-
Diversity-Equity Focus
tives, seventh edition, is designed for courses in teacher
education and school leadership commonly labeled
Today’s educators must confront the still-unresolved
School and Society, Social Foundations of Education,
question of how to provide an increasingly diverse school
History and Philosophy of Education, or simply Foun-
population with an education that is of equitably high
dations of Education. Such courses may be offered at the
quality. Consequently, we have made this issue a major
introductory or at more advanced levels in professional
focus of our text. In Part 1, we examine the histories of
preparation programs, at undergraduate or graduate
four educationally underserved groups in this country:
levels. Their purpose is to help prepare educators who
the working class, women, African Americans, and
are able to reflect critically on their teaching practices in
Native Americans. Then, in Part 2, we analyze the edu-
social and institutional contexts. With this in mind, we
cational status of these and other underserved groups in
built the following features into our text.
contemporary America. The related themes of diversity
and equity (racial, ethnic, cultural, language, gender,
and ability) constitute possibly the most important ten-
Historical-Contemporary Analysis
sion facing schools in the 21st century. Consequently,
Understanding contemporary educational ideas and
we have given it heavy emphasis, from the Chapter 1
processes, we believe, requires an understanding of their
introduction to Athenian ideals of democracy to the last
historical origins: how and why they first arose and
chapter on contemporary cultural influences on children
then developed into their present forms. For this rea-
and youth.
son history plays a central role throughout this work. In
Part 1 we analyze the relationships among the political
Critical Thinking Skills and
economy, the prevailing ideology, and the educational
Primary Sources
practices of each major period in the development of
American public education. For each period we show
Since good teachers must be able to think critically in
how the intersection of these forces influenced one or
and about their practice, we wanted to produce a text
more perennial issues in education that still confront us
that actively promotes critical thinking skills. This text
early in the 21st century.
does so by (1) providing the basic conceptual tools
While Part 1 examines perennial school-society issues
needed for analytical inquiry, (2) demonstrating their
in terms of their historical origins in American history,
use throughout the text, and (3) providing readers with
Part 2 provides a contemporary analysis of the same
opportunities to practice critical analysis as they read
issues by discussing such questions as, What is the rela-
primary sources for themselves.
tionship between liberty and literacy? What are the pur-
Consequently, we have structured our text as fol-
poses of public education in a democratic society? To
lows. First, Chapter 1 presents six analytic concepts
what degree can schools promote social equality? Who
(social theory, political economy, schooling, training,
decides what the school’s curriculum should be—teachers,
education, and ideology) that we have found to be espe-
administrators, or someone else? Thus, each enduring
cially useful in understanding American public educa-
issue receives a two-part historical-contemporary exami-
tion. Next, we have systematically demonstrated their
nation. The result is a highly integrated text, in which
usefulness by organizing chapter narratives around
each chapter in Part 1 has a corresponding chapter or
them. Both the historical chapters in Part 1 and the
chapters in Part 2.
contemporary chapters in Part 2 utilize these concepts.
xiv
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd xiv
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
Preface
xv
Finally, at the end of each chapter, we have provided
the application of the analytic framework throughout
primary source readings that students are asked to criti-
the text, as described below.
cally evaluate. In short, each chapter models the ana-
lytical use of these terms, while end-of-chapter readings
Text Features
and questions provide an opportunity for their use. In
fact, it is our hope that reflective readers will use their own
experiences and viewpoints to challenge the authors’ analy-
• Building a Philosophy of Education feature.
ses whenever there seems cause to do so. In the seventh
Beginning in Chapter 1 with an examination of
edition we have again included questions for critical
Aristotle on education and concluding in Chapter
thinking in each chapter.
14 with an examination of contemporary influences
In each edition we seek to improve the quality of
on youth, readers are helped to develop their own
the primary source readings. The few changes we have
philosophies of education. Each chapter concludes
made in this edition are designed to fulfill an important
with a section that highlights chapter content ger-
function that is lost when primary source readings are
mane to educational philosophy. This section chal-
overlooked by students or instructors: These original
lenges educators to shape their educational goals and
selections provide students with a chance to exercise
methods, and their justifications for both, in today’s
their interpretive and critical abilities in a way that
cultural context.
they would not be able to do without having read the
• The analytic framework model helps students
chapter. Thus, the primary source readings become a
understand and integrate the relationships among
unique interactive opportunity for applying and testing
ideology, political economy, and schooling in each
new understanding and developing new critical insights
chapter. This feature appears at the beginning
that go well beyond the authors’ analysis. By focusing
of each chapter to help students organize their
students’ attention on the original voices of historical
reading and analysis.
and contemporary educators, including teachers, this
volume gives students a chance not only to think criti-
• A historical timeline in each chapter allows stu-
cally about those educators’ views but to apply the same
dents to see at a glance some of the major cultural
critical skills to their reading of the authors’ voices in
events that provide context for the educational
the 14 chapters of the textbook.
issues under discussion. All time lines for the seventh
edition have been made more concise and more
Text Integration
closely tied to chapter content. Students are asked to
examine the timelines interpretively, critically exam-
Rather than producing a text of independent chapters
ining how various historical events relate to educa-
on discrete topics in education, we have produced one
tion and schooling.
that is highly integrated. We have already described two
• Thinking Critically about the Issues boxes, dis-
of the primary mechanisms used to accomplish this:
tributed throughout the text, are designed to stimu-
(1) the use of persistently bedeviling educational prob-
late students’ interpretive, critical thought about
lems as a device for integrating the book’s historical and
what they are reading.
contemporary parts and (2) the use of end-of-chapter
readings as vehicles for applying (and thereby mastering)
• Developing Your Professional Vocabulary boxes
the analytic terms. In addition, the analytic framework
present new terms from the field of social founda-
used throughout the text, especially the political–economic
tions of education, accompanied by a glossary of
and ideological discussions, provides integrative threads
professional terms at the back of the book.
rarely found in foundations texts. We have strengthened
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd xv
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
xvi
Preface
Supplements
episode also looks at teacher training, salaries,
and working conditions, and exposes America’s
• Online Learning Center. The Online Learning
ambivalence toward a profession practiced mostly
Center, at www.mhhe.com/tozer7e, includes a study
by women.
guide (with quizzes), Web links, and extending
• Episode
Three,
Educating to End Inequity, delves
resources.
into teachers’ efforts to level the educational—and
• Instructor’s Online Learning Center. Located at
social—playing field for their students.
www.mhhe.com/tozer7e, the Instructor’s Online
For more information on this series, please visit
Learning Center contains teaching resources
www.pbs.org/onlyateacher.
including Instructor’s Manual, Test Bank, and com-
puterized test bank.
Acknowledgments
• Only a Teacher Video Series. School and Society is accompanied by the Only a Teacher Video series,
This book originated in Educational Policy Studies 201,
produced and directed by Claudia Levin, as shown
a required undergraduate course in social foundations
on PBS. Only a Teacher is the first documentary
of education at the University of Illinois in Urbana-
to explore the diverse faces and many roles of the
Champaign. The course was originally designed by
American teacher from the 1820s to the present
Paul Violas and his graduate students in 1975 and was
day. The program takes the form of a dialogue
subsequently modified by Steve Tozer and his graduate
between past and present, as contemporary teachers
teaching assistants from 1982 to 1990. Consequently, a
reflect on many of the issues that have confronted
great many doctoral students have contributed over the
their predecessors over the past 180 years. The series
years to developing that course and the early editions
combines thoughtful commentary, teacher inter-
of this text.
views, and classroom footage with archival materials
Our most important partners in this effort have been
to convey teachers’ experiences and attitudes about
those who wrote chapters for our first edition in their
their work.
areas of expertise: James Anderson, Chapter 7; Steve
The series contains three one-hour segments:
Preskill, Chapter 5; Kal Alston, Chapter 10; and Rob-
• Episode
One,
A Teacher Affects Eternity, begins
ert Carson, Chapter 13. These faculty members, all of
during the Common-School Era (1830s–1880s),
whom once taught or currently are teaching at the Uni-
as free public schooling spread across the expand-
versity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, drafted a third
ing nation and women began to fill out the ranks
of the original volume and gave it a depth of insight
of teachers. This program explores the ongoing
it would not otherwise have had. Steve Preskill revised
importance of teachers in the lives of their stu-
Chapter 5 for the fifth edition. Finally, we are grateful
dents, emphasizing their crucial influence as role
for the patient and persistent help provided by our
models and upholders of society’s norms.
colleagues at McGraw-Hill, including Sarah Kiefer,
Amanda Peabody, and Allison McNamara.
• Episode
Two,
Those Who Can . . . Teach,
considers teachers in their profession, tracing
Steven E. Tozer
the early development of school bureaucracies
Guy Senese
and the attendant rise of teachers’ unions. This
toz24404_fm_i-xvi.indd xvi
21/09/12 11:28 AM
Confi rming Pages
Part One
Educational Aims
in Historical Perspective
1 Introduction: Understanding
5 Diversity and Equity: Schooling
School and Society
Girls and Women
2 Liberty and Literacy: The
6 Diversity and Equity: Schooling
Jeffersonian Ideal
and African Americans
3 School as a Public Institution: The
7 Diversity and Equity: Schooling
Common-School Era
and American Indians
4 Social Diversity and Differentiated
8 National School Reform: The Early
Schooling: The Progressive Era
Cold War Era
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 1
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 1
Introduction Understanding School and Society
Chapter Overview
Chapter 1 introduces students to the basic ana-
phenomena that influence one another. To illus-
lytic vocabulary, or “tools of inquiry,” used
trate how the analytic framework can be used
throughout School and Society, emphasizing
to interpret the way school and society relate to
why social context is important to consider if we
each other, a brief sketch of classical Athens is
want to understand schooling. The chapter chal-
presented. This example raises the question of
lenges the common view that theory and prac-
why teachers need to study the history, philoso-
tice are opposites, arguing instead that good
phy, and social context of education—and how
social theory seeks to describe and explain the
such study applies to teaching practices. Finally,
real world, including the world of practice. It
the special relationship between democratic
also presents the three-part analytic framework,
values and educational practice is introduced—
or organizing ideas, used throughout the book,
a relationship that will be explored throughout
in which the terms “political economy,” “ideol-
the volume.
ogy,” and “schooling” are understood as social
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 2
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
In classical Athens, education was the birthright of the citizen, to
be pursued throughout life.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 1 seeks to
among political economy, ideology, and
achieve are these:
schooling practices. The chapter illustrates how
these basic tools of inquiry operate in historical
1. Readers should become acquainted with the
cultural contexts different from ours.
basic conceptual tools used throughout the
book, especially political economy, ideology,
5. Readers should begin considering the meanings
and schooling. They should begin to understand
and limitations of the concept of democracy in
how they influence one another, although that
cultural context. The chapter invites readers to
influence is not of equal proportion and varies
notice the egalitarian impulses of an Athenian
from situation to situation.
society that selected legislators by lottery and to
reflect critically on how a “democratic” culture
2. By entertaining the view that good theorizing
can exclude most of its residents from political
explains practical phenomena and therefore can
participation.
guide practice, readers should begin to question
the idea that theory and practice are opposed
6. Readers are invited to begin thinking about the
to one another, or the idea that if something is
idea of a philosophy of education and the extent
theoretical, it probably is not practical.
to which they already are developing such a
philosophy.
3. This chapter presents basic distinctions among
schooling, training, and education. Readers
7. Finally, a major purpose of this chapter is to
should recognize that education is a value-laden
equip each reader with “new eyes” with which
ideal that allows one to evaluate schooling and
to read and critically interpret the Primary
training practices for their educational worth.
Source Reading from Aristotle’s Politics.
4. The classical Athenian period presents the
opportunity for interpreting relationships
3
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 3
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
4
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Introduction: Conducting
better to spend this time studying methods that are suc-
cessful in today’s classrooms?”
Inquiry into School and Society
While study and practice of teaching methods are a
central part of teacher preparation, methods make sense
The public schools are perhaps the most familiar but
only in particular social contexts and to achieve specific
least understood institutions in our society. Most Amer-
goals. These goals, for students and for the wider society,
icans spend over 12 years attending public schools and
are not always agreed upon. In the last analysis, teachers
later, as adults, confront a wide array of school-related
must make decisions about goals and methods for them-
issues. School board elections, school tax referendums,
selves. How to educate teachers to make the best deci-
PTA meetings, and their children’s school experiences
sions on these matters has long been a topic of debate.
all require immediate personal attention.
In the 1930s, for example, teacher educators at Teach-
Individuals and the mass media often express con-
ers College, Columbia University, began developing a
cern about the overall quality of the public school sys-
new program of study for school teachers and adminis-
tem. Is it equipping the young to support themselves in
trators called “social foundations of education.” Rather
a changing economy? Is it promoting an equitable soci-
than have teachers and administrators study such fields
ety by educating all our students? Is it equipping them
as philosophy of education, history of education, and
with the skills and attitudes needed to live in a society
sociology of education in isolation from one another,
that is increasingly diverse and pluralistic? Is it teaching
the scholars at Teachers College believed that school
them to respect and protect an increasingly endangered
practitioners would benefit most if they integrated the
environment? In short, how well does our nation’s pub-
study of all these fields around perennial school–society
lic school system serve the major needs of our society?
issues. Who should be educated? What knowledge and
These are complicated questions open to competing
values should be taught? Who should control the cur-
interpretations, and not just any interpretation will do.
riculum and for what purposes? When, where, and how
Schools are complex institutions with varied and intri-
should education be delivered? To study such issues, they
cate relationships to their surrounding communities,
believed, required historical perspective, philosophical
and a great deal of scholarship has been conducted in
insights, and sociological knowledge. The problems to
an effort to understand these relationships. Explaining
be understood, they reasoned, were multidimensional
why children from some social and economic groups
and did not fit neatly into any one of those disciplines.
tend to perform better than others in schools, for exam-
To study schooling required studying the social under-
ple, may need to rely on a variety of historical, socio-
pinnings (social foundations) of education, and they
logical, and theoretical arguments that most editorial
believed that the better teachers understood the larger soci-
writers and newspaper readers don’t have at hand. Such
ety in which schools are embedded, the better they would
explanations are not a part of commonsense knowl-
understand the particular school problems they faced.
edge, but they can and should be a part of a teacher’s
The schools, in their view, were an important expression
professional expertise.
of the surrounding society—expressing its political and
The development of such professional levels of inter-
economic systems as well as its ideological commitments.1
pretation and understanding is a major purpose of this
The authors of this text share this view. It is our con-
text. Achieving such understanding, however, requires
viction that teachers should have the best possible under-
that students engage not in “learning the text” but in
standing of the relations between their schools and the
actively inquiring into important questions about the
larger society in which those schools are embedded. We
purposes and consequences of education and schooling.
think teachers need more than training in how to deliver
a set curriculum or technique, though such training (like
The Place of Social
medical or music training for doctors and musicians) is
Foundations in Teacher
necessary and valuable. Teachers also need to be educated
as critical thinkers who have the ability to diagnose unique
Education
and complicated situations and create original solutions
to these problems (more on training versus education
You may well think, “That’s all very interesting, but how
shortly). Such professional education should take place
is it going to make me a better teacher? Wouldn’t it be
in all components of a teacher education program.
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 4
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
Introduction Chapter 1
5
We believe that one central purpose of studying social
in all cultures seek to fit people to their surrounding
foundations of education is to equip teachers to make
societies. It is not so obvious, however, that in a demo-
sense of classroom situations by understanding the larger
cratic society this process should involve equipping peo-
social context that surrounds and shapes what goes on
ple to think critically about the degree to which their
in classrooms. Another central purpose, therefore, is to
society is in fact democratic and to participate effectively
think critically about the multiple purposes and values
in overcoming its undemocratic aspects. Thus, to pre-
that schools and teachers serve in society, and how teach-
pare students for participation in a democratic society, a
ers can make ethical choices about whose interests their
teacher may have to consider how well his or her choice
work will serve.
of teaching and management strategies fosters critical
Study in the social foundations of education, then,
thinking and active political participation.
provides background information about school–society
Similarly, the classical notion that the moral basis
relationships that helps teachers contextualize classroom
of democracy is not only fairness or even equality but
events and thereby enables them better to understand
human development through participation in deci-
and adjust their teaching practices. For example, unless
sion making needs to be explored. Consideration of
you understand the effects that school culture can have
this point might lead a democratically oriented teacher
on students from minority cultures in the United States,
toward a policy of greater student participation in
you may not be able to discriminate between a child
problem solving and classroom decision making, in
with a learning disability and a child whose home cul-
which students are encouraged to learn from their mis-
ture differs so markedly from that of the school that he
takes. Whether a classroom is more student-centered
or she encounters academic and social adjustment prob-
or teacher-centered often stems from the teacher’s belief
lems. When is it fair to have different educational goals
concerning this basic issue.
for different students, and when might different goals
Such sustained inquiry into democratic ideals might
categorize students and lead to discriminatory practices
well lead prospective teachers to modify their teaching
on the part of teachers or other students?
goals and then identify classroom problems differently
The purpose of this book is, in part, to give you
than before. For example, whereas an obedient and
practice in thinking through issues such as these. By
unquestioning classroom might have seemed desirable
reflectively engaging such social and educational issues
at one time, that orderliness might seem alarming in
(including their historical origins), you will be developing
a classroom focused on student development through
as an educational thinker and decision maker whose abil-
shared decision making. One important goal of this
ity to define and solve school problems is more highly
book is to provide you with the opportunity to rethink
developed than that of the everyday citizen who has not
what democracy means in practice and then reevaluate
received such specialized education. Two examples will
your teaching goals and methods accordingly.
illustrate these points.
Education of Diverse Students
The Meaning of Democracy
in Educational Practice
A second illustration concerns problems confronting
teachers in multicultural classrooms. Teachers are increas-
One illustration of how teachers can apply social founda-
ingly called upon to teach students who are racially or
tions knowledge to their teaching practice concerns the
ethnically different from themselves and to recognize
aims of teaching. Teachers typically accept the notion
that students of all races have the same academic poten-
that a major goal of teaching is to prepare citizens for life
tial. Yet new teachers’ experiences seem at first to tell
in a democratic society, and most teachers believe that
them otherwise. How can they avoid stereotyping cer-
their teaching contributes to achieving this goal. Yet
tain groups as more or less academically able when they
college students preparing to teach are rarely given an
see significant differences in academic performance and
opportunity to engage in a sustained study of what life
attitudes toward school?
in a democratic society really means or how to go about
To understand and nurture the learning potential of
educating students for participation in such a society.
all students, teachers need to understand the influences
To understand the meaning of democracy and to fit
that culture and social class exert on both students and
students for life in a democratic society require careful
schools. The differences in the performance of various
analysis. It is obvious, for example, that school systems
ethnic groups in this nation’s schools have historical and
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 5
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
6
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
sociolinguistic dimensions. In the case of African American
education proclaim that they are interested in “practice,”
students, for example, teachers need to understand how
not “theory.” Such announcements should make us
schools have systematically discriminated against African
pause to consider what the term “theory” means. It does
American children and realize that Black English vernacu-
not have a complex meaning. Very simply, a theory is an
lar is not indicative of impaired intellectual ability to learn
interpretation and explanation of phenomena. A social
standard English. They also need to understand that stu-
theory is an attempt to make sense of and explain social
dents from lower socioeconomic classes and lower-achiev-
phenomena. A theory attempts to answer the questions
ing ethnic groups tend to engage in resistant behaviors
how and why. It is not something separate from “real-
as they encounter a school environment that they some-
ity” and “practice”; rather, it attempts to explain reality
times experience as hostile. Well-informed teachers could
and practice. Thus, to say that we are not interested in
then respond to those resistance strategies not as behavior
theory is to say that we are not interested in knowing
problems but as intelligent yet counterproductive responses
how or why something occurs.
to school culture. Teachers who have studied the social
We might be interested, for example, in the rise in
contexts of schooling are able to view old school problems
public school attendance during the past century. Why
with new eyes and, as a result, approach those problems
did increasing percentages of American children attend
with fresh ideas and open minds.
school for increasing lengths of time? One explana-
To summarize, prospective teachers need to recog-
tion (i.e., theory) is that the increase reflected the rise
nize that problems in classroom learning are inevitably
in democratic sentiment and greater potential for social
embedded in the broader social and cultural contexts
mobility in the United States. An alternative theory
that surround their schools and classrooms. Perceptions
emphasizes economic factors, such as the decreased
of gender differences, racial and ethnic attitudes, school
dependence on child labor on farms and in factories,
organization and culture, social class differences, and pre-
accompanied by the need for adult workers with special-
vailing ideologies are only some of the factors teachers
ized skills (e.g., clerical training) and workforce behav-
need to study to understand their workplace. Failure to
iors (e.g., punctuality).
understand these factors inevitably impairs their ability to
These potentially conflicting theories raise an impor-
interpret school and classroom events and consequently
tant question: How do we judge theories? Is it simply
to construct meaningful solutions to perennial problems.
a matter of opinion or personal taste? If there were not
adequate ways to evaluate theories, those who assert that
Tools of Inquiry
they are not interested in theory might be on sounder
ground. Fortunately, there are criteria and procedures
we can use to intelligently accept or reject a theory.
This text uses six main tools of inquiry to assist students
First, we ask whether the theory is internally consistent.
in developing critical understandings of school and soci-
That is, are there contradictions within the theory? If
ety: social theory, schooling, training, education, political
so, the explanatory power of the theory is weakened.
economy, and ideology. Each will be examined, and then
Second, how well does the theory account for the data
the three most fundamental ideas will be arranged into an
(i.e., information) we have amassed about what we are
analytic framework. Later in the Chapter we discuss the
trying to understand? Few theories, if any, will be able
important case of education in Classical Athens, as both
to account for all the data; nevertheless, the more data it
an illustration of early democratic theory, practice and for
can account for, the better the theory. Third, how well
its importance as a classic model of education which influ-
does a theory agree with other theories we have accepted
enced our current school forms and education theory.
that relate to what we are trying to understand? A theory
The following chapters will use this analytic framework to
that conflicts less with other theories is generally judged
examine the evolution of American public schools (Part
as more satisfactory.
1 of this textbook) and some of the most significant con-
A cautionary note to students: When we have sub-
temporary issues facing the public school system (Part 2).
jected our theories to these evaluative procedures, we
Social Theory
should not believe that we have achieved something
called Truth. The notion that humans can achieve abso-
The term “theory” is often scorned by critics of higher
lute, eternal truth is an ambitious goal that Western
education, as if college education were “too theoretical.”
civilization has long cherished. It found expression in
Frequently, educators in public schools and colleges of
5th-century Athens with Plato, in the early Christian
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 6
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
Introduction Chapter 1
7
era with Augustine of Hippo, and in the 18th century
“lessons,” for example, about punctuality, respect for
with the Enlightenment philosophers. The evolution
and even fear of authority, time organization, and com-
of 20th-century science has made us less optimis-
petition for limited rewards.2
tic about discovering absolute truth, especially in the
Focusing on schooling as opposed to focusing more
human sciences. When we argue that it is possible to
broadly on education can reveal the relation of the state
judge theories, we are simply asserting that some theo-
to schooling. State governments provide for school
ries explain social phenomena better than others do,
buildings and establish length of school terms and teach-
not that the ones we judge as better are absolutely true.
ers’ qualifications. Those of us who have always believed
Social theories will always need further refinement. We
that there was a special connection between public (i.e.,
seek the best available explanations on which to base
state) schools and democracy should remember that for
our understanding and our most enlightened choices
most of Western history this was not the case. Demo-
for social action.
cratic Athens and republican Rome did not have state
Our theory-based explanations are not infallible,
schools. For most of Western history, state school-
but neither are they “just an interpretation,” if by that
ing supported nondemocratic governments. The state
we mean that they are no better or worse than any
schools of Sparta, the Roman Empire, the German states
other explanation. Our explanations may be strong
during the Reformation, and until recently 20th-century
or weak, more valid or less valid, depending on how
Soviet Russia all utilized state schooling for nondemo-
well they stand up to critical investigation, that is, how
cratic ends. All these state schools sacrificed individual-
thoroughly and consistently they explain the phenom-
ism, creativity, and independent judgment in the interest
ena we are trying to understand. Throughout this book,
of “citizenship.”
it is important to remember that you are reading neither
“the absolute truth” nor “just another interpretation.”
Training
Instead, you are reading the best efforts of scholars
who are trying to understand both the historical and
Training, like schooling, is often confused with educa-
the contemporary relationships between schooling and
tion. Training may be described as a set of experiences
society. You should read these theoretical explanations
provided to some organism (human or not) in an attempt
critically, asking yourself if they do in fact help you
to render its responses predictable according to the goals
better understand your experience with schools and the
of the trainer. After the development of behavioral
wider culture.
psychology in the 20th century, training techniques
became more sophisticated and took on the aura of sci-
Schooling
ence. The increased efficiency of training techniques
has led many astute social observers to become pessi-
Schooling is also a relatively simple concept but one
mistic about the future of creative individualism. This
that is often confused with education. Schooling sim-
pessimism can perhaps best be seen in the “anti-utopia”
ply refers to the totality of experiences that occur within
novels of that century, such as Aldous Huxley’s Brave
the institution called school, not all of which are edu-
New World and George Orwell’s 1984. What these anti-
cational. Schooling includes all the activities that take
utopian writers fear is the vast potential for social con-
place within the curriculum of a school—that is, within
trol and manipulation inherent in training techniques.
courses and programs of study. It also includes the
The potential for indoctrination certainly should be
activities called “extracurricular,” such as sports, clubs,
of concern for all educators. However, this does not
school newspapers, and other activities not included in
mean that all training is to be shunned. For example,
the formal curriculum. In addition, schooling involves
when approaching a busy intersection, most motorists
teaching and learning not included in either curricular
hope that all other drivers approaching that intersec-
or extracurricular activities. This type of learning occurs
tion have been trained to automatically use their brakes
in the school’s “hidden curriculum” and is generally not
when they see a red or yellow traffic light. We all want
spoken of as curriculum by school authorities. Such
that response to be predictable. Other examples of the
learning often occurs because of the way schools are
value of training include memorizing multiplication
structured: their organization, architecture, time man-
tables and irregular verbs in Spanish. At a more ambi-
agement, teaching methods, and authority structures.
tious level, we might refer to a musician’s training in
In the hidden curriculum, students learn powerful
classical piano or a doctor’s medical training, both of
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 7
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
8
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
can train a stenographer to increase her speed and skill. . . .
But one educates in the realm of thought, feeling, and intel-
ligence. Occasionally, to be sure, training must precede edu-
cation. One must be trained to read before one can become
educated in literature; one must be trained to add and mul-
tiply before one can be educated in the higher mathematics;
one must be trained to use a fever thermometer, before one
can be educated as a physician. But always training concerns
itself with tools and devices, while education concerns itself
with something that has intellectual or spiritual content and
motive. Training is means; education is end.3
Although Flexner’s explanation could be more thor-
ough (one can certainly construe medical training to
mean medical education, for example), he does identify
significant differences between education and training.
Education certainly involves some training. Moreover,
it involves some of the processes that make communal
living possible. But it is more. Education involves rea-
son, the intellect, intuition, creativity. It is a process or
set of experiences that allows humans to “create” them-
selves. The educated person’s responses to a problematic
situation are based on trying to understand and make
calculations about that situation, hypothesizing pos-
sible outcomes, and choosing among possible courses of
action. Education builds on the successes and failures
of ancestors, whereas training tends to reproduce the
Learning to use a computer in school is an example of schooling
response(s) of the trainer. Education produces responses
that can support a good education as well as a specific program
that the educator may not have contemplated.
of training.
Because of these differences between training and educa-
tion, we typically think of training as preparing a person for
a specific social or economic role, while education seeks to
which indicate preparation for specific roles. Training,
prepare an individual for a wide range of roles. For exam-
then, has an important but specifically limited value in
ple, we typically speak of a nurse’s training or a boxer’s
both schooling and education.
or a musician’s training, emphasizing by this term the
skills and understandings needed for each specific role.
Education
To be educated, however, is to develop a wide range of
human capacities that equip one to fill a variety of roles
Education is related to training but is more difficult to
in one’s culture: as a worker, a citizen, a parent, a person
explain. The educational reformer Abraham Flexner
who relates ethically to others, a person who uses leisure
tried this explanation in 1927:
in productive ways, and so on. Think about it: would
Between education and training there exists a vast distinc-
you rather be trained or educated—or both?
tion. Education is an intellectual and spiritual process. It has
to do with opening the windows of the human mind and
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
the human soul. It involves the effort to understand, to com-
prehend, to be sensitive to ideas, aspirations, and interests to
Identify one schooling experience you can recall from
which the individual might otherwise be indifferent. Not so
your elementary or secondary education and indicate
with training. Training connotes improved ability to do some-
whether that experience primarily reflected a context
thing, without deepened understanding, widened sympathy,
of schooling, training, or education or a combination
or heightened aspirations. One can train a brick layer to lay
of these. Explain your assessment.
three hundred bricks instead of one hundred and fifty. One
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 8
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
Introduction Chapter 1
9
Political Economy
is no doubt too simplistic and neat, it holds some value
for understanding the term.
Political economy is a durable, flexible concept that
Ideology does not refer primarily to how individu-
includes the social, cultural, economic, political, and
als think; rather, it refers to the beliefs, value systems,
demographic dimensions of a society. To study the politi-
and understandings of social groups. In this book, the
cal economy of a particular society is to examine how that
term “ideology” refers to the beliefs, values, and ways
society is organized—how its structures, processes, and
of understanding that guide policy formation in any
physical and mental resources give it its character and dis-
society and that are intended to explain and justify
tinctiveness. The school, like the family, the police force,
the society’s institutions and social arrangements—
and the banking industry, is one of the institutions that
intended, because the ideas and values that explain
make up the political economy of American society. This
and justify major social institutions may not be sat-
book will focus on analyzing those aspects of the political
isfactory to all members of society. The ideology that
economy that are of special relevance to American public
becomes dominant in a society is almost always articu-
schools. Crucial to the method of analysis is the assump-
lated by those who derive the most power, goods, and
tion that when any part of the political economy expe-
prestige from the existing social organization. Gener-
riences significant change, other parts of it are likely to
ally, those who benefit most from the social arrange-
be affected.
ment are more satisfied with the “dominant” ideology
than are group members who benefit less. Those who
wield less power or are oppressed by society under-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
standably are less satisfied by justifications of exist-
ing social arrangements. In many cases, such groups
Identify a prominent schooling practice—curricular or
extracurricular—that most American students have
may embrace conflicting ideologies or variants of the
experienced and explain how that practice prepares
dominant ideology. The result can be social unrest
students for the political economy of the United States.
and even revolution. Colonial Americans of Benjamin
In your view, how educationally beneficial to the
Franklin’s persuasion, for example, shared the same
student is this practice? Explain.
society, but not the same ideology, as loyalists to the
king. Similarly, slaves and masters in the pre–Civil
War South shared the same society but usually not
Ideology
the same ideology.
Even in relatively stable societies in which social
Ideology, like education, is a frequently used concept
unrest does not approach revolution, it should not be
that is difficult to define. If “political economy” refers to
assumed that the dominant ideology is fully endorsed
the material components of a culture, “ideology” refers
by all social groups and economic classes. It is safe to
to its ideas. Every society explains and justifies its social,
assume that a society’s dominant economic class can
political, and economic arrangements and its relations to
explain and justify the prevailing social arrangements
the outside world in terms of what its members under-
according to the dominant ideology, but such expla-
stand and value about the world. Members of one society
nations may not accurately reflect the views of people
might explain and justify their “free enterprise” system
from less privileged economic classes. The police force
on the basis of beliefs in the importance of private prop-
in U.S. society, for example, may be understood by mid-
erty and individual freedom. Members of another society
dle and upper classes as an institution that benevolently
might justify their military dictatorship on the grounds
enforces the law and protects the rights and well-being
that social order and control are more fundamental to
of all members of society. People from less-privileged
human well-being than is equality or civil rights. In each
economic classes, however, may have experienced the
case, those who are doing the explaining and justifying
police as an organization that uses its special powers to
are revealing the underlying values that support their
harass and interfere with their lives in order to protect
respective ideologies.
the advantages of wealth.
It may be useful to think of an ideology as an inter-
This does not mean that various segments of society
pretive lens through which a society looks to organize its
necessarily develop entirely different ideologies; often
experiences. Although the notion of a “system of ideas”
they share important parts of the dominant ideology.
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 9
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
10
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
It does suggest, however, that all classes do not neces-
ideology of the larger society. This suggests both poten-
sarily accept all parts of the ideology that the dominant
tial strengths and weaknesses in schooling. Whereas
class most fully articulates.
schooling may help people share in the life of their soci-
The history of the term “ideology” is marked by
ety, it may also help blind them to problems within it.
many different uses, but all fall more or less into two
Schooling prepares people to participate in a society’s
main categories: (1) ideology as “false belief” and (2) ide-
political economy and share its dominant ideology, but
ology as a universal condition that underlies all social
by doing so, it may further disadvantage those from the
understanding. Ideology as false belief is illustrated by
less-advantaged groups while contributing to the already
the statement “Of course they don’t understand free-
privileged position of the more powerful.
dom; they’re blinded by their ideology.” The underlying
This ideological sharing need not be done in a mind-
assumption here is that ideology is something that dis-
less and uncritical manner that “indoctrinates” students
torts “their” vision and prohibits understanding. Central
into beliefs and values that might better be questioned.
to this notion is that ideology is something that “others,”
However, the danger is always there. At the heart of
especially our opponents, have, while we are free of ide-
the democratic ideal is the belief that children will be
ology and consequently can see things clearly. However,
afforded the opportunity to mature into independently
this is not the view of ideology used in this text.
thinking adults who can analyze and criticize their soci-
The view employed here is that ideologies are
ety and its dominant ideology, who can recognize where
embedded in all societies, that they facilitate the orga-
its ways of thinking and ways of life are inadequate and
nization of a society’s perceptions and understand-
in need of improvement. One of the aims of this book
ings, and that it is important to recognize ideologies,
is to employ these analytic concepts to help students
both our own and others’. To argue that ideologies are
develop that kind of critical understanding.
embedded in all societies is not to say that we cannot
make judgments about ideologies or that the values of
Analytic Framework
a given ideology are as “good” or as true as those of
any other. We can, for example, use our own ideology
to judge the dominant ideology of Nazi Germany as
The relationship between American society and its pub-
being morally corrupt. We need not hesitate to make
lic schools can best be understood by examining the rela-
moral judgments just because we recognize they are
tionship between three of the six analytic terms: political
grounded in our own ideological framework. Without
economy, ideology, and schooling. The relationship is
the values and beliefs that our cultural history provides
pictured schematically in Exhibit 1.1.
us, we would not be able to make moral judgments at
A basic premise of this analytic framework is that
all. Nevertheless, the beliefs and values of any culture
an ecological relationship exists among the three com-
should be critically examined for their internal consis-
ponents. Any significant change or disturbance in one
tency and their consequences in practice.
of them will set off a ripple effect through the oth-
ers until a new state of equilibrium is achieved. Put
another way, this framework shows how political econ-
omy (social conditions) and ideology influence each
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
other and how both influence educational practice.
It also shows how educational practice in turn influ-
Identify a practice in school that you think reflects
ences a society’s ideology and political economy. This
some component of the prevailing belief system, or
is not to claim that each of these elements is equally
ideology, of the contemporary culture and show how
the prevailing ideology might be used both to explain
powerful in bringing about change in the others. It
and to justify that schooling practice. In your view, is
seems clear, for example, that changes in the political
that justification adequate? Explain your position.
economy are more influential in causing changes in
the schools than vice versa. The important point here
is that any one of these elements can be influenced by
any one of the others.
Schooling plays an important role in teaching and
The interactive relationship among political econ-
legitimating a society’s ideology. The ideology served
omy, ideology, and schooling becomes clearer when
by the public school is almost inevitably the dominant
they are examined in different historical circumstances.
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 10
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
Introduction Chapter 1 11
Exhibit 1.1 Analytic Framework
The analytic framework illustrated here appears in every chapter, but it will be different every time. This is because each chapter looks at a different era of schooling or, in Part 2 of the book, a different feature of schooling in the contemporary era. The framework in each chapter won’t mean as much to you as it will when you have finished the chapter. Later, the framework will serve as a good organizer that summarizes a great deal of information about how schools in Jefferson’s era, or in the progressive era, or in our own era are closely related to the political economy and ideology of that time. The authors selected certain elements of each era to represent the political economy, and other elements to represent the ideology and features of schools at that time. You should be able to see relationships among them. You might also have chosen differently. That is, there may be different elements of schooling, or political economy, or ideology that you believe are just as important as those the authors have selected. If you can support your choices with evidence and reasoning, you are demonstrating a good understanding of this material.
Analytic Framework
Liberty and Literacy in the United States
Political Economy
Ideology
Institutions and processes:
Shared beliefs
Social
Shared values
Economic
Shared habits of thought
Political
Shared in social groups
Educational
Etc.
Schooling
Goals and practices
Organization
Teachers’ experiences
Students’ experiences
Etc.
Part 1 of this text will apply the same analytic frame-
the Greek contribution to the modern conception of
work to each of the major historical periods of American
democracy. Classical Greece, particularly as expressed in
education. Part 2 will apply it to some of the most per-
the life of Athens, was a potent symbol for those who par-
plexing issues facing today’s schools.
ticipated in the democratic revolutions of the 17th and
18th centuries. A central ideal was the notion that the
pursuit of the Good Life may be shared by more than a
Applying the Terms of
hereditary minority, served by the vast majority. This cen-
Inquiry: An Illustration
tral ideal is crucial to progress away from imposed unnatu-
ral limits to opportunity and human thriving. However,
from History
the Athenian example also demonstrates the powerful les-
son that forms of socially, not naturally, constructed status
Schooling and Culture
conditions life chances, despite appeals to democracy and
in Classical Greece
fairness. Pluralistic democracy today continues to struggle
To a great extent, contemporary educational debates can
with the status of groups who, because of class, gender,
be profitably viewed through the Greek conceptions of
race, and ethnic prejudice, are systematically excluded
reason, freedom, and citizenship and especially through
from decision-making processes, just as similar groups
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 11
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
12
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
were excluded from Athenian democracy. However, an
citizens who served on its various committees—to pro-
understanding of Greek ideals in education first requires
pose legislation to the assembly, which consisted of all
an understanding of the historical setting—the political
citizens who wished to attend its meetings. Typically,
economy and ideology—in which those ideals made sense.
about one citizen in eight attended the meetings of the
The historical context from which classical educa-
assembly, at which time they could approve or reject the
tional ideals emerged is perhaps best illustrated by Athens.
proposals of the Council of Five Hundred.
Although Athens was only one of many Greek city-states,
Membership on the council lasted only one year, and
it was the intellectual and creative heart of classical Greece,
only two consecutive terms were permitted. Any citizen
the home of both Plato and his teacher Socrates, and the
could run for council membership, but since the work and
adopted home of Plato’s student Aristotle, all of whose
time required were considerable, the poorer citizens and
ideas have influenced Western educational thought.
those who lived far from the center of the city-state were
not likely to serve. After candidates were identified, they
Athenian Political Economy Athens was first of all
were chosen by lottery rather than by election. Athenians
a city-state: a political and geographical unit that included
considered it an important mark of their democratic way
a central city and the surrounding villages and lands
that they could trust any citizen, chosen by the luck of the
under its protection. During the 5th-century Golden
draw, to serve in their legislative council.
Age of Athens, its population was 350,000 to 400,000
people, including citizens, slaves, metics (neither citizens
nor slaves), and children. The foundation of the economy
Plato taught at the school he founded, the Academy, with
was agriculture, although there was some limited trade,
the aim of developing an ideal balance of reasoning powers,
emotional moderation, and physical fitness.
substantial handcrafting of goods for sale, and signifi-
cant wealth achieved through victory in war. Most of the
productive labor was done not by citizens but by metics
and slaves.4
The most prominent Athenian social category was
that of citizen. There were perhaps 50,000 to 70,000 cit-
izens in Athens, less than one-fifth of the population, but
they constituted the governing membership of the city-
state. Citizens came from several social classes, ranging
from the old Athenian aristocracy to peasants in remote
Athenian villages. What these citizens had in common
is that they were male, adult, and (with few exceptions)
born in Athens. Unless they were very wealthy, they were
expected to serve in the military, which the very wealthy
supported through taxes rather than combat.
Some citizens farmed, a few did craft work, and a very
few pursued commerce, which was considered unseemly.
All citizens owned property, sometimes in very small plots,
sometimes in great tracts. The wealthiest did not labor on
the land, but had their slaves do the work. Leisure was
considered very desirable since it brought an opportunity
to cultivate the mind and character and to participate
in the city’s governance. Consequently, citizens avoided
labor if they could afford to.
The most distinctive feature of citizenship was the
opportunity to be a voting member of the Athenian
general assembly and to serve on the legislative coun-
cil. It was the business of the council—formally called
the Council of Five Hundred because of the number of
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 12
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
Introduction Chapter 1 13
It is probable that selection by lot came to an end
Historical Context
shortly after Aristotle’s death in 322 b.c., as the clas-
Classical Athens
sical period drew to a close. During the time of his
teacher, Plato, oligarchy (government by the privileged
The few selected events in this table help situate the discus-
few) had ruled briefly from 404 to 403 b.c. Therefore,
sion of education in Athens among cultural events that may
it should not be assumed that the stable democratic
already be familiar to you. Each of these events provides
a clue about the cultural practices and institutions (political
processes that prevailed at the time of Plato’s birth
economy) and/or the beliefs and values (ideology) of classical
(429 b.c.) continued unbroken throughout the Golden
Athens. As this chapter shows, education in Athens would
Age. Plato’s career was a time of tension between the
reflect the culture’s practices, beliefs, and values.
established aristocratic families of Athens and oth-
Before the Classical Athenian Era
ers who sought democracy. Although Aristotle’s life
800 B.C.
Homer writes the first epic poems, including
spanned a more stable period of Greek democracy than
the Iliad and the Odyssey
Plato’s, the rift between the wealthy few and the poorer
800
Sparta and other Greek city-states established
common citizen remained.
776
Olympic games begin
Despite the achievements of the Athenians in estab-
750
Greeks adapt alphabet for writing
594
Solon establishes government reforms that lay
lishing a more democratic way of life, the overwhelm-
basis for Athenian democracy by property own-
ing majority of inhabitants were systematically excluded
ers; serfdom is abolished
from citizenship. Among these were Athenian women,
slaves, children, and metics. Women were not allowed
Classical Athens
508
Athenian democracy extended to all Athenian
to participate in public life either socially or politically.
freemen rather than only landed aristocrats
The “proper” place for the wife of a citizen was in the
496
The playwright Sophocles is born
household, where she could supervise domestic slaves, do
484
The historian Herodotus is born
household chores, and teach her daughters how to weave,
469
Socrates, philosopher and teacher of Plato, is
garden, and so on. Women who were not wives or daugh-
born
450
The age of Pericles begins and will last until
ters of citizens were slaves or metics.
429 B.C.
Despite major differences, the institution of slavery
450
The Greek war against Persia ends
in Athens bears some similarity to the historical institu-
447
The Parthenon and other buildings are erected
tion of slavery in the United States. Athenian slavery,
on the Acropolis
like that in the southern United States, was chattel slav-
428
Plato, student of Socrates and founder of
European philosophy, is born
ery, in which slaves were private property. This was not
411
An oligarchic regime briefly rules Athens,
the case in Sparta, where slaves were state-owned. Also
followed by Spartan rule
like U.S. slavery 2,000 years later, slavery in Athens was
403
Athenian democracy is restored
fundamental to the life of leisure that the upper-class
387
Plato founds Academy at Athens
citizen could expect to pursue. Without slavery, the eco-
384
Plato’s student Aristotle is born
,335
Lyceum, Aristotle’s school, is opened
nomic and class systems could not have been what they
334–324
Aristotle’s student Alexander the Great
were. This does not mean that only the wealthy owned
conquers vast empire, including parts of Asia
slaves. As was later true of southern white farmers in the
and Africa
United States, poorer Athenians could sometimes afford
Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
one or two slaves, who might be required to labor in the
As an exercise in analytic thought, identify one example
house, the field, the shop, or all three. Some slaves also
where democratic ideology interacts with the dimension of
managed farms and shops for their owners. One of the
Athenian political economy.
things that connects the development of the American
and Athenian democratic progressions is the following
paradox. Both histories show that as democracy devel-
the view that the Greeks were a separate and superior
oped, characterized by citizen and not monarchial rule,
race of people. When Athenians defeated other Greeks
so did slavery develop.
in battle, men from opposing city-states were rarely
As was later true in the United States, the Greeks
made slaves, although women and children might be
justified the institution of slavery on racist grounds.
enslaved. Most slaves, however, came to Athens through
Non-Greeks were judged fit only to be slaves based on
a vigorous trade with eastern slave dealers.
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 13
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
14
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Metics were a class of Athenian residents who were
of public education is in line with the Athenian notion
neither slaves nor citizens. They came freely to Athens
that human reason is real, is not restricted to nobility,
from other lands and were allowed to pursue their lives,
and needs to be grown and developed. This provided an
but were not granted the voting rights of citizenship.
ideal, a guideline for including ordinary persons in the
Some farmed, some became successful traders and
process of education. Later in this book you will see how
bankers—occupations that were considered beneath
democracy itself becomes a promise that reason and
the dignity of a citizen—and many became craftsmen.
education will work toward its perfection. However, it
Some were allowed the privilege of going to battle for
is important to begin understanding also the paradox
Athens if they were able to purchase armor, for each
involved in this extension of promise. To be worthy of
soldier supplied his own.
education is, for the Greeks, to be human.
Metics worked side by side with slaves and citizens
Humanity is an endowment, however, that is socially
in a variety of occupations. Except for slaves, workers
constructed under conditions of privilege and property
controlled the conditions of their labor, owning their
rights. The history of democracy becomes the history of
tools, setting their own schedules, and setting the prices
social struggles by groups excluded from the full rights
on finished products. Even massive projects, such as the
expected by “humanity.” Opportunity for those rights
building of the Parthenon, were contracted in small por-
has historically been the exclusive property of those in
tions to individual teams of workers—citizens, slaves,
greater control of power and property, and thus the
and metics together—each man taking responsibility for
material conditions required for the exercise of freedom.
his own piecework. On such civic projects, these crafts-
Thus, women, slaves, immigrant workers without
men contracted individually with the city for their ser-
property, and so on are deprived of full education, or sim-
vices, and were not employed by a large, wage-paying
ply trained for service, as a coincidence of their distance
construction contractor, as is typically the case today.
from the centers of power. “Humanity” thus conceived
For one citizen to hire out his labor to another was, for
is only incompletely “natural.” One’s social status and
an Athenian, a violation of his status as a free person.
property condition the degree of access to education.
The military, for which all male citizens were trained,
To live in accord with reason and with the virtues
was a significant feature of the political economy. First,
of Athenian culture, rather than according to arbitrary
of course, it protected the city-state against aggressive
authority or in accord with momentary desires or incli-
neighbors, such as Sparta. Second, it helped shape the
nations, was, in the Athenian view, to live freely. Politi-
classical conception of citizenship by replacing the great
cal democracy was important so that each citizen might
warrior hero of Homer’s time with multitudes of com-
live as reason and virtue dictated—to live as one chose
mon men who could win honor for themselves and
and to choose wisely. Women, metics, and slaves were
their city. The army was supported by taxes paid by the
believed to be inferior in rational capacity, and thus
wealthy as well as by the soldiers, whose honor it was to
their relative lack of freedom and political participation
defend Athens.
was justified by the dominant ideology.
Athenians believed that the road to virtue as well as
Athenian Ideology To classical Athenians, the ideal
to freedom was paved with reason. Virtue resided in act-
life was one led in accord with Reason and Virtue.
ing justly, and justice was determined by reason. They
Through reason humans could perceive the true reali-
believed that virtue resided in a harmony among the
ties of the universe, and through virtue they could
physical, emotional, and rational dimensions of each
live in harmony with that universe. Athenians viewed
human being and that it was the rational dimension that
the world not as a random tangle of hostile mysteries
must ultimately determine the proper harmony. Virtue
beyond human understanding but as an orderly sys-
also was to be found in moderation in all things, and the
tem governed by principles of nature that are discov-
slogan “Nothing in excess” served as a guide for daily liv-
erable through observation and logical reflection. They
ing.5 Athenians sought virtue in balancing the needs of
believed that humankind, particularly male Athenians,
the individual with the needs of society, balancing work
who held citizenship, was distinctively equipped with
with leisure, balancing cultivation of the mind and the
powers of reason that revealed the workings of the nat-
body, and so on. Essential to understanding this ideol-
ural world. It was this rationality, they believed, that
ogy, however, is its justification of humanity for some
equipped common citizens to govern and be governed by
and a life in service for others. However, the inspira-
turn in the Athenian democracy. Our own conception
tion for democracy is the growth of the notion that it
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 14
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
Introduction Chapter 1 15
is unnatural and thus unjust to exclude entire classes of
of citizens was able to rely on a slave and noncitizen
persons from “humanity.”
population to do the hard work of producing neces-
sary goods. For Athenian citizens, the most important
Athenian Schooling The schools of classical Athens
aspect of life was not material wealth but the develop-
clearly reflected the political–economic and ideologi-
ment of wisdom and virtue. The school curriculum
cal traits of Athenian society. Schools were available to
reflected these priorities in its concentration on activi-
all young male Athenians, for as citizenship was their
ties of body and mind that would help develop the
birthright, so was the education needed for enlight-
good man and citizen.
ened citizenship. These schools were private, but quite
The case of classical Athens has been given extended
inexpensive. Females and slaves did not attend schools,
treatment in order to introduce issues that will recur
although they often received tutoring in order to con-
throughout the book. For example, the Athenian notion
duct their affairs and to teach young males at home.
of democracy becomes subject to criticism when it is
Early schooling was not compulsory; it was assumed that
seen that the majority of Athenians were excluded from
all Athenian boys would attend in order to develop their
political decision making. This historical backdrop
minds and bodies for virtue and wisdom. Boys attended
enables us to examine more clearly whether major seg-
primary school from about age 6 to age 14, and the cur-
ments of our society have been, and continue to be,
riculum consisted of gymnastics, literature, and music.
similarly excluded.
Musical training might include instrumental and vocal
Further, Aristotle’s notion that a democratic soci-
performance, but was never far from the stories and his-
ety seeks to provide the same basic education to all its
tories that were accompanied by voice and, often, lyre.
citizens, so that all may be prepared to exercise rational
Those who could afford further schooling from private
judgment in ruling and being ruled, raises questions
teachers—and those lucky enough to find teachers like
about whether our society seeks to provide a similar edu-
Plato, who taught free of charge—went to secondary
cation to all its citizens or whether, as in feudal Europe,
school from age 14 to age 18. There they continued their
different kinds of education are deemed suitable for dif-
work in gymnastics, literature, and music but studied
ferent people according to their station in life. At issue
dialectic and philosophy as well. From age 18 to age 20,
too is the degree to which contemporary society embod-
military training was compulsory for all males. The city-
ies the Athenian faith that all citizens are endowed
state’s security, after all, depended on its ability to defend
with sufficient rationality to be entrusted with public
itself against enemy states.
decision -making powers and whether the primary goals
The curriculum of gymnastics combined with music
of schooling include the greatest possible development
and literature was grounded partly in the Athenian
of those powers for all citizens.
respect for a balance of healthy mind and healthy body.
Finally, the Athenian notion that individual freedom
It was grounded also in the view that rigorous gym-
should include self-governance in the workplace, not
nastics, including boxing and wrestling, contributed to
just periodic civic participation, raises questions about
the preparation for military service. The attention to
our limited view of what freedom means in contem-
music and literature was preparation for a life of wis-
porary society. Many other points of contact between
dom, virtue, citizenship, and appreciation of the arts
Athenian and contemporary social and educational ide-
of leisure, such as poetry and drama. The school cur-
als exist. Several will emerge in subsequent chapters.
riculum did not directly or specifically prepare youths
for vocations or occupations. Plato noted that “techni-
cal instruction and all instruction which aimed only
at money-making was vulgar and did not deserve the
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
name education. True education aimed solely at virtue,
OF EDUCATION
making the child yearn to be a good citizen, skilled to
rule and obey.”6
The purpose of this brief section is to begin a process
Such a position is understandable in light of the
that to some degree you will have already begun on
Athenian regard for the leisurely pursuits of con-
your own: shaping your own philosophy of educa-
templation, politics, and appreciation of the arts. These
tion. Philosophy of education is on the one hand a
leisurely aspirations are in turn understandable within
formal field of scholarship, with roots in European
the context of a society in which a privileged minority
culture that are traceable in Jewish, Christian, and
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 15
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
16
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Islamic texts; in ancient and classical Greece; and
students should know (their knowledge), what they
elsewhere. Today’s philosophy of education, as a
should be able to do (skills), and also what kinds
field of academic study, also has roots in Eastern
of values, habits, and inclinations they should have
culture in religious texts and in the teachings of Con-
(often referred to as dispositions). Attending to all
fucius. And today there are numerous journals and
of these different kinds of goals is important. Oth-
books that focus on this academic field and are read
erwise, for example, a teacher might successfully
by specialists in the philosophy of education.
use the threat of severe punishment to make sure
But at the same time, many teachers and school
that every child learns certain mathematical skills.
administrators who are not specialists in philoso-
But if the cost were that some or all students hated
phy of education can rightly be said to be guided
learning mathematics as a result, it would be a case
by their own philosophies of education. Such edu-
of serving some goals (knowledge and skills) at the
cators are thoughtful and clear about their educa-
expense of others (a disposition to want to learn
tional goals and about the best educational methods
more mathematics). It is doubtful that the teacher
for achieving their goals. In addition, they can tell
would desire such an outcome, or that he or she
you why they prefer these goals and methods: they
would want to justify it.
can provide justifications for them. It might be said
In the preceding section that describes education
that, at the very least, a coherent philosophy of
in classical Athens, one can find evidence of most
education is explicit about educational goals, meth-
of these elements of a philosophy of education.
ods for attaining those goals, and the justifications
Athenian educators had certain goals they wanted
for both. Those justifications will inevitably reflect
to achieve in education, specific ways of achieving
the institutions and practices of our society (politi-
them, and justifications for their goals and methods.
cal economy) as well as the culture’s beliefs and
If philosophy is the discipline of thinking about think-
values (ideology). At the same time, teachers and
ing, it might be said that Aristotle demonstrated how
administrators have to make choices about those
an educator could become thoughtful, purposeful,
parts of the social order and prevailing ideology
and clear in his thinking about the ideas that guided
they want their practices to serve: that the United
his educational practice. When educators today artic-
States has one of the largest prison systems of any
ulate their goals, methods, and justifications in ways
nation on earth, for example, does not lead teach-
that are thoughtful, purposeful, and clear, it is fair to
ers to set a goal that a similar percentage of their
say they are articulating a philosophy of education.
students should be prepared for imprisonment. And
Different successful educators—teachers and school
simply because racism continues to be a part of the
administrators alike—might well articulate different
belief system of many people in the culture does
philosophies of education; it is doubtful that there is
not mean that a percentage of children should be
only one right way to educate or one right way to
taught to embrace racist values. Educators need to
think about educating. In this volume, you will be
make choices about what ideals they will serve,
given many opportunities to shape, revisit, and revise
and how they will serve them. Those choices might
your own thinking about your philosophy of educa-
be said to be based on the philosophies of educa-
tion; the knowledge, skills, and dispositions you most
tion that guide teachers and school leaders.
value, why you value them, and whether you value
Educational goals might have to do with overarch-
them for all people or just for some. Do you believe
ing social goals (such as contributing to a more lit-
that all people should be prepared to go to college,
erate or a more democratic society), or they might
for example, or just some people? The distinctions
address individual learning outcomes (such as, each
among schooling, training, and education might also
child in my classes will be able to read at least at
be useful for your thinking. Should all members of
grade level by the end of the year).
Educational
society today be educated, or is it sufficient to edu-
goals can be ambitious and complex. For example,
cate some while offering only training for others?
a teacher’s goals should probably address what
After all, how much education does it take to work
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 16
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
Introduction Chapter 1 17
in the fast-food industry? Or should educators make
methods? You may, if you like, use the concepts
choices that are not defined simply by the limited
of knowledge, skills, and dispositions as ways to
demands of the workplace?
help you think about your goals. Your justifications
In the accompanying Primary Source Reading,
might address what you think is good for a per-
you will notice that Aristotle begins right away
son’s happiness and fulfillment as an individual,
with a question about Athenian education goals.
and they might also address (like Aristotle) what
He asks what kind of society his contemporaries
kind of society you wish to contribute to with your
are seeking through education: if a nondemocratic
education practice. In each chapter, there will be
society, then certain implications follow for educa-
a section like this called “Building a Philosophy of
tion. But if a democratic society is desired, then a
Education” that will provide you an opportunity
different approach to education follows.
to become increasingly thoughtful, purposeful,
You will find it useful, after reading this chap-
and clear about your educational ideas. This is an
ter, if you take 15 minutes or so to record your
example of where good theory can become very
thinking so that you have a sketch of your phi-
practical. If humans are beings whose actions are
losophy of education at this point in time: a sketch
guided by their understandings and values, then
that you will have a chance to develop and revise
what you understand and what you value is almost
for the remainder of this volume and for years to
certain to affect your actions as a teacher. Devel-
come. One way to frame this sketch is simply to
oping a coherent educational philosophy will not
respond to the following: What are your goals for
only make your understanding and values clearer
your students; how will you achieve those goals;
to you; that clarity will surely guide the day-by-
and what are your reasons for those goals and
day choices you make.
Primary Source Reading
Barker’s 1940s translation reads strangely to modern
readers at first, so read carefully and thoughtfully. Take
your time, and see if you can hear Aristotle’s message.
According to translator Ernest Barker, Aristotle wrote The
He begins with governors and governed, and he ends
Politics over a period of several years before his death
with the bodies, souls, and minds of children.
in 322 B.C. Thomas Jefferson, an architect of American
democracy and, like Aristotle, an educator, philosopher,
and slaveholder, was said to have been reading from The
Politics when he died in 1826, more than 2,000 years
The Politics of Aristotle
later. The timeless issues Aristotle addresses in this
brief section concern the purposes of public education.
Aristotle
What’s the point of education? Aristotle says we can’t
answer that question until we decide what kind of soci-
As all political associations are composed of governors
ety we want. That is, certain kinds of education will sup-
and governed, we have to consider whether the two
port some kinds of beliefs and values and not others;
should be distinguished for life, or merged together in
and certain kinds of education will support some kinds
a single body. The system of education will necessarily
of government and socioeconomic order and not others.
vary according to the answer we give. We may imagine
When you know what kind of society you wish to have,
one set of Circumstances in which it would be obvi-
says Aristotle, you can talk about how to educate people
ously better that a lasting distinction should once and
for that society. In other words, education is intimately
for all be established between governors and governed.
linked to political economy and ideology.
This would be if there were one class in the state surpass-
ing all others as much as gods and heroes are supposed
to surpass mankind—a class of men so outstanding,
Source: Excerpted from The Politics of Aristotle edited and translated by Ernest Barker by permission of Oxford University Press.
physically as well as mentally, that the superiority of the
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 17
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
18
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
ruling stock was indisputably clear to their subjects. But
which young freemen can honourably do. It is not the
that is a difficult assumption to make; and we have noth-
inherent nature of actions, but the end or object for
ing in actual life like the gulf between kings and subjects
which they are done, which make one action differ from
which the writer Scylax describes as existing in India.
another in the way of honour or dishonour.
We may therefore draw the conclusion, which can be
[We may now treat of learning, how to govern.] We
defended on many grounds, that all should share alike in
have laid it down that the excellence of the full citizen
a system of government under which they rule and are
who shares in the government is the same as that of the
ruled by turns. In a society of peers equality means that
good man. We have also assumed that the man who
all should have the same rights: and a constitution can
begins by being a subject must ultimately share in the
hardly survive if it is founded on injustice [i.e., if it gives
government [and will therefore require the same sort of
different rights to men who are of the same quality]. The
excellence as the good man]. It follows on this that the
subject citizens will then be joined by all [the serfs] of
legislator must labour to ensure that his citizens become
the country -side in a common policy of revolution; and
good men. He must therefore know what institutions
the civic body will be too small to cope successfully with
will produce this result, and what is the end or aim to
all its enemies. On the other hand, it cannot be denied
which a good life is directed.
that there should be a difference between governors and
There are two different parts of the soul. One of
governed. How they can differ, and yet share alike, is a
these parts has a rational principle intrinsically and in
dilemma which legislators have to solve. We have already
its own nature. The other has not; but it has the capac-
touched on a possible solution in a previous chapter.
ity for obeying such a principle. When we speak of a
Nature, we have suggested, has provided us with the
man as being “good,” we mean that he has the good-
distinction we need. She has divided a body of citizens
nesses of these two parts of the soul. But in which of
who are all generically the same into two different age-
the parts is the end of man’s life more particularly to be
groups, a younger and an older, one of them meant to
found? The answer is one which admits of no doubt to
be governed and the other to act as the government.
those who accept the division just made. In the world
Youth never resents being governed, or thinks itself
of nature as well as of art the lower always exists for
better than its governors; and it is all the less likely to
the sake of the higher. The part of the soul which has
do so if it knows that it will take over government on
rational principle is the higher part. [It is therefore the
reaching a proper maturity. In one sense, therefore, it
part in which the end of man’s life is more particularly
has to be that governors and governed are the same sort
to be found.] But this part may in turn be divided, on
of persons; in another, that they are different. The same
the scheme which we generally follow into two parts of
will be true of their education: from one point of view
its own. Rational principle, according to that scheme,
it must be the same, from another it has to be differ-
is partly practical, partly speculative.
ent, and, as the saying goes, “If you would learn to gov-
It is obvious, therefore, that the part of the soul which
ern well, you must first learn how to obey.” [We may
has the principle must fall into two corresponding parts.
first treat of learning how to obey.] Government, as has
We may add that as the parts of the soul have their hier-
already been said in our first part, may be conducted in
archy, so, too, have the activities of those parts. It fol-
two different ways. One way is to govern in the inter-
lows on this that those who can attain all the activities
est of the governors: the other, to govern in the interest
possible [i.e., rational activity of the speculative order,
of the governed. The former way is what we call “des-
rational activity of the practical order, and the activ-
potic” [i.e., a government of slaves]; the latter is what
ity of obedience to rational principle], or two of those
we call “the government of freemen.” [This is the sort
activities, will be bound to prefer the activity of the part
of government which the young must begin by learning
which is in its nature the higher. All of us always prefer
to obey; but they must also learn to obey some orders
the highest we can attain.
which may seem more appropriate to a government of
Life as a whole is also divided into its different
slaves.] Some of the duties imposed [on the free] dif-
parts—action and leisure, war and peace; and in the
fer [from those of slaves] not in the work they involve,
sphere of action we further distinguish acts which are
but in the object for which they are to be done. This
merely necessary, or merely simply useful, from acts
means that a good deal of the work which is generally
which are good in themselves. The preferences which we
accounted menial may none the less be the sort of work
give to the parts of life and their different activities will
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 18
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
Introduction Chapter 1 19
inevitably follow the same general line as those which
living. In any case the partisans of Sparta are in error
we give to the parts of the soul and their different activi-
about the type of government for which the legislator
ties. War must therefore be regarded as only a means to
should show a preference. [It is not, as they think, the
peace; action as a means to leisure; and acts which are
“despotic” type]: the government of freemen is a finer
merely necessary, or merely and simply useful, as means
government, and a government more connected with
to acts which are good in themselves. The legislation of
goodness, than any form of despotism. . . .
the true statesman must be framed with a view to all of
Excellence must not be sought by a training such as
these factors. In the first place, it must cover the differ-
the Spartan. The Spartans are like the rest of the world
ent parts of the soul and their different activities; and in
in their view of the nature of life’s highest goods [which
this field it should be directed more to the higher than
they identify, like everybody else, with the external
the lower, and rather to ends than means. In the second
goods of fortune]: they only differ from others in think-
place it must also cover, and it must place in the same
ing that the right way of getting them is to cultivate
perspective, the different parts or ways of life and the
a single excellence [i.e., military courage]. Regarding
different categories of acts. It is true that the citizens of
external goods as higher than any others, and the enjoy-
our state must be able to lead a life of action and war;
ment they give as greater than that derived from the
but they must be even more able to lead a life of leisure
general cultivation of excellence, [they cultivate only the
and peace. It is true, again, that they must be able to do
single excellence which they consider useful as a means
necessary or useful acts; but they must be even more able
to securing those goods. But it is the whole of excel-
to do good acts. These are the general aims which ought
lence which ought to be cultivated], and cultivated for
to be followed in the education of childhood and of the
its own sake, as our argument has already shown. That
stages of adolescence which still require education.
still leaves us, however, with the problem, “How, and
The Greek states of our day which are counted as
by what means, is a general excellence to be achieved?”
having the best constitutions [and therefore the best
Using the distinction already made in a previ-
“ways of life”], and the legislators who framed their
ous chapter, we may say that the means required for
constitutional systems, have fallen short of this ideal.
achieving general excellence are natural endowment,
It is plain that their constitutions have not been made
habit, and rational principle. So far as the first of these
with a view to the higher ends of life, or their laws
is concerned, we have already determined [in c. VII]
and systems of education directed to all the virtues.
the character of the endowment with which our citi-
On the contrary, there has been a vulgar decline into
zens should start. It remains to consider the other two
the cultivation of qualities supposed to be useful and
means, and to determine whether training in habit
of a more profitable character. A similar spirit appears
or training in rational principle ought to come first.
in some of our recent writers who have adopted this
The two modes of training must be adjusted to one
point of view. They laud the constitution of Sparta,
another as harmoniously as possible [which not only
and they admire the aim of the Spartan legislator in
means starting first with the mode that ought to come
directing the whole of his legislation to the goal of
first, but also directing both modes alike to the same
conquest and war. This is a view which can be easily
sort of high purpose]; otherwise rational principle
refuted by argument, and it has now been also refuted
may fail to attain the highest ideal, and the training
by the evidence of fact. Most men are believers in the
given through habit may show a similar defect. With
cause of empire, on the ground that empire leads to a
a view to this result, we may assume two things as
large accession of material prosperity. It is evidently in
evident. First, in the sphere of man’s life (as in all life
this spirit that Thibron, like all the other writers on the
generally), birth has a first beginning [i.e., the union
constitution of Sparta, lauds its legislator for having
of parents], but the end attained from such a begin-
trained men to meet danger and so created an empire.
ning is only a step to some further end. The exercise
To-day the Spartans have lost their empire; and we can
of rational principle and thought is the ultimate end
all see for ourselves that they were not a happy com-
of man’s nature. It is therefore with a view to the exer-
munity and their legislator was not right. It is indeed a
cise of these faculties that we should regulate, from
strange result of his labours: here is a people which has
the first, the birth and the training in habits of our
stuck to his laws and never been hindered in carrying
citizens. Secondly, as soul and body are two, so there
them out and yet it has lost all that makes life worth
are also two parts of the soul, the irrational and the
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 19
29/08/12 9:15 AM
Confi rming Pages
20
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
rational; and there are also two corresponding states
which only appear, as a rule, when they grow older.
of these parts—the state of appetite, and the state of
The conclusion which follows is obvious. Children’s
pure thought. In order of time and in date of birth,
bodies should be given attention before their souls;
the body is prior to the soul, and the irrational part
and their appetites should be the next part of them
of the soul is prior to the rational. This is proved by
to be regulated. But the regulation of their appetites
the fact that all the signs of appetite—such as anger,
should be intended for the benefit of their minds—
self-will, and desire—are visible in children from their
just as the attention given to their bodies should be
very birth; while reasoning and thought are faculties
intended for the benefit of their souls.
Developing Your
2. Aristotle argued that the primary purpose of
education should be to develop human reason.
Professional Vocabulary
In your view, how does this compare with the
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
primary purpose(s) of education in U.S. schools
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
today? Support your view with evidence from your
important to education.
experience .
Athenian citizenship
schooling versus
3. Choose any single feature of schooling as you have
education
experienced it—organization, rules, processes, sub-
Athenian slavery
jects taught—and explain how that feature reflects
social foundations of
democracy
elements of the ideology and political economy of
education
the larger society.
education through
social theory
participation
training versus
Online Resources
ideology
education
political economy
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
Questions for Discussion
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
and Examination
articles and news feeds.
1. Aristotle believed that in a democratic society all
citizens ought to have the same basic education:
one that would equip them to serve as legislators
and obey laws intelligently. In a nondemocratic
society, the basic education people received would
be different for different people because some
would be equipped to rule and others to follow.
Judging from your experience in schools, which
of Aristotle’s models more resembles American
schooling? Explain your position.
toz24404_ch01_001-021.indd 20
29/08/12 9:15 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 2
Liberty and Literacy The Jeffersonian Ideal
Chapter Overview
Chapter 2 treats political economy, ideology, and
However, we must also seriously contend
schooling in the 50 years after the American Rev-
with the degree to which the development of
olution. Chief features of the political economy of
reason for some was purchased at the price of
the early republic include an agrarian economy,
freedom and access to reason for others. We
a decentralized republican government, rela-
must contend with the legacy that the foun-
tive homogeneity of local culture, and a social
dations of reason and scientific knowledge
hierarchy defined by race and gender. Ideologi-
grow dependent on human classifications that
cally, the origins of democratic thought in early
correspond to the animal classification. Ironically,
America can be understood in the context of the
these include a nascent scientific racism that
breakdown of feudalism in Europe and the rise
excludes persons from full recognition of civil
of classical liberalism in Europe and the United
and educational rights. This is not an attempt
States. Each of the following features of classi-
to discredit Jefferson for his contribution to the
cal liberalism helps define the character of the
language of freedom in our democratic life. It is
ideology shared by Jefferson and his contempo-
an effort to try to understand this language and
raries: a commitment to human reason, a belief
how it coexisted with the evils of exploitation
in a universe governed by natural law, a con-
and slavery.
ception of human virtue shaped by sacred and
One can rightly criticize Jefferson’s racist
secular influences, a belief in the inevitability of
and sexist assumptions, but in doing so, it
progress, a newfound sense of nascent national-
is important to recognize that those assump-
ism, and a many-sided concept of freedom.
tions were part and parcel of the limits of
The classic liberal commitment to education—
classical liberal commitments to such ideals
and, for Jefferson, free public education—can be
as reason, freedom, and democracy. The limi-
understood in relationship to each of the compo-
tations of the dominant ideology are identi-
nents of classical liberalism previously identified.
fied not to excuse Jefferson from his biases
To examine Jefferson’s beliefs about popular
but to show the extent to which the mean-
schooling requires an understanding of his views
ings of terms such as “equality,” “freedom,”
about the relationship between participatory
“education,” and “virtue” vary with historical
democracy and education.
context.
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 22
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Early in American history, children learned to read using literature written for adults.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 2 seeks to
5. This chapter raises questions about whether
achieve are these:
there might be a potential for conflict between
ideals of meritocracy and ideals of democracy,
1. In this chapter readers should be able to talk
particularly if the definition of “merit” is derived
and write about the relationships among various
from a segment of the population that is not
dimensions of political economy, ideology, and
representative of the entire population.
the nature of schooling in the early republic.
6. Readers should think critically and appreciatively
2. Readers should begin to critically evaluate
about Jefferson’s proposals for who should
the strengths and weaknesses of classical lib-
fund and control public schooling in Virginia,
eralism, noting its potential for realization of
comparing those ideas with their knowledge of
democratic ideals but noting its limitations on
how schooling is funded and controlled today.
population groups excluded because of race,
gender, and economic class.
7. Finally, this chapter is intended to equip readers
with increased ability to interpret the many issues
3. Readers should be able to understand Jefferson’s
presented in two Primary Source Readings: one
rationale for his educational proposals as it
by a prominent proponent of the American
relates to the political economy and ideology of
Revolution, Thomas Paine.
that time.
4. Readers should begin to entertain and evaluate
alternative views of democracy: that it can be
construed as a system of representative govern-
ment but also as an ideal of human interaction
in which all individuals are expected to share in
making the decisions that affect their lives.
23
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 23
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
24
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Analytic Framework
The Early American Period
Political Economy
Ideology
Agrarian society
Classical liberalism
Few urban centers
Patriarchy
Homogeneous communities
Progress via revolution
Family as unit of production
Reason
Slavery
Republican virtue
Revolutionary society
Natural aristocracy
Limited republicanism
Capitalism/freedom
Power of the bourgeoisie
Laissez-faire
Separation of church
Faculty psychology
and
state
Schooling
3 Rs
Introduction: Why Jefferson?
Jefferson was arguably the single most prominent
American liberal during the era of the Revolution
Our examination of American education begins with
and the early republic. While his vocations were law
one of this nation’s most important and controver-
and agriculture, he gained fame as a scientist, phi-
sial figures, Thomas Jefferson. Of particular interest
losopher, and statesman, and as a revolutionary rec-
has been the controversy surrounding the argument
ognized throughout the Western world. At age 33, he
that Jefferson fathered four children by a slave, Sally
authored the American Declaration of Independence.
Hemmings. Thus we witness the apparent paradox
Subsequently, he served as governor of Virginia, U.S.
of Jefferson as both slave owner and author of the
ambassador to France, the first American secretary
“language of equal rights” in his Declaration of Inde-
of state, vice president, and president of the United
pendence.1 Students who care to research the Web
States for two terms. His retirement activities included
for “Thomas Jefferson” will discover ongoing dia-
agricultural experiments and the founding of the
logue today among his critics and defenders. Why do
University of Virginia. During Jefferson’s entire adult
Jefferson’s social and educational ideals continue to
life, he wrote about and worked for education. His
intrigue people today?
educational thought was not simply another aspect of
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 24
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 25
his many talents; it was an integral part of all his other
potential. The burden of slavery and patriarchy lies
work.
heavily on the promise of democracy. In a recent book,
Yet while his greatness is praised, serious questions
Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Garry Wills argues that
continue to be raised about Jefferson’s ideas and prac-
Jefferson’s presidency itself was dependent on main-
tices. What was his commitment to the “self-evident”
taining the three-fifths slave vote representation in the
truth, “that all men are created equal,” which he pro-
Constitution, votes that remanded directly to owners,
claimed in the Declaration of Independence? Did he
in proportion to their slave numbers. In addition the
believe it applied to women, African Americans, and
Louisiana Purchase was pursued not for the grandeur
Native Americans? How far did he follow his stated belief
and power it would bring to the Union, but primarily
in intellectual freedom? What level of trust did he have
to include slave territories. Wills is a proven admirer of
in the “common man”? To what extent did his belief in
Jefferson, and author of two other prize-winning books
the “natural aristocracy” conflict with democratic ide-
on him. His account of Jefferson’s blind spot on slavery
als, especially in his educational proposals? Why does
is a reminder that with all that is admirable regarding his
he appear to reject the vestige of feudalism represented
contribution comes a price that is etched in the politi-
by hereditary aristocracy and hereditary servitude, yet
cal economy of American life. The growth of democ-
maintain crucial limits regarding the freedom of some
racy where human reason is celebrated has been over an
groups of Americans? These kinds of questions should
undertow of other arguments that some persons are not
be kept in mind as we analyze Jefferson’s ideas and work.
fully human, and thus do not merit full access to the life
Jefferson’s prominence as a spokesperson for the pre-
of the mind. This is a powerful legacy that has nation-
vailing ideology of his time and his dedication to educa-
state democracy replacing feudalism at a time when state
tion make him useful in understanding the problems
powers thrive on the repression of colonized peoples.2
and educational ideals of early liberalism in the United
Jefferson and his contemporaries debated social and
States. By examining the revolutionary era through the
educational problems with clarity and articulated their con-
lens of Jefferson’s thought, one can see the strengths
clusions with a force seldom rivaled thereafter. This chapter
and limitations of the ideology, political economy, and
first discusses the political economy of the Jeffersonian era,
educational arrangements of a formative period in the
examining the geography, population, work culture, family
evolution of American schooling.
structure, and governmental arrangements of the time. In
The study of Jefferson’s legacy also brings us to a great
examining these aspects of the society separately, one must
paradox in American life, which also has its roots in clas-
remember that they influence one another in complex
sical thought: the exploitation of men and women on
ways—only a few of which will be captured in the follow-
the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, and social class. The
ing descriptions.
growth of a great democracy through education cannot be
watered by the runoff of social exploitation and exclusion.
Political Economy
Yet that is part of the legacy of classical Athens, which we
saw in Chapter 1. The vestiges of exclusion continue to
of the Jeffersonian Era
affect education, where educational privileges, from lib-
eral education to university access, are connected inextri-
Geography, Transportation,
cably to property ownership and private wealth. Access
and Communication
to knowledge in this period is freighted with the bitter
legacy of slavery. Women’s access to schooling is almost
Geographically, the new nation could be divided in several
nonexistent, and predicated on role-playing, manners,
different ways. Most often it was thought to be separated
and “civilized” refinements. Citizenship and the reason
into three regions: New England, the middle Atlantic
required to sustain the health of the commonwealth are
states, and the southern states. New England was moun-
in the reserved seats of the American dream.
tainous, with rocky and relatively unproductive soil and
Our study of Jefferson is an effort to confront directly
harsh winters but a rugged coast with fine harbors. As a
this legacy, and to search for the roots of expanded educa-
result, New England became the center of fishing, ship-
tional rights in the work of a man who owned slaves and
ping, and mercantile interests. During the three decades
who would seek only the most menial training for them,
before the Civil War, it became the manufacturing center
who argued for women’s public education at the most
of the nation. The middle Atlantic states were charac-
rudimentary level, and not at all for women’s leadership
terized by rich farmland, navigable rivers, and excellent
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 25
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
26
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Thomas Jefferson and many other colonial leaders felt that land ownership would
encourage the attitude of independence and self-sufficiency needed in a democracy.
ports. New York City and Philadelphia soon became the
A third division, a concept that fired the imagina-
leading ports and largest cities of the nation. The major
tions of Americans in general and Jefferson in particular,
exports from these states were grains and livestock. The
was between the settled lands and the “frontier.” This
southern states were rich agricultural areas known first
frontier was constantly moving west. First, the frontier
for tobacco, rice, and indigo. After the invention of the
was western Massachusetts; later, west of the Hudson
cotton gin in 1793, cotton increased in importance, and
River and the Appalachian Mountains; and finally, west
so did the “peculiar institution” of slavery.
of the Mississippi River. As settlers pushed westward,
A second conception of regional differences was to
forcibly removing Native Americans from their ances-
divide the country into port areas served by the coast
tral lands, there was continuous conflict between the
and navigable rivers versus the interior areas. The
whites and the Native Americans, between the British
port-served areas had better and cheaper transporta-
settlers and the French, and finally, between the United
tion and more rapid communication. They tended to
States and whatever nation might stake a rival claim.
be easier places to live, more cosmopolitan, and more
The frontier played a significant role in the minds of
urban. It was in those areas that commerce and trade
Americans. What distinguished America from Europe
thrived. Often the inhabitants of the interior areas
in the imaginations of formerly land-starved Europeans
considered themselves at the economic mercy of these
was the magnificent promise of abundant land. The
commercial centers. These divisions between port-
“West” would allow all ambitious Americans to be land-
served areas and the interior areas continued well into
owners. In reality, western lands were not that easy for
the 20th century.
the common person to acquire. Nevertheless, Jefferson
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 26
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 27
and his contemporaries believed that land ownership
by slaves and indentured servants, though small farms
meant independence and freedom. The man who
were plentiful too. In New England and the interior
owned and farmed his land, it was thought, depended
regions of both the South and the West, farms were
on no one for the livelihood of his family. Thus, Jeffer-
most often small. Family-worked subsistence farms
son argued, the West would enable Americans to escape
rather than cash-crop farms were the norm, although
the fate of Europe, with its remnants of feudal distinc-
indentured servitude was common here as well. Mecha-
tion. He based his vision of free, independent yeoman
nized farming did not exist, and so humans and animals
farmers as the backbone of the new republic in part on
supplied the requisite energy.
the availability and promise of land to the west. Jef-
From our late 20th-century perspective of rapid
ferson’s agrarianism was a family freehold farm, one of
transportation and instantaneous communications, it is
many in which the farmer was freed to pursue politics
difficult to conceptualize transit and communications
and ideas because his land was being worked by slaves,
during the years of the Revolution and the early republic.
and his household managed by women.
To do so, we must imagine a society without television,
telephones, computers, photocopiers, telegraph, radio,
tape recorders, automobiles, trains, or airplanes. Com-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
munication was by word of mouth, letter, or newspa-
per. All travel was propelled by humans, animals, river
Describe how your community members make their
currents, or the wind. For example, in 1791 it took
living, and how this differs from the period described
Jefferson 19 days to travel the 920 miles of roads and
in this chapter. Does it make a difference in the way
trails from New York to his home in Virginia.4 With
education is conducted, public or otherwise?
the introduction of steam-powered boats in the second
decade of the 19th century and the steam railroad in
the third decade, travel time was greatly reduced. It was
Thomas Jefferson was born in 1743, the son of a
not until after the Civil War, however, that transpor-
relatively prosperous landowner and farmer in western
tation and communication began to resemble those
Virginia. What was to become the United States of
with which 20th-century Americans are familiar. The
America at that time consisted of several British colo-
nature of transportation and communication in Jef-
nies nestled along the Atlantic coast stretching from
ferson’s era ensured that speed, distance, and time
Massachusetts to Georgia. The western boundary was
were experienced in ways drastically different than
a line along the Appalachian mountains. Most of the
they are today. Knowing this helps explain some of
population lived along the coast or concentrated next
Jefferson’s political and educational ideas, especially his
to navigable rivers inland. When Jefferson became pres-
democratic localism—the belief that local communities
ident in 1800, the total free population of the United
should be self-governing, ruled as little as possible by
States was less than six million. Only New York had
state and national governments.
more than 50,000 people, and only five other cit-
ies had over 10,000 people. About 94 percent of the
Early American Governance
population was classified as rural.3 Over 90 percent of
the working population was engaged in agriculture,
During Jefferson’s time the community, through its
with the remainder in shipping, commerce, and crafts.
mores together with court decisions and legislation,
Except for some German and Dutch settlers in Penn-
regulated and reinforced many of the activities of the
sylvania and New York, the vast majority of the inhab-
family. Marriage was sanctioned by the community
itants were of British origin.
and was conceived as a contract designed to specify
Any analysis of work at the beginning of the 19th
mutual responsibilities and rewards: regular and exclu-
century must center on farming as a way of life. When
sive cohabitation; peaceful living; division of economic
Jefferson became president in 1800, agriculture was the
roles; and heterosexual, exclusive sexual relations. The
source of income for over 90 percent of the population:
community also monitored the family in its child-rearing
slaves, free men and women, and indentured servants.
practices. If an individual family failed in those respon-
There were important regional differences in agricul-
sibilities, the courts often intervened. When it was
ture. In the south, especially along the tidewater and
believed that many families were faltering, the colonial
navigable rivers, farms tended to be large estates worked
and, later, state legislatures intervened by introducing
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 27
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
28
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
new institutions, such as town schools in colonial times
and political rights of the common man and woman,
and reform schools in the mid-19th century. Should
and the belief that only the “well born” could benefit
such monitoring by the community and state be viewed
from education were among the remnants of feudal-
as interference and an infringement on the rights and
ism which Jefferson challenged. The Revolution sym-
integrity of individuals, or was this community activ-
bolized a break from the old world and old regime.
ity a legitimate reinforcement of familial values? The
It initiated a “noble experiment” in self-government.
latter interpretation appears to have been accepted by
Much of Jefferson’s philosophical, political, and edu-
most Americans of the revolutionary era. While not
cational thought was directed toward ensuring the
autonomous or completely independent, the family
success of this experiment.
was the basic social and economic unit of early Amer-
ica. This view was well reflected in local laws in colo-
Ideology of the
nial and state governance.
Jefferson lived under three different kinds of govern-
Jeffersonian Era
ment. At his birth, the lands that were to become the
original 13 United States were separate colonies under
The preceding sketch of the political economy of Jef-
the authority of the British crown. Each had a colonial
ferson’s time provides one of the two major societal con-
legislature more or less representative of the colonists, a
texts within which early American education must be
British-appointed governor who exercised veto power,
understood. The second context is the ideology of the
and final authority resident in the British crown. From
era. The men of Jefferson’s time were roughly divided
the Revolution until 1789, there was a Confederation
into two worldviews, liberal and conservative, although
of States. In this arrangement, most of the power was
those terms differ markedly from their meanings today.
reserved to the states’ governments, which consisted of
Jefferson and his allies were classical liberals, while his
selected legislatures and an elected governor. In 1789
opponents were conservatives. The conservatives were
the present Constitution, which greatly increased the
thus named because they wished to hold on to, or con-
authority of the national government, was adopted.
serve, an older and established set of ideas and values
Although very dissimilar in particulars, there were cer-
inherited from European traditions. This conservative
tain important commonalities in all three forms of gov-
ideology bore the strongest remnants of feudalism.
ernment. First and foremost, all three were based on the
The revolutionary generation was characterized by the
assumption of the historical “rights of English-men” to
struggle between two powerful post-feudal ideologies.
have representation in their government. Precisely what
In one influential debate, between Thomas Paine and
this representation meant and how it would be effected
Edmund Burke, we see Burke’s effort to maintain the
was a matter of serious and continuing debate, yet some
rights and power of those who hold hereditary property,
groups, such as women, African Americans, and Native
and Paine’s wish to challenge this with a vision of rights
Americans, were consistently excluded from political
held by citizens, regardless of property or traditional
influence. Second, each of these governmental arrange-
privileges.5
ments assumed that male citizens’ civil liberties could be
infringed only for serious reasons of state. Again, the speci-
The Breakdown of Feudalism
fications of the liberties and definitions of serious reasons
were hotly contested. Third, it was assumed that educa-
Feudalism was an economic, military, political, and reli-
tion was important for White men and that the colonial
gious system that developed in Europe during the cen-
and state governments each had ultimate authority in this
turies after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Although
area. Under each of these governments during Jefferson’s
money was not absent, goods and services were generally
time, this educational authority was most often delegated
bartered. A military class developed to provide protec-
to the parents and local communities.
tion in exchange for residence on the nobles’ land and a
For Jefferson and his political allies, the most pro-
portion of the peasant class’s agricultural production. A
found political fact, however, was the Revolution. The
religious class also developed that owned land through
prerevolutionary era was seen as harboring remnants
the church, provided spiritual solace, and exercised
of feudalism. Special rights reserved for the aristoc-
considerable political and economic power. Eventually
racy, a close connection between church and state, the
these classes became somewhat fixed, and stations in life
lack of intellectual freedom, restrictions on the civil
were assigned by heredity. The nobility and clergy were
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 28
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 29
referred to as the “first estate” and the “second estate,”
Intercourse with the Middle East included goods as
respectively, and those who belonged to the land—the
well as ideas. Commerce produced the need for money,
peasants—were the “third estate.” To resist the feudal
merchants, banks, craftsmen, and, later, manufacturers.
order was to resist God’s will. This theory was provided
These people tended to congregate in trading centers,
and assented to by the learned men of the court, the uni-
which became cities. The people who lived in the cities
versities, and the church.
and made a handsome living from trade became known
as the bourgeoisie, from the original term bourg, which
was the fortress around which the cities developed.6
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
They eventually developed into a very wealthy class, but
with the same social and political status as the peasants—
List and discuss those rights you have as an “inheri-
that is, they were members of the third estate. Addition-
tance” from your family, and those you have as a
ally, the introduction of explosive powder from China
citizen.
paved the way for the invention of firearms and ren-
dered the feudal warrior, with his long training, heavy
armor, and prestige, scarcely equal to the peasant soldier
This feudal system slowly disintegrated until its col-
with a rifle or a cannon.
lapse in the 16th and 17th centuries. It provided order
When these seeds of the feudal system’s destruction
and stability for a “closed” society. However, it could not
were first sown, they went almost unnoticed, except as
easily accommodate new ideas, inventions, or trade. The
minor irritants. By the 15th century, however, feudalism
beginning of the end came with the renaissances of the
was entering its decline, in some ways a victim of its own
12th and 14th centuries. Ideas from the Byzantine and
successful establishment of the nation-state under the
Arab worlds stimulated European thinkers, who began to
authority of a king who ruled by “divine right.” As the
challenge the basic cosmology of the church. The ideas of
British and French kings established national control,
men such as Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, and Newton
they required larger standing armies that, along with
shook the foundations of feudal religious thought by chal-
other governmental functions now required at court,
lenging biblical and church accounts of the natural world
necessitated increased taxes. Although the path took
with new scientific explanations. These challenges to
somewhat different routes and schedules, eventually
church truths were grounded in a kind of authority new
England in the 17th century and France in the 18th
and different from religious revelation: scientific reason.
both experienced rebellions. The American Revolu-
tion can be seen as an extension or continuation of the
In addition to serving two terms as president, Thomas
unfinished English revolutions of the 17th century. In
Jefferson was the colonial era’s most eloquent spokesperson
all cases, it was necessary to justify the action of rebellion
for education and was the founder of the University of Virginia.
against “God’s appointed” ruler. By what right could
common people challenge the centuries-old authority of
the church and the monarch? This justification was part
of the development of “liberalism.” Major contribu-
tors to the development of liberalism were Milton and
Locke in England; Voltaire, Montesquieu, Condorcet,
and Rousseau in France; and Franklin, Jefferson, and
Madison in the United States.
The Classical Roots of Liberal Ideology
One inevitably oversimplifies when attempting to sum-
marize the major ideas of an ideology, since individu-
als always subscribe to an ideology in different degrees
and with various nuances. Nevertheless, it is helpful
for the student of education in Jeffersonian America to
have a summary of what has come to be called the “clas-
sical” liberalism of that era to distinguish it from the
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 29
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
30
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
“modern” liberalism that descended from it in the 20th
political life and even from formal education above the
century. In addition, “classical” serves to associate this
elementary level.
historical liberalism with the classical Athenian ideals on
which liberal Enlightenment thought was based. One
Natural Law If faith in human reason was the fun-
should remember, however, that the following ideas
damental tenet of liberalism, its root metaphor was
were not recited like a catechism, nor were they subjects
“the universe is a machine.” The universe was often
of an oath of allegiance by classical liberals, who often
compared to a clock, at that time the perfect machine,
conflicted with one another in how to apply these ideas
with its many interrelated parts operating in precise har-
in practice. Six ideas that were central or fundamental
mony. This metaphor, of course, flowed from liberals’
to classical liberalism will be examined: faith in reason,
belief in natural law. Although Sir Isaac Newton had
natural law, republican virtue, progress, nationalism,
many distinguished predecessors, the publication of his
and freedom. Not only these ideas themselves but the
Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy in 1687
relations among them are central to an understanding of
signaled a revolution in the way the Western world
the classical liberal worldview.
viewed nature. No longer would nature be mysterious
One shorthand way to think about the fundamen-
and governed by divine whims or heavenly interces-
tal tenets of classical liberal ideology is to consider
sions. In England, poet Alexander Pope wrote:7
how the feudal commitment to hierarchy, in which
one’s worth was determined by one’s place in soci-
Nature and Nature’s laws
ety, was replaced by a commitment to individualism.
Lay hid in night;
Classical liberals embraced the right of individuals to
God said, Let Newton be!
control their economic destinies through merchant
And all was light.
capitalism. Rejecting a state religion, liberals argued
Perhaps nature had been created by a divine intelli-
for the individual’s right to freedom of worship and
gence, but this God created a perfect machine governed
the legal separation of church and state. Denying the
by precise mathematical laws. Similarly, it did not take
“divine right of kings,” liberals believed in the right
liberals long to generalize from the idea of natural law
of individuals to govern themselves through repre-
in the physical realm to the belief in natural law in the
sentative government, or republicanism. To the revo-
social arena. With the advent of Newtonian physics, sci-
lutionary American, classical liberal ideology took the
ence began to replace theology as the reliable guide to
institutional forms of capitalism and republicanism.
action—and the authority of reason increasingly chal-
Exhibit 2.1 illustrates these major concepts.
lenged the authority of the church and monarchy.
Faith in Reason These individualistic tendencies
were justified in part by a fundamental tenet of liberal-
Republican Virtue Classical liberals realized that
ism, the belief in reason. The ruling classes of the feudal
human reason could be used for good or for ill, and
system had placed little faith in the human ability to rea-
they placed great store in another human capacity that
son. Jefferson said that “reason is the first born daughter
was considered essential for the good life and the good
of science.” Jefferson’s use of “daughter” here is ironic
society: virtue was an important part of their view of
because classical liberals placed little faith in the ability
human nature. Historian John Miller has noted that
of women to reason as men could, and this prejudice
during the revolutionary era “it was commonly believed
was reflected in the relative exclusion of women from
that the republican form of government could not exist
Exhibit 2.1 Fundamental Dimensions of Classical Liberalism: A Schematic Representation Emergence from Feudalism
From Feudal Ideology
To Classical Liberal Ideology
State control of economy
Capitalism
State religion
Separation of church and state
Divine right of kings
Republicanism (representative government)
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 30
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 31
without ‘virtue’—which signified, in the vocabulary of
world through science and of God through worship
the eighteenth century Enlightenment, love of country,
seemed to be part of the natural scheme of things.
an austere style of living, probity, strict observance of
Also regarded as part of that natural scheme was the
the moral code and willingness to sacrifice private profit
view that the womanly and manly virtues differed. Men’s
for the public good.”8 Classical liberals had great faith
virtues were to be found largely in the public spheres
in the perfectibility of the individual, which was to be
of commerce and politics, while women’s virtues were
accomplished through virtue as well as reason. Virtue
exercised in the home and hearth—the “private sphere.”
consisted largely in fulfilling one’s duties to God and to
Women were thought virtuous if they did not speak in
nature. Meeting one’s duties to God were understood as
public gatherings, did not question public authorities
piety, which included worship, reading the Bible, and
on religion or law, and fulfilled the duties of child rear-
living a life of moral responsibility. The Protestant Ref-
ing and caring for the home. The socially valued virtues
ormation emphasized the duty to obey not the priest-
of women in early America were piety, purity, submis-
hood or an absolute king but the dictates of individual
siveness, and domesticity.11 Given that their responsi-
conscience in a right relationship with God.
bilities were limited to the home and hearth, women
While it might seem odd to us today that classical
were educated for the private, not the public, sphere.
liberals were passionately committed to reason and
natural law and at the same time emphasized virtue
Progress The fourth fundamental idea of liber-
through piety and faith in God, there was no neces-
alism was belief in progress. Historian Russell Nye
sary contradiction in these commitments. Most clas-
writes, “If a majority of eighteenth century Americans
sical liberals in the United States and England were
agreed on one idea, it was probably the perfectibility
Protestants. Not all Protestants, however, were classi-
of man and the prospect of his future progress.”12 The
cal liberals. Many of these liberals were deists, whose
belief in progress shows how interrelated these ideas
religious beliefs included the idea of God as the “first
were—free intellects developing their reason would
cause” in the universe but excluded most of the doc-
continue to discover more about natural law and, with
trine of Christianity.9 Franklin, an ardent naturalist
the resulting control over the physical universe and
and scientist, spoke for many classical liberals when
social relations, would constantly improve human life.
he said, “There is in all men something like a natu-
Liberals assumed that men could discover what ought
ral principle, which inclines them to Devotion, or the
to be and would change the world accordingly. This
Worship of some unseen Power.”10 Knowledge of the
was not only a justification but sometimes a demand
for revolution.
In feudal times the perfect society was thought to be
the one that followed tradition, including the tradition
Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727): “God said, Let Newton be, and
of inherited property and privilege, while classical lib-
all was light.”
erals believed that society was progressive if it followed
human reason, natural law, and the “natural rights” of
individuals. When government violated those rights,
wrote Jefferson, it was the duty of the people to over-
throw it. Revolution, then, was an important classical
liberal vehicle for progress. Embedded in this idea was
a commitment to social meliorism (the amelioration,
or improvement, of imperfect social conditions) and
humanitarianism. The liberal’s method of meliorism
was usually through environmental control and manip-
ulation of institutions. At times such social intervention
conflicted with the liberal’s ideal of freedom from gov-
ernmental control. Because of the history of strong and
often oppressive government under feudalism, liberals
were fearful of a strong government. Jefferson often
expressed his belief that the best government was “that
which governed least.”
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 31
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
32
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Jefferson’s belief in the inevitability of progress with-
the concept of federalism, which seemed to respect the
out a strong central government was partly grounded in
autonomy of individual states while affirming a new col-
a strong faith in the benefits of education. It was through
lective identity.
education that individuals would develop their reason
and virtue. Education would facilitate the development
Freedom The classical liberal conception of freedom—
of all that liberals held important. Enlightenment of the
the sixth fundamental belief in the ideology—was pri-
population was seen as essential for self-government.
marily what a 20th-century British philosopher, Isaiah
In a 1786 letter to George Wythe, Jefferson urged the
Berlin, has called “negative freedom,” that is, freedom
establishment of education in the new republic in these
from restraint or interference.15 Four types of freedom
words: “I think by far the most important bill in our
were considered the basic rights of White males: intel-
whole code is that for the diffusion of knowledge among
lectual, political, civil, and economic. Intellectual free-
the people. No other sure foundation can be devised
dom was the most fundamental. Liberals argued that the
for the preservation of freedom and happiness,” and
intellect must be free from the chains of the state and
he admonished his friend, “Preach, my dear sir, a cru-
the tethers of the church if reason was to comprehend
sade against ignorance: establish and improve the law
and control the physical and social worlds. By the 18th
for educating the common people.”13 The antithesis of
century, the history of science was replete with exam-
virtue for the liberals was ignorance rather than sin, and
ples of church and state thwarting scientific discovery
the cure for ignorance was education. No one argued
by forcing allegiance to dogma. (Galileo’s persecution is
this case with more power, clarity, and elegance than
perhaps the best-known illustration.)
Jefferson. While Jefferson, as we shall see, differed from
Closely associated with intellectual and political free-
many of his contemporaries in his belief that the state
dom was the liberals’ advocacy of civic freedom, a notion
had a responsibility to provide schools for educating
often embodied in the current term “civil liberties.”
the children of the common man and woman, even the
The distinction between political and civic freedom is
opponents of state-supported schooling regarded educa-
at least as old as Aristotle, who distinguished between
tion as essential to a life well lived. Whether the poor
the freedom to participate in making the laws (political
could afford it or not, their education was for classical
freedom) and the freedom to “live as one pleases” (civic
liberals a concern of the state.
freedom). This advocacy was for guarantees against the
transgression of the limits of power and authority by
Nationalism A fifth basic belief embedded in clas-
even representative government. It was usually mani-
sical liberal ideology was the developing commitment
fested in demands for guarantees such as the American
to a nation -state. As European feudalism gave way to
Bill of Rights, which protected citizens from govern-
republican liberalism, a new spirit of national identity
ment interference in their right to speak as they saw fit,
emerged in changing European societies. Similarly, in
assemble, bear arms, refuse the quartering of troops in
the colonies, Americans increasingly saw themselves
their homes, and so on. The argument for economic
less as “American subjects of the King,” in Franklin’s
freedom was informed by a long history of government
words, and more as a people with a national mission.
control, appropriation, and taxation during the feudal
Even before the Revolutionary War, Patrick Henry pro-
era. The liberals tended to oppose most government
claimed that “the distinctions between Virginians . . .
action in the economic sphere. Their slogan, “Laissez-
and New Englanders are no more. All America is thrown
faire,” literally “allow to act,” was a demand for the
into one mass. I am not a Virginian, but an American.”14
protection of private property from government regula-
The emotions of the Revolution, of course, heightened
tion. Embedded in this idea of economic freedom was
this nationalist allegiance, and citizens of the new nation
the belief, most clearly articulated by Adam Smith in
began to forge a new identity. Americans saw themselves
The Wealth of Nations, that if left alone, the marketplace
as blessed with unparalleled natural resources and a his-
would self-regulate for the good of society. Historically,
torical mission to differentiate themselves from the tra-
this economic principle of laissez-faire has provided gov-
ditions and influences of the old country.
ernment support for “free” enterprise capitalism with
Classical liberals maintained an uneasy balance
little accompanying government control. Conversely, it
between these two liberal commitments to nationalism
inhibited liberals from developing government policy to
and freedom. It was a balance perhaps best captured by
aid the poor.
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 32
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 33
establishment of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi-
ness was a moral end for Jefferson. Other issues, such
as freedom of the press, ownership of property, and the
form of government, were means to these ends.
Jefferson’s substitution of “the Pursuit of Happiness”
in the Declaration of Independence for John Locke’s
term “Property” in his Second Treatise of Government
was deliberate. His attempt to correct Lafayette’s draft of
“rights” in the early stages of the French Revolution pro-
vides explicit evidence of this. Lafayette had written that
every man was born with rights that included “prop-
erty and the care of his honor.” Jefferson objected to
both terms. He argued that property, like government,
was only a means to human happiness, not a natural and
unalienable right.16 Further, his objection to excessive con-
centration of wealth as a cause of poverty and resulting
decrease of happiness for the masses indicated his belief
that property was only a means to happiness.
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
Explain how Jefferson’s educational proposals were
related to both the political economy of postrevolutionary
Virginia and classical liberalism.
The conception of happiness that was central to
Jefferson’s philosophy was drawn in part from a concep-
tion of human nature that followed Aristotle (with whose
work Jefferson was familiar) in believing that happiness
was obtainable only if the rational part of one’s nature
governed the appetites and passions. Jefferson employed
this Aristotelian model of the division in human nature,
Thomas Paine, like Thomas Jefferson and other classical liber-
als, believed that when government violates human reason,
for example, in explaining why African Americans and
virtue, and the human rights granted by nature, revolution is
women, whom he understood to be governed more by
justifiable.
appetites and passions than by reason, were less capable
Jefferson as Classical Liberal
Exhibit 2.2
Basic Tenets of Classical
This brief summary of classical liberal ideology suggests
Liberalism
the lens through which Jefferson viewed the world and
Reason Progress
developed his ideas on education (see Exhibit 2.2). The
Natural Law
Nascent Nationalism
Declaration of Independence, Jefferson’s most famous
Virtue Freedom
written work, expressed the core of his ideology: “We
Economic
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are cre-
Civil
ated equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
Political
Intellectual
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The effective
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 33
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
34
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
of self-governance than White men—and thus should
achieved, he believed, its results would stifle intellectual
submit to the reason of White men if they were to find
activity. Several years later, in 1815, Jefferson wrote to
happiness. In many ways, this conception of happiness
his friend P. H. Wendover: “Difference of opinion leads
governed Jefferson’s life.17
to inquiry, and inquiry to truth; and that, I am sure, is
the ultimate and sincere object of us both.”20
The issue that troubled Jefferson’s conservative oppo-
Jefferson and Intellectual Freedom
nents was how to maintain social order. Like Jefferson,
Instrumental to the pursuit of happiness, for Jefferson,
they sought a middle ground between the chaos of too
was intellectual freedom. Tradition, dogma, and coer-
little government and the tyranny of too much. Unlike
cion were antithetical to intellectual freedom. Jefferson
Jefferson, however, their primary concern was anarchy
considered his successful campaign against the union
and chaos. Jefferson replied—in theory, although not
of church and state as one of his major victories for
always in practice—by relying on the free play of the
intellectual freedom and therefore an important contri-
human intellect and open debate. He resoundingly
bution to human happiness. At the time of the Revolu-
rejected coercion and force. His noted affinity for a
tion, most states had an established church, and these
free press stemmed from the same faith in a free intel-
churches persisted until after the Civil War. The pro-
lect as the means to truth and human happiness. In a
hibition of established religion in the Bill of Rights was
1787 letter to his friend Edward Carington, he wrote,
interpreted to apply only to the federal government, not
“Were it left to me to decide whether we should have
to the state governments. As a result, state tax monies
a government without newspapers or newspapers with-
continued to be used to support the established church,
out a government, I would not hesitate for a moment
and in some states nonmembers were barred from the
to prefer the latter.” He went on with this important
exercise of certain civil rights, such as voting and hold-
qualification: “But I should mean that every man shall
ing public office. Moreover, the established church
receive these papers and be capable of reading them.”21
often had the authority to censor books and condemn
Newspapers, he believed, would be the instructor of the
individuals for heresy.
masses and the vehicle for debate. His ardor for them
Jefferson responded to this condition by designing the
cooled considerably during his second administration as
famous American “wall of separation” between church
president, when partisan newspapers printed volumes of
and state. In 1779, he wrote the Bill for Establishing
political gossip, half-truths, and outright lies. He even
Religious Freedom for the Virginia legislature. It was
privately encouraged his political allies in Connecticut
passed in 1786 and became the model for several sub-
to bring suits against enemy papers.22 He complained,
sequent state disestablishment laws. The bill contended
“Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a news-
that a man’s religious beliefs were his own private affair
paper.” He modified his support for a free press, arguing
and in no way should be infringed on by the state. It
that newspapers should be free to print the “truth.”23
severed the connection between church and state. In it,
On this issue, it should be remembered that a free press
Jefferson asserted the now famous justification for intel-
was not an end for Jefferson; rather, it was the means to
lectual freedom and the determination of truth through
bring information to citizens so that they could exercise
the free competition of ideas: that “truth is great and
intellectual freedom and come to the truth as part of
will prevail if left to herself; that she is proper and suf-
their pursuit of happiness. Newspapers stood as a sym-
ficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from
bol for information: when they printed lies, Jefferson
conflict unless by human interposition disarmed of her
believed, they lost their usefulness.
natural weapons, free argument and debate; errors ceas-
One is left to wonder, however, why Jefferson
ing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to con-
thought that truth had lost its strength. Had he lost
tradict them.”18 His Notes on the State of Virginia angrily
some of his earlier faith in the common man to follow
asserted the right of religious nonconformity: “Millions
free argument and debate? What is the justification for
of innocent men, women and children, since the intro-
debate if only “the truth” is allowed a hearing? Are there
duction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured,
special qualifications to be met before one is eligible to
fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch
engage in an open debate between truth and error?
toward uniformity. What has been the effect of coer-
An 1825 letter Jefferson wrote to his friend and fel-
cion? To make one half the world fools, and the other
low trustee of the University of Virginia adds sharpness
half hypocrites.”19 And if uniformity could somehow be
to these questions. The letter was about Jefferson’s plans
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 34
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 35
for the upcoming meeting of the trustees. After stating
thought: “That to secure these rights [life, liberty, and
the general principle that trustees should not interfere
the pursuit of happiness], Governments are instituted
in the choice of texts by professors, Jefferson argued
among men, deriving their just powers from the con-
for an exception in regard to professors of government.
sent of the governed.” Eleven years later, in a letter to
He claimed that if the trustees were not watchful about
his closest political confidant, James Madison, he stated
what was taught in the subject of government, “heresies
another of his political axioms: “I am not a friend of the
may be taught, of so interesting a character to our own
very energetic government. It is always oppressive.”25 It is
state and to the United States, as to make it a duty in
clear that Jefferson’s political ideal would be a representa-
us to lay down the principles which are to be taught.”
tive republic composed of educated, informed, and ratio-
He went on to assert that this was necessary because the
nal citizens. The government would have limited powers
trustees could not be certain of the political persuasion
circumscribed by a constitution containing a declaration
of future professors of government. Jefferson endorsed
of rights reserved for the people. Daniel Boorstein has
a resolution to this effect, which he intended to offer at
described Jefferson’s aim as “a government too weak to
the trustees’ meeting. He then requested, “I wish it kept
aid the wolves yet strong enough to protect the sheep.”26
to ourselves, because I have always found that the less
Jefferson’s arguments for a democratic republic as
such things are spoken of beforehand, the less obstruc-
well as for education are based in his moral philoso-
tion is contrived to be thrown in their way.”24 Here
phy and are succinctly stated in a 1787 letter advis-
Jefferson is not simply arguing to protect the common
ing his young friend Peter Carr about his education.
man from errors contained in newspapers; rather, that
He noted that “man is destined for society.” There-
professors, university students, and his fellow trustees
fore, the creator must have endowed us with a “moral
should be insulated from potential error. If one were to
sense of conscience” that “is as much a part of man as
argue for selective admission to open debate between
his leg or arm.” Moral sense is innate in all humans,
truth and error, who would be eligible if not professors,
for Jefferson, “in a greater or less degree. It may be
university students, and university trustees? In light
strengthened by exercise, as may any particular limb of
of these examples, what are we to make of Jefferson’s
the body.”27 This moral sense that equipped all men to
arguments for intellectual freedom?
participate in their own governance could be enhanced
Moreover, Jefferson and his contemporary liber-
or debased according to environmental circumstances.
als believed that “truth” could be discovered by man
Democracy was thus the most moral of governments
through the free exercise of intellect and reason. This
for Jefferson not only because it protected “inalien-
was basic to their view of natural law and underpinned
able rights” but also because it provided for the moral
by Newtonian physics. This “truth,” Jefferson believed,
development of individuals.
would be acknowledged by all rational men. Like other
Referring to the situation in the United States in 1820,
classical liberals, Jefferson believed that truth was not
Jefferson wrote, “I know of no safe depository of the ulti-
created by human inquiry and therefore subject to revi-
mate powers of society but the people themselves; and if
sion by further inquiry but instead was a property of
we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their
the natural world and therefore absolute and unchang-
control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to
ing, waiting to be discovered by human inquiry. Once
take it from them, but to inform their discretion by edu-
discovered, it followed for classical liberals, such truth
cation.”28 Four years later he noted, “The qualifications
should be taught—whether it was 2 1 2 5 4 or that
for self-government are not innate. They are the result of
republican government was the surest route to social jus-
habit and long training.”29 Jefferson remained remarkably
tice and human happiness. Modern science, as we will see
constant in this belief. In a 1787 letter to James Madison,
in Chapter 4, has become much more tentative about the
he had written, “above all things I hope the education of
origins and permanence of truth.
the common people will be attended to: convinced that
on their good senses we may rely with the most security
Jefferson, Democracy, and Education
for the preservation of a due degree of liberty.”30
This letter indicated that in addition to an innate
A second major concern for Jefferson, then, was the
moral sense, sufficiently educated, an effective citizen-
establishment of the kind of government most likely
ship required a particular kind of economic base. Then
to promote human happiness. Again, the Declaration
ambassador to France, Jefferson wrote, “I think our gov-
of Independence can serve to summarize Jefferson’s
ernments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 35
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
36
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
long as they are chiefly agricultural; and this will be as
Jefferson’s Plan for Popular
long as there shall be vacant lands in any part of America.
When they get piled upon one another in large cities as
Education
in Europe they will become as corrupt as in Europe.”31
Agriculture was more to Jefferson than crops and income;
Education was not only crucial in Jefferson’s political
it was a way of life that developed independence, perse-
theory, it was also an important means for the pursuit of
verance, industry, self-sufficiency, and strength. These
happiness, for he understood happiness to include the
characteristics were essential to Jefferson for virtue and
pursuit of knowledge. It should not be surprising that
human happiness. In his Notes on the State of Virginia,
education commanded Jefferson’s attention through-
he referred to farmers as “the chosen people of God,”
out his life. His public statements on education began
and the “mobs of the great cities” as cancers sapping
when, in Virginia, he wrote the Bill for the More Gen-
the strength of democratic governments.32 His desire to
eral Diffusion of Knowledge,34 the Bill for Amending
guarantee an adequate supply of “vacant” land for agri-
the Constitution of the College of William and Mary,
culture led him as president to purchase the vast Louisi-
and Substituting More Certain Revenues for Its Sup-
ana Territory even though this act expanded the power of
port,35 and the Bill for Establishing a Public Library.36
the federal government—an expansion of power which
These three legislative proposals contained the core of
Jefferson and other classical liberals generally opposed.
his educational thought. Their contents were elabo-
The end he pursued in this act, however, was the pursuit
rated in his subsequent Notes on the State of Virginia
of happiness, and thus to Jefferson more important, in
and numerous private letters. After his administration,
principle, than keeping federal power limited.
he authored a Bill for the Establishment of a System of
Public Education37 and the Report of the Commission
Appointed to Fix the Site of the University of Virginia.
Government by a “Natural
(It was referred to as the “Rockfish Gap Report” because
Aristocracy”
it was at a tavern in Rockfish Gap, Virginia, on August
Even in the “noble experiment” that American liber-
1, 1818, that the commissioners met to sign it.)38
als considered the beacon for all humankind, Jefferson
did not intend for all free men to participate on an
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#4
entirely equal basis. For 14 years, until both died on
Independence Day in 1826, Jefferson and John Adams,
Jefferson’s Bill for the More General Diffusion of
who had been bitter political enemies from the early
Knowledge tried to establish state funding for school-
1790s, carried on an extended correspondence. One
ing in Virginia, but it also sought to protect local control
of Jefferson’s most interesting letters was written in the
of schools. To what degree is such a combination—
fall of 1813 and portrays his conception of the proper
state funding and local control of schools—consistent
political aristocracy. He contrasts this “natural aristoc-
with various dimensions of the classical liberal con-
racy” with an “artificial” or “pseudo-aristocracy.” The
ception of freedom? Is this still an issue today? How?
What is your position on local control?
natural aristocracy that Jefferson believed should gov-
ern was based on “virtue and talent,” while the arti-
ficial aristocracy was based on birth and wealth. The
previous, artificial aristocracy had been the target of the
There were four interrelated parts or tiers in Jefferson’s
Revolution. Because humans had been created for soci-
proposed educational structure: elementary schools, gram-
ety, Jefferson explained to Adams, it naturally followed
mar schools, the university, and lifelong learning. Elemen-
that God would also provide for “virtue and wisdom”
tary and grammar school education were outlined in his
to manage society. He argued, “that form of govern-
1776 Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge,
ment is best, which provides the most effectively for a
his Notes, and the 1817 Bill for the Establishment of a
pure selection of these natural aristoi into the office of
System of Public Education. The elementary school was
government,” and the most effective procedure was “to
to be the foundation of the entire educational structure.
leave to the citizens the free election and separation of
Although both bills were defeated in the Virginia legisla-
the aristoi from the pseudo-aristoi, of the wheat from
ture, they provide us with important insights into Jeffer-
the chaff.”33
son’s conception of education.
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 36
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 37
Historical Context
The Jeffersonian Era
The following events should help you situate the educational developments in this chapter in a broader historical context. Every chapter will have such a timeline. In each chapter, the events are illustrative—you might have chosen differently if you were constructing a timeline of your own. For any item, you should be able to consider, “What is its educational significance?” Some events are not mentioned in the text narrative and might lead you to further inquiry. Finally, you might find the Online Learning Center useful: www.mhhe.com/tozer7e.
The Breakdown of Feudalism in Europe
1452
Leonardo Da Vinci is born
1605
Shakespeare writes Macbeth and King Lear
1455
Gutenberg prints the first book
1687
Newton writes Principia Mathematica
1534
Martin Luther publishes German translation
1689
The Bill of Rights and The Act of Toleration are
of the Bible
declared in England
1543 Copernicus
publishes
Revolutions of the
1690
John Locke writes An Essay Concerning
Heavenly Bodies
Human Understanding
Prerevolutionary Period
1607
Jamestown is established by English settlers
1693
College of William and Mary is founded
in Virginia
in Virginia
1636
Harvard College is founded
1701
Yale University is founded in Connecticut
1647
Massachusetts law requires that every town
1734–1735
Freedom of press in American colonies
of 50 families or more must hire a teacher to teach
is established
reading and writing
1690
The New England Primer, a widely used colonial
textbook, is published
Early National Period in United States
1776
Continental Congress adopts Declaration
1789
Power-driven textile machinery arrives in the
of Independence
United States
1779
Jefferson unsuccessfully proposes his Virginia Plan
1789–1797
George Washington serves as first president
for public schools
of United States
1783 Noah
Webster’s
American Spelling Book is published
1793
Eli Whitney invents cotton gin
1789
Constitution is ratified by 11 of 13 states
1797–1801
John Adams serves as second president
1791
U.S. Bill of Rights is ratified
1800
First of a series of southern state laws barring
Blacks from access to education is passed
in South Carolina
1826
On July 4, 50 years after the Declaration,
Jefferson and John Adams die
Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
What items from the section on the breakdown of feudalism in Europe seem to have influenced events you can identify in the prerevolutionary and early national periods in the United States?
Elementary School Districts
elections, the nominations of jurors, administrations of
justice in small cases, elementary exercise of the militia; in
Jefferson proposed to divide the state into small districts,
short, to have made them little republics, with a warden
or “wards,” of five to six square miles. These districts
at the head of each, for all those concerns which, being
would serve a dual purpose. First, they would become
under their eye, they would better manage than the larger
the local unit of government. As he explained in a let-
republics of the county or the State.”39 Thus, Jefferson
ter to John Adams, “My proposition had, for a further
not only would have decentralized governmental author-
object, to impart to these wards those portions of self-
ity to local districts, which be believed could most
government for which they are best qualified, by con-
effectively exercise power, but would have provided a
fiding to them the care of their poor, the roads, police,
laboratory for self-government. Additionally, this effort
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 37
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
38
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
at decentralization of both civil and educational gov-
History, then, would provide the masses with lessons to
ernance must be understood within the limitations of
enable them to understand when their elected officials
transportation and communication then available.
had mischief on their minds.
Second, each of the districts would establish an elemen-
Each year the overseer of schools would choose from
tary school where “all free children, male and female,”
each elementary school “the boy of best genius in the
would be entitled to attend without cost for three years,
school, of those whose parents are too poor to give them
or longer at their private expense. An overseer, responsible
further education, and to send him forward to one of
for approximately 10 schools, would be appointed by the
the grammar schools” at public expense.42 After the
alderman elected in the districts. General governance of
first year at the grammar school, the scholarship boys
the elementary schools, including the hiring and dismissal
would be examined and the bottom third dismissed. At
of teachers, examination of students, and supervision of the
the end of the second year, the best scholarship student
curriculum, would have been in the care of the overseers.
in each grammar school would be chosen to continue
The curriculum of Jefferson’s elementary schools was
and the remainder dismissed. As Jefferson put it in his
uncluttered and wholly intellectual. “At every of these
Notes on the State of Virginia, “By this means twenty of
schools shall be taught reading, writing, and common
the best geniuses will be raked annually from the rub-
arithmetic, and the books which shall be used therein
bish, and instructed, at public expense, so far as the
for instructing the children to read shall be such as will
grammar schools go.”43
at the same time make them acquainted with Graecian,
In short, Jefferson had proposed three years of free
Roman, English, and American history.”40 This three-
elementary schooling, which he believed would func-
year curriculum would provide the extent of schooling
tion as a screen to identify future leaders from among
for the mass of the population, certainly for the females,
the masses and equip the remainder to function effec-
who would not go on to secondary or higher education.
tively in the civic, economic, and private spheres of
Jefferson conceived these elementary years as an educa-
life. He expected this formal schooling to provide the
tion for life, providing the requisite skills for the daily
basis for lifelong self-education among the population.
life of the yeoman farmer and for the wife and mother of
Moreover, he understood that in America of the early
the household in the early American republic.
19th century, the school did not stand as the sole edu-
Common arithmetic would enable them to do the
cating institution in society. Nevertheless, his goals
calculations to purchase goods, sell their surplus pro-
were ambitious, so much so that the Virginia legis-
duction, figure their taxes, and in general understand
lature did not approve the plan either in 1779 or in
the relatively simple agrarian economy within which
1817 (see Exhibit 2.3). One may pause to wonder how
they labored. Writing would empower them to commu-
Jefferson might appraise the present condition of his
nicate with those at a distance. Reading was necessary to
“noble experiment.”
comprehend distant communications, newspapers, gov-
ernment announcements, and laws and, most impor-
tant, would enable graduates to continue their education
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#5
throughout life through the medium of books. In Notes
Jefferson believed that three years of literacy instruction
on the State of Virginia, Jefferson explained the emphasis
in elementary school would be valuable in safeguarding
on history in the three-year curriculum, which would
the liberties of the population. Today this seems to be
have provided the entire formal schooling for the com-
far too little schooling for so important a task. To what
mon people:
degree do the dimensions of political –economic life in
Jefferson’s time make his belief in the power of basic
History, by appraising them of the past, will enable
literacy plausible?
them to judge the future; it will avail them of the experi-
ence of other times and other nations; it will qualify them
as judges of the actions and designs of men. . . . Every gov-
ernment degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the peo-
Grammar Schools
ple alone. The people themselves therefore are its only safe
depositories. And to render even them sage, their minds
The second tier of schools in Jefferson’s proposals were
must be improved to a certain degree. This indeed is not
called “grammar schools” in his 1779 bill and “district
all that is necessary, though it be essentially necessary.41
schools or colleges” in his 1817 bill. These schools should
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 38
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 39
Exhibit 2.3
Objectives for Elementary and University Education in Summary of the 1818 Rockfish Gap Report
Elementary Education
University Education
Is to Develop in Every Citizen
Is to Develop
Information sufficient to transact business
Political leaders
Writing skills
Knowledge leading to political freedom
Calculation skills
Understanding to improve the economy
Reading skills
Reason, morals, virtue, and order
Improved morals
Understanding of science and math to promote the general health, security,
Understanding of duties
and comfort
Knowledge of rights
Habits of reflection and correct actions in students that render them
Ability to vote intelligently
examples of virtue to others and bring happiness to themselves
Ability to judge officeholders’ conduct
Ability to fulfill social relationships
Source: Data from Roy Honeywell, The Educational Work of Thomas Jefferson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1931), p. 250.
not be confused with the present-day American high
and local government. He also expected that teachers
school, for they were more like the European lyceum.
for the elementary schools would be drawn from those
They were to be boarding schools. Approximately 20
who finished the grammar school curriculum, espe-
were to be established throughout the state at various
cially from among the scholarship boys not chosen for
locations so that no scholar would be required to travel
university attendance.
more than one day’s journey from home to school.
Except for the 1779 provision for one scholarship stu-
University Education
dent from each elementary school, scholars would be
required to pay tuition, room, board, and other neces-
Jefferson’s conception of university education is dis-
sary expenses. Of the 20 scholarship boys who finished
played in a wide range of private letters and summarized
the grammar schools, half were to be chosen to receive a
in his Report of the Commission Appointed to Fix the
further scholarship to complete the university courses at
Site of the University of Virginia.45 His view of higher
public expense.
education differed considerably from the fashion of the
The grammar schools were seen as “preparatory to
day. He explicitly contrasted his university proposals
the entrance of students into the university.” Because
with the popular academies of the early 19th century,
Jefferson believed that between the ages of 10 and 15,
which he called “petty academies.” These he condemned
students were best suited to learn languages, and because
in a letter to John Adams: “They commit their pupils to
languages were “an instrument for the attainment of
the theater of the world, with just taste enough for learn-
science,” languages were the center of grammar school.
ing to be alienated from industrious pursuits, and not
Greek, Latin, and English grammar, along with advanced
enough to do service in the ranks of science.”46
arithmetic, geometry, navigation, and geography, were
He also rejected the Harvard model of a prescribed
to be the basic subjects in the six-year curriculum. Such
course of study. In a letter to George Ticknor, he stated,
a course of study, Jefferson asserted, would either fit the
“We shall, on the contrary, allow then the uncontrolled
boy for entrance to the university or lay the foundation
choice in the lectures they shall choose to attend, and
for the “various vocations of life needing more instruc-
require elementary qualifications on and sufficient age. . . .
tion than merely menial or praedial labor.”44
Our institution will proceed on the principle . . . of let-
It seems clear that Jefferson intended that local lead-
ting everyone come and listen to whatever he thinks may
ers would come from among those educated at the
improve the condition of his mind.”47 Nevertheless, Jef-
grammar school. Its graduates would provide leader-
ferson modified free election somewhat in his Rockfish
ship in business, transportation, surveying, the militia,
Gap Report. After stating that “every student shall be free
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 39
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
40
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
to attend the schools of his choice, and not other than he
to democracy? If not, is it an adequate substitute for
chooses,” the report added this qualification:
democracy? What kind of educational system would be
necessary for a democracy?
But no diploma shall be given to anyone who has not
passed an examination in the Latin language as shall have
proved him able to read the highest classics in that lan-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#6
guage with ease, thorough understanding and just quality;
and if he be also proficient in Greek, let that, too, be stated
Jefferson claimed that the Bill for the More General
in his diploma.48
Diffusion of Knowledge would help locate the “natu-
ral aristocracy” of society: those with the virtue and
This idea of relatively free election was based on the
talent to lead in a republican form of government. To
premise that all students would enter the university
what degree do you think his plan, if passed, would
have adequately rewarded virtue and talent?
with a common basic education acquired in the gram-
(1) What were the limitations of the plan in terms
mar schools.49 The University of Virginia was thus con-
of social class, race, and gender?
ceived as a place of professional and advanced scientific
(2) In your experience, are today’s schools suc-
education rather than simply as a collegiate institution
cessful in locating students with the most “virtue and
of general liberal studies, which was the model in Amer-
talent”? (3) Do they successfully locate a natural aris-
ican higher education of Jefferson’s time.
tocracy in today’s society, or (4) do “wealth, birth, or
Jefferson was unrestrained in his goals for university
other accidental condition or circumstance,” as Jef-
education (see Exhibit 2.3) because he rejected “the dis-
ferson said, play a significant role? Explain.
couraging persuasion that man is fixed, by the law of
his nature, at a given point; that his improvement is a
chimera, and the hope delusive of rendering ourselves
Self-Education
wiser, happier or better than our forefathers were.” On
the contrary, he proclaimed that similar to the pruners’
The elementary school, the grammar school, and the
art of grafting, “Education in like manner, engrafts a
university were the first three tiers of Jefferson’s educa-
new man on the native stock, and improves what in his
tional structure. They did not, however, outweigh the
nature was vicious and perverse into qualities of virtue
fourth tier—lifelong self-instruction. Indeed, in impor-
and social worth.”50
tant ways, the first three were but preparations for the
The university would provide the education for the
fourth. Jefferson’s passionate commitment to lifelong
natural aristoi for Jefferson’s society. Its graduates would
self-education was expressed in many of his private let-
become the legislators, governors, and jurists who
ters, in the construction of his own library, in his enthu-
would provide governmental leadership. They would
siasm for newspapers, and in the Bill for Establishing a
fill those vocations which would at a later time be called
Public Library. In that bill, Jefferson proposed in 1779
professions.
that Virginia build a public library in Richmond and
Jefferson’s republic was to be based on what he called
provide an annual allotment for the purchase of books,
the natural aristocracy. Today we call such an arrange-
paintings, and statues.51 His commitment to lifelong
ment a meritocracy: a social system in which positions
self-education was grounded in his conviction that the
of greatest influence and prestige are filled by those
development of reason, the expansion of intellect, and
who “merit” them by demonstrated talent. He argued
inquiry into the mysteries of the universe were indeed
that education was a prerequisite for leadership. Is his
fundamental to human happiness. In 1817, as he was
argument convincing? Given that his proposals were
preparing the Rockfish Gap Report for the Virginia legis-
defeated, it is worth speculating: Would his proposed
lature, he expressed in a letter to George Ticknor his fear
educational system have provided the necessary educa-
that the legislature might not understand the “important
tion for leadership and for the masses? We might also
truths, that knowledge is power, that knowledge is safety,
ask whether in subsequent history the “people” have
and that knowledge is happiness.” Nevertheless, he con-
generally elected the “really good and wise.” If not,
tended that persistence was necessary, for if “we fail in
is this because of a flaw in Jefferson’s conception, or
doing all the good we wish, we will do at least all we can.
have we not fully developed his ideas? Perhaps most
This is the law of duty in every society of free agents,
important, is the Jeffersonian meritocracy equivalent
where everyone has equal right to judge for himself.”52
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 40
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 41
“filled” with useful facts. Faculty psychology held that
developed faculties, with minds appropriately exercised
and filled, could “transfer” this training and under-
standing to any situation in life—that is, the student
would be able to generalize from school experience to
life experience.
Jefferson’s Views on Slavery, Native
Americans, and Women
Though classical liberals differed sharply on many issues—
race, education, and voting rights, for example—Jefferson
was America’s outstanding spokesperson for the liberal-
ism of his time and perhaps of all time. His Declaration
of Independence proclamations on human rights and
human equality were borrowed by Lincoln for the first
sentence of the Gettysburg Address and a century later
gave moral force to the civil rights and women’s equality
movements in this country. Freedom, liberty, the rule of
reason in human affairs, the unfettered pursuit of truth,
the stimulation of scientific investigation, and the cre-
ation of political and educational structures for the sup-
port of those goals were his life’s work. Nevertheless, we
have seen that there are reasons to question some of Jef-
ferson’s ideas in these areas. Moreover, a serious study of
Faculty psychology was based on two metaphors that were
Jefferson forces one to consider at least three additional
useful in planning curriculum (mind as a muscle to be exer-
cised and mind as a vessel to be filled)—and that emphasized
problem areas: his actions and views on slavery, Native
mental “faculties” such as memory and attentiveness.
Americans, and women.
Slavery There can be little question that Jefferson’s
entire philosophy required the rejection of slavery.
Most American educational theorists since Jefferson
Indeed, Jefferson’s first legislative act as a representa-
have agreed that a fundamental aim of all education is
tive in the Virginia colonial assembly54 was to offer a
to prepare the student for lifelong learning. Again, a
bill allowing the voluntary emancipation of slaves by
number of questions present themselves: To what extent
their owners. In 1770, as a lawyer, he undertook the
has this goal been achieved? What are the factors that
defense of a slave who sued for his freedom.55 Most sig-
militate against its success? Why did Jefferson believe
nificantly, in his proposed draft of the Declaration of
his proposed educational system would facilitate life-
Independence Jefferson included the following state-
long learning? What kind of lifelong learning would you
ment about the British monarch:
expect from the graduates of each of Jefferson’s three
tiers of formal schooling? In each instance, would this
He has waged cruel war against human nature itself,
learning be sufficient to enable the graduates to engage
violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in persons
in Jefferson’s ideal of the pursuit of happiness?
of a distant people who never offended him, capturing and
Jefferson, like most classical liberals, held to what
carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere, or to
incur miserable death in their transportation hither. This
would later be called faculty psychology, which con-
piratical warfare, the opprobrium of INFIDEL powers,
tended that the mind was made up of distinct “facul-
is the warfare of the CHRISTIAN king of Great Britain.
ties.” For Jefferson, the faculties of the mind included
Determined to keep open a market where MEN should be
memory, reason, and imagination.53 Like muscles, these
bought and sold, he has prostituted his negative for sup-
faculties had to be exercised for development. More-
pressing every legislative attempt to prohibit or restrain
over, he conceived the mind as an empty vessel to be
this execrable commerce.56
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 41
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
42
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Although this section was struck by the full assembly,
is most surprising, since those weaknesses he attributed
its inclusion by Jefferson and his emphasis of the word
to Blacks were weaknesses that Jefferson believed could
“MEN” are significant when one attempts to compre-
be improved through education. Jefferson’s biographer
hend how slavery fits with Jefferson’s social philoso-
Dumas Malone suggests that he may have remained
phy. It seems to indicate that philosophically Jefferson
silent on the slavery question while president because he
included African Americans in the category of “men”
considered it a state rather than a federal issue.59 This
and that they should be covered by all the provisions the
explanation, however, is unconvincing, especially when
Declaration makes for “men.”
one remembers Jefferson’s willingness to expand fed-
However, his writings about African Americans
eral power to purchase the Louisiana Territory. Such
provide an ambiguous judgment of the race. At times
an expansion of power was justified by a higher end,
he seems to see African Americans as inferior, at other
he argued, and government was simply a means. Could
times he calls them equal or superior to Whites in some
the pursuit of open land for freehold farmers be more
attributes, and at still other times he argues that their
worthy than the elimination of human bondage? Was
inequalities are due to the degradation of slavery and
Jefferson practicing what he believed was political real-
are remediable if they are placed in more favorable
ism according to his own axiom: “No more good must
circumstances .57 As a representative to the national
be attempted than the nation can bear”?60 If so, did this
Congress, he unsuccessfully proposed that the North-
“realism” require that he continue to own slaves—at
west Ordinance prohibit slavery after 1800 in any
times as many as 200?61 Is there a contradiction between
states or territories created from the Northwest Terri-
“political realism” and moral leadership?
tory. From that time until his death, however, Jefferson
As historian Ronald Takaki points out, although
was remarkably quiet in public about his opposition to
Jefferson wrote in 1788 that “nobody [more] wishes to
slavery. In private, Jefferson often condemned slavery.
see an abolition of the [African slave] trade [and] of the
For example, in August 1825, he wrote in a private cor-
condition of slavery; and certainly nobody will be more
respondence, “The abolition of the evil [slavery] is not
willing to encounter every sacrifice for that object,”
impossible. It ought never to be despaired of. Every plan
he continued to add slaves to his plantation while some
should be adapted, every experiment tried, which may
10,000 slaves were being freed by slave owners in Vir-
do something towards the ultimate object.”58
ginia alone in the 1780s.62 Jefferson justified his slave-
During his two terms as president, however, Jef-
holding partly on economic grounds—he could not
ferson did not actively support the abolition of slavery.
afford to free them until he paid off his debts (which
Moreover, in none of his major legislative proposals on
he never succeeded in doing)—and partly on his belief
education did he include the education of slaves. This
that, unlike Native Americans, African Americans did
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 42
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 43
not have the natural intellectual endowment necessary
of the Mississippi. His economic priorities, as Takaki
for self-governance. Jefferson wrote in 1781:
points out, influenced his views of both races: what
the Whites wanted from African Americans was their
In general, their existence appears to participate more
labor, while what Whites wanted from Native Ameri-
of sensation than reflection. . . . Comparing them by their
cans was their land. If the latter agreed to cultivate the
faculties of memory, reason, and imagination, it appears
to me that in memory they are equal to whites: in rea-
land as Whites did, however, they could stay—and
son much inferior, as I think one could scarcely be found
Jefferson believed it was the province of Whites to
capable of tracing and comprehending the investigations
instruct the Native Americans in acquiring the necessi-
of Euclid; and that in imagination they are dull, tasteless,
ties of European culture while abandoning their own.
and anomalous.63
While U.S. president, he told the Potawatomies:
Jefferson’s beliefs about the racial inferiority of
We shall . . . see your people become disposed to cul-
African Americans led him to argue against intermar-
tivate the earth, to raise herds of the useful animals, and
riage: Their “amalgamation with the other color pro-
to spin and weave, for their food and clothing. These
duces a degradation to which no lover of his country,
resources are certain: they will never disappoint you: while
no lover of excellence in the human character can inno-
those of hunting may fail, and expose your women and
children to the miseries of hunger and cold. We will with
cently consent.” This is particularly ironic in light of
pleasure furnish you with implements for the most neces-
continuing research on Jefferson’s apparent sexual rela-
sary arts, and with persons who may instruct you how to
tionship with his slave, Sally Hemmings, with whom he
make and use them.66
is said to have fathered several children. Although DNA
evidence supports this conclusion, according to the
Jefferson’s stance toward forcing the Native Americans
Thomas Jefferson Foundation, it remains disputed by
away from their own culture into the ways of European
the Thomas Jefferson Heritage Society. As legal scholar
Americans, as we shall see in Chapter 7, is one that would
Annette Gordon-Reed writes, the Jefferson–Hemmings
become formal government policy in the 20th century.
controversy mirrors a number of com plicated issues in
our national history and in our present-day thinking.
Women If Jefferson was regrettably contradictory in
Just as our founding fathers were conflicted about
his statements about African Americans and inconsistent
slavery, so does our society today continue to bear the
in his actions toward slavery, his views regarding women
fruits of those conflicts, which remain unresolved. As
were clear and consistent, but still regrettable from our
long as racism is a part of the fabric of our lives, his-
contemporary vantage point. His conception of the
torians will look to Jefferson, Washington, and other
female was as a wife, homemaker, bearer of children, and
founding fathers to try to understand how we became
delight to her husband—period.67 He was reportedly
what we are.64
loving toward his wife and caring of his daughters, but
he understood women to be the legal appendages to their
Native Americans As is often the case with racial
husbands. When Jefferson stated, “All men are created
and ethnic prejudice, Jefferson’s racism regarding
equal” or made pronouncements regarding the rights and
African Americans took a different form where Native
reason of man, his terms were always gender-specific.
Americans were concerned. He believed that intermar-
In all his proposals for education, females were pro-
riage between White people and Native Americans
vided schooling only in the elementary school. The
was acceptable because Native Americans in his view
grammar schools and the university were exclusive male
were equal to Whites in natural endowment, although
preserves. As important as he believed education was for
their culture was vastly inferior. He wrote in 1785, “I
the pursuit of happiness, and although he devoted the
am safe in affirming that the proofs of genius given by
greater part of his adult life to thinking about the rela-
the Indians of N. America, place them on a level with
tionship between free men and education, in 1818, at
whites in the same uncultivated state. . . . I believe the
age 75, Jefferson wrote, “A plan of female education has
Indian to be in body and mind equal to the white man.
never been a subject of systematic contemplation with
I have supposed the black man, in his present state,
me. It has occupied my attention so far only as the edu-
might not be so.”65 The consequence of this view for
cation of my own daughters occasionally required.” The
Jefferson was that Native Americans either had to be
education he provided for them was much as “might
“civilized” into White culture or had to be driven west
enable them, when they become mothers, to educate
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 43
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
44
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
their own daughters, and even to direct the course for
of these kinds of issues are alive today. Debates
sons, should their fathers be lost, or incapable, or inat-
persist about whether the government should
tentive.”68 For Jefferson, the education of women should
fund education in religious schools, for example,
enable them to participate in such “amusements of life”
or how local communities should participate in
as dancing, drawing, and music and to assume their role
governing its schools. And arguments continue
in the “household economy.”69 It seems that Jefferson
about whether it is democratic to have, within
reflected too much the sentiments of George Saville,
Marquis of Halifax, whose Advice to a Daughter saw 15
the same state school system, districts that fund
editions between 1688 and 1765, and too little those of
schools at very high levels (say, $15,000 per year
Abigail Adams and Mary Wollstonecraft, both staunch
per child) while other districts in the same state
defenders of women’s rights during Jefferson’s time. Like
fund schools at a third of that level. Are the inter-
most other classical liberals, and just as the Greeks had
ests of democracy well served in such a system?
done in Aristotle’s time, Jefferson uncritically accepted
How intrusive should government be in making
the placement of women into the private or domestic
funding more equal?
sphere of the household and perceived no need to edu-
Also, as you develop your philosophy of educa-
cate women for public participation in a democratic
tion, it is useful to ask whether you are keeping all
society in which citizenship was a male privilege.
of your students, with all of their differences, in mind
Are the issues of slavery, domination of Native
as you set your educational goals and decide on
Americans, and women’s rights anomalies in Jefferson’s
your approach to reaching those goals. Just as Jef-
philosophy flaws in his character, or do they represent
a deeper flaw in liberalism? The posing of such ques-
ferson scarcely considered African Americans, Native
tions imposes historical hindsight on both Jefferson and
Americans, and females in his plans for a public school
classical liberalism. Jefferson’s thoughts and actions in
system, each teacher has to be careful about omitting
these issues were indeed an advance over his conserva-
important parts of the student body. Will your edu-
tive opponents. Is that sufficient for one who is thought
cational philosophy respond equally well to rich and
to be committed to democracy? Privileged White males,
poor, to students of all ethnic backgrounds and differ-
that is, Jefferson’s natural aristocracy, have always been a
ent sexual orientations , and to students with physical
tiny minority in American history. Did classical liberal-
or cognitive or emotional disabilities? What in your
ism adequately provide for women, African Americans,
philosophy of education explicitly includes those
Native Americans, or nonprivileged White males—in
groups in your educational goals and methods, and
other words, the non- aristoi? What becomes of Jeffer-
how do you justify that? How high are the goals you
son’s democratic ideas if the large majority of the pop-
set for these children? How can you develop a phi-
ulation is excluded from his most important goal, the
pursuit of happiness? Are there possible corrections that
losophy that will guide your action as an educator ?
could rescue Jefferson’s philosophy? If not, what are our
Finally, it is noteworthy that Jefferson inten-
assessments of Jeffersonian democracy and of classical
tionally had very little to say about the voca-
liberal ideology more generally?
tional goals of education. He wanted to develop
students’ human capacities for rationality, critical
thinking, right action, and happiness. He also had
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
social–political goals, for a republican democ-
OF EDUCATION
racy. Today, it might make sense to think about
Chapter 2 makes clear how schools and other edu-
your educational goals as helping prepare people
cational arrangements of the early American period
for three major dimensions of life: as individual
reflected the ideology and political economy of that
persons, as citizens in a democracy, and as par-
time, using Virginia, Jefferson’s home state, as an
ticipants in economic life who must earn a liv-
illustration.
ing. Getting explicit about how your teaching will
As you continue to develop your own philosophy
serve all of those goals is a step toward a more
of education, it is helpful to reflect on how many
practical philosophy of education.
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 44
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 45
Primary Source Reading
evidence of average talents. Such is the power, one
might say, of ideology to shape our perceptions of the
world. Each man went on to great achievement after this
The first Primary Source Reading is from Thomas Paine’s
exchange, and slavery continued to flourish after both
1791 work, The Rights of Man. Paine was part of the
had passed away.
intellectual force that influenced the revolutionary spirit
of Jefferson’s contemporaries. In this work, Paine argues
that our rights under government are given by nature
and not man. If they were provided by government or
From The Rights of Man
any other social institution, they would be privileges, not
rights. Thus human beings possess a suite of capacities
Thomas Paine
that must be honored and be free to develop. Govern-
ment institutions may be tested by judging the degree
The representative system takes society and civilisation
to which human “nature” is realized or limited by them.
for its basis; nature, reason, and experience, for its guide.
Paine believed that deliberation, protest, and reform were
Experience, in all ages, and in all countries, has dem-
essential to this process and that continuing violation
onstrated that it is impossible to control Nature in her
justifies revolution. Paine penetrates the illogic of relying
distribution of mental powers. She gives them as she
on heredity to determine who will be the best author or
pleases. Whatever is the rule by which she, apparently
artist. In the same way it would not just be unfair, but
to us, scatters them among mankind, that rule remains
foolish to form governments based on heredity. Despite
a secret to man. It would be as ridiculous to attempt
this ideal, Paine lives in a world, as we still do, where
to fix the hereditaryship of human beauty, as of wis-
inherited access to social goods, including education,
dom. Whatever wisdom constituently is, it is like a
is influenced by the vestiges of the feudalism that the
seedless plant; it may be reared when it appears, but it
Enlightenment sought to overturn. Hereditary property
cannot be voluntarily produced. There is always a suf-
and poverty both still powerfully condition fair access to
ficiency somewhere in the general mass of society for
life chances through public institutions like schools.
all purposes; but with respect to the parts of society, it
The second Primary Source Reading, an exchange
is continually changing its place. It rises in one to-day,
between Thomas Jefferson and author/scientist/mathe-
in another to-morrow, and has most probably visited in
matician Benjamin Banneker, reveals much about its era
rotation every family of the earth, and again withdrawn.
and its protagonists. Banneker, a descendant of slaves,
As this is in the order of nature, the order of govern-
English servants, and freedmen, was dark skinned and
ment must necessarily follow it, or government will, as
referred to as an “Ethiopian” in one newspaper account
we see it does, degenerate into ignorance. The heredi-
of the time. Like Secretary of State Jefferson, he was
tary system, therefore, is as repugnant to human wisdom
highly accomplished in many different fields. In sending
as to human rights; and is as absurd as it is unjust.
Jefferson the first edition of an Almanac he had authored
As the republic of letters brings forward the best liter-
in 1791, Banneker writes that he can’t help but comment
ary productions, by giving to genius a fair and univer-
on the condition of slavery and Jefferson’s own public
sal chance; so the representative system of government
position on that institution. His language is respectful,
is calculated to produce the wisest laws, by collecting
precise, and challenging to Jefferson. Jefferson responds
wisdom from where it can be found. I smile to myself
to Banneker within two weeks, but in doing so seems
when I contemplate the ridiculous insignificance into
not to want to address Banneker’s central concerns. The
which literature and all the sciences would sink, were
language is polite but evasive. Positioned at the end of a
they made hereditary; and I carry the same idea into
chapter on liberty and literacy, it raises a number of issues
governments. An hereditary governor is as inconsistent
that bear discussing in class. One of them is how each
as an hereditary author. I know not whether Homer or
man treats issues of race, slavery, and liberty. Another is,
Euclid had sons; but I will venture an opinion that if
how many students and teachers today can write at Ban-
they had, and had left their works unfinished, those sons
neker’s level of precision and literary quality? Why is that?
could not have completed them.
Years later, Jefferson wrote to his friend Joel Barlow
Do we need a stronger evidence of the absurdity of
that he doubted that Banneker had done all the Alma-
hereditary government than is seen in the descendants
nac calculations himself, citing the long 1791 letter as
of those men, in any line of life, who once were famous?
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 45
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
46
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Is there scarcely an instance in which there is not a total
naturally opposed to the word monarchy, which has a
reverse of the character? It appears as if the tide of men-
base original signification. It means arbitrary power in
tal faculties flowed as far as it could in certain channels,
an individual person; in the exercise of which, himself,
and then forsook its course, and arose in others. How
and not the res-publica, is the object.
irrational then is the hereditary system, which estab-
Every government that does not act on the principle
lishes channels of power, in company with which wis-
of a Republic, or in other words, that does not make
dom refuses to flow! By continuing this absurdity, man
the res-publica its whole and sole object, is not a good
is perpetually in contradiction with himself; he accepts,
government. Republican government is no other than
for a king, or a chief magistrate, or a legislator, a person
government established and conducted for the interest
whom he would not elect for a constable.
of the public, as well individually as collectively. It is
It appears to general observation, that revolutions
not necessarily connected with any particular form, but
create genius and talents; but those events do no more
it most naturally associates with the representative form,
than bring them forward. There is existing in man, a
as being best calculated to secure the end for which a
mass of sense lying in a dormant state, and which, unless
nation is at the expense of supporting it.
something excites it to action, will descend with him,
War is the common harvest of all those who partici-
in that condition, to the grave. As it is to the advan-
pate in the division and expenditure of public money,
tage of society that the whole of its faculties should
in all countries. It is the art of conquering at home; the
be employed, the construction of government ought
object of it is an increase of revenue; and as revenue
to be such as to bring forward, by a quiet and regular
cannot be increased without taxes, a pretence must be
operation, all that extent of capacity which never fails to
made for expenditure. In reviewing the history of the
appear in revolutions.
English Government, its wars and its taxes, a bystander,
This cannot take place in the insipid state of heredi-
not blinded by prejudice nor warped by interest, would
tary government, not only because it prevents, but
declare that taxes were not raised to carry on wars, but
because it operates to benumb. When the mind of a
that wars were raised to carry on taxes.
nation is bowed down by any political superstition in
its government, such as hereditary succession is, it loses
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#7
a considerable portion of its powers on all other sub-
jects and objects. Hereditary succession requires the
What is Paine’s argument for natural aristocracy? If
same obedience to ignorance, as to wisdom; and when
his ideal in Rights of Man were in force, describe how
once the mind can bring itself to pay this indiscriminate
the schooling, in any community you are aware of,
reverence, it descends below the stature of mental man-
would change.
hood. It is fit to be great only in little things. It acts a
treachery upon itself, and suffocates the sensations that
urge the detection.
Primary Source Reading
Though the ancient governments present to us a
miserable picture of the condition of man, there is one
which above all others exempts itself from the general
Exchange between Benjamin
description. I mean the democracy of the Athenians.
Banneker and Thomas Jefferson
We see more to admire, and less to condemn, in that
great, extraordinary people, than in anything which his-
SIR,
tory affords.
I AM fully sensible of the greatness of that freedom,
What is called a republic is not any particular form
which I take with you on the present occasion; a liberty
of government. It is wholly characteristic of the pur-
which seemed to me scarcely allowable, when I reflected
port, matter or object for which government ought to
on that distinguished and dignified station in which you
be instituted, and on which it is to be employed, RES-
stand, and the almost general prejudice and preposses-
PUBLICA, the public affairs, or the public good; or,
sion, which is so prevalent in the world against those of
literally translated, the public thing. It is a word of a
my complexion.
good original, referring to what ought to be the char-
I suppose it is a truth too well attested to you, to need
acter and business of government; and in this sense it is
a proof here, that we are a race of beings, who have long
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 46
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 47
labored under the abuse and censure of the world; that
that I have abundantly tasted of the fruition of those
we have long been looked upon with an eye of contempt;
blessings, which proceed from that free and unequalled
and that we have long been considered rather as brutish
liberty with which you are favored; and which, I hope,
than human, and scarcely capable of mental endowments.
you will willingly allow you have mercifully received,
Sir, I hope I may safely admit, in consequence of that
from the immediate hand of that Being, from whom
report which hath reached me, that you are a man far
proceedeth every good and perfect Gift.
less inflexible in sentiments of this nature, than many
Sir, suffer me to recal to your mind that time, in which
others; that you are measurably friendly, and well dis-
the arms and tyranny of the British crown were exerted,
posed towards us; and that you are willing and ready
with every powerful effort, in order to reduce you to a state
to lend your aid and assistance to our relief, from those
of servitude: look back, I entreat you, on the variety of
many distresses, and numerous calamities, to which we
dangers to which you were exposed; reflect on that time,
are reduced. Now Sir, if this is founded in truth, I appre-
in which every human aid appeared unavailable, and in
hend you will embrace every opportunity, to eradicate
which even hope and fortitude wore the aspect of inability
that train of absurd and false ideas and opinions, which
to the conflict, and you cannot but be led to a serious and
so generally prevails with respect to us; and that your
grateful sense of your miraculous and providential preser-
sentiments are concurrent with mine, which are, that
vation; you cannot but acknowledge, that the present free-
one universal Father hath given being to us all; and that
dom and tranquility which you enjoy you have mercifully
he hath not only made us all of one flesh, but that he
received, and that it is the peculiar blessing of Heaven.
hath also, without partiality, afforded us all the same sen-
This, Sir, was a time when you clearly saw into the
sations and endowed us all with the same faculties; and
injustice of a state of slavery, and in which you had just
that however variable we may be in society or religion,
apprehensions of the horrors of its condition. It was now
however diversified in situation or color, we are all of the
that your abhorrence thereof was so excited, that you pub-
same family, and stand in the same relation to him.
licly held forth this true and invaluable doctrine, which is
Sir, if these are sentiments of which you are fully per-
worthy to be recorded and remembered in all succeed-
suaded, I hope you cannot but acknowledge, that it is
ing ages: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
the indispensible duty of those, who maintain for them-
all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their
selves the rights of human nature, and who possess the
Creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among
obligations of Christianity, to extend their power and
these are, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’’ Here
influence to the relief of every part of the human race,
was a time, in which your tender feelings for yourselves
from whatever burden or oppression they may unjustly
had engaged you thus to declare, you were then impressed
labor under; and this, I apprehend, a full conviction of
with proper ideas of the great violation of liberty, and the
the truth and obligation of these principles should lead
free possession of those blessings, to which you were enti-
all to. Sir, I have long been convinced, that if your love
tled by nature; but, Sir, how pitiable is it to reflect, that
for yourselves, and for those inestimable laws, which pre-
although you were so fully convinced of the benevolence
served to you the rights of human nature, was founded
of the Father of Mankind, and of his equal and impartial
on sincerity, you could not but be solicitous, that every
distribution of these rights and privileges, which he hath
individual, of whatever rank or distinction, might with
conferred upon them, that you should at the same time
you equally enjoy the blessings thereof; neither could
counteract his mercies, in detaining by fraud and violence
you rest satisfied short of the most active effusion of your
so numerous a part of my brethren, under groaning cap-
exertions, in order to secure their promotion from any
tivity and cruel oppression, that you should at the same
state of degradation, to which the unjustifiable cruelty
time be found guilty of that most criminal act, which you
and barbarism of men may have reduced them.
professedly detested in others, with respect to yourselves.
Sir, I freely and cheerfully acknowledge, that I am of
I suppose that your knowledge of the situation of my
the African race, and in that color which is natural to
brethren, is too extensive to need a recital here; neither
them of the deepest dye; and it is under a sense of the
shall I presume to prescribe methods by which they
most profound gratitude to the Supreme Ruler of the
may be relieved, otherwise than by recommending to
Universe, that I now confess to you, that I am not under
you and all others, to wean yourselves from those nar-
that state of tyrannical thraldom, and inhuman captiv-
row prejudices which you have imbibed with respect to
ity, to which too many of my brethren are doomed, but
them, and as Job proposed to his friends, “put your soul
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 47
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
48
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
in their souls’ stead;’’ thus shall your hearts be enlarged
TO MR. BENJAMIN BANNEKER.
with kindness and benevolence towards them; and thus
Philadelphia, August 30, 1791.
shall you need neither the direction of myself or oth-
ers, in what manner to proceed herein. And now, Sir,
SIR,
although my sympathy and affection for my brethren
I THANK you, sincerely, for your letter of the
hath caused my enlargement thus far, I ardently hope,
19th instant, and for the Almanac it contained. No
that your candor and generosity will plead with you in
body wishes more than I do, to see such proofs as you
my behalf, when I make known to you, that it was not
exhibit, that nature has given to our black brethren tal-
originally my design; but having taken up my pen in
ents equal to those of the other colors of men; and that
order to direct to you, as a present, a copy of an Alma-
the appearance of the want of them, is owing merely to
nac, which I have calculated for the succeeding year, I
the degraded condition of their existence, both in Africa
was unexpectedly and unavoidably led thereto.
and America. I can add with truth, that no body wishes
This calculation is the production of my arduous
more ardently to see a good system commenced, for
study, in this my advanced stage of life; for having long
raising the condition, both of their body and mind, to
had unbounded desires to become acquainted with
what it ought to be, as far as the imbecility of their pres-
the secrets of nature, I have had to gratify my curiosity
ent existence, and other circumstances, which cannot be
herein, through my own assiduous application to Astro-
neglected, will admit.
nomical Study, in which I need not recount to you the
I have taken the liberty of sending your Almanac
many difficulties and disadvantages, which I have had
to Monsieur de Condozett, Secretary of the Academy
to encounter.
of Sciences at Paris, and Member of the Philanthropic
And although I had almost declined to make my
Society, because I considered it as a document, to which
calculation for the ensuing year, in consequence of that
your whole color had a right for their justification,
time which I had allotted therefor, being taken up at
against the doubts which have been entertained of them.
the Federal Territory, by the request of Mr. Andrew
I am with great esteem, Sir, Your most obedient
Ellicott, yet finding myself under several engagements
Humble Servant,
to Printers of this state, to whom I had communicated
THOMAS JEFFERSON.
my design, on my return to my place of residence, I
industriously applied myself thereto, which I hope
I have accomplished with correctness and accuracy; a
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#8
copy of which I have taken the liberty to direct to you,
What do you think are the specific messages that
and which I humbly request you will favorably receive;
Banneker is trying to send Jefferson, beyond point-
and although you may have the opportunity of perus-
ing out the inhumanity of slavery? What are the main
ing it after its publication, yet I choose to send it to you
messages Banneker likely received from Jefferson’s
in manuscript previous thereto, that thereby you might
reply? Support your interpretations with evidence
not only have an earlier inspection, but that you might
from the letters.
also view it in my own hand writing.
And now, Sir, I shall conclude, and subscribe myself,
with the most profound respect,
Your most obedient humble servant,
BENJAMIN
BANNEKER.
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 48
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Chapter 2 49
Developing Your
2. Discuss the meritocratic aspects of Jefferson’s
educational proposals. In your essay, analyze
Professional Vocabulary
which groups may have been disadvantaged by the
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
proposal.
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
3. Until 1999, when scientists discovered Jefferson’s
important to education.
DNA in African American citizens who had long
Bill for the More General
grammar schools
claimed Jeffersonian ancestry, historians resisted
Diffusion of
that claim. Despite centuries-old evidence that
Knowledge
happiness
Jefferson fathered children by the slave Sally Hem-
intellectual freedom
mings, nearly all prominent Jefferson historians had
bourgeoisie
rejected that evidence before the DNA findings.
capitalism
nationalism
To what degree does the concept of ideology help
explain this recent change in historians’ interpreta-
civic freedom
natural
tion? Explain.
aristocracy/meritocracy
classical liberal
conservative
natural law
Online Resources
democratic localism
patriarchy
political freedom
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
“divine right” of the
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
nobility
progress
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
elementary schools
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
religious revelation
articles and news feeds.
faculty psychology
republicanism
faith in human reason
scientific reason
feudalism
social meliorism
freedom and “negative”
freedom
virtue
Questions for Discussion
and Examination
1. This chapter raises the following possibility:
Jefferson’s attitudes toward women, Native
Americans, and African Americans tell us not just
about his personal prejudices but also about the
liberal ideology of his time. Which dimensions of
classical liberalism seem to have justified to classi-
cal liberals the subordination of women, African
Americans, and Native Americans?
toz24404_ch02_022-049.indd 49
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 3
School as a Public
Institution The Common-School Era
Chapter Overview
An understanding of the beginning of common
and the more laissez-faire liberalism of agrarian
schooling in the United States requires atten-
Virginia, Mann succeeded in creating a school
tion to social changes such as urbanization,
system in Massachusetts.
early industrialization, and patterns of immi-
The interaction of political economy and ide-
gration, all in the Northeast. Ideologically, the
ology was illustrated by U.S. citizens’ responses
common-school era was rooted in classical lib-
to Irish immigration. The moral and cultural
eralism, which had practical consequences in
judgments made by New Englanders about
urban New England different from those in ru-
Irish Catholics, along with the way schooling
ral Jeffersonian Virginia. These variations were
was used as a solution to the “Irish problem,”
due to differences in regional political economy
illustrate one way of responding to cultural di-
as well as shifts in religious thought. While
versity. The efforts of Mann and others to use
Jefferson had encountered difficulty gaining a con-
the schools to shape the character of Massa-
sensus for a state-funded but locally controlled
chusetts youth for moral uprightness as well as
school system, Horace Mann sought a state-funded
greater social stability are detailed in this chap-
and state-controlled school system. In part be-
ter. Mann’s effort to create a system of educa-
cause of the contrasts in political economy be-
tion through common schools as well as normal
tween Massachusetts and Virginia and in part
schools leads to a discussion of his conception
because of differences between the paternal-
of the occupation of teaching and how teachers
istic Whig liberalism of urban Massachusetts
should be educated.
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 50
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
Reading instruction has long provided the opportunity to impart a society’s dominant moral values.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 3 seeks to
4. Students should become acquainted as much
achieve are these:
as possible with the mind and career of Horace
Mann to understand the dominant ideology
1. Students should understand the distinctions
of his historical setting. They should evaluate
between the political economy of Jefferson’s
how Mann’s ideological orientation, particularly
agrarian Virginia and the urban centers in
toward democracy, was or was not consistent
Massachusetts and how each created different
with Jefferson’s democratic ideals.
conditions for the growth of common schools.
5. Students should understand and evaluate how
2. Students should understand how a wide range of
Mann and others thought the specific curricu-
components interacted in the political economy
lum of the common schools would address the
of Massachusetts during the common-school era.
cultural needs of Massachusetts at that time.
They also should understand that a combination
of Irish immigration, the beginnings of industry,
6. Students should assess the degree to which
and the Jacksonian revolution, among other
Mann’s conceptions of the teacher and teacher
factors, created fertile ground for common-school
education were adequate for that time and for
legislation.
ours.
3. Students should seek to understand the ideolog-
7. Finally, this chapter is designed to help students
ical framework of religion, republicanism, and
critically interpret the Primary Source Reading.
capitalism within which the school reformers
operated.
51
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 51
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
52
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Analytic Framework
The Early Common-School Era
Political Economy
Ideology
Urbanizing society
Classical liberalism
Beginning industrialization
Whig paternalism versus
democratic
localism
Irish immigration
Religious humanitarianism
Westward migration
Faculty psychology
Social reform movements
Abolitionism
Jacksonian democracy
Protestant work ethic
Growth of commerce
Schooling
5 Rs,
Introduction: Schooling
religion & and the capital lawes of this country,” with
power to impose fines on such as refuse to render accounts
in New England
concerning their children.1
Five years later, Massachusetts enacted the Old Deluder
When Thomas Jefferson died on Independence Day in
Satan Law, requiring any community with at least 50
1826, his dream of a state-supported system of education
households to establish and support schools, “It being
was still unrealized not only in Virginia but throughout
the chief project of old deluder, Satan, to keep men from
the new nation. Nevertheless, the massive changes oc-
the knowledge of the Scriptures.” The Massachusetts
curring in the political economy of New England would
legislators believed specifically that literacy would com-
affect its educational efforts and provide the impetus
bat Satan’s designs on the uneducated.2 Soon after the
for an educational system in Massachusetts that, by the
ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1789, the state of
Civil War, became the model for the nation.
Massachusetts renewed this commitment with the pas-
From its founding, the Massachusetts Bay Colony
sage of a law requiring all towns with a population of 50
had been known for its commitment to schooling. Its
or more families to provide an elementary school for at
laws were driven, in part, by a religious as well as legal
least six months each year and those with more than 199
and economic view of the public good. Historian Ellwood
families to provide a grammar school to teach classical
Cubberley writes that in 1642, the first Massachusetts law
languages. This law probably had little direct impact, as
relating to children stated:
many towns were already in accordance and those which
“In evry towne ye chosen men” shall see that parents
failed to comply were rarely called to task. In any case, at
and masters not only train their children in learning and
the turn of the 19th century only a small percentage of
labor, but also “to read & understand the principles of
school-age children attended schools, even in Boston.3
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 52
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 53
During the following three decades, education
educational reform began in the mid-1820s in Massa-
became a topic of increasing concern in Massachu-
chusetts. But the reform movement did not arise in a
setts as the number of elementary schools and school
vacuum. Momentous economic, social, politica l, demo-
attendance both increased. By the 1830s most chil-
graphic, and intellectual developments impelled both
dren in the state had access to elementary schooling.
the reformers and reform. These developments will be
Locally controlled schools with voluntary attendance
the focus of the first part of this chapter.
were almost universal. The conditions of those schools,
however, were usually less than optimal. Most school
buildings were poorly constructed and inadequately
Political Economy of the
ventilated, and provided seats, desks, and lighting that
Common-School Era
were condemned by contemporary doctors. Moreover,
schools were often located in the most undesirable sec-
Demographic Changes
tor of the town, in part because wealthier families hired
private tutors for their children. Many of the teachers
The first demographic change was the massive flow of
were barely literate; often they were hired because they
settlers from the coastal states into the interior territo-
would accept an inadequate salary. It was not unusual
ries, initially into the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys
for a teacher to confront a large number of students
and subsequently the trans-Mississippi Great Plains and
ranging from 2 to 25 years of age, using whatever range
the Pacific coast. The territories of Kentucky, Tennes-
of texts could be brought from home.4 Educational his-
see, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, for example,
torian Carl Kaestle’s assessment of the state of American
collectively grew from about 110,000 inhabitants in
education at this time was especially applicable to Mas-
1790 to almost 950,000 in 1810.6 As there were definite
sachusetts: “America had schools, but, except in large
overland and water routes from the settled to the “new”
cities, America did not have school systems.”5 It was
areas, groups of settlers from New England tended to
within this educational context that the movement for
congregate in specific locales, as did pioneers from other
The unprecedented flow of immigrants with different ethnic and religious backgrounds helped turn 19th-century schools into socialization factories where, it was hoped, “American” values could be instilled into a diverse population.
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 53
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
54
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
sections. These settlers tended to bring and retain many
As their numbers increased, they huddled in segregated
of their social, political, and religious values. This, in
sections of the cities and became integrated into the eco-
part, helped account for the establishment of familiar
nomic system—especially in jobs that natives rejected,
institutions in the territories. While the struggle over
such as working in factories, digging canals, building
slavery in the territories may appear as the most impor-
railroads, and constructing urban sewers. Many of the
tant effect of this migration, there were other subtle but
natives worried about how these newcomers could fit
significant effects as well.
into the nation. Once again, schooling seemed an obvi-
One such effect was the impact of westward migra-
ous answer.
tion on American nationalism. This migration stretched
the population over a much larger expanse of territory.
Long distances and resulting travel times loosened old
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
ties of kinship, community, and national loyalty. It is
Did your own ancestors play a role in response to or
important to remember that American nationalism was
as a part of the 19th-century immigrant experience?
still in its infancy and relatively weak compared with
What might have been their experience in work and
loyalty to the various states. Consequently, a major con-
in reaction to earlier immigrants’ now ideologically
cern of postrevolutionary intellectual leaders such as
dominant religion and customs? Research family his-
Benjamin Rush and Noah Webster had been to forge
tory and discuss with groups in class, exploring differ-
a unique and widespread sense of American identity or
ences and similarities.
nationalism. Moreover, the War of 1812 and the sub-
sequent controversy over slavery created heated sec-
tional conflict, which further eroded nationalism and
A third demographic feature of the era was urban-
increased alarm among American nationalists. In this
ization. Between 1790 and 1810, the percentage of the
context of concern about the potential weakening of na-
population living in urban areas increased from 5.1 to
tionalism, the westward migration generated a felt need
7.3 percent. Significantly, however, most of this increase
for increased patriotic impulses.
occurred in the port cities of Boston, Baltimore, New
As if in response to this need, the three decades be-
York, and Philadelphia. The reason for this growth
fore the Civil War witnessed the development of such
was the rapidly expanding maritime trade. Until the
national symbols as the flag, patriotic songs, and car-
mid-1820s commerce remained the primary econom-
toons such as Uncle Sam. The glorification of national
ic activity of American cities.8 As we shall later see, a
heroes like George Washington also occurred at this
commerce-driven economy carries certain educational
time. Such patriotism led many to view the school as an
prerequisites. From 1830 to 1850 the percentage of
obvious means of building a nationalistic spirit in the
urban dwellers in the U.S. population grew from 10
next generation.7
to 20 percent. At that time, however, urban growth
A second demographic development was immigra-
was stimulated by industrialization, especially in cot-
tion, especially by the Irish, motivated by privation, star-
ton textiles.9 This urban expansion was accompanied
vation, and English crown civic oppression. Germans
by a marked and growing gap between rich and poor,
also came in large numbers, escaping widespread politi-
increased crime, a rise in the consumption of alcoholic
cal upheaval. Beginning with a trickle in the early 1820s,
beverages, and what the intellectual and religious lead-
immigration increased to a tidal wave by 1850. Most of
ers perceived as a general and dangerous lowering of
the Irish immigrants settled in the Northeast, especially
morality. Many hoped that these problems caused by in-
in New England cities. The Irish presented a series of
dustrialization could be ameliorated by schooling.
problems for New Englanders. Many were uneducated
and unskilled. What caused most concern, however, was
Political Developments
their religion. Overwhelmingly, the Irish were Roman
Catholic. To many native Protestants this was almost
The second category of change that stimulated edu-
worse than atheism. Additionally, the Irish workers
cational reforms was political. The first third of the
competed with native workers for jobs during times of
19th century witnessed a major expansion in suffrage
economic distress, such as the recession of 1837. Thus
for White males. When the new federal Constitution
the Irish were met with religious bigotry, economic
went into effect in 1789, fewer than one White male in
and social prejudice, and occasionally mob violence.
seven was qualified to vote; by the election of Andrew
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 54
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 55
Jackson in 1828, four in seven were qualified. The ma-
demands as dockworkers, warehouse workers, team-
jor criterion for eligibility was property ownership. The
sters, and a variety of clerks were needed by the ex-
expansion of the electorate gave increased power to the
panding mercantile establishments.10 The educational
Jacksonian Democrats, who were the heirs to Jefferson’s
needs of clerks in particular exceeded the mere literacy
party. The New England upper classes, who had earlier
demanded by New England Calvinists for religious
supported the Federalist party, now supported the Whig
reading. To a large degree these needs were met by acad-
party. They were generally alarmed at the political power
emies, or private schools, and expanded public school-
of lower economic classes, whom they considered in-
ing in the urban areas. The growth of commerce also
tellectually unready for the moral responsibilities of the
resulted in the amassing of large fortunes by some mer-
vote. Further, the Irish Catholics were especially consid-
chants and, at the other end of the economic scale, pov-
ered unready for representative government because of
erty for some workers, especially during slack seasons.
their perceived allegiance to the authority of a European
Indeed, contemporary commentators noted with alarm
pope rather than to independent self-government. One
the development of extremes of wealth and poverty.
response by the largely urban, Protestant Whigs was to
The most complex and revolutionary economic
support education, which they believed would “inform”
change was the advent of industrialization. Initially
and thus “make safe” an otherwise ignorant electorate.
subtle and almost unnoticed, industrial development
The Whigs’ conceptions of “inform” and “make safe”
did not begin in the cities but in the countryside as
were, of course, grounded in their own view of what
small-scale cottage industry in textiles and shoemaking.
was right and good for society. “Right” and “good,” as
Generally, farmers and their wives practiced these crafts
we shall see, were defined in accord with an ideology of
during slack times to supplement their farm livelihood.
Protestant, classical liberal values.
As demand for these products increased, the cottage in-
dustries underwent an evolution. Independent artisans
producing and selling their goods directly to the public
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
gradually lost their marketing freedom to enterprising
merchants who not only organized the distribution of
How does the idea of schooling to make society
the finished good but also attempted to organize pro-
“safe” resonate with elements of the ideology of
classical liberal educational theory and fit with and/or
duction through a “putting-out” system, which placed
differ from the schools with which you are familiar
the raw materials with the home artisans. The artisans,
today?
however, continued to control the production process;
that is, they set the time, the place, the pace, and the
quality of work, thus controlling the most important
conditions of their own labor. The merchants had an
Economic Developments
economic stake in the productive process not only be-
Changes in demography and politics were significant fac-
cause they needed the finished products to satisfy their
tors in the school reform movement of the first half of the
markets but also because they had financed the raw ma-
19th century. Of equal, if not greater, importance were
terials. When the cottage artisans neglected shoemaking
the changes in the economy of Massachusetts, where
for financially more attractive pursuits, such as fishing
readily observable economic developments occurred in
and hunting, or were careless about the quality of their
transportation. Through road building and improve-
work, the merchants became convinced that the sys-
ment, then the digging of a vast system of canals, and
tem of putting-out was inefficient and unsatisfactory.
finally the construction of a network of railroads, Massa-
Eventually the production process was organized by
chusetts and the entire northeastern portion of the nation
manufacturers who concentrated production in a cen-
were soon connected by an impressive system for moving
tral location. Thus, we see the beginning of factories in
people, produce, and goods.
New England.
A perceptive observer would have seen another
This development is described by Paul Faler, who
significant development during the first third of the
notes that the central factor in the evolution of indus-
century. This was the huge expansion of commerce
try was the need to control the quality and quantity of
centered in the great port cities, especially New York,
production.11 Integral to this control was the develop-
Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore. Much of the
ment of a set of values, or an industrial morality, in the
rapid growth of these cities resulted from labor market
producer s. Historians E. P. Thompson and Herbert
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 55
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
56
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
G. Gutman explained how the development of an
workers. This focus ensured their attention to educa-
industrial
morality was in reality the displacement
tion and schooling. Second, as successive waves of im-
of a traditional culture with a modern culture.12 In
migrants came, it seemed necessary to enculturate them
a preindustrial culture, values revolve around family,
and their children in the appropriate values. This pro-
community, festivals, and seasons. Work, family life,
cess continued well into the 20th century and was a
and leisure are all integrated, and the transition from
factor in subsequent school reforms. Third, these early
childhood to youth and, subsequently, to adulthood
factories resembled post–Civil War factories primarily
is blurred. In marked contrast, industrial morality or
in employing workers for wages and requiring workers
modern cultural commitments reflect a strict adherence
with an industrial morality. In terms of size, utilization
to clock time and punctuality; continuous exclusive la-
of machine processes, and complexity of technology,
bor for a set number of hours in a setting sharply sepa-
however, they were qualitatively different.
rated from family or leisure; enforced respect for rules,
In Massachusetts during the 1830s, all these political–
law, and authority; and a clear demarcation between
economic factors provided the soil from which school
childhood, youth, and adulthood.
reforms grew. Demographic factors such as urbanization,
immigration, and westward migration raised problems
which many believed could be addressed by education.
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
Likewise, the successive rise of commerce and then in-
How do the “reasoning” requirements appear to dif-
dustrialization presented needs that schooling might
fer between cottage industry, home production, and
fulfill. None of these changes in demography, politics,
factory production? What are the implications for the
or economics occurred without conflict. The immi-
school curriculum? How does work today look from
gration of the Irish engendered overt opposition and
these different points of view?
sometimes physical violence as some natives resented
the Catholic religion of the Irish and others resented
their competition for jobs at or near the bottom of the
Both the merchants who had organized the cot-
economic structure. Importantly, each of these conflicts
tage industries and the entrepreneurs who developed
provided a powerful stimulus for school reform, for
factories felt the need to convert the workers from tra-
the schools were coming to be viewed by the business
ditional to modern cultural commitments, that is, to
classes and Protestant reformers alike as institutions
instill an industrial morality. Economic rewards; reform
where common values could be developed as a basis for
movements such as temperance and religion; formal or-
individual moral growth and social stability.
ganizations such as the Society for the Promotion of
But these “common values” were not easily agreed
Industry, Frugality, and Temperance; and eventually
on. Shifts in Protestantism and in classical liberalism
schools were some of the means used to instill this in-
were sweeping Massachusetts, but they were vigor-
dustrial morality.13
ously resisted by Calvinists and Jeffersonian democrats.
The evolution from cottage to factory industry
Political-economic changes were understood by leaders
took place in Massachusetts during the first third of
in Massachusetts within a shifting ideological frame-
the 19th century. As factories became common during
work, to which we now turn.
the 1830s, manufacturing displaced commerce as the
principal economic activity of the state’s cities. Several
features of these early factories should be kept in mind.
Ideology and Religion
First, it was initially difficult to lure adult males into
the factories. Many of the early establishments, espe-
Throughout the 17th and most of the 18th centuries,
cially textile mills, were run with women, children, and
Puritanism, with its Calvinist doctrines, held sway in
inmates of charitable institutions as laborers. Later, as
New England. The Puritan God was an angry God
Irish immigration increased, the immigrants replaced
who demanded strict justice with harsh punishment for
native-born females as factory workers. The native
sinners. Puritans believed all human history had been
adult males appeared to be incorrigibly committed to
foreordained at creation and that only a few had been
traditions of worker autonomy, and industrialists chose
elected by God for salvation. While they required all
to focus their reform efforts on the next generation of
believers to read the Bible and expected that personal as
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 56
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 57
well as collective behavior might be a sign of election,
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#4
no one could earn salvation through doing good works.
Salvation was a gift from God for the select few. In an
How does this notion of reform instead of punishment
important sense, this was a faith with an aristocracy of
fit with classical liberal ideology? How does each con-
the elect. The Puritan s’ theology had extensive ramifi-
cept take a position in our current ideas about educa-
cations for their definitions of human nature, the good
tion and criminal rehabilitation?
society, the appropriate relationship of the individual
to the social order, and discipline—in the home, soci-
ety, and school.14
The Calvinist position implied mass literacy because
The defining religious characteristic of 19th-century
all believers were required to read the scriptures. The
New England was the gradual but cumulative displace-
more liberal religious views of the 19th century, how-
ment of Puritanism by increasingly less harsh and more
ever, required more than mass literacy. The new views
humane doctrines.15 Immigration of non-Puritans helped
of human nature, progress, and a rational universe re-
dilute the strength of Puritan orthodoxy. More impor-
quired mass education that would equip the young to un-
tant was the impact of scientific discovery, which demy-
derstand the natural and social worlds in order to make
thologized nature and replaced it with Enlightenment
rational responses to the challenges they would face in
thought, which emphasized progress, human perfect-
life. The safety, health, and progress of both individuals
ibility, and reason. This change also occurred within
and society would depend, reformers believed, on the ad-
Puritanism itself, as liberal ministers such as Charles
equacy of these responses.
Chauncy began chipping away at Calvinist dogma at
the close of the 18th century. The center of gravity for
Consolidation of Classical Liberalism
religious thought in New England shifted from the Cal-
vinist Congregational denomination to the more liberal
During the common-school era the major develop-
Unitarian churches during the first three decades of the
ment in ideology was the consolidation and spread
19th century. Most influential in this shift was William
of classical liberalism from intellectual leaders to the
Ellery Channing of Boston’s Federal Street Congre-
general public. Among the primary components of
gation. Channing made a frontal assault on the basic
classical liberalism, as discussed in Chapter 2, were a
dogma of Calvinism as he rejected the notion of human
basic faith in human reason, the enduring reality of
depravity and the absolute sovereignty of God. Instead,
Newton’s conception of natural law, and continuing
he proclaimed humans to be rational beings capable of
progress; belief in the importance of education; a com-
understanding God’s works, and asserted that God was
mitment to nationalism; and a belief in the value of
a morally perfect being. From these positions Chan-
republican virtue and the centrality of freedom to the
ning not only assailed Calvinism but built an alternative
American condition. The principal vehicles for dissemi-
theology , a conception of human nature and of the good
nation were politics, newspapers, and churches. By the
society that was both humane and in tune with Enlight-
mid-1830s these ideas were commonly accepted across
enment thought. What Channing began was extended
the United States. While the spread of classical liberal-
by other liberal ministers, such as Horace Bushnell,
ism from the intellectuals to the commoners was the
and the transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and
defining characteristic of ideology from the 1820s to
Henry David Thoreau.
the mid-1840s, not all was static within that ideology.
The result was a belief in a benevolent God who had
Already by the 1830s the forces of economic change
created a rational universe and had endowed human na-
were beginning to gather momentum, especially with
ture with the rationality needed to develop an ever more
the birth of the factory system and the development
perfect social order. The possibility of progress seemed
of the railroads. Both would demand some degree of
to carry an injunction to New Englanders for reform.
government assistance. Factory owners wanted protec-
If God had given them the power for improvement, it
tive tariffs; the railroads coveted financial aid and land
seemed their duty to exercise it. The emphasis on the es-
grants. Moreover, the immigration of the Irish added
sential goodness of human nature and even the divinity
a challenging dimension to the American social order.
of the human personality pushed the reform impulse in
These developments would occasion some innovations
humanitarian directions.
in the prevailing ideology.
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 57
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
58
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Subtle but significant ideological accommodations
of human rationality. The basis of the new discipline was
followed. The most important were in beliefs about the
manipulation of the child’s nonrational psyche through
role of government. Complete laissez-faire would not
the granting or withholding of affection. Rather than
meet the new economic requirements, and so govern-
rely solely on a rational explanation of the rules and
ment was asked to play a significant economic role. No
punishments for violation, Mann urged teachers to use
longer was it sufficient for the government to stay out
affection to mold appropriate behaviors. This approach
of economic affairs. At first the breach was slight, but it
would later be amplified by modern liberals as they tried
foreshadowed developments of the late 19th and early
to shape children emotionally as well as rationally.
20th centuries. Laissez-faire was amended to mean that
The debate between Mann and Orestes Brownson
government should stand on the sidelines except when
(see the Primary Source Reading) in large part concerned
necessary for it to assist economic development. Such
these redefinitions of classical liberalism. Brownson rep-
assistance would include protective tariffs to keep out
resented the older view, and Mann championed the
foreign competition and financial aid to industries such
modifications to that view. Brownson advocated local
as the railroads. Between the mid-1830s and the end
control of schools, attacked state normal schools, and at-
of the 19th century, the federal government gave the
tacked Mann’s list of approved texts. All these moves
railroad companies land equal in area to the state of
reflected a Jeffersonian version of classical liberalism,
Texas. The seed of the 20th-century welfare state had
while Mann’s ideas signaled a newer view.
been sown; its earliest germination was welfare for the
Horace Mann was perhaps the best example of a po-
industrial class. It was defended on the grounds that it
litical leader whose policies and career embodied these
would ultimately benefit all members of society.
ideological adjustments. He began his political career
Demands for an increasingly active government in
as a spokesperson for the industrial and railroad inter-
the economic area were accompanied by an increased
ests in the Massachusetts legislature. He also champi-
willingness to allow the general growth of government
oned reforms such as temperance and the institutional
power and centralization of authority. Again, this be-
care of the insane and juvenile delinquents. Each of
gan slowly but increased over the succeeding decades.
these reforms augured increased power for government
The concentration of state power over education, in the
and a shrinking of private freedom. In totality, Mann
form of state school boards, was only one example of
was clearly a classical liberal. Nevertheless, he may be
the decline of local self-government. Another was the
seen as a transitional figure bridging classical and new
passage of a compulsory school attendance law by Mas-
liberalism. Similarly, the era of the common school may
sachusetts in 1852. In part, this acceptance of increased
be seen as an era of transition to modern schooling.
state authority may have been stimulated by the fear of
social disintegration engendered by Irish immigration.
Closely associated with these ideological accommo-
Horace Mann: An Exemplar
dations was a modification in the definition of freedom.
of Reform
Jefferson had argued for a “negative” freedom, that is,
freedom from government interference in the individ-
Early Life
ual’s private life. However, leaders in the 1830s began
to emphasize the responsibility of government to create
Perhaps no individual more accurately represented
the conditions for freedom through economic and edu-
through his family and personal biography the successive
cational intervention. This was a beginning step in the
changes that altered the life and thought of Massachusetts
direction of the ideal of a “positive” freedom espoused
than did Horace Mann. He was a direct descendant of
in the 20th century by modern liberals, as we shall see
William Mann, who came to the Bay Colony in 1633,
in Chapter 4.
and his paternal ancestors included a graduate of Harvard
The third adjustment to classical liberal ideology oc-
College who became a Puritan minister and another who
curred in the concept of rationality. Jefferson and other
was a member of the Committee of Correspondence dur-
earlier classical liberals held that humans were capable of
ing the Revolution. All had remained in Massachusetts,
reason and should be approached on that basis. Horace
were Calvinists, and, with the exception of one minis-
Mann and other common-school reformers adopted the
ter, had been farmers. Horace, born in 1796 at Franklin,
“new discipline” of love as a classroom methodology.
Massachusetts, was the last child of Thomas Mann and
This reflected a subtle but significant change in the idea
Rebecca Stanley Mann.16
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 58
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 59
principle of religious freedom. The defeat of the petition
strengthened the Unitarians in their struggle with the
Congregationalists.
As a legislator he supported a number of humanitarian
reforms, such as the overturning of the state’s debtor laws,
humane treatment of the insane, and the temperance move-
ment.
The two major humanitarian reform movements
that did not find Horace Mann in their ranks during
the early 1830s were public education and abolition.
His position on the abolition of slavery displayed the
conflict between his moral beliefs, his economic and
political commitments, and his sense of political real-
Horace Mann (Detail), who was the first secretary to the
ity. Mann considered slavery to be a moral abomination
Massachusetts State Board of Education from 1837 to 1848,
that required eventual eradication. The abolitionists,
is best remembered as the primary champion of America’s
however, with their demands for the immediate end of
new common-school movement.
slavery, seemed to him to be threatening not only the
political stability of the republic but the institution of
Thomas Mann raised his family on a farm that had been
private property. Moreover, he believed their demands
in the Mann family since 1709, when his grandfather, also
and moral stridency only strengthened the slave states’
named Thomas, purchased it. Horace’s childhood resem-
resolve to defend their “peculiar” institution, thus de-
bled that of past generations of New Englanders. Subsis-
laying a peaceful resolution of the problem. The aboli-
tence farming provided nearly all life’s necessities. Horace
tionists’ goals could be achieved, he felt, only by force
learned not only farming but traditional values while help-
of arms, and such a course would threaten the repub-
ing with the daily farm chores. The family was also a pri-
lic. Additionally, even if freedom could be peacefully
mary setting for literacy and religious training, with older
won, it was not clear to Mann what could be done with
siblings often helping parents introduce younger children
the freed African Americans.
to reading, ciphering, and dogma. Later in his life, after
As Jefferson once wrote, Mann thought that the
he suggested that he had been largely self-taught, his sister
African American’s future was not in America, but he
Lydia reminded Horace, “Every day of your life when you
was not sanguine about African recolonization. Inter-
were with your parents and sister you were at school and
estingly, when it came to cases of individual African
learning that which has been the foundation of your pres-
Americans, Mann was egalitarian and sympathetic,
ent learning.”17
often at great personal cost. In 1844, for example, he
Between 1819 and 1822, Mann tutored at Brown
canceled his scheduled speech before the New Bedford
and simultaneously studied law. After serving as an ap-
Lyceum when he learned that it restricted membership
prentice lawyer, he graduated from the Litchfield Law
to Whites. Three years later, when a Black woman,
School and in 1823 was admitted to the Massachusetts
Chloe Lee, was admitted to the State Normal School
bar in Dedham, where he began to practice law. During
at West Newton and could not find accommodations
the next four years Mann firmly established his reputa-
among the townspeople, she was welcomed into the
tion as a lawyer and an orator.
Mann home. It appears that especially during the years
when he was secretary to the State Board of Educa-
Mann’s Political Career
tion, his concern for preserving social harmony led him
to silence his support for the abolitionist cause. Later,
Mann’s career in the Massachusetts legislature contin-
however, as a member of the U.S. House of Repre-
ued until 1837, during which time he continued to re-
sentatives, filling the seat of recently deceased John
flect the changes in his society. His first legislative speech
Quincy Adams, he delivered a memorable antislavery
came during a debate on a petition by the First Religious
speech in opposition to the Compromise Bill of 1850,
Society of Blandford for incorporation. Mann opposed
a speech that nearly cost him his House seat in the next
granting this Congregationalist group perpetual con-
election and was a major factor in his defeat in the sub-
trol over its endowment, resting his argument on the
sequent one.
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 59
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
60
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
While the abolitionists and slavery caused Mann
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#5
considerable concern during his legislative career, edu-
cational questions were not on his agenda. It was not
Mann was involved in the following movements as
until 1837 that his attention focused on public educa-
either an activist or a debater: women’s higher educa-
tion. By then much of the groundwork for educational
tion, which he supported; state control of public edu-
reform in Massachusetts had been already done by oth-
cation; crime prevention; and the slavery question.
ers. When Mann did enter the fray, however, he left a
How might public schooling be regarded as another
lasting mark on American education. The issue that di-
“humanitarian reform” in that historical context?
rected Mann’s interest to education was the dispersal of
funds that had been allocated to the state by the federal
government to compensate for the Massachusetts state
militia’s service during the War of 1812. Mann sup-
Mann and the Common
ported the use of these monies for the state’s common
schools. Although he lost the fiscal battle, the legislature
Schools
created a state board of education authorized to collect
and disseminate information about schools to the local
Mann’s most far-reaching contributions to education
districts and the public at large. Much to the surprise
were made during the years he spent as secretary to the
of his contemporaries, Mann accepted the appointment
Massachusetts State Board of Education, 1837 to 1848.
as secretary to the board, a position he occupied from
He had been at the pinnacle of his political career when
1837 to 1848.
he accepted Governor Everett’s offer to quit the state
Mann resigned from the secretary’s post in 1848
senate and direct the state’s efforts to reform public
and was elected in 1848 and 1850 to the U.S. House
education. The importance he assigned to the task was
of Representatives from the Eighth Congressional Dis-
evident when he wrote to a friend, “My lawbooks are
trict. During his four years in Congress, sectional issues
for sale. My office is ‘to let’! The bar is no longer my fo-
surrounding the slavery question commanded most of
rum. My jurisdiction is changed. I have abandoned ju-
his attention, and he gained national prominence for his
risprudence, and betaken myself to the larger sphere of
antislavery position. His antislavery and temperance po-
mind and morals.”18 Although he had grown somewhat
sitions were the major factors in his defeat for reelection
disillusioned with the possibility of voluntary reform in
in 1852.
adults, his pessimism did not extend to the young. He
Soon after that electoral defeat, Mann accepted the
explained his optimism by saying, “Having found the
presidency of the yet-to-be-established Antioch College
present generation composed of materials almost un-
in Ohio. In the last stage of his career he continued to
malleable, I am transferring my efforts to the next. Men
reflect the mood of his times. He turned to higher edu-
are cast iron; but children are wax. Strength expended
cation as the nation began to focus attention on that
upon the latter may be effectual, which will make no
area. He moved west to Yellow Springs, Ohio, and thus
impression on the former.”19
became part of the great westward migration from the
The Massachusetts State Board of Education held its
Northeast. One of Mann’s prime presidential concerns
first meeting on June 29, 1837, and formally elected
was the higher education of women. Shortly after the
Mann as its secretary. The duties of the board were
women’s suffrage movement was launched, in July 1848
closely circumscribed by the law that had created it;
at Seneca Falls, New York, he was attempting to pro-
two of its duties were to present to the legislature an
vide women with the same collegiate education that
annual abstract of the school reports received by its sec-
male students received. To this end, he expanded the
retary and to report to the legislature all its activities, its
development begun earlier at Oberlin. Antioch College
reflections on the condition of education in the state,
was open to men and women of all races, and no distinc-
and any recommendations it might have for improve-
tion was made for race or gender in curricular questions,
ment of that condition.20 The secretary’s duties were
although he was known to have some vocal reservations
similarly specifically prescribed: the secretary “shall,
about absolute social equality among men and women.
under the direction of the board, collect information
By the time he died in 1859 at Yellow Springs, his life
of the actual conditions and efficiency of the common
reflected nearly all the important intellectual, social, po-
schools and other means of popular education; and dif-
litical, and economic developments of his time.
fuse as widely as possible throughout every part of the
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 60
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 61
Commonwealth, information of the most approved
the most significant were school buildings, moral values,
and successful methods of arranging the studies and
the example of Prussian education, discipline, teachers,
conducting the education of the young, to the end that
and the economic value of education. The question of
all children in this Commonwealth, who depend upon
curriculum subject matter was not one of the most im-
common schools for instruction, may have the best ed-
portant issues for Mann, perhaps because the curricu-
ucation which those schools can be made to impart.”21
lum was mandated by state legislation. He addressed
While these duties were clearly prescribed, the means
this question only once, in his Sixth Annual Report, for
for effecting them were not. Moreover, the powers of
the year 1842, where he noted that the law required
the board and its secretary were limited to the collection
instruction in “orthography, reading, writing, English
and dissemination of information.
grammar, geography and arithmetic.” Mann further
Regardless of their reform preferences, the only op-
explained that these were “the minimum but not the
tion open to Mann and the board was to seek voluntary
maximum.”23 He then spent the remaining 110 pages
cooperation from local districts. To effect educational
presenting a detailed plan for studying physiology, a
reform, Mann proceeded to demonstrate the power of
subject that he felt was wrongly neglected. Generally,
information when systematically disseminated through
however, when he dealt with curricular subjects, he ap-
an official government office. Initially, Mann’s most ef-
proached the topic from the perspective of teaching
fective device for conveying information to the people
methods rather than as subject matter. The six issues
of the state was the county educational convention.
that the secretary seemed to find most central to his
During the first year he held an advertised meeting in
reform efforts will now be examined.
every county of the state where he presented educational
questions to the local citizens. A wide range of educa-
School Buildings
tional topics was discussed, including teaching methods,
the most appropriate location of schools, school appa-
Under the general heading of school buildings, Mann in-
ratus, texts, discipline, the duties of local school board
cluded a variety of items that involved the physical setting
members, attendance problems, finance, and European
of schooling. One of his less acclaimed accomplishments,
educational innovations. Mann took particular pains
from which generations of schoolchildren benefited, was
to ensure the attendance of local dignitaries who were
the vastly improved physical setting of school life. The
known friends of education.
idyllic “little red schoolhouses” nestled under giant oak
A second method of disseminating information was
trees beside babbling brooks and surrounded with green
through the annual reports of the board and the sec-
meadows were usually fictional creations of writers who
retary, which were sent to all district school boards
romanticized the American educational past. Such scenes
as well as to the state legislature and the governor.
definitely did not describe the reality of most district
Educational officials throughout the nation obtained
schools in the late 1830s. Most were poorly construct-
copies of these reports, thus adding to the national
ed, offering little protection from the cold winters. Few
influence of school reforms in Massachusetts. In ad-
had adequate windows or artificial means to provide
dition, Mann established the semimonthly Common
sufficient light. Rare was the school large enough to ac-
School Journal in 1839, which published articles and
commodate its students. Many provided only backless
news items about education and was available to most
benches, which were not only uncomfortable but dan-
teachers in the state.22
gerous. Frequently, schools were without toilet facilities
Among the wide variety of educational topics ad-
and water for drinking and washing. Many schools were
dressed by Mann during his tenure as secretary, perhaps
located in unattractive, and sometimes unhealthful, sites
apparently chosen because they were unsuitable for any
other productive use.
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#6
The secretary marshaled the power of “information”
States go far beyond the collection and dissemina-
to combat these conditions. In the First Annual Report
tion of information about education; they now require
the board, under the subject of important topics, listed
specific tests for prospective teachers and to assess
“the proper and commodious construction of school-
student progress. What would Mann say? What do
houses.” In the secretary’s section of the same report,
you think?
he stated, “There are four cardinal topics. . . . First in
order is the situation, construction and number of the
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 61
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
62
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Horace Mann addressed the adequacy of Massachusetts school buildings
in his First Annual Report to the State Board of Education in 1838.
school-houses.”24 The circular Mann sent to each county
upon all. These and others erected during the past year,
in 1837 to advertise his county educational conven-
are ornaments to the respective places of their location,
tions listed 11 questions “to direct attention to some
an honor to their inhabitants and a pledge of the el-
leading considerations”: the first was, “Is inconvenience
evated character of their posterity.”27 Moreover, the
or discomfort suffered from the construction or loca-
secretary’s annual publication of each town’s rank in
tion of School Houses in your Town, and if so in what
school expenditures caused some towns, such as Palmer,
manner?”25 The following year Mann praised the city
“mortification” and others, such as Lowell, an occasion
of Salem’s improvements in seating, ventilation, and
to boast.28 It is not difficult to imagine the cumulative
reconstruction of its school as a carrot to tempt other
effect of this kind of publicized information.
districts to follow suit. Lest the recalcitrant miss the
point, he warned,
In many other places, improvements of the same kind
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#7
have been made, though to a less extent, and in a part only
of the houses. It would be a great mistake, however, to sup-
Discuss the school buildings you are familiar with.
pose, that nothing remains to be done in this important
How does the quality of the physical environment af-
department of the system of public instruction. The cases
fect teaching and learning?
mentioned are the slightest exceptions, compared with the
generality of the neglect. . . . The children must continue
to breathe poisonous air, and sit upon seats threatening
structural derangement, until parents become satisfied,
that a little money may well be expended to secure to their
Moral Values
offspring, the blessings of sound health, a good conforma-
At the core of Mann’s effort to reform common schooling
tion, and a strong, quick-working mind.26
was his belief that the school must inculcate an appro-
In his report three years later, Mann returned again to
priate set of moral values in the state’s children. This
the question of school buildings as he expressed guard-
belief was not entirely an innovation in Mann’s time;
ed optimism and satisfaction with the general progress
schools in Massachusetts had traditionally been seen as
around the state. He included, in the appendix, designs
institutions auxiliary to the home and the church in the
and descriptions of the new buildings at Springfield,
inculcation of Puritan values in the young. What was
Lowell, and Salem. He suggested that other districts
new with Mann was the centrality of the school, the set
might “select any one of them as a model, or they may
of values to be inculcated, and the role of the state in
attempt a combination which will be an improvement
determining and inculcating those values. Mann was
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 62
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 63
Congregationalist ministers, who remained committed to
Calvinist dogma. The issue became galvanized when the
state board began the practice of recommending books
that districts might purchase for school libraries. Led by
Frederick Packard, the American Sunday School Union
claimed, after some of its materials were rejected, that
Mann was attempting to eliminate religion from the
common schools.
It is significant that Mann received general support
from Protestant ministers and even from an apparent
majority of Congregationalist ministers.29 Irish Catho-
lics were later to object to the “common elements,” es-
pecially when they were accompanied with the reading
of the King James version of the Bible. They rightly saw
the common school as positioned against Catholicism,
and eventually they built a separate system of parochial
schools. Thus, ironically, Mann’s effort to unify society
around commonly held values led to a competing pri-
vate school system with potentially conflicting values.
That the Catholic schools did not promote the divisive
values Mann feared from sectarian schooling is another
irony that cannot be explored here.30
The predominance of Christian religious sentiment
in New England blinded Mann and the constituents to
Urban centers in Massachusetts began building new schools
during the common-school era.
an important implication of the “common elements”
he believed should be taught in the common schools.
The issue was raised, however, by England’s John Stuart
particularly concerned with the apparent breakdown of
Mill, one of the most prominent philosophers of the
moral consensus and the resulting conflict in his soci-
19th century. In the late 1840s English public educa-
ety. The religious struggle between the Calvinists and
tion was racked by religious conflict between Anglicans,
more liberal sects, the economic strife between rich and
various dissenting Protestant sects, and Catholics. In an
poor, the riots pitting Irish immigrants against native
attempt at compromise, educational reformers proposed
workers—all were evidence to Mann of a dangerous so-
a system of national education that would be “unsectar-
cial disharmony that threatened the stability of society.
ian” and would adopt a “common elements” approach
The common school was to become the central institu-
similar to Mann’s. In a speech prepared in 1849, Mill
tion to ameliorate this situation. It was necessary for all
fired withering salvos at the basic principles of this
children to develop a commitment to a common core
proposal that were equally applicable to Mann’s pro-
of values. But not just any core of values would suf-
gram. Mill correctly noted that it was indeed religion
fice. The necessary values were those which later social
that would be taught in the proposed public schools.
scientists would call modern values—that is, values that
And no matter how the final compromise among the
would support and sustain industrial development.
competing Christian sects was effected, he argued, the
Mann called these values the “common elements”
resulting religion of the public school would be some
of the common school. They would include the “great
variant of Christianity. What would this result mean?
Christian truths,” which he believed all rational men would
Mill pointed out to the proponents, “If you could carry
agree on. In one sense they were values based in religious
all the sects with you by your compromise you would
belief, and as such they represented a pan-Protestant per-
have effected nothing more but a compact among the
spective that reinforced the liberal wing of New England
more powerful bodies to cease fighting among them-
Protestantism in direct opposition to traditional Cal-
selves and join in trampling the weaker. You would have
vinism. This raised the opposition of a minority of
contrived a national education not for all, but for the
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 63
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
64
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
believers in the New Testament. The Jew and the unbe-
develop Prussian nationalism and a nation strong
liever would be excluded from it though they would not
enough to unite the German states for world leadership.
the less be required to pay for it. . . . Religious exclusion
By the mid-1830s the Prussian experiment had excited
and inequality are as odious when practiced against mi-
educators in Western Europe and the United States.
norities as majorities.” Mill’s conclusion was unambigu-
The Prussians had developed a state-financed sys-
ously stated: “Education provided by the public must
tem that was free, universal, and compulsory through
be education for all, and to be education for all it must
the elementary grades. The system was class-based and
be purely secular education.”31 Mill’s logic escaped most
consisted of two separate tiers of schooling. The tier
New Englanders, but not all. (Orestes Brownson was an
for the aristocratic class had three levels, beginning
exception, as the Primary Source Reading at the end of
with the vorschule. This elementary school, responsible
this chapter shows.)
for preparing upper-class youth for the gymnasium,
In a way, Frederick Packard’s criticism of Mann’s
was academically oriented. The gymnasium provided a
common elements was correct. When Packard argued
classical education closely akin to American and Eng-
that Mann wanted to take religion out of the common
lish collegiate educations. Graduates of the gymnasium
school, he understood religion to mean Calvinism.
might continue their higher education in either the
Indeed, that and more was what Mann had in mind.
military academies, designed to produce the future of-
Henceforth the public school would not contribute to
ficers of the Prussian military, or the universities. The
the creation of Congregationalists, Unitarians, Bap-
university, as envisioned by Fichte and developed in
tists, or Methodists. Instead, it would attempt to cre-
19th-century Germany, was primarily a research in-
ate citizens committed to a secular faith whose moral
stitution whose dual functions were to produce new
values would play much the same role that doctrine
knowledge and to educate the next generation of civic
had played in sectarian faith. In a figurative sense, the
and religious leaders.
school would become the temple, the teacher the min-
The tier for the common people had two levels. The
ister, and the school boards the temple elders. American
elementary volkschule, or people’s school, was compulsory.
schoolchildren would be taught a pan-Protestant brand
Its goal was to develop patriotic citizens, and its motto
of citizenship that would wed religion and nationalism
was “God, Emperor, and Country.” In addition to loy-
in “one nation under God,” as the Pledge of Allegiance
alty and obedience to authority, it taught basic literacy
would later put it. God, of course, was presumed to be
and numeracy. Most of the graduates of the volkschule
the God of Protestantism. The principle was not new,
went directly into the workforce. A few continued
for this idea had energized earlier Puritan education.
their training at the second level: either the technical
What was new was the systemic government-supported
schools, which produced technicians and middle-range
scope of this approach. It would take a series of painful
managers for the Prussian economy, or the normal
U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the mid-20th century
schools, which trained teachers for the volkschule. The
to eliminate religious references and rituals in schools,
curricular emphasis in the normal schools was on how
thus rectifying the Protestant precedent set by Mann
to teach, that is, methods. It was deemed not only un-
in Massachusetts.
necessary but counterproductive for volkschule teach-
ers to have knowledge or understanding much beyond
Lessons from the Prussian
that necessary for the volkschule. Loyalty and obedi-
School System
ence, not initiative or critical thinking, were the goals
for the training of the common people. As Fichte had
Soon after he turned his attention to educational ques-
written on the education of the German child, “If you
tions, Mann began to read available commentaries on
want to influence him at all, you must do more than
education. He was first introduced to Prussian schools
merely talk to him. You must fashion him, and fashion
by French educator Victor Cousin’s popular report of
him in such a way that he cannot will otherwise than
their successes.32 The Prussian system had been or-
you wish him to will.”33
ganized in the 1820s along a model recommended
During the spring and summer of 1843, at his
by Johann Fichte, a German philosopher, during the
own expense, Mann traveled to Europe to examine its
Napoleonic occupation of Prussia. Fichte’s proposals,
educational systems firsthand. He was relatively unim-
in his Addresses to the German Nation, were designed to
pressed with the quality of education in England and
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 64
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 65
Exhibit 3.1 The Prussian School System in the Mid-19th Century
Popular Education
Aristocratic Education
Volkschule
Vorschule
1. Attendance was compulsory for all common children.
1. Students came from aristocratic families.
2. Curriculum: reading, writing, arithmetic, religion, and
2. Curriculum: academic subjects.
patriotism.
3. Objective: to develop students with literacy, loyalty, and
3. Objective: to prepare students for the gymnasium.
obedience (motto: “God, Emperor, and Country”).
4. Teachers were normal-school graduates.
4. Teachers were university or gymnasium graduates.
Technical
Schools
Gymnasiums
1. Students were drawn from the top ranks of the volkschule.
1. Students came from the vorschule.
2. Curricula: Various technological subjects (not science)
2. Curriculum: similar to a combination of grammar school
designed to produce specialists in various specific
and collegiate education in 19th-century America—i.e.,
technologies.
a “classical curriculum” of Latin, literature, math, and
some
sciences.
3. Objective: to produce midrank managers and technicians.
3. Objective: to prepare students for universities, military
They were to transmit, not originate, orders and provide
academies, or upper levels of state and business
stability for an in-place economic system.
bureaucracies.
4. Teachers were graduates of technical schools, generally
4. Teachers were university graduates.
after work experience.
Normal
Schools
Universities
1. Students were drawn from the top ranks of the volkschule.
1. Students came from the vorschule and the gymnasium.
2. Curriculum: heavily oriented toward methods courses and
2. Curricula: specialized research areas in the liberal arts,
a few elementary content courses. How to teach was
the sciences, math, engineering, and art.
seen as more important than content.
3. Objective: to produce teachers for the volkschule who
3. Objective: to produce the intellectual leaders for the
would develop loyal, patriotic, and efficient citizens.
state and produce “new knowledge.”
4. Teachers were recruited from among graduates of normal
4. Teachers were from the universities.
schools after teaching experience.
Military Academies
1. Students came from the gymnasium.
2. Curricula: military strategy, tactics, and discipline.
3.
Objective: to train future officers for the Prussian general
staff.
4. Teachers were from the Prussian general staff.
Note: This representation is idealized. Not all volkschule teachers, for example, were trained in normal schools; not all technical school teachers had technical school degrees.
France. The Prussian schools, however, made a dis-
democracy, but he quickly dismissed those dangers
tinctly positive impression on him, and he devoted
as inconsequential. He argued that education was a
much of his 1843 Annual Report to enumerating their
means which could be made to serve diametrically op-
praises. Moreover, Mann continued to cite Prussian
posed ends. In summation, he said, “If Prussia can per-
examples during the remainder of his tenure when he
vert the benign influences of education to the support
urged school reform. The secretary was not completely
of arbitrary power, we surely can use them for support
oblivious to the dangers inherent in using institutions
and prepetuation of republican institutions.”34 (See
designed for an authoritarian society as models for a
Exhibit 3.1.)
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 65
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
66
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
The Prussian volkschule evoked Mann’s most en-
speech, “On School Punishments,” first delivered in
thusiastic responses. The idea of a free, state-financed
Boston in 1839, revised in 1845, and included in his
and state-controlled universal and compulsory school
Lectures on Education published in 1854, succinctly
that would affect all of the young was its most obvi-
summarized his general position.
ous attraction. He seemed to ignore the class separation
Mann began the speech with the assertion, “Punish-
into volkschule and vorschule. This is surprising, since
ment, when taken by itself, is always to be considered
he waged unending war against private schools for the
as an evil”:37 an evil, however, that may be used as a
wealthy in Massachusetts. These schools, he argued, not
last resort, as a doctor uses poison to arrest a disease so
only would encourage class distinctions and thus class
that it may be treated. By punishment, Mann meant
hatred but would siphon off the interest and support of
physical beatings or harsh words. Such treatment, he
the best elements of society from the common schools
asserted, always caused fear in the child, “and fear is a
to the private schools attended by their children.
most debasing, dementalizing passion.”38 He contended
His second observation about the volkschule was the
that fear corrupted not only the intellect but also the
joy of learning it engendered among the students. The
personality and morality of the child. Moreover, if the
secretary was fond of noting that during his extensive
teacher is to control the moral, social, and intellectual
visits to the Prussian schools, he “never saw one child
development of the child, she must know the child, that
in tears.”35 This he claimed was due to the absence of
is, have access to the child’s inner self. But “the moment
corporal punishment and the superior methods of the
a child’s mind is strongly affected by fear, it flies instinc-
teachers.
tively away and hides itself in the deepest recesses it can
The superiority of Prussian teachers was not acciden-
find. . . . Instead of exhibiting to you his whole conscious-
tal, according to Mann. Rather, it was the direct result of
ness, he conceals from you as much as he can. . . . Your
their superior training. The Prussians had developed nor-
communication with that child’s heart is at an end.”39 In
mal schools for the training of its volkschule teachers. In
this discussion Mann exhibited insights into the nature
the normal schools the teachers were carefully schooled in
of social psychology and the potential for manipulation
pedagogy and the subjects taught in the volkschule. The
of the psyche through affection, which was not generally
apparent success of these institutions reinforced Mann’s
understood until the end of his century. It would be left
commitment to the state normal schools he had been
to the 20th-century progressive educational theorists (as
struggling to secure in Massachusetts. While the Prussian
discussed in Chapter 4) to further develop this approach
model differentiated students socially and thus academi-
to pedagogy—an approach that is both more humane
cally, it was also responsible for an increased level of litera-
and potentially more manipulative than a pedagogy of
cy, and some have argued that this laid the foundation for
overt authoritarianism.
later political agitation and revolutionary activity involving
The common use of corporal punishment in New
volkschule teachers.36
England had been inspired by Calvinist beliefs in the
depravity of human nature, which led adults to think it
necessary to “beat the devil out of children.” In sharp con-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#8
trast, Mann’s conception of human nature was grounded
How does this system of volkschule, vorschule, and
in Enlightenment and Unitarian beliefs. He therefore
university research compare to teacher education as
saw the child as a rational being more appropriately ap-
we know it today?
proached through intelligence and love. The good teacher,
“singularly gifted with talent and resources, and with the
divine quality of love, . . . can win the affection, and,
by controlling the heart, can control the conduct of chil-
School Discipline and the
dren.”40 As a realist and a shrewd social observer, Mann
Pedagogy of Love
understood that such an approach required two condi-
The problems surrounding discipline in the schools
tions: first, children who had been reared in homes where
concerned Mann throughout his tenure as secretary.
love, reason, and sound moral values predominated; and
His approach to discipline reveals much about his edu-
second, teachers who had been adequately prepared to
cational beliefs and their relation to his broader social
understand the child, classroom management, and the
and political philosophies. He discussed disciplinary is-
subject matter. Neither of these conditions was universally
sues in several of his Annual Reports and speeches. One
present in Mann’s Massachusetts. When teachers were
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 66
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 67
One of Mann’s most enduring legacies was to help replace the Calvinist view that children, being naturally depraved at birth, must have the “devil beaten out of them.”
not capable of more enlightened methods or students
however arbitrary and cruel, has been held preferable
were incorrigible because of bad home conditions, Mann
to no-government. But self-government, self-control, a
believed punishment was the only alternative in order to
voluntary compliance with the laws of reason and duty,
“save” young delinquents from a life of immorality, dis-
have been justly considered as the highest point of excel-
sipation, or crime. The teacher or parent should always
lence attainable by a human being.” He went on to argue
consider whether the evil to be cured was sufficiently
that self-government required rational understanding of
greater than the evil of punishment. Mann went on to de-
the rules and laws. This understanding could not come
scribe how and when, as a last resort, punishment should
through fear inspired by punishment. Mann informed
be used to prevent greater evils. He challenged teachers to
teachers that it was a teacher’s duty to prevent “violations”
constantly try to decrease their use of punishment, with
of moral law “by rectifying that state of mind out of which
the goal of eliminating it completely from the common
violations come. Nor is it enough that the law be obeyed.
school. Thus he effectively presented punishment as an
As far as possible, he is to see it is obeyed from right
acceptable alternative for teachers who were not yet fully
motives. As a moral act blind obedience is without value.
adequate but who, as they became more proficient in
As a moral act, also, obedience through fear is without
their profession, would obviously resort less often to pun-
value; not only so, but as soon as the fear is removed, the
ishment. The good teacher would understand, according
restrained impulses will break out and demand the ar-
to the secretary, that “a child may surrender to fear, with-
rears of indulgence as a long-delayed debt.”42 Mann left
out surrendering to principle. But it is the surrender to
no room for doubt that he believed the implications of
principle only which has any permanent value.”41
his notions of discipline and self-government extended
In his Eighth Annual Report, Mann clearly indicated the
beyond the school and childhood. He explicitly noted
relation between his ideas on discipline and his sociopo-
they have “extraordinary force, in view of our political
litical ideals. In the 1840s the number of schools that were
institutions, founded as they are upon the great idea of
closed before the end of the term because teachers could
the capacity of man for self-government.”43
not maintain the order necessary to conduct them was de-
creasing significantly, while the total number of schools
The Quality of Teachers
was increasing. But this progress was not sufficient for
Mann. He explained that one of the most important goals
The importance of the teaching corps to Mann’s edu-
of schooling was “training our children in self-government.”
cational reforms, while implicit in nearly all his work,
He proclaimed, “So tremendous, too, are the evils of an-
was nowhere more explicit and obvious than in his dis-
archy and lawlessness, that a government by mere force,
cussions of school discipline. Both the board and the
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 67
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
68
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
secretary noted their concern with the education and
teachers whose subject-matter knowledge seemed con-
quality of the state’s teachers in their First Annual Re-
fined to what was taught in elementary schools. This
port 44 and continued to address the issue in each sub-
emphasis resulted in methods-trained teachers who
sequent Report during Mann’s 12-year tenure. Mann
knew how to teach but were less acquainted with what
correctly understood that fundamental to the prob-
should be taught or why—matters they were not expected
lems that he and others observed with common-school
to decide upon anyway. In short, the normal-school ap-
teachers was the inadequate preparation most teach-
proach was to train technicians but not to educate schol-
ers had received. Many teachers had not attended any
ars, and it might be argued that teacher education has
institution of higher education. Some had graduated
yet to recover from this original deficit.
from, or at least attended, an academy or college, but
for most of them teaching was a way station en route to
a more attractive profession.
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#9
Why was the development of normal schools central
Normal Schools The first consideration involved the
to Horace Mann’s educational proposals? What is
nature of teacher training. The response to this need by
the relative importance of Mann’s concern for social
Mann and the board defined teacher education for the
harmony, economic developments, and theological
subsequent century. The agenda they set resulted in both
changes in his concern for teacher training?
the best and the worst of what was to occur in American
teacher education. Their fundamental principle was that
common-school teachers needed special preparation to
Teachers as Exemplars The lack of adequate prepa-
comprehend the nature of learners, the learning process,
ration was not the only problem that Mann placed under
the subjects of the common-school curriculum, and how
the category of teacher quality. He was equally con-
to teach. The last element included organization of the
cerned that the teacher should be a model for students
curricular materials, classroom organization, and disci-
to emulate during their formative years. Like countless
pline, as well as pedagogical methods. These understand-
predecessors from Isocrates in Greece to Quintillian
ings, Mann argued, did not develop spontaneously and
in Rome to De Feltre in Renaissance Italy, Mann em-
were not being adequately addressed in the available insti-
phasized the importance of the moral character of the
tutions of higher education: the colleges and academies.
teacher. In his Fourth Annual Report he admonished
Rather than encouraging the incorporation of teacher
that local school committees “are sentinels stationed at
education into existing institutions, Mann opted for new
the door of every schoolhouse in the State, to see that
institutions that would be different and separate from the
no teacher ever crosses its threshold, who is not clothed,
old. Moreover, the new normal schools were developed
from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, in
on the Prussian normal-school model, where pedagogical
garments of virtue.” He then noted strong concurrence
methods not only were included in the curriculum but
from these committees: “as a single voice coming from
dominated it. Additionally, he insisted that the “academ-
a single heart—they urge, they insist, they demand, that
ic” portion of the curriculum be limited to the subjects
the great axioms of a Christian morality shall be sedu-
taught in the common schools. The experiment began
lously taught, and that the teachers shall themselves be
July 3, 1839, with the opening of the state normal school
patterns of the virtues, they are required to inculcate.”45
for women at Lexington, which was followed by the es-
This notion of the teacher as a model of Protestant virtue
tablishment of a coeducational normal school at Barre in
led to an unprecedented invasion of the private lives of
September of that year. By the end of his tenure Mann
American teachers during Mann’s time, a scrutiny that
would see the opening of three additional normal schools
even today separates teachers from other professionals.
in Massachusetts.
These schools would provide the nation with a
Feminization of Teaching The third aspect of
model whose strength resided in the recognition of the
Mann’s concerns involved gender. During his tenure,
need for special preparation for teachers. However, the
the number and percentage of female teachers increased
model contained weaknesses that would plague teacher
so dramatically that it is fair to say that by the end of the
education to the present day. The isolation of teacher
1840s common-school teaching was viewed as a femi-
education from the rest of higher education and the ac-
nine occupation. This was a development Mann cham-
companying denigration of academic subjects produced
pioned. In the 18th century, common-school teachers
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 68
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 69
were almost universally males. Late in that century girls
wastage of a “vast amount of female talent,” Mann
began to attend common schools during the summer
posed this rhetorical question:
terms, when the boys were in the fields helping with
farm duties. At that time New England communities
Is there not an obvious, constitutional difference of
began to employ female teachers for the summer terms.
temperament between the sexes, indicative of a prear-
ranged fitness and adaptation, and making known to us,
Eventually, some females were employed to teach dur-
as by a heaven-imparted sign, that woman, by her livelier
ing the winter terms, especially when it was difficult
sensibility and her quicker sympathies, is the forechosen
to find male teachers and also because female teachers
guide and guardian of children of a tender age?48
were much less expensive. Mann noted in the First An-
nual Report that the average wage of female teachers was
In subsequent Annual Reports, he spelled out what
about one-third that of male teachers. The average cost
he meant by temperament, fitness, sensibility, and
of a male teacher continued to be between two and one-
sympathies. The basic contention was that a man
half and three times that of a female teacher during his
was prone to be more rational than emotional or lov-
tenure.46 While Mann cautioned that the differential
ing; thus male teachers would demand justice as a
was neither just nor wise, the repeated publication of
reaction to offenses. In contrast, the predominant fe-
the differential in his Reports may have had the effect of
male characteristic was affection rather than reason.
increasing the attractiveness of employing female teach-
Women would naturally love children rather than
ers because of their lower salary.47
seek vengeance or justice for children’s transgressions.
If the cost of female teachers was one factor in the
This “natural” condition of women made them better
feminization of teaching, a second impetus was Mann’s
equipped to be teachers, according to Mann, because
arguments, which at least legitimated the trend and
their loving discipline would provide them easier ac-
thus made it easier for school committees to justify hir-
cess to the inner psyche of the students.49 The short-
ing female teachers. He began his campaign for female
or intermediate-term effect of the acceptance of the
teachers with a speech he delivered to the educational
secretary’s position was to open an important occupa-
conventions of each county in the state during 1838.
tion to women. The long-term effect, however, was to
The secretary forecast that the time was imminent when
reinforce the sexist belief that women were by nature
all would agree in “regarding female as superior to male
not only fundamentally different from men but defi-
teaching for the young children.” After explaining the
cient in rational faculties.
Many of today’s teaching techniques date back to an earlier time with different views of learning in a different political–economic context.
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 69
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
70
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Whatever the effect of Mann’s campaign for female
Christianity.”53 As we will see in Chapter 5, she not only
teachers, during his tenure as secretary the number of
contributed mightily to the increased numbers of female
female teachers increased dramatically. Between 1837
teachers, but she also provided a justification for it that
and 1848 the increase of female teachers was 35 times
was grounded in a view of the school as an extension of
as great as that of males. Moreover, in each of the years
the domestic “sphere” (her word) of the home.
from 1845 to 1848 the number of male teachers actu-
ally declined. By 1848 females accounted for 68 percent
The Economic Value of Schooling54
of all common-school teachers in Massachusetts.50 The
secretary reported Massachusetts as leading all states in
During the 1840s Horace Mann developed a set of
the employment of female teachers but predicted that as
arguments that rallied the citizenry of the state to the
soon as other states provided normal schools to prepare
banner of mass schooling. This was the first prominent
women they would follow the Massachusetts example.51
American statement of what social scientists in the 20th
In this prediction he was correct. From this time on,
century would name the “human capital theory” and
one would speak of “schoolmarms” rather than “school-
for which they could claim originality.55 The secretary’s
masters,” and the pronoun “she” would be generally ac-
arguments were persuasive because of the different
curate when referring to teachers.
messages they carried to various segments of his con-
Although her work will be treated more extensively in
stituency. To the worker the message was: Send your
Chapter 5, it is important at this point to note the con-
children to school so they may become rich. Employers
tributions of Catharine Beecher (1800–1878) to the femi-
were advised that the common schools would provide
nization of teaching. Sister of novelist Harriet Beecher
them with workers who were not only more productive
Stowe ( Uncle Tom’s Cabin) and of famous American
but also docile, easily managed, and unlikely to resort
preacher Henry Ward Beecher, Catharine Beecher was
to strikes or violence. All segments of society could re-
“an indefatigable organizer of women’s schools and
spond to the notion that schools would actually create
colleges and a resourceful battler for the advancement
wealth, thus relieving the plight of the poor without cost
of women teachers in public education.”52 Similar to
to the more affluent.
Benjamin Rush before her, she wrote that “The principals
The Fifth Annual Report includes a major section de-
of democracy, then, are identical with the principals of
voted to the results of Mann’s inquiry into “the effect of
The feminization of teaching came about for very specific reasons, and prospective female teachers were expected by hiring committees to exhibit gender-specific characteristics.
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 70
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 71
education upon the worldly fortunes or estates of men—
found the better educated as a class possessing a higher and
its influence upon property, upon human comfort and
better state of morals, more orderly and respectful in their
competence, upon the outward, visible material inter-
deportment, and more ready to comply with the whole-
ests or well-being of individuals and communities.”56
some and necessary regulations of the establishment, and
This he considered not the highest but the lowest of the
in times of agitation, on account of some change in regu-
lations or wages, I have always looked to the most intel-
beneficent influences of education. Nevertheless, he ar-
ligent, best educated and the most moral for support, and
gued that material well-being was the prerequisite for the
have seldom been disappointed. . . .
higher influences; moreover, if we take his rank-ordering
The owners of manufacturing property have a deep
at face value, it is ironic that his economic justification for
pecuniary interest in the education and morals of their
schooling was to become the most enduring aspect of his
help.59
educational thought. It continued to dominate educa-
tional discussion in the 20th century.
In his farewell Twelfth Annual Report, the secretary
Mann’s 1841 study centered on evidence solicited
again returned to this theme in a section titled “Intel-
from “practical, sagacious and intelligent businessmen”
lectual Education as a Means of Removing Poverty and
who had employed large numbers of workers. The object
Securing Abundance.”60 He began with the claim that
was “to ascertain the difference in productive ability—
industrial and business operations had exposed Massa-
where natural capacities have been equal—between the
chusetts “to the fatal extremes of wealth and poverty.”61
educated and the uneducated.”57 The results of this ear-
The specter of a European type of class division could
ly version of survey research showed, according to the
best be avoided, according to Mann, by upgrading the
secretary ,
lower orders through education. With the enormous
confidence of the Enlightenment, he proclaimed:
a most astonishing superiority in productive power, on
Education, then, beyond all other devices of human
the part of the educated over the uneducated laborer. The
origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men—the
hand is found to be another hand, when guided by an intel-
balance wheel of the social machinery. . . . It does better
ligent mind, processes are performed, not only more rap-
than disarm the poor of their hostilities towards the rich; it
idly, but better, when facilities which have been exercised
prevents being poor.62
early in life, furnish their assistance. Individuals who, with-
out the aid of knowledge, would have been condemned
With a broadside aimed at revolutionary ideas, Mann
to perpetual inferiority of condition, and subjected to all
argued his belief that the long-term economic benefits
the evils of want and poverty, rise to competence and
of education were far superior to short-term social up-
independenc e, by the uplifting power of education . . .
heaval designed to rectify perceived social inequities or
those who have been blessed with a good common school
injustices:
education, rise to a higher and higher point, in the kinds of
labor performed, and also in the rate of wages paid, while
The main idea set forth in the creeds of some politi-
the ignorant sink like dregs and are always found at the
cal reformers, or revolutionizers, is, that some people are
bottom.58
poor because others are rich. This idea supposes a fixed
amount of property in the community, which, by fraud,
Secretary Mann included several specimen responses
or force, or arbitrary law is unequally divided among
from businesspersons in the Report to substantiate his
men; and the problem presented for solution is, how to
conclusions about the productive consequences of edu-
transfer from those who are supposed to have too much,
cation. A few excerpts from the letter of H. Barlett, Esq.,
to those who feel and know that they have too little. At
a Lowell manufacturer who had employed between
this point, both their theory and their expected reform
400 and 900 persons during the previous 10 years, are
stop. But the beneficent power of education would not
instructive:
be exhausted, even though it should peaceably abolish
all the miseries that spring from the coexistence, side
I have no hesitation in affirming that I have found the
by side, of enormous wealth and squalid want. It has
best educated to be the most profitable help. . . . They
a higher function. Beyond the power of diffusing old
make the best wages. . . . They have more order, and sys-
wealth, it has the prerogative of creating new . . . educa-
tem; they not only keep their persons neater, but their ma-
tion creates or develops new treasures not before pos-
chinery is in better condition. . . .
sessed or dreamed of by any one.63
I have never considered mere knowledge, valuable as
it is in itself to the laborer, as the only advantage derived
A few pages later Mann summarized these ideas in two
from a good Common School education. I have uniformly
sentences that have a familiar ring for anyone acquainted
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 71
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
72
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
with the writings of subsequent human capital theorists
or educators for whom economic justifications for educa-
tion are paramount. The first: “For the creation of wealth
then—for the existence of a wealthy people and a wealthy
nation—intelligence is the grand condition.”64 And the
second: “The greatest of all arts in political economy
is, to change a consumer into a producer; and the next
greatest is, to increase the producer’s producing power;—
an end to be directly attained, by increasing his intelli-
gence.”65 Subsequently Mann provided several pages of
examples showing how increased intelligence in artisan
workers might result in their developing more ingenious
labor-saving techniques, thus increasing the produc-
tive capacity of all workers intelligent enough to use the
innovations.
Somewhat contradictorily, Mann’s businessperson
supporters failed to link a common-school education
with the application of creative intelligence in workers.
Orestes Brownson
As Maris A. Vinovskis has shown, “Although each of the
respondents to Mann’s survey mentioned the ability of
educated workers to work more efficiently than others,
Remarks on the Seventh Annual Report of the Hon. Horace
none of them emphasized the importance of the ‘inven-
Mann, 67 which challenged his pedagogic positions. Af-
tiveness’ which Mann stressed through the Fifth Annual
ter a war of words, the Boston schoolmasters attempted
Report. Instead, they tended to concentrate on the fact
to rally the state’s teachers against Mann by founding a
that these workers were able to follow directions better,
state teachers’ association, which they hoped would con-
were more punctual and reliable, and less likely to be un-
demn Mann’s policies. This tactic was generally unsuc-
reasonable during periods of labor turmoil.”66 The traits
cessful, as Mann’s supporters soon gained control of the
emphasized by the industrialists were elements of what
organization.68
was then called “industrial morality” and is currently
The third group in opposition to Mann’s reforms
called “modern” (as opposed to “traditional”) cultural
was more broadly based and was concerned with the
commitments. While Mann was emphasizing the intel-
ideological and political implications of his approach.
lectual results of common schooling, his industrial sup-
Mann was a member of the Whig party, which had
porters were emphasizing the enculturation of a value
created the state school board and sponsored Mann’s
system amenable to industrialized factory life.
ideas in state government. The Democrats, led by
Marcus Morton, had generally opposed his measures.
Opposition to Mann’s
A leading public spokesperson for the Democratic po-
Common-School Reforms
sition was Orestes Brownson, who had undergone a
religious transformation similar to Mann’s. Brownson
The secretary’s attempts to reform the common schools
moved from the Calvinism of his youth to Presbyte-
of Massachusetts did not go unchallenged. The op-
rianism and then to Unitarianism by the early 1830s.
position, inspired by different issues, came from three
In 1838 he became editor of a leading Democratic
groups. The first conflict centered on Mann’s efforts to
publication, the Boston Quarterly Review, and in that
make the common schools nondenominational. As we
journal he launched his attacks on Mann’s reforms. In
have seen, the conservative Calvinists led by Frederick A.
an 1839 article, “Education of the People,” Brownson
Packard lost this battle in the early 1840s. The second,
lashed out at the state board for proposing a system that
more parochial conflict resulted from the offense taken
would be used for political domination of the people.
by the Boston schoolmasters to Mann’s Seventh Annual
He singled out the establishment of normal schools as
Report. They believed that Mann’s criticism of teaching
particularly offensive. “The most we can hope from
methods, especially recitation and corporal punishment,
them is some little aid to teachers in the methods of
had been directed at them. In response, they published
teaching.”69 But more importantly, he argued, they
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 72
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 73
were potentially dangerous to a free society. Based on
author will not dare pour out his whole thought, but
the Prussian model, these normal schools, he believed,
only such a portion of it as he has reason to believe the
would produce conservative teachers who would in
Board will not refuse to sanction.”72 Brownson’s esti-
turn impart Whig values to the children of the state.
mation of the board of education’s goals for the com-
Moreover, Brownson asserted, the board was attempt-
mon schools was summed up in the 1838 article when
ing to influence the books placed in school libraries.
he claimed:
The result of teachers’ imparting Whig philosophy and
In the view of this respectable Board, education is
controlling schoolbooks would be “to give Whiggism a
merely a branch of general police, the schoolmasters are
self-perpetuating power.”70
only a better sort of constables. The Board would promote
Underlying Brownson’s opposition was his commit-
education, they would even make it universal, because
ment to democratic localism, a belief that most governing
they esteem it the most effectual means possible of check-
and decision-making powers should be kept at the local
ing pauperism and crime, and making the rich secure in
level, in the hands of the people. He saw the common-
their possessions. Education has, therefore, a certain utility
school reforms as centralizing power at the state level,
which may be told in solid cash saved to the Common-
thus taking decisions out of popular control.71 Two
wealth. This being the leading idea, the most comprehen-
years later Brownson elaborated his critique of state board–
sive view which the Board seem to take of education, what
sanctioned books for school libraries: “We object also
more should be expected of their labors, than such modi-
to the sanction of the Board, because it is an approach
fications and improvements as will render it more efficient
as an arm of general police?73
to a censorship of the press.” Then, as if able to foresee
the events of the 20th-century publishing world, he
It is difficult to ascertain the effect Brownson’s at-
declared, “The publishers will not dare insert in their
tack had on the general populace of Massachusetts,
series a book not sanctioned by the Board, however
but in the elections of 1839 the Democratic candidate
valuable it may be in itself, or however acceptable it
for governor, Marcus Morton, won the statehouse af-
would be to a large number of school districts; and the
ter 12 previous unsuccessful attempts. In the spring of
Historical Context
The Common-School Era
Pre-Common-School
Era
1830s
1808
Elizabeth Seton establishes a school for girls
1833
American Anti-Slavery Society is created
in Baltimore
1836
American Temperance Union is created
1821
The first public high school in the United States
1837
The Massachusetts State Board of Education is
is established
created; Horace Mann is its first executive
1826
The first public high schools for girls open in New
secretary
York and Boston
1838
The first state normal school in the United States
1828
Work begins on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
opens in Massachusetts
1828
The first western president, Andrew Jackson,
1838
Mount Holyoke College, the first seminary for
is elected
female teachers in the United States, is founded
1833
Oberlin College in Ohio is founded, the first
in South Hadley, MA, by Mary Lyon; it opens the
coeducational college in the United States
following year with 87 students
1840s
1850s
,1840
Blackboards are introduced, prompting educators
1852
Massachusetts is first U.S. state to mandate
to predict a revolution in education
compulsory school attendance
1844
Horace Mann describes the Prussian school
1852
In North Carolina, the first state superintendent
system in his Seventh Annual Report
of schools is appointed in a southern state
1846
The “potato famine” begins in Ireland
1859
Horace Mann dies
1848
The first women’s rights convention is held at
1859
John Brown attempts to start slave insurrection
Seneca Falls, New York
at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia
Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
In your opinion, which of the social reform movements taking place in this era would eventually prove to have the greatest impact on education in the United States?
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 73
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
74
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Exhibit 3.2 Comparison between Horace Mann and Orestes Brownson
Issue
Horace Mann
Orestes Brownson
Control of schools
State
Parents in local district
Religion in schools
State-mandated
Local choice
Texts
From state-approved list
Local choice
Teacher training
State normal schools
Colleges and academies
Teacher certification
State
Local school boards
Purpose of certification
Moral, political, and economic
Moral and political
Agency to determine principles for
schools to impart
State board of education
Local school boards
Political affiliation
Whig
Democrat
1840 the legislature narrowly defeated a report of the
into the public discussion embodied the controlling
Democrat-controlled Education Committee that con-
classical liberal ideology of the age and thus successfully
demned both the state board of education and the new
captured the popular imagination.
normal schools. The vote was 245 to 182.74 Although
this vote did not end the attacks on Mann’s reform ef-
forts, by the mid-1840s he had prevailed over all opposi-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#10
tion, and his reforms were well on the way to becoming
institutionalized (see Exhibit 3.2).
How does the Kansas school board’s 1999 decision
to limit discussion of the theories of biological evo-
lution (a decision it reversed in 2001) relate to the
Accounting for the Success
Brownson–Mann debate?
of the Common-School Reforms
Why were Mann’s common-school reforms so success-
ful? The answer is more complex than most historical
Lessons from Horace Mann’s
accounts suggest. The first and perhaps most important
reason was that the secretary was able to enlist the sup-
Common-School Reforms
port of diverse elements in Massachusetts for his pro-
It seems that every item of Horace Mann’s common-
grams. One element of the supporting coalition was
school reforms, with the possible exception of his cam-
wealth. No reform movement in American history has
paign to improve the physical conditions of schools
had long-term success without forging an alliance with
and school equipment, can be viewed as containing
the money interests. Mann was successful, in part, be-
both positive and negative elements. Any fair evalua-
cause the mercantile, banking, and manufacturing in-
tion of his efforts as well as any attempt to draw lessons
terests were convinced that his common-school reforms
from them must address both aspects. His insistence
would provide long-term benefits for them. Moreover,
on the teaching of the “common elements” of the great
he seemed to convince many working people that the
Christian truths to inculcate a common set of moral
common school would provide better education than
values not only helped stem the sectarian bickering
was previously available. Additionally, his suggestion
among the major Protestant groups but provided soci-
that common-school education was the vehicle to up-
ety with a potentially unifying value system to replace
ward economic mobility was attractive to some less-
the outworn Calvinist doctrine. Did this contribution,
than-affluent parents. Secondly, he gained the support
however, outweigh the potential loss of a truly plu-
of most of the religious (Protestant) communities be-
ralistic society where all individuals were more free to
cause his “common elements,” while not all that each
choose values compatible with their own cultural and
group desired, represented a compromise that was the
class histories and characteristics? Did the Prussian
most they could realistically expect. Finally, the com-
model of universal state-supported and state-controlled
mon school and the slogans that carried its programs
education and improved pedagogical methods bring
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 74
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 75
with it the antidemocratic impulses inherent in the
advocating Jefferson’s dictum, “That government
despotic system of government it was designed to en-
governs best which governs least,” Mann saw
hance? Mann’s condemnation of punishment meant
the schools as an arm of government that could
that the practitioners of child beating in schools would
achieve social change. Instead of believing that
be on the defensive. But what would counter the po-
a little disorder, even rebellion, was good for de-
tential dangers of psychological manipulation inherent
mocracy, Mann believed that too much disorder
in his “loving” pedagogy? Were Mann’s contributions
to the gains achieved by women in the teaching field
already existed, and that a state-controlled school
adequate to offset the belief, made explicit in his argu-
system could be used to help establish a more
ments, that women are less rational than men? While
stable moral order. An example to be emulated,
the normal schools certainly represented a recognition
for Mann, was the Prussian school system, which
that teachers needed education, was the pedagogi-
contemporaries such as Orestes Brownson were
cally oriented education that they established as the
quick to remind him was part of the foundation
norm for succeeding generations of teachers adequate?
of a very antidemocratic society (see the Primary
Mann’s use of arguments asserting the economic value
Source Reading). Would Mann have had a more
of schooling surely increased the popularity of school-
democratic approach if he had followed Brown-
ing among nearly all segments of society, but should
son’s advice, providing state funding but allow-
economic motives be the driving force behind edu-
ing local control of schools so that Irish Catholics
cation? Such questions require students of education
could take responsibility for deciding how their
to examine their own fundamental beliefs and val-
ues regarding human nature, the good society, and
children would be educated? Or would such an
the appropriate relationship of the individual to that
approach violate the constitutional separation of
society—as well as their conception of the learning
church and state? Or was Brownson correct that
process and the teacher’s role in that process. Such
this separation was being used to disguise the
questions are inherent in all attempts to evaluate edu-
power of Whig Protestants over Irish Catholics,
cational arguments, including those which dominated
or what John Stuart Mill of England termed “the
the common-school era of Horace Mann.
tyranny of the majority”?
For Massachusetts to attain both the standardiza-
tion and professionalization needed for teachers
to help establish the moral and educational con-
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
sensus he sought, Mann established the state’s
OF EDUCATION
first normal school for the training of teachers. His
Chapter 3 has introduced some new issues and
view of teaching as a loving, nurturing profession
tensions relevant to building a philosophy of edu-
instead of a punitive one, together with his desire
cation. Whereas late-18th-century Virginia was
to save money for the state, led him to advocate
fundamentally agrarian and excluded its minority
increasing the proportion of women in the teach-
population, slaves of African descent, from edu-
ing profession. While he believed he was helping
cation, Massachusetts was beginning to feel the
to establish religious and republican virtue through
pressures of urbanization and industrialization,
these measures, his critics accused him of substi-
and its largest minority group was Irish Catholic,
tuting Whig paternalism for the kind of democratic
a challenge to the Whig Protestant conception of
local control that Jefferson advocated.
order and morality, but not excludable from edu-
A number of these tensions remain alive for
cation. As a prominent social reformer in Massa-
educators today. One of them has to do with the
chusetts, Horace Mann saw schools not primarily as
public mission of public schools. Who is the pub-
a private good for those families who could afford
lic whose beliefs and values should be represent-
them, but as a public good and a means of building
ed in the schools? When teachers take a position
support for republican and Protestant moral values
in the schools, it is important for them to recog-
in the population, including the Irish. Instead of
nize that they are expected to serve the ideals of
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 75
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
76
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
a democratic culture, which is supposed to respect
argue that the better educated people are, the less
difference, diversity, and pluralism of values among
likely it is that they will commit crimes against
different social and ethnic groups. On the other
person and property. Is that enough of an argu-
hand, the schools inevitably privilege the teach-
ment, or are there other public goods that your
ing of the dominant language, values, and beliefs
teaching will serve?
of the European American, English-speaking,
A related issue concerns the role of the schools
capitalist social order that we have inherited
in social change more generally. Mann wanted
from the colonial conflicts among such 16th- to
schools to help improve the social order. Again,
18th-century powers as England, Spain, France,
the question arises: Whose vision of social change
and Native Americans. How does a teacher today
should direct the teacher’s work? Moreover, should
help induct young people into full participation in
schools be significant agents of social change, or
the dominant culture while respecting the di-
does a social change agenda, no matter whose
verse origins, languages, and values of students
agenda, risk making each child a means to ac-
of Native American, African American, Hispanic,
complish someone’s vision of the good society?
Asian, and Middle Eastern cultures, and the many
How can a teaching philosophy balance the ten-
non-English-speaking groups who populate the
sion between teaching toward some vision of the
schools of today, just as the Irish did in Massachusetts
good society and a vision of supporting each child’s
over 150 years ago? Can a classroom be an envi-
growth for its own sake? Is there a potential con-
ronment in which students of diverse origins feel
flict, for example, between wanting children to de-
their cultures are respected and honored, or does
velop a shared set of common values and wanting
that undermine the mission to help students de-
children to learn to think critically and indepen-
velop the knowledge, skills, and values they will
dently? This issue will be revisited in some depth
need to achieve their aspirations in the dominant
in Chapter 4, but it is useful to start exploring how
culture of the United States? How does a teacher
you might address this tension in your own phi-
serve the whole public, so that parents from ev-
losophy of education.
ery background feel privileged that their child has
Finally, the development of the standardization
such a teacher? How can a teacher’s philosophy
and professionalization of teaching raises a re-
of education sort out these issues in a way that
lated tension. How can a teacher exemplify the
communicates these ideas to others?
standards of the profession, which seek greater
Your philosophy of education should make clear
consistency among teachers to achieve greater
what public goals you think are appropriate for
consistency of student learning, without sacri-
the public schools, and how you will help achieve
ficing the individuality, creativity, and autonomy
these. To state that you wish to help children and
that seem to be necessary to excellent perfor-
youth read and write, for example, or think for
mance in any profession, including teaching?
themselves, is something the public will pay you
Can a teacher or school leader be “standardized”
to do only if you have a good idea of how the
through a professional preparation program and
public good will be served by it. Horace Mann was
still be unique—and still nurture the special quali-
able to convince the public that schools would
ties and interests that make each child unique?
serve the public good. It is important for you to
How? And how can this be reflected in one’s phi-
be able to articulate what public goods you think
losophy of education in a way that makes sense to
your teaching will serve. For example, you might
oneself and to others?
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 76
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 77
Primary Source Reading
neglects to provide the best education it can for all its
children, whether male or female, black or white, rich
or poor, bond or free, forfeits its right to punish the of-
Orestes Brownson was introduced in this chapter as a
fender. We hold, moreover, that a popular government
member of the Democratic Party, a journalist, and a po-
unsupported by popular education is a baseless fabric.
litical and educational critic of Horace Mann. The follow-
The real question for us to ask is not, Shall our
ing excerpt is a wide-ranging critique of Mann’s political,
children be educated? but, To what end shall they be
religious, and educational aims for common schooling.
educated, and by what means? What is the kind of
Brownson further assails the wisdom of the normal-
education needed, and how shall it be furnished?
school effort Mann successfully began in Massachusetts.
As an individual I am something more than the
Part of Brownson’s critique is grounded in a view of
farmer, the shoemaker, the blacksmith, the lawyer, the
the educated person similar to Aristotle’s notion of “the
physician, or the clergyman. Back of my professional
cultivation of human excellence for its own sake,” an
character there lies the man, that which I possess in com-
ideal that Brownson believes Mann is abandoning in fa-
mon with all my species and which is the universal and
vor of education for instrumental social ends. In making
permanent ground of my being as a man. This education
this argument, Brownson distinguishes between “spe-
must reach, call forth, and direct as well as my profes-
cial” and “general” education, a distinction borrowed
sional pursuit. Individual education is divided then into
from the Greeks and still important today as we debate
general education and special—my education as a man
the balance of specialized versus general liberal studies
and my education as a doctor, lawyer, minister, artisan,
in the school or college curriculum. In considering what
artist, agriculturalist, or merchant.
it means to be educated as a human being, Brownson
Special education appears to be that which we at pres-
attacks Mann’s common-schooling approach to religious
ent are most anxious to make provision for. Few people
education as an abandonment of what gives religion its
think of anything beyond it. The popular doctrine, we
essential value to human life, and he argues that Mann’s
believe, is that we should be educated in special refer-
academically narrow and standardized teacher education
ence to what is to be our place in society and our pursuit
curriculum will only exacerbate this problem.
in life. We think more of education as a means of fitting
Brownson assails Mann’s common-schooling ideas
us for a livelihood than for anything else. The tendency
on other fronts as well, relying on Jeffersonian ideals of
has long been to sink the man in what are merely his ac-
democratic localism in doing so.
cidents, to qualify him for a profession or pursuit, rather
than to be a man. . . .
General education, which some may term the cul-
Decentralization: Alternative
ture of the soul, which we choose to term the edu-
to Bureaucracy?
cation of humanity, we regard as the first and most
important branch of education. This is the education
Orestes Brownson
which fits us for our destiny, to attain our end as sim-
ple human beings. . . .
We can hardly be expected at this late day, in this ancient
Man has a destiny, an end he should seek to gain,
commonwealth especially, to go into any labored argu-
and religion is the answer to the question, What is this
ment in favor of popular education, either as a matter
end, this destiny? According to the principles we have
of right or as the only firm foundation of a free govern-
laid down then, education, to be complete, to be what
ment. For ourselves, we hold that every child born into
it ought to be, must be religious. An education which
a community is born with as good a natural right to the
is not religious is a solemn mockery. Those who would
best education that community can furnish, as he is to a
exclude religion from education are not yet in the con-
share of the common air of heaven or the common light
dition to be teachers; long years yet do they need to re-
of the sun. We hold also that the community, which
main in the primary school.
Man is also a social being and needs an education
corresponding to his social nature. He is not a mere
Source: From “Second Annual Report of the Board of Education, together with the individual. He stands not alone . . . that deserves not
Second Annual Report of the Secretary of the Board” (Boston, 1839), review in the
Boston Quarterly Review 2 (October 1839), pp. 393–418.
the name of a social education which leaves untouched
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 77
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
78
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
the problem of society, the destiny of the race. And
teachers in the methods of teaching. Beyond improv-
the social education must needs vary precisely as vary
ing the mechanism of education, they will be powerless
our solutions of this problem. In Russia they solve this
or mischievous.
problem in their fashion. Society has there for its object
Schools for teachers require in their turn teachers,
the accomplishment of the will and the manifestation
as well as any other class of schools. Who, then, are to
of the glory of the Autocrat. Hence, the Russian chil-
be the teachers in these normal schools? What is to be
dren are carefully taught, by authority, that they and all
taught in them? Religion and politics? What religion,
they may possess are his and that they must love him
what politics? These teachers must either have some re-
in their hearts and honor him as their God. In Austria
ligious and political faith, or none. If they have none,
the problem is solved much in the same way and so also
they are mere negations and therefore unfit to be en-
in Prussia. Absolutism has its solution and educates ac-
trusted with education of the educators of our children.
cordingly. Liberalism has also its solution and its cor-
If they have a religious and a political faith, they will
responding education. . . . If the aristocratic element
have one which only a part of the community hold to be
be the true foundation of social order, then should our
true. If the teachers in these schools are Unitarians, will
schools be under the control of the aristocracy, be aristo-
Trinitarians accept their scholars as educators? Suppose
cratic in their basis and superstructure, and be nurseries
they are Calvinists, will Universalists, Methodists, Uni-
of the aristocratic principle. But, if the democratic ele-
tarians, and Quakers be content to install their pupils as
ment be the true basis of society, then should the social
instructors in common schools?
education give the democratic solution of the problem,
But the board assure us Christianity shall be insisted
create a love for democracy, and discountenance every
on so far, and only so far, as it is common to all sects.
aristocratic tendency. It should, also, not only accept
This, if it means anything, means nothing at all. All who
the democratic element but disclose the means by
attempt to proceed on the principle here laid down will
which it may insure the victory and make all other so-
find their Christianity ending in nothingness. Much may
cial elements subordinate to itself. It must, then, touch
be taught in general, but nothing in particular. No sect
the nature and organization of the state, determine
will be satisfied; all sects will be dissatisfied. For it is not
the mission of government and the measures it must
enough that my children are not educated in a belief con-
adopt in order to secure or advance the democracy. It
trary to my own; I would have them educated to believe
rushes into the midst of politics, then, and decides on
what I hold to be important truth; and I always hold that
national banks and subtreasuries. An education which
to be important truth, wherein I differ from others. . . .
does not go thus far is incomplete and insufficient for
If we come into politics, we encounter the same diffi-
our social wants.
culty. What doctrines on the destiny of society will these
Education, then, must be religious and social, or
normal schools inculcate? If any, in this commonwealth,
political. Neither religion nor politics can be excluded.
at present, they must be Whig doctrines, for none but
Indeed, all education that is worth anything is either
Whigs can be professors in these schools. . . . Establish,
religious or political and fits us for discharging our
then, your Whig board of education; place on it a single
duties either as simple human beings or as members
Democrat, to save appearances; enable this board to es-
of society. . . .
tablish normal schools and through them to educate this
Assuming now the absolute necessity of religious and
board to establish normal schools and through them to
political education, and the worthlessness of every other
educate all the children of the commonwealth, authorize
kind of education, when taken alone, the great and the
them to publish common-school libraries, to select all
practical question becomes, How is this education to be
the books used in schools, and thus to determine all the
provided? In what schools and under what schoolmasters?
doctrines which our children shall imbibe, and what will
We have looked into the reports before us, with
be the result? We have then given to some half a dozen
the hope of finding an answer to this question, but
Whigs the responsible office of forming the political
here (as everywhere else in the world) we have been
faith and conscience of the whole community. . . .
doomed to disappointment. . . . The normal schools,
The truth is, we have, in the establishment of this
which the board proposes to establish, will do nothing
board of education, undertaken to imitate despotic
to impart such an education as we contend for. The
Prussia, without considering the immense distance be-
most we can hope from them is some little aid to
tween the two countries. . . .
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 78
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
School as a Public Institution Chapter 3 79
Let it be borne in mind that in Prussia the whole
no private interest by uttering the insurrectionary word,
business of education is lodged in the hands of govern-
Reform. He must merely echo the sentiments and opin-
ment. The government establishes the schools in which
ions he finds in vogue; and he who can echo these the
it prepares the teachers; it determines both the methods
loudest, the most distinctly, and in the most agreeable
of teaching and the matters taught. It commissions all
voice, is sure to be the most popular man—for a time.
teachers and suffers no one to engage in teaching without
Men of this stamp do never trouble their age; they are
authority from itself. Who sees not then that all the teach-
never agitators, and there is no danger that they will stir
ers will be the pliant tools of the government and that the
up any popular commotion; they are the men to be on
whole tendency of the education given will be to make
boards of education, professors in colleges, constables,
the Prussians obedient subjects of Frederic the king? Who
mayors, members of legislative assemblies, presidents,
sees not that education in Prussia is supported merely as
and parish clerks. . . .
the most efficient arm of the police and fostered merely
In consequence of this invariable law of Providence,
for the purpose of keeping out revolutionary or, what is
the men who can be placed at the head of the normal
the same thing, liberal ideas?
schools, if established, will not be the men who repre-
A government system of education in Prussia is not
sent the true idea of our institutions or who will prepare
inconsistent with the theory of Prussian society, for
their pupils to come forth [as] educators of our children
there all wisdom is supposed to be lodged in the gov-
for the accomplishment of the real destiny of American
ernment. But the thing is wholly inadmissible here not
society. They will teach them to respect and preserve
because the government may be in the hands of Whigs
what is, to caution them against the licentiousness of the
or Democrats, but because, according to our theory,
people, the turbulence and brutality of the mob, the
the people are supposed to be wiser than the govern-
dangers of anarchy and even of liberty; but they will
ment. Here the people do not look to the government
rarely seek to imbue them with a love of liberty, to ad-
for light, for instruction, but the government looks to
monish them to resist the first encroachments of tyr-
the people. The people give the law to the government.
anny, to stand fast in their freedom, and to feel always
To entrust, then, the government with the power of
that it is nobler to die, nay, nobler to kill, than to live a
determining the education which our children shall re-
slave. They will but echo the sentiments of that portion
ceive is entrusting our servant with the power to be our
of the community on whom they are the more imme-
master. This fundamental difference between the two
diately dependent, and they will approve no reform, no
countries, we apprehend, has been overlooked by the
step onward, till it has been already achieved in the soul
board of education and its supporters. In a free govern-
of the community.
ment, there can be no teaching by authority, and all at-
We confess, therefore, that we cannot look for much
tempts to teach by authority are so many blows struck at
to meet the educational wants of the community, from
its freedom. We may as well have a religion established
the favorite measures of the Massachusetts Board of
by law, as a system of education, and have the govern-
Education. In the view of this respectable board, educa-
ment educate and appoint the pastors of our churches,
tion is merely a branch of general police, and schoolmas-
as well as the instructors of our children. . . .
ters are only a better sort of constables. The board would
Introduce now a system of normal schools under the
promote education, they would even make it universal,
supervision of a government board of education. These
because they esteem it the most effectual means possible
schools must be governed by popular men, men of rep-
of checking pauperism and crime and making the rich
utation, not men who have the good of the people at
secure in their possessions. Education has, therefore,
heart and are known only by their infidelity to popular
a certain utility which may be told in solid cash saved
interests, but men who are generally regarded as safe,
to the commonwealth. This being the leading idea,
in whom the mass of the active members of the com-
the most comprehensive view which the board seem to
munity have confidence. But on what condition does a
take of education, what more should be expected from
man come into this category of popular men? Simply on
their labors except such modifications and improve-
the condition that he represent, to a certain extent, the
ments as will render it more efficient as an arm of gen-
opinions now dominant. . . .
eral police? More, we confess, we do not look for from
In order to be popular, one must uphold things as
their exertions. The board is not composed of men likely
they are, disturb the world with no new views, and alarm
to attempt more, and even if it were composed of other
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 79
29/08/12 11:02 AM
Confi rming Pages
80
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
men, with far other and more elevated and comprehen-
education, beyond what relates to the finances of the
sive views, more could not be effected. Boards of trade
schools, comes within the province of the legislature.
may do something, but boards of education and boards
More than this the legislature should not attempt; more
of religion are worthy of our respect only in proportion
than this the friends of education should not ask. Let
to their imbecility. To educate a human being to be a
the legislature provide ample funds for the support of
man, to fulfill his destiny, to attain the end for which
as many schools as are needed for the best education
God made him, is not a matter which can, in the nature
possible of all the children of the community, and there
of things, come within the jurisdiction of a board, how-
let it stop. The selection of teachers, the choice of stud-
ever judiciously it may be constituted.
ies and of books to be read or studied, all that pertains
Nevertheless, the board may, perhaps, do some-
to the methods of teaching and the matters to be taught
thing. There is room to hope that it will do something
or learned are best left to the school district. In these
to improve the construction of school-houses and to
matters, the district should be paramount to the state.
collect the material facts concerning the state of educa-
The evils we have alluded to are in some degree in-
tion as it now is; and, judging from the accompanying
separable from all possible systems of education which
report of its accomplished secretary, it may also effect
are capable of being put into practice, but they will be
some progress in the methods of teaching our children
best avoided by placing the individual school under the
to spell. This will be considerable and will deserve
control of a community composed merely of the num-
gratitude and reward. Nothing desirable in matters of
ber of families having children to be educated in it.
Developing Your
controlled by governing boards composed entirely of
Professional Vocabulary
men. In your view, was the feminization of teaching
an advance for women or negative in its impact?
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
2. Discuss Mann’s ideas for a new “pedagogy of love.”
important to education.
In your essay explain why Mann wanted to change
school discipline and the effect those changes would
character education
normal school
have on teachers and students. Analyze the appro-
decentralization
Prussian model
priateness of this pedagogy of love for schools in a
democratic society.
discipline and a
sectarianism
pedagogy of love
3. The idea of educating the “citizen” was central to
university
Mann’s educational ideals. Discuss Mann’s concept
feminization of teaching
urbanization
of the citizen and show how it was reflected in his
humanitarian reform
educational proposals.
Questions for Discussion
Online Resources
and Examination
1. On the one hand, Mann’s promotion of women
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
into the teaching force might be regarded as a posi-
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
tive advance for women in the public sphere. On
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
the other hand, it might be argued that Mann was
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
reinforcing the subservience of women by limiting
articles and news feeds.
them to public-sphere nurturing roles in institutions
toz24404_ch03_050-081.indd 80
29/08/12 11:02 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 4
Social Diversity and Differentiated
Schooling The Progressive Era
Chapter Overview
In a number of ways Chapter 4 is a pivotal chap-
transformed and how that transformation was
ter in this textbook. It examines perhaps the
publicly justified during the progressive era.
most dramatic changes in political economy,
School reform became a major priority on the
ideology, and schooling that have taken place
national agenda for members of the business
in U.S. history. While the Jeffersonian chapter
community, journalists, social reformers, edu-
treated the first 50 years of the republic, and the
cators, and educational psychologists, who be-
common-schooling chapter treated the transi-
gan to explain human learning in decidedly new
tions in urban life and classical liberalism of the
terms. As a result of these reform efforts, new
next 50 years, Chapter 4 unveils the modern era
objectives for schooling emerged, including
in American culture and schooling that emerged
training students with employable skills for the
from the 1870s to the 1920s. Major political–
industrial workforce, enhancing social stability,
economic changes included the emergence
providing a form of equal educational oppor-
of a largely urban society, immigration from
tunity that assumed markedly different talents
new sources in Asia and southern and eastern
among students, and establishing a system of
Europe, and far-reaching developments in in-
meritocracy that appeared to make different
dustrialization and monopoly capitalism. Ideo-
educational outcomes contingent only on the
logically, classical liberalism was transformed
talent and effort of the students. To achieve
by political, economic, and intellectual devel-
those objectives, schools changed sharply in the
opments into a new form of liberalism termed
progressive era in terms of who was required
“new,” “modern,” or “corporate” liberalism. This
to attend, the different curricula offered to the
revised liberalism maintained commitments to
students, the establishment of extracurricu-
scientific rationality, progress, and freedom but
lar activities for social and educational aims,
transformed those commitments to be consis-
and the shift in control of schools from local
tent with the needs of the emerging leaders of
neighborhoods to centralized school boards
government and business.
comprised largely of businesses and profes-
The chapter begins by using the Gary, Indiana,
sional class membership.
school system to illustrate how schools were
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 82
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Early school textbooks left little room for
individua l interpretation.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 4 seeks to
4. The chapter also helps students evaluate the
achieve are these:
degree to which modern liberal ideology was
consistent with specifically articulated concep-
1. Students will understand and be able to evalu-
tions of democracy, such as Jeffersonian partici-
ate the massive shifts in political economy,
patory democracy and Dewey’s developmental
ideology, and schooling that took place at the
democracy.
beginning of the 20th century.
5. Students will consider the degree to which
2. Students will also develop a deeper and broader
domestic social order was achieved by the
base from which to evaluate the history of racial
exercise of the force of arms and by political and
and ethnic prejudice in the United States. They
economic control of schooling, thus calling into
should be able to compare progressive educa-
question a “consensus” theory of social order.
tional responses to ethnic differences with the
responses to Irish Americans identified in
6. Students will be able to distinguish among
Chapter 3 and later with the responses to
different strands of progressive education and
African Americans identified in Chapter 6.
evaluate the interests served by those different
camps.
3. This chapter provides opportunity to assess
the degree to which scientific management in
7. Finally, the chapter enables students to consider
the industrial workplace served the interests
the degree to which all population groups of
of workers and was or was not consistent with
students were or were not equally well served
democratic ideals—including the role of women
by the four progressive educational aims of
in society. Students will also be able to assess
social stability, employable skills, equal educa-
whether progressive social reform was consis-
tional opportunity, and meritocracy.
tent with democratic ideals.
83
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 83
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
84
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Analytic Framework
The Early Progressive Era
Political Economy
Ideology
Urbanization
Industrialization
“New” immigration
Worker responses to
industrial
management
Monopoly capitalism
Taylorization
Centralization in government
Bureaucratization
Schooling
Introduction: “Traditional”
Schools: A General Account, Flexner and Bachman took
pains to prepare readers for the fact that Gary’s was no
versus “Progressive”
“traditional” school system, but rather a “progressive”
Education
system, and that traditional conceptions of the school
would not be useful in understanding Gary’s schools.1
The student who comes to understand all the elements
In 1918 a team led by researchers Abraham Flexner and
of the following excerpt from the report will understand
Frank Bachman evaluated the school system of Gary,
a great deal about progressive education in the United
Indiana, an industrial city of 50,000 inhabitants located
States in the early 20th century.
27 miles southeast of Chicago. In their report, The Gary
The Gary schools can be properly understood only
when they are viewed in the light of the general educational
Note: A substantial portion of the primary research for this chapter was contributed by Frank Margonis and Stuart McAninch.
situation. For years, while the practice of education has in
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 84
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 85
Exhibit 4.1 Development of a Modern Secondary School System, 1889–1940*
Total
Secondary
Population
Number
Percentage of
School Enrollment
14–17 Years of Age
Enrolled
Secondary
Percentage Percentage
per
100
School
Increase Increase
Population
Enrollment
Number over Number over 14–17
Years in
Public
Year
(000s) 1889–1890 (000s) 1889–1890
of
Age
High
Schools
1889–90 358 —
5,355 —
7
57%
1899–1900 699
95%
6,152 15%
11
74
1909–10 1,115 211 7,220 35
15
82
1919–20 2,500 598 7,736 45
32
88
1929–30 4,811 1,244 9,341 75
51
91
1939–40 7,130 1,892 9,720 82
73
93
*For educational statistics from this period, secondary school and high school enrollment were still roughly synonymous. The seventh and eighth grades, now commonly included as part of secondary schooling, were then considered elementary school grades for statistical purposes.
Sources: Derived from Biennial Survey of Education in the U.S., 1938–40 (Washington, DC: U.S. Office of Education, 1947), vol. 2, chap. 1, p. 12; and Historical Statistics of the U.S., Colonial Times to 1970, Bicentennial Edition (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, 1975), pp. 368–69.
large part continued to follow traditional lines, the progressiv e
schooling, with the most fundamental changes taking
literature of the subject has abounded in constructive sug-
place in the 15 years on either side of 1900. Simply in
gestions of far-reaching significance. Social, political, and
terms of student enrollment, the changes were dramatic.
industrial changes have forced upon the school respon-
In the 1889–1890 school year, for example, the 358,000
sibilities formerly laid upon the home. Once the school
students enrolled in public and private secondary schools
had mainly to teach the elements of knowledge; now it
represented only 7 percent of all youth 14 to 17 years
is charged with the physical, mental, and social training
of the child as well. To meet these needs, a changed and
old (see Exhibit 4.1). By the 1919–1920 school year,
enriched curriculum, including, in addition to the com-
2.5 million students were enrolled in secondary schools
mon academic branches, community activities, facilities
and represented 32 percent of their age group. (It would
for recreation, shop work, [and] household arts, has been
be only another 10 years before a majority of all 14- to
urged on the content side of school work; on the side of
17-year-olds were enrolled in secondary school.) Fur-
method and attitude, the transformation of school meth-
ther, of the relatively few students in secondary schools
ods, discipline, and aims on the basis of modern psychol-
in 1889, just over half were enrolled in public schools. By
ogy, ethics and social philosophy has been recommended
1919, however, 88 percent of all secondary school stu-
for similar reasons.2
dents were enrolled in public schools.
What exactly did the authors mean by “social, po-
The number of students in secondary school had in-
litical, and industrial changes”? Or “physical, mental,
creased sixfold in those 30 years. This in itself would be
and social training of the child”? Or “changed and en-
enough to create an educational crisis due to the explo-
riched curriculum”? Or “modern psychology, ethics,
sion in requirements for buildings, teachers, teacher ed-
and social philosophy”? Put differently, the authors
ucation programs, texts, and funds. But the changes that
might have said that one can understand the changes
took place were not limited to quantitative increases.
in the Gary schools only by understanding changes in
Fundamental changes were taking place in American life
the contemporary political economy and dominant
and in the American people that challenged and altered
ideology. Developing an informed and critical inter-
the schools in fundamental ways. The first important
pretation of these changes is a large part of the work of
changes we shall examine are in the political economy of
this chapter.
the 50-year period following 1870: urbanization, immi-
The 50-year period from the 1870s to the 1920s
gration, industrialization, and centralization of decision-
represented nothing short of a revolution in American
making power.
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 85
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
86
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
The Political Economy
City averaged 340 people per acre, and a three-block area
housed 7,306 children! . . . One survey taker found that
of the Progressive Era
1,231 Italians were living in 120 rooms in New York; an-
other reporter could not find a single bathtub in a three-
Urbanization
block area of tenements.3
Shortly after the Civil War and through the end of the
The cities had other problems in addition to abject
19th century, the United States remained a predomi-
poverty, inadequate living quarters, and sanitation. As
nantly agrarian society. In 1870, fewer than 10 mil-
Jefferson had feared, urbanization brought an increase
lion Americans, or only 26 percent of the population,
in crimes against persons and property, governmental
lived in cities (communities of over 2,500 persons; see
corruption,4 and, as we shall see, strife between labor-
Exhibit 4.2). Not until about 1920 did over half the U.S.
ers and employers. All of these, together with mistrust
population live in cities. It was in this 50-year period,
and misunderstanding of the burgeoning population of
then, that the nation shifted demographically from be-
“new immigrants,” did much to disrupt the American
ing primarily rural to being primarily urban in character.
dream of peace, plenty, and harmony for all.
Between 1870 and 1920, as Exhibit 4.2 illustrates, the
number of cities with a population over half a million
Immigration
grew from 2 to 12.
The urbanization of late-19th-century America could
The shift from rural to urban life, however, was not
not have happened nearly so rapidly or dramatically
just a matter of numbers; it also involved matters of cul-
without massive immigration to swell the numbers of
ture and the quality of life. As people came to the cities
city dwellers. Just as significant as the great numbers
from rural areas in the United States and abroad, they en-
of immigrants coming to the United States during this
countered conditions few had ever imagined. Historians
period were the national origins of those “new immi-
Dinnerstein and Reimers, in Ethnic Americans, provide
grants,” as they were called by journalists of that time.
some sense of the conditions under which urban dwellers
Exhibit 4.3 illustrates a striking contrast in the “old”
lived in the larger cities at the turn of the century.
and “new” immigrants of the 19th century. In the
five-year period from 1866 through 1870, 98 percent
Whole neighborhoods were filthy, foul-smelling, and
of the 1.3 million Europeans who immigrated to the
overcrowded. In cities like Boston, New York, and Chicago
United States came from northern and western Europe
houses adjoined stables, and offal, debris, and horse
and Germany. Those settlers from England, Scotland,
manure littered the streets. Piles of garbage in front of
Wales, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Germany had left
buildings or in narrow passageways between houses gave
rise to stomach-turning odors and a large rat population.
Europe largely during periods of economic depression
The population density was astronomical, some sections
and population growth in their homelands. European
of Chicago, for example, having three times as many in-
industrialization had decreased the number of people
habitants as the most crowded portions of Tokyo and
needed to work the farms at a time of economic boom
Calcutta. In 1901 a Polish neighborhood in the Windy
in the United States.
Exhibit 4.2 The Nation Becomes Increasingly Urban
1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920
Urban
population
(000s)
9,902 14,130 22,106 30,160 41,999 54,158
Rural
population
(000s)
28,656 36,026 40,841 45,835 49,973 51,553
Percentage of total U.S. population
that
is
urban
26% 28% 35% 40% 46% 51%
Cities of over 500,000
2
4
4
6
8
12
Cities
of
100,000–500,000
12 16 24 32 42 56
Cities of 25,000–100,000
38
57
96
122
178
219
Source: Historical Statistics of the U.S., Colonial Times to 1970, Bicentennial Edition (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, 1975), pp. 11–12.
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 86
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 87
Exhibit 4.3 Changing Patterns in American Immigration, 1886–1920
Percentage of Total
Total
European
Number of Immigrants (000s)
European
Immigration
Immigration
from
Northwestern
Northwestern
to the U.S.
Europe
Europe*
Southern
Central
Eastern
Year
(000s)
and Germany
and Germany
Europe†
Europe‡
Europe§
Asia
1866–1870 1,338
98%
1,314
14
7
3
40
1871–1875 1,462
94
1,368
37
33
24
66
1876–1880 813
87
704
40 40 29
58
1881–1885 2,508
86
2,154
121 149
84
60
1886–1890
2,231
73
1,625
212
205
189
8
1891–1895 2,073
55
1,143
314 277 339
24
1896–1900 1,477
34
501
390 315 271
52
1901–1905 3,646
26
939 1,051 944 712
116
1906–1910 4,493
22
973 1,260 1,201 1,059
128
1911–1915 3,801
21
790 1,138 890 983
124
1916–1920 581
36
207 323 12 39
69
*Primarily includes immigrants from Great Britain, Ireland, and the Scandinavian countries.
†The vast majority of immigrants from this region during this period came from Italy.
‡Primarily includes immigrants from Austria-Hungary.
§Primarily includes immigrants from Russia, Poland, and Russian-controlled territories.
Source: Derived from Historical Statistics of the U.S., Colonial Times to 1970, Bicentennial Edition (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, 1975), pp. 105–9.
As the industrial and agricultural revolutions spread
from the “old” immigrants, who were by then the es-
eastward from Great Britain through Germany and
tablished Americans of the dominant culture. Just as
into southern and eastern Europe, the origins of im-
English-origin, Protestant Bostonians had discrimi-
migrants shifted by the 1906–1910 period, nearly
nated against Irish Catholic immigrants early in the
4.5 million immigrants were leaving their overcrowded
19th century, the established Americans regarded the
conditions of scarcity for the United States, where jobs
new immigrants with considerable disdain late in that
and land were reputed to be plentiful. Not only had the
century.
number of European immigrants more than tripled,
The United States had a traditional commitment
but now only 22 percent were the “old” immigrants;
to welcoming immigrants to the new world. In 1885,
the remainder were new immigrants from southern
for example, a bill restricting the importation of con-
and eastern Europe: Italy, Greece, Russia, Poland,
tract laborers affirmed that tradition by noting, “this
Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, and
bill in no measure seeks to restrict free immigration;
other countries. Among these eastern Europeans were
such a proposition would be odious, and justly so, to
nearly two million Jews who fled persecution in Russia
the American people.”5 But three years earlier, in re-
and elsewhere in hopes of finding religious, cultural,
sponse to pressure from West Coast residents, Con-
and economic freedom in the United States.
gress had passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882,
setting a precedent for limiting immigration of people
from targeted countries. The anti-Chinese sentiment
Open versus Restricted Immigration The dreams
was overtly racist, as illustrated in an 1876 Califor-
of the Jews, however, like the dreams of the new im-
nia legislative committee report which stated that “the
migrants in general, were only partially realized. There
Chinese are inferior to any race God ever made. . . .
were greater opportunities in America than they had
[They] have no souls to save, and if they have, they are
enjoyed in Europe, but they also encountered prejudice
not worth saving.”6
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 87
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
88
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Philadelphia, 1897: horse-drawn wagons and carriages, an electric trolley car, and pedestrians congest a cobblestone street.
Yet in 1886, the Statue of Liberty was erected in New
navian stock, historically free, energetic, progressive, or
York Harbor as a symbol of freedom for immigrants,
by Slav, Latin, and Asiatic races, historically downtrod-
bearing an inscription that reads in part,
den, atavistic, and stagnant.”8 The Nordic stock was
characterized as tall and fair, while the new arrivals, es-
Give me your tired, your poor,
pecially those from Italy and Greece, were branded as
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
short, dark, and low in intelligence. As early as 1894,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
the newly founded Immigration Restriction League led
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me;
a campaign to restrict immigrants through the use of
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!7
literacy tests, a device already found effective in limiting
Despite such assurances, prejudice against the new
voter participation by African Americans in the American
immigrants was inflamed by a kind of pseudoscientific
South. The Ku Klux Klan, noted for its virulent attacks
racism that interpreted national differences as racial
on southern Black people, grew to a membership of over
differences. Slavs, Jews, and Italians, for example, were
four million by the 1920s and worked to restrict the
thought to be of different racial “stock” than the Nor-
new immigration on the grounds of the immigrants’
dic peoples, who were the established Americans. Since
genetic inferiority.9
the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin
But it wasn’t just crudely racist organizations such
of Species in 1859, there were some in the United States
as the Klan that subscribed to eugenics theories and
who created “scientific” arguments that certain racial
sought to control the gene pool of the American pop-
groups were more evolved than others, and American
ulation. Prominent educators such as psychologist
nativists argued that the nation had to decide whether
Edward L. Thorndike and University of Wisconsin
it would be “peopled by British, German, and Scandi-
president Charles Van Hise, leading sociologists such as
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 88
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 89
Exhibit 4.4 Ethnic Diversity in Five Selected Cities
Chicago
New York
Milwaukee
San Francisco
Atlanta
Total Population (000s)
2,185
4,767
374
417
155
Foreign-born White
781
1,928
111
131
4
Native White, foreign parentage
705
1,445
135
107
4
Native White, mixed parentage
208
375
47
46
3
Black
44
92
1
2
52
Asian
2
6
0.1
15
0.1
Percentage of Total Population
At least one foreign-born
parent (1910)
78%
79%
78%
68%
7%
Foreign-born White:
1900
35
37
31
30
3
1910
36
40
30
31
3
1920
30
35
24
28
2
Black:
1910
2
2
0.3
0.5
34
1920
4
3
0.4
0.5
31
Chicago
New York
Milwaukee
San Francisco
Atlanta
Major Immigrant Groups*
Poland
(17) Russia
(25) Germany
(36) Italy (17) None
Germany (14) Italy (20) Poland
(21) Germany
(14)
Russia
(13) Ireland
(10) Russia
(06) Ireland
(13)
Italy
(07) Germany
(10) Austria
(05) England
(07)
Sweden (07) Austria
(06) Hungary
(05) France
(05)
Ireland (07)
England
(04)
Canada
(05)
Czechoslovakia (07)
Hungary (03)
Sweden (04)
*Percentage of total foreign-born population in 1920 in parentheses. Figures on major ethnic groups from 1920 rather than from 1910 were used because the 1920 census included separate figures for Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian immigrants, whereas the 1910 census included these figures in the figures for the nations that then controlled their homelands: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. The relative proportions of the various immigrant groups in 1920 are probably at least roughly comparable to those in 1910.
Sources: Fourteenth Census of the U.S. Taken in the Year 1920 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1922), vol. 3, pp. 109, 118, 222, 247, 261, 679, 691, 1,121, 1,131; Thirteenth Census of the U.S. Taken in the Year 1910 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1913), vol. 2, pp. 162, 180, 400, 482, 504, and vol. 3, pp. 216, 240, 1,078, 1,096.
E. A. Ross and Charles H. Cooley, and administrators
competition for jobs, and the hostility toward foreigners
of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (which took
fueled by World War I. By 1921 this antagonism finally
control of the independently established Eugenics Re-
resulted in Congress’s establishing immigration restric-
cords Office in 1918) supported such efforts to “control
tions based on nationality. This initial act was rein-
the evolutionary progress of the race.”10 One popularizer
forced with stronger national quotas in 1924 and 1929,
of racist anthropology, Madison Grant, wrote in 1916
and immigration from southern and eastern Europe was
in his book The Passing of the Great Race that “the new
slashed dramatically after the 1920s. For many nation-
immigration . . . contained a large number of the weak,
alities the annual quota was cut by 99 percent below the
the broken, and the mentally crippled of all races drawn
peak years of earlier immigration.12
from the lowest stratum of the Mediterranean basin and
Millions of new immigrants and their children were
the Balkans, together with the hordes of the wretched,
already part of the American social fabric, however, and
submerged populations of the Polish Ghettos.”11
the hostile and racist attitudes toward these new resi-
Such prejudice was exacerbated by public anxiety
dents continued. In the large cities, a sizable majority
over the conditions of the cities in which the new immi-
of the population consisted of immigrants or children
grants lived, worries about the impact of immigrants on
born of immigrant parents. As Exhibit 4.4 indicates, in
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 89
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
90
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Exhibit 4.5 Changes in Patterns of Labor, 1870–1920
1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920
Percentage of workers in agriculture
50%
50%
42%
37%
31%
27%
Percentage of workers in manufacturing
17
18
20
22
22
26
Industrial Distribution of Gainful Workers (000s)
Agriculture 6,430
8,610
9,990
10,710
11,340
11,120
Forestry and fisheries
60
95
180
210
250
280
Mining 200
310
480
760
1,050
1,230
Manufacturing and hand trades
2,250
3,170
4,750
6,340
8,230
10,880
Construction 750
830
1,440
1,660
2,300
2,170
Transportation and other public utilities
640
860
1,530
2,100
3,190
4,190
Trade —
—
—
—
3,370
4,060
Finance and real estate
830
1,220
1,990
2,760
—
—
—
—
520
800
Educational service
190
330
510
650
900
1,170
Other professional service
140
190
350
500
770
1,080
Domestic service
940
1,080
1,520
1,740
2,150
1,700
Personal service
250
360
640
970
1,520
1,630
Government not elsewhere classified
100
140
190
300
540
920
Not allocated
140
195
170
370
600
380
— Means not applicable.
Source: Adapted by Stuart McAninch from Historical Statistics of the U.S., Colonial Times to 1970, Bicentennial Edition (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, 1975), p. 138.
Chicago 78 percent of the total population had at least
of the meatpackers in the Swift and Armour plants in
one foreign-born parent in 1910. The figure for New
Chicago. Close to 60 percent of the industrial labor
York was 79 percent; for Milwaukee, 78 percent; and
force in the years before World War I, reports labor
for San Francisco, 68 percent. This meant also that the
historian David Brody, was foreign-born.13
majority of factory workers and the majority of school-
Not only had the ethnic origins of the workers
children in the large cities were immigrants or children
changed by this time, the nature and organization of the
of immigrants. Established American civic and national
work itself had been altered fundamentally by industri-
leaders considered this predominance of foreign stock a
alization and industrial management. As Exhibit 4.5
significant problem for the workplace, the schools, and
indicates, the period from 1870 to 1920 marked a shift
social order in general and would increasingly turn to
from a time when half of those employed worked on
the schools for solutions.
the farm to a time when slightly over a quarter did
such work. At the same time, the proportion of manu-
Industrialization
facturing workers rose from 17 to 26 percent, nearly
equaling agricultural workers by 1920. In addition
Although the new immigrants found work in nearly
to those employed in manufacturing, the number of
all sectors of the labor market, skilled and unskilled,
those working in mines multiplied sixfold, those em-
rural and urban, a great many of them found work in
ployed in construction tripled, and those employed
the mines, steel mills, factories, and slaughterhouses of
in transportation and other utilities increased sixfold.
industrial America. They often constituted the major-
And as industry and production increased, so did
ity of laborers in such industries: immigrants consti-
business: the number of people employed in trade, fi-
tuted 16,000 of the 23,000 workers in the Homestead
nance, and real estate increased sixfold. By 1920 the
steel mill in Pennsylvania, for example, and immi-
modern age of business and industry had succeeded
grants and Black migrants together were the majority
the age of agriculture.
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 90
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 91
From Skilled Artisanship to Monopoly Capita
l
owners of production in doing so. His work began at
The number of manufacturing establishments more
Pennsylvania’s Midvale Steel plant in the 1880s, where
than doubled from 1860 to 1890, and the total pro-
he did “efficiency studies” to determine where time, ma-
duction of manufactured goods increased at an even
terials, and effort were being wasted in the men’s work.
greater rate.14 More significant than the overall growth
His first internationally known paper on scientific man-
of manufacturing was the change in how factories were
agement was delivered in 1895 (the same year, coinci-
organized. It is easy to believe that new inventions were
dentally, as Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Exposition
fundamentally responsible for the industrial boom at
address—see Chapter 6). After Taylor’s presentation the
the turn of the century. Economist Robert Reich, how-
notion of scientific management of the workplace be-
ever, observes that it was not new inventions themselves
came commonly known.
but the American knack for organizing them into mass-
One of Taylor’s main efforts was to break down
production techniques that led to American leadership
each complex, skilled task into its component parts—
in the world of production. In the period from 1870 to
simple moves that an unskilled person could be taught
1920, says Reich, major new inventions (often based on
in a short time. This “deskilling” development led to
discoveries made in Britain, which had an older indus-
a need for fewer skilled workers, a greater number of
trial tradition) appeared in the United States about every
unskilled workers, and a corresponding decrease in
15 months on average. Typewriters, telephones, pho-
workers’ wages and power to decide on the condi-
nographs, light bulbs, aluminum, vulcanized
rubber,
tions of their labor. As long as workers were not highly
wireless radio, electric washing machines, airplanes, and
skilled, they could be easily replaced. Although the
many other technological developments came during
deskilling of the American workplace had begun well
this period.15 Almost everything needed for mass pro-
before Taylor’s innovations, his scientific management
duction of manufactured goods seemed to be in place:
resulted in further deskilling and was consciously
abundant natural resources, cheap sources of energy,
aimed at control of knowledge and of decision-making
mass markets, and cheap, mobile labor. Transportation,
power. Historian David Brody describes Taylor’s ap-
too, was an asset: not only did a huge canal and lake sys-
proach well:
tem make transport of goods inexpensive, the railroads
had grown from 23 miles of track in 1830 to 208,000
To his engineer’s eye, the prevailing shop practice
miles in 1890. But none of these ingredients can in itself
was a shocking violation of the industrial progressivism
account for the remarkable growth in the factory sys-
of the modern age. There was a traditional fund of prac-
tical knowledge that workers passed on to one another;
tem, argues Reich, without attention to how the organi-
they performed their tasks unsupervised and by “rule of
zation of work itself was changed by those who owned
thumb”; and, what was worse, they customarily worked
and controlled the factory system.
at a slow pace that conformed to a group-approved
norm. In short [said Taylor], “the shop was really run
Taylorization: Scientific Management and Skill
by the workmen, and not by the bosses.” To remedy this
retrogressive state, Taylor proposed two basic industrial
Dilution As factories increased in size, factory own-
reforms. The first would cut away the brain work inher-
ers sought new ways to increase worker efficiency, and
ent in what workers did and place it wholly in the hands
one strategy was to increase the number of managers
of managers. . . . The second reform, essentially a func-
per worker on the shop floor. While the number of in-
tion of the first, would deprive workers of the responsi-
dustrial workers increased only 50 percent in the 1890–
bilities they had normally exerted on the shop floor. [In
1900 decade, the number of supervisors increased 400
Taylor’s words] “Faster work can be assured . . . only
percent, from 90,000 to 360,000.16 More important, a
through enforced standardization of methods, enforced
new “scientific” system of management was introduced
adoption, of the best implements and working condi-
into American industry that would increase produc-
tions, and enforced cooperation.
tion and worker dissatisfaction at the same time. The
. . . And the duty of enforcing . . . rests with the man-
agement alone.”17 (Taylor’s italics)
most famous proponent of scientific management of the
workplace was Frederick Winslow Taylor.
Taylor, an upper-middle-class Philadelphia engineer,
Taylor put his aims very clearly when he said, “All pos-
tried to apply the principles of engineering precision to
sible brain work should be removed from the shop and
the management of people and became a hero to the
centered in the planning or laying-out department”; and
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 91
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
92
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
further, “This task specifies not only what is to be done
have gone into such a fight as this—deliberately attempt-
but how it is to be done and the exact time allowed for
ing to force the men to do something they did not propose
doing it.”18
to do.20
To illustrate the value of his approach, Taylor offered
the account of his supervision of a Dutch native named
As we shall soon see, worker dissatisfaction did not
Schmidt at the Bethlehem Steel mill in Pennsylvania.
end with one three-year battle at one steel plant. It
Taylor wrote that under the old system of management,
increased throughout the decades to follow, until the
Schmidt earned only $1.15 per day for loading 12.5
schools became one of the agencies to which anxious
tons of pig iron. With proper scientific management,
capitalists would turn in their battle for absolute con-
however, Schmidt’s output increased almost fourfold.
trol over the shop floor. But how could schools help
In Taylor’s words:
address worker resistance to the scientific management
of the workplace? Progressive education would help
Schmidt started to work and all day long, and at regu-
provide an answer.
lar intervals, was told by the man who stood over him with
a watch, “now pick up a pig and walk. Now sit down and
rest. Now walk—now rest,” etc. He worked when he was
Significance for Women and Office Work Before
told to work, and rested when he was told to rest, and at
further investigating worker responses to industrialism
half-past five in the afternoon had his 471⁄2 tons loaded in
and to scientific management in particular, one other
the car.19
important development needs attention: the signifi-
cance of scientific management for the employment
Taylor boasted that under scientific management, ev-
of women. While there is much to be said about the
eryone benefits: goods can be produced more cheaply,
participation of women in the industrial workplace,
workers receive higher wages, and total output increases.
women in labor movements, and legislation protect-
In Schmidt’s case, noted Taylor, the laborer’s wages rose
ing women from long hours and injurious labor condi-
from $1.15 daily to $1.85 daily, a 60 percent increase,
tions, the aspect of women’s labor in the progressive era
while his production rose 400 percent.
that is of most interest here has directly to do with the
increases in office work that were stimulated by scien-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
tific management.
As urbanization and industrialization increased in
Why might liberal education be incompatible with
the 19th century, and as people left the countryside for
workplace requirements after Taylorization? Should
the city, the home became less a place of production
workplace requirements limit what is taught in
and more a place of consumption only. That is, where-
schools?
as women on the farm were expected to help produce
goods such as food and clothing for the family and for
sale, city dwelling offered little in terms of resources for
But despite the prospect of wage increases for com-
production. To supplement family income some family
mon laborers, Taylor encountered resistance directly
women, immigrants and rural migrants alike, boarded
from the workers. As early as the 1880s, while working
single men who were working in mills, factories, and
as a gang boss in a machine shop at Midvale Street, Tay-
meatpacking plants, and other women took in seasonal
lor entered into a long battle with the machinists, who
piecework of various kinds. Also, single women worked
wanted to continue being paid by the piece rather than
outside the home in a few different job categories. In
by the hour. Said Taylor,
fact, by 1900, 90 percent of all women who worked out-
side the home were working in just four different areas:
Now that was the beginning of a piecework fight that
domestic service (39 percent); manufacturing, particu-
lasted for nearly three years, as I remember it—in which I
larly in the textile, clothing, and tobacco industries (25
was doing everything in my power to increase the output
percent); agriculture, especially among Black women in
of the shop, while the men were absolutely determined that
the South (18 percent); and the professions, primarily
the output should not be increased. Anyone who has been
through such a fight knows and dreads the meanness of
teaching and nursing (8 percent).21
it and the bitterness of it. I believe that if I had been an
The rise of business and industry, and particularly
older man—a man of more experience—I should hardly
the rise of scientific management, brought great changes
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 92
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 93
to this pattern of women’s work. While the percentage
to protect their health, incomes, and, perhaps above all,
of women in manufacturing held steady (as the actual
right to make decisions about the conditions of their
numbers of women in manufacturing grew rapidly) and
own labor. In the late 19th century, workers fought
the proportion of agricultural women declined, office
against the industrial order in ways that cost many of
work emerged as the number one employer of work-
them their jobs and in some cases their lives. What is
ing women by 1920. Prior to 1900, approximately 76
important to recognize, however, is that workers did not
percent of clerks and secretaries were male, but with
fight against industrialization itself but against the way
the growth of scientific management, these secretarial
in which the industrial workplace was organized and
and clerical jobs were increasingly filled by women. By
controlled by those who owned the factories.
1920, the four major job categories employing women
John Morrison, a 23-year-old machinist testifying be-
had changed: office work (25.6 percent), manufacturing
fore Congress during this period, recognized the deskill-
(23.8 percent), domestic service (18.2 percent), and ag-
ing developments in his own trade and recognized as
riculture (12.8 percent). Office positions were attractive
well the loss of worker autonomy and the subsequent
to young women because they did not require a great
effects on the workers:
deal of training and were therefore relatively easy to
leave and reenter, and they were considered more suit-
The trade has been subdivided and those subdivisions
have been again subdivided, so that a man never learns the
able for women than blue-collar industrial jobs. Further,
machinist’s trade now. . . . There is no system of apprentice-
these positions were considered dead-end jobs for men
ship, I may say, in the business. You simply go in and learn
in that they did not lead to advancement and paid very
whatever branch you are put at, and you stay at that unless
little, while for women these positions were considered
you are changed to another. . . . It has a very demoralizing
to be opportunities to earn income outside the home.22
effect on the mind throughout. . . . [The machinist] knows
Such positions multiplied rapidly with the growth
that he cannot leave that particular branch and go to any
of scientific management after the 1890s because of the
other; he has got no chance whatever to learn anything else
rise of the bureaucracy in business and industry. If all
because he is kept steadily and constantly at that particular
decision making and planning were to be taken away
thing, and of course his intellect must be narrowed by it. . . .
from workers on the shop floor, elaborate systems of
In fact he becomes almost a part of the machinery.25
planning, monitoring, and reporting had to be estab-
While the reduction of workers to being “almost a
lished, systems that required a great deal of paperwork.
part of the machinery” was an indictment of the work-
Adding this layer of bureaucracy to the production pro-
place from the worker’s point of view, it was good for
cess could be costly and inefficient unless it, too, was
profits from the capitalist’s point of view. An observer
managed scientifically by having a low-paid, low-skilled
described one female worker and her work: “One single
corps of clerks who could follow directions and do the
precise motion each second, 3600 in one hour, and all
routine paperwork, such as record keeping, typing, and
exactly the same. The hands were swift, precise, intel-
mailing, that would otherwise occupy their more highly
ligent. The face was stolid, vague and vacant.” It is not
paid decision-making superiors. Women were consid-
surprising that her manager praised her as “one of the
ered ideal candidates for such positions, in part because
best workers we have. . . . She is a sure machine.” Con-
office employment would reduce the degree to which
trolling people like machines instead of allowing them
women competed with men for higher-paying industrial
to make decisions like people led to widespread practices
jobs.23 The rise of women in office work, as will later
such as are reflected in this remark by a superintendent
be discussed, had a significant impact on the secondary
of Swift & Co.: “If you need to turn out a little more,
school curriculum provided for working-class girls.
you speed up the conveyor a little and the men speed up
to keep pace.”26 Economist Robert Reich summarizes
Worker Responses
the experience of many workers:
to Industrial Management
The organization was structured like the machine at its
Workers (including women) tried to fight against the
core, engineered to follow the sequence of steps specified
new scientific management by forming unions in vari-
by the settings on their controls. Scientific management
ous kinds of labor, including office work.24 But union
made the large enterprise, and everyone who contributed
organization was only one of the ways workers sought
to it, an extension of the high volume machine.27
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 93
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
94
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
One of the by-products of scientific management was bringing young women into office jobs previously occupied by men. Such jobs required little training, were relatively easy to leave and reenter, and were considered more suitable for women than were blue-collar industrial jobs.
The move to corporate capitalism was intended to
were initiated by workers themselves and challenged the
provide greater market share, even market control, for
very power of capital to determine and manage the or-
the capitalists, thus increasing their profits. But the capi-
ganization of production: these organized forms of resis-
talists’ allegiance to profit and to the stockholders led to
tance included populism, socialism, and a militant trade
ever more authoritarian control of the workers in the
unionism unfamiliar to most Americans today. Another
effort to increase efficiency of production. The manage-
form of resistance to the unbridled power of corporate
ment movement had begun in the 1870s and 1880s,
capital, progressive reform, was not initiated by workers
before Taylor’s scientific management refinements, and
and did not fundamentally challenge the power of capi-
worker resistance was becoming strong by the 1880s.
tal to control the production processes. Each of these
In the five-year period from 1893 to 1898 surrounding
merits a brief discussion.
the 1895 publication of Taylor’s first paper on scientific
management, over 7,000 strikes were reported against
Trade Unionism One form of organized worker
American companies. In the next five years, that num-
resistance to the new industrial order was unionism.
ber more than doubled to 15,000.28 But strikes were just
Today we are accustomed to thinking of unions as or-
one of the ways workers resisted the new industrial order
ganizations that represent workers in a specific trade or
of corporate capitalism.
occupation—miners, machinists, truck drivers, office
Neither African Americans arriving from rural Amer-
workers, air traffic controllers, teachers, and so on—and
ica nor immigrants from predominantly rural portions
bargain on behalf of those people for higher wages, bet-
of Europe, nor skilled artisans, nor women working
ter benefits, and better working conditions—and con-
outside the home for the first time were accustomed to
duct strikes if the bargaining process breaks down. This
the managed regimen of the factory system. For a vari-
kind of union organization by specific trades, or trade
ety of reasons, including subdivision of skills, low earn-
unionism, had roots in trade organizations prior to the
ings, the authoritarian nature of the shop floor, and the
Civil War, although strikes before the war were few be-
long hours and injurious practices, among other factors,
cause most workers were self-employed. But unions late
workers resisted the new management system of corpo-
in the 19th century were not always organized by trades
rate capitalism in organized ways. Some of these ways
and did not necessarily accept wage bargaining as their
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 94
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 95
The dehumanizing effects of scientific management and corporate capitalism led to a series of strikes in the late 19th century.
primary task. Historian Norman Ware writes that “the
every railroad building it could find while the militia
reluctance of the labor movement to accept collective
escaped from the city.
bargaining as its major function was due largely to the
The Railway Strike of 1877 was the most extensive
fact that this involved an acceptance of the wage sys-
labor conflict of the 19th century, and it refocused pub-
tem.”29 Again, it was not just low wages but the organi-
lic attention on labor and unions. The strike stimulated
zation of industry to which workers objected.
greater union membership, especially for the fledgling
After the Civil War, trade unions were extremely
Knights of Labor, which rejected the trade union con-
weak, especially when the nation was plunged into de-
cept in favor of an organization that would unite all
pression in the early 1870s. But the depression eventu-
wage laborers, “the draughtsman, the time keeper, the
ally led to a series of railroad workers’ strikes that culmi-
clerk, the school teacher, the civil engineer, the editor,
nated in a great national railway strike in 1877. Crowds
the reporter, or the worst paid, most abused and illy ap-
of angry strikers stopped the railroads, stopped factory
preciated of all toilers—women,” in an effort “to abolish
production in some cities, and became violent when
the wage system.”30 The Knights were one of those or-
fired on by troops. In Pittsburgh, when the governor
ganizations that, like the Populists and Socialists, chal-
called in the militia to control the strikes, the militia
lenged the power relations of capitalism. Membership in
joined the strikers. Six hundred more militia were called
the Knights of Labor fluctuated but by 1886 reached a
in, this time from Philadelphia, and they attempted to
peak of 729,000. In that year alone strikes were conduct-
disperse the crowd by firing on them, resulting in the
ed, by the Knights and by other labor unions, against
deaths of 26 people. The crowd then turned on the
10,000 different establishments involving a half-million
militia, trapping them in a railroad roundhouse, which
workers. The “labor problem,” as worker resistance to the
was set afire before the militia escaped. The crowd also
organization of corporate capitalism was called, was widely
burned 104 locomotives, over 2,000 railroad cars, and
regarded as the most pressing social problem of the era.
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 95
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
96
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
By 1892 the battle lines between labor and owner-
industrial capitalism on costs of farm production, which
ship were firmly drawn. Five years previously, in Chica-
were increasing, and on prices for farm products, which
go, the heart of the eight-hour-day movement, a bomb
were declining. They opposed in particular the grow-
at Haymarket Square killed or injured scores of people
ing legislative financial assistance to big business and
at a late-night workers rally that had been peaceful until
industry, such as the millions of dollars’ worth of land
the police, against orders from the mayor, attempted to
granted by the government to the railroad industry. Fi-
disperse the assembly.31 That May 1 date is still com-
nally, populists strongly opposed the effects of manage-
memorated by workers and nations throughout the
ment on workers even before Taylor’s scientific man-
world as an international labor day. At the steel plant in
agement movement matured. It was not just earnings
Homestead, Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Steel Corpora-
but the power to decide on the industrial organization
tion hired an army of Pinkerton guards to put down a
that populists most disputed. One Nebraska newspaper
steelworkers’ strike against wage cuts and other griev-
called for the elimination of “monopolistic privileges
ances. The armed Pinkerton troops numbered 32,000,
and power,” and a journal, the Farmers Alliance, called
more than the standing U.S. Army at the time, and the
for the establishment instead of “an industrial democracy
armed battles that followed their arrival killed some 70
in which each citizen shall have an equal interest” (em-
people in all.
phasis added).33 In a speech in 1894, Kansas populist
At Homestead, the state militia was brought in, but
Frank Doster clarified the idea of industrial democracy
the strike only spread to other steel plants. Carnegie and
by arguing that “the industrial system of a nation, like
the state militia responded by bringing in strikebreakers
its political system, should be a government of and for
to work in the plant and having the strike leaders ar-
and by the people alone.”34 And a speaker at a meeting
rested and charged with treason against the government.
of the labor group Farmers Alliance in Nebraska pro-
Although no strikers were found guilty, the tactic was
claimed the populist position as follows: “Thus we see
successful at breaking the strike after several months’
organized capital arrayed against the producers. . . . The
struggle. When the mill was reopened, hiring prefer-
irrepressible conflict between capital and labor is upon
ence was given to the least-skilled workers, who would
us.”35
work for less and were more controllable than the more
Space does not allow treatment of the complex eco-
highly skilled craftspersons. As a result, from 1892 to
nomic and political issues attending the rise and fall of
1907 “daily earnings of highly skilled mill workers at
populism as an organized movement and political party.
Homestead shrank by one fifth, while their hours in-
The point here is to illustrate that workers had ways of
creased from eight to twelve.”32
understanding corporate capitalism that were very dif-
In this and other incidents, the industrial owners
ferent from the ways in which capitalists understood
demonstrated that they would go to any lengths to
their own enterprise and that workers did seek to orga-
protect their control over the workplace and over the
nize in the name of industrial democracy. In the 1892
laborers. Since the railroad strikes of 1877, state govern-
election that brought Democrat Grover Cleveland to the
ments had increased the size of their militias and had
White House, Populists peaked in their political power,
begun building armories in cities in large part to be able
winning six western states in the national elections, put-
to control labor resistance. Ownership had the wealth
ting some 1,500 state legislators in office, and electing
and power to define the issue in the press (also a profit-
15 U.S. senators and representatives, a remarkable feat
making enterprise) as “the labor problem” and to enlist
by today’s standards. Soon thereafter, however, popu-
the forces of the police and government to restore order
lism began to weaken as a political force. The party was
when the problem became otherwise unmanageable.
divided by inner conflicts, and its positions were seen
as too conservative by Socialist party leaders who might
Populism A second form of resistance to corpo-
otherwise have supported populism. Further, support
rate capital industrialism had its roots in the ideology
lagged among urban workers who were unaccustomed
of agrarian localism that Jefferson considered to be the
to traditions of agrarian democracy. Also, Populist lead-
most fertile seedbed of democracy in America. Populism
ers believed that in the absence of an adequate base of
flourished in the 1890s primarily in the rural midwest-
support for their more radical positions, at least some of
ern states, but it was not opposed to industrialism itself.
their aims could be achieved by the progressive elements
Rather, it expressed opposition to the way in which in-
within the Democratic party. As historian Norman Pol-
dustry was organized. Populists opposed the effects of
lack notes, third parties have historically not done well
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 96
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 97
in the United States, and the Populist thrust was by the
and the Demo crats were regarded by Socialists as the
late 1890s absorbed and blunted by the Democratic
lesser of two evils compared with the Republicans, who
party.36
had come to be identified with the interests of big busi-
ness by the end of the 1880s.
Socialism A third major worker response to the new
Perhaps the most significant factor in the decline of
industrial order was socialism. The Socialist Labor party
socialism in America was the action of the federal gov-
was founded in 1877 and developed an agenda that was
ernment during and immediately after World War I.
in some ways very similar to that of the Populists.37 The
Using the War Powers Act, the federal government ar-
Socialists, however, regarded the Populists as too con-
rested several leaders of the socialist movement, confis-
servative and inadequately industrial working class in
cated the presses of socialist newspapers, and prohibited
their ideology and origins. Further, the Socialists’ base
the sending of socialist materials through the U.S. mail.
was primarily urban, not rural, and there was a certain
In 1918 Attorney General Palmer, during the infamous
amount of competition between Socialists and Populists
“Red Scare,” had hundreds of socialists arrested and de-
for worker support.
ported. These actions struck a blow from which Ameri-
A split within the Socialist Labor party in 1899 led to
can socialism never recovered.
the founding of the Socialist party in 1901, and that par-
ty remained very strong by today’s standards until 1919.
Progressivism Insofar as militant trade unionism
The party grew throughout the first two decades of the
struggled for “workplace democracy,” it resembled pop-
20th century, depending on several different groups of
ulism and socialism in its effort to challenge corporate
workers for support. Among women, for example, a sig-
power. However, the corporations had on their side not
nificant number of Protestants identified socialist values
only armed forces but also the support of the leader-
with Christian values because of their common concern
ship of the two major political parties, which sought to
for human equality, compassion for the poor, and shar-
address the labor problem without fundamentally chal-
ing of goods, as opposed to the capitalist ethic of com-
lenging corporate power over production. As a response
petition for limited wealth. Many feminists supported
to industrialism, the progressive era (roughly the 1890s
socialism because it stood for political and social equal-
through the 1920s) saw government regulations over
ity for women, and immigrant women saw socialism as
business and industry that sought to end the conflict be-
speaking for their interests against those of industrialists.
tween labor and ownership without altering the unequal
Among African Americans, socialism found support in
power relations. As historian Gabriel Kolko has shown,
both the North and the South for its stand on racial
it was this cooperation between business and govern-
and class equality, and they, like workers more gener-
ment that lay at the heart of the progressive movement
ally, found hope in the social advocacy of “industrial
in the economy.38 Kolko’s important contribution to
democracy”—the belief that workers should have power
our understanding of the progressive era is captured in
to shape the decisions that affect their labor.
the title of his book, The Triumph of Conservatism, in
In 1912, charismatic candidate Eugene Debs captured
which he argues that progressivism did not serve the in-
a remarkable 6 percent of the American presidential
terests of the laboring classes so much as it stabilized
vote, and Socialists elected 79 mayors in 24 states. In
the economy and protected the power of ownership
all, Socialists won 1,200 political offices coast to coast
through government regulation.
in the 1912 election. By 1916, however, despite some
History has tended to portray the progressive era as
success in local elections and the election of one So-
a triumph for the common person over the giant mo-
cialist congressperson, the Socialist party had begun its
nopolies that emerged at the turn of the century. Kolko
decline. The Socialists could not find a compelling can-
argues, however, that it was big business itself that ul-
didate to make up for the loss of the proven vote getter
timately succeeded in bringing about government reg-
Eugene Debs, and just as had happened with the Pop-
ulation. It did this for several reasons. First, the “free
ulists, the Democratic party took votes away from the
market” system was so unstable that it led to countless
Socialists by appearing to champion the workers. Even
business failures, severe economic depressions, and a
if the progressive reforms of the Democratic platform
seemingly unending string of worker revolts. Second,
were pale in contrast to the Socialist party platform,
it made sense for business leaders to trust government
many Socialists supported Democratic candidates be-
officials to assist them because they shared the same so-
cause the third party had little chance of major success
cial class backgrounds and the same worldviews about
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 97
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
98
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
what was good for society and even shared close per-
Progressive reform at the state level tended in part
sonal and professional ties. For example, Kolko cites
to follow the federal model of establishing appointive
President Grover Cleveland’s past business partnership
regulatory bodies to oversee commerce, politics, and
with financier J. P. Morgan’s lawyer. Finally, the federal
labor relations. A different example of centralization of
government had a good record of providing direct eco-
power at the state level is compulsory schooling legisla-
nomic gain to big business in the form of land grants to
tion. Well into the progressive era, schooling was still
the railroads, tariffs against imported goods, subsidies
largely a voluntary enterprise, and classical liberal pre-
for corporations, and so on.
sumptions about the limited right of the state to con-
Further, contrary to the commonly held view that
strain individual choice about such matters prevailed.
big monopolies were invincibly controlling the market,
But in an effort to respond to humanitarian concerns
many if not most monopolies needed help desperately.
about abusive employment of youth in mines and fac-
As more and more businesses were bought and merged
tories, to provide education for all youth, to “Ameri-
into giant corporations, these enormous firms weakened
canize” immigrant youth, and in general to socialize
in competitive power. Fewer than half the mergers in
youth to new political–economic conditions, all state
the era made a profit, and 40 percent failed altogether.
governments had passed and begun enforcing compul-
As rapidly as new inventions were patented, small busi-
sory attendance laws by 1918.40 More will be said about
nesses were able to introduce innovations in produc-
compulsory schooling later; it is mentioned here as an
tion and marketing, while the monopolies could not
example of progressive centralization at the state level.
so quickly change their giant operations to incorporate
innovations. With high overhead costs and persistent
Progressive Urban Reform Of greater interest
difficulties in managing laborers, the big corporations
than state government is centralization at the city level,
failed to control the market. Even U.S. Steel, which
where, in Robert Wiebe’s words, “The heart of Progres-
resulted from merging 138 smaller steel companies,
sivism was the ambition of the new middle class to fulfill
controlled only 60 percent of the market, and its stock
its destiny through bureaucratic means.”41 In Wiebe’s
declined from $55 per share in 1901 to $9 a share in
view, progressive reform of city government amounted
1904. By 1907 steel industry leaders began meeting
essentially to scientific management of the cities in ways
with the Department of Justice and the Department of
that might be considered analogous to the scientific
Commerce to reduce competition and protect monopo-
management of the worker in industry. This analysis
ly investments by regulating the steel market.39
challenges the traditional historical view that progres-
Major government regulation of the economy had
sive urban reform was a victory for democracy won by
been established earlier in the progressive period, and
muckraking journalists, settlement-house social work-
the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow
ers, educators, government officials, and other reformers
Wilson were marked by a flurry of appointed regulatory
who opposed harmful labor practices, slum conditions,
commissions. Those commissions, which were estab-
and political corruption in city government.
lished by such legislation as the Interstate Commerce
The cities at the turn of the century were in many re-
Commission Act (1887), the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
spects chaotic, particularly by the standards of the busi-
(1890), the Federal Reserve Act (1913), the establish-
ness and professional classes who lived there. Whether
ment of the Federal Trade Commission, and the Clay-
city life was more chaotic then than now might be a good
ton Anti-Trust Act (both 1914), all put considerable
question for historical debate, however, for the govern-
power in the hands of officials who were not elected
mental corruption that the reformers despised was also
by the people—and therefore not directly accountable to
a source of order and unity in the cities at the turn of
them—but appointed by the executive branch in con-
the century. Journalists Lincoln Steffens and Lord James
sultation with Congress and big business. The establish-
Bryce were among those who wrote articles attacking
ment of these commissions meant the centralization of
the “ward boss” system of machine politics.42 The ward
economic and political power in the hands of the federal
system promoted a kind of “you scratch my back and I’ll
government at a level that had never been seen before,
scratch yours” morality between the alderman and their
and this centralized power is one of the hallmarks of
constituency, most of whom were newly immigrated
progressive reform at the federal, state, and local levels.
ethnics. As even the progressive social reformer Jane Ad-
We will soon see a progressive defense of this centraliza-
dams had to admit, if the aldermen brought business
tion model as we examine modern liberal ideology.
and city services to his ward; helped citizens who had
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 98
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 99
problems with police and the courts; used his resources
professionals, was a small minority compared with the far
to distribute food during holidays, buy gifts at weddings
greater numbers of blue-collar immigrants, it was a pow-
and christenings, and outfit a local youth band; and paid
erful minority. Historian Richard C. Wade characterizes
for funerals for poor immigrants so that they didn’t have
progressive urban reform as “a movement of the periphery
to be buried by the county, his constituency would for-
against the center,” because the middle-class residential
give his ill-gotten wealth and enthusiastically reelect
areas were located on the outer ring of the cities, while
him.43 The ward system offered a way for immigrants to
the source of the boss’s strength was the inner city, where
have a voice in the affairs of their neighborhood, even if
the new immigrants had settled.44 Historian Samuel P.
that voice manipulated the law in doing so.
Hays expresses the source of the reform movement in
Not only did “honest graft” offend the moral sen-
stronger class terms, arguing that the reformers are more
sibilities of the reformers, the system of ward politics
accurately described as upper-class than middle-class:
preserved ethnic identity and made possible the strength
of such independent movements as socialism—both
The movement for reform in municipal government,
of which offended the established American, middle-
therefore, constituted an attempt by upper-class, advanced
class capitalist ideology shared by reformers, journal-
professional and large business groups to take formal
ists, and the business community. This would in part
political power from the previously dominant lower and
middle -class elements so that they might advance their
explain why progressive reform in the cities was a de-
own conceptions of desirable public policy. . . . Reform-
cidedly middle-class and upper-class effort. Even if the
ers, therefore, wished not simply to replace bad men with
middle class, made up largely of businesspersons and
good; they proposed to change the occupational and class
origins of decision-makers. Toward this end they sought
innovations in the formal machinery of government which
would concentrate political power by sharply centralizing
Urban school buildings in the late 19th and early 20th
the processes of decision-making.45
centuries looked less like a schoolhouse and more like a
factory or a public building.
Centralization of Power and Expertise One ef-
fective way of centralizing power was to eliminate the
ward system of balloting, creating instead a system in
which aldermen were elected at large from throughout
the city. Candidates with the wealth and stature to run a
citywide campaign were usually backed by business and
professional classes, and the class composition of city
councils changed dramatically with the reform move-
ments of the progressive era. Reformers claimed that
the new citywide system was more democratic because it
discouraged local ward corruption by eliminating ward
bosses. But immigrants, African Americans, blue-collar
workers, and small businesspersons thereafter had
a much-diminished voice in the affairs of the city
government that ruled over their neighborhoods. The
ideology of reform, together with the power of the
professional classes to enact their agenda, resulted in a
sweeping change in city governance in both large and
small cities throughout the nation. Not until a land-
mark Supreme Court decision of 1986 did a neigh-
borhood constituency—in this case, African American
voters in Springfield, Illinois—successfully challenge the
at-large election system as unconstitutionally depriving
citizens of representation in city government. The im-
pact of that court decision on other city governments
remains to be seen.46
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 99
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
100
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
If Hays and others are correct in viewing progressive
and pedagogy. Their claim to scientific knowledge, or
urban reform as a victory of the professional- and business-
“depoliticized expertise,” appeared to legitimize their
class interests over the interests of the blue-collar and
decision making, even if democratic processes of deci-
ethnic majority, there is another dimension to that vic-
sion making were sacrificed.
tory as well: the victory of “expert” decision making
The liberal reformers believed that these develop-
over processes of public debate. The centralization pro-
ments in urban and school government constituted
cess increased city governments’ dependency on profes-
important progress toward a more moral, orderly, and
sional planners and administrators. Those experts were
democratic society. An alternative interpretation is that
hired by the cities to make decisions that would be sci-
scientific management, which owners had imposed on
entifically planned for greater efficiency and reliability.
workers in industry at the beginning of the progressive
In matters of urban planning, budgeting, and general
period, had by the end of the era been extended to city
administration, a cadre of accountants, engineers,
government and school reform as well—and that de-
administrative experts, and other professionals were
mocracy had been sacrificed in the process.
called upon to make decisions that had formerly been
made in heated council debates among council repre-
sentatives. But those debates, it was charged, were of-
New Liberal Ideology
ten decided by corrupt politics, resulting in personal
If it is even partly correct that the progressive movement
gain to the representatives, and the reliance on experts
in industry; in national, state, and local government;
would do away with such corruption and the waste and
and in school governance resulted in the imposition of
inefficiency that attended it.
the will of the wealthy and educated few over the less
Perhaps more than any other historian, David Tyack
educated and less powerful majority, the question arises,
has shown that progressive reform in urban school gov-
How could the progressive reformers have believed they
ernance followed the same pattern that Hays described
were acting in the name of liberal democracy? The an-
in city government.47 Tyack argues that city school re-
swer to this question must include an understanding of
formers successfully eliminated neighborhood control
how the middle and upper classes changed in their view
over schools by replacing ward school boards with one
of what democracy meant in a complex, urban, indus-
central school board per city. This was more efficient
trial society divided by racial, ethnic, class, and gender
in the sense that it allowed for greater coordination of
allegiances. The old classical liberal understandings gave
budgetary and curriculum matters for the entire city.
way to newer liberal beliefs and values that intellectuals
It allowed what Tyack calls “administrative progres-
at the time recognized as “new” or “modern” liberalism.
sives” to make important decisions affecting standards
The fundamental commitments to such classical liberal te-
for teachers and administrators and to conduct schools
nets as natural law, rationality, and freedom remained,
along bureaucratic and hierarchical lines that had proved
but they were greatly modified to respond to new social
effective in business administration. Again, however,
and political conditions as well as to new scientific
such centralization had its price. In this case, local ethnic
understandings that followed Darwin’s revolutionary
communities were no longer allowed to play a signifi-
contributions.
cant role in making decisions about their own children’s
This chapter began with an excerpt from the Gary
schools. One result was that neighborhood schools that
school report, which cautioned that in order to un-
had conducted classes in both English and a neighbor-
derstand the progressive schools, one must take into
hood immigrant language, such as Polish or Lithuanian,
account “modern psychology, ethics, and social phi-
were no longer allowed to do so. Another result was that
losophy” and their impact on educational thought. It
school decisions were no longer made by people from
is not just the changed political economy that must be
the same classes as people in the neighborhoods but in-
understood, Flexner was saying in the Gary report, but
creasingly by members of the professional and business
the changes in liberal ideology as well.
classes who now were elected to the central city school
board. Finally, the voice of the common person was di-
Natural Law
minished in another way that was similar to what had
happened to municipal government reform: decisions
One way to sketch very briefly the differences between
were made not through public debate but by administra-
the old Jeffersonian liberalism and the modern liberal-
tive experts with formal training in areas of curriculum
ism of the progressive era is to show how each of the
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 100
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 101
components of classical liberalism was modified by new
of reliance on experts as the arbiters of reason. Not all
liberals. One can begin with the classical liberal belief
modern liberals were equally optimistic about the newly
that the world operated according to laws of nature and
privileged position of experts in public affairs. Dewey,
that these laws could be known through science. The
for example, argued that a society run by a class of
belief in natural law that was founded on the discoveries
experts would inevitably function to serve the interests
of Newton, Bacon, and other scientists was modified by
of experts at the expense of the majority. The world had
the discoveries of Darwin. With the publication in 1859
suffered more at the hands of experts, he wrote, than at
of On the Origin of Species, the universe was no longer
the hands of the masses.49
seen as a fixed mechanism governed by the unchanging
laws of nature. Rather, it was now understood as an or-
From Virtue to Rational Ethics
ganism, changing and evolving just as species of plants
and animals in nature evolved. This in turn suggested
The growing reliance on science as the embodiment
that truth itself was not permanent and therefore could
of reason had great import for the modern conception
not be known with absolute certainty. What we believe
of human morality. The classical liberal concept of “vir-
to be true today, argued modern philosophers such as
tue,” which was grounded in the absolute truth of reli-
William James and John Dewey, might be shown false
gious teachings, gave way to a notion of civic morality
tomorrow, as our ways of arriving at scientific truth are
that was more consistent with the nonpermanent truths
improved by new instruments and new methods.48 That
of scientific rationality. That is, it was no longer taken
is, any truth is only as good as our methods of arriving
for granted that what was moral and good was revealed
at it, and our methods might improve with time. Since
for all time in religious texts. The Darwinian challenge
we can never be absolutely sure of even scientific truth,
to religious truth, together with the new faith in expert
they said, the best we can have is a temporary agreement
reason, suggested that the moral and the good had to be
about what is true, based on our methods for verifying
determined with respect to what was reasonable in the
our claims. Dewey said the best we can do is to provide
context of particular social conditions. If social condi-
evidence and arguments to support our assertions, and
tions changed, what was moral might change also. Fur-
thus instead of truth, only “warranted assertibility” is
ther, the best judges of what social conditions required
possible.
of citizens, it was believed, were those experts who
understood the situation best. Emphasis on the “virtu-
Scientific Rationality
ous person” was thus replaced by a view of the “good
citizen” where what was “good” could be determined by
Such a view had great significance for the modern liberal
debate among experts and might change over time. Fur-
conception of human reason. Unlike Jefferson’s faith in
ther, if the social leadership could not trust the home,
the common person’s ability to arrive at reasonable ideas
farm, and church to instill virtue in young people, the
in the free marketplace of public debate, the modern
public schools were an obvious choice as the institution
liberal conception of truth required scientific methods
to instill the civic morality of the 20th century. Whereas
for arriving at the most reasonable conclusions. Further,
religious leaders have criticized this view as “secular, rel-
Darwin’s research suggested to many intellectuals that
ativist morality,” modern liberals believed it was a ratio-
not all races of humans were as fully evolved as others,
nal way to solve the problem of preserving an allegiance
and consequently some races were more capable of rea-
to moral life when the religious bases of morality were
son than others. The free marketplace of ideas was thus
being challenged by scientific findings.
an unreliable way to arrive at rational conclusions; a re-
liance on experts was needed. The modern liberals still
Progress
believed in reason as a route to progress, but they began
to emphasize the importance of expert knowledge and
The modern liberal faith in expert rationality and ra-
scientific method as the way to achieve reason. Dewey,
tionalist ethics provided the basis for modifying the
for example, as committed to democratic processes as he
classical liberal view of progress as well. For classical
was, believed that the scientific method was the “meth-
liberals, human progress was virtually inevitable and
od of intelligence” itself. One effect of such thinking
would eventually emerge from the temporary chaos of
among many new liberals was to foster distrust of the
rebellions and revolutions. Jefferson, like others, be-
thinking of the majority of common citizens in favor
lieved that human reason would triumph over the basic
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 101
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
102
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
tendencies of human nature and that rebellion against
expertise was the most promising means to progress.
tyranny was sometimes the most rational way to achieve
In contrast to the classical liberalism that fueled the
that progress. New liberals, however, influenced in part
American and French revolutions, rebellion and revo-
by Darwin’s findings that species don’t always survive
lution were considered by new liberals to be a failure of
and in part by the decline in public welfare brought
rational processes.
about by urban crowding and poverty, industrial ex-
ploitation and strife, and other modern conditions that
Nationalism
Jefferson had not foreseen, came to believe that prog-
One other means to progress, for new liberals, was a
ress was not necessarily inevitable. If progress was to
greater emphasis on national identity. Classical liberals’
be ensured, it would require human rationality of the
allegiance to the nation had been tempered by the fear
scientific type. Thus, progressives relied heavily on ex-
of a too-powerful national government (recall Jefferson’s
pert planning for a better society, and this helps explain
“That government governs best which governs least”).
their reliance on administrative experts rather than on
However, faced with worker alliances against ownership
citizen decision making in city and school governance.
and immigrant allegiance to ethnic origins, modern lib-
Democracy, they believed, was too risky a proposition
erals viewed nationalism as a potentially unifying influ-
in chaotic and threatening times; scientifically trained
ence. Economic, political, and educational reforms were
increasingly justified “in the national interest,” and it
was taken for granted that some of the primary purposes
This reference to the Spanish-American War suggests the
of the school were national in scope.
flavor of nationalism in the United States during the progres-
sive era.
Freedom
The growing emphasis on nationalism is particularly in-
teresting in light of the classical Greek tradition, which
held that a too-strong government was the greatest en-
emy to freedom. In the progressive era, the national
government was increasingly regarded not as an enemy
to freedom but as the only real route to freedom. The
dominant conception of freedom in America’s classi-
cal liberal era was earlier described as “negative free-
dom” to emphasize the idea that freedom was achieved
through lack of interference from the government.
Some have referred to the modern liberal conception
of freedom as “positive freedom” to indicate the new
liberal belief that the conditions for freedom require
positive government action rather than a noninterven-
tionist, laissez-faire government. New liberals pointed
out that a laissez-faire approach to freedom allowed the
most powerful elements of society—such as corporate
owners—to prosper at the expense of the majority of
citizens and that people living in squalor could not
exercise any freedoms worth having. Through govern-
ment intervention, they believed, the freedoms of the
least powerful could be protected. These new liberals
could point, for example, to the 19th-century need for
government intervention on behalf of slaves: a truly
laissez-faire approach would have prohibited govern-
ment from interfering with the power of slaveholders
to earn a profit by enslaving others. In other instanc-
es, however, the case for government intervention was
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 102
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 103
more difficult to support—as in government regula-
altered form, to serve as a worldview that explained and
tion to stabilize the economy and thus protect major
justified the dominant political–economic institutions
corporations against the market forces that weakened
of the United States. As those institutions came under
them. Progressive-era conservatives such as sociologist
the pressures of urbanization, industrialization, and im-
William Graham Sumner argued that giving the gov-
migration, and as scientific knowledge changed with
ernment greater power to regulate society in the name
Darwin’s findings, such classical liberal conceptions as
of freedom achieved just the opposite, because a strong
absolute truth, human reason, progress, and even free-
central government almost inevitably gave greater
dom underwent profound changes. These changes al-
power to the wealthy to use the government to ma-
lowed modern liberals to justify, in the name of liberal
nipulate the populace.
democracy, centralization of power in the hands of gov-
Sumner and his contemporary conservatives are of-
ernmental agencies and centralization of decision mak-
ten referred to as social Darwinists because they wanted
ing in the hands of experts with professional training.
individuals and institutions to survive difficult times on
Progress, they believed, demanded greater efficiency
the merits of their own “fitness” to survive rather than
in public institutions, including the schools, and this
through government intervention to help them. The
greater efficiency could not be achieved through tradi-
more dominant application of Darwin, however, held
tional policies of local governance. So powerful a hold
that society was one corporate organism and that the
did this revised liberal ideology have on the leadership
misfortunes of some members had an inevitable impact
of economic and political institutions that new liberal-
on all members, like diseased cells in a corporate body.
ism became the central outlook of both major politi-
This way of thinking was used to justify the right and
cal parties—Democrats and Republicans. Within each
responsibility of those in power to regulate society for
party, those who sought to preserve classical liberal per-
the good of all.50 Despite the arguments of Sumner and
spectives and social policies became known as “conser-
others, the progressive era saw greater and greater pow-
vatives,” while those who embraced a stronger role for
ers accrue to government in the name of a more free and
government in economic and social affairs were identi-
democratic society. The days of laissez-faire, “negative”
fied as “liberals.” But the opportunities for alternative
freedom were numbered.
ideological positions—such as socialism, populism, and
Modern liberalism, then, was clearly an outgrowth of
a labor-party position—to marshal any political power
the classical liberalism of Jefferson’s day, as Exhibit 4.6
became increasingly scarce as new liberalism became
suggests. The liberal democratic outlook continued, in
more dominant.
Exhibit 4.6 Comparison of Selected Components of Classical and Modern Liberalism Basic Concept
Classical Liberals
Modern Liberals
Natural law
Newtonian mechanics
Darwinian biology
Fixed truth
Relative truth
Reason
Fundamental part of each human’s nature
Defined by scientific method, experts, and
organizations
Individualism
The rugged individual as the political ideal
The person only as a cell in social organism;
the rugged individual seen as problematic
Progress
Inevitable: the result of natural law
Possible: the result of scientific planning and
and reason
management
Role of government
Laissez-faire as the route to individual
Positive government: regulation to create
freedom
conditions for freedom
Plasticity of human nature
Improvement of most people possible
Improvement limited by genetic endowment
through education
Freedom
“Negative” freedom
“Positive” freedom
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 103
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
104
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
New Psychology Before leaving the discussion of
because the strenuous rigors of studying traditional texts
the new liberal ideology, which Flexner and Bachman
strengthened and informed the learner’s mind for all of
alluded to in explaining the Gary schools in light of
life’s intellectual and ethical challenges. One learned, it
“modern ethics and social philosophy,” it is impor-
was presumed, to develop one’s ability to think, because
tant to try to understand what they meant by “modern
the capacity for rationality set humans apart from all
psychology.” Understanding any culture’s approach to
other creatures. This capacity for rationality was pre-
education requires understanding that culture’s assump-
sumed to be essential to human freedom, for it was ar-
tions about the human mind and human learning, for
gued that one could be free only by obeying rationality,
there can be important relations between these ideas and
not by obeying the dictates of others or the impulses of
schooling practices. If we assume that people learn best
emotion.
when they are under threat of physical punishment, for
While faculty psychology often led to schooling
example, we may take a different approach to school-
practices that were inflexible and even punitive for those
ing than we will if we think people learn best when
who didn’t bow to the fixed curriculum, it had an op-
motivated by their interest in the subject matter. Simi-
timistic dimension: a high regard for the distinctiveness
larly, while the educators of one era may assume that
of human rationality and the ability of each person to
proficiency in Latin and Greek is indispensable to the
develop his or her rational capacities through intellectu-
educated mind, the educators of another era reject this
al exercise. In this regard, it might be argued that faculty
assumption because of a sharp change in how human
psychology gave more credit to the power of reason than
learning is understood.
did the “modern psychology” that replaced it during the
Chapters 2 and 3 briefly discussed the view of the
progressive era.
human mind that dominated educational thought pri-
Educational historian Clarence Karier has pointed
or to the late 19th century—a view that had come to
out that what was known as “modern psychology” or
be called “faculty psychology” but which, in its basic
“new psychology” during the progressive era was no sin-
principles, extended at least as far back as Plato. This
gle psychological viewpoint but a revised view of human
view, which influenced Thomas Jefferson, Horace
nature that was influenced by several new approaches
Mann, and their contemporaries, portrayed the human
to psychology.51 What these very different approaches
mind as a collection of faculties that could be devel-
had in common was that each of them claimed to be
oped through rigorous exercise and could be informed
scientific; they all worked together to replace the more
by the best thought and achievement that human culture
“unscientifi c” faculty psychology as the dominant con-
had to offer.
ception of human mind and learning, and together they
On the one hand, faculty psychology led to a some-
emphasized nonrational origins of human learning and
what fixed and rigid approach to education and school-
behavior. Finally, these new psychologies, which still in-
ing. Students exercised what was thought to be one of
fluence our ways of talking about the human mind and
the most important faculties, memory, by hour upon
learning, came to prominence during a critical period of
hour of rote memorization of texts. The texts were
change in schools and society, when together these new
those that were thought to be the highest achievements
views would have a significant influence on the conduct
of Western culture: passages from Homer, Cicero, the
of schooling.
Bible, and other “classics.” And they were memorized in
Karier draws attention, for example, to the psycho-
Latin and Greek as well as English—not because trans-
analytic approach of Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) as
lations were not available but because the rigors of learn-
one which emphasized the unconscious, and emotion-
ing difficult languages would help strengthen the mind.
al, wellsprings of human thought and behavior. With a
Another reason was that students would develop a sense
very different approach, G. Stanley Hall (1844–1924),
of style, rhythm, and grace by reading these works in the
the first person in the United States to receive a Ph.D.
original, and these sensibilities would be applied by the
in psychology and the founder of the American Psycho-
students in other endeavors.
logical Association, also provided support for attention
This notion of application, or “transfer” of learning
to the emotional origins of human learning with his
from the classical curriculum to other learning, was cen-
primitivist psychology, emphasizing biological stages of
tral to faculty psychology. The classical curriculum was
human development. Educators’ growing awareness of
defended not primarily on the grounds that students
the physiological and emotional dimensions of learning
would need such information in their daily lives but
was accompanied by the rise of social psychology, which
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 104
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 105
was developed primarily by George Herbert Mead
classical curriculum of Latin and Greek toward a more
(1863–1949). Mead argued that human values, percep-
“modern” curriculum of subjects directly applicable to
tion, identity, and behavior are all importantly shaped
the new industrial society. Thorndike’s emphasis on
by social interactions, particularly those within the vari-
learning as a physiological, stimulus-response process
ous groups of which a person is a member.
helped provide support for the “learning by doing” of
These various approaches to understanding the hu-
the vocational education movement as well. Finally,
man mind did much to dispel the view that learning is
Thorndike’s view that intelligence was physiological
exclusively, or even primarily, a rational and intellectual
and therefore quantifiable made him an apostle for the
process. As they gained prominence, these views pro-
intelligence-testing movement, which helped educators
vided greater support for educating children and youth
classify students into “superior” and “inferior” catego-
by emphasizing physiological, emotional, and social
ries. Such classification, argued Thorndike, was impor-
dimensions of schooling. “Learning by doing” in the
tant for educational efficiency and social progress. He
school workshop and home economics kitchen, in extra-
wrote:
curricular clubs and other organizations in which groups
[I]n the long run, it has paid the “masses” to be ruled
of young people could be supervised by school person-
by intelligence. . . . What is true in science and government
nel, and in school assemblies emphasizing patriotism and
seems to hold good in general for manufacturing, trade,
unity—all these were progressive era innovations that
art, law, education, and religion. It seems entirely safe to
helped dramatically change the small schoolhouse to a
predict that the world will get better treatment by trust-
physical plant with workshops, gymnasium, auditorium,
ing its fortunes to its 95- or 99-percentile intelligences than
and playground.
it would get by itself. The argument for democracy is not
that it gives power to all men without distinction, but that
it gives greater freedom for ability and character to attain
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
power.52
If the “new psychology” has influenced 20th-century
For Thorndike, as for many other educators of his
ideology, we should see evidence of these psycho-
time, schools needed to be changed not only to reflect
logical concepts in how people think about the mind
the changes in the population, the workplace, and social
and learning today. Can you recognize the influence of
values but also to reflect changes in how psychologists
new psychology in today’s ways of looking at human
understood human learning. The emphasis on human
nature?
beings as distinctively rational, in the image of God,
gave way rapidly to an emphasis on human beings as
physiological, emotional, and social creatures who were
Easily the best-known educational psychologist of
not very different from animals. The education of the
this time, as Karier points out, was Edward L. Thorn-
“whole child,” which sought to recognize the complex-
dike (1874–1949). At Teachers College, Columbia
ity of the child and also categorized presumably differ-
University, Thorndike contributed much to the new
ent children for different kinds of learning, became a
changes in schooling. His contribution to modern psy-
mixed legacy of the progressive era.
chology, referred to as connectionism for its emphasis
on physiological connections in the mind formed by
stimulus- and-response processes, became the founda-
Progressive Education
tion of modern behaviorism, most associated in our time
with B. F. Skinner (1904–1990). Thorndike based his
Progressive education is a simple term applied to a set of
theory of human learning on his studies of animal learn-
phenomena so complex that scholars continue to debate
ing, challenging the old classical liberal view that the
exactly what progressive education was. There is general
human mind is distinctively different from the animal
agreement that the progressive movement in education
mind. In fact, Thorndike specifically attacked faculty
started just before 1900 and had established its central
psychology and transfer-of-training assumptions, argu-
innovations by 1920, although the Progressive Educa-
ing that school subjects did not have general value for
tion Association (PEA) was founded only in 1919 and
developing the mind but rather were valuable only for
continued until the 1950s. There is also general agree-
the specific information and skills they imparted. This
ment that progressive education constituted a response to
argument proved influential in moving away from the
urbanization, industrialization, and immigration; that it
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 105
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
106
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
was articulated in terms of the emergent ideology we have
• The failure of the traditional classical curriculum to
termed new liberalism; and that it was shaped by new psy-
interest and motivate students.
chological approaches that replaced faculty psychology.
• High dropout rates at both elementary and second-
Finally, most writers would claim that progressive educa-
ary levels.
tion rejected the traditional, classical curriculum and its
methods of rote learning in favor of a child-centered cur-
• Growing problems of juvenile delinquency and il-
riculum that emphasized student interests and activities
literacy among urban youth.
related to the larger society. But within those general-
izations, progressive education varied greatly in concep-
• Waste and inefficiency in school management
tion and implementation, and it is not always clear today
practices in neighborhood-controlled (especially
what is meant by the term.
immigrant-controlled) schools.
Educational historian Patricia Albjerg Graham ar-
• Irrelevance of the traditional curriculum to the
gues that there were two different phases of progressive
“real” needs of modern industrial society.
education: one roughly before America’s involvement
in World War I from 1913 to 1917 and the other fol-
Under pressures from a business community un-
lowing the war. Graham argues that the popular con-
happy with labor unrest, muckraking journalists who
ception many people today hold about progressive
wrote about waste and inefficiency in the schools, social
education—that it was a permissive, experimental ap-
reformers concerned about the plight of youth in the
proach to schooling primarily for the children of the
cities, and educators who argued that a new approach to
privileged—stems from the post–World War I innova-
educating “new students” was needed, a rough consen-
tions of a few highly publicized “progressive” schools.53
sus emerged regarding the changes needed in schools.
The much more extensive phenomenon, according
However, progressives differed sharply among them-
to Graham, was progressive schooling prior to World
selves over the specifics of these changes. For example,
War I, in which the “chief thrust of reforms was in the
progressive educators in general believed that it was im-
schools serving lower-class families” and in which “prob-
portant to replace the traditional classical curriculum
ably the most radical change . . . was the wide-scale
with a “varied” curriculum that reflected the needs and
introduction of vocational and technical courses.”54
interests of the children. But within that general agree-
Graham’s division of progressive education into these
ment came a sharp split between those who interpreted
two general periods, the first of which will be discussed
“needs and interests” to mean the specific concerns and
in the next section, helps locate an interesting irony. By
motivations of each child and those who interpreted this
the time the PEA formed in 1919, the greatest work
phrase to mean “in the best interests of the child.” In the
of the progressive movement had already been accom-
first interpretation, the curriculum should respond to
plished. After its formation, the PEA attended primarily
what each student finds interesting, while in the second
to the “experimental school” kind of progressive educa-
interpretation, each child should be placed in the aca-
tion, the impact of which has been minimal compared
demic or vocational “track” for which his or her abilities
to the pre-1920 innovations affecting the majority of
are deemed most suited. These two interpretations of
American youth.
“replace classical curriculum with a varied curriculum”
are distinctly different, but both are part of our inheri-
tance from progressive education.
Two Strands of Progressivism:
Differing interpretations also surround the concep-
Developmental Democracy
tion of “progress.” One conception of progress might be
and Social Efficiency
termed the developmental-democracy conception, in which
it was believed that direct participation by all citizens in
The phase of progressive education to be examined
the decision-making processes of political and economic
here is the earliest and most important phase, that
life, once begun, would develop individual and social
which dramatically transformed American schooling in
capacities for problem solving through rational means.
less than three decades from the 1890s to the 1920s. As
In this developmental view, grounded in the views of
David Nasaw points out, beginning in the 1880s crit-
Thomas Jefferson and held by 20th-century educators
ics of the schools were already describing such prob-
Francis Parker and John Dewey, among others, school
lems as:55
life should be organized very much like a democratic
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 106
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 107
community so that students could begin developing the
Deweyan Developmental
understandings, dispositions, and intellectual skills neces-
sary for mature participation in a participatory democ-
Democracy
racy later in life. In this developmental-democracy view
of progress, school life would be democratic, and demo-
Perhaps not very meaningful, but interesting nonethe-
cratic life (both inside and outside the school) would be
less, is that John Dewey was born in 1859, a year which
educational.
also marks Horace Mann’s death and the publication of
The social-efficiency view of progress focused on
Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. Certainly, something
achieving an orderly society in which political and
of the old order was passing and the new was beginning.
economic institutions represented the interests of the
Dewey would become one of the two or three most in-
governed through the application of the best principles
fluential American philosophers of the 20th century,
of scientific knowledge and expertise. Social-efficiency
writing not just about education but about traditional
progressives did not think of themselves as opposed to
philosophical questions such as the nature of reality,
democracy. On the contrary, they believed that under
knowledge, and moral life. Although it is not known
modern urban conditions, schools could best prepare
whether the Vermont town-meeting tradition of Dew-
students for participation in a democratic society by
ey’s childhood influenced his adult philosophy, Dewey
identifying the “evident or probable destinies”56 of dif-
would eventually articulate a democratic theory that
ferent groups of students and educating them for these
would address the conditions of modern, urban, indus-
respective destinies. It would be just as inefficient, in
trial life. As a professor at the University of Michigan,
this progressive view, to provide a college-preparatory
University of Vermont, University of Chicago, and later
curriculum to a child destined for factory work as it
Teachers College, Columbia University, Dewey devel-
would be to provide a vocational shop curriculum to a
oped an educational philosophy he believed to be con-
college-bound student.
sistent with his democratic theory. There are others who
Several primary ideas in progressive education were
held Dewey’s democratic approach to education during
subject to these competing interpretations. For the
the progressive period, but Dewey is featured here be-
purposes of this chapter, five of these ideas may be iden-
cause of his recognized importance to this major stream
tified as most important and most illustrative of how
of progressive thought.
developmental-democracy progressives differed from
Following 18th-century philosopher Jean-Jacques
social-efficiency progressives in their views of progress.
Rousseau and 19th-century philosopher John Stuart
Each of these assumptions is stated sufficiently loosely
Mill, Dewey believed that democracy was important
to allow for the competing interpretations of the era,
not only because it stood for freedom and equality but
but each is stated substantively enough to distinguish it
because of its educational consequences. To begin with,
from the traditional, classical-curriculum approach that
he recognized Jefferson’s view that for a democracy to
had been assumed in the 19th century.
be successful, the people must be educated enough to
Progressive education assumes that
recognize and express their own interests. But more im-
portant, Dewey believed, was the converse: for education
1. The traditional classical curriculum should be
to be most successful, it is necessary that people participate
replaced by a varied curriculum based on the inter-
in democratic forms of life. That is, Dewey believed in a
ests and needs of students.
developmental argument for democracy which held that
2. Learning should be based on activities rather than
participation in democratic life is more educational for
on rote.
the population than is participation in any other form
of political life. He stated it best in Reconstruction in
3. School aims, content, and processes should reflect
Philosophy, in which he argued that the democratic “test
social conditions.
of all the institutions of adult life is their effect in fur-
4. A primary aim of schooling is to help solve social
thering continued education. . . . Democracy has many
problems.
meanings, but if it has moral meaning, it is found in re-
solving that the supreme test of all political institutions
How each of these ideas was interpreted differently in
and industrial arrangements shall be the contribution
the two contrasting strands of progressivism is the sub-
they make to the all-around growth of every member of
ject of the remainder of this chapter.
society.”57
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 107
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
108
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Dewey remarked that children are prepared as if they
were going to lead a life of slavery rather than a life as
free individuals. Dewey stated in that volume and oth-
ers that Plato’s definition of a slave was one who accepts
as a guide to his own activities the purposes of another,
while for Dewey a free person was one who could frame
and execute purposes of his or her own. 59
Dewey argued that the classroom could be an en-
vironment where children, working together in social
activity, could frame and execute their own purposes.
He urged that these activities should be selected by the
students and teacher together on the basis of the stu-
dents’ interests, for when students are interested, he
believed, they will pursue an activity for its own sake
and learn more readily. In the course of such student-
chosen activities or projects, Dewey argued, the students
would inevitably encounter obstacles and problems in
John Dewey, the most famous advocate of “progressive
reaching their goals, and such problems should be solved
education,” believed that children are by nature curious and
by children working together under the teachers’ guid-
active. Given meaningful tasks that reflect their own purposes,
ance. Such cooperative problem solving would exercise
they become active problem solvers.
the students’ abilities to think critically about the causes
and consequences of things they were interested in, and
Dewey believed that the school could be a “labora-
thus they would grow intellectually just by participat-
tory for democracy” in which children developed the
ing in their chosen projects. This growth would lead to
understandings, skills, and dispositions required for
new interests, new choices of activities, new problems to
democratic life not only by reading about them in books
overcome, and new growth in a cycle of learning driv-
but by interacting democratically in their learning ac-
en by the ever-developing interests of the students. In
tivities. His view of the child’s nature was that while
this manner, Dewey believed, schools would respond to
most children do not have a “distinctively intellectual
social problems by equipping students to become adults
interest” in learning out of books for the sake of learning
who could solve social problems for themselves.
itself, all children have a great capacity for intellectual
For Dewey, the primary social problem of the time
development.58 The schools as traditionally conducted,
was not worker resistance to scientific management,
he believed, had failed to stimulate the intellectual ca-
poverty, or ethnic conflict. His primary concern was
pacities of most children because they had not taken the
that problems brought about by urbanization, immi-
nature of the child into account.
gration, and industrialization were being solved non-
democratically, by authoritarian methods that put
The Nature of the Child
some members of society in control of others. Dewey
believed that the schools could be a part of, but not the
Dewey believed that first, children are by nature actively
whole, solution to this pervasive political, economic,
social creatures; second, they are by nature constructive—
and ideological problem.60
they like making things; third, they are creatively ex-
In the preceding brief sketch we can see how Dewey
pressive; and fourth, they are by nature curious and in-
embodied three of the four main assumptions of pro-
quiring. Dewey argued that the traditional school not
gressive education: (1) replacement of the traditional
only failed to encourage but actively penalized children
curriculum with a varied, child-centered curriculum,
for behaving in accord with these facets of their nature.
(2) learning through activity, and (3) schooling as a
The school required children not to interact with one
response to social problems. The fourth dimension,
another, to be passive receivers rather than actively and
that schools should reflect social realities, Dewey be-
creatively constructive, to accept a fixed curriculum
lieved would be a function of the students’ inter-
rather than exercise their curiosity by following up on
ests and the projects they would seek to pursue. Of
things of interest to them. In Democracy and Education
Dewey’s many books, the one most widely read during
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 108
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 109
his lifetime, The School and Society (1899), argued that
make many of them think they don’t like “book learn-
classrooms at the elementary level in particular should
ing” at all. Dewey argues that the task of the teacher is
allow students to engage in activities based on occupa-
not to “sugarcoat” the curriculum to try to make it in-
tions with which they were familiar. Such occupations
teresting to students, but to start with the interests of the
would provide thematic unity to the students’ construc-
students and help them shape new learning experiences
tive activities, reading, writing, and so on. The occupa-
that are chosen and guided in accord with those inter-
tions would also provide connections to the world out-
ests. Well-chosen experiences, Dewey argues, will help
side the classroom so that classroom experiences would
the students shape new interests that will then lead to
inform and enrich student experiences outside school
new educational experiences. The teacher, who has ma-
and nonschool experiences could motivate, inform, and
ture ends in view, is a good judge and guide for which
enrich classroom experiences.
experiences will lead down a blind alley, or to trouble,
Dewey cautioned, however, against using these activities
and which experiences might actually help students learn
to prepare students for specific occupations or vocations
things worth knowing. Reading a textbook is an experi-
in the workplace. He insisted that such occupation-based
ence, but not a very interesting one for many children.
projects “should never educate for vocations, but should
Readers might reflect on their own past school ex-
always educate through vocations.” Dewey believed that
periences to try to recall when teachers were following
progressive teachers could use such activities to develop
something of a Deweyan path. The drama teacher who
experiences in discussing, reading, writing, arithmetic,
allows the students to choose the play they will produce
problem solving, and other intellectual pursuits in ways
and allows them to take roles in that production on the
that would stimulate students’ interests in these areas
basis of their own interests—from lighting to writing
much better than did the traditional methods. And part
to acting to stage-managing—believes that the children
of the basis of this interest would be that the classroom
will learn by doing in ways consistent with Deweyan
would visibly reflect the social environment rather than
thought. The social studies teacher who invites students
be isolated from it.61
to create a class cultural journal on the basis of their
interviews with people from the community whom they
A Unique Meaning for
find interesting—this, too, can be an example. In both
Progressive Education
cases, teachers believe that the kind of learning that our
culture values will emerge from these experiences. Dew-
The meaning of “progressive” education, for Dewey,
eyan pedagogy may be increasingly difficult to achieve,
thus differed from the meaning as it was generally un-
however, in an era in which all children are held to the
derstood then—and as it is generally applied now. For
same learning standards each year, and teachers feel an
most educators and observers during the progressive era,
obligation to make sure each child performs to a pre-
education was progressive because it was new and dif-
scribed level on standardized tests, which in some ways
ferent from “traditional” education and because it was
are an inheritance from the social efficiency strand of
thought to result from and contribute to social progress
progressive education.
in general (see, for example, the opening paragraph of
this chapter). For Dewey, however, the primary mean-
Charles W. Eliot and Social Efficiency
ing of “progressive” education was that it marked an ar-
rangement of student activities that grew progressively
Dewey’s interpretation of society’s needs, and of how
out of the student’s interests and past experiences, lead-
education should meet them, was not the dominant or
ing to new experiences and new interests in a continu-
the most influential view among progressive educators,
ous and progressive cycle. For Dewey, education that
if we are to judge by the claims of the social-efficiency
did not grow organically from the student in this way
progressives and by the actual school programs that took
was not progressive at all.62
root during the progressive period. One of the most
The key to understanding Dewey’s theory of peda-
prominent educators of the time, Harvard president
gogy, then, is the relationship between two key ideas:
Charles W. Eliot, provides a good example of the social-
experience and interest. Students, even in early childhood,
efficiency stream of progressive thought, and through
come to class not as blank slates, but already with a vast
him the most important innovations of progressive
and varied set of experiences that make them interested in
education prior to 1920 can be examined. Although
very different things. Their experiences may eventually
he was at one time an advocate of liberal education
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 109
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
110
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Historical Context
The Progressive Era
Setting the Stage for the Progressive Period
1880s
1859
John Brown attempts to start slave insurrection at
1881
New York Trade Schools are privately organized to
Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia
provide vocational training
1859 Darwin
publishes
On the Origin of Species
1885
Beginning of the “new immigration”
1859
Death of Horace Mann, birth of John Dewey
1886
Statue of Liberty is dedicated in New York Harbor
1867
U.S. Office of Education established
1886
American Federation of Labor is organized
1869
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
1886
Bomb explodes in Haymarket Square, Chicago,
organize the National Woman Suffrage Association
killing and wounding over 80 police and workers
1875
Alexander Graham Bell patents telephone
1888
Edward Bellamy publishes Looking Backward,
1879
Edison invents first practical electric lamp
2000–1887
1873
Influenced by German pedagogical theory, St. Louis
1889
The Wall Street Journal is established
schools establish the first public kindergartens
1890s
1900s
1890
Sherman Anti-Trust Act is passed
1901
J. P. Morgan organizes U.S. Steel Corporation, the
1893
The National Educational Association’s Committee of
first billion-dollar corporation
Ten, chaired by Charles Eliot, stresses mental
1902
Chinese Exclusion Act is extended to prohibit
discipline as the primary objective of secondary
Chinese immigrants from the Philippines
schooling
1903
Wright brothers achieve first airplane flight
1894
Pullman Palace Car Company strike in Chicago, with
1905
Albert Einstein proposes special theory of relativity
sympathetic railroad strike in 27 states and
and the equation E 5 mc2
territories
1907
All but nine states, all of which are in the South, now
1896
John Dewey opens his laboratory school at the
have compulsory attendance laws
University of Chicago
1908
Henry Ford introduces Model T
1896
New York City abolishes the ward system of
school administration; St. Louis does so in the
following year
1896
Plessy v. Ferguson, Supreme Court decision
supports separate-but-equal laws for Blacks and
Whites.
1898
Jane Addams opens Hull House as immigrant
settlement House in Chicago
1910s
1920s
1910
Ella Flagg Young becomes the first woman president
1920
League of Woman Voters formed in Chicago to
of
NEA
educate women in the use of the vote and improve
1910
National Association for the Advancement of
the economic, political, and social conditions of the
Colored People (NAACP) is formed
country
1912
Maria Montessori publishes The Montessori Method
1920
Nineteenth Amendment is passed giving women in
for Early Childhood Education
the United States the right to vote
1917
Congress passes law requiring literacy test for all
immigrants
1917
Smith-Hughes Act provides federal money for
vocational
education
1918 NEA’s
Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education
stresses social efficiency and development of
personality as the primary objectives of secondary
schooling
1919
Progressive Education Association is established
Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
What evidence do you see in this timeline that various groups in the United States were or were not increasing their influence in political–economic affairs (including immigrants, African Americans, women, corporate America, workers, and the federal government)?
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 110
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 111
for all secondary school youth, Eliot became an articu-
late spokesperson for the replacement of traditional
educational goals by four new educational objectives
for the schools: social stability, employable skills, equal
educational opportunity, and meritocracy.
Although Eliot had favored universal, liberal educa-
tion at the secondary level through most of his career
at Harvard, he recognized that his position applied to
fewer than 10 percent of secondary school children be-
cause of high dropout rates. As the sheer numbers and
ethnic diversity of high school students increased, El-
iot became an advocate of vocational education. Eliot
had distinct prejudices against students not from “pure
American stock,” as he put it, and was especially preju-
diced against African Americans and Native Americans.
As Steve Preskill writes, “Frankly referring to blacks as
savages, Eliot preached that they must learn the lessons
of the six-day workweek and vigilant frugality before
Charles Eliot was president of Harvard from 1869 to 1909,
they could be accorded political and economic parity
during which time his social and educational views influenced
with whites.” Eliot often lauded Booker T. Washington
the course of progressive education.
for his vocational approach to the education of African
Americans, and he was a member of the national Gen-
progressive
schools, then, were social stability and
eral Education Board, which just before the 1920s suc-
employable skills. It was believed that the differenti-
cessfully instituted vocational education in schools for
ated curriculum, offering both academic and vocational
African Americans throughout the South.63
courses of study, could achieve both goals. Further, it
Eliot’s prejudices extended also to southern and
was believed that such a differentiated curriculum could
eastern European immigrants, and he declared that
contribute
to democratic schooling and democratic
new immigrants in New England presented “the same
institutions by achieving two additional aims: provid-
race problem to that part of the country that Negroes
ing equal educational opportunity to all students and
do to the South.”64 Reflecting the influence of Darwin
basing the democratic leadership of society on merit in
on many intellectuals of his day, Eliot also endorsed
school performance.
a plan to discourage unmarried southern and eastern
While none of these goals for schooling—social sta-
Europeans from immigrating to the United States, rea-
bility, employable skills, equal educational opportunity,
soning that married immigrants would present a lesser
and meritocracy—was entirely new to American soci-
threat to the gene pool of the “pure American stock”
ety, they took on an unprecedented emphasis and dis-
of the nation.65
tinctive character in the progressive period. Like most
Apart from discouraging immigration from “ob-
educational leaders of his time, Eliot endorsed all of
jectionable” countries, national leaders such as Eliot
them. Although he differed from Dewey in his progres-
increasingly turned toward education as a means of
sive vision, the differentiated curriculum, with its em-
responding to the immigrants already here. To Eliot
phasis on vocational education, represented for Eliot
and other new liberals, the new immigrants were identi-
an interpretation of progressivism that, like Dewey’s,
fied with a set of social problems which they believed
(1) abandoned the classical curriculum; (2) based learn-
schools might help solve. For example, the immigrants
ing on activities rather than on rote; (3) reflected social
were a large part of the factory labor force that had been
conditions in school aims, content, and processes; and
resisting scientific management of the workplace, and
(4) sought to help solve social problems. Yet these pro-
the resulting strife was a part of the larger disorder of the
gressive characteristics, when put to the service of the
overcrowded cities. Further, the increasingly stratified
four new aims of social stability, employable skills, equal
industrial order demanded very different skills among
educational opportunity, and meritocracy, helped shape
workers, managers, and professionals. Two social and
progressive schooling in ways that were very different
educational goals that became newly emphasized in
from Dewey’s developmental-democracy approach.
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 111
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
112
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Social Stability Born to one of Boston’s wealth-
Cubberley was correct in noticing the wide range
ier families in 1834 (only eight years after Jefferson’s
of activities emerging as a part of the new progres-
death and two years before Horace Mann assumed
sive school. The one-room schoolhouse that taught
leadership of the Massachusetts Board of Education),
the academic basics to those who voluntarily attended
Charles W. Eliot was tutored in the classics as a child
was rapidly being replaced by a more total institution
and attended the Boston Latin School. After graduat-
that represented, as Cubberley said, the “extension
ing from Harvard with a degree in chemistry at age
of education.” Schooling was being extended from a
19 and later teaching there, Eliot studied in Europe
voluntary to a compulsory institution, and therefore
before accepting the presidency of Harvard at age 35.
it was being extended from the privileged few to the
It was at Harvard that his vision of the good society
mandatory many. The extended school was one which
and the good school system took shape. Born before
provided auditoriums for school assemblies, shops and
the common-school era, Eliot would preside over Har-
kitchens for vocational education, and before- and
vard well into the age of automobiles and air travel.
after-school supervision of clubs and other extracur-
His impact on ushering in the modern educational era
ricular activities. Such activities were planned with the
was enormous.
intention of preparing students to take their places in
Given Eliot’s unusually privileged background and
an urbanized, industrial order. In its extension from
Harvard’s increasingly close ties with the business
voluntary to compulsory, from the few to the many,
community of the nation, it is not surprising that Eliot
from a unified to a differentiated curriculum, from
was more supportive of business than of labor in the
traditional academic to new vocational subjects, and
strife between the two. Although he expressed consid-
from classroom curriculum emphasizing intellectual
erable sympathy for the plight of workers and argued
learning to extracurricular activities emphasizing so-
against excessive skill dilution and division of labor,
cial learning, the progressive school reflected a con-
Eliot attacked labor unions as a threat to individual
sistent concern for social stability as a primary edu-
freedom. In contrast, he identified the corporations
cational objective. But there were other objectives of
as “really great reinforcements of public liberty” and
equal importance.
believed that one function of the schools should be to
teach prospective workers a more accommodating and
Employable Skills One of those objectives was
cooperative attitude toward management. Vocational
that schools should prepare students with specific skills
education, thought Eliot, offered a particularly good
and attitudes for the workplace. Again, vocational edu-
way to address problems of labor unrest by adjusting
cation would play a major part in efforts to achieve this
students to the realities of the managed workplaces
aim. Eliot, once a proponent of liberal education for all
of business and industry.66 Further, he believed that
youth, was arguing by 1908 that modern American so-
“governmental affairs must be conducted on the same
ciety was divided into four largely unchanging classes:
principles on which successful private and corporate
(1) the small managing or leading class, (2) the com-
business is conducted” and that students should be
mercial class devoted to buying and selling, (3) skilled
taught to “respect and confide in the expert in every
artisans, and (4) “the rough workers.” Failure to recog-
field of human activity.”67
nize these classes, argued Eliot, resulted in a system in
Other educators, too, emphasized the service schools
which the “immense majority of our children do not
could provide to social stability. A 1914 bulletin of the
receive from our school system an education which
U.S. Bureau of Education declared, “The State main-
trains them for the vocation to which they are clearly des-
tains schools to render its citizenship homogeneous in
tined.”70 He further argued before the National Edu-
spirit and purpose. The public schools exist primarily
cation Association (NEA) in 1910 that “serious modi-
for the benefit of the State rather than for the benefit of
fications of the programs” in schools required teachers
the individual.”68 Stanford University’s prominent pro-
and administrators to accept their new “functions of
gressive educator Ellwood P. Cubberley applauded this
guiding children into appropriate life work.”71
notion in 1919, claiming that not only vocational edu-
By the time Eliot addressed the NEA, the nation’s
cation but such progressive innovations as night school,
largest organization of educators, a sharp distinction
adult education, supervised playgrounds, and vocational
had come to separate established hands-on learning
guidance programs would serve the interests of the state
activities from the new vocationalism. “Manual train-
by helping achieve a more stable society.69
ing” had begun growing in popularity in the 1880s,
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 112
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 113
Exhibit 4.7 Enrollment of Public High School Students in Specified Subjects*
School Year Ending
1900 1910 1922 1934 1949
Total Enrollment (000s)
519 739 2,155 4,497 5,399
Percentage Enrollment by Subject
General
science
—
—
18.3% 17.8% 20.8%
Biology
—
1.1
8.8
14.6
18.4
Chemistry
7.7%
6.9
7.4
7.6
7.6
Physics
19.0
14.6
8.9
6.3
5.4
Physiology
27.4
9.5
5.1
1.8
1.0
Earth science
29.8
21.0
4.5
1.7
0.4
Algebra
56.3 56.9 40.2 30.4 26.8
General mathematics
—
—
12.4
7.4
13.1
Geometry
17.4 30.9 22.7 17.1 12.8
Trigonometry
1.9
1.9
1.5
1.3
2.0
Spanish
—
0.7
11.3
6.2
8.2
French
7.8
9.9
15.5
10.9
4.7
German
14.3
23.7
0.6
2.4
0.8
English
38.5 57.1 76.7 90.5 92.9
Latin
50.6 49.0 17.5 16.0
7.8
U.S. and English history
38.2†
55.0†
18.2
17.8
22.8
Civil and community government
21.7
15.6
19.3
16.4
8.0‡
Industrial
subjects
— — 13.7 21.0 26.6
Bookkeeping
—
—
12.6
9.9
8.7
Typewriting
— — 13.1 16.7 22.5
Shorthand
—
—
8.9
9.0
7.8
Home
economics
—
3.8 14.3 16.7 24.2
Agriculture
—
4.7
5.1
3.6
6.7
Physical education
—
—
5.7
50.7
69.4
Music
— — 25.3 25.5 30.1
Art
—
—
14.7
8.7
9.0
*Covers enrollment in last four years of school.
†Includes ancient history and medieval and modern history.
‡Civil government only.
Source: Adapted by Stuart McAninch from Historical Statistics of the U.S., Colonial Times to 1970, Bicentennial Edition (Washington DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, 1975), p. 377.
and it embraced hand-oriented learning as a way to
specifications for manufacturing come from the de-
enhance academic education for all students. The new
mands of the 20th century civilization, and it is the
“industrial education,” however, focused on the devel-
business of the school to build its pupils to the specifica-
opment of workplace skills and attitudes considered ap-
tions laid down.”72 Exhibit 4.7 illustrates the change in
propriate for that majority of students who would one
course offerings intended to teach employable skills in
day be the industrial working class.
this workforce model.
Eliot represents the predominant thinking of pro-
In 1900, about half a million students were enrolled
gressive educators who shifted their vision from a liberal
in secondary schools, and their courses were overwhelm-
education to a “workforce” model in which, as Ellwood
ingly traditional “academic” subjects: Latin, English, al-
Cubberley said, “Our schools are, in a sense, factories in
gebra, geometry, physiology, earth science, physics, and
which the raw materials are to be shaped and fashioned
history. Negligible percentages of students were enrolled
into products to meet the various demands of life. The
in vocational subjects. By 1922, however, secondary
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 113
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
114
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
school enrollment had quadrupled, while the percentage
more succinctly: “For a long time all boys were trained
of students in most traditional academic subjects had
to be President. Then for a while we trained them all
declined markedly. Conversely, hundreds of thousands
to be professional men. Now we are training boys to
of students were now enrolled in the new vocational
get jobs.”76
courses: industrial subjects, bookkeeping, typewriting,
While some vocational courses, particularly those in
home economics, and agriculture, for example. Other
business classes for girls, provided training that would
subjects, such as music, art, and physical education, il-
translate into immediately employable job-specific
lustrate extension of the curriculum into areas that were
skills, the schools could not hope to provide adequate
neither clearly vocational nor academic but were seen to
job-specific training in the many skills required by the
have social value.
workplace. Perhaps more important than specific skills,
Before leaving Exhibit 4.7, note the predominance of
the schools sought to provide in their vocational courses
new vocational subjects intended for female office workers:
proper attitudes for the workplace; as the Lewistown,
bookkeeping, typewriting, shorthand, and home econom-
Idaho, board of education stated it, “The senior high
ics were from their inception heavily gender-typed. Like-
school is charged with developing a spirit of enthusiasm
wise, vocational courses in industrial arts almost exclusively
that will make every boy and girl who is prepared for the
enrolled boys. Similar differences, though less pronounced,
work eager to enter.”77
persisted in such academic subjects as advanced math
One way in which this could be accomplished, it
and science. These differences led some psychologists and
was believed, was by converting traditional academic
educators to challenge the value of coeducation, arguing
subject matter into vocational “courses of study” or
that schools should provide separate curricula to “make
“tracks” that would not be limited to shop work and
boys more manly and girls more womanly.”73 As office
manual activities but would also include “vocational
work became increasingly a female occupation in the
English,” “vocational math,” and so on. So presented,
progressive era, business-occupations courses increased
it was believed that students would see the relevance
also. The published curriculum of the Beaumont, Tex-
of their academic work to their vocational courses of
as, public schools illustrates the sentiment that home
study and would thus be more interested in them. The
economics courses should be offered for women for dif-
Deerfield, Illinois, public schools, for example, adver-
ferent reasons.
tised their manual training course of study with the
recognition that “the school does not teach an indi-
However inviting civic honors may appear to the suf-
fragette, or vocational life may be to the bread winning
vidual trade,” but vocational students would achieve “a
or to ambitious women, homemaking is the normal life
like-mindedness and a sympathy that cannot but help
activity of most womanly women. Our schools should ac-
toward the preservation of American institutions.”78
centuate this normal life for women by providing a course
By 1920, Eliot’s call for “serious modifications of the
in Domestic Science. Thus our girls would have equal ad-
programs” of American secondary schools was well un-
vantages with our boys in life training, as our boys for several
der way, justified by the new progressive objective of
years have had the advantage of a well-equipped and well-
schooling for employable skills.
conducted manual training department.74
While such sentiment for keeping women in the home
Equal Educational Opportunity Since Jeffer-
appeared to have greater support in southern schools
son’s time, the view that education could be a source
than in the industrial North, both regions used the
of social mobility for the lower economic classes was
employment market to help justify the vocational cur-
a part of the liberal faith of American society. Horace
riculum. The San Antonio Board of Education in 1915
Mann had proclaimed that schools would be “the great
commissioned a survey which noted that “only nine of
equalizer” of social conditions, providing opportunity
the boys leaving school each year, out of the thousand
for all citizens to achieve their economic goals. And
from all grades, will become lawyers. Only seven will
John Dewey in 1916 stated, “Only through education
become physicians. Only four will become teachers; an
can equality of opportunity be anything more than a
equal number clergymen. . . . The figures show clearly
phrase.”79 It was not until the progressive era, in fact,
that the vocations for which training is needed by the
that the term “equal educational opportunity” entered
large numbers are not professional. Into the professions
educational discourse. It became a newly explicit aim
only about five percent of the men go.”75 The president
for progressives, in part because the differentiated cur-
of the school board of Muncie, Indiana, put the matter
riculum had to be defended against charges that it was
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 114
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 115
undemocratic, that it provided children from different
at the earliest practicable age, and, once made, should
backgrounds different and unequal educations. What
always influence, and sometimes determine, the educa-
progressive reformers meant by “equal educational
tion of the individual. It is for the interest of society
opportunity” was not that students should receive the
to make the most of every useful gift or faculty which
same educational experiences, as Aristotle had claimed
any member may fortunately possess.”82 This, to Eliot,
would be appropriate for a democratic society and as
was democratic in that it provided equal opportunity
Mann had envisioned for the common schools. In
for each student to be educated for his or her particular
fact, they meant just the opposite, as is illustrated in
place in society. Since, as Eliot said, “there is no such
this 1908 explanation by the Boston superintendent
thing as equality of gifts, or powers, or faculties, among
of schools:
either children or adults,” such schooling would educate
leaders and followers.
Until very recently [the schools] have offered equal op-
portunity for all to receive one kind of education, but what
will make them democratic is to provide opportunity for
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
all to receive such education as will fit them equally well
for their particular life work.80
Critically analyze the differences between John
Dewey’s idea of education through the vocations and
That is, equal opportunity meant to this Boston educa-
Charles W. Eliot’s idea of education for the vocations.
tor that students would receive different kinds of educa-
tion, but all students would have “equal opportunity” to
receive the education appropriate to them.
By 1919 Ellwood Cubberley would write that “a
This view of equal educational opportunity pre-
thoroughly democratic ladder has everywhere been pro-
vailed among the most influential progressive educa-
vided” in the nation’s schools. This ladder, according to
tors in part because it appeared to justify separating
the view of many progressives, was there for everyone,
students into different curricula and preparing them
but only the most talented could be expected to climb
for different occupational outcomes, both of which,
it. Thus, the truly meritorious would rise to the top as a
while “socially efficient,” seemed undemocratic. The
result of equal opportunity, completing the democratic
progressive interpretation of equal educational op-
argument. The result, wrote Cubberley, would clearly
portunity seemed to answer such charges and make
differentiate the leaders from the followers on the basis
the differentiated
curriculum appear democratic. of merit:
Furthermore, differentiation among students didn’t
need to wait until secondary school. “The teachers of
In our high schools and colleges the more promising
the elementary schools ought to sort the pupils and
of our youth must be trained for leadership and service
sort them by their evident or probable destinies,” said
to the State . . . along the lines of the highest and best of
Charles Eliot in 1908. “We have learned that the best
our national traditions in statesmanship, business, science,
way in education is to find out what the line is in
and government. In our common schools and in special
which the child can do best, and then to give him the
schools those who labor must be trained for vocational ef-
ficiency, and given a sense of their responsibility for pro-
happiness of achievement in that line. Here we come
moting the national welfare.83
back to the best definition of democracy.”81 The “best
definition of democracy,” for Eliot, might more fairly
The use of mass IQ testing beginning in the second
be called “meritocracy.”
decade of the century gave progressive educators a more
“exact” and “scientific” way to assess the “evident and
Meritocracy Eliot argued that the schools could
probable destinies,” as Eliot had said, of children in
contribute to a more democratic society if, first, they
schools. The differentiated curriculum and placement
taught students to “respect and confide in the expert in
in vocational tracks could now be based on scientific
every field of human activity,” and second, they helped
measurement of student abilities. The developer of the
locate and educate the most talented members of so-
Stanford-Binet test, Louis Terman, wrote in 1923:
ciety for democratic leadership. “[An] important func-
Preliminary investigations indicate that an IQ below 70
tion of the public school in a democracy,” he wrote, “is
rarely permits anything better than unskilled labor; that the
the discovery and development of the gift or capacity of
range from 70 to 80 is preeminently that of semi-skilled la-
each individual child. This discovery should be made
bor, from 80 to 100 that of the skilled or ordinary clerical
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 115
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
116
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
labor, from 100 to 110 or 115 that of the semi-professional
on page 117 might help organize some of the
pursuits; and that above all these are the grades of intelli-
relevant information. Anyone who understands
gence which permit one to enter the professions or the larger
progressive education well will be able to explain
fields of business. . . . This information will be of great value
in planning the education of a particular child and also in
the relationships among the items in the three
planning the differentiated curriculum here recommended.84
columns.
It might seem odd, however, to place John Dewey
For Terman, E. L. Thorndike, and other advocates of
and Charles Eliot in the same place in Exhibit 4.8,
the social-efficiency brand of progressive education,
intelligence testing was a way to make the meritocratic
when the two of them differed so sharply in their
aims of schooling more democratic. Students in the
educational visions. If they were so different, how
vocational programs were placed there not only for the
could they both have contributed to the same gen-
social good, it was believed, but for their own good, be-
eral aims and outcomes of the progressive educa-
cause their talents best suited them to nonprofessional
tion era?
occupations.
Although Dewey differed from Eliot and others
on the aims and methods of progressive education,
he gave great legitimacy to the central ideas that
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
helped fuel the progressive movement: ideas such
OF EDUCATION
as the abandonment of the classical curriculum, the
Educational reform movements today, as always,
use of occupations in the classroom, notions of learn-
respond to particular social conditions and are
ing by doing, making schools relevant to changing
shaped by particular ideological commitments.
social conditions and solving social problems, and
Chapter 4 has profiled the special social and ideo-
tailoring learning to the needs of the child. While
logical conditions of the era in which the progres-
these ideas meant one thing to Dewey and quite
sive education reform movement took place in the
another thing to Eliot, all the ideas were new and
United States. In very general terms, the political–
different from the traditional “book learning” that
economic conditions included urbanization, im-
had dominated public schooling since Jefferso
n’s
migration, industrialization, labor unrest, and the
time. Although Dewey helped the educational com-
increasing centralization of decision making in
munity accept these new ideas, it was the social-
business and government. Ideologically, the begin-
efficiency variety of progressive education rather
ning of the 20th century was marked by a shift from
than Dewey’s developmental-democracy variety
the laissez-faire, limited-government commitments
that took root. The political–economic and ideologi-
of classical liberalism toward a new liberalism
cal conditions of the turn of the century provided
marked by ever-greater reliance on government
a more fertile seedbed for the social-efficiency ap-
and scientific expertise to solve persistent social
proach to progressive education. In short, Dewey’s
and economic problems. Older scientific concep-
arguments for a new education helped nourish a
tions of a fixed, mechanistic universe were replaced
form of schooling—complete with ability-grouping
by a new conception of an evolving, organic uni-
of students, vocational education, and top-down
verse in which truth itself could and would change.
decision making by administrative “expert
s”—that
In the area of human learning, faculty psychology
he would later criticize.
was rapidly replaced by new psychologies of the
Teachers today often find themselves caught
human mind and learning. It was in response to
within the tension we have inherited from
such new conditions and perceptions that the pro-
the split between the social-efficiency and the
gressive education movement took place.
developmental -democracy progressives. On the
Who were these progressive reformers? What
one hand, most teachers today are well aware of
were their aims? And what were the consequences
the Deweyan reminders that students learn best
of their efforts? Although these questions are ad-
when they are genuinely interested in what they are
dressed at length throughout Chapter 4, Exhibit 4.8
learning, and not all children are interested in the
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 116
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 117
Exhibit 4.8 Progressive Educational Reform (1890s–1920s)
Reformers
New Objectives
Extension of Schooling
Business community
Employable skills
From the few to the many
Journalists
Social stability
From voluntary to compulsory
Social reformers
Equal educational opportunity
From unified curriculum to differentiated
curriculum
New psychologists
Meritocracy
From academic curriculum only to
extracurricular activities
Educators (e.g., Dewey, Eliot, Cubberley)
From local control to central administrative
control
same things. On the other hand, nearly all teachers
possible. But the challenge to teachers today is
today are feeling the pressure of state learning stan-
a significant one: how to take children from very
dards that hold all children, and increasingly all
different economic and cultural backgrounds, very
school districts, to teaching what all children “should
different academic skill levels, and engage them
know and be able to do,” as it is often phrased, by
all successfully in learning challenging academic
grade 3 or grade 8 or grade 11. Teachers ask, “How
material.
can I be expected to appeal to children’s authentic
Perhaps the most important part of that challenge
and unique interests if they are all going to be tested
is for teachers to believe, genuinely and thoroughly,
on the same material a month from now?”
that all kids are capable of learning the tough mate-
There may be at least some good news in this
rial; and another part is for teachers to develop the
dilemma. One thing that seems genuinely different
skills to find links between what Dewey called the
from the progressive era in this current standards
“ends in view” (the important learning outcomes)
movement is the expectation that students from all
and the interests of each child. Outstanding teach-
income levels and all ethnic backgrounds will be
ers do find ways to make their classes interesting to
held to the same academic standards. Certainly
all students; do find ways to enlist students’ active
that was not true of the progressive differentiated
motivation and engagement in their academic work;
curricula that placed very different learning expec-
and do find ways to educate all children to high
tations on children on the basis of their “evident
standards. Your philosophy of education can address
and probable destinies,” as Eliot said, consigning
all of those issues as you express your goals, your
many students to vocational education as early as
methods for achieving your goals, and why you think
those goals and methods are justified.
changes already disrupting U.S. society—social changes
Primary Source Reading
including immigration, industrialization, corporate capi-
talism, and centralization of power in local and national
Both the social-efficiency progressives and the government.
developmental-democracy progressives believed that
Today, as in the progressive era, many educators have
schools could play a role in social change. These two
high hopes for how education can respond to rapid social
kinds of progressives had different visions of what soci-
changes and how schools can help make a better soci-
ety should look like, but both believed that schools could
ety. In the following selection, John Dewey, at the age of
help society get there. Similarly, each group had its own
78, writes a reflective essay on how much we can expect
ideas about how schools could respond to the social
from schools in the way of social change. Can schools
Source: From The Social Frontier 3 (May 1937), pp. 235–37.
lead social change, or are they better suited to support
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 117
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
118
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
social change? And if many social changes are happen-
together with some of the reasons that prove that the
ing at once, some good for people and some not, how
schools do have a role—and an important one—in
can schools support those social changes that educators
production of social change.
believe to be most desirable? Dewey addresses these
questions, and others, in an important journal that existed
Schools Reflect the Social Order
in the 1930s and 1940s, first called The Social Frontier,
One factor inherent in the situation is that schools do
and later, Frontiers of Education. It was a journal in which
follow and reflect the social “order” that exists. I do not
reform-minded educators, including teachers and prin-
make this statement as a grudging admission, nor yet in
cipals, debated such issues as the relationship between
order to argue that they should not do so. I make it rath-
schools and social change.
er as a statement of a conditioning factor which supports
the conclusion that the schools thereby do take part in
the determination of a future social order; and that, ac-
Education and Social Change
cordingly, the problem is not whether the schools should
participate in the production of a future society (since
John Dewey
they do so anyway) but whether they should do it blind-
ly and irresponsibly or with the maximum possible of
Upon certain aspects of my theme there is nothing new
courageous intelligence and responsibility.
to be said. Attention has been continually called of late
The grounds that lead me to make this statement
to the fact that society is in process of change, and that
are as follows: The existing state of society, which the
the schools tend to lag behind. We are all familiar with
schools reflect, is not something fixed and uniform.
the pleas that are urged to bring education in the schools
The idea that such is the case is a self-imposed hallu-
into closer relation with the forces that are producing
cination. Social conditions are not only in process of
social change and with the needs that arise from these
change, but the changes going on are in different direc-
changes. Probably no question has received so much
tions, so different as to produce social confusion and
attention in educational discussion during the last few
conflict. There is no single and clear-cut pattern that
years as the problem of integration of the schools with
pervades and holds together in a unified way the so-
social life. Upon these general matters, I could hardly do
cial conditions and forces that operate. It would be easy
more than reiterate what has often been said.
to cite highly respectable authorities who have stated,
Nevertheless, there is as yet little consensus of opinion
as matter of historic fact and not on account of some
as to what the schools can do in relation to the forces of
doctrinal conclusion to be drawn, that social conditions
social change and how they should do it. There are those
in all that affects the relations of human beings to one
who assert in effect that the schools must simply reflect
another have changed more in the last one hundred and
social changes that have already occurred, as best they
fifty years than in all previous time, and that the process
may. Some would go so far as to make the work of schools
of change is still going on. It requires a good deal of
virtually parasitic. Others hold that the schools should
either ignorance or intellectual naiveté to suppose that
take an active part in directing social change, and share
these changes have all been tending to one coherent so-
in the construction of a new social order. Even among
cial outcome. The plaint of the conservative about the
the latter there is, however, marked difference of attitude.
imperiling of old and time-tried values and truths, and
Some think the schools should assume this directive role
the efforts of reactionaries to stem the tide of changes
by means of indoctrination; others oppose this method.
that occur, are sufficient evidence, if evidence be needed
Even if there were more unity of thought than exists,
to the contrary.
there would still be the practical problem of overcoming
Of course the schools have mirrored the social
institutional inertia so as to realize in fact an agreed-upon
changes that take place. The efforts of Horace Mann
program.
and others a century ago to establish a public, free,
There is, accordingly, no need to justify further dis-
common school system were a reflection primarily of
cussion of the problem of the relation of education to
the social conditions that followed the war by the colo-
social change. I shall do what I can, then, to indicate
nies for political independence and the establishment
the factors that seem to me to enter into the problem,
of republican institutions. The evidential force of this
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 118
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 119
outstanding instance would be confirmed in detail if we
education should throw in its lot so as to promote as
went through the list of changes that have taken place
far as may be their victory in the strife of forces. They
in (1) the kind of schools that have been established,
are conservatives in education because they are socially
(2) the new courses that have been introduced, (3) the
conservative and vice-versa.
shifts in subject -matter that have occurred, and (4) the
changes in methods of instruction and discipline that
Alternative Courses
have occurred in intervening years. The notion that the
educational system has been static is too absurd for no-
This is as it should be in the interest of clearness and
tice; it has been and still is in a state of flux.
consistency of thought and action. If these conservatives
The fact that it is possible to argue about the desir-
in education were more aware of what is involved in
ability of many of the changes that have occurred, and
their position, and franker in stating its implications,
to give valid reasons for deploring aspects of the flux, is
they would help bring out the real issue. It is not wheth-
not relevant to the main point. For the stronger the ar-
er the schools shall or shall not influence the course of
guments brought forth on these points, and the greater
future social life, but in what direction they shall do so
the amount of evidence produced to show that the edu-
and how. In some fashion or other, the schools will in-
cational system is in a state of disorder and confusion,
fluence social life anyway. But they can exercise such
the greater is the proof that the schools have responded
influence in different ways and to different ends, and
to, and have reflected, social conditions which are them-
the important thing is to become conscious of these dif-
selves in a state of confusion and conflict.
ferent ways and ends, so that an intelligent choice may
be made, and so that if opposed choices are made, the
Inconsistent Conservatism
further conflict may at least be carried on with under-
standing of what is at stake, and not in the dark.
Do those who hold the idea that the schools should
There are three possible directions of choice. Educa-
not attempt to give direction to social change accept
tors may act so as to perpetuate the present confusion and
complacently the confusion that exists, because the
possibly increase it. That will be the result of drift, and
schools have followed in the track of one social change
under present conditions to drift is in the end to make
after another? They certainly do not, although the
a choice. Or they may select the newer scientific, tech-
logic of their position demands it. For the most part
nological, and cultural forces that are producing change
they are severe critics of the existing state of education.
in the old order; may estimate the direction in which
They are as a rule opposed to the studies called mod-
they are moving and their outcome if they are given freer
ern and the methods called progressive. They tend to
play, and see what can be done to make the schools their
favor return to older types of studies and to strenuous
ally. Or, educators may become intelligently conserva-
“disciplinary” methods. What does this attitude mean?
tive and strive to make the schools a force in maintaining
Does it not show that its advocates in reality adopt
the old order intact against the impact of new forces.
the position that the schools can do something to af-
If the second course is chosen—as of course I believe it
fect positively and constructively social conditions?
should be—the problem will be other than merely that of
For they hold in effect that the school should discrimi-
accelerating the rate of the change that is going on. The
nate with respect to the social forces that play upon it;
problem will be to develop the insight and understanding
that instead of accepting the latter in toto, education
that will enable the youth who go forth from the schools
should select and organize in a given direction. The
to take part in the great work of construction and organi-
adherents of this view can hardly believe that the effect
zation that will have to be done, and to equip them with
of selection and organization will stop at the doors of
the attitudes and habits of action that will make their
school rooms. They must expect some ordering and
understanding and insight practically effective.
healing influence to be exerted sooner or later upon
the structure and movement of life outside. What they
Drift or Intelligent Choice?
are really doing when they deny directive social effect
to education is to express their opposition to some
There is much that can be said for an intelligent conser-
of the directions social change is actually taking, and
vatism. I do not know anything that can be said for per-
their choice of other social forces as those with which
petuation of a wavering, uncertain, confused condition
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 119
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
120
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
of social life and education. Nevertheless, the easiest
the name of neutrality, consists in keeping the oncom-
thing is to refrain from fundamental thinking and
ing generation ignorant of the conditions in which
let things go on drifting. Upon the basis of any other
they live and the issues they have to face. This effect is
policy than drift—which after all is a policy, though a
the more pronounced because it is subtle and indirect;
blind one—every special issue and problem, whether
because neither teachers nor those taught are aware of
that of selection and organization of subject-matter
what they are doing and what is being done to them.
of study, of methods of teaching, of school buildings
Clarity can develop only in the extent to which there is
and equipment, of school administration, is a special
frank acknowledgment of the basic issue: Where shall
phase of the inclusive and fundamental problem: What
the social emphasis of school life and work fall, and
movement of social forces, economic, political, reli-
what are the educational policies which correspond to
gious, cultural, shall the school take to be controlling
this emphasis?
in its aims and methods, and with which forces shall
the school align itself ?
Revolutionary Radicals Believe
Failure to discuss educational problems from this
Education Impotent
point of view but intensifies the existing confusion.
Apart from this background, and outside of this perspec-
So far I have spoken of those who assert, in terms of the
tive, educational questions have to be settled ad hoc
views of a conservative group, the doctrine of complete
and are speedily unsettled. What is suggested does
impotence of education. But it is an old story that poli-
not mean that the schools shall throw themselves into
tics makes strange bedfellows. There is another group
the political and economic arena and take sides with
which holds the schools are completely impotent; that
some party there. I am not talking about parties; I
they so necessarily reflect the dominant economic and
am talking about social forces and their movement. In
political regime, that they are committed, root and
spite of absolute claims that are made for this party or
branch, to its support. This conclusion is based upon
that, it is altogether probable that existing parties and
the belief that the organization of a given society is fixed
sects themselves suffer from existing confusions and
by the control exercised by a particular economic class,
conflicts, so that the understanding, the ideas, and at-
so that the school, like every other social institution, is
titudes that control their policies, need re-education
of necessity the subservient tool of a dominant class.
and re-orientation. I know that there are some who
This viewpoint only takes literally the doctrine that the
think that the implications of what I have said point
school can only reflect the existing social order. Hence
to abstinence and futility; that they negate the stand
the conclusion in effect that it is a waste of energy and
first taken. But I am surprised when educators adopt
time to bother with the schools. The only way, accord-
this position, for it shows a profound lack of faith in
ing to advocates of this theory, to change education in
their own calling. It assumes that education as educa-
any important respect is first to overthrow the existing
tion has nothing or next to nothing to contribute; that
class-order of society and transfer power to another
formation of understanding and disposition counts
class. Then the needed change in education will follow
for nothing; that only immediate overt action counts
automatically and will be genuine and thorough-going.
and that it can count equally whether or not it has
This point of view serves to call attention to another
been modified by education.
factor in the general issue being discussed. I shall not
here take up in detail the basic premise of this school
Neutrality Aids Reaction
of social thought, namely the doctrine of domination
of social organization by a single rather solidly-unified
Before leaving this aspect of the subject, I wish to recur
class; a domination so complete and pervasive that it can
to the utopian nature of the idea that the schools can be
be thrown off only by the violent revolutionary action of
completely neutral. This idea sets up an end incapable
another distinct unified class. It will be gathered, how-
of accomplishment. So far as it is acted upon, it has a
ever, from what has been said that I believe the existing
definite social effect, but that effect is, as I have said,
situation is so composite and so marked by conflicting
perpetuation of disorder and increase of blind because
criss-cross tendencies that this premise represents an
unintelligent conflict. Practically, moreover, the weight
exaggeration of actual conditions so extreme as to be a
of such action falls upon the reactionary side. Perhaps
caricature. Yet I do recognize that so far as any general
the most effective way of re-inforcing reaction under
characterization of the situation can be made, it is on
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 120
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 121
the basis of a conflict of older and newer forces—forces
that can be meant by those who hold that schools are
cultural, religious, scientific, philosophic, economic,
important is that education in the form of systematic
and political.
indoctrination can only come about when some govern-
But suppose it is admitted for the sake of argument
ment is sufficiently established to make schools under-
that a social revolution is going on, and that it will cul-
take the task of single-minded inculcation in a single
minate in a transfer of power effected by violent action.
direction.
The notion that schools are completely impotent under
The discussion has thus reached the point in which
existing conditions then has disastrous consequences.
it is advisable to say a few words about indoctrination.
The schools, according to the theory, are engaged in
The word is not free from ambiguity. One definition
shaping as far as in them lies a mentality, a type of belief,
of the dictionary makes it a synonym for teaching. In
desire, and purpose that is consonant with the present
order that there may be a definite point to consider, I
class-capitalist system. It is evident that if such be the
shall take indoctrination to mean the systematic use of
case, any revolution that is brought about is going to be
every possible means to impress upon the minds of pu-
badly compromised and even undermined. It will carry
pils a particular set of political and economic views to
with it the seeds, the vital seeds, of counter-revolutions.
the exclusion of every other. This meaning is suggested
There is no basis whatever, save doctrinaire absolutism,
by the word “inculcation,” whose original signification
for the belief that a complete economic change will pro-
was “to stamp in with the heel.” This signification is
duce of itself the mental, moral, and cultural changes
too physical to be carried over literally. But the idea of
that are necessary for its enduring success. The fact is
stamping in is involved, and upon occasion does include
practically recognized by the school of thought under
physical measures. I shall discuss this view only as far as
discussion in that part of their doctrine which asserts
to state, in the first place, that indoctrination so con-
that no genuine revolution can occur until the old sys-
ceived is something very different from education, for
tem has passed away in everything but external politi-
the latter involves, as I understand it, the active partici-
cal power, while within its shell a new economic system
pation of students in reaching conclusions and forming
has grown to maturity. What is ignored is that the new
attributes. Even in the case of something as settled and
system cannot grow to maturity without an accompa-
agreed upon as the multiplication table, I should say if it
nying widespread change of habits of belief, desire, and
is taught educatively, and not as a form of animal train-
purpose.
ing, the active participation, the interest, reflection, and
understanding of those taught are necessary.
Is Indoctrination the Way Out?
The upholders of indoctrination rest their adher-
ence to the theory in part upon the fact that there is
It is unrealistic, in my opinion, to suppose that the
a great deal of indoctrination now going on in the
schools can be a main agency in producing the intel-
schools, especially with reference to narrow national-
lectual and moral changes, the changes in attitudes and
ism under the name of patriotism, and with reference
disposition of thought and purpose, which are necessary
to the dominant economic regime. These facts unfor-
for the creation of a new social order. Any such view ig-
tunately are facts. But they do not prove that the right
nores the constant operation of powerful forces outside
course is to seize upon the method of indoctrination
the school which shape mind and character. It ignores
and reverse its objective.
the fact that school education is but one educational
agency out of many, and at the best is in some respects a
Democracy as a Frame of Reference
minor educational force. Nevertheless, while the school
is not a sufficient condition, it is a necessary condition
A much stronger argument is that unless education has
of forming the understanding and the dispositions that
some frame of reference it is bound to be aimless, lacking
are required to maintain a genuinely changed social or-
a unified objective. The necessity for a frame of reference
der. No social change is more than external unless it is
must be admitted. There exists in this country such a
attended by and rooted in the attitudes of those who
unified frame. It is called democracy. I do not claim for a
bring it about and of those who are affected by it. In a
moment that the significance of democracy as a mode of
genuine sense, social change is accidental unless it has
life is so settled that there can be no disagreement as to its
also a psychological and moral foundation. For it is then
significance. The moment we leave glittering generalities
at the mercy of currents that veer and shift. The utmost
and come to concrete details, there is great divergence.
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 121
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
122
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
I certainly do not mean either that our political institu-
year and day, in the living relations of person to person
tions as they have come to be, our parties, legislatures,
in all social forms and institutions. Forgetting this, we
laws, and courts constitute a model upon which a clear
have allowed our economic and hence our political in-
idea of democracy can be based. But there is a tradition
stitutions to drift away from democracy; we have been
and an idea which we can put in opposition to the very
negligent even in creating a school that should be the
much that is undemocratic in our institutions. The idea
constant nurse of democracy.
and ideal involve at least the necessity of personal and
I conclude by saying that there is at least one thing
voluntary participation in reaching decisions and execut-
in which the idea of democracy is not dim, however
ing them—in so far it is the contrary of the idea of indoc-
far short we have come from striving to make it real-
trination. And I, for one, am profoundly sceptical of the
ity. Our public school system was founded in the name
notion that because we now have a rather poor embodi-
of equality of opportunity for all, independent of birth,
ment of democracy we can ultimately produce a genuine
economic status, race, creed, or color. The school can-
democracy by sweeping away what we have left of one.
not by itself alone create or embody this idea. But the
The positive point, however, is that the democrat-
least it can do is to create individuals who understand
ic ideal, in its human significance, provides us with a
the concrete meaning of the idea with their minds, who
frame of reference. The frame is not filled in, either in
cherish it warmly in their hearts, and who are equipped
society at large or in its significance for education. I am
to battle in its behalf in their actions.
not implying that it is so clear and definite that we can
Democracy also means voluntary choice, based on
look at it as a traveler can look at a map and tell where to
an intelligence that is the outcome of free association
go from hour to hour. Rather the point I would make is
and communication with others. It means a way of liv-
that the problem of education in its relation to direction
ing together in which mutual and free consultation rule
of social change is all one with the problem of finding
instead of force, and in which cooperation instead of
out what democracy means in its total range of concrete
brutal competition is the law of life; a social order in
applications; economic, domestic, international, reli-
which all the forces that make for friendship, beauty,
gious, cultural, economic, and political.
and knowledge are cherished in order that each indi-
I cannot wish for anything better to happen for, and
vidual may become what he, and he alone, is capable of
in, our schools than that this problem should become the
becoming. These things at least give a point of departure
chief theme for consideration until we have attained clar-
for the filling in of the democratic idea and aim as a
ity concerning the concrete significance of democracy—
frame of reference. If a sufficient number of educators
which like everything concrete means its application in
devote themselves to striving courageously and with full
living action, individual and collective. The trouble, at
sincerity to find the answers to the concrete questions
least one great trouble, is that we have taken democracy
which the idea and the aim put to us, I believe that the
for granted; we have thought and acted as if our forefa-
question of the relation of the schools to direction of so-
thers had founded it once for all. We have forgotten that
cial change will cease to be a question, and will become
it has to be enacted anew in every generation, in every
a moving answer in action.
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 122
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling Chapter 4 123
Developing Your
3. This chapter appears to be heavily biased against
Professional Vocabulary
vocational education in favor of a more “academic”
education for all young people. What justification
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
does the chapter provide for its criticism of voca-
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
tional education, and do you think this justification
important to education.
is adequate, given the historical circumstances of the
progressive era?
Charles Eliot
populism
4. As a result of reading Dewey’s article “Education
developmental
progressive educational
and Social Change,” what do you believe schools
democracy
reformers
should accomplish in terms of achieving social
eugenics
skilled artisanship
change—and what do you believe it is possible for
schools to accomplish? Explain how similar or dis-
John Dewey
social efficiency
similar your point of view is to Dewey’s.
monopoly capitalism
Taylorization
5. This chapter marks a shift in psychological theories
new immigration
vocational education
about the human learner, resulting in a
20th-century viewpoint that some kids are really
new psychology
smart, some are really slow, and most are in be-
On the Origin of Species
tween. Is this a case of science supporting common
sense, or is there something amiss with this point of
view? Is it really true, as today’s educators say, that
Questions for Discussion
“all children can learn” challenging academic
and Examination
material, or did the new liberal reformers have it
right that we should have very different expectations
1. Explain how and why reformers centralized power
for different groups of kids?
in both city and school government during the
progressive era. What effect, in your view, did this
have on American democracy?
Online Resources
2. Both the developmental-democracy and the social-
efficiency approaches to progressive education aban-
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
doned the classical curriculum of the 19th century,
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
in which all students studied the same academic
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
subjects. What argument might be made in favor
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
of keeping the traditional, classical curriculum, and
articles and news feeds.
how would you evaluate that argument? Take into
account the major social changes occurring at the
turn of the century.
toz24404_ch04_082-123.indd 123
31/08/12 2:38 PM
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 5
Diversity and Equity Schooling Girls and Women
Chapter Overview
Unlike the preceding chapters of Part 1, each of
reflects the dominant view of women that dis-
which emphasized one period in our national
couraged intellectual development. In the post-
history, Chapter 5 examines school and soci-
revolutionary period, contrasts between boys’
ety in several historical eras, from the colonial
and girls’ schooling show increasing schooling
through the progressive periods. These periods
arrangements for girls, but within specific bound-
have already been treated in Chapters 2 through 6,
aries of preparation for “feminine” work. Emma
yet this chapter is not a review. It focuses on an
Willard’s Troy Female Seminary is shown to be
issue that has appeared too briefly in the preced-
an early-19th-century contribution to expanding
ing chapters: the education of girls and women.
educational and professional possibilities for
Chapter 5 begins with a discussion of the ideo-
women. By the middle of the 19th century, com-
logical origins of the differential treatment of
peting viewpoints on the role and education of
girls and women in society. Those ideologi-
girls and women had sharpened into identifiable
cal roots were in part religious. As the chapter
ideological positions—conservative, liberal, and
notes, it should not be surprising that a nation
radical—each of which had antecedents in clas-
founded by religious dissenters would show
sical liberalism. This discussion of ideological
deep religious influences in its political thought
hetero- geneity is illustrated by the two Primary
and values. We begin with a brief discussion of
Source Readings, one of which, the Seneca Falls
how the early Christian tradition contributed to
Declaration of 1848, is briefly referenced in the
justifying differential expectations for men and
chapter.
women in society and schooling.
Nineteenth-century approaches to the higher
The chapter traces the development of school-
education of women are discussed, including
ing for girls and women from colonial times
academies, normal schools, colleges, and high
through the postrevolutionary period, the 19th
schools. As the 20th century approached, the voca-
century, and the major part of the progressive
tional education movement discussed in Chapters
era. In each of those periods, prevailing forms
4 and 6 took on particular significance for the edu-
(and absences) of schooling for girls and women
cation of girls and women in secondary schools.
are examined in the context of shifts in views
Chapter 5 will show that a distinctly different po-
about women’s roles in society and the proper
sition was articulated by the African American in-
preparation for those roles. In the colonial pe-
tellectual Anna Julia Cooper, an advocate for the
riod, the relative absence of girls from schools
higher education of African American women.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 124
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Common-school textbooks had specific messages for the moral development of girls.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 5 seeks to
4. Students should also evaluate the degree to
achieve are these:
which educational arrangements for women
served the ideals of women’s equality that were
1. This chapter should help explain selected
expressed throughout this period.
aspects of the history of the education of girls
and women in the United States from colonial
5. This chapter offers an opportunity for students
times through the early 20th century.
to evaluate whether conservative, radical,
and liberal views on women’s education were
2. A second objective is to introduce the precolonial
adequate to challenge the subordinate status of
ideological origins of biases against women.
women.
Because of the religious origins of colonialism
in the United States, particular attention is paid
6. The Primary Source Readings provide illustrations
to the religious origins of views about women’s
of how, despite prevailing social and educational
essential nature.
practices, dissenting women have historically
been able to formulate viewpoints that challenge
3. Students should begin to assess the degree to
those practices.
which prevailing beliefs about women affected
women’s opportunities for education in the
18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.
125
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 125
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
126
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Analytic Framework
Girls and Women in the United States
Political Economy
Ideology
Women’s suffrage movement
Augustinianism
Domesticity
Women’s rational deficiency
Women and clerical work
Women’s rights movement
Radicalism
Growth of middle class
Conservatism
Liberalism
Schooling
Early colonial ban on women’s education
Private education
Self-education
Academies
Domestic “science”
Commercial education
Teacher’s colleges
Introduction: Why a Separate
repeatedly in Part 2 of the text, but this is the only chapter
to attempt a comprehensive overview of the evolution of
Chapter on Females?
the education of girls and women in the United States.
Writing in the last decade of the 18th century, the
Students may justifiably ask why it is necessary to devote
Englishwoman Mary Wollstonecraft exposed her era’s
a separate chapter to the education of women. Shouldn’t
view of female education in observations such as the
the history of educational thought and the evolution of
following:
schooling be examined in a unified, gender-free treatment?
How grossly do they insult us who thus advise us to
Until recently this was the manner in which educational
render ourselves gentile, domestic brutes! For instance,
history was usually examined. Such examinations, how-
the winning softness so warmly, and frequently, recom-
ever, ignore an important reality: the education of fe-
mended, that governs by obeying. . . . [A]ll writers who
males in our culture, as in many cultures, has been
have written on the subject of female education and
importantly different, both in purpose and content,
manners . . . have contributed to render women more ar-
from the education of males. General statements about
tificial, weak characters, than they would otherwise have
the history of education, then, may be misleading if
been, more useless members of society. . . . [M]y objec-
they do not specifically attend to the experiences of girls
tion extends to the whole purport of those books, which
as well as boys, women as well as men. While we have
tend, in my opinion, to degrade one half of the human
pointed out the significance of gender in specific in-
species, and render women pleasing at the expense of ev-
stances in each chapter thus far, a more comprehen-
ery solid virtue.1
sive treatment is needed to provide context for those
Unfortunately, Wollstonecraft’s assessment remained
instances. This chapter will provide an overview of the
true for over 100 years. During this period the primary
history of women’s education to delineate the aspirations,
goal of female education was to render women pleas-
limitations, and opportunities that American society ing as wives and effective as mothers. The underlying held for half of its population through the first part of
assumptions behind this view were that women were
the 20th century. These gender themes will be revisited
fundamentally different from and inferior to men and
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 126
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 127
consequently posed a danger to men. This assumption
four centuries of Christian teaching, Augustine held
seems to have been tacitly accepted, apart from excep-
that the story of the Fall meant that the sin of Adam
tions like Wollstonecraft, by both female and male pro-
was transmitted from the first parents through sexual
ponents of women’s education. This is not as surprising
reproduction to all future humans, and because of that
as one might think. Even today, evidence of belief in
“original sin,” subsequent humanity was incapable of
fundamental differences between the sexes and the idea
exercising free will. This interpretation placed a heavy
of inherent inferiority of women can be found in many
burden on Eve in particular and women in general. She
dimensions of our culture, as we shall see.
was, in this tradition, the first one to succumb to the
temptations of the serpent. Being created out of Adam’s
body, Eve was purportedly more prone to bodily or
Ideological Origins in Early
sexual passion and thus easier to seduce. In Augustine’s
words, the serpent had deceitful conversation with the
Christianity
woman—no doubt starting with the inferior of the hu-
man pair so as to arrive at the whole by stages, supposing
In a country founded by religious dissenters, it is not
surprising to find origins of basic ideological com-
mitments in religious traditions. We have seen, for ex-
The idea of women’s rational inferiority to men and their
consequent need for a less rigorous education was supported
ample, how such dimensions of classical liberalism as
by the Christian belief that Eve, who was presumed to be
rationality and virtue were ascribed differently to men
more sensual and less rational than Adam, was chosen for
and women by liberals in Jefferson’s era. This bias had
seduction by the serpent.
roots in Christianity.
The point of this discussion is not that institutional
Christianity has historically justified the subordination
of women more than other religions have. Nor do we
suggest that Christianity is the primary cause of social
and political biases against women. Rather, we are not-
ing that religious values contribute importantly to social
ideology—and that the founding religious values and
institutions of European America were Christian.
Early in the Christian era the tone for gender discus-
sion was set by the apostle Paul in his instructions to
Timothy regarding church organization. Paul said, “Let
a woman learn in silence with all submission. For I do
not allow a woman to teach, or go to exercise authority
over men; but she is to keep quiet. For Adam was formed
first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the
woman was deceived and was in sin. Yet women will be
saved by childbearing, if they continue in faith and love
and holiness with modesty.”2 In this epistle Paul asserted
the superiority of male over female because of Adam’s
earlier creation and Eve’s submission to the temptations
of the serpent. It would take another four centuries be-
fore the full implications of Paul’s assertion would be-
come central to Christian gender considerations.
One of the most significant developments in Western
civilization’s attitude toward gender occurred in the first
part of the 5th century a.d. At that time, against the vig-
orous opposition of Pelagius and his followers, Augus-
tine, Bishop of Hippo, successfully overturned previous
Christian interpretations of Genesis 3. Contrary to over
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 127
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
128
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
that the man would not be as gullible.4 Moreover, in
Public elementary schools became common in New
this interpretation it was Eve who then persuaded Adam
England, and a few colleges, such as Harvard, William
to join in her sin and thus condemned all future gen-
and Mary, Yale, and Kings, were scattered among the
erations of humans. Historian Elaine Pagels succinctly
colonies. Women were not admitted to the colleges and
summarizes the gender ramifications of Augustine’s in-
were only grudgingly admitted to the public elemen-
terpretation of Genesis 3:
tary schools around the time of the Revolution. Most
early school committees believed that the admission of
Although originally created equal to man in regard to
girls to the common schools was “inconsistent with the
her rational soul, woman’s formation from Adam’s rib es-
design” of those schools.7 Most girls who learned to
tablished her as the “weaker part of the human couple.”
read did so at home. Of course, such home schooling
Being closely connected with bodily passion, woman, al-
though created to be man’s helper, became his temptress
greatly disadvantaged girls whose parents were illiterate
and led him into disaster. The Genesis account describes the
or unwilling to teach them to read and write.
result: God himself reinforced the husband’s authority over
Early colonial school records are scanty and obscure
his wife, placing divine sanction upon the social, legal, and
regarding the education of girls. Two historians, after
economic machinery of male domination.5
searching the records of nearly 200 New England towns,
could find only seven that had definitely voted to al-
Augustine’s division of humankind into two in-
low girls to attend common schools before the 1770s.8
herently different kinds of beings contained all the
Among the earliest were Dorchester, Massachusetts
necessary components for religiously justifying the sub-
(1639), Hampton, New Hampshire (1649), Ipswic h,
jugation of women and their inferior education for the
Massachusetts (1669), and Wallingford, Connecticut
next 15 centuries. Women were seen as complementary
(1678). Only in the last two towns is there any evi-
to, but different from, men. Properly fitted with men,
dence that girls actually attended those schools before
women were the completing portion of humanity. They
the revolutionary era. Generally, when girls were given
were seen as passionate and nurturing, while men were
permission to attend a common school, they were only
seen as rational and reserved. Women were prone to
allowed to do so when boys were absent. For example,
mercy, men to justice. Women were fitted for the domi-
London, Connecticut, allowed girls to receive instruc-
cile, men for work and public life. Men were to govern,
tion from 5 to 7 a.m. during the summer of 1774.9 Two
women to obey. Because of their deficiency in rational
years later Medford, Massachusetts, permitted girls to
capacity and unstable emotional nature, women were to
receive instruction from the schoolmaster two hours a
be subject to the more rational nature of their fathers
day after the boys were dismissed. Later, in 1787, the
and later, their husbands.
Medford girls were admitted for instruction for one
hour each morning and afternoon when the boys were
Gender and Education
not in attendance. Three years later the girls received
instruction during the three summer months. Similar
in Colonial America
arrangements were common in other New England
towns, such as Newburyport, Essex, and Salem, during
It was this Augustinian legacy that formed the con-
the late colonial era. Not until 1834, two years before
sciousness and guided the gender behavior of most colo-
Horace Mann began his common-schooling campaign
nial and 19th-century Americans.6 At their best, White
in Massachusetts, were Medford boys and girls allowed
Americans were concerned with educating their sons to
to attend the common school together during the entire
become productive workers, effective political agents,
school year.10
and independent rational actors. However, when they
In 1900 George Martin succinctly summarized the
thought of education for their daughters, the concern
history of girls’ education in the American colonies and
was to prepare them as wives and mothers, not as inde-
the new nation:
pendent, rational beings. As long as the home remained
First, during the first one hundred and fifty years of co-
the primary economic unit in society, most of a girl’s ed-
lonial history girls did not attend the public schools, except
ucation could be obtained there, emulating her mother
in some of the smaller towns, and there only for a short time;
and obeying her father.
second, about the time of the Revolution, the subject of the
As described in Chapter 2, Americans began to
education of girls was widely agitated; third, against much
develop schools for their sons early in the colonial era.
opposition the experiment of sending girls to the master’s
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 128
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 129
During the colonial era, most girls received their education in their homes either from literate parents or from private tutors. Such home education was limited to families where the parents could either afford tutors or were literate enough to do the job themselves.
school for a few hours in a day during a part of the year, but
educate girls in an agrarian and frontier society when
never in the same rooms or at the same times with the boys;
only few people required education. Just as important,
fourth, this provision extended only to the English schools,
however, was the common belief that females were ba-
no instruction being provided in Latin or even in the higher
sically unsuited for intellectual activities. On April 13,
English branches; fifth, it was not until the present century
1645, John Winthrop, the governor of Massachusetts
[i.e., the 19th] was far advanced that girls and boys shared
Bay Colony, wrote the following entry in his journal:
alike the advantages of the higher public schools.11
Martin’s dismal picture of early female education
Mr. Hopkins, the governor of Hartford upon Connecti-
has not been much improved by subsequent historical
cut, came to Boston, and brought his wife with him (a godly
investigations. With rare exceptions girls were barred
young woman, and of special parts), who was fallen into a
from public schooling from the 1630s to the eve of
sad infirmity which had been growing upon her divers years,
the Revolution. The exceptions occurred in religious
by occasion of her giving herself wholly to reading and writ-
commu nities that were not dominated by the Augustin-
ing, and had written many books. Her husband, being very
loving and tender of her, was loath to grieve her; but he saw
ian tradition. For example, the Quakers and Moravi-
his error, when it was too late. For if she had attended her
ans, principally in Pennsylvania and the Carolinas, did
household affairs, and such things as belong to women, and
provide elementary education for girls.12 This 150-year
not gone out of her way and calling to meddle in such things
exclusion of girls from American public schools was not
as are proper for men, whose minds are stronger, etc., she
the result of neglect or oversight but rather the result
had kept her wits, and might have improved them usefully
of two factors. First, it was not considered necessary to
and honorably in the place God had set her.13
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 129
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
130
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
The historical record tells us that Governor Win throp’s
Yet knows not whence it came,
view of women’s appropriate place was clearly that of
A husband ’tis she wants.17
the majority. Nevertheless, in the face of considerable
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice provides a depressing
odds, some women were able to develop their intel-
account of the probable state of mind of many young
lectual interests during this 150-year era. The poetess
women in this description of Charlotte Lucas just after
Anne Bradstreet was taught by her father, Governor
she announced her engagement to Mr. Collins:
Dudley. Mercy Warren was tutored along with her
brother by Rev. Jonathan Russell. Most remarkable,
The whole family . . . were properly overjoyed on the
perhaps, was Phillis Wheatley, an African American
occasion. . . . [Her brothers] were relieved from their appre-
slave girl in Boston, who during the 1760s taught her-
hension of Charlotte’s dying an old maid. . . . Mr. Collins,
self to read English and Latin and write poetry. Other
to be sure, was neither amiable nor agreeable; his society
colonial
women of extraordinary intellectual attain-
was irksome and his attachment to her must be imaginary.
ment included Anne Hutchinson, Elizabeth Ferguson,
But still he would be a husband. Without thinking highly
Debora Logan, Susanna Wright, Hanna Means, and
of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her ob-
Mrs. Stockton.14 For most colonial women, however,
ject: it was the only honorable provision for well educated
there was no formal education, only the hope of ru-
young women of small fortune, and, however uncertain
dimentary literacy acquired in the home from a liter-
of giving happiness, must be a pleasant preservation from
ate and willing parent. Consequently, most colonial
want. This preservation she had now obtained; and at the
age of twenty-seven, without ever having been handsome,
women remained illiterate.
she felt the good luck of it.18
Private Schools
If marriage was the approved goal for girls, it was
understandable, perhaps, that a male-dominated soci-
Those colonial women who managed to acquire an edu-
ety would try to fit women into the roles demanded by
cation were overwhelmingly from affluent homes. Many
men. In early America, “a learned wife” was not sought
of them were educated by tutors in the home. Others at-
after. A colonial poem often recommended to young
tended private female seminaries and academies. These
women put this very clearly:
private secondary institutions began to develop in the
second quarter of the 18th century. Most were boarding
One did commend to me a wife both fair and
schools. The Ursuline Convent for girls, established in
young
New Orleans in 1727, was perhaps the earliest. Soon
That had French, Spanish, and Italian tongue.
after, in 1742, the Bethlehem Female Seminary began
I thanked him kindly and told him I loved
educating girls in Pennsylvania.
none such,
During the first half of the 19th century a large
For I thought one tongue for a wife too much,
number of these female seminaries came into existence;
What! love ye not the learned?
the most respected were in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
Yes, as my life,
Salem, Massachusetts; Troy, New York; and Endicott
A learned scholar, but not a learned wife.19
Mills, New York.15 Unfortunately, many of these female
An interesting feature of this poem is its evidence of
institutions were more interested in fitting girls for mar-
the belief that women were capable of intellectual de-
riage than in developing their minds. Much of the train-
velopment but that it was not a feature men desired
ing focused on so-called polite accomplishments, such
in them.
as dancing, music, drawing, and needlework.16
The social skills that dominated the formal education
of colonial women flowed logically from contemporary
The Revolution and the Cult
opinion. Most colonial Americans believed that the only
of Domesticity
appropriate goal for a woman was matrimony. Typical
Although the Revolution changed much in American
of this attitude was the following poem, which appeared
society, it did not challenge most prevailing assump-
in 1805 in the North Carolina Journal:
tions about the education of women. But independence
When first the nymph within her breast
brought considerable discussion about how a new na-
Perceives the subtle flame,
tion could be forged, and that discussion would eventu-
She feels a something break her rest,
ally bring about changes in the education of girls. As we
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 130
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 131
The “cult of domesticity” dominated female education from the time of the Revolution until well into the 20th century. It maintained that a woman’s proper social role revolved around the home where she was to be (1) a proper wife, (2) a nurturing mother and teacher of the young, and (3) a moral exemplar to all.
saw in Chapter 2, the idea of using public schooling to
manners and morals of society by teaching and by exam-
build the nation was a major new concern.20 Analysis
ple, and guide the development of the future generation
of the requisite education for boys centered on (1) their
during the early years of childhood.21 Twentieth-century
future role as republican citizens, especially as informed
historians would name this shift in the understanding
voters, and (2) their role as economic agents, especially
of the female role the “cult of domesticity.”22 It would
as producers. These considerations were not applied in
provide a rationale for the formal education of increas-
the same way to girls, whose productive role would be
ing numbers of girls and young women in the new na-
limited to the family. It was their future role as wives
tion, rendering obsolete the colonial view that girls were
and mothers that after the Revolution focused the dis-
simply not in need of schooling.
cussion of appropriate female education. This nurtur-
This cult of domesticity was first aimed at middle-
ing role was to dominate thinking about girls’ education
and upper-class women, but in time its effects were felt
until well into the 20th century.
in all but the lowest social classes. It was a double-edged
By the 1820s many articles devoted to the “female
sword. By considering homemaking and nurturing-
role” appeared in educational journals such as the An-
teaching roles to be exclusively female, it encouraged
nals of Education, the Common School Journal, and the
the view that women should be educated. However, be-
American Journal of Education. Additionally, there ap-
cause of women’s supposedly nurturing nature and the
peared numerous books, such as Coxe’s Claims of the
limits within which this nature was to be exercised, the
Country on American Females, Butler’s The American
education offered women was confined to the nurtur-
Lady, and Todd’s The Daughter at School. These authors
ing roles of wife, early educator, and moral exemplar.23
argued that women’s first responsibility was to provide
It is fair to conclude that 19th-century Americans had
for the comfort and solace of husbands, who faced an
not advanced much beyond Martin Luther’s 16th-
increasingly competitive and inhospitable economic
century admonition, “The world has need of educated
world. Beyond this, they should attempt to improve the
men and women to the end that men may govern the
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 131
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
132
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
country properly and women may bring up their chil-
through change and the conservatives emphasizing tra-
dren, care for their domestics, and direct the affairs of
ditional notions of female virtue. The radical position,
their households.”24
however, challenged both streams of classical liberal
Growing out of the combined cultural influences
thinking on the education of women and their role in
of sexist religious views, capitalism, and planning for
society. Yet it, too, relied on such classical liberal con-
nationhoo d, the cult of domesticity had a profound
structs as natural law, rationality, and freedom in oppos-
effect on female education. If women were to form
ing the ideological mainstream.
morals and manners and provide initial education for
children, they required some formal education. Con-
The Conservative and Liberal Positions
sequently, most communities in the Northeast slowly
began admitting girls to the common schools during
The conservative position was typified by William
the first quarter of the 19th century. The effect of this
Johnson, Esq., in an 1845 edition of the Literary Emporium.
increased educational opportunity can be seen in the
He offered the timeworn male-centric advice: “Women’s
greatly increased rate of female literacy during this
chief ambition is gratified by a single conquest: the scope
era.25 As access to elementary schooling gradually was
of her happiness and usefulness is circumscribed by the
secured, proponents of female education turned to
domestic and social circle. Beyond this, her influence is only
higher education.
felt by its moral reflection on the hearts and lives of man-
During the 19th century higher education was less
kind. Nor is this the result of any system of education—it is a
well defined than it is currently. Any schooling beyond
distinguishing circumstance in her existence—one which
the common school was considered higher. The “ladder’’
God never intended to be otherwise.”27
system, with secondary schools serving as a prerequisite
The liberals similarly held that women’s destined role
for collegiate training, was not established until late in
was exclusively as wife, mother, teacher of the young,
the century. Academies, seminaries, normal schools, the
and moral exemplar. Nevertheless, they differed from
new public high schools, and colleges all offered what
the conservatives by arguing that those roles required
was considered higher education, and often they were
more and better education than was currently available
seen as competing institutions. Women’s access to these
for girls. No doubt America’s growing trend toward a
institutions and the curricula women were to be afforded
liberal Protestantism, exemplified by the transcenden-
constituted the major controversies concerning female
talism of Emerson and the theology of Bushnell, made
education during the 19th century.
their arguments more palatable. This liberalizing trend
deemphasized original sin and the evil side of human
nature, lessening the special sin of Eve and its resulting
Competing Ideological
stain on all women. Leaders of the liberal wing included
Perspectives in the
Benjamin Rush, Emma Willard, Horace Mann, Catha-
rine Beecher, and Mary Lyon.28
Nineteenth Century
Benjamin Rush provided the prototype program for
female education in his “Thoughts on Female Education”
Martha Maclear has shown that “three distinct currents
at the beginning of the 19th century. He contended that
of thought regarding the education of girls” emerged in
women should be the stewards of their husband’s wealth,
the first half of the 19th century. The first current was
homemakers, and child caregivers. To fulfill those du-
that of the right wing, or conservatives, who wanted to
ties adequately, Rush proposed an education that in-
maintain the status quo. The center, or liberals, while
cluded the English language, handwriting, arithmetic,
accepting the existing definitions of the appropriate fe-
bookkeeping, beginning astronomy, chemistry, natural
male role, attempted to interpret those definitions in
philosophy, dancing, Christian religion, geography, and
ways that would improve educational opportunities for
history. The last two subjects he recommended so “she
women. Finally, radical, or left-wing, groups demanded
might become an agreeable companion to a sensible
both a new, expanded definition of female roles and the
man.” Rush concluded his essay with the admonition to
new education appropriate to the expanded opportuni-
men that “a weak and ignorant woman will always be
ties they envisioned for women.26 Both the conserva-
governed with the greatest difficulty.”29
tive and liberal positions stood squarely within classical
Horace Mann, who championed women’s higher
liberal ideology, with the liberals emphasizing progress
education in normal schools, announced the limitations
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 132
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 133
that the liberals would project for women in an 1838
article in the Common School Journal. In advocating
women’s special role in the “peaceful ministry” of teach-
ers of the young, he said:
And why should women, lured by false ambition to
shine in courts or to mingle in the clashing tumult of men,
ever disdain this sacred and peaceful ministry?
Why, renouncing this serene and blessed sphere of
duty, should she ever lift up her voice in the thronged
marketplace of society, haggling and huckstering to barter
away that divine and acknowledged superiority in senti-
ment which belongs to her own sex, to exhort confessions
from the other of a mere equality in reason? Why, in self-
abasemen t, should she ever strive to put off the sublime
affections and the ever-bearing beauty of a seraph, that she
may clothe a coarser, though it should be a stronger spirit,
in the stalwart limbs and highness of a giant? . . . If the
intellect of women, like that of a man, has the sharpness
and the penetration of steel or iron, it must also be as cold
Emma Hart Willard (1787–1870) wrote a classic appeal on
and hard. No! but to breathe pure and exalted sentiments
women’s education to the public and the New York State leg-
into young and tender hearts . . . to take the censers which
islature in 1819, then opened the academically ambitious Troy
Heaven gives and kindle the incense which Heaven loves
Female Seminary in 1821.
. . . this is her high and holy mission.30
It was not only men like Rush and Mann who pro-
moted women’s education in order to make women
more effective in their “female” roles. Many liberal
women shared the prevailing view of their social role
and resulting education. During the 1830s the noted
educator Mrs. Phillips similarly noted, “To females ge-
ology is chiefly important, by its effect in enlarging their
sphere of thought, rendering them more interesting as
companions to men of science, and better capable of
instructing the young.”31 Moreover, the female leaders
of the liberals accepted the traditional role for women.
Emma Willard’s memorandum to Governor Clinton
of New York, requesting that the state provide normal
schools for women, argued for women’s nurturing role
on the basis of natural law: “That nature designed our
sex for the care of children, she has made manifest, by
mental as well as physical indications.” Moreover, Willard
Frederick Douglass (1817–1895), born a slave in Maryland, be-
concluded, not only would women teach better than
came an author, orator, U.S. Minister to Haiti, abolitionist, and
men, “they could afford to do it cheaper, and those men
defender of women’s rights.
who would otherwise be engaged in this employment,
might be at liberty to add to the wealth of the nation, by
any of those thousand occupations, from which women
all education for women must center on some phase of
are necessarily debarred.”32 Catharine Beecher, whose
domestic training or teaching.
career as a proponent of women’s education spanned
It might be argued that the liberals developed a prag-
most of the 19th century, said, “Heaven had appointed
matic program that was intended to achieve all that was
one sex superior and to the other the subordinate sta-
possible within the constraints of popular prejudice. And
tion.”33 And throughout her career she maintained that
they did achieve notable advances for women’s education
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 133
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
134
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
during the century. Nevertheless, their writings seem to
Martin has shown, this was more than simply a demand
indicate an acceptance of the common assumptions re-
for the vote; it envisioned the opening of higher educa-
garding the inherent and fundamental division of the
tion on an equal basis to women and subsequent equal-
sexes that ultimately restricts the life possibilities for
ity in all occupations.36 The radicals were led by Susan
women. The belief that national, ethnic, cultural, eco-
B. Anthon
y, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Elizabeth and
nomic, racial, or gender groups possess some inherent
Emily Blackwell, Sojourner Truth, Victoria Woodhull,
social, emotional, moral, or intellectual characteristic(s)
Matthew Vassar, and Wendell Phillips. They formed a
has been endemic in American history. It is based on
public resistance, which continues in various forms to
unwarranted and malevolent assumptions. Almost univer-
the present, against male privilege and dominance in
sally this belief has been used to justify political, eco-
such institutions as the ballot box, the professions, and
nomic, or educational exclusion, which in turn fosters
collegiate education. The convention’s Declaration of
subordination and repression. Such assumptions con-
Sentiments and Resolutions in the first Primary Source
tinue to hamper women’s full development as equals
Reading at the end of this chapter illustrates the think-
rather than as subordinates to men.
ing of the leadership of the Seneca Falls convention, par-
ticularly its conscious appeal to the classical liberal ideals
The Radical Position
of rationality, natural law, and freedom.
The idea that a political or ideological position is “radi-
cal” stems from that word’s meaning: “of or pertaining
Catharine Beecher:
to the root.” Radical thinking seeks to get to the root
of a problem, and radical solutions thus require funda-
The Liberal Education
mental changes. While the liberals and the conservatives
of the Homemaker
described by Maclear held similar views of women’s role
as wife, mother, teacher of the young, and moral exem-
plar, the radicals demanded a dramatically new vision of
These general ideological trends are easy to support as
women’s place in society: they demanded gender equal-
historical types, but when applied to the life of an ex-
ity. The earliest expressions of these views were by such
traordinary individual, the general is less illuminating
women as Frances Wright, Sarah M. Grimke, Margaret
than the particular. Catharine Beecher (1800–1878) was
Fuller, and Ernestine Rose.34 Grimke, writing in 1837,
such an extraordinary individual. Her father Lyman was
set the tone for the radical response to conservatives and
one of the nation’s best-known preachers, her brother
liberals by constructing a different interpretation of the
Henry Ward Beecher was more famous still, and her
story of Adam and Eve:
sister Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Catharine Beecher was an influential teacher and educa-
Adam’s ready acquiescence with his wife’s proposal,
tional theorist whose work embraced commitments to
does not savor much of that superiority in strength of
liberal democracy, Christianity, and female domesticity
mind which is arrogated by man. . . . I ask no favors for
and subordination. Her book, A Treatise on Domestic
my sex. I surrender not our claim to equality. All I ask of
our brethren is, that they take their feet from off our necks
Economy, is on the one hand a discourse on the nature
and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God
and duties of women in the home, as the title implies,
designed us to occupy. . . . All history attests that man
and thus appears on its face to be conservative. But it
has subjected woman to his will, used her as a means to
goes well beyond that to emphasize the liberal education
promote his selfish gratification, to minister to his sensual
of women’s God-given rational capacities. They were to
pleasures, to be instrumental in promoting his comfort; but
exercise their developed reason and character in their
never has he desired to elevate her to that rank she was cre-
domestic sphere, as she termed it, while males exercised
ated to fill. He has done all he could to debase and enslave
their rational capacities in the public spheres of citizen-
her mind; and now he looks triumphantly on the ruin he
ship, politics, and work outside the home.
has wrought, and says, the being he has thus deeply injured
Like other liberal educational and social theorists of
is his inferior.35
her time, Beecher did not challenge the second-class sta-
The symbolic beginning of the radical women’s
tus of women in public life. She more than once defend-
movement can be located later, at the Seneca Falls
ed that status for women, saying that “the highest degree
Women’s Rights Convention of 1848. As Gertrude
of happiness” in the wife’s relationship to the husband
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 134
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 135
is one involving “the duties of subordination,” at least in
of women in the home, but by the belief that (1) the
public and political affairs. She elaborates:
range of intellectual and moral qualities needed to be
the ideal wife and mother and administrator of the
In this country, it is established, both by opinion and
household requires the broadest and deepest educa-
by practice, that woman has an equal interest in all social
tion possible, with depth specifically in knowledge of
and civil concerns; and that no domestic, civil, or political
institution, is right, which sacrifices her interest to pro-
domestic sciences; and (2) that such an education will
mote that of the other sex. But in order to secure her the
ensure the development of the critical, rational capaci-
more firmly in all these privileges, it is decided that, in the
ties that all humans are capable of, rather than a mere
domestic relation, she take a subordinate state, and that, in
training for the domestic role, however demanding
civil and political concerns, her interest be intrusted [sic]
that role might be.
to the other sex, without her taking any part in voting, or
To accomplish such educational goals, Beecher
in making and administering laws.37
recommended for girls after age 14 two hours a day
of domestic chores and “a system of Calisthenic exer-
Nonetheless, Beecher embraced democratic ide-
cises.” She had a faculty psychology (see Chapter 2)
als and believed women had a critical role to play in
view of rigorous study in the disciplines, in which “the
supporting them. Beecher believed that “the princi-
mere acquisition of facts . . . should be made of alto-
pals of democracy, then, are identical with the prin-
gether secondary account.” Instead, by studying “the
cipals of Christianity.” She arrived at this conviction
same textbooks are used as are required at our best
partly because she believed that the moral core of the
colleges,” in mathematics, English grammar, history,
Golden Rule (“treat others as you would have them
philosophy, chemistry, astronomy, botany, geology,
treat you”) had the same moral core as the democratic
political economy, and Christianity, as well as other
principle that “all men are created equal.” The role
disciplines, higher-order thinking skills would be de-
for women in democratic life becomes clear in this
veloped. As Beecher wrote:
passage:
The formation of habits of investigation, of correct
The success of democratic institutions, as is conceded
reasonin g, of persevering attention, of regular system, of
by all, depends upon the intellectual and moral charac-
accurate analysis, and of vigorous mental action, is the pri-
ter of the mass of the people. If they are intelligent and
mary object to be sought in preparing American women
virtuous, democracy is a blessing; but if they are ignorant
for their arduous duties.
and wicked, it is only a curse, and as much more dreadful
than any other form of civil government, as a thousand
In addition to a first-rate liberal education, Beecher
tyrants, are more to be dreaded than one. It is equally
believed young women should also pursue domestic
conceded that the formation of the moral and intellectual
science education and physical education. She placed
character of the young is committed mainly to the female
a great emphasis on the physical health of girls and
hand. The mother forms the character of the future man
women, and advocated never more than an hour of
. . . the wife sways the heart, whose energies may turn for
classroom “confinement” without following that
good or for evil the destinies of a nation. Let the women
with “sports in the open air.” And as for “domestic
of a country be made virtuous and intelligent, and the
sciences,” Beecher believed that proper homemaking
men will certainly be the same. The proper education of
a man decides the welfare of an individual; but educate a
and parenting was worthy of a professional level of
woman, and the interests of a whole family are secured.
study—that the knowledge base needed by the success-
ful homemaker was equal to the knowledge base of the
Beecher’s educational and social vision may rightly
established professions.
be considered liberal because although it values a new
education for women to develop their rational capaci-
But are not the most responsible of all duties committed
ties, it does not challenge the established order, as the
to the charge of woman? Is not her profession to take care
of mind, body, and soul? And that, too, at the most critical
radical position would. It was a middle-class ideal,
of all periods of existence? And is it not as much a matter of
in that the household she envisions assumes that the
public concern, that she should be properly qualified for her
well-educated woman supervises domestic servants. If
duties, as that ministers, lawyers, and physicians should be
there is a radical potential in her viewpoint, however,
prepared for theirs? And is it not as important to endow
it lies in the education for women she proposes: an
institutions which shall make a superior education acces-
education not constrained by a narrow view of the role
sible to all classes—for females, as for the other sex?
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 135
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
136
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Contemporary philosopher Jane Roland Martin
session stands as strong testimony to the village’s posi-
observes that this idea, that an important body of
tive assessment of her teaching ability, for it was quite
knowledge should inform the nurturing functions ex-
unusual for a woman to be allowed to teach during
pected by women, is a turning point in educational
the winter session in district schools at that time. She
and social thought. She writes, “In introducing the
soon had advanced from the village school to the Berlin
concept of professionalism into women’s education
Academy and from there to Westfield Academy and
and women’s work, Beecher is trying to transform
in 1807 to Middlebury. It was in Middlebury that she
both the traditional female role and the education
met Dr. John Willard, who had left medicine for poli-
intended for it.”38 That observation is an important
tics. In 1809, although 28 years his junior, she married
one when we recognize that today there are those who
Dr. Willard and temporarily left teaching.
question whether there really is a professional knowl-
The next four years were important for Emma’s in-
edge base in teaching, long considered “women’s
tellectual development. She apparently spent consider-
work” and long considered to be work that almost any
able time studying her husband’s medical books in an
educated person can do. These issues will be examined
effort to become conversant with his interests. Lacking
further in Chapter 10.
access to higher education institutions, 19th-century
women intellectuals often educated themselves through
the resources available to a father, brother, or husband.
Ideology and Life:
Emma Willard had the advantage of a supportive father
and a supportive husband. Additionally, Dr. Willard’s
Emma Willard
nephew, John Willard, lived with them while he at-
tended Middlebury College. Emma and John spent
Perhaps even more prominent an educator than Beech-
considerable time discussing his college studies, and
er was Emma Hart Willard. A brief examination of her
she eagerly read his course texts. Without doubt, this
life and work may help us better understand 19th-
exchange illuminated for Emma the world of learning
century conservative, liberal, and radical views regarding
from which she and nearly all other young women were
women. This biographical examination may also show
excluded. The birth of her son, John Hart Willard, in
that historical judgment is neither easy nor unambigu-
1810 introduced her to the complexities of parenting.
ous. A cursory analysis of the ideological positions may
These activities would have lasting significance for her
suggest that the liberal position of Emma Willard was
intellectual outlook.
detrimental to women’s education and their position in
society. A closer examination, however, suggests that a
A New Vision for Women’s Education
more complex judgment is needed.
Emma Willard was born in 1787 in Berlin, Connecti-
By 1813 Dr. Willard’s financial and political fortunes
cut.39 Her father, Samuel Hart, had been a captain in the
declined. In part to relieve her husband’s financial
revolutionary army. At the evening circle around the fire-
woes, Emma returned to teaching, opening a boarding
place he shared with his family his great love for books,
school for girls in their home. The following five years
especially literature, history, political theory, and philos-
were instrumental in developing her educational ideas.
ophy. As the 16th child, young Emma learned to partici-
Her school offered instruction more advanced than any
pate in the evening discussions and acquired a lifelong
then available in the United States for girls. In addi-
love for learning. In many ways her early life was similar
tion to the usual “refinements” of manners, she taught
to that of her contemporary Horace Mann. Both were
mathematics, geography, science, history, and languag-
New Englanders born to farm life. She, like Horace, also
es. Because neighboring Middlebury College refused to
attended the district elementary school. When Emma
allow her students to attend any of its courses, Emma
was 15, a new town academy opened at Worthington.
was forced to teach all the courses in her school. This
She and her older sister Nancy entered it and studied for
meant that she was not only required to train teach-
two years with Thomas Minter, a recent Yale graduate.40
ers but in some instances needed to learn new subjects
Upon leaving the academy, Emma Hart began her
herself. This self-education in new subjects at an ever-
teaching career. At age 17 she was employed to teach
increasing level of complexity became a hallmark of
in Berlin’s district summer school, and a year later
her teaching career. It reinforced her earlier belief that
in its winter session. This appointment to the winter
women were capable of higher learning. Moreover, it
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 136
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 137
led her to develop innovative teaching methods and
another the benefits of support and protection, they
materials. Soon her school had over 70 students, of
must pay its equivalent, obedience. . . . Neither would
whom 40 were boarders.
I be understood to mean, that our sex should not seek
It was during this time that Willard systematically be-
to make themselves agreeable to the other. The error
gan to collect her ideas on female education. The result
complained of, is that of the taste of men, whatever it
was a thesis she titled “A Plan for Improving Female Edu-
might happen to be has been made a standard for the
cation,” which she eventually sent to Governor DeWitt
formation of female character.”43 She went on to note
Clinton of New York in 1818. She published it under the
that the education advocated for females was to be
title “An Address to the Public: Particularly to the Mem-
likened to that for males in its permanency and uni-
bers of the Legislature of New York, Proposing a Plan for
formity of operation, yet “adapted to the difference
Improving Female Education.” The Plan quickly attract-
in character and duties” of females. To emphasize the
ed attention in the United States, although it stimulated
difference between male and female higher education
little action. It even achieved international acclaim when
she made the distinction between male “colleges” and
the English educator, George Combe, published it in his
“female seminaries.”
Phrenological Journal. 41 Combe’s phrenological theory
Third, Willard outlined a “sketch of a female semi-
would later be embraced by Horace Mann.
nary.” This seminary would be supported by public
The primary purpose of the Plan was to convince
funds and include a building holding rooms for stu-
the voters and legislators—males—to provide public
dent lodging, recitations, scientific apparatus, and a
funds for higher education for women. Toward this
domestic department. It would provide instruction in
end Willard organized the Plan in four categories. The
four areas: religion and morals, literary (this included
first deplored the existing state of female education. She
the usual collegiate intellectual subjects), domestic
pointed out that in most places opportunity for higher
(probably the first call for home economics instruction
education did not exist for women. In the few places
in the United States), and ornamental (drawing, paint-
where it did, the schools were woefully inadequate.
ing, penmanship, music, and grace of motion). This
They were poorly funded and therefore temporary
proposed instructional program was far superior to any
institutions with insufficient physical facilities. More-
then in existence for females in the United States.
over, these were “finishing” schools, which emphasized
The last section of the Plan was titled “Benefits of
superficial social refinements and not intellectual attain-
Female Seminaries.” Willard rightly claimed that the
ments or sound moral qualities. Nowhere in the United
proposed seminaries “would constitute a grade of public
States could young women receive an education even
instruction superior to any yet known in the history of
roughly equivalent to that offered in the abundant col-
our sex.”44 The main benefits of this instruction would
leges for young men. Only when female schools received
be felt in two areas: the common schools and the na-
public funds could they be established on a permanent
tion at large. The graduates of these seminaries would
basis with resources to provide an adequate education.
become teachers in the common schools, where they
The second aspect of Willard’s Plan analyzed the
would raise the level of instruction because of their spe-
principles that should regulate female education.
cific training and Willard’s belief “that nature designed
Most important, she asserted: “Education should seek
for our sex the care of children.” These seminary gradu-
to bring its subjects to the perfection of their moral,
ates “would be likely to teach children better than the
intellectual and physical nature, that they may be of
other sex,” and as we saw earlier, Willard had an eco-
the greatest possible use to themselves and others.”42 A
nomic argument. Not only could women teach at lower
major error in existing female education, she argued,
salaries than men, but men would increase productivity
was that it sought to prepare females mainly to please
in male-dominated occupations because they would not
men rather than to prepare them as humans. Willard
be teaching.45 Moreover, all seminary graduates would
quickly added, “I would not be understood to insinu-
greatly lift the moral and cultural level of the nation
ate, that we are not, in particular situations, to yield
and thus save it from the slide to barbarism and anarchy
to obedience to the other sex. Submission and obe-
commonly predicted by its enemies. This national up-
dience belong to every being in the universe, except
lift would be accomplished, she believed, as these semi-
the great Master of the whole. Nor is it a degrading
naries better suited their graduates to be mothers and
peculiarity to our sex, to be under human authority.
wives of the nation’s men. The female seminaries would
Whenever one class of human beings, derive from
regenerate the nation.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 137
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
138
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
It is interesting how Emma Willard foreshadowed
legislature refused to appropriate funds for female semi-
the arguments of Horace Mann for women teachers
naries. The Waterford school managed with precarious
while representing views that 20th-century historians
finances for two years. Then the city of Troy offered mu-
later called the cult of domesticity, discussed earlier
nicipal backing for a female seminary. Willard accepted
in this chapter. Women had a special role because of
the offer and in 1821 relocated her school for the last
their supposed “natural” differences from men, in this
time; it became the Troy Female Seminary.
domestic perspective. Those differences included be-
For the next 17 years Willard continued to expand
ing more sensitive, empathetic, devoted to domestic
her experiment in female education in the relatively
duties and child rearing, and concerned with cultural
safe haven of the Troy Female Seminary.46 The early
affairs. These same qualities, which uniquely fitted
years were greatly eased by the role of Dr. Willard, who
women as teachers, wives, and mothers, according to
acted as school doctor, financial director, and sympa-
her argument, “necessarily debarred” women from
thetic supporter of his wife. His death in 1825 was
other occupations. While the exponents of the cult
not only a severe personal loss, it added a considerable
of domesticity mirrored many of Willard’s ideas, they
workload to the already overextended headmistress as
generally neglected to include her strong belief that
she assumed the financial management of the growing
women were equal to men in the ability to rationally
institution.
understand academic subjects. This was a difference
Willard made significant curricular contributions to
of considerable importance.
19th-century education. This was a time when most
people considered females incapable of serious aca-
The Troy Female Seminary
demic study. Fashionable opinion considered algebra
or history beyond the capacity of the female mind, and
After the positive reception of her Plan by Governor
physiology probably dangerous to it. Respectable au-
Clinton and the legislature, Willard was confident enough
thorities believed that if such study did not cripple the
that the State of New York would fund her proposed
weaker female mind, certainly it would misshape it
seminary to move her school in 1819 from Middlebury ,
to an “unfeminine” mold. In the face of such attitudes,
Vermont, to Waterford, New York. This confidence,
Willard broadened the curriculum at the Troy Female
however, was to prove misplaced. Repeatedly, the all-male
Seminary and was in the forefront of allowing “electives.”
Troy Female Seminary became well known for teacher training.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 138
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 139
The required subjects included the Bible, composition,
organized the Emma Willard Association for the Mu-
elocution, drawing, and physical education. Among tual Improvement of Female Teachers. Its purpose was the electives were modern foreign languages (including
to retain contact through letters and publications with
French, German, Italian, and Spanish), Latin, astronomy,
former students in the teaching profession. The com-
algebra, geometry, trigonometry, geography, history,
munications contained suggestions on a range of topics
literature, logic, physiology, and other natural sciences.
from pedagogy and textbooks to healthy exercise and
Not only did she pioneer in adding these subjects to
sound psychological habits.52 These suggestions seemed
female instruction, but because she was self-taught in
to reinforce the lessons Willard taught at the Seminary.
most of them, she understood the difficulties of com-
In 1898 a group of Troy Seminary alumnae gathered
prehending each subject. This understanding was testimony from former students. Over 3,500 of the partially responsible for her innovative instructional
12,000 students who had spent time at the Seminary
methods. Far in advance of most of her 19th-century
between its founding and 1871 responded. From these
colleagues, she developed teaching techniques and learning
responses Professor Anne Firor Scott has constructed a
materials that facilitated student involvement and criti-
convincing portrait of the influence of Willard on her
cal analysis rather than rote memorization. While at
students.53 This portrait suggests that she provided them
Troy Seminary, Willard wrote five major geography and
with a model of female independence fueled by intellec-
history textbooks.47 The geography texts became espe-
tual competence and fiscal independence. Her students
cially popular and earned considerable royalties.48 They
were expected to learn subjects previously thought to
were widely used in female seminaries and in secondary
be “beyond” female comprehension. They were taught
schools for males as well.
self-reliance, to prepare for self-support, and that the
The preparation of teachers at the Troy Seminary
“women’s sphere” included the professional work of
eventually became its most famous function. It oc-
teaching.
curred, however, almost accidentally. Early in the his-
This brings us back to the question at the begin-
tory of the Seminary, Willard received requests for
ning of this section: how do we evaluate the effect of
admission from girls who could not afford the tuition
Emma Willard on the history of the United States? She
or board. Her response was to provide for what she
seemed to champion the ideal of a “women’s sphere,”
called “teacher scholars.” These girls were provided
which was to be separate from the male sphere. Her
tuition, board, and in some cases clothing. In return,
belief in the “special” qualities of women led her to
they promised to repay the expense after they gradu-
argue for women’s place as mothers and teachers, but
ated and were employed as teachers. It was estimated
these qualities “necessarily debarred” women from
that Willard loaned approximately $75,000 to students
other occupations and roles. The patriarchal family and
during her tenure at Troy.49 Not all the teachers from
women’s domestic role seemed very dear to her. She
Troy had been teacher scholars, but this device provided
admonished her students for even secretly debating the
many young women an avenue to an education and a
politics of the 1828 election and never fully embraced
profession. Willard was particularly proud of her role in
the idea of suffrage for women.54 All this would seem
teacher training: “I continued to educate and send forth
to bode ill for improving women’s position in society.
teachers, until two hundred had gone from the Troy
Phillida Bunkle, without specific reference to Willard,
Seminary before one was educated in any public normal
has described this set of ideas as “a sexual ideology,”
school in the United States.” She called her school the
which was an “antifeminist system of belief [that]
nation’s “first normal school.”50 Troy Female Seminary
dominated the perception of women in the nine-
became so well known for teacher training that Wil-
teenth century.”55 And yet there is more to say about
lard’s signature on a letter of recommendation was often
Willard’s beliefs and achievements.
a guarantee of employment. It may have functioned as
Her Troy Female Seminary educated over 12,000
the first teacher certification in the country. Anne Firor
women and inspired over 200 schools to follow its ex-
Scott estimated that over 1,000 teachers may have been
ample. Willard provided a role model for her students
prepared at Troy Seminary by 1863.51 Willard’s normal
and others, exemplifying a self-confident woman who
school had preceded Horace Mann’s by 16 years!
was a successful administrator, author of respected
Willard’s influence on these teachers did not cease
texts, skilled teacher, and independent thinker. More-
once they left the Seminary. In 1837, the year Mann
over, she cultivated the same qualities in her students.
assumed leadership of the Massachusetts schools, she
Professor Scott pointedly noted that “nowhere else in
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 139
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
140
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
the country in the 1820s were young women told that
before her, however, Cooper argued for the higher edu-
they could learn any academic subject, including those
cation not only of African Americans, but particularly of
hitherto reserved to men, and that they should pre-
African American women. She believed that the status of
pare themselves for self-support and not seek marriage
women in society was both a measure of the health of the
as an end in itself.”56 With this observation Scott has
society and of the capacity of a society to improve itself:
uncovered the most significant contribution of Emma
“The position of woman in society determines the vital
Willard to the education of American women. No
elements of its regeneration and progress. . . . And this
doubt Willard did not inspire a “feminist” revolution,
is not because woman is better or stronger or wiser than
but her work provided an ideal of educated women
man, but from the nature of the case, because it is she
and a critical mass of such women, who would eventu-
who must first form the man by directing the earliest im-
ally contribute to such a revolution.
pulses of his character.” Her position on this was not too
dissimilar from Catharine Beecher’s, with the important
Anna Julia Cooper
exception that Cooper specifically was addressing African
Americans as part of all womankind.
For Cooper, it was self-evident that women influ-
No discussion of the history of women’s contributions to
enced social progress throughout “Christendom,” and
education in the United States would be complete with-
that it was important to recognize the special responsibil-
out attention to Anna Julia Cooper. Born into slavery
ity of women in an African American culture that had so
in North Carolina in about 1858, just after Booker T.
recently been enslaved. She wrote: “Now the fundamen-
Washington and just before W. E. B. Du Bois and John
tal agency under God in the regeneration, the retraining
Dewey were born, Cooper lived over a hundred years,
of the race, as well as the ground work and the starting
until 1964. A writer and intellectual, she was one of the
point of its progress upward, must be the black woman. ”
first African Americans to receive a Ph.D. (in French, at
Scholar Renea Henry remarks that Anna Julia
the University of Paris in 1925). Cooper was also a mul-
Cooper was not alone among Black woman educators
tifaceted educator, serving as a school teacher and princi-
in her beliefs, though she may have been the most
pal, and later as president of Frelinghuysen University, a
well known. Henry writes:
school for working Black residents of Washington, DC.
Cooper was also a prominent activist for the rights of
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, African-
African American women. In 1892 she helped organize
American women intellectuals have grappled with the same
the Colored Woman’s League of Washington, DC. The
issues dealt with by leading black male intellectuals. Their
following year she and three others were the only Black
work has had added significance because they have almost
women to address the Women’s Congress, convened
always asserted the inextricable roles of gender and sexual-
during the world Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In
ity to the cultural conditions wrought by racial marginality
and exclusion.58
1895 she took part in the first meeting of the National
Conference of Colored Women, and throughout this pe-
Henry goes on to say that Cooper was a part of the
riod helped edit The Southland magazine, but her great-
Black intellectual community that nourished Du Bois’s
est publishing achievement had been her book, A Voice
own thinking, and that it “seems clear” that Cooper in-
from the South by a Black Woman of the South, in 1892.
fluenced Du Bois, though there is no explicit acknowl-
The article “Womanhood a Vital Element in the Re-
edgment in Du Bois’s work that would allow identifying
generation and Progress of a Race” was published in A
direct influence of her ideas. Henry notices that unlike
Voice from the South, but it was first a speech given before
Du Bois, Cooper focused on the education of African
a convocation of African American clergy in Washington,
American women as means to political and social equal-
DC, in 1886. It is not surprising, then, that she framed
ity in a racist culture: “Every attempt to elevate the
her remarks on an ideal for educated women within “that
Negro, whether undertaken by himself or through the
rich and bounteous fountain from which flow all our lib-
philanthropy of others, cannot but prove abortive unless
eral and universal ideals—the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”57
so directed as to utilize the indispensable agency of an
For Cooper, as for other educators before her (such as
elevated and trained womanhood.”59
Benjamin Rush or Catharine Beecher) Christian ide-
For Cooper, well before Du Bois began fighting for
als and democratic ideals were a compatible foundation
the higher education of African Americans, the educa-
for educational theorizing. Unlike most who had gone
tional implication of her position for “the Colored Girls
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 140
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 141
of the South” was that Black women should be educated
different from that of the boys, reflecting the reality that
as well as any members of society are educated—including
“separate” did not mean “equal” in educational resources
becoming “lawyers, doctors, professors” and leaders of
or goals. In many academies the curriculum continued
various kinds.
to focus on “ladylike” subjects.63 Even the Mt. Holyoke
curriculum emphasized teaching and domestic pursuits
Higher Education for Women
rather than the classical studies considered fundamental
for the liberal education of young men.
Academies
Normal Schools
The first inroads for female higher education were made in
the academies. Although the first American academy was
The opening of elementary school teaching to women
Franklin’s Academy, established in 1751 in Philadelphia,
and the subsequent development of normal schools to
the “age of the academy” was from 1820 to 1870. The acad-
train those teachers demonstrate both strengths and weak-
emy was a curious institution. Sometimes it was a church
nesses in the liberal position on female education. On
foundation; at other times it was a private venture support-
the positive side, liberals such as Horace Mann, Henry
ed by public subscription or, in some instances, by public
Barnard, Dewitt Clinton, Emma Willard, Catharine
tax monies. Thus, it was usually a semipublic school. Its cur-
Beecher, and Mary Lyon successfully opened higher
riculum was so varied that it competed both with the Latin
education to women during the first half of the 19th
grammar schools and with the colleges. Moreover, it gener-
century by establishing both private and state-supported
ally offered “practical” subjects such as surveying, pedagogy,
normal schools. Samuel Hall’s private normal school at
and bookkeeping.60 As a new institution, it was not bound
Concord, New Hampshire (founded in 1823), was a pio-
to tradition like the colleges and Latin grammar schools.
neering example. Horace Mann’s efforts to establish state
One prominent tradition that it increasingly violated in the
normal schools in Massachusetts were decisive in the
19th century was the exclusion of women. In fact, some
drive for trained elementary school teachers in America.
academies were founded exclusively for women, including
A consummate rhetorician, he successfully employed an
the Moravian’s Friends Academy at Salem, North Carolina,
image of women as inherently nurturing and thus better
in 1802 and the academies at Pittsfield, Massachusetts,
common-school teachers than men. This public image
in 1807; Derry, New Hampshire, in 1823; and Ipswich,
substantially promoted female attendance at the normal
Massachusetts, in 1828. Others were coeducational, such as
schools, thus opening to tens of thousands of 19th-century
Bradford Academy (1803) and Friends Academy (1812) at
American women education beyond the elementary level
New Bedford, Massachusetts. The most famous, and prob-
as well as respectable employment. The primary alterna-
ably the most rigorous, were Emma Willard’s Troy Female
tives for young women at the time were factory work and
Seminary and Mary Lyon’s Mt. Holyoke Seminary.61 At
domestic work in other people’s homes.
a time when women were barred from colleges and when
While this public image of women as natural teach-
public high schools were just beginning, the academies of-
ers due to their special nurturing qualities did open
fered women the best opportunities for education beyond
some doors to higher education and employment, it
the elementary level.
also helped keep other doors closed. Most professions,
The academy, however, had at least three fundamental
such as law, medicine, and commerce, together with
problems with respect to women’s education. First, atten-
virtually all branches of government, were thought to
dance was restricted to those who could pay the tuition.
require such “manly” characteristics as logical reasoning
Second, the academies reflected the early-19th-century
abilities, stern discipline, and a sense of justice based on
bias against educating girls and boys together, and even
rationality rather than compassion and mercy. There-
many of the coeducational academies educated the girls
fore, while women were welcomed to teaching and to
in separate buildings or separate rooms. In 1852 the
the normal schools, the rationale that justified their
trustees of Rome Free Academy in New York were forced
entrance into those arenas helped block their entrance
to resign due to the angry reaction against their proposal
into other areas of higher education and the professions.
to admit girls to the same classes with boys. Eventually
Outside the home and the elementary school, a “moth-
the new trustees enacted a program of “coordinate educa-
erly” disposition was not a desired quality. Women’s
tion” with a female department of the academy in a sepa-
struggle for admission to secondary and collegiate edu-
rate building.62 Third, the girls’ curriculum was usually
cation thus was won at a price.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 141
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
142
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
High Schools
that girls must be educated in order to ensure their “do-
mestic happiness,” to make them more “fit companions
The English classical school, soon renamed the high
for their husbands,” and for their role as mothers. He
school, began in the second decade of the 19th centu-
pointed out that “such a judicious selection has been
ry as an “effort to create for youth a public institution
made both of study and employment for the pupils as
which would do without cost what the academy had
is suited to their sex, and will prepare them for presid-
done for a fee.”64 In 1821 Boston opened its English
ing with skill and prudence in those domestic stations,
classical school for boys. Five years later the Boston
for which Providence has designed them.” Irving left
school committee opened a similar school for girls,
no doubt regarding the nature of these “divinely” ap-
directed by Ebenezer Bailey. The girls’ school was so
pointed female stations:
successful that it apparently could accommodate only
about a quarter of those desiring admittance. Howev-
It would be a great mistake if we were to consider
er, the committee closed the school after three years,
female education as calculated merely to render ladies
and Boston was without a public high school for girls
useful and agreeable companions in domestic life. That
until 1852, when the Girls’ High School was opened
is undoubtedly one important object. But it has a higher
as part of its Normal School.65 Concurrently, George
and nobler purpose: the best and most durable lessons,
Emerson operated a private English classical school
and the most happy direction which the youthful mind
for girls in Boston whose long waiting list for admis-
receives, is from the mother. It is her task to inspire her
sion was further evidence that Boston’s females de-
sons with the earliest love of knowledge, to teach them
sired education beyond the common school.66 The
the precepts of religion, the charities of life, the miseries
of vice, and to lead them into the paths of a just and
first public high school for girls opened in Worcester,
honourable ambition.70
Massachusetts, in 1824. It was followed by others in
New York City in 1826; North Glastonbury, Connecti-
In short, female education was still captive to the ben-
cut, in 1828; East Hartford, Connecticut, in 1828;
efit it would bring to males—husbands and sons.
Buffalo, New York, in 1828; and Rochester, New
Women were seen as destined exclusively for marriage
York, in 1838. The first coeducational public high
and motherhood, with a few entering teaching be-
school opened in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1841. This
fore marriage. Like most visions that divide humanity
example was followed in the 1840s in New Hampshire,
into subordinate and dominating groups, this vision
Connecticut, and Vermont.67 These new high schools
was rather myopic. By 1845 over 75,000 women
clearly extended the educational horizons for females.
were working in the textile industries in the United
The Worcester school committee noted that it hoped
States. In 1837 women were engaged in over 100 dif-
to “provide an education for girls comparable to that
ferent occupations. Women were listed as employers
provided for boys in the Latin Grammar School and
in many manufacturing and business concerns in the
the English School.”68
1840s. By 1880 almost 15 percent of females age 10
Care should be exercised against an overly favorable
or older were gainfully employed, while fewer than
evaluation of these developments. First, the justification
60 percent of women were married.71 Clearly the as-
for girls’ high school education almost always followed
sumption that all women were “destined for duties
traditional gender-biased lines. The Salem, Massachu-
of the home” while only men were to encounter the
setts, school committee discussed girls’ education in the
“complications of business” was less warranted by
1840s, saying:
facts than by the wishful imagination of contempo-
It is a matter of complaint in our city, and seemingly
rary commentators.
just, that girls have too much intellectual and too little
A second cautionary note regards the limited impact
home education. . . . Boys need, strictly speaking, a more
of secondary education in the 19th century. By 1872 girls
intellectual education than girls, since the latter are des-
attending high school outnumbered boys by 43,794 to
tined for duties in the home, while the main province of
37,978, but this figure represents less than 4 percent of
the former, as men, is ever abroad, in the complications of
the total number of girls age 15 to 18. By 1890 female
business, requiring the rigid analysis and calculation hap-
graduates of public high schools outnumbered males by
pily spared to the wife and mother.69
nearly three to two, but the figures represent less than
The address by John T. Irving at the opening of New
10 percent of the total high-school-age population in
York’s high school for females was typical. He noted
the United States at that time.72 Finally, during the 19th
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 142
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 143
The symbolic beginning of the radical women’s movement can be traced to the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention of 1848 where women like Susan B. Anthony (right) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton began to demand gender equality in such institutions as the ballot box, the professions, and higher education.
century high school attendance was generally limited to
women’s college, it was turned down simply because of
the most affluent.
precedent: there were no colleges for women.74 During
the 1860s the state’s regents appointed a commission to
Colleges
study charters for female colleges. It did so not because
the regents were favorably disposed to the idea but in
A fourth battlefield for female advancement in higher
order to respond to those “who would demolish all
education was the American college. In 1836 six young
distinctions, political, educational and social between
women interviewed President Quincy in his office at
the sexes, ignoring alike the providence of God and
Harvard. When one of them demanded to know wheth-
the common sense of mankind.”75 The argument was
er there was any reason they could not be admitted with
grounded in classical liberal thought: the same Creator
their brothers, Quincy’s answer was simple, direct, and
who endowed men with inalienable rights had ordained
representative of the contemporary male opinion: “Oh
that men and women should occupy distinctly different
yes, my dear, we never allow girls at Harvard. You know
spheres in society.
the place for girls is at home.”73 This answer was un-
Nevertheless, substantial progress was already being
acceptable to radical proponents of female education,
made. The Georgia legislature chartered the Georgia
who had already begun to work for female collegiate
Female College at Macon in 1836.76 Antioch and
education. Their early struggle faced huge odds. For ex-
Oberlin colleges in Ohio became coeducational during
ample, when the LeRoy Female Seminary in New York
the 1840s, admitting women and men of color, as well.
applied to the state legislature in 1851 for a charter as a
During the fourth and fifth decades of the century, four
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 143
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
144
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
female colleges were opened in Ohio, three in Pennsyl-
Heaven,” for example, at Vassar Maria Mitchell used
vania, one in Tennessee, and one in Illinois.77 Before
the second largest telescope in America to teach as-
1870, 11 colleges in New England and New York ad-
tronomy. Vassar’s library had seven times the holdings
mitted women. In New York State the following colleg-
of Elmira College and was nearly equal to the library
es were chartered to admit females: Ingham University
at Columbia. Vassar’s salary budget for instructors was
in 1842, Genesee College in 1851, Central College in
one of the largest in the nation, and its male instruc-
1851, Elmira College in 1855, St. Lawrence in 1856,
tors’ salaries compared favorably with those at Harvard
Alfred University in 1858, Vassar in 1861, and Rutgers
and Yale. The entrance requirements and curriculum
Female College in 1867. In Massachusetts several in-
at Vassar were equal to those at the best male colleg-
stitutions were similarly chartered: Boston University
es.81 The inevitable result was that Vassar provided an
in 1869, Wellesley in 1875, and Smith in 1875. With
education for women that was at least equal to that of
the exception of Vassar and Boston University, all the
the best male institutions. Indeed, in 1870, after visit-
institutions that began admitting women before 1870
ing Vassar’s classes, Harvard’s president Charles Eliot
were plagued with similar problems: insufficient endow-
remarked, “the boys at Harvard did not recite so well
ments, inability to overcome the weight of traditional
in German, French or Latin or even in mathematics as
opposition to female higher education, and lack of suf-
did the girls at Vassar.”82 Perhaps most significant was
ficient social and educational vision.78
that Vassar provided an obvious counterexample to the
A major breakthrough for female collegiate education
time-honored belief in female inferiority.
was the establishment of Vassar College at Poughkeepsie,
New York, in 1861. Founded by Matthew Vassar with
an endowment of half a million dollars, Vassar began
Women and Vocational
with a sound financial foundation. Moreover, its founder
Education
started from the premise that women were equal to men,
and he demonstrated that liberal ideology could be used
to justify equal rights for women: “It occurred to me that
The Vassar example did not produce a revolution in
woman, having received from her Creator the same intel-
American attitudes toward gender and education. As de-
lectual constitution as man, has the same right as man
scribed in Chapter 4, the two decades surrounding the
to intellectual culture and development.”79 Thus, from
turn of the 20th century found Americans’ attention
the outset, Vassar intended to provide women with colle-
focused on an array of other problems: major new im-
giate educations equal to those provided in the best male
migration from southern and eastern Europe, urbaniza-
colleges—and it had the financial resources to do so.
tion, the demands of the new industrial enterprises, and
the disquieting social and economic disturbances result-
ing from these phenomena. Not surprisingly, Americans
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
turned to the schools to alleviate these difficulties. Edu-
cators and social commentators soon become enamored
In your view, what were the strengths and weak-
of the idea that vocational training would make schools
nesses of the efforts made to provide education for
more responsive to social and economic conditions. The
women at the secondary and postsecondary levels in
the 18th and 19th centuries?
demand for vocationalism became a roar that drowned
out most other considerations in educational policy
making. With respect to gender, most of the vocational
Matthew Vassar understood that quality would be
training discussion assumed that girls should be trained
expensive and was willing to charge high tuition for su-
for traditional women’s activities while boys should be
perior education. He argued “to court public patronage
trained for men’s occupations. Girls’ vocational training
by catering to cheap or low prices of instruction is to
was generally confined to domestic science and commer-
my mind ridiculous. . . . I go for the best means, cost
cial education.
what they may, and corresponding prices for tuition in
return. . . . I am therefore giving the daughters of the
Domestic Science Training
public the very best means of education and make them
pay for it.”80
Without exception, the literature on vocational training
This attitude was reflected in Vassar’s program.
for girls emphasized the woman’s natural role as wife and
While other female colleges often taught “geography of
homemaker.83 A leading educator, John D. Philbrick, while
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 144
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 145
analyzing city school systems for the U.S. Commissioner
management, or family life. If they were properly
of Education in 1885, set the tone for the era when he stat-
trained in the school’s domestic science classes, educa-
ed that “no girl can be considered properly educated who
tors thought that girls would regenerate working-class
cannot sew.”84 The chairperson of the woman’s branch
homes and provide “stability” for industrial workers.
of the Farmer’s Institute of North Carolina, W. N. Hutt,
New York City’s superintendent of schools argued in
put it more bluntly when she informed the 1910 National
1910 that homemaking courses “have been a factor
Education Association convention that regardless of what
during the past years in helping to solve the econom-
other vocation a woman might temporarily adopt, “She
ic questions of the nation.”87 Describing the impact
will, with it all, wake up some fine morning and find her-
of domestic science courses in Chicago’s schools, the
self in some man’s kitchen, and woe be unto her if she has
principal of Spry School said, “The evening meal of
not the knowledge with which to cook his breakfast.”85 A
the factory hand may be made more tempting than the
year earlier, in New York City, the city schools’ director
lunch counter, and the clothing of the family, as well
of cooking, Mary E. Williams, emphatically delineated
as the arrangement and tidiness of the living room at
women’s “natural vocation.” She argued that every girl
home may be as attractive as the gilded home of vice.
should study domestic science because once a woman
Domestic science may become the unsuspected, and
heard the “God-given call of her mate,” she would desert
yet not the least efficient, enemy of the saloon.”88
all other vocations to assume the “position of the highest
Indeed, Chicago led the rush to implement domestic
responsibility and the holiest duties of human life, those
science training for girls in the middle grades. Almost
of homemaking and motherhood; upon which the prog-
three-fourths of Chicago’s seventh- and eighth-grade
ress of civilization and of human society depend.”86
girls were enrolled in household arts courses in 1900.89
There was an ethnic and class bias in the campaign
Ten years later, approximately half of New York City’s
for domestic science. In the North these programs
girls in the seventh and eighth grades were in similar
were specifically aimed at the daughters of immigrants
programs, and the superintendent announced that all
and the working class, and in the South, at African
high school girls would be required to receive domes-
American
s. Middle-class educators were convinced
tic instruction.90 By 1928, 30 percent of all female high
that these children came from homes that could offer
school students in the United States were enrolled in
no lessons on adequate diet, food preparation, home
domestic science courses.
The vocational education movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries continued to pattern its female curriculum around the old domestic science pursuits such as sewing, cooking, hospitality, and keeping the family accounts.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 145
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
146
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Historical Context
Education of Girls and Women
1700s
1800–1850
1773
Phyllis Wheatley, first African American poet in
1819
Emma Hart Willard (1787–1870) writes the classic
America, bought from slave ship as a young child
appeal An Address to the Public: Particularly to the
1775
Thomas Paine proposes civil and political rights for
Members of the Legislature of New York, Propos-
women in Pennsylvania Magazine
ing a Plan for Improving Female Education; though
1777
Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams,
unsuccessful, it defines the issue of women’s
writes that women “will not hold ourselves bound by
education
any laws in which we have no voice”
1820
Susan B. Anthony born
1791
French feminist Olympe de Gouges issues Declara-
1824
Teacher Sophia B. Packard opens a college for
tion of the Rights of Women and of the Citizen
African Americans in Georgia
1792
English feminist Mary Wollstonecraft writes A Vindi-
1833
Oberlin is first U.S. coeducational college
cation of the Rights of Woman
1846
Catharine Beecher publishes An Essay on Slavery
1793
Ex-slave Katy Ferguson establishes a school for poor
and Abolitionism with Reference to the Duty of
children of all races in New York
American Women to Their Country
1848
Seneca Falls conference on women’s rights is led by
American feminists Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady
Stanton; not a single woman of color is present,
though Frederick Douglass addresses conference
1850
Clara Barton founds one of New Jersey’s first
“free,” or public, schools
1850–1900
1900–1920
1851
Sojourner Truth delivers an unplanned fiery address
1903
American educator and children’s rights advocate
(now known as “Ain’t I a Woman?”) at the Women’s
Julia Richman (1855–1912) opens many schools
Rights Conference in Akron, Ohio
in New York City for troubled students and urges
1860
First English-language kindergarten established in
special classes for students with mental and physical
United States
disabilities
1869
National Woman Suffrage Association is founded by
1904
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875–1955) founds a school
Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony
for Black girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, which even-
1869
Female lawyers are licensed in United States
tually becomes Bethune-Cookman College
1877
Helen Magill White (1853–1944) earns a Ph.D. in
1904
Susan B. Anthony cofounds the International Woman
Greek from Boston University, the first woman to
Suffrage Alliance and is made president of the Inter-
receive a Ph.D. from an American university
national Leadership Conference in Berlin
1878
U.S. constitutional amendment to grant full voting
1915
Jane Addams and Carrie Chapman Catt found
rights to women is introduced for the first time in
Women’s Peace Party
Congress and every year thereafter until its passage
1916
Margaret Sanger forms New York Birth Control
in 1920
League
1920
Nineteenth Amendment is passed, giving women in
the United States the right to vote
Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
What evidence in the timeline, if any, suggests women’s struggle for education and equality intersected with issues of education and equality for African Americans?
Domestic science programs aimed at more than
at Boston’s Girls’ High School of Practical Arts and at
merely teaching girls to cook, sew, and order a house-
Cleveland’s Technical High School. The principal of
hold. They were sophisticated efforts at shaping reality
the Boston school noted that a major aspect of the girls’
for students. The method can be seen in the National
mathematics course involved solutions to simple prob-
Education Association’s 1910 “Report of the Subcom-
lems such as the maintenance of household accounts.
mittee on the Industrial and Technical Education in
He continued, “Our academic work, as well as the draw-
the Secondary Schools.” In the section devoted to in-
ing, correlates with the shop. Descriptions of various
dustrial training for girls, the report described programs
processes, with materials in hand, are required as lessons
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 146
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 147
in good English. The chemistry deals with questions of
appropriate kind of training needed by their students.
food, clothing, and shelter. The aim of these courses is
Again Rury is instructive:
to set before the girl the highest ideals of home life; to
train her in all that pertains to practical housekeeping.”
[Business educators commented] repeatedly on the dif-
The description of the industrial training department
ferent career patterns men and women followed in busi-
in Cleveland’s Technical High School reveals a similar
ness, and some argued that distinctive male and female
curricula ought to be established to accommodate such
orientation. Domestic science topics were assigned in
differences. A survey of sixty-six high school principals in
English classes, chemistry revolved around food prepa-
1917 found that nearly two-thirds believed that businessmen
ration, and mathematics was devoted to adding house-
wanted training for men and women to differ. Boys, it was
hold accounts and dividing cooking recipes. “In short,
felt, required preparation for careers in administration and
all technical subjects involving homemaking are taken as
management, while women needed training for relatively
the basis of the course for girls, and the rest of the stud-
short-term employment as secretaries and typists. Conse-
ies are grouped around these.”91
quently, men ought to be given a broader education com-
In 1910 the National Education Association held
mensurate with the responsibilities they were expected to
that one important aim of girls’ vocational education
assume, while the technical details of office procedure were
was to “train work in distinctly feminine occupations.”92
considered sufficient for women, whose working careers
In 1906 the Massachusetts Commission on Industrial
were generally short. Surveys of the occupational status
of men and women in business confirmed the accuracy
and Technical Training recommended that if a woman
of these expectations. One of the best known such sur-
was obliged to work (outside the home), vocational edu-
veys found in Cleveland that “regardless of the position in
cation should “fit her so that she can and will enter those
which boys and girls started in life, boys worked into ad-
industries which are most closely allied to the home.”93
ministrative positions,” while women remained secretaries
Secretarial practice, bookkeeping, and general office
or clerks until they left the office to get married.95
work were often seen as the office equivalent of the wife.
Women in these positions were expected to do the rou-
Rury points out that although few commercial edu-
tine and “housekeeping” chores of the office.
cation programs were actually sex-segregated, the com-
mercial courses generally became women’s education
Commercial Education
because “women were entering these courses more rap-
idly than their male counterparts.” Commercial educa-
As industry and business became increasingly bureau-
tion was largely female because the labor market sought
cratized and Taylorized at the turn of the century, the
women for low-paying clerical positions.96
amount of paperwork greatly increased as instructions
Most of the evidence suggests that like domestic
and reports were sent along the growing chain of man-
scienc
e, commercial education was not only sex-
agerial command. An efficient, technically trained, and
segregated but class-biased. It was primarily a curriculum
cheap clerical workforce was required to process, send,
for women and especially for the daughters of less af-
store, and retrieve this mountain of paper. Women fit-
fluent families. Timothy Crimmins’s study of Atlanta’s
ting this description were available in significant num-
Girls’ High School is an excellent case in point. Girls’
bers, and so clerical work would quickly shift from
High School was opened in 1872. Its composition re-
a male occupation to be considered women’s work.
flected both the caste system and the class system in
Public secondary schools quickly stepped forward to
contemporary Atlanta. African Americans were ex-
satisfy the desires of industry. As historian John Rury
cluded; 29.9 percent of the students were from the
reports, “Commercial education was among the fastest
upper class, and 61.3 percent were from middle-class
growing areas of study in high schools across the coun-
families. None were from the lowest-class families.97
try in this period. . . . Commercial education became
Given this social class composition, what curriculum
an important aspect of female high school education
might we expect to find—classical or vocational? The
in the opening decades of the twentieth century, and
curriculum included Latin, French, mathematics,
represents one of the earliest examples of the manner
physical science, composition, English literature, and
in which women’s education responded to changes
philosophy.98 By 1896 enrollment had doubled, the
in the labor market.”94 The fact that clerical work
percentage from upper-class families had declined,
was designed to mirror the supposed female qualities
and the percentage from the lower-middle and lower
was reflected in business educators’ assessment of the
classes had increased substantially. The student body
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 147
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
148
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
still had no girls from the lowest-class White fami-
vocational solution to the problem of what schools
lies.99 As the social composition of the school changed,
should do for girls. During this period (as we saw
however, so did its curriculum. In 1889 a commercial
in Chapter 3 as well), the teaching profession came
curriculum was added that allowed girls to “substitute
to be seen as an extension of the domestic role and
typing, bookkeeping, and stenography for Latin, alge-
thus an appropriate occupation for women.
bra, and philosophy.” This curriculum “led directly to
The Primary Source Readings for this chapter
employment as secretaries, stenographers, and typists
demonstrate that individuals don’t need to allow
in the city’s burgeoning bureaucracies.”100 The social
the dominant ideology to completely define their
class composition of the two curricula is enlighten-
ing: all the upper-class students and 224 of the 297
own thinking, although one’s thinking is inevita-
middle-class students were in the literary curriculum.
bly influenced by one’s cultural circumstances. The
All the girls in the commercial curriculum came from
1848 Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and
middle- and lower-class families.101
Resolutions clearly opposes the subordination of
women in society, and over 60 years later Mary
Leal Harkness opposed girls’ vocational education
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
in schools. Today, it might easily appear that the
Evaluate whether the following is a valid reading of
dominant ideology has finally accepted women
Chapter 5: The history of education for girls and wom-
as the legal, social, and political equals of men,
en in this country was little more than an attempt to
in which case there would be no need for teach-
further subordinate women to men.
ers to question that ideology. Yet, as we will see
in Part 2 of this volume, social and economic in-
equalities based on gender still exist in American
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
culture. Anyone who works with children and youth
OF EDUCATION
can see that the influences on young women—
Chapter 5 illustrates how major social changes
from advertising
and the media more generally,
from Jefferson’s time to the progressive era, ac-
for example
—are very different than they are on
companied by tensions in the dominant ideology
young men. And, as we will see in Part 2, even
from classical liberalism to modern liberalism, led
the best-intentioned teachers may find themselves
to shifts in the nature and purposes of women’s
unwittingly reinforcing gender stereotypes in the
education, while the underlying assumptions about
classroom. It is still easy today for girls to lack con-
women’s subordinate place in society were not
fidence in the classroom in certain subjects if they
radically altered. Some might argue that gaining
believe that “boys are better” in that area, or if they
the vote at the end of this period was indeed a radi-
are less assertive than boys by nature or by social-
cal improvement for the role of women in society,
ization or both.
yet women remained second class in many other
Only recently have the laws been put in place
ways. The ideological tension portrayed in this
to make the same curricular and extracurricular
chapter is that women were increasingly entitled
opportunities available for both boys and girls in
to education, but they were still not to be regarded
schools, and they are still needing enforcement.
as equal to men. The resulting developments in
Resentment can still persist in some schools and
schooling were on the one hand the increasing en-
universities when a male athletic program, for
rollment of girls in public schools and on the other
example, is curtailed to make room for a girls’ or
hand the strengthening of the belief that women
women’s program to balance athletic opportunities.
are naturally destined for domestic roles—and that
So the question arises: Does any of this have im-
schools should therefore prepare girls for those
plications for how teachers think about their own
adult roles. Given the narrow range of employ-
practices with both boys and girls? Should any-
ment options for women, the classical liberal era
thing in your philosophy of education make those
“cult of domesticity” would give way to the progres-
implications explicit, or is this one of those things
sive period’s “domestic sciences” curriculum, a new
that “goes without saying”?
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 148
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 149
Primary Source Reading
Whenever any form of government becomes destructive
of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it
to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institu-
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, both of whom
tion of a new government, laying its foundation on such
were deeply influenced by the antislavery movement,
principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as
organized the Seneca Falls conference in July 1848 to
to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and
bring men and women together to consider the subordi-
happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that govern-
nate role of women in the United States. The two orga-
ments long established should not be changed for light
nizers, together with others, drew up this declaration, us-
and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath
ing the Declaration of Independence as a model. At the
shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while
conference, attended by some 300 persons and chaired
evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolish-
by Lucretia Mott’s husband, James, 11 resolutions were
ing the forms to which they were accustomed. But when
passed unanimously, and the 12th was narrowly passed
a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invari-
after a stirring speech from the floor by Frederick Dou-
ably the same object evinces a design to reduce them
glass. The language of Jeffersonian liberalism would
under absolute despotism, it is their duty to throw off
come to be used by women and African Americans to
such government, and to provide new guards for their
extend the meaning of equality before the law for the
future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of
next 150 years, right up to our own time.
the women under this government, and such is now the
The Declaration is presented here so students
necessity which constrains them to demand the equal
may see the political–economic conditions that were
station to which they are entitled.
foremost in the minds of women’s rights advocates in
The history of mankind is a history of repeated inju-
mid-19th century; consider the ideological tensions in
ries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman,
classical liberalism, the ideology that justified the op-
having in direct object the establishment of an absolute
pressions of women and yet provided the conceptual
tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted
underpinning of this Declaration; and finally, examine the
to a candid world.
various educational issues implicit in these sentiments
He has never permitted her to exercise her inalien-
and resolutions.
able right to the elective franchise.
He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the for-
mation of which she had no voice.
Declaration of Sentiments
He has withheld from her rights which are given to
and Resolutions
the most ignorant and degraded men—both natives and
foreigners.
When, in the course of human events, it becomes nec-
Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen,
essary for one portion of the family of man to assume
the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without rep-
among the people of the earth a position different
resentation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed
from that which they have hitherto occupied, but one
her on all sides.
to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God en-
He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law,
title them, a decent respect to the opinion of mankind
civilly dead.
requires that they should declare the causes that impel
He has taken from her all right in property, even to
them to such a course.
the wages she earns.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men
He has made her, morally, an irresponsible being,
and women are created equal; that they are endowed by
as she can commit many crimes with impunity, pro-
their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among
vided they be done in the presence of her husband. In
these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that
the covenant of marriage, she is compelled to promise
to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriv-
obedience to her husband, he becoming, to all in-
ing their just powers from the consent of the governed.
tents and purposes, her master—the law giving him
power to deprive her of her liberty, and to administer
chastisement.
He has so framed the laws of divorce, as to what
Source: Miriam Schneir, ed., Feminism, the Essential Historical Writings (New York: Vintage, 1972), pp. 76–82.
shall be the proper causes, and in case of separation,
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 149
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
150
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
to whom the guardianship of the children shall be
followed by a series of Conventions embracing every
given, as to be wholly regardless of the happiness of
part of the country.
women—the law, in all cases, going upon a false sup-
position of the supremacy of man, and giving all power
Resolutions
into his hands.
After depriving her of all rights as a married woman,
WHEREAS, The great perception of nature is con-
if single, and the owner of property, he has taxed her to
ceded to be, that “man shall pursue his own true and
support a government which recognizes her only when
sub stantial happiness.” Blackstone in his Commentaries
her property can be made profitable to it.
remark s, that this law of Nature being coeval with man-
He has monopolized nearly all the profitable employ-
kind, and dictated by God himself, is of course supe-
ments, and from those she is permitted to follow, she
rior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the
receives but a scanty remuneration. He closes against
globe, in all countries and at all times; no human laws
her all the avenues to wealth and distinction which he
are of any validity if contrary to this, and such of them
considers most honorable to himself. As a teacher of the-
as are valid, derive all their force, and all their valid-
ology, medicine, or law, she is not known.
ity, and all their authority, mediately and immediately,
He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thor-
from this original; therefore,
ough education, all colleges being closed against her.
Resolved, That such laws as conflict, in any way, with
He allows her in Church, as well as State, but a sub-
the true and substantial happiness of woman, are con-
ordinate position, claiming Apostolic authority for her
trary to the great precept of nature and of no validity,
exclusion from the ministry, and, with some excep-
for this is “superior in obligation to any other.”
tions, from any public participation in the affairs of the
Resolved, That all laws which prevent woman from
Church.
occupying such a station in society as her conscience
He has created a false public sentiment by giving
shall dictate, or which place her in a position inferior to
to the world a different code of morals for men and
that of man, are contrary to the great precept of nature,
women, by which moral delinquencies which exclude
and therefore of no force or authority.
women from society, are not only tolerated, but deemed
Resolved, That woman is man’s equal—was intended
of little account in man.
to be so by the Creator, and the highest good of the race
He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself,
demands that she should be recognized as such.
claiming it as his right to assign for her a sphere of
Resolved, That the women of this country ought to
action, when that belongs to her conscience and to
be enlightened in regard to the laws under which they
her God.
live, that they may no longer publish their degradation
He has endeavored, in every way that he could, to
by declaring themselves satisfied with their present posi-
destroy her confidence in her own powers, to lessen her
tion, nor their ignorance, by asserting that they have all
self-respect, and to make her willing to lead a dependent
the rights they want.
and abject life.
Resolved, That inasmuch as man, while claiming for
Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement of
himself intellectual superiority, does accord to woman
one-half the people of this country, their social and re-
moral superiority, it is preeminently his duty to encour-
ligious degradation—in view of the unjust laws above
age her to speak and teach, as she has an opportunity, in
mentioned, and because women do feel themselves ag-
all religious assemblies.
grieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their
Resolved, That the same amount of virtue, delicacy,
most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate
and refinement of behavior that is required of woman in
admission to all the rights and privileges which belong
the social state, should also be required of man, and the
to them as citizens of the United States.
same transgressions should be visited with equal severity
In entering upon the great work before us, we antici-
on both man and woman.
pate no small amount of misconception, misrepresenta-
Resolved, That the objection of indelicacy and impro-
tion, and ridicule; but we shall use every instrumentality
priety, which is so often brought against woman when
within our power to effect our object. We shall employ
she addresses a public audience, comes with a very ill-
agents, circulate tracts, petition the State and National
grace from those who encourage, by their attendance,
legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit and the
her appearance on the stage, in the concert, or in feats
press in our behalf. We hope this Convention will be
of the circus.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 150
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 151
Resolved, That woman has too long rested satisfied in
women. She is thoughtful about the value of those cre-
the circumscribed limits which corrupt customs and a
ative dimensions of gendered domestic experience, such
perverted application of the Scriptures have marked out
as cooking or sewing, that she finds rewarding. However,
for her, and that it is time she should move in the en-
she strongly criticizes relegating any such experience to
larged sphere which her great Creator has assigned her.
boys or girls alone. Moreover, she calls into question the
Resolved, That it is the duty of the women of this
entire progressive notion of using schools for vocational
country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the
preparation, whether for girls or for boys, as a “wasting
elective franchise.
of children’s time.”
Resolved, That the equality of human rights results
necessarily from the fact of the identity of the race in
capabilities and responsibilities.
The Education of the Girl
Resolved, therefore, That, being invested by the Creator
with the same capabilities, and the same consciousness
Mary Leal Harkness
of responsibility for their exercise, it is demonstrably the
right and duty of woman, equally with man, to promote
I do not know why an utterance on that subject in yester-
every righteous cause by every righteous means; and espe-
day morning’s paper stirred me up more than similar ones
cially in regard to the great subjects of morals and religion,
which I am constantly seeing in print. Perhaps it was be-
it is self-evidently her right to participate with her brother
cause the utterer was advertised as an “authority” on “vo-
in teaching them, both in private and in public, by writ-
cational education,” for his words did not differ essentially
ing and by speaking, by any instrumentalities proper to
from the current platitude. “The problem of girls educa-
be used, and in any assemblies proper to be held; and
tion is simple,” he said in effect, “since what you have to
this being a self-evident truth growing out of the divinely
do is merely to train them to be home-keeper s; to teach
implanted principles of human nature, any custom or
them the details of the management of the house and the
authority adverse to it, whether modern or wearing the
care of children, and not to despise domestic duties.”
hoary sanction of antiquity, is to be regarded as a self-
. . . But why, I beg to ask, does everyone know that
evident falsehood, and at war with mankind.
the vocation which is sure to delight every girl and in
[At the last session Lucretia Mott offered and spoke to
which she is sure to succeed (always provided, of course,
the following resolution:]
that she is given the proper “practical” training in her
Resolved, That the speedy success of our cause depends
school-days) is housekeeping and the rearing of children,
upon the zealous and untiring efforts of both men and
when even the cocksure vocationalist has to admit that
women, for the overthrow of the monopoly of the pulpit,
he cannot always foretell with absolute certainty whether
and for the securing to woman an equal participation with
a boy of fourteen was made to be a carpenter or an engi-
men in the various trades, professions, and commerce.
neer, a farmer or a Methodist preacher? In our outward
configuration of form and feature we women confessedly
differ as greatly from one another as do men. Why this
Primary Source Reading
assumption that in the inward configuration of charac-
ter, taste, and talent we are all made upon one pattern? I
This article was written by journalist Mary Leal Harkness
must say that the perpetual declaration on the “woman’s
for a popular, well-educated audience in 1914. It illus-
page” of modern periodicals that “every woman should
trates a number of the issues raised in this chapter: a
know how to cook a meal, and make her own clothes,
criticism of the prevailing view that a woman’s place is in
and feed a baby” fills me with scorn unutterable. But
the home or in a limited number of “female” roles out-
then for that matter the mere fact of a “woman’s page”
side the home, the role of schooling in supporting these
fills me with scorn. Why not a “man’s page,” with a mis-
limited life options for women, the various ideological jus-
cellany of twaddle, labeled as exclusively, adapted to the
tifications for the subordinate place of women in society,
masculine intellect? The idea that literature is properly
and so on. Harkness’s piece cannot be dismissed simply
created male and female is no less absurd than the idea
as just another tirade against the subordinate roles of
that there is one education of the man and another of the
woman. And it is no more essential to the progress of the
Source: Excerpted from Mary Leal Harkness, “The Education of the Girl,”
universe that every woman should be taught to cook than
Atlantic Monthly: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art and Politics 113 (1914), pp. 324–30. Dr. Karen Graves suggested this article.
that every man should be taught to milk a cow.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 151
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
152
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
I do not propose to enter into any discussion of the
stick to ten or a dozen other side issues at the same time,
possible mental superiority of either sex over the other
and have come out of college, not physical wrecks, but
(although I cannot resist quoting in an “aside” the recent
stronger than when they went in. And who shall say
remark to me of a teacher of distinguished judgment
with what greater capacity for enjoying life than those
and long experience: “the fact is, girls are much better
who have devoted the principal energy of their adoles-
students than boys”), but only to maintain this: that girls
cence to the conservation of their health—frequently
show as much diversity of taste in intellectual work as
with no marked success?
boys, that their aptitude for work purely intellectual is
So far as the normal child is concerned, his—and
as great, and that, therefore, whatever variation is made
her—brain is naturally as active as his body, and it is
in the present plan of their education, it should not be
not “crowding,” nor yet “overstimulation,” to give
based upon the narrow foundation of preconceived ideas
that active and acquisitive brain material worth while
of differences inherent in sex. I do not believe that any-
to work with. Therefore, the pathetic picture which
thing necessarily “becomes a woman” more than a man,
has been painted recently in certain periodicals of the
except as our superstition has made it seem to do so.
lean and nervous little overworked school-girl may be
Yet, as a matter of fact, superstition begins to ham-
classed, I think, among the works of creative art rather
per a girl’s education almost at the very beginning, and
than among photographs taken from life. Such pic-
one of the first forms which it takes is “consideration
tures, as Art, may rank very high, but do not deserve
for her health.” Consideration for the health of a child
great commendation as a contribution to the science
of either sex is more than laudable, if it be intelligently
of education. I am not saying that there are not many
exercised; but I really cannot see why our daughters de-
abominations practiced in our schools, especially of
serve more of such consideration than our sons. And the
primary and secondary grade; but they are not in the
typical consideration for the health of the little girl and
direction of overeducation.
the young maiden is not infused with a striking degree
The thing against which I pray to see a mighty pop-
of intelligence, as is evidenced by the very small amount
ular protest is the wasting of children’s time, and the
of intelligence with which we invariably credit the girl
dissipation of all their innate powers of concentration,
herself. For absolutely the only kind of activity which
through the great number of studies of minor (not to
we ever conceive to be injurious to her is mental activity.
use a less complimentary adjective) educational value,
One might perhaps agree to the reiterated parental
which is now one of the serious evils in our schools. And
excuse for half-educated daughters that “nothing can
I think that this evil is bearing rather more heavily upon
compensate a girl for the loss of her health,” if parents
the girls than upon the boys. . . .
would explain how they think that anything can com-
But my objection to the whole movement to “redi-
pensate a boy for the loss of his. But they take that risk
rect” the education of girls is not that many very good
quite blithely, and send him to college. Personally I have
things are not put into the redirected curriculum, but
never seen any evidence that the risk for either sex is
that its whole direction is wrong. I cannot say that it is
more than a phantom, and I believe that it is yet to be
not a good thing for some women to know how to cook
proved that the study of books has ever in itself been re-
and sew well, for it is indeed both good and necessary
sponsible for the breaking down in health of any human
to civilized life. I cannot say that some of the subjects
being. Many foolish things done in connection with the
introduced into a good domestic-science course are not
study of books have contributed to the occasional fail-
educative and truly scientific, because I should be say-
ure in health of students, but there is, I firmly believe,
ing what is not true. But I do believe that the idea at
no reason but prejudiced superstition for the unanimity
the basis of it all is fundamentally false. For the idea is
with which the fond mamma and the family physician
this: that one-half of the human race should be “edu-
fix the cause of the break-down in the books, and never
cated” for one single occupation, while the multitudi-
in the numerous and usually obvious other activities.
nous other occupations of civilized life should all be
And in the spasms of commiseration for the unfortu-
loaded upon the other half. The absurd inequality of
nates whose “health has been ruined by hard study” no-
the division should alone be enough to condemn it.
body has taken the trouble to notice the by-no-means
The wonder is that the men do not complain of be-
infrequent cases of young persons, and girls especially,
ing overloaded with so disproportionate a share of the
of really delicate health, who have stuck to their stud-
burden. I dare say it is their chivalry which makes them
ies, but with a reasonable determination not to try to
bear it so bravely.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 152
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 153
This statement of the division is not inconsistent
care of the child, if the father of the child has failed to
with my complaint that women try to do too many
do the same?
things. They do, but they are all things which are sup-
But I cannot see how the world can have gone so mad
posed to be included in some way or other within their
as it has over the idea that the birth of the child, and its
“proper sphere,” the maintenance of the home. Some-
few subsequent months of existence, constitute the ep-
times I grow so weary of The Home that if I did not
ochal point, the climax, as it were, in the life of any mar-
love my own I could really wish that there were no such
ried pair. Surely, it is a very narrow view of life which
thing upon this terrestrial ball. I do love my own home,
fails to see how much is to be done in the world besides
but I protest that the primary reason is not because my
rearing children. It is true that society does perhaps in a
mother is a good cook, although she is, notably. Even
way recognize this, but it seems to wish all active doing
as I write these words I thrill with the thought of my
relegated to the men, while the woman’s contribution is
near return to her strawberry shortcakes. But I know
confined to “influence” exerted while nursing a numer-
other homes where there is also strawberry shortcake of
ous progeny through the diseases of infancy in a happy
a high order, in which I yet think that even filial devo-
and perfectly sanitary home.
tion would have a hard task to make me feel much con-
It is time for a more general recognition that such
tentment. I might say the same of the various things that
“feminine influence,” like honesty, laudatur et al-
make my home attractive to look upon. Yet the course
get. The average woman only influences her husband
of study which would graduate “home-makers” is based
or children to anything good through her brains and
upon the principle that “home” consists primarily of
character, and the degree of power to express either
these things. I am aware that its makers would include
brains or character depends mainly upon education. It
certain studies supposed to contribute to “culture,” but
sounds well to proclaim the mothering of the world
even where these are well taught, they are still, in my
as woman’s greatest profession, her truest glory; but
opinion, rendered largely ineffectual by the false motive
it would be well also to consider that such “mother-
for study inculcated from the beginning, which makes
ing” as is mostly done—and will be, so long as women
them all, for women, only side-issues.
are taught to prepare only for its physical demands,
I cannot see that girls were created essentially to be
its purely material services—is never going to be ei-
“home-keepers” any more than boys. Men and women,
ther great or glorious. An education which can give the
so far as they choose to marry, are to make a home to-
greatest intellectual strength, the completest mental
gether, and any system of education which so plans the
sanity, and so the broadest outlook upon life, is the
division of labor between them that the woman shall
need and the right of girls and boys alike.
“make” and stay in a place for which the man pays and
But surely it cannot be said that their need is met
to which he returns once in twenty-four hours, is wrong
alike unless the likeness in their education extends
for at least two good reasons. It trains to two such dif-
also to the ideal of the use that is to be made of it after
ferent conceptions of responsibility that true compan-
school-days are past. If the colleges in which women are
ionship and community of interest is diminished, and
taught have failed at all in accomplishing their full pos-
often almost destroyed; and it so magnifies a specialized
sibility, it has been in the comparatively small degree to
manual training for the woman that it places her at the
which they have succeeded in removing even from the
end in the artisan class, and not in the educated. If a
minds of the young women themselves the hoary idea
woman so trained knows how to care for the minds of
that, after all, the principal thing to be expected of the
her children as well as she knows how to feed and dress
higher education of women is still the diffusion of an
and physic and spank them, she owes it to the grace
exceptionally exalted type of the aforementioned “influ-
of Heaven and not to her “vocational” education “for
ence.” It does seem rather a small return for years of
motherhood.” But I do not believe that girls should be
collegiate effort that the best that can be said of them is
“educated to be mothers” at all, in the absurdly narrow
that a woman’s mental attainments have proved a great
sense in which such education is now conceived.
assistance to her husband’s career as a Cabinet officer.
Every form of special instruction as a preparation for
I cannot think that we shall have what wholly deserves
parenthood that can be necessary for a girl is necessary
to be called an educated womanhood until we have dis-
for a boy also. For what does it profit a woman or her
sipated the idea, still so prevalent even among women
offspring to have kept herself strong and clean, to have
themselves, that a woman needs to have a definite oc-
learned the laws of sex-hygiene and reproduction, or of
cupation only until she marries, or if she fails to marry.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 153
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
154
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
That “a woman must choose between marriage and a ca-
proved themselves possessors of intellects might natural-
reer” is the most detestable of all the woman platitudes
ly be expected to recognize as a province of their educa-
in the entire collection, because, while most of these
tion the ability to discover some particular intellectual
platitudes are merely stupid, this one is wholly vicious.
bent whose training and development for life-long use
It has been so incessantly reiterated, to the accompani-
are not contingent upon matrimony and the financial
ment of much shallow sentimentalizing on the sacred-
condition of two men—their fathers and their husbands
ness of home and mother, that the public has never been
respectively. It is held rather reprehensible to say it, but
allowed a quiet moment to reflect on its injustice, and
I do not see why every girl has not as good a right as
to realize how possible, and therefore imperative, is its
every boy to dream of fame, and to be put in the way of
removal along with other ancient injustices.
reaching fame. If ninety-nine percent of the girls fail of
As I have urged in a previous article, the recently
even the smallest title to fame, just as ninety-nine per-
born and phenomenally growing department of edu-
cent of the boys do, yet the level of their lives must in-
cation which styles itself variously Domestic Science,
evitably be raised by the education and the educational
Household Economy, and I believe one or two other
ideals which we should provide for them all for the sake
impressive things, might be the pioneer in this great
of the hundredth girl. The supreme ideal which I hope
work of justice, if it would. So far as that educational
that our schools may some day inspire is that every girl
movement adds to woman’s ability to become a good
should discover something, whether of fame-bringing
citizen by leading her to an intelligent interest in the
probabilities or not, which will seem to be worthy of
civic problems of housing, feeding, teaching, and amus-
being a life-work.
ing not alone her immediate family group, but a whole
In nearly every present plan for the education of girls
community, it does more in the right direction. But
there lurks the same fatal weakness; girls are not made
the very women who are themselves making a success-
to realize as boys are that they are being educated for a
ful profession of teaching this group of subjects (thanks
business which must last as long as life lasts; that they
mainly to their having received the sort of education
are to feel an interest in it and grow in it,—to develop it,
they now deprecate for women in general) apparently
if possible; they are not taught that a definite purposeful
claim for them no greater mission for the average young
share in the outside world’s work is a privilege not a mis-
woman than ability to guard her husband from pto-
fortune. My own theory is that the only way in which
maine poison in his ice-cream, or to make gowns and
such a state of feminine mind can be made general is
shirt-waists well enough so that she can earn a living, “if
by broadening woman’s education on the purely intel-
she ever has to work.”
lectual side; but of course I am open to conviction that
Shall we never cease to hear that contemptible rea-
the result can be better attained by “scientific” bread-
son for a girl’s education? An age in which women have
making ,—even to the exclusion of Latin and Greek.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 154
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 5 155
Developing Your
experiences of girls and women today? How,
specifically? Explain your view.
Professional Vocabulary
2. If the Seneca Falls Declaration was purposely based
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
on classical liberalism, which was the dominant
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
ideology of that time, how could the document
important to education.
have been considered radical or extreme in its views?
Catharine Beecher
Horace Mann’s views on
Explain.
education of women
college education of
3. Discuss the extent to which Emma Willard’s views
women
Mary Wollstonecraft
and accomplishments were evidence of the power of
liberal change and the degree to which they
colonial education of
Sarah M. Grimke
reinforced the status quo for women in the 19th-
women
Seneca Falls Convention
century United States.
cult of domesticity
of 1848
Emma Hart Willard
Troy Female Seminary
Online Resources
Questions for Discussion
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
and Examination
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
1. Do you believe that any of Augustine’s views on
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
women and men influence the educational
articles and news feeds.
toz24404_ch05_124-155.indd 155
29/08/12 9:53 AM
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 6
Diversity and Equity Schooling and African Americans
Chapter Overview
Chapter 6 examines the relationships among
In terms of schooling, it is noteworthy that
political economy, ideology, and schooling in
African Americans were successful during the
the experience of African Americans after the
Reconstruction period in establishing schools
Civil War. Political–economic developments of
for Black children throughout the South. In
that period included the Thirteenth, Fourteenth,
general, southern Whites had less access to
and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution,
quality education than did southern Blacks.
which granted civil and political rights to former
The redemption era, however, particularly the
slaves and other African Americans; the period
period marked by the ascendancy of Booker
of Reconstruction, in which African Americans
T. Washington to political and educational power,
achieved significant political power in the South
resulted in significantly reduced opportunities
and a number of higher education institutions
for the education of African American youth.
were established for African Americans; and the
While Washington often is regarded as a hero
subsequent period of “redemption,” in which
of African American advancement, this chap-
the oppression of African Americans by south-
ter shows that his commitment to vocational
ern Whites through Jim Crow laws and revisions
education and acceptance of disfranchisement
of state constitutions reached terrible propor-
and lack of civil rights for African Americans
tions. Ideologically, racist European Americans
were opposed by some Black leaders, includ-
believed that this oppression was justified
ing W. E. B. Du Bois. The contrasts between
on the basis of a “scientific” view that Whites
the social, political, and educational analyses of
were biologically more evolved than African
Booker T. Washington and those of Du Bois are
Americans and that classical liberal commit-
drawn in detail and underscored by the Primary
ments to freedom and equality did not therefore
Source Reading.
apply to “less evolved” human beings.
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 156
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
Education of African Americans has historically
emphasized manual skills and vocational training.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 6 seeks to
education after the Civil War and the degree to
achieve are these:
which the efforts of Whites interfered with Black
educational achievements.
1. This chapter should equip students to understand
certain dimensions of African American history
4. Students should be equipped to evaluate the
immediately after the Civil War. In particular,
degree to which, in the context of racist political
students should consider the nature of the racist
economy and ideology, Booker T. Washington’s
oppression that was supported by legal measures
educational solutions served the interests of
in that period.
African Americans.
2. Students should begin to assess the degree
5. Students should assess the degree to which
to which political and economic power can be
Washington’s faith in social reform through
wielded purposefully to the advantage of some
educational means was adequate.
groups at the expense of others and understand
6. This chapter should equip students to
that progress, contrary to classical liberal views,
evaluate the critique of Washington formulated
is not always inevitable.
by W. E. B. Du Bois and to discuss whether Du
3. This chapter should help students begin to
Bois’s assessment of the problems of African
assess the degree to which African Americans
Americans was more or less adequate than
effectively took responsibility for their own
Washington’s assessment.
157
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 157
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
158
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Analytic Framework
The History of African Americans in U.S. Schools
Political Economy
Ideology
Thirteenth, Fourteenth,
Darwinian evolution
and
Fifteenth
Amendments
Social progress through
Reconstruction Act of 1867
economic
independence
Ku Klux Klan
Racism
Redemption period
Separate but equal
Jim Crow laws
Education for democracy
Plessey v. Ferguson, 1896
Sharecropping and tenant farming
Black belt lynchings
Schooling
State-constitutionally segregated schools
Schools extensively provided by African Americans
Racial disparities in percentage of students
enrolled, length of school year, and funding
Decline of Black schools after Reconstruction
Tuskegee Institute
Emphasis on vocational education for African Americans
Founding of HBCUs (historically Black colleges and universities)
Introduction: Common
Americans in the postwar South presented cause for
concern as well as for celebration.
Schools in the South
After the common-school movement began in the
Political–Economic
Northeast, it spread rapidly throughout the rest of the
Dimensions of Reconstruction
United States. State governments began to pass school-
ing legislation before the Civil War, and by the 1870s
and Redemption1
thousands of children were attending public schools in
the North and the South. While state school legisla-
On New Year’s day in 1863, in the middle of the Civil
tion moved more rapidly in the North, one of the most
War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipa-
significant developments of this postwar period was the
tion Proclamation, announcing the end of slavery for all
increasing number of African American children attend-
states in rebellion against the Union. It was not until sev-
ing school in the South. In fact, as early as the 1870s,
eral months after the war ended in the spring of 1865,
in parts of the South, Black children attended school
however, that Congress passed the Thirteenth Amend-
in proportionately higher numbers than did White
ment to the Constitution, which freed 4 million slaves,
children. However, the educational history of African
31⁄2 million of them in the South. By that time Congress
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 158
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 159
had already created the Freedmen’s Bureau as part of the
U.S. congressional offices. During the first 15 years after
effort to “reconstruct” the southern political economy.
the Civil War, two Black U.S. senators were elected from
The South needed to be reconstructed not only because
the South. This was double the number of Black senators
it had been ravaged by war but also because the new eco-
elected over the next 100 years. That fact alone raises
nomic, political, and social order would not, for the first
the question: why did the gains initiated in the Recon-
time in over 200 years, include slavery at its center.
struction period fail to develop as they should have? The
The Reconstruction period was marked by radical
answer lies in what happened after the withdrawal of fed-
changes and resulting tensions throughout the South.
eral troops from the South in 1877. That point marks
In 1866 the Fourteenth Amendment was passed by
the end of the Reconstruction era and the beginning
Congress, giving full citizenship to former slaves upon
of what White southerners referred to as the “period of
its ratification in 1868. Before that ratification, how-
redemption.” At that point, White southerners were left
ever, the Ku Klux Klan was founded by southern White
to “redeem” the South by restoring almost total White
people, in part to keep African Americans from voting.
domination over political and economic life.
And just as quickly, southern state governments set up
“Black Codes,” which segregated African Americans
Redemption
from Whites and prohibited Black people from exercis-
ing their new freedoms. At the same time, many south-
Throughout Reconstruction the Ku Klux Klan and
ern Whites resisted racial equality with violence. Riots
southern “rifle clubs” had continued to fan the flames
in Memphis and New Orleans resulted in the murders
of White hostility toward Black people. Hundreds of
of several Black people and brought increased national
African Americans were lynched by gangs of White rac-
attention to Reconstruction conflicts.
ists during Reconstruction, and the northern military
In 1867 the North increased its influence in the South
presence was often ineffectual. At the same time, the
with the first Reconstruction Act, which gave Congress
North became less and less committed to reconstruc-
greater control over the southern political economy.
tive efforts in the South as northern economic problems
Northern soldiers occupied the South in an effort to
deepened. The major depression of 1873 focused the
establish a new order, and southern resentment grew. By
North on its own recovery, and the South became a less
the end of 1870, all 10 former “rebel” states had been
urgent concern for President Grant and northern lawmak-
readmitted to the Union, and the Fifteenth Amendment
ers. Finally, in a political compromise in 1877, southern
established the right to vote for all African American
White support enabled Rutherford B. Hayes to assume
males. The result: Black men constituted the majority of
the presidency in exchange for the removal of federal
voters in five southern states and supported the major-
troops from the South, and the Reconstruction era
ity party in the other five. Clearly, the South was being
effectively came to an end.
reconstructed with elements it had never known before.
The South moved swiftly to “redeem” itself from
One such mark of the new South was the construc-
northern influence. As C. Vann Woodward indicated in
tion of a number of institutions for the higher education
Origins of the New South, most powerful White south-
of African Americans. Many of the colleges and universi-
erners saw Reconstruction as an interruption in the
ties that are known today as historically Black colleges
working out of the place of free African Americans in the
were founded in the Reconstruction period, usually by
South.2 As Woodward points out, despite the consider-
missionary aid societies and other Protestant church
able educational and political gains Black people had
groups. They include Howard University in Washington,
made during Reconstruction, their economic gains were
DC; Fisk University in Nashville; Atlanta University;
meager. In 1900, only 1 of every 100 African Americans
Hampton Institute in Virginia; and Talladega Col-
in 33 predominantly Black Georgia counties owned
lege in Alabama; among many others. That African
land, only 1 Black in 100 in 17 Black Mississippi coun-
Americans had a strong desire for education at all levels
ties owned land, 1 of 20 in 12 other Black Mississippi
became clear immediately after the war, and their school-
counties owned land, and so on throughout the South.
ing efforts during Reconstruction were remarkably
What this meant was that Black people, the overwhelming
successful.
majority of whom were still engaged in agriculture, were
Reconstruction also meant dramatic change in the
working White people’s land with White people’s mules
political life of Black southerners. Hundreds of African
and plows and were required to give up a share of their
American politicians sought and won local, state, and
crops as rent. By 1900, 75 percent of Black farmers in
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 159
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
160
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
the South were sharecroppers or tenant farmers, work-
In part, Booker T. Washington achieved this leadership
ing for subsistence only.3
position by announcing, before a national audience at
During this time the southern redemption move-
the Atlanta Exposition in 1895, that it was acceptable for
ment attacked the civil and political rights granted by
Black people to remain separate from Whites in social
the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and enforced
and political matters but that Black people could help
during Reconstruction. After the end of Reconstruction
themselves economically by being more industrious and
in 1877 and into the 1890s, local White supremacy
thrifty—and by obtaining the kind of education that
laws were passed to prohibit Black people from using
would equip them for manual labor in the southern
public facilities, such as parks, buildings, cemeteries,
economy. Rather than calling for African Americans to
railroad cars, and restrooms. “Pig laws” were passed,
directly confront their segregated and oppressed social
which imposed harsh, multiyear prison terms for minor
and political status, Washington told his Black listeners,
crimes (such as stealing a pig) if they were committed
“Cast down your buckets where you are!” They would
by Black people. At the same time, “convict lease” pro-
thus take their places as laborers and trade workers, earn-
grams were implemented so that White southern indus-
ing the respect of Whites in the South. The “Atlanta
trialists, lumber companies, and mine owners could
compromise” speech was a message that southern White
lease chained convicts from the state and put them to
leaders and northern industrialists were delighted to hear.
work essentially for free. The death rate on these chain
Washington’s accession to power and recognition was
gangs was even higher than the death rate for slaves on
signaled in 1901 by dinner at the White House with Pres-
the prewar plantations.
ident Theodore Roosevelt and his family. From his base
In 1890 Mississippi used a constitutional conven-
at Tuskegee he gradually built what became known as the
tion to establish literacy and poll-tax requirements
“Tuskegee machine,” and from 1901 to 1915 he was in
that deprived most Black people of the vote, and 11
the heyday of his career. Yet “what was for Washington
other states followed the “Mississippi Plan” in the next
personally the best of times was for most Blacks the
20 years. In Louisiana, for example, the number of
worst,” writes Louis R. Harlan, “the most discouraging
Black voters was cut from 130,000 to 1,300 in a six-
period since the freeing of the slaves.”5
year period. States were further encouraged to follow
Indeed, as Washington’s rise to power was crowned
the Mississippi example when the U.S. Supreme Court
in 1901, White Alabama Democrats convened to crown
upheld the Mississippi Plan as constitutional in 1898.
their political supremacy over African Americans. The
Two years before, the Supreme Court had upheld the
state’s legislature authorized a constitutional convention
“separate but equal” laws that segregated Blacks from
for May 1901. The convention was so permeated with
Whites in public places, even though it was clear that
these “Jim Crow” laws were being used to create a caste
system that institutionalized the inferior status of African
At the very time when White America was hailing Booker T.
Americans in southern social, political, and economic
Washington’s efforts to improve the lot of African Americans
life.4 The redemption
period successfully destroyed
through a combination of hard work and education, most Black
southerners were losing the political and educational gains
most of the advances made by African Americans during
made during the Reconstruction era.
Reconstruction.
Reconstruction,
Redemption, and African
American Schooling
This period of intense oppression of southern Black
citizens included economic privation, violation of civil
and political rights, and racially motivated lynchings
that numbered in the thousands. In this atmosphere, an
educator from Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute became the
most prominent African American leader of his time.
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 160
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 161
racially extremist convictions that former governor of their postwar campaign for self-improvement. Their William C. Oates felt compelled to comment on the
idea of universal public schooling, regardless of race
change in White politicians’ opinions regarding the status
or class, was a conception of education and democracy
of Black people. He was appalled by the increase in racial
unprecedented in southern history. The prewar con-
hatred since Reconstruction, when Black people were
stitutions and laws of the Confederate states denied
enfranchised and competing for political office. “Why,
literacy and formal schooling to Black people and
sir, the sentiment is altogether different now, when the
paid little attention to public education at all. South
Negro is doing no harm, why, people want to kill him and
Carolina’s constitution made no mention of educa-
wipe him from the face of the earth.” These were the times
tion. Alabama, Arkansas, and Florida had brief general
that historian Rayford Logan called the nadir of African
clauses about encouraging the means of education and
American history.
using the proceeds of federal land grants to support
The most virulent “anti-Negro” speakers at the 1901
schools. A clause in the Georgia constitution of 1777
Alabama constitutional convention were the Democrats
about schools was omitted in later revisions, though
from the Black belt or from counties bordering the Black
provision was made in 1798 for promoting “seminaries
belt.6 The Black belt representatives successfully presented
of learning.” Mississippi and North Carolina alluded to
a resolution on education that brought the new state con-
the value of learning in their constitutions but included
stitution into harmony with the 1890 House Bill 504,
no specifications about state schools. Virginia, which
which allowed township trustees to fund White schools at
defeated Jefferson’s proposals for public schools in
a higher level than Black schools. The Black belt represen-
the 18th and 19th centuries, later used a “capitation”
tatives substituted the phrase “just and equitable” for the
(or per capita) tax for use of White primary schools.
corresponding phrase in the constitution of 1875, which
Louisiana and Texas went somewhat further than the
required that all funds be appointed “for the equal ben-
others, providing for superintendents, a school fund,
efit of all the children.” During the convention the Black
and state school systems but hedging the language
belt delegates indicated what they meant by justice and
regarding the implementation of public systems of edu-
equity. One delegate said, “There is no necessity for pay-
cation. For example, Louisiana’s constitution of 1852
ing a teacher for a colored school the same amount you
stated that the legislature might abolish the superin-
pay to White school teachers, because you can get them
tendent’s office, while in Texas the legislature was to
at much less salary. Under the present laws of Alabama,
establish a school system “as early as practicable.”8
if the law is carried out, the colored pupil gets the same
These haphazard and halting constitutional provi-
amount of money per capita as the White pupil, and that
sions for education in the antebellum South were trans-
is not justice.”
formed into elaborate legal frameworks for universal
In this atmosphere of racial animosity, the state’s
public schooling in the Reconstruction era. The freed
constitution was changed to permit local school offi-
men and women helped set in motion customs, laws,
cers to control apportionments and discriminate against
and political movements that fundamentally altered the
Black schoolchildren. The concept of “just and equi-
definition of public education. They formed the core
table” expressed at this convention stood in marked
of the political vanguard that inserted universal public
contrast to the freed men and women’s politics that had
education into the Reconstruction constitutions of the
endorsed educational and political equality regardless of
former Confederate states. The constitutional provisions
race. To the extent that Booker T. Washington aligned
for public schooling shifted from vague clauses to decisive
himself with the Black belt planters, he joined the most
“shall” declarations and highly specific requirements.9
antidemocratic forces of his era.7 But to assess Washing-
Events in Alabama paralleled regional develop-
ton’s approach to schooling for African Americans in
ments. In 1867, Alabama freedmen coalesced with other
the South, it is first necessary to examine those schools
Republicans to enact constitutional laws that provided
in the Reconstruction and redemption periods.
ample sources of public education revenue for
the schools, discouraged private contributions to
Schooling in the Black Belt
finance public education, promised equal opportuni-
ties regardless of race or class, and did not mandate
Few values and aspirations were more firmly rooted in the
racially separate schools, though the state constitu-
freedmen’s culture than education. Their crusade for uni-
tion left the decision entirely to the discretion of the
versal schooling was perhaps the most striking illustration
state board of education. Still, so far as the Black belt
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 161
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
162
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Exhibit 6.1 Percentage of School-Age Population Enrolled in School by Race in Selected Alabama Counties: 1877, 1887, 1897, and 1915
1877
1887
1897
1915
County Black
White
Black
White
Black
White
Black
White
Autauga 37.5%
25.4%
37.1%
48.9%
40.5%
69.4%
39.6%
70.3%
Barbour 35.3
53.9
54.5
54.0
51.4
60.0
35.3
71.6
Bullock 21.8
28.5
39.6
44.6
39.7
72.0
43.6
80.1
Butler 29.4
26.5
54.4
45.5
54.1
64.4
43.3
66.3
Chambers 25.8
25.0 67.0
60.8 78.5
70.8 31.8
80.2
Choctaw 35.2
27.7
59.0
55.2
70.9
86.1
55.3
84.4
Clarke 47.5
42.4
53.1
48.1
80.9
52.8
41.8
73.5
Dallas 28.7
26.3
37.2
44.4
40.3
26.8
37.4
72.2
Greene 27.8
32.0
45.6
41.6
47.5
48.1
51.8
93.1
Hale 24.6
25.4
42.5
50.5
40.1
68.5
51.9
69.2
Lee 45.6
38.5
57.0
40.3
47.4
53.4
42.5
71.8
Lowndes 30.5
36.4
36.8
41.0
24.7
68.1
38.2
72.2
Macon 41.0
36.4
58.4
37.4
49.5
59.6
61.4
69.4
Marengo 20.3
24.0
36.6
54.9
44.2
66.7
32.5
78.4
Monroe 71.3
64.1
97.3
63.4
52.3
65.4
47.4
80.6
Montgomery 14.5
19.3
34.2
26.6
44.0
73.5
36.6
68.9
Perry 32.3
29.9
32.5
39.6
26.1
59.6
43.1
68.5
Pickens 48.9
62.3
59.1
67.0
68.9
63.9
72.1
80.9
Russell 30.5
37.5
65.4
65.8
65.9
47.2
43.9
71.8
Sumter 32.5
32.3
55.9
52.0
46.6
69.9
29.7
73.0
Wilcox 27.7
32.2
50.1
55.5
37.3
71.4
19.6
78.9
Sources: Report of Superintendent of Education for the State of Alabama, 1878, with Tabular Statistics of 1876–7 (Montgomery: Barrett and Brown, 1879), pp. xlix–lvi; Thirty-third Annual Report of the Superintendent of Education of Alabama, 1887 (Montgomery: W. D. Brown, 1888), pp. 99–116; Report of Superintendent of Education of Alabama 1898 (Montgomery: Brown Printing Company, 1898), pp. 268–70, 327–28; Annual Report of the Department of Education of the State of Alabama, 1915 (Montgomery: Brown Printing Company, 1915), pp. 110–16.
freedmen were concerned, the constitution of 1868
White school terms in 11 of the counties exceeded
provided virtually every promise of equal opportuni-
that for Black children (see Exhibit 6.2). The average
ties. Further, their rights were ensured in part by the
monthly pay for Black teachers in 1877 exceeded that
presence of Peyton Finley, an African American citizen
for White teachers in 18 of the 21 Black belt coun-
from the Black belt, on the state board of education.
ties (see Exhibit 6.3). As long as the state funding of
He pressed constantly for an equal division of the pub-
Alabama’s Black belt remained nearly equal between
lic school fund among African Americans and Whites.10
the races, or even if the school fund was divided
Educational opportunities were not always equal,
according to the poll tax and real estate taxes paid by
but Black people’s political participation and the
the two races, Black communities, given their quest
racial equality established in Alabama’s Reconstruc-
for education, could continue to foster the expansion
tion constitution enabled them to make gains in
and improvement of public schools. But this was all
public schooling between 1868 and the reestablish-
to change with the end of Reconstruction.
ment of planter dominance in the late 1870s. For
The seeds of the destruction of educational advance-
instance, in 1877, in 11 of the 21 Alabama Black belt
ment in Black communities were planted in 1875, the
counties, the percentage of Black children of school
year the redeemers—White Democrats—began to regain
age enrolled in school exceeded the percentage of
control of Alabama’s Black belt. In Macon County, for
White children enrolled (see Exhibit 6.1). For the
example, in 1875 the county’s two state representatives,
Black belt as a whole, the average length of public
both Black Republicans, were charged with and con-
school terms for Black children was longer than that
victed of felonies—adultery and grand larceny—by the
for White children, though the average length of
newly elected circuit judge, James Edward Cobb. They
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 162
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 163
Exhibit 6.2 Average Length of Public Schools in Days by Race in Selected Alabama Counties: 1877, 1887, 1897, and 1915
1877
1887
1897
1915
County
Black White
Black White
Black White
Black White
Autauga
86
60
89
61
63
63
93
140
Barbour
74
81
85
71
68
62
91
148
Bullock
71
69
106
70
63
64
86
163
Butler
105
67
82
65
72
60
84
122
Chambers
78
87
131
120
60
60
91
156
Choctaw
64
80
65
65
60
64
56
120
Clarke
74
72
82
72
65
80
72
110
Dallas
92
74
75
60
68
70
108
172
Greene
93
122
106
74
86
85
94
158
Hale
79
57
80
64
78
79
102
115
Lee
81
94
95
71
60
60
89
156
Lowndes
78
98
83
60
72
92
91
142
Macon
79
80
70
60
78
79
101
158
Marengo
71
63
95
70
78
71
93
126
Monroe
125
87
59
63
70
65
65
120
Montgomery
100
88
100
97
72 80
121 174
Perry
88
79
96
72
77
79
109
152
Pickens
68
84
60
60
60
75
80
108
Russell
76
81
83
71
62
64
80
152
Sumter
80
91
79
79
70
81
86
152
Wilcox
99
102
78
60
60
66
81
151
Total averages
84
82
86
71
69
71
89
143
Sources: Report of Superintendent of Education for the State of Alabama, 1878, with Tabular Statistics of 1876–7 (Montgomery: Barrett and Brown, 1879), pp. xlix–lvi; Thirty-third Annual Report of the Superintendent of Education of Alabama, 1887 (Montgomery: W. D. Brown, 1888), pp. 99–116; Report of Superintendent of Education of Alabama 1898 (Montgomery: Brown Printing Company, 1898), pp. 268–70, 327–28; Annual Report of the Department of Education of the State of Alabama, 1915 (Montgomery: Brown Printing Company, 1915), pp. 110–16.
were sentenced by Cobb to chain gangs. Cobb, a Demo-
in the 1875 constitution was strictly on a per capita
crat and former Confederate colonel, had been captured
child basis and for the equal benefit of each race, thus
at Gettysburg and had spent the remainder of the war in
leaving no discretion to any official to discriminate for
Union prisons. He charged the district’s White Republican
or against either racial group. Reconstruction had nearly
state senator with perjury, but the senator avoided pros-
ended in the Black belt in 1875, and the redeemers were
ecution by resigning from office. Throughout Alabama’s
committed to retrenchment in public education. But
Black belt in 1875 freedmen were driven from politi-
two key factors protected the continued development of
cal office and either disfranchised or controlled firmly
education in the Black communities. First, Black people
by White Democrats. Consequently, the state’s consti-
could still vote, and the redeemers knew that as long as
tution of 1875, reflecting the reestablishment of planter
they sought to win Black votes, it was politically dan-
political supremacy, severely restricted the amount of
gerous to tamper excessively with Black public educa-
money available for public schools.11
tion. Second, Black public education was protected in
The constitution framed by the Black belt redeemers
part because of the legal safeguards for equal funding
in 1875 legally required racial segregation in schools. It
that the freedmen had inserted in the state constitu-
also altered the governance of public education in ways
tion of 1868 and which remained a part of the 1875
that placed it permanently in White hands. However,
constitution.12
there was no wholesale demolition of the structures the
Hence, even during a decade of redeemer government
former slaves and their Republican allies had created.
in Alabama’s Black belt from 1877 to 1887, Black edu-
Most important, the legal framework of school finance
cation continued to prosper. In 1887, as in 1877, the
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 163
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
164
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Exhibit 6.3 Average Monthly Pay of Teachers by Race in Selected Alabama Counties: 1877, 1887, 1897, and 1915
1877
1887
1897
1915
County
Black White
Black White
Black White
Black White
Autauga
$34.36 $37.13
$22.08 $26.50
$19.51 $29.80
$24.78 $47.93
Barbour
23.50 13.50
29.30 23.33
18.99 24.93
27.54 55.72
Bullock
28.46 16.65
27.50 20.00
30.50 35.50
25.57 60.48
Butler
24.50 17.50
26.04 25.56
16.24 24.20
25.54 55.30
Chambers
18.00 18.75
31.57 38.00
27.30 27.30
30.87 49.76
Choctaw
26.70 23.00
25.93 22.95
18.60 20.00
22.12 52.58
Clarke
20.18 17.00
22.33 24.75
16.15 19.85
30.65 64.23
Dallas
17.80 12.50
34.33 17.00
28.00 27.00
22.93 71.73
Greene
32.77 13.50
29.22 19.30
18.16 17.65
24.29 55.89
Hale
31.00 16.00
36.86 19.53
21.33 30.65
25.68 63.55
Lee
19.41 14.57
20.75 18.00
18.52 26.45
32.93 62.28
Lowndes
29.00 22.00
29.47 26.44
25.00 50.00
27.84 74.58
Macon
15.00 18.00
20.00 20.00
15.06 20.20
28.87 56.65
Marengo
35.05 27.28
34.50 25.18
19.29 27.90
22.48 68.66
Monroe
25.00 22.58
19.93 21.77
10.01 15.50
30.52 49.27
Montgomery
27.60 18.06
22.00 30.00
21.11 30.05
31.52 78.96
Perry
27.96 17.35
32.39 20.57
11.70 15.79
26.08 53.65
Pickens
32.00 19.31
14.00 16.00
16.00 21.00
20.75 50.22
Russell
20.12 12.60
31.00 36.95
17.51 28.13
29.26 70.71
Sumter
30.07 21.80
27.75 27.07
19.25 34.93
26.46 66.68
Wilcox
22.44 13.76
25.60 16.30
14.30 31.98
19.88 62.63
Sources: Report of Superintendent of Education for the State of Alabama, 1878, with Tabular Statistics of 1876–7 (Montgomery: Barrett and Brown, 1879), pp. xlix–lvi; Thirty-third Annual Report of the Superintendent of Education of Alabama, 1887 (Montgomery: W. D. Brown, 1888), pp. 99–116; Report of Superintendent of Education of Alabama 1898 (Montgomery: Brown Printing Company, 1898), pp. 268–70, 327–28; Annual Report of the Department of Education of the State of Alabama, 1915 (Montgomery: Brown Printing Company, 1915), pp. 110–16.
percentage of school-age Black children enrolled in school
Whites in 18 counties in 1877 (see Exhibit 6.3). Hence,
exceeded the percentage of White children enrolled in
as we shall see, Booker T. Washington entered the Black
11 of the 21 counties (see Exhibit 6.1). With respect to
belt in 1881 in the middle of an era of advancement
length of school terms, in 20 of 21 counties in 1887, the
in Black education dating back to the Reconstruction
Black school terms were longer than or equal to the White
constitution of 1868.
school terms (see Exhibit 6.2).
Approximately 10 years after Washington’s arrival,
Moreover, racial disparities in the average length
Black education fell on hard times. In 1890, State Super-
of school terms had increased considerably in favor of
intendent of Education Solomon Palmer, in his annual
Black children since 1877—from 84 to 86 days for Black
report, introduced his discussion of major problems
pupils and from 82 to 71 days for White pupils. This
confronting public education by declaring that Alabama
represented significant improvement of educational
had to increase school revenues to keep pace with other
conditions in Black communities between 1877 and
states and meet the growing demand of its school popu-
1887. Conditions for Whites declined as Black students
lation. He then proceeded to review the complaints
took advantage of schooling opportunities that Whites
against the way in which the school funds were appor-
did not have. These included schools supported by
tioned and spent. The two principal complaints were
churches, the Freedmen’s Bureau, and local Black citi-
that Blacks in the Black belt counties received nearly all
zens. Only in a few instances did Whites move toward
the area’s school funds while paying virtually no taxes
parity. The average monthly pay of Black teachers in
and that Black pupils were not mentally advanced to the
1887 exceeded the average monthly pay of White teach-
point where they needed as much education as White
ers in 13 counties, but Blacks had earned more than
pupils, and therefore did not need as much money for
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 164
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 165
their education. Palmer’s response was to place public
had said, “The rate at which prejudice is dying out is
school funds in the hands of local White school authori-
so rapid as to justify the conclusion that the Negro will
ties, to be spent at their discretion.
in a quarter of a century enjoy in Alabama every right
In 1890 Palmer’s plan was introduced in the Alabama
that he now enjoys in Pennsylvania.” He had spoken
legislature as House Bill 504. It passed in the House
too soon. Black Alabamians were about to enter the era
and Senate in February 1891. The new law required the
from 1890 to 1910, referred to by Benjamin Brawley as
state superintendent to apportion the public school fund
the “vale of tears.” With the new school-funding statute
according to the school-age population but authorized
in place, the campaign to shortchange Black education
township trustees to apportion funds as they deemed
had an open field.15
“just and equitable.” This law effectively relieved the
After 1890 the Democrats in Black belt counties
superintendent of education of the responsibility for
seized the school funds of the disfranchised Black citi-
apportioning the school fund between the races, and it
zens. Consequently, the general enrollment and school
was used to get around the state’s constitutional provi-
terms of Black children and the average pay of Black
sion requiring that the school fund be apportioned on a
teachers came to a standstill and in many cases actu-
per capita basis and for the equal benefit of both races.13
ally decreased, while educational conditions among
No political faction in Alabama was more in favor
Whites began to improve sharply (see Exhibits 6.1, 6.2,
of this new plan than the White Democrats of the Black
and 6.3). In vital respects, Black education in the Black
belt counties. Representative Smith of Russell County
belt counties, which had advanced steadily from 1867
thought it was the best bill ever introduced in the
to 1887, declined significantly from 1887 to 1897. In
Alabama legislature and declared that the author of the
10 counties, the percentage of school-age Black children
bill “deserved a vote of thanks from the white people
enrolled in school was lower than in 1887. In 17 coun-
of the state.” The superintendent of schools of Wilcox
ties, the Black school terms were shorter than they had
County, where in 1891 above 85 percent of the school-
been in 1887, and the average monthly pay of Black
age population was Black, welcomed the new law by
teachers decreased in 19 of the 21 counties between
proclaiming that “Wilcox never had such a boom on
1887 and 1897. Hence, two years after Washington’s
schools. The new law has stimulated the Whites so that
“Atlanta Compromise” address, the speech that cata-
neighborhoods where no schools existed for years, are
pulted him into national prominence as educational
now building houses and organizing schools.” It was
statesman of Black America, the postwar struggle for
clear both to Blacks and to Whites that this law assigned
education in Alabama’s Black communities had reached
state funds to White county officials to allocate as they
its nadir.
chose. The result in Black belt counties was to permit
This period of retrogression must have been difficult
school officers to pour money into White schools and
and peculiar for Washington. In general, as Louis Harlan
give tiny sums to the Black schools. Ironically, the Black
has written, “Washington allied himself with the south-
belt Dem ocrats favored a “color-blind” distribution of
ern planters and businessmen against the poorer class of
the school fund over creating a racially distinct tax base
whites.” The legal, political, and extralegal movements
and apportionment because the former would permit
to crush the development of Black education were led by
them to take an even larger share of the tax base.14
some of the same allies, the White planter Democratic
The day after the passage of House Bill 504, a “col-
coalition from the Black belt counties.16
ored convention” convened in Montgomery, the state’s
As Louis R. Harlan has documented in his clas-
capital. The general purpose of the convention was to
sic study Separate and Unequal, the campaign by local
“discuss subjects which would benefit the Negro race
and state governments to improve public schools in the
in Alabama.” A pressing concern was the newly passed
South from 1901 to 1915 was aimed at White people
school-fund apportionment law. In the evening ses-
and sharply increased the disparities between the schools
sion of the convention Booker T. Washington spoke
the two races attended. In short, law and government
against the law. His speech was described by a reporter
had been used successfully to re-create inequality.
for the Montgomery Advertiser as a “bitter” indict-
White public education steadily gained ground on
ment of the Alabama legislature for authorizing school
Black public education. In 1915, in every Black belt
officers to bypass the 1875 constitutional provision
county the percentage of school-age White children
for equal apportionment of the already meager school
enrolled in school exceeded that of Black schoolchil-
funds. Ironically, only three years earlier, Washington
dren (see Exhibit 6.1). This had not been the case in
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 165
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
166
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
African American commitment to education was so strong that 10 years after the end of Reconstruction, attendance at Black schools was still higher than at most White schools.
1877, 1887, or 1897. Moreover, in 14 counties in 1915,
strengthening their institutions and surviving in the face
the percentage of school-age Black children enrolled in
of an undemocratic and unjust social order, since they
school had fallen below the 1897 rates (see Exhibit 6.1).
no longer had political clout. Their educational advance-
Thus, relative to White enrollments and relative to their
ment during the Washington era depended heavily on
position in 1897, Black school enrollments declined sig-
private sacrifice. In 1915, approximately 60 percent of
nificantly during the apex of Washington’s career. Simi-
the schoolhouses for Black children in Alabama’s Black
larly, in 1915, the length of White school terms and the
belt were privately owned (Exhibit 6.5). A large amount
average monthly pay of White teachers exceeded those
of money was contributed by Blacks to public educa-
for Blacks, usually by significant margins, in every Black
tion over and above that paid as taxes. It was through
belt county. In all but four counties in 1915, the aver-
such traditions and customs of self-sacrifice that Black
age monthly pay of White teachers doubled that of
communities kept afloat a fragmented and feeble school
Black teachers (see Exhibit 6.3). This was a drastic turn-
system during the “vale of tears.”17
around from 1877, when the average monthly pay of
Black teachers exceeded that of White teachers in 19
of the 21 Black belt counties. Finally, the percentage
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
of Black teachers decreased, generally sharply, in 19 of
Exhibits 6.1 through 6.5 provide a large amount of
the 21 Black belt counties (Exhibit 6.4). After 1890 and
data, but data always must be interpreted. What is
until Washington’s death in 1915, African Americans’
your interpretation of the story that is told in these
conception of community advancement turned inward.
five tables?
Assuming a defensive posture, they concentrated on
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 166
22/08/12 10:42 AM
Confi rming Pages
of
35.1%
34.0
47.8
33.8
27.0
33.0
34.8
55.4
63.4
53.2
35.8
58.5
61.3
33.5
33.0
45.4
32.3
36.9
50.0
40.2
40.0
Teachers
Percentage
of
43.7%
39.6
60.2
39.0
38.0
37.1
38.7
68.8
63.4
57.6
42.1
62.4
37.2
39.5
38.7
60.6
55.0
40.3
61.1
53.6
33.3
Schools
Percentage
Annual Report of the Department of Educa-
1915
of
61.2%
65.4
87.8
58.2
56.5
63.4
59.5
85.2
88.1
81.5
65.1
90.9
85.9
74.4
58.2
75.8
83.1
53.5
83.9
84.6
83.8
Percentage
School-Age
Population
of
Teachers
Percentage
Thirty-third Annual Report of the Superintendent of Education of Ala-
of
49.2% 49.2%
41.9 43.4
54.7 54.7
38.8 43.5
42.1 42.1
42.7 43.3
41.5 41.5
74.1 74.1
60.2 60.2
63.6 63.1
52.6 51.6
63.5 63.5
62.8 61.4
50.0 50.0
40.4 40.4
64.5 63.6
51.0 50.5
44.0 37.9
64.6 64.6
64.2 60.2
50.0 50.0
Schools
Percentage
1897
of
65.2%
Percentage
School-Age
Population
of
(Montgomery: Brown Printing Company, 1898), pp. 268–70, 327–28;
48.0 63.6
52.2 80.5
35.0 48.1
33.6 52.7
38.8 51.4
60.0 53.1
74.7 90.3
70.3 86.4
63.0 85.8
46.3 63.5
75.5 90.9
57.1 74.1
58.0 76.9
43.0 55.7
69.6 85.3
58.8 79.5
41.8 55.1
54.7 73.0
62.1 80.9
57.9 79.3
Teachers
Percentage
(Montgomery: Barrett and Brown, 1879), pp. xlix–lvi;
of
53.3% 57.7%
48.1
54.9
37.5
33.6
47.2
52.3
76.4
72.0
65.9
46.3
75.5
57.1
58.4
57.9
69.6
58.3
47.0
54.7
68.3
57.9
Schools
Percentage
1887
of
63.6%
60.1
74.7
45.4
45.4
53.8
56.9
88.0
86.1
83.4
49.3
86.5
65.3
76.0
54.1
73.0
76.0
55.3
71.5
75.9
77.3
Percentage
School-Age
Population
of
40.4%
37.0
49.0
18.5
25.6
45.8
38.5
63.8
64.7
69.4
46.3
68.5
53.9
48.4
29.7
57.4
47.3
32.9
61.9
60.6
61.7
Report of Superintendent of Education of Alabama 1898
Teachers
Percentage
of
40.3%
37.0
50.0
18.7
25.6
45.8
38.4
63.8
64.7
69.4
46.3
68.5
53.9
48.4
29.7
57.4
47.3
32.9
61.9
60.6
61.7
1877
Schools
Percentage
(Montgomery: Brown Printing Company, 1915), pp. 110–16.
of
44.8%
53.4
69.8
41.7
43.1
50.1
53.4
84.1
80.8
77.5
48.4
80.0
57.7
73.9
47.4
72.9
73.5
49.1
66.5
70.9
75.6
Percentage
Black Percentage of School-Age Population, Schools, and Teachers in Selected Alabama Counties: 1877, 1887, 1897, (Montgomery: W. D. Brown, 1888), pp. 99–116;
Report of Superintendent of Education for the State of Alabama, 1878, with Tabular Statistics of 1876–7
School-Age
County Population
Autauga
Barbour
Bullock
Butler
Chambers
Choctaw
Clarke
Dallas
Greene
Hale
Lee
Lowndes
Macon
Marengo
Monroe
Montgomery
Perry
Pickens
Russell
Sumter
Wilcox
Exhibit 6.4
and 1915
Sources:
bama, 1887
tion of the State of Alabama, 1915
167
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 167
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
168
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Exhibit 6.5 Number and Percentage of Schoolhouses by Race and Ownership in Selected Alabama Counties
Schoolhouses for Black Children
Schoolhouses for White Children
County
Public
Private
% Public
% Private
Public
Private
% Public
% Private
Autauga
4 26 13.4% 86.6%
30 10 75.0% 25.0%
Barbour
19 23 45.2 54.8
55 10 84.6 15.4
Bullock
17 30 36.2 63.8
24 9 72.7 27.3
Butler
30 17 63.8 36.2
63 8 87.5 12.5
Chambers
31 4
88.6 11.4
56 1
98.2 1.8
Choctaw
36 0
100.0 0
53 8
86.9 13.1
Clarke
31 21 59.6 40.4
74 9 89.2 10.8
Dallas
9 90 9.1 90.9
26 19 57.7 42.3
Greene
33 26 66.0 44.0
27 2 93.1
6.9
Hale
5 51 9.0 91.0
25 17 59.5 40.5
Lee
30 9
77.0 23.0
42 3
93.3 6.7
Lowndes
18 40 30.0 70.0
20 15 57.1 42.9
Macon
45 6
88.2 11.8
24 8
75.0 25.0
Marengo
8 37 17.8 82.2
49 20 71.0 29.0
Monroe
26 20 56.5 43.5
53 20 72.6 27.4
Montgomery
18 77 18.9 81.1
44 18 71.0 29.0
Perry
5 46 9.8 90.2
33 12 73.3 26.7
Pickens
31 19 62.0 38.0
65 9 87.8 12.2
Russell
14 30 31.8 68.2
27 2 93.1
6.9
Sumter
3 34 8.1 91.9
22 10 68.8 31.2
Wilcox
13 14 48.1 51.9
32 22 59.3 40.7
Totals
426
630
40.3%
59.7%
844
232
78.4%
21.6%
Source: Annual Report of the Department of Education of the State of Alabama for the Scholastic Year Ending September 30, 1915 (Montgomery: Brown Printing Company, 1915), pp. 110–16.
Booker T. Washington’s
Washington and his era gives at least some credence to
Bond’s observations.18
Career
There is also much validity to Bond’s suggestion that
Washington’s life is an “illuminating point of departure”
While appraising Booker T. Washington’s influence
from which to examine a critical historical moment in
on public education for Blacks in Alabama, African
the development of African American education, the
American reformer and historian Horace Mann Bond
period from Reconstruction to the great migration of
wrote that “the historian of educational events may find
southern African Americans to the urban North from
in the life of the builder of Tuskegee Institute perhaps
1914 to 1930. Born a slave in 1856, he was already of
the most illuminating point of departure from which to
school age when the former slaves mobilized to create
evaluate the times and the social and economic forces
in the South a system of universal public education.
in which he was involved.” Bond cautioned us not to
Washington, a part of this movement himself, described
make two grave errors. First, we should not attribute
vividly their struggle for education: “Few people who
momentous social and economic changes to Washing-
were not right in the midst of the scenes can form any
ton’s heroic leadership. Second, we should not judge
exact idea of the intense desire which the people of my
his greatness by immediate quantitative and institu-
race showed for education. It was a whole race trying
tional results. After all, said Bond, Booker T. Wash-
to go to school. Few were too young, and none too
ington had become a legend, and “who shall deny the
old, to make the attempt to learn.” As a schoolboy, he
importance of legends, as social forces, in affecting the
worked at a salt furnace from 4 to 9 a.m. before attend-
course of human history?” The continuing interest in
ing day school, and later, he worked in the morning
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 168
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 169
and attended school for a few hours every afternoon.
with what actually happened to Black public education
In 1872, at age 16 and crudely educated, he went off
during Washington’s career, particularly in Alabama’s
to the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in
Black belt, where he became the chief spokesperson for
Hampton, Virginia. He was one of hundreds of young
that struggle.
African Americans who flocked to the normal schools
and colleges in search of an education that would enable
Washington and Schooling
them to lead their people effectively.19
in the Black Belt
Washington started working as a teacher in 1875
and in 1879 became a teacher and assistant at Hampton
In the summer of 1881 Washington went to Macon
Institute. In 1881, he went to Tuskegee and began his
County, Alabama, to become principal of the newly created
life’s work. By that time Reconstruction had collapsed,
Black state normal school in the town of Tuskegee. This
and his career as an educational statesman was launched
was a place in the deep South—the Black belt—where he
in a fundamentally different political context from the
had never been before but where his people had struggled
one in which he attended elementary and normal school.
for generations to forge and nurture a culture that placed a
The South became a one-party region under the control of
high premium on literacy and formal schooling.
a reactionary ruling elite that sought to contain the freed-
The “Tuskegee story” of Washington’s era runs coun-
men’s progressive campaign for democracy and universal
ter to the parallel development of Black education. The
schooling. In this context, Washington rose to great
story is symbolized by a statue on Tuskegee’s campus
heights as an educational and political statesman for
portraying Washington as “lifting the veil of ignorance
African Americans everywhere. Again we are reminded,
from the Negro race.” This particular legacy holds that
as historian Louis R. Harlan has written, “Washington’s
there is plenty of room for debate over Washington’s
rise coincided with a setback of his race.”20
methods, but none over his results. He demonstrated
With Bond’s cautions in mind, great social and
that against overwhelming odds he could turn a dilapi-
political changes will not be attributed to Washing-
dated shanty and a run-down church in rural Alabama
ton’s influence here, nor will his contribution be evalu-
into the most famous Black institution of learning of
ated in terms of institutional results. Nonetheless, it
its time. Over the years schools and colleges (normal
should be borne in mind that one of Washington’s
schools) founded and taught by Tuskegee alumni sprang
important claims and a central part of his legacy was
up throughout the rural South, helping downtrodden
the belief that despite political compromises, he had
African Americans improve and expand their local school
a favorable impact on the advancement of public
systems by finding a common ground of understanding
education in Black communities. In Up from Slavery
with powerful White politicians. This pragmatic philos-
Washington wrote about teachers in Alabama’s Black
ophy, which propelled Washington into national fame
belt, where schools were in session only three to five
and power, is believed to have worked at the local level
months out of the year, and how he and his graduates
to systematically improve public educational opportuni-
worked to improve those conditions. He spoke fre-
ties in Black communities. Thus, despite the setbacks
quently of Tuskegee graduates who were “showing the
in politics, civil rights, and human rights that occurred
people how to extend the school term to 4, 5, and even
during the age of Washington, his disciples were cred-
7 months.” In 1911 he claimed that as a result of the
ited with steadily building an infrastructure of practical
Tuskegee program there existed in Macon County “a
education that protected Black students from the worst
model public school system, supported in part by the
tendencies of southern racism. Some even suggest that
county board of education, and in part by the contri-
Washington’s pragmatic approach, his emphasis on the
butions of the people themselves.”21
work ethic, traditional morality, and industrial educa-
Undoubtedly, Washington was a ceaseless advocate for
tion, “may well have saved Negro education from total
education. On speaking platforms, through periodicals,
destruction.” It is maintained that Washington’s prom-
and in the White and Black press, he lost no opportunity
ises to keep Blacks in their “place” and educate them to
to plead for the advancement of public education. Indeed,
be more efficient laborers “reconciled many whites to the
the chief benefit that Washington intended Black people
idea of Negro education.”22
to receive from the “Atlanta Compromise” speech was the
Whatever grain of truth may be contained in this
chance to attain an education that would fit them for use-
version of the Tuskegee story, it is largely mythology.
ful employment. The central concern of this chapter is
The age of Booker T. Washington was characterized by
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 169
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
170
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
African Americans attended schools and newly founded colleges in great numbers as soon as the law allowed them a formal education. This photo is of a Tuskegee Institute history class, 1902.
the worst treatment of Black public education by state
find common ground with White planters and busi-
and local school officers since the end of slavery. Indeed,
nesspeople. But many African Americans were willing
Washington’s generation was sandwiched between two
to tolerate only one generation of state-enforced illiter-
important progressive eras in southern Black public edu-
acy. Hence, in 1915 Black southerners en masse picked
cation: (1) the two decades (1877–1897) after Recon-
up their “buckets” and headed north in search of bet-
struction and (2) the two decades (1915–1935) after
ter economic and educational opportunities. Just as the
Washington’s death. Both progressive eras were sustained
freedmen had used political power to foster universal
by grassroots movements in Black communities designed
schooling during the Reconstruction era, Black workers
to challenge rather than cooperate with southern White
during the post-Washington era used the withdrawal of
authorities.
their labor power as a powerful form of protest against
It is revealing that the post-Washington school cam-
intolerable economic and social conditions. Many Black
paigns were precipitated mainly by ordinary Black men
families remained in the South, however.
and women who defied one of his sacred principles:
What they did in the two decades after his death was
“Cast down your bucket where you are.” Washington
monumental. Their defiance of southern White author-
urged African Americans to remain in the South and
ity, coupled with a grassroots campaign for universal
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 170
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 171
schooling, radically altered educational opportunities
systems through political clout and legal safeguards.
for Black schoolchildren. The proportion of southern
Ironically, it was Washington who made the observa-
Black children ages 5 to 14 enrolled in school increased
tion in 1902 that “not one of his students had ever
from 36 percent in 1900 to 78 percent by 1935, and
broke into jail or Congress.” Now, to protect the reform
the corresponding rate for Whites went from 55 per-
movement he cherished the most—the advancement
cent in 1900 to 79 percent in 1935. Younger Black
of education in Black communities—he found himself
children, whose rates of enrollment were significantly
needing the very political involvement he had once dis-
lower than those of younger Whites in 1900, had
couraged. Without political clout, Washington could
reached parity by 1935. Black high school enrollment
only stand by and observe quietly, as he did in 1909,
increased from 3 percent of the high-school-age Black
that the advancement of White education “is being
population in 1910 to 18 percent in 1935, and White
made at the expense of Negro education, that is, the
high school enrollment increased from 10 to 54 percent.
money is actually being taken from the colored people
There was far from parity at the secondary level, but
and given to white schools.”24
the overall improvements in Black elementary and sec-
Historians have tended to see Washington’s accom-
ondary schooling represented significant improvement
modationist style of leadership as appropriate to the
since the age of Washington. Undoubtedly, Booker
context of its time, that is, as a pragmatic response to
T. Washington would have been proud of the educa-
the racial injustices of the late 19th and early 20th cen-
tional achievements of his successors, particularly of
turies. They maintain that given the basic inhumanity
rural Black people. It was an educational awakening of
of the era, it is hard to see how Washington could have
the same kind as the freedmen’s school campaigns he
preached a radically different philosophy in his time and
recalled with such pride. It was also a kind that he never
place. However, other leaders in the same era did articu-
witnessed during his career as educational statesman of
late a radically different philosophy, including W. E. B.
Black America.23
Du Bois, William Monroe Taylor, Ida B. Wells-Barnett,
Washington had tried in his own passive style to
and John Hope, to name only a few.
halt the Democrats’ dismantling of the Black pub-
What is perplexing and interesting about Wash-
lic school system. He urged White school reformers,
ington’s era is the manner in which African American
especially northern White philanthropists who worked
leaders of similar social experiences developed such
in the South, to take a strong stand on behalf of state
divergent understandings of and solutions to the prob-
support for Black rural schools. He arranged in 1909
lem of racial oppression. This had much to do with their
for the publication and dissemination of a pamphlet by
different perceptions of social reality and the political
Charles Coon, a White county school superintendent in
meanings they derived from their perceptions. One of
North Carolina, showing that more tax money was paid
the essential qualities of an effective leader is the abil-
by Black North Carolinians than was allocated to their
ity to raise the consciousness of his or her people from
schools. Washington was propagandizing against the
the personal to the social. Common men and women
southern White claim that White taxpayers were paying
experience an oppressive social system in a thousand
for Black public schools, especially in Black belt coun-
personal and seemingly disconnected ways. It is a lead-
ties. He hoped that such efforts would generate a greater
er’s challenge to help the masses see their oppression as
spirit of fairness toward Black public schools.
flowing from a common social source and help them
In several ways Washington sought to expose the
identify their oppressors. The quality of leadership is
gross racial inequality in southern public education. For
determined in large part by the ideological cohesion
example, in 1909 he sent the members of the South-
that leaders provide for their followers, which in turn
ern Education Board evidence that in Lowndes County,
stems directly from the leaders’ perceptions of their
Alabama, $20 per capita went to White schoolchildren
social environment. Put another way, Washington, Du
and $0.67 per capita to Black schoolchildren. Lowndes
Bois, and other leaders held different perceptions of the
was in Alabama’s Black belt, just two counties west
causes of racial oppression, and those different percep-
of Macon. However, there was virtually nothing that
tions led them to put forward different proposals for lib-
Washington could do through letters and propaganda
eration. The remainder of this chapter will first examine
to slow the decline of Black public education. In earlier
Washington’s perceptions of the so-called race problem
times, particularly from 1868 to 1890, Black communi-
during his time and then contrast his views with those
ties were able to check assaults on their public school
of W. E. B. Du Bois.
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 171
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
172
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
An Ideology of African
academic building, close to the general and the other
White teachers.26
American Inferiority
A Liberal Justification for Racial
Early in his career Washington was forced to examine
Oppression: Darwinian Evolution
his perceptions of racial conflict and formulate a coher-
ent explanation of racial inequality in America. As he
One of the first and more enduring lessons Washington
put it, “One of the first questions that I had to answer
learned from Armstrong was the meaning of race, its sig-
for myself after beginning my work at Tuskegee was
nificance throughout human history, and its bearing on
how I was to deal with public opinion on the race ques-
relationships between European Americans and African
tion.” For an answer to this question he resorted not to
Americans. Armstrong sincerely believed that race was the
the social perceptions—folklore and slave-community
key to understanding morality, industry, thrift, responsi-
perceptions of race and slavery—implicit in African
bility, ambition, and the overall social worth of human
American traditions or to his day-to-day experiences in
beings. He believed that the human race was appropri-
an oppressive system of racial subordination but to the
ately divided into the White and the darker races. The
precepts and lessons he had learned at Hampton Insti-
White races were civilized, superior because they had cen-
tute under the tutelage of Samuel Chapman Armstrong,
turies of Christian moral development, hard work, self-
a White Union officer in the Civil War who worked
government, and material prosperity. The darker races,
for the Freedmen’s Bureau in the South. The hallmarks
including Indians, Polynesians (Armstrong was a child
of Washington’s leadership, his conservative social phi-
of missionaries in Hawaii), and Africans, were weak in
losophy, his accommodation with White supremacy
Christian morality, lacked industrious habits, and were
and racial segregation, and his belief in industrial edu-
incapable of self-government and political leadership. As
cation and skilled labor as a means to overcome racial
Armstrong put it, “The [American] white race has had
and class discrimination were well developed in the
three centuries of experience in organizing the forces
1870s and early 1880s. What Washington learned as a
about him, political, social, and physical. The Negro has
student at Hampton Institute from 1872 to 1875 and
had three centuries of experience in general demoraliza-
as a postgraduate from 1879 to 1881 were perceptions
tion and behind that, paganism.”27
of race development, politics, economics, and education
that tended to rationalize historical and contemporary
oppression while offering hope in the distant future.25
Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, on the
According to historian Louis R. Harlan, Washington
eve of the Civil War, the year of John Dewey’s birth and
found in Armstrong “the great White father for whom
Horace Mann’s death. A new era was dawning ideologically
and educationall y.
he had long been searching.” Since Washington knew
that his own father was White but was never certain
of that man’s identity, it is plausible that he longed for
this father figure. What is more certain, however, is that
Washington was overwhelmed by Armstrong and began
to model his conduct and thought on Armstrong’s. In
his autobiography, Up from Slavery, Washington said
of Armstrong, “I shall always remember that the first
time I went into his presence he made the impression
upon me of being a perfect man; I was made to feel that
there was something about him that was superhuman.”
He described Armstrong as “the most perfect specimen
of man, physically, mentally and spiritually” that he had
ever seen, and he considered the best part of his educa-
tion to have been the privilege of being permitted to look
upon General Armstrong each day. Washington had the
opportunity of observing Armstrong closely, for through-
out his three years at Hampton he was a janitor in the
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 172
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 173
This theory of racial evolution was grounded in
the highest civilization that the world knows anything
metaphors derived from Darwin’s theory of biological
about.” The Black race lagged behind the White race
evolution, which swept the European American intel-
not because of slavery and racism but because a semibar-
lectual world and fed the roots of new liberal ideology.
barous race naturally could not keep pace with a highly
The main purpose of race-evolution theory was to pro-
civilized race.
vide a rational explanation of the unequal distribution
While Washington did not condone the enslavement
of wealth and political power among racial groups. The
of African people, he maintained constantly that during
Hampton faculty taught Black students that the subor-
slavery African Americans’ exposure to a highly civilized
dinate position of their race in the South, even in places
race gave them advantages over other uncivilized races.
where they were the overwhelming majority, was not the
As he put it,
result of oppression but of the natural process of moral
and cultural evolution. In other words, Black people
The Indian refused to submit to bondage and to
had only evolved to a cultural stage that was 2,000 years
learn the white man’s ways. The result is that the greater
portion of the American Indians have disappeared, the
behind that of White people, and their inferior position
greater portion of those who remain are not civilized. The
in society therefore represented the natural order of social
Negro, wiser and more enduring than the Indian, patiently
evolution. The darker races were likened to children who
endured slavery; and contact with the white man has given
must crawl before they can walk, must be trained before
him a civilization vastly superior to that of the Indian.28
they can be educated. For it was only after the backward
races put away childish things, stilled their dark laugh-
Although this viewpoint did not condone slavery, it
ter, and subordinated their emotional nature to rational
portrayed it as a school where the allegedly uncivilized
self-discipline that they would be ready to vote, hold
Africans received a jump start on the road to civilized
political office, and enjoy the rights and privileges of first-
life by imitating the best they found in White culture.
class citizenship.
“The Indian and the Negro met on the American con-
tinent for the first time at Jamestown, in 1619,” said
Washington. “Both were in the darkest barbarism.”
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
Two hundred fifty years later the “Negro race” had
Would Charles Darwin the scientist have condoned
learned “to wear clothes, to live in a home, to work
the philosophy of social Darwinism, which was used
with a high degree of regularity and system, and a few
to justify social oppression through a theory of racial
had learned to work with a high degree of skill.” Not
evolution? How would you research the answer?
only this, the African race had learned a fair knowledge
of American culture “and changed from a pagan into
a Christian race.” Thus, in Washington’s mind slavery
Washington learned this lesson well while attending
was a blessing in disguise since it gave “pagan” Africans
Hampton and internalized it as a lens through which
the opportunity to have contact with highly civilized
he perceived and interpreted questions of race develop-
Europeans. This conception of history and progress as
ment, political inequality, and civil rights. As he said
racial evolution led Washington to conclude that racial
in 1900 before the General Conference of the African
inequality was merely the natural order of evolutionary
Methodist Episcopal Church, “My friends, the white
laws, which in turn would lead to equality as the darker,
man is three thousand years ahead of us, and this fact
semibarbarous races became more civilized.29
we might as well face now as well as later, and at one
stage of his development, either in Europe or America,
Avoiding the Issue of Political Power
he has gone through every stage of development that I
now advocate for our race.” Instead of regarding the dif-
Directly and closely related to this perception of racial
ficulties of his race as the result of arbitrary and unjust
evolution was the question of whether the freedmen
oppression, Washington interpreted them as the natu-
should vote and pursue political office, since such rights
ral difficulties that almost every race had been compelled
and privileges were reserved for the fully civilized. In
to overcome in its upward climb from uncivilized life.
Armstrong’s view, the “colored people” should “let poli-
He cautioned White people not to overlook the fact
tics severely alone.” African American voters, he main-
“that geographically and physically the semi-barbarous
tained, were “dangerous to the country in proportion to
Negro race has been thrown right down in the center of
their numbers.” His desire to disfranchise the freedmen
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 173
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
174
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
followed logically from his premise that the freedmen
on voting, he refused to take a public stand against rati-
and women were not civilized and therefore incapable of
fication of the undemocratic constitutions. He sincerely
self-government. Washington also internalized this view
believed in the disfranchisement of the propertyless, the
of Black participation in the body politic. Although he
illiterate, and “backward” races and therefore found it
was opposed to depriving Black men of the legal right of
difficult to fight publicly against restrictions on popular
franchise, like Armstrong he advised that it was a mis-
voting even when such restrictions were more racially
take for them to enter actively into politics. Washington
qualified than he preferred. Indeed, to Washington, the
went beyond urging Black people not to vote or run for
worsening position of African Americans since emanci-
political office; he also counseled them not to speak out
pation seemed to result from the reaction of White vot-
against racial injustice. Race prejudice, he believed, was
ers against Black participation in the body politic. He
something to be lived through, not talked down.
did not object to educational or property tests because
In 1888, one of Tuskegee’s employees, George
he believed that citizenship rights were to be secured
M. Lovejoy, wrote a letter to a Mississippi Black newspa-
by education, property, and character, not by consti-
per protesting the effort of a White mob in Tuskegee to
tutional guarantees. Black people, he insisted, needed
take a Black man from the county jail. The local White
moral training, education, and property before they
newspaper, the Tuskegee News, asked if it was the pur-
would be ready to vote and hold political office.31
pose of Tuskegee Institute to breed hatred of the White
race and warned Lovejoy to leave town. Washington sent
A Liberal Faith: Social Progress
a card to the Tuskegee News bearing this message: “It has
through the Marketplace
always been and is now the policy of the Normal School
to remain free from politics and the discussion of race
The most critical dimension of Washington’s percep-
questions that tend to stir up strife between the races,
tions of his social environment was his belief that hard
and whenever this policy is violated it is done without
labor and the accumulation of property were the keys
the approbation of those in charge of the school.” Thus,
to resolving all social problems. Although this com-
Washington publicly advised the general Black popula-
ponent of his social perceptions diverged from reality
tion to abstain from voting, running for political office,
to a breathtaking degree, in order to understand it, it
or speaking out against racial injustice.
is necessary to see how Washington viewed his world
This directive, however, was not a blanket condem-
and posed solutions based on those perceptions. The
nation of political activity by all African Americans. The
gospel of thrift, industry, and property ownership had
White registrars in his Alabama county gave him a special
been instilled in Washington during his student years
invitation to come in and awarded him a lifetime vot-
at Hampton Institute. Armstrong taught that southern
ing certificate, which he framed and hung in his home.
White opposition to Black participation in politics did
Washington voted and urged a few selected African
not exist in the arenas of education and economics. He
Americans to vote, but both publicly and privately he
insisted that “there was no power and little disposition
favored restrictions that would prevent the propertyless
on the part of leading white conservatives to prevent the
and illiterate of both races from voting.30
colored people from acquiring wealth and education.”
During Washington’s career as head of Tuskegee
He argued further that “competition in the North” held
Institute, Macon County’s Black population increased
back skilled African American workers “more than prej-
from 74 percent of the county’s population in 1880
udice at the South.” Southern Black mechanics, accord-
to 85 percent in 1910. The position he took encour-
ing to Armstrong, had “a fair field.” He was very careful
aged the disfranchisement of the masses of Black voters.
to point out that it was only in the South that Black
Meanwhile, the state constitution protected the White
people had practically a fair field in the commercial
vote with various loopholes. The result was that the
world and the world of skilled labor.32
small White minority maintained exclusive control of
Washington, like Armstrong, made sharp distinctions
the county’s political system during Washington’s era, a
between what did and could happen in the economic
control that continued until after the passage of the Vot-
world and what did and could happen in the social and
ing Rights Act of 1965. Washington’s major complaint
political worlds. “Man may discriminate,” said Wash-
was that the Whites in power did not apply the voting
ington, “but the economic laws of trade and commerce
restrictions equally to both races. Nevertheless, as state
cannot discriminate.” He thought that economic life
after state placed property and educational restrictions
and all individuals’s economic actions were controlled
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 174
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 175
by natural laws, which individuals defied at their peril.
These perfect laws disallowed anything so irrational as
race prejudice. “When an individual produces what the
world wants,” Washington believed, “the world does
not stop long to inquire what is the color of the skin of
the producer.” This perception distorted the fact that in
reality the South was very conscious of skin color, espe-
cially in the realm of economics. The region had just
emerged from two and a half centuries of slavery, a sys-
tem of economic exploitation based exclusively on race.
Washington saw slavery differently and interpreted it in
a manner consistent with his perception of the natural
laws of economics. In his view,
Under God, as bad as slavery was, it prepared the way
for the solving of this [race] problem by this [business]
method. The two hundred and fifty years of slavery taught
the Southern white man to do business with the Negro.
If a Southern white man wanted a house built he con-
sulted a Negro mechanic about the building of that house;
if he wanted a suit of clothes made, he consulted a Negro
tailor. And, thus, in a limited sense, every large plantation
in the South during slavery was, in measure, an industrial
school.33
Booker T. Washington believed in the racial neutrality of the
Since emancipation, Washington perceived, “The
marketplace and felt that if African Americans achieved eco-
Negro in the South has not only found a practically
nomic success, political and social gains would automatically
free field in the commercial world, but in the world
follow.
of skilled labor.” He often told Black southerners
that “when one comes to business pure and simple,
Brooklyn, New York, audience in 1896, is typical of
stripped of all ideas of sentiment, the Negro is given
Washington’s perception of economic opportunities for
almost as good an opportunity to rise as is given to
Black people in the North:
the white man.” To Washington it followed that the
Not long ago a mother, a black mother, who lived
South was a place where African Americans had equal
in one of your Northern states, had heard it whispered
opportunity to succeed in the labor market and the
around in her community for years that the Negro was
commercial world. “Whenever the Negro has lost
lazy, shiftless, and would not work. So when her boy grew
ground industrially in the South,” said Washington in
to sufficient size, at considerable expense and great self-
1898, “it is not because there is prejudice against him
sacrifice, she had her boy thoroughly taught the machin-
as a skilled laborer on the part of the Native Southern
ist’s trade. A job was secured in a neighboring shop. . . .
white man, for the Southern white man generally pre-
What happened? . . . Every one of the twenty white men
fers to do business with the Negro as a mechanic rather
threw down his tools and deliberately walked out, swear-
than with a white one.”34
ing that he would not give a black man an opportunity to
What was peculiar about this article of faith was
earn an honest living. Another shop was tried, with the
same results, and still another and the same.35
Washington’s belief that racially neutral laws of labor
and commerce existed in the South, the land of slav-
In such instances Washington did not ignore the fact that
ery and peasantry, but not in the North, the land of
racism was present in the labor markets and contradicted
capitalism and free labor. In almost every speech or essay
his notion that the natural laws of labor and commerce
in which he extolled equal economic opportunity for
precluded race prejudice. “Hundreds of Negroes in the
Black southerners, he was quick to point out that racial
North become criminals who would become strong
prejudice was a key barrier to Black economic progress
and useful men if they were not discriminated against
in the North. The following story, which he told to a
as bread winners,” Washington observed in 1900. But
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 175
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
176
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
this was the North; he saw the South as the exact oppo-
citizenship would come to Blacks in proportion to their
site. Throughout his career he held to the belief that race
accumulation of property, education, and good jobs. In
prejudice and discrimination did not influence occupa-
reality, from Reconstruction to 1915, Black people were
tional and commercial opportunities in the South.36
acquiring significantly more property and education as
Although this perception of economic reality had vir-
they were being stripped of basic civil and political rights.
tually no basis in fact, Washington held to it unswerv-
As Washington perceived his social world, he stood real-
ingly, in part because it was critical to his proposals
ity on its head, believing that the accumulation of prop-
for solving the problem of racial oppression. “There is
erty and education would lead to respect and first-class
almost no prejudice against the Negro in the South in
citizenship precisely at the moment when the opposite
matters of business, so far as the native whites are con-
was unfolding.37
cerned, and here is the entering wedge for the solution of
the race problem,” said Washington in 1898. Economic
The Washington Solution
development and its foundation, industrial education,
were viewed by Washington as the entering wedge for
Perhaps because he accommodated so easily to the south-
solving the race problem because he believed strongly
ern system of racial inequality, Washington roman-
that material prosperity was the real basis of civil and
ticized the region’s economic life as providing a firm
political equality. “In proportion as the ignorant secure
foundation for emancipation from racial oppression.
education, property and character,” he said in 1898,
Acquiescence in racial segregation was one of the prices
“they will be given the right of citizenship.” This social
he believed he had to pay for peace with White south-
perception and its inherent resolution shifted the ques-
erners. He also counseled Black people to stay away
tion of citizenship from rights guaranteed by federal and
from politics and not to agitate for civil rights. Another
state constitutional law to a reward granted for material
concession was a rather sweeping abandonment of the
success.
First Amendment guarantee of free speech. It was his
Washington argued that when Black southern-
policy to refrain from discussions of controversial race-
ers demonstrated the virtues of good businesspeople
relations questions, and he forbade his faculty and
by getting property, good jobs, nice houses, and bank
students from speaking out against racial injustice. In
accounts, White southerners would give Black people
his imagined world of southern economics no law could
the ballot and other perquisites of full citizenship with-
push individuals forward if they were worthless and no
out a qualm. Consequently, he did not believe in politi-
law could hold them back if they were worthy. Thus
cal means toward liberation and equality, thinking that
his solutions for solving the race problem—industrial
political action was at best a waste of time and at worst
education and economic development—flowed logically
the cause of White backlash. “We have spent time and
from his perception of the natural laws of southern eco-
money in political conventions, making idle political
nomic life.38
speeches, that could have been better spent in becom-
In theory, Washington’s proposal for Black progress
ing leading real estate dealers and leading carpenters and
worked like this: industrial education would provide the
truck gardeners, and thus have laid an imperial foun-
skills for business and occupational success, and this suc-
dation on which we could have stood and demanded
cess would earn civil and political rights. This approach
our rights,” he proclaimed in 1898. He said that it was
to solving the “race problem” called for the education
right that all the privileges guaranteed to Blacks by the
of the masses in skilled occupations and business leader-
U.S. Constitution be sacredly guarded. But the “mere
ship. But Washington’s theory about the natural laws
fiat of law,” he cautioned, “could not make a dependent
of commerce and trade and equal opportunities for
man an independent man” or “make one race respect
Black people to succeed therein was not borne out by
another.” “One race respects another in proportion as it
day-to-day practices. Indeed, he often received infor-
contributes to the markets of the world,” he contended.
mation that described a real world of economic racism,
Washington alleged that “almost without exception,
the exact opposite of the racially neutral world of trade
whether in the North or in the South, wherever I have
and commerce he imagined. In 1904, for example, Black
seen a Negro who was succeeding in business, who was
businesspeople who exemplified Washington’s ideal of
a taxpayer, a man who possessed intelligence and high
success were molested in West Point, Mississippi. Isaiah
moral character, that man was treated with respect by
T. Montgomery, entrepreneur and founder of the town
the people of both races.” Hence, respect and first-class
of Mound Bayou, Mississippi, wrote him:
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 176
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 177
Historical Context
Schooling and African Americans
1800–1840
1806
New York City provides schools for Black children
1833
American educator Prudence Crandell defies White
for the first time
townspeople in Connecticut by accepting a Black
1807
Bell School, the first school for Black children
girl into her school
in Washington, DC, is established by freedmen
1833
Oberlin College (Ohio), the first coeducational
George Bell, Nicholas Franklin, and Moses Liverpool
college, is integrated from the outset and serves as
1818
Philadelphia free Blacks establish Pennsylvania
a leader in the abolitionist cause
Augustine Society “for the education of people
1834
First Black-funded school for Blacks in Cincinnati,
of colour”; schools for Blacks receive public aid in
Ohio, opens
Philadelphia
1837
Angelina and Sarah Grimke found the National
1823
Mississippi enacts laws that prohibit teaching read-
Female Anti-Slavery Society, one of the few such
ing and writing to Blacks and meetings of more than
societies to include women of color from the start
five slaves or free Blacks
1837
Institute for Colored Youth, the first Black
1824
American teacher and church worker Sophia
coeducational classical high school, opens in
B. Packard (1824–1891) establishes a Negro college
Philadelphia
in Georgia
1838
Ohio law prohibits the education of Black children at
1827
About 140 antislavery groups exist in United States
the expense of the state
1831
Slave Nat Turner leads rebellion against slavery
1839
Benjamin Roberts, a Black printer, sues the Boston
1832
Free Blacks petition the Pennsylvania state
School Committee to gain admission to a common
legislature to admit their children to public school;
school for his daughter
the petition is unsuccessful
1840–1880
1852
Antislavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin is written by
1865–1867
Institutions of higher learning for African
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Americans are established (now known as
1857
In Dred Scott case, U.S. Supreme Court rules
historically Black colleges and universities, like
slavery is legal in U.S. territories
Howard and Fisk)
1859
Harper’s Ferry raid led by abolitionist John Brown in
1867
Peabody Fund is established to provide
West Virginia is unsuccessful in attempt to start a
endowments, scholarships, and teacher and
slave uprising
industrial education for newly freed slaves
1861
Civil War begins
across the nation
1863
American abolitionist and “conductor” on the
1868
Congress passes Fourteenth Amendment,
Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman leads a raid
which grants Blacks full citizenship and equal
that frees 750 slaves
civil rights; it is later ratified
1863
Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
1868
Hampton Institute is opened by ex-Union
1864
Lincoln signs a bill mandating the creation of public
officer Samuel Chapman Armstrong in
schools for Blacks in Washington, DC
Hampton, Virginia
1865
Thirteenth Amendment to U.S. Constitution
1877
End of Reconstruction and restoration of
abolishes slavery
conservative state governments in the South
hinder public education of African Americans
1880–1920
1881
Tuskegee Institute is founded by Booker
1903
Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk, a collection of
T. Washington
essays, is published
1895
W. E. B. Du Bois receives the first doctoral degree
1909
Du Bois and others, including Whites, meet and
awarded to a Black from Harvard University
advocate a civil rights organization to combat
1896
Plessy v. Ferguson, Supreme Court decision used
growing violence against Black Americans; later the
to support constitutionality of separate schools for
National Association for the Advancement of
Whites and Blacks
Colored People (1910)
1902
John D. Rockefeller establishes General Education
1915
Carter G. Woodson founds the Association for the
Board, a powerful philanthropic foundation
Study of Negro Life and History; much of its early
support comes from women
Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
What evidence can you identify to support or refute the following interpretation of the timeline? The 19th- and early-20th-century history of African American schooling is not a story of steady progress, but one of partial progress punctuated by significant legal and educational setbacks of enduring influence.
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 177
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
178
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Thomas Harvey runs a neat little Grocery, he kept a
There were insufficient classroom and shop facilities to
Buggy and frequently rode to his place of business, he was
teach skilled trades.
warned to sell his buggy and walk. Mr. Chandler keeps a
The situation was similar with respect to the teach-
Grocery, he was ordered to leave, but was finally allowed
ing of commercial or business subjects. In 1906, while
to remain on good behavior. Mr. Meacham ran a busi-
assessing Tuskegee’s offerings in the teaching of business
ness and had a Pool Table in connection therewith, he
and commercial subjects, Robert E. Park discovered that
was ordered to close up and don overalls for manual labor.
“there is a large amount of business conducted by the
Mr. Cook conducted a hack business between the Depots
school, but there is no school of business here.” There
and about town, using two vehicles, he was notified that
he would be allowed to run only one and was ordered to
were “a large number of stenographers employed on the
sell the other.
ground but stenography and typewriting are not taught
here.” Three papers and a number of pamphlets were
Another West Point businessman, a Black printer named
published at Tuskegee, but printing was not taught there.
Buchanan, had a piano in his home and allowed his daugh-
There was not even a formal course in bookkeeping.
ter, who was his cashier and bookkeeper, to ride the family
In reality, Tuskegee was neither a trade school nor a
buggy to and from work until “a mass meeting of whites
business school. It was a normal school, and its chief aim
decided that the mode of living practiced by the Buchanan
was to train teachers. Its philosophical commitment to
family had a bad effect on the cooks and washer women,
industrial education translated in practice into a routine of
who aspired to do likewise, and became less disposed to
hard unskilled and semiskilled labor that was designed to
work for the whites.” A White mob forced the family to
teach prospective teachers the social–psychological value
flee without allowing them even to pack. So much for the
of hard work. The teachers in turn were expected to trans-
economic panacea for solving the race problem. Economic
late the Tuskegee work ethic to the millions of African
reality was a far cry from the gospel of thrift, industry, and
American schoolchildren in the South. In a word, Tuskeg-
wealth preached in Washington’s speeches and essays.
ee’s industrial education was the teaching of the work ethic,
The racist barriers against Black success in business stood
not the teaching of trade and business skills. This consti-
tall and firm, and in the world of work the White South
tuted an accommodation to the South’s economic system
relegated the vast majority of Black people to the most
based on racial inequality, not a foundation from which to
disagreeable and poorest paid occupations.39
achieve economic independence and civil rights.40
Underneath it all Washington, though preaching a
gospel of material prosperity, seemed to accommodate to
economic repression as he did to political and civil repres-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
sion. Specifically, Tuskegee Institute did not attempt to
supply the South with graduates trained in skilled trades
The authors claim, “In reality, Tuskegee . . . was a nor-
or business leadership and therefore offered no direct
mal school,” lies at the heart of the authors’ critique
competition to White dominance in those areas. Stories
of Washington. But what’s so bad about Tuskegee
about Tuskegee were so filled with rhetoric about indus-
being a normal school?
trial education that both contemporary observers and
later historians mistakenly assumed that trade, techni-
cal, and commercial training formed the essence of the
Before leaving this critical interpretation of Booker T.
institute’s curriculum. In fact, Tuskegee placed little
Washington, it is important to recognize that W. E. B.
emphasis on trade and commercial training. In 1903
Du Bois, one of Washington’s strongest critics, wrote,
Daniel C. Smith, Tuskegee’s auditor, made a study of
“By 1905 . . . I had much admiration for Mr. Wash-
the school’s industrial training program. According to
ington and Tuskegee,” and, on another occasion, “One
Smith, of 1,550 students, “there were only a dozen stu-
hesitates, therefore, to criticize a life which, beginning
dents in the school capable of doing a fair job as join-
with so little has done so much” (see the Primary Source
ers. There were only fifteen boys who could lay brick.”
Reading). Like Du Bois, we can examine Washington’s
“Meanwhile,” Smith continued, “the number of students
shortcomings while giving credit where it is due. Pre-
who are doing unskilled drudgery work is increasing, and
cious few citizens in the history of the United States
the number who receive no training through the use of
have founded universities of the stature of Tuskegee, an
tools is getting to be very large.” The few students who
institution that would later become a true university and
did learn skilled trades seemed to learn them on the job.
educate generations of leaders in all walks of our national
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 178
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 179
life. Such an accomplishment cannot be ignored. How-
ever, Du Bois and other Black leaders felt compelled to
challenge Washington’s social, political, and educational
perspectives—and to challenge the way in which he went
about building and protecting Tuskegee. Developing an
appreciation of Washington’s accomplishments while
recognizing the source of Du Bois’s criticisms is a chal-
lenge to anyone who wishes to understand the history of
education in the United States.
William Edward Burghardt
Du Bois
Although Booker T. Washington was clearly the most
prominent Black leader in the United States from
1895 until his death in 1915, his vocational-education
Unlike Booker T. Washington, who believed social and politi-
approach to the social and economic problems of Black
cal success would follow naturally from economic success,
people did not appeal to all African Americans. By
W. E. B. Du Bois believed that economic and social gains
1903, he was being criticized publicly by William E. B.
would occur only as a result of political gains.
Du Bois, an influential leader in his own right.
“Among Negro Americans,” writes historian John
on African American life. He was at this time primarily
Hope Franklin, “there could hardly be a greater contrast
a scholar and had little interest in political activism. “By
than the careers of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B.
1905,” he wrote, “I was still a teacher at Atlanta University
Du Bois” (pronounced by Du Bois himself to rhyme
and was in my imagination a scientist, and neither a leader
with “toys”).41 Unlike Washington, who had been born
nor an agitator; I had much admiration for Mr. Washing-
into Virginia slavery, Du Bois was born in 1868 in Great
ton and Tuskegee.”43 Despite that admiration, Du Bois
Barrington, Massachusetts, where he recalled more eth-
was also critical of Washington. In his early Atlanta years
nic discrimination against the Irish than against the 25
Du Bois came to see that when he did disagree with the
to 50 Black inhabitants among the population of some
Black leader’s belief s, such disagreements were considered
5,000 people.42 After excelling in school, Du Bois trav-
to be an attack on Washington and were interpreted by
eled south to attend Fisk University in Nashville, one
Washington’s followers as hostile to Black people in gen-
of the historically Black institutions founded during
eral. This stifling of criticism, perhaps more than any other
Reconstruction. At Fisk, Du Bois studied a traditional
fact of Washington’s organization, aroused Du Bois’s ire.
liberal arts curriculum that emphasized the classics. He
As Du Bois records in his Autobiography, the “Tuskegee
read Homer, Livy, and Sophocles but also studied the
machine” was able to use White financial backing to buy
sciences, German, and philosophy. After graduating
up Black-owned newspapers that criticized Washington’s
with a B.A., Du Bois entered Harvard University, but
leadership. In 1903, in The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois
because he had graduated from a Black institution, he
took Washington to task for stifling the “earnest criticism”
had to enroll as a junior. Majoring in philosophy, Du
that Du Bois believed was the “soul of democracy.”44
Bois graduated cum laude and then traveled to Berlin,
where he pursued graduate study for two years. After
returning to the United States, Du Bois received a Ph.D.
degree at Harvard, and his dissertation on the African
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#4
slave trade was later published as the first volume of the
Imagine that you are a student about to graduate from
Harvard Historical Series.
Tuskegee Institute in 1900. Would you urge a friend
In 1897 Du Bois accepted a faculty position at Atlanta
to go to Tuskegee or to the liberal arts–oriented Fisk
University, where he and his graduate students began
University? Why? What reasons would you give?
authoring what would become a series of 18 volumes
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 179
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
180
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
A second major problem for Du Bois was the unabated
oppression of Black southerners. From his college days at
Fisk until 1900, over 2,000 African Americans had been
lynched. Black citizens were taken out of their homes
by White gangs and executed in front of their families.
Others were taken out of jails and hanged without trial.
Washington preferred not to talk about such racist vio-
lence and in fact avoided discussing discrimination and
prejudice in public whenever possible. Du Bois, however,
like a number of other Black leaders in the South, soon
came to believe that racist Whites were only too happy to
see the energies of the only powerful Black leader in the
nation directed toward vocational education .
As a direct result of a 1908 racially motivated street
riot in Springfield, Illinois, which involved the lynch-
ing of two Black men, the National Negro Committee
was formed in New York. Du Bois was one of the fea-
tured speakers at the inaugural meeting, and he chaired
the committee that nominated its first governing body.
Two years later, the committee became the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP), and Du Bois was invited to be its director of
publications and research. At the NAACP he founded
and edited The Crisis, a magazine to educate Black
Du Bois edited The Crisis for the National Association for the
and White people alike to the realities of racism. The
Advancement of Colored People, in which he addressed issues
magazine, which published such information as running
of race and racism for a wide audience.
totals of racist lynchings, reached a remarkable circula-
tion of 100,000 by 1918. Not surprisingly, the Tuskegee
in the nation’s laws, its educational system, political life,
machine opposed the formation of the NAACP. Also
and economic practices—was tacit accep tance of the
not surprisingly, Du Bois used the pages of The Crisis to
oppression of African Americans. Washington’s route
criticize Washington. “To discuss the Negro question in
to assimilation of African Americans into mainstream
1910 was to discuss Booker T. Washington,” Du Bois
American life was through acquiescence, charged Du
later wrote in his autobiography.45 For example, after
Bois, who argued that assimilation should be obtained
Washington had presented a series of speeches in Eng-
through self-assertion instead. Where Washington advo-
land “along his usual conciliatory lines,” Du Bois wrote
cated that Black people should make the best of a bad
the following to a British and European audience:
situation by acquiring a vocational education and earn-
ing a living, Du Bois called for organized public pro-
Mr. Washington . . . is a distinguished American and
test, legal action against racist institutions, and higher
has a perfect right to his opinions. But we are compelled
education for Blacks. It was a source of great pain to
to point out that Mr. Washington’s large financial respon-
Du Bois that Washington’s approach to assimilation
sibilities have made him dependent on the rich charitable
public and that, for this reason, he has for years been com-
was as influential as it was, while his own emphasis on
pelled to tell, not the whole truth, but that part of it which
civil rights, political rights, and higher education was
certain powerful interests in America wish to appear as the
not implemented until the civil rights movement of
whole truth.
the 1950s and 1960s. Du Bois lived until 1963, long
enough to see some of his ideas influence civil rights
The “whole truth,” for Du Bois, included attention
legislation and higher education for African Ameri-
to the institutionalization of racism and racist oppres-
cans. In fact, when news of Du Bois’s death reached
sion in the United States: not just in the South but in the
the leadership of a massive civil rights march on Wash-
North as well. Du Bois believed that Washington’s failure
ington, DC, on August 28, 1963, NAACP executive
to confront and emphasize that racism—institutionalized
secretary Roy Wilkins told the assembled throng, “It is
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 180
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 181
incontrovertible that at the dawn of the twentieth cen-
“It seems to me,” said Booker T.—
tury, his was the voice calling you to gather here today
“I don’t agree,”
in this cause.”46 It is that voice that we let speak for
said W. E. B.
itself in the chapter-end Primary Source Reading from
Souls of Black Folk, 1903.
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#5
Perhaps the most interesting summary of the
basic differences between Booker T. Washington and
Du Bois wrote, “When to earth and brute is added an
W. E. B. Du Bois is contained in the following poem by
environment of men and ideas, then the attitude of
Dudley Randall. The student who can readily provide
the imprisoned group may take three main forms,—a
an interpretation of each of its stanzas is likely to have a
feeling of revolt and revenge; an attempt to adjust all
good grasp of several major issues in this chapter.
thought and action to the will of the greater group;
or, finally, a determined effort at self-realization and
Booker T. and W. E. B.
self-development despite environing opinion.” How-
ever Du Bois might characterize Washington, how
by Dudley Randall 47
would you place Washington’s vocational-education
“It seems to me,” said Booker T.,
approach with respect to the three responses pro-
“It shows a mighty lot of cheek
posed by Du Bois? To what degree does Washing-
To study chemistry and Greek
ton’s approach fit one or more of those descriptions?
When Mister Charlie needs a hand
Explain.
To hoe the cotton on his land,
And when Miss Ann looks for a cook,
Why stick your nose inside a book?”
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
“I don’t agree,” said W. E. B.
“If I should have the drive to seek
Entering the 20th century, not only the South but
Knowledge of chemistry or Greek,
the entire United States was undergoing basic
I’ll do it. Charles and Miss can look
changes in its political economy and dominant ide-
Another place for hand or cook.
ology. Not surprisingly, the conflict of educational
Some men rejoice in skill of hand,
ideas between Booker T. Washington and W. E. B.
And some in cultivating land,
Du Bois reflected similar conflicts among educa-
But there are others who maintain
tional thinkers throughout the country. Nation-
The right to cultivate the brain.”
ally prominent St. Louis educator William Torrey
“It seems to me,” said Booker T.,
Harris spoke for many other White educators when
“That all you folks have missed the boat
he observed that Washington’s vocational approach
Who shout about the right to vote,
to the education of Black people was of “so univer-
And spend vain days and sleepless nights
sal a character that it applies to the downtrodden
In uproar over civil rights.
of all races, without reference to color.”
Just keep your mouths shut, do not grouse,
As Chapter 4 will also illustrate, educating “the
But work, and save, and buy a house.”
downtrodden” became a primary concern for
educators almost exactly a hundred years ago.
“I don’t agree,” said W. E. B.,
If Booker T. Washington’s approach was contro-
“For what can property avail
versial for African Americans in the South, it was
If dignity and justice fail?
to become just as controversial for the education
Unless you help to make the laws,
They’ll steal your house with trumped-up
of poor and immigrant children throughout the
clause.
nation. The differences between Washington and
A rope’s as tight, a fire as hot,
Du Bois can be viewed in terms of several basic
No matter how much cash you’ve got.
controversies regarding the education of American
Speak soft, and try your little plan,
youth in general—Black or brown or White, Italian
But as for me, I’ll be a man.”
or Swede, male or female, rich or poor. Five of these
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 181
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
182
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
issues that would remain important throughout the
schools should serve the interests of industry
revolution in American schooling in the early 20th
and the economic order, might this not fail
century, remain important today.
to serve the interests of “those most nearly
touched” by schooling—the students them-
1. Education for social stability: If schools take
selves? In general, are there dangers in a
as one of their primary missions the education
system in which the economically and politi-
of children for a stable society, what becomes
cally powerful determine what education
of developing in children the intellectual and
will best serve the interests of the majority of
critical capacities necessary for a free society?
young people?
In general, do education for social stability and
education for freedom mean the same thing?
While each of these issues represents an area
2. Education for employable skills: If schooling
of disagreement between B. T. Washington and
is intended primarily to develop employable
W. E. B. Du Bois, each also represents a problem for
skills among students, might this not result in
educational leaders and classroom teachers today.
most students being educated at a level well
In the end, as we saw in John Dewey’s article “Edu-
below their highest intellectual capacities,
cation and Social Change,” schools serve certain
which include the ability to think analytically
roles for society, and that’s why people pay taxes
and critically in the various disciplines of the
to support them (see the Primary Source Reading in
humanities, social sciences, mathematics, and
Chapter 4). Citizens believe there are social goals
sciences? Are there times when education for
being served, and these goals are often debated:
employable skills tends to conflict with educa-
employable skills or a liberal education for every
tion for intellectual development?
child and youth? Should schools seek to enhance
3. Schooling for social reform: If schools are
industrial competition with other nations or should
they focus on each child as an end in himself or
assigned the task of responding to deep
herself? Dewey also pointed out that when schools
social problems such as racial discrimination,
serve the interests of some parts of society, they
civil rights inequities, and conflicts between
may necessarily fail to serve others. Thus it might
labor and management, might this not result
be said that teachers may have to decide whose
in failure to address these and other social
interests they will serve first, and they may have
problems in more direct and more effective
to be able to articulate and defend those choices.
ways—such as legislation for basic changes
Does your own philosophy of education make clear
in civil rights or in the workplace? In general,
whose interests you intend your teaching to serve?
does schooling for social reform take atten-
How might that be communicated most clearly?
tion away from the more fundamental and
achievable educational goal of education for
individual human development?
4. Education for group differences: If differences
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#6
among people (like skin color, gender, or class)
Some students familiar with Du Bois’s criticism of
are considered so important that different kinds
Washington have defended Washington’s approach
of education should be provided for children
as a “practical” solution that sought to accomplish
from these different groups, might this not
what could be done for Black people under the
result in the most value—and valued—kinds of
conditions of that particular place and time. Yet
education being reserved largely for those who
Du Bois believed that Washington fundamentally
are already most privileged? In general, which
misinterpreted those conditions and that given the
political–economic and ideological realities of the
is better—education for group differences or
period, Washington’s solution was truly impractical
education for what people have in common?
as a route to Black advancement. Which leader had
5. Education for whose interests? If people in
the stronger position, in your view, and why?
positions of economic power decide that
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 182
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 183
An African American Teacher’s Reflection on Chapter 6
Chapter 6 on African American education in the United
Here is precisely where understanding the historical
States causes me to reflect on how my students value
background can affect instructing and learning. I could
education—and why. Teaching in a challenging school
have easily labeled Mr. B as lazy and unconcerned with
on the west side of Chicago, I constantly fought “learned
schooling. Actually, that is part of his personal challenge
helplessness.” My students seemed to be placing them-
and he will have to learn to take responsibility for his behav-
selves in a lose–lose situation by not doing their work and
ior or suffer the consequences. The question for me as his
not even trying. As a teacher working with students whom
teacher is, “What do I have to do to help him learn what he
some might call lazy and unmotivated, I began to see how
needs to learn if he is to succeed amidst the realities of a
important it is to develop a keen sense of discernment, to
society with few options for uneducated people in general
resist falling for the stereotypical view that blames these
and uneducated Black people in particular?” To this end,
kids for their own failure.
the historical educational experiences of African Americans
As educators, we must take into account the history
through slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, desegregation
of the educational experience of African American peo-
during the sixties, and present-day desegregation and
ple. Teachers must be more than just familiar with the
choice schools offer a perspective worth considering.
historic background; they must understand the history
These periods have all included challenges for African
of the triadic relationship of political economy, ideology,
Americans where oppressive forces were predominant
and schooling from both the White and Black perspec-
over the reforms and “equitable” policies being made for
tives. These understandings link directly to the subtle
all children. Schooling has not had the same history as a
discernment needed in the classroom.
route to success in the Black community, particularly for
White teachers and Black teachers alike often arrive at
low-income Blacks, as it has in other communities; it has
a school like mine with the “baggage” of low expectations
not been established as a trustworthy route to a better life.
of their students. If they come with high expectations, they
In the Black community, it is well known that you can “try
often quickly lower them to what they say is a “realistic”
hard” and still not get ahead. Why try hard, under those
level. To change perspectives and deepen knowledge to
conditions?
improve instruction, teachers must have an unusually
This interpretation may be debatable, but it helps me see
strong understanding of what’s going on with the students.
Mr. B as something other—something more—than lazy or
For example, young Mr. B is a handsome, witty Afri-
unmotivated. The bottom line is we must be mindful of the
can American sophomore in my math class who does
way we make sense of our students, because we will teach
not take homework seriously, rarely studies, and is often
them that way. I’m not sure that schools have changed
talkative. Yet, he is a well-mannered and likable young
very much since that time, although the world around us
man. The key factor that Mr. B never seemed to learn
has changed dramatically. While our process of schooling
through my course was valuing learning and something
would look familiar to time-travelers from the progressive
we typically call a “work ethic.” I have no doubt he could
era, our postindustrial, digital society would not.
have worked consistently at an A level. Yet, devaluing
—Clay Braggs, high school mathematics teacher
the educative process resulted in consistent grades of C.
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 183
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
184
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Primary Source Reading
these things; he put enthusiasm, unlimited energy, and
perfect faith into this programme, and changed it from
a by-path into a veritable Way of Life. And the tale of
Following is the full text of W. E. B. Du Bois’s essay “Of
the methods by which he did this is a fascinating study
Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” In his essay,
of human life.
Du Bois criticizes Booker T. Washington’s failure to
It startled the nation to hear a Negro advocating such
challenge the racist ideology and social structure that
a programme after many decades of bitter complaint; it
were responsible for the oppression of Blacks in the
startled and won the applause of the South, it interested
United States. Students should read the selection care-
and won the admiration of the North; and after a con-
fully and critically, keeping in mind the historical context
fused murmur of protest, it silenced if it did not convert
of the essay.
the Negroes themselves.
To gain the sympathy and cooperation of the various
elements compromising the white South was Mr. Wash-
ington’s first task; and this, at the time Tuskegee was
Primary Source Reading
founded, seemed, for a black man, well-nigh impossible.
And yet ten years later it was done in the word[s]
Of Mr. Booker T. Washington
spoken at Atlanta. “In all things purely social we can be
and Others
as separate as the five fingers, and yet one as the hand
in all things essential to mutual progress.” This “Atlanta
W. E. B. Du Bois
Compromise” is by all odds the most notable thing in
Mr. Washington’s career. The South interpreted it in
From birth till death enslaved; in word, in deed,
different ways: the radicals received it as a complete sur-
unmanned!
render of the demand for civil and political equality;
. . .
the conservatives, as a generously conceived working
Hereditary bondsmen! Know ye not
basis for mutual understanding. So both approved it,
Who would be free themselves must strike the blow?
and today its author is certainly the most distinguished
Southerner since Jefferson Davis, and the one with the
Byron
largest personal following.
Easily the most striking thing in the history of the American
Next to the achievement comes Mr. Washington’s
Negro since 1876 is the ascendancy of Booker T.
work in gaining place and consideration in the North.
Washington. It began at the time when war memories
Others less shrewd and tactful had formerly essayed to
and ideals were rapidly passing; a day of astonishing
sit on these two stools and had fallen between them; but
commercial development was dawning; a sense of doubt
as Mr. Washington knew the heart of the South from
and hesitation overtook the freedmen’s sons,—then
birth and training, so by singular insight he intuitively
it was that his leading began. Mr. Washington came,
grasped the spirit of the age which was dominating the
with a single definite programme, at the psychological
North. And so thoroughly did he learn the speech and
moment when the nation was a little ashamed of hav-
thought of triumphant commercialism, and the ideals
ing bestowed so much sentiment on Negroes, and was
of material prosperity, that the picture of a lone black
concentrating its energies on Dollars. His programme
boy poring over a French grammar amid the weeds and
of industrial education, conciliation of the South, and
dirt of a ne glected home soon seemed to him the acme of
submission and silence as to civil and political rights,
absurdities. One wonders what Socrates and St. Francis
was not wholly original; the Free Negroes from 1830 up
of Assisi would say to this.
to war-time had striven to build industrial schools, and
And yet this very singleness of vision and thorough
the American Missionary Association had from the first
oneness with his age is a mark of the successful man. It
taught various trades; and Price and others had sought
is as though Nature must needs make men narrow in
a way of honorable alliance with the best of the South-
order to give them force. So Mr. Washington’s cult has
erners. But Mr. Washington first indissolubly linked
gained unquestioning followers, his work has wonder-
fully prospered, his friends are legion, and his enemies
are confounded. Today he stands as the one recognized
Source: From The Souls of Black Folk, reprinted in John Hope Franklin, ed., Three Negro Classics (New York: Avon Books, 1965), 242–52.
spokesman of his ten million fellows, and one of the
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 184
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 185
most notable figures in a nation of seventy millions.
and power that, steering as he must between so many
One hesitates, therefore, to criticize a life which, begin-
diverse interests and opinions, he so largely retains the
ning with so little has done so much. And yet the time
respect of all.
is come when one may speak in all sincerity and utter
But the hushing of the criticism of honest opponents
courtesy of the mistakes and shortcomings of Mr.
is a dangerous thing. It leads some of the best of the
Washington’s career, as well as of his triumphs, without
critics to unfortunate silence and paralysis of effort, and
being thought captious or envious, and without forget-
others to burst into speech so passionately and intem-
ting that it is easier to do ill than well in the world.
perately as to lose listeners. Honest and earnest criticism
The criticism that has hitherto met Mr. Washing-
from those whose interests are most nearly touched,—
ton has not always been of this broad character. In the
criticism of writers by readers, of government by those
South especially has he had to walk warily to avoid the
governed, of leaders by those led,—this is the soul of
harshest judgements,—and naturally so, for he is deal-
democracy and the safeguard of modern society. If the
ing with the one subject of deepest sensitiveness to that
best of the American Negroes receive by outer pressure a
section. Twice—once when at the Chicago celebration
leader whom they had not recognized before, manifestly
of the Spanish-American war, he alluded to the color-
there is here a certain palpable gain. Yet there is also
prejudice that is “eating away the vitals of the South,”
irreparable loss,—a loss of that peculiarly valuable edu-
and once when he dined with President Roosevelt—has
cation which a group receives when by search and criti-
the resulting southern criticism been violent enough to
cism it finds and commissions its own leaders. The way
threaten his popularity. In the North the feeling has
in which this is done is at once the most elementary and
several times forced itself into words, that Mr. Wash-
the nicest problem of social growth. History is but the
ington’s counsels of submission overlooked certain
record of such group leadership; and yet how infinitely
elements of true manhood, and that his education pro-
changeful is its type and character. And of all types and
gram was unnecessarily narrow. Usually, however, such
kinds; what can be more instructive than the leadership
criticism has not found open expression, although, too,
of a group within a group—that curious double move-
the spiritual sons of the Abolitionists have not been pre-
ment where real progress may be negative and actual
pared to acknowledge that the schools founded before
advance be relative retrogression. All this is the social
Tuskegee, by men of broad ideals and self-sacrificing
student’s inspiration and despair.
spirit, were wholly failures or worthy of ridicule. While,
Now in the past the American Negro has had
then, criticism has not failed to follow Mr. Washing-
instructive experience in the choosing of group lead-
ton, yet the prevailing public opinion of the land has
ers, founding thus a peculiar dynasty which in the light
been but too willing to deliver the solution of a weari-
of present conditions is worth while studying. When
some problem into his hands, and say, “If that is all you
sticks and stones and beasts form the sole environment
and your race ask, take it.”
of a people, their attitude is largely one of determined
Among his own people, however, Mr. Washington
opposition to and conquest of natural forces. But when
has encountered the strongest and most lasting opposi-
to earth and brute is added an environment of men
tion, amounting at times to bitterness, and even today
and ideas, then the attitude of the imprisoned group
continuing strong and insistent even though largely
may take three main forms,—a feeling of revolt and
silenced in outward expression by the public opinion of
revenge; an attempt to adjust all thought and action to
the nation. Some of this opposition is, of course, mere
the will of the greater group; or, finally, a determined
envy; the disappointment of displaced demagogues and
effort at self-realization and self-development despite
the spite of narrow minds. But aside from this, there
environing opinion. The influence of all of these atti-
is among educated and thoughtful colored men in all
tudes at various times can be traced in the history of
parts of the land a feeling of deep regret, sorrow, and
the American Negro, and in the evolution of his suc-
apprehension at the wide currency and ascendancy
cessive leaders.
which some of Mr. Washington’s theories have gained.
Before 1750, while the fire of African freedom still
These same men admire his sincerity of purpose, and
burned in the veins of the slaves, there was in all leadership
are willing to forgive much to honest endeavor which
or attempted leadership but the one motive of revolt and
is doing something worth the doing. They cooperate
revenge,—typified in the terrible Maroons, the Danish
with Mr. Washington as far as they conscientiously can;
blacks, and Cato of Stono, and veiling all the Americans
and, indeed, it is no ordinary tribute to this man’s tact
in fear of insurrection. The liberalizing tendencies of the
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 185
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
186
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
latter half of the eighteenth century brought, along with
assimilation was the ideal before the leaders, but the
kindlier relations between black and white, thoughts of ulti-
assertion of the manhood rights of the Negro by himself
mate adjustment and assimilation. Such aspiration was
was the main reliance, and John Brown’s raid was the
especially voiced in the earnest songs of Phyllis, in the
extreme of its logic. After the war and emancipation, the
martyrdom of Attucks, the fighting Salem and Poor, the
great form of Frederick Douglass, the greatest of American
intellectual accomplishments of Banneker and Derham,
Negro leaders, still led the host. Self-Assertion, especially
and the political demands of the Cuffes.
in political lines, was the main programme, and behind
Stern financial and social stress after the war cooled
Douglass came Elliot, Bruce, and Langston, and the
much of the previous humanitarian ardor. The disappoint-
Reconstruction politicians, and, less conspicuous but
ment and impatience of the Negroes at the persis tence
of greater social significance Alexander Crummell and
of slavery and serfdom voiced itself in two movements.
Bishop Daniel Payne.
The slaves in the South, aroused undoubtedly by vague
Then came the Revolution of 1876, the suppres-
rumors of the Haitian revolt, made three fierce attempts
sion of the Negro votes, the changing and shifting
at insurrection,—in 1800 under Gabriel in Virginia,
of ideals, and the seeking of new lights in the great
in 1822 under Vesey in Carolina, and in 1831 again
night. Doug lass, in his old age, still bravely stood for
in Virginia under the terrible Nat Turner. In the Free
the ideals of his early manhood,—ultimate assimila-
States, on the other hand, a new and curious attempt
tion through self-assertion and on no other terms. For
at self-development was made. In Philadelphia and
a time Price arose as a new leader, destined, it seemed,
New York color prescription led to a withdrawal of
not to give up, but to re-state the old ideals in a form
Negro communicants from white churches and forma-
less repugnant to the white South. But he passed away
tion of a peculiar socioreligious institution among the
in his prime. Then came the new leader. Nearly all the
Negroes known as the African Church,—an organiza-
former ones had become leaders by the silent suffrage
tion still living and controlling in its various branches
of their fellows, had sought to lead their own people
over a million of men.
alone, and were usually, save Douglass, little known
Walker’s wild appeal against the trend of the times
outside their race. But Booker T. Washington arose as
showed how the world was changing after the coming
essentially the leader not of one race but of two,—a
of the cotton-gin. By 1830 slavery seemed hopelessly
compromiser between the South, the North, and the
fastened on the South, and the slaves thoroughly cowed
Negro. Naturally the Negroes resented, at first bitterly,
into submission. The free Negroes of the North, inspired
signs of compromise which surrendered their civil and
by the mulatto immigrants from the West Indies, began
political rights, even though this was to be exchanged
to change the basis of their demands; they recognized
for larger chances of economic development. The rich
the slavery of slaves, but insisted that they themselves
and dominating North, however, was not only weary
were freemen, and sought assimilation and amalga-
of the race problem, but was investing largely in South-
mation with the nation on the same terms with other
ern enterprises, and welcomed any method of peaceful
men. Thus Forten and Purvis of Philadelphia, Shad
cooperation. Thus, by national opinion, the Negroes
of Wilmington, DuBois of New Haven, Barbadoes of
began to recognize Mr. Washington’s leadership; and
Boston, and others, strove singly and together as men,
the voice of criticism was hushed.
they said, not as slaves; as “people of color,” not as
Mr. Washington represents in Negro thought
“Negroes.” The trend of the times, however, refused
the old attitude of adjustment and submission—but
them recognition save in individual and exceptional cases,
adjustment at such a peculiar time as to make his pro-
considered them as one with all the despised blacks, and
gramme unique. This is an age of unusual economic
they soon found themselves striving to keep even the
development, and Mr. Washington’s programme
rights they formerly had of voting and working and
naturally takes an economic cast, becoming a gospel
moving as freemen. Schemers of migration and colo-
of Work and Money to such an extent as apparently
nization arose among them; but these they refused to
almost completely to overshadow the higher aims of
entertain, and they eventually turned to the Abolition
life. Moreover, this is an age when the more advanced
movement as a final refuge.
races are coming in closer contact with the less devel-
Here, led by Remond, Nell, Wells-Brown, and
oped races, and the race-feeling is therefore intensified;
Douglas
s, a new period of self-assertion and self-
and Mr. Washington’s programme practically accepts
development dawned. To be sure, ultimate freedom and
the alleged inferiority of the Negro races. Again, in our
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 186
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 187
own land, the reaction from the sentiment of war time
2. He insists on thrift and self-respect, but at the same
has given impetus to race-prejudice against Negroes, and
time counsels a silent submission to civic inferiority
Mr. Washington withdraws many of the high demands
such as is bound to sap the manhood of any race in
of Negroes as men and American citizens. In other peri-
the long run.
ods of intensified prejudice all the Negro’s tendency
3. He advocates common-school and industrial train-
to self-assertion has been called forth; at this period
ing, and depreciates institutions of higher learn-
a policy of submission is advocated. In the history of
ing; but neither the Negro common-schools, nor
nearly all other races and peoples the doctrine preached
Tuskegee itself, could remain open a day were it not
at such crises has been that manly self-respect is worth
for teachers trained in Negro colleges, or trained by
more than lands and houses, and that a people who vol-
their graduates.
untarily surrender such respect, or cease striving for it,
are not worth civilizing. In answer to this, it has been
This triple paradox in Mr. Washington’s position is the
claimed that the Negro can survive only through sub-
object of criticism by two classes of colored Americans.
mission. Mr. Washington distinctly
asks that black
One class is spiritually descended from Toussaint the
people give up, at least for the present, three things,—
Savior, through Gabriel, Vesey, and Turner, and they
represent the attitude of revolt and revenge; they hate
First, political power,
the white South blindly and distrust the white race gener-
Second, insistence on civil rights,
ally, and so far as they agree on definite action, think
that the Negro’s only hope lies in emigration beyond the
Third, higher education of Negro youth,—
borders of the United States. And yet, by the irony of
and concentrate all their energies on industrial educa-
fate, nothing has more effectually made this programme
tion, the accumulation of wealth, and the conciliation
seem hopeless than the recent course of the United
of the South. This policy has been courageously and
States toward weaker and darker peoples in the West
insistently advocated for over fifteen years, and has been
Indies, Hawaii, and the Philippines—for where in the
triumphant for perhaps ten years. As a result of this ten-
world may we go and be safe from lying and brute force?
der of the palm-branch, what has been the return? In
The other class of Negroes who cannot agree with
these years there have occurred:
Mr. Washington has hitherto said little aloud. They
deprecate the sight of scattered counsels, of internal dis-
1. The disfranchisement of the Negro.
agreement; and especially they dislike making their just
2. The legal creation of a distinct status of civil inferi-
criticism of a useful and earnest man an excuse for a gen-
ority for the Negro.
eral discharge of venom from small-minded opponents.
Nevertheless, the questions involved are so fundamental
3. The steady withdrawal of aid from institutions for
and serious that it is difficult to see how men like the
the higher training of the Negro.
Grimkes, Kelly Miller, J.W.E. Bowen, and other repre-
These movements are not, to be sure, direct results
sentatives of this group, can much longer be silent. Such
of Mr. Washington’s teachings; but his propaganda has,
men feel in conscience bound to ask of this nation three
without a shadow of doubt, helped their speedier accom-
things:
plishment. The question then comes: Is it possible, and
probable, that nine millions of men can make effective
1. The right to vote.
progress in economic lines if they are deprived of politi-
2. Civil equality.
cal rights, made a servile caste, and allowed only the most
meagre chance for developing their exceptional men? If
3. The education of youth according to ability.
history and reason give any distinct answer to these ques-
They acknowledge Mr. Washington’s invaluable service
tions, it is an emphatic No. And Mr. Washington thus
in counselling patience and courtesy in such demands;
faces the triple paradox of his career:
they do not ask that ignorant black men vote when
1. He is striving nobly to make Negro artisans busi-
ignorant whites are debarred, or that any reasonable
nessmen and property-owners; but it is utterly
restrictions in the suffrage should not be applied; they
impossible, under modern competitive methods, for
know that the low social level of the mass of the race
workingmen and property-owners to defend their
is responsible for much discrimination against it, but
rights and exist without the right of suffrage.
they also know, and the nation knows, that relentless
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 187
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
188
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
color-prejudice is more often a cause than a result of
American experiment, but especially a responsibility to
the Negro’s degradation; they seek the abatement of this
this nation—this common Fatherland. It is wrong to
relic of barbarism, and not its systematic encouragement
encourage a man or a people in evil-doing; it is wrong
and pampering by all agencies of social power from the
to aid and abet a national crime simply because it is
Associated Press to the Church of Christ. They advo-
unpopular not to do so. The growing spirit of kindliness
cate, with Mr. Washington, a broad system of Negro
and reconciliation between the North and South after
common schools supplemented by thorough industrial
the frightful difference of a generation ago ought to be
training; but they are surprised that a man of Mr. Wash-
a source of deep congratulation to all, and especially to
ington’s insight cannot see that no such educational sys-
those whose mistreatment caused the war; but if that
tem ever has rested or can rest on any other basis than
reconciliation is to be marked by the industrial slavery
that of the well-equipped college and university, and
and civic death of those same black men, with perma-
they insist that there is a demand for a few such insti-
nent legislation into a position of inferiority, then those
tutions throughout the South to train the best of the
black men, if they are really men, are called upon by
Negro youth as teachers, professional men, and leaders.
every consideration of patriotism and loyalty to oppose
This group of men honor Mr. Washington for his
such a course by all civilized methods, even though such
attitude of conciliation toward the white South; they
opposition involves disagreement with Mr. Booker T.
accept the “Atlanta Compromise” in its broadest inter-
Washington. We have no right to sit silently by while
pretation; they recognize, with him, many signs of
the inevitable seeds are grown for a harvest of disaster to
promise, many men of high purpose and fair judgment,
our children, black and white.
in this section; they know that no easy task has been laid
First, it is the duty of black men to judge the South
upon a region already tottering under heavy burdens.
discriminatingly. The present generation of Southerners
But, nevertheless, they insist that the way to truth and
are not responsible for the past, and they should not be
right lies in straightforward honesty, not in indiscrimi-
blindly hated or blamed for it. Furthermore, to no class
nate flattery; in praising those of the South who do well
is the indiscriminate endorsement of the recent course of
and criticizing uncompromisingly those who do ill; in
the South toward Negroes more nauseating than to the
taking advantage of the opportunities at hand and urg-
best thought of the South. The South is not “solid”; it
ing their fellows to do the same, but at the same time in
is a land in the ferment of social change, wherein forces
remembering that only a first adherence to their higher
of all kinds are fighting for supremacy; and to praise the
ideals and aspirations will ever keep those ideals within
ill the South is to-day perpetrating is just as wrong as to
the realm of possibility. They do not expect that the free
condemn the good. Discriminating and broad-minded
right to vote, to enjoy civic rights, and to be educated,
criticism is what the South needs,—needs it for the sake
will come in a moment; they do not expect to see the
of her own white sons and daughters, and for the insur-
bias and prejudices of years disappear at the blast of a
ance of robust, healthy mental and moral development.
trumpet; but they are absolutely certain that the way for
To-day even the attitude of the Southern whites
a people to gain their reasonable rights is not by volun-
towards the blacks is not, as so many assume, in all cases
tarily throwing them away and insisting that they do not
the same; the ignorant Southerner hates the Negro, the
want them; that the way for a people to gain respect is
workingmen fear his competition, the moneymakers wish
not by continually belittling and ridiculing themselves;
to use him as a laborer, some of the educated see a men-
that, on the contrary, Negroes must insist continually,
ace in his upward development, while others—usually the
in season and out of season, that voting is necessary
sons of the masters—wish to help him to rise. National
to modern manhood, that color discrimination is bar-
opinion has enabled this last class to maintain the Negro
barism, and that black boys need education as well as
common schools, and to protect the Negro partially in
white boys.
property, life, and limb. Through the pressure of the
In failing thus to state plainly and unequivocally the
moneymakers, the Negro is in danger of being reduced
legitimate demands of their people, even at the cost
to semi-slavery, especially in the country districts; the
of opposing an honored leader, the thinking classes of
workingmen and those of the educated who fear the
American Negroes would shirk a heavy responsibility—a
Negro, have united to disfranchise him, and some have
responsibility to themselves, a responsibility to the
urged his deportation; while the passions of the ignorant
struggling masses, a responsibility to the darker races
are easily aroused to lynch and abuse any black man.
of men whose future depends so largely on this
To praise this intricate whirl of thought and prejudice
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 188
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 6 189
is nonsense; to inveigh indiscriminately against “the
doctrine has tended to make the whites, North and
South” is unjust; but to use the same breath in praising
South, shift the burden of the Negro problem to the
Governor Aycock, exposing Senator Morgan, arguing
Negro’s shoulders and stand aside as critical and rather
with Mr. Thomas Nelson Page, and denouncing Sena-
pessimistic spectators; when in fact the burden belongs
tor Ben Tillman, is not only sane, but the imperative duty
to the nation, and the hands of none of us are clean if
of thinking black men.
we bend not our energies to righting these great wrongs.
It would be unjust to Mr. Washington not to acknowl-
The South ought to be led, by candid and honest
edge that in several instances he has opposed movements
criticism, to assert her better self and do her full duty to
in the South which were unjust to the Negro; he sent
the race she has cruelly wronged and is still wronging.
memorials to the Louisiana and Alabama constitutional
The North—her co-partner in guilt—cannot salve her
conventions, he has spoken against lynching, and in
conscience by plastering it with gold. We cannot settle
other ways has openly or silently set his influence against
this problem by diplomacy and suaveness, by “policy”
sinister schemes and unfortunate happenings. Notwith-
alone. If worse comes to worst, can the moral fibre of
standing this, it is equally true to assert that on the whole
the country survive the slow throttling and murder of
the distinct impression left by Mr. Washington’s pro-
nine millions of men?
paganda is, first, that the South is justified in its present
The black men of America have a duty to perform,
attitude toward the Negro because of the Negro’s deg-
a duty stern and delicate,—a forward movement to
radation; secondly, that the prime cause of the Negro’s
oppose a part of the work of their greatest leader. So
failure to rise more quickly is his wrong education in the
far as Mr. Washington preaches Thrift, Patience, and
past; and, thirdly, that his future rise depends primar-
Industrial Training for the masses, we must hold up his
ily on his own efforts. Each of these propositions is a
hands and strive with him, rejoicing in his honors and
dangerous half-truth. The supplementary truths must
glorying in the strength of this Joshua called of God
never be lost sight of: first, slavery and race-prejudice are
and of man to lead the headless host. But so far as Mr.
potent if not sufficient causes of the Negro’s position;
Washington apologizes for injustice, North or South,
second, industrial and common-school training were
does not rightly value the privilege and duty of vot-
necessarily slow in planting because they had to await the
ing, belittles the emasculating efforts of caste distinc-
black teachers trained by higher institutions,—it being
tions, and opposes the higher training and ambition of
extremely doubtful if any essentially different develop-
our brighter minds,—so far as he, the South, or the
ment was possible, and certainly a Tuskegee was unthink-
Nation, does this,—we must unceasingly and firmly
able before 1880; and, third, while it is a great truth to
oppose them. By every civilized and peaceful method
say that the Negro must strive and strive mightily to help
we must strive for the rights which the world accords to
himself, it is equally true that unless his striving be not
men, clinging unwaveringly to those great words which
simply seconded, but rather aroused and encouraged, by
the sons of the Fathers would fain forget: “We hold
the initiative of the richer and wiser environing group, he
these truths to be self-evident: That all men are cre-
cannot hope for great success.
ated equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with
In his failure to realize and impress this last point,
certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, lib-
Mr. Washington is especially to be criticised. His
erty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 189
22/08/12 10:43 AM
Confi rming Pages
190
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Developing Your
3. In the Primary Source Reading Du Bois wrote,
“Honest and earnest criticism from those whose
Professional Vocabulary
interests are most nearly touched— . . . this is the
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
soul of democracy and the safeguard of modern
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
society.” Read that statement in context and explain
important to education.
the degree to which you find it consistent or incon-
sistent with Jefferson’s views on intellectual freedom
Black Codes
Reconstruction
and the developmental value of democracy. Support
Booker T. Washington
redemption
your position.
The Crisis
Thirteenth, Four-
4. Du Bois relied on Washington’s autobiography in
teenth, and Fifteenth
writing that “the picture of a lone black boy poring
Freedmen’s Bureau
Amendments
over a French grammar amid the weeds and dirt of
historically Black
a neglected home soon seemed to him the acme of
Tuskegee Institute
colleges
absurdities” (see the Primary Source Reading). Why,
W. E. B. Du Bois
in your view, did Washington see this image as so
Mississippi Plan
absurd, and why did Du Bois see Washington’s view
NAACP
as being so wrong in this instance? Which position
do you believe is stronger, and why?
Questions for Discussion
5. As you look around you today in your community
and Examination
or communities that you know, do you see evidence
of different educational expectations for African
1. Critically analyze Dudley Randall’s poem “Booker
Americans and other school populations? Explain
T. and W. E. B.” at the end of the chapter.
your position, and explain why the conditions you
observe are what they are.
2. Some students have defended Washington against
Du Bois’s criticism by saying that Washington had
a “practical” solution that sought to accomplish for
Black people the most that could be done under the
circumstances of that time and place. Yet Du Bois
Online Resources
believed that Washington fundamentally misinter-
preted those conditions and that given the
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
political–economic and ideological realities of the
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
period, Washington’s solution was impractical as a
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
route to African American advancement. Which leader
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
had the stronger position in your view, and why?
articles and news feeds.
toz24404_ch06_156-191.indd 190
22/08/12 10:43 AM
This page intentionally left blank
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 7
Diversity and Equity Schooling and American Indians
Chapter Overview
Chapter 7 examines the ways in which progres-
To illustrate how well-intentioned liberals
sive liberal ideology helped shape educational
sought to acculturate American Indians through
policy for Native Americans from the 1920s
scientific management, this chapter reviews the
through the 1940s. This brief history raises
career of John Collier, who was commissioner
questions about modern liberal commitments
of Indian affairs from 1933 to 1945. While Collier
to cultural pluralism, in which cultural and lin-
was a progressive advocate of Indian cultural
guistic differences in a society are valued and
values, he did not support a genuine cultural
maintained, in contrast to a commitment to as-
pluralism in which Native Americans could ex-
similation, in which the customs, habits, and
ercise self-determination regarding their cul-
languages of subcultures are absorbed into a
tural and educational futures. Instead, he tried
dominant culture. It appears that the history of
to use modern psychology and administrative
American Indian education since the late 19th
techniques to bring Indians to value modified
century has reflected a commitment to scien-
forms of assimilation. Collier believed that
tific management of Indian acculturation and
principles of progressive education could be
assimilation by European American administra-
employed to make Native American children’s
tors. This has resulted in part from a fundamen-
attitudes more positive toward the dominant
tal clash between an impulse toward “manifest
culture. Progressive educator Willard Walcott
destiny” tempered by corporate liberal demo-
Beatty extended Collier’s commitment to as-
cratic ideology and Native American approach-
similation through progressive education for
es to life that did not emphasize liberal concepts
Native American children. The Primary Source
of property, progress, scientific rationality, and
Readings at the end of the chapter contrast
nationalism. In its effort to assimilate Native
an administrative-progressive view of Native
Americans into the dominant ideology and eco-
American social policy with Native Americans’
nomic life of 20th-century European America,
views about their desire for self-determination
the federal government turned to formal school-
and education for cultural pluralism.
ing as its primary agency of reform.
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 192
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
The popular McGuffey’s Reader communicated an ideology that reduced American Indians to
“savages.”
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 7 seeks to
4. This chapter should help students evaluate
achieve are these:
progressive education as conceived by
American government officials, and whether it
1. This chapter seeks to exercise students’ thinking
was an appropriate response to Native
about how modern liberalism operates in the
American educational needs.
context of a specific historical problem: the
coexistence of European Americans and
5. Students should be able to discuss the careers
indigenous Americans in the 20th century.
and thinking of John Collier and Willard Beatty
and how they apply liberal educational
2. Students may evaluate the degree to which
commitments to Native American culture.
modern liberal ideology has affected American
Indians’ efforts to determine their own lives and
6. A final objective is to engage students in
futures.
discussing whether cultural pluralism was a
more democratic educational and cultural aim
3. In particular, instructors should highlight the
than cultural assimilation for American Indians
conflicts between modern liberal views of
in the first half of the 20th century.
progress and Native American commitments
to cultural traditions. Students may discuss the
issue of school control and rights to curriculum.
193
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 193
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
194
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Analytic Framework
The History of European American Policies for Educating Native Americans
Political Economy
Ideology
Westward migration/invasion
Civilization
“Free” lands
Christianization
Treaties
Assimilation
“Trust” relationship
Pluralism
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Progress
Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)
Tribal sovereignty
Indian New Deal
Self-determination
Administrative progressivism
Schooling
Off-reservation boarding schools
Day schools
Social education of the Indian
Traditional knowledge and industrial
education
Progressive education
Bilingual-bicultural education
Introduction: Assimilation
fully rational human beings. Therefore Native Ameri-
cans, much like Africans and Asians affected by the co-
through Scientific Management
lonial project, were assigned subhumanity as a pretext
for European rights to invasion and occupation.
Native American education is a unique set of stories
Native American historian Jack Forbes has described
that connect tribal history with the political–economic
how the ideological shift away from Native American
movement of European American hegemony. This chapter
human rights was accomplished in part by “Indianiza-
is an attempt to present an outline of the most important
tion.” While the ideological use of Americanism has
ways in which one of those stories illuminates the problem
come to symbolize democracy and freedom, the inven-
and promise of pluralist democracy in the United States.
tion of the term “America” and its use is freighted with
Returning to the classical liberal ideal, we see how
colonial power and exclusion of its original people. This
tribal peoples are denied membership in the polis of
chapter section in part will be an exercise in reversing
citizenship and democratic promise. In the classical
that habit, and when not quoting, will call “Indians”
ideal we saw how property ownership, tenure on the
Americans, and European colonists, European colonials.
land, and long-standing occupancy were key elements
Forbes describes how the curriculum in European colo-
of citizenship. Strangers, metics, immigrants, and oth-
nial schools today is devoid of accurate and comprehensive
ers were not eligible for citizenship. The irony for
knowledge regarding the diversity and antiquity of
Native Americans is that their citizenship was denied
American accomplishments in science, mathematics,
by those who came as strangers to their land. This de-
religion, food development, oral literature, and medi-
nial came through rationalizations that denied Native
cine. School leaders eliminated the great and complex
people the freedom to determine how they would live.
cultures of the thousands of American groups in a long
Colonizers could not very well justify taking lands from
hegemonic process of colonization. This process has
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 194
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 195
proceeded to affect American children, who only find
establish a place for democratic pluralism in American
their cultures trivialized in school curricula and used as
schools. This effort at Deweyan “developmental de-
material for stereotypical mascots.1
mocracy” was however, strongly influenced by the new
This chapter will discuss reasons why the “reform” of
liberal managerial impulse, which applied principles of
education for Americans has been an exercise in progressiv-
“scientific social management” for the creation of “so-
ism. The two versions of progressive education described in
cial stability” where Americans were concerned. This
Chapter 4 are here again, with a great emphasis on school-
social stability effort included a democratic republican-
ing for “evident and probable destinies.”
ism of tribal governments established through the In-
There are 562 Native American tribal groupings rec-
dian Reorganization Act (IRA). This form of govern-
ognized by the federal government. The U.S. population
ment tended to disorganize the millennia of community
of indigenous American is just under one percent overall.
consensus government that existed before European
There is an indigenous presence in every US metropolitan
colonial arrival. Grassroots and traditional governance
area, and significantly strong presence on tribal lands in
became overshadowed by tribal councils.
nearly every state. The importance of indigenous peoples’
Currently the issues in American schools are numer-
contribution to the sweep history, and current life of the
ous. The provisions of the No Child Left Behind legis-
United States cannot be overestimated. Students from
lation are working to undermine what little American
non-indigenous backgrounds might question why this
community control of curriculum exists. American chil-
study includes a chapter devoted to a significant Native
dren, particularly in poor rural and urban communities,
American education story. For this there are several expla-
do perform poorly as compared to their Euro-American
nations. First, academic and honesty demands that impor-
counterparts. However, starting a reform of American
tant stories, previously neglected require re-examination.
education with a regime of public humiliation through
Native Americans have experienced significant neglect re-
test score publication is a troubling step. Standardized
garding their historic and ongoing presence in this country.
testing mandates have vitiated efforts of teachers of
Second, for all immigrant American experience, the heirs of
American children to incorporate American languages,
that experience have homelands to which they may point,
cultural practices, and intellectual traditions. This threat-
and gain understanding and strength in their search for
ens to further alienate American students who are truants
meaning. When native people here lose their memory and
and dropouts at a much higher rate than other groups.
identity, they risk losing their existence, for this land is the
The two issues that are most important here are tribal
home they point toward. Third, many students from all
sovereignty and the relationship of democratic education
backgrounds are completely unaware of the unique federal/
to curricular freedom. Both of these have been submerged
tribal government relationship that makes Native America,
beneath a schooling of ideology that has sought American
semi- independent as political entities. This degree of sov-
student cultural obliteration, and has been blind to the trea-
ereign independence is demonstrated. The US constitution
ty and Supreme Court history that reserves to Americans
makes NO provision for the education of anyone, except
the right to control their education and social and reli-
for Native Americans. However, The school dropout rates
gious life in ways unique to tribal members.
and the achievement gap for Native American youth are
greater than for any other American minority group.
Pluralism versus Assimilationism
During the progressive reforms described here, be-
ginning at the end of the 19th century and through the
[Note: Following the example set by Native American
end of World War II, several changes would be put in
writers, this chapter henceforth uses the terms Native
place that would benefit Americans. Chief among these
American, American Indian, and Indian interchangeably.
were the end of land allotments that had helped move
The Primary Source Readings by American Indians at
100 million acres from American to Euro-American
the end of the chapter illustrate the use of all three terms.]
hands. In schooling the most corrosive and inhumane
Any consideration of European American efforts to
conditions of the Indian Boarding School were altered
educate American Indians must take into account plu-
somewhat and public and community schools began to
ralist versus assimilationist visions of Native American
be established. We look at the career of John Collier,
life in the United States. In general, a regard for plural-
who as commissioner of Indian affairs, was instrumen-
ism represents a recognition that the strength of a society
tal in this change during the 1930s. The Collier legacy
depends in part on the extent to which cultural dif-
is torn by the effort, stimulated during his administra-
ferences are honored for their contribution to healthy
tion by such tribal scholars as D’Arcy McNickle to re-
diversity. Pluralism thus conceived means valuing and
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 195
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
196
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
maintaining cultural and linguistic differences within a
In this clash between Native American and European
society. It is also a yardstick of tolerance, a virtue inher-
American value systems in the first half of the 20th centu-
ent in the democratic belief that diversity of belief and
ry education was seen as an important tool for achieving
outlook ultimately contribute to, rather than detract
the distinctive kind of assimilation planned for Indians
from, social and political life.
by new liberal reformers.
The concept of assimilation has come to mean the
The American Indian relationship to formal school-
process by which diverse cultures—immigrant, racial,
ing is a complex one that cannot be generalized. The
ethnic, and linguistic minorities—alter their customs,
expansion of efforts to bring formal schooling to Native
habits, and languages to allow absorption into a dominant
Americans coincides with general expansion of school-
culture. It can also be argued that assimilation produces a
ing in the early 20th century. Thus, the emerging
variety of effects on the dominant culture, both positive
and changing nature of progressivism greatly affected
and negative. Assimilation into the dominant European
Native Americans. Although many Indians during the
American culture has meant radical change for most mi-
progressive era lived in rural areas, the character of
nority groups. When W. E. B. Du Bois called for assimi-
schooling was influenced greatly by the industrial edu-
lation for African Americans through “self-assertion ” and
cation movement. Likewise, the Americanization efforts
not “acquiescence,” he was favoring a form of cultural
directed toward immigrants in the growing urban en-
pluralism. For Native Americans in particular, as an-
vironment took an ironic twist in schooling for Native
thropologist Alexander Lesser has said, assimilation has
Americans. Curricular standardization, character edu-
a “crucial finality,” since they have no other homeland to
cation, and Protestant humanism affected Indian
look to for cultural identification and regeneratio n.
boarding and mission school efforts, as did the increas-
Native American cultures were forged in a land that
ing effort to make compulsory public school a reality.
has been transformed from its original state. Yet despite
The nearly successful genocide of the “Indian Wars”
great changes in the larger society, Native Americans
made way for more sophisticated efforts at “cultural ad-
have not forfeited their right to pursue a tribal life and
justment.”
culture distinct from the dominant American culture.
Beginning with the early 20th century, administrative
The explicit Native American right to a distinct culture,
progressivism and managerial control were exemplified by
protected by treaties, a special governmental relation-
the growth and influence of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
ship, and the maintenance of tribal homelands, has en-
and the institutionalization of tribal governments under
sured that assimilation can never have the same meaning
the Indian Reorganization Act. Cultural and political
for Indian people that it has for other minority groups.
research under the auspices of the Bureau of Ethnology il-
In this chapter we will be dealing with the impact of
lustrate the belief of that time that scientific experts could
the new liberal ideology (described at length in Chapter 4)
rationalize tribal culture and adjustment.
on the development of a unique pluralist vision for
Part of the complexity of Indian education is due to
Native Americans in the United States. We will explore
the ambiguous and paradoxical nature of Native Amer-
the impact of this developing ideology by examining
icans’ citizenship, sovereignty, and resistance to as-
the work of several crucial figures who shaped Indian
similation. Native Americans, like African Americans,
education
reform in the 20th century, particularly
have always been aware of the benefits of education.
W. Carson Ryan, John Collier, and Willard W. Beatty.
They seem often to have resisted schooling, however,
These individuals, more than any others, believed that
as an institution that could damage the traditional
the techniques of social-scientific rationality could be
spiritual and historic knowledge without which tribal
used to solve the problems of Indian America. For
survival was at risk or even meaningless. Like African
them, relations between Indians and Whites could be or-
Americans, Indian leaders often used whatever educa-
ganized according to sophisticated social-science knowl-
tional means they could: self-education, the military,
edge. Theirs was a vision of assimilation with elements
boarding school, the home. All could be used to better
of democratic participation, but it was to be carefully
their communities and wage legal and political battles.
controlled participation, coordinated with “scientific”
Understanding the complex
relationships between
administration of Indian affairs. Although these men
American Indians and European American schooling
wished to alleviate the marginal living conditions of the
requires historical perspective and a recognition that
Indian populace, the programs and policies they devel-
for most of their thousands of years of civilization,
oped offered Indian citizens only limited involvement
Indians have lived independently of White efforts to
in the shaping of their social institutions.
educate them.
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 196
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 197
Political–Economic Foundations in the minds of most non-Indians as simply “Indians,”
the “first Americans.” Even those of us who have been
of Indian Schooling
educated about and attempt to acknowledge tribal dif-
ferences often do not fully understand the depth of these
It is impossible to envision a single “state” of Native
differences—linguistic, cultural, and environmental.
Americans without grossly oversimplifying. Rather, each
On the west side of the Mississippi River, in St. Louis,
group of Indian people reveals itself as a unique and com-
Missouri, there stands a metal arch that towers over the
plex cultural adaptation within the North American envi-
riverfront and dominates the city skyline. It is meant to
ronment. It is also difficult to understand pre-Columbian
symbolize St. Louis as the historic gateway to the West,
Indian life because most of our firsthand knowledge,
the jumping-off point for the parties of migrants, trapper s,
apart from archeological knowledge and Indian oral tra-
and adventurers once bound for the western frontiers.
dition, comes from European accounts of encounters that
The arch stands as an imposing symbol of American
changed the lives of everyone on the continent.
progress, portraying the dominance of humans over na-
ture in the cold logic of stainless steel. Yet it represents not
A World before Europeans
the beginning of westward expansion, but rather its end.
By the time St. Louis was firmly established as the gate-
First, it is helpful to consider a sketch of one Native
way to the West, the West had already been won. By the
American group’s freedom in a world before Europeans
mid-19th century, European Americans had established
entered the tribal political economy. The northeastern
their dominance over the continent with settlements ex-
Indians were the “red men” of the European imagina-
tending from coast to coast. Questions of Anglo-American
tion. Covered with a red-pigmented grease to protect
sovereignty in the Southwest and North had been resolved.
them from cold in the winter and insects in the summer,
Aboriginal American resistance was contained, and the rela-
these were the tribes first encountered by the English
tion of settlers to Native Americans was moving from trade,
and French during colonial times. From approximately
to war, to management. Schooling of the American Indian
4500 b.c. through a.d. 1200, these peoples developed
child would play an important role in this transition.
in the woodlands of the East as hunters who would
Some observers would claim that the central tenet of
gradually employ planned agriculture for subsistence.
both classical liberalism and new liberalism is the idea
Eastern Canada and the western Great Lakes area
of progress, symbolized by the Gateway Arch. Here,
were populated primarily by speakers of the Algonquian
too, the Native American outlook differs sharply from
language family, and the eastern Great Lakes and north
the European American. For the liberal, to value prog-
Atlantic regions were populated largely by the Iroquoian
ress is to seek social and technological change and to
peoples. These were the peoples with whom Europeans
be dissatisfied with the status quo. For a traditionally
began commerce in the East. All later European–Indian
oriented society, however, the truths handed down by
relations in the East were conditioned by these early en-
ancestors are the most important truths of all, and so-
counters. Algonquian groups included the Cree in Que-
ciety is healthy when it embodies ancestral values and
bec, along with the Beothuk, Micmac, Passamaquoddy,
ways of life. In short, social and technological change are
Penobscot, Massachuset, Naragansett, Pequot, and
considered threatening and undesirable in traditional
Mohegan. In the eastern Great Lakes and upstate New
societies. Moreover, the new liberals’ particular brand
York lived the powerful Iroquoian confederation, the
of “scientific” decision making and planning by central-
speakers of Senecan, Onandagan, and Cayugan dialects,
ized authorities contrasted still more sharply with the
and the Mohawk and Oneida. Whereas the Puritans
Native American belief in tribal autonomy and presci-
had engaged in early wars of extermination against the
entific decision-making processes. As late as 1933, Chief
loosely organized Algonquians, they struck an alliance
Luther Standing Bear wrote in his autobiography:
with the Iroquois, who had a representative government.
True, the white man brought great change. But the var-
ied fruits of his civilization, though highly colored and in-
The Ambiguous and Paradoxical
viting, are sickening and deadening. And if it be the part of
civilization to maim, rob, and thwart, then what is progress?
It is impossible to sum up in a few pages the state of
Native Americans prior to their transition from sover-
I am going to venture that the man who sat on the
eignty to quasi-dependence. There are several reasons
ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, ac-
for this. Native American tribes are molded together
cepting the kinship of all creatures, and acknowledging
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 197
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
198
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
unity with the universe of things, was infusing into his
for the confederation of American states during the early
being the true essence of civilization.2
development of the republic. Indeed, Indian people had
Native people have for centuries been characterized
a viable social and political existence for millennia before
by White America as a “problem”—the uncivilized force
European contact. They lived rich lives in harmony with
standing in the way of progress and westward expansion.
a demanding environment and, more often than not, with
European American attempts to educate Native Americans
neighboring tribes. They provided for their own needs,
were intended to be part of a civil solution to a problem
cared for their sick, and educated their young in tribal
that had long been pursued by violent means. Both for-
knowledge, values, and skills. This life, lived close to the
mal schooling and the general social education of Indian
environmental requirements of the continent, would be
people are separate but intertwined efforts to socialize
permanently altered by European settlement.
Indians to the dominant European American culture.
War and European-imported disease hastened the de-
The term social education, as used here, includes agricultur-
cline of aboriginal peoples in the Northeast during the
al and industrial policy, as well as formal schooling. As such,
colonial period. Although the exact population of North
social education of Native Americans was a broad-based
American Indians before the arrival of Whites can never
governmental effort using a variety of public policy
be known, it appears that by the 1890s the number of
mechanisms, including schools, to socialize the Indians
American Indians in the United States had been reduced
to the “requirements” of modern American society.
from about 1.5 million to roughly 250,000. A pattern of
Much of the debate on the status of Indian social pol-
encroachment and war had become typical of European–
icy has revolved around such questions as the following:
Indian contact during the westward expansion of the 18th
To what extent can sovereigns remain under the protec-
century. Indians were becoming less important in the East
tion of another sovereign? Are there any legal or moral
as a source of trade, and European Americans saw them as
grounds for ending the trust relationship, or should it
a physical impediment to expansion and progress.
remain in force in perpetuity? Even today, such ques-
While war and disease were accelerating Indian
tions remain unresolved and divisive.
change and dissolution, Indians were constantly being
Because the parties in this relation have historically
encouraged to assimilate into European Christian cul-
had conflicting ideological perspectives, the guaranteed
ture. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, as Indians
provision of education has been a particularly problem-
died, were removed, or were pushed into smaller areas
atic dimension of the trust relationship. Whose version
of habitation, Europeans actively attempted to colonize
of education should be provided? And who decides?
both their lands and the minds of their young people.
Prior to European colonial arrivals, for example, the Ir-
The story of this colonization is told best through the
oquois provided their own education to their children,
study of formal Indian schooling. Yet this schooling must
and had done so for centuries.
be understood in light of the unique nature of the relation-
The Iroquois lived in “towns”—two acres of cleared
ship between the U.S. government and the tribes, a rela-
ground surrounded by a palisade of logs. Iroquois societ-
tionship forged through a series of treaties. Though their
ies were matrilineal, with the ownership and possession of
provisions have often been attacked, these treaties provide
property controlled by the women of the band. They hunt-
the basis for establishing a semisovereign Native American
ed, fished, and grew corn, squash, and beans in fields that
“polis” within the federal system. It is in the context of the
surrounded the towns. Indians lived in a complex symbiosis
development of this semisovereignty that Native American
with their environment. Deer were harvested from “parks,”
education must be analyzed, as the treaties provide for
which were shared by towns; the combination of hunting,
educational services to be provided to American Indians.3
trade, and agriculture provided material prosperity in the
temperate eastern forests. This pattern of coexistence with
Treaties and the “Trust Relationship”
nature contrasted sharply with the capitalistic organization
of the Europeans, who quickly began to subdue nature and
As Indian resistance slowly gave way in the late 19th
turn its resources to the generation of profit through inten-
century, a lengthy treaty process unfolded between
sive agriculture and machine production.
tribes and the federal government. Those treaties stipu-
Coexistence with neighboring tribes became an impor-
lated that Indian people would agree to cease hostilities
tant method of survival for the Iroquois. The league of Ir-
in exchange for safe title to specific areas of land. These
oquois nations was a confederation of five Iroquois groups
exchanges often included agreements that the federal
formed to encourage cooperation rather than competition
government would provide food and sometimes cloth-
and warfare. This organization served as part of the model
ing and shelter during the transition to the new land.
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 198
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 199
A treaty between the U.S. government and representatives of the Ottawa, Chip-
pewa, Potawatima, Wyandot, Munsee of Delaware, and Shawnee tribes, drawn up in
Washington and bearing the seal of the United States and the signatures of President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison.
In addition, educational provisions such as government
Indian social life in America and Indians’ relationship
boarding schools for Indian children frequently were
with the dominant society is to grasp how the concept of
part of the agreement. Reasons for the provision of edu-
trust affected this relationship.
cation are to be found in the special trust status estab-
Four hundred years of treaties between tribes and the
lished. Indeed, the first important key to understanding
colonial and U.S. federal governments formed the basis
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 199
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
200
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
of the trust, a distinctive use of the word that refers to the
Ideology
special relationship of mutual agreement between Indian
nations and the United States, the “trustee” for protect-
John L. O’Sullivan’s often-quoted term manifest destiny
ing Indian rights. These treaties are legal agreements
describes a popular American justification for subduing
between sovereign, self-determined nations. After the
all native cultures on the continent. European Americans
Revolutionary War, the sovereign status of the tribes was
would see the domination of North American soil not sim-
reaffirmed first in the Articles of Confederation and later
ply as an opportunity but as a manifest, God-given duty.
in the U.S. Constitution. In the early 1830s Supreme
This growing American nationalism resulted in an inevi-
Court Chief Justice John Marshall further reaffirmed
table clash of ideological perspectives: pan-Christianity
the tribes’ sovereignty in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and
versus tribal religion, capitalism versus communal prop-
Worcester v. Georgia. These rulings limited the power of
erty and labor, republicanism and representative democ-
states to treat with and impose their laws on tribes with-
racy versus consensual decision making.
in their boundaries. The Court ruled that traditionally
Formal Indian education began as an attempt by
the Cherokee tribe was a “distinct political society . . .
Euro-American missionaries and government officials
capable of managing its own affairs and governing itself.”
to lessen these differences by training Indians in the
While the tribes were not foreign nations, they were “do-
standards and expectations of the dominant culture.
mestic, dependent nations” and accordingly were to be
Material progress could not be halted by recalcitrant ab-
protected by the federal government, not by the states.
originals, nor would responsible Christians ignore the
Indian property, resources, and political rights are, by
spiritual “needs” they perceived in Native Americans.
agreement, also protected in this trust relationship.
Consequently, Indian education became defined as
The unique and special status of tribal people has thus
training for roles in non-Indian America, which would
come to be during a long history of established precedent
require teaching Indians new ways of viewing the world.
in the form of legal treaties, constitutional provisions, and
During the 19th century, when Indian schooling was
Supreme Court action. Both the sovereignty of the tribes
being established, European Americans were deeply influ-
and the federal government’s responsibility to act as a kind
enced by their belief that their culture was the epitome
of administrative trustee to protect Indian resources and
of civilization. American Indian societies were viewed as
provide Indians’ education are included in this history.
savage, for they sought not to master but to coexist with
However, the relation between Indian sovereignty and this
the natural environment. Indeed, they defined civilization
trusteeship is a complicated and contested issue. Much of
quite differently than did European Americans. The earth,
the debate on the status of Indian social policy has revolved
they reasoned, could not be mastered, and such effort
around such questions as the following: To what extent
tempted fate. Thus, to be civilized was to live in harmony
can sovereigns remain under the protection of another sov-
with, not to subdue, the environment. In contrast, Euro-
ereign? Are there any legal or moral grounds for ending the
pean Americans understood the world as a great chain of
trust relationship, or should it remain in force in perpetu-
dominance, with humans second only to God in a hierar-
ity? Such questions remain unresolved and divisive.
chy of creation. For Native America, when God was con-
Because the parties in this relation have historically
ceptualized at all, God and nature were seen as one.
had conflicting ideological perspectives, the guaranteed
To European Americans, humans were rational ani-
provision of education has been a particularly problem-
mals who could reasonably take for granted the following
atic dimension of the trust relationship. Whose version
cultural values: accumulation of goods, profit as a motive
of education should be provided? And who decides? As
for labor, the primacy of the independent self, Christian
we shall see, in the 1930s and 1940s these questions
morality and virtue, and the hostility of nature. These are
were decided not by Native Americans but for them.
just a few of the European American values that are not
typically represented in American Indian civilizations.
Yet these were the values U.S. educators hoped to instill
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
in Indian Americans through schooling.
How have your previous studies described the basis
of Native American treaty lands? Have you discussed
Traditional Knowledge versus
tribal sovereignty in previous school studies? How
Science and Progress
might tribal sovereignty change the way we think
about political and economic rights?
It is not too strong to claim that Native American values,
spirituality, and modes of life were a direct challenge to
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 200
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 201
Native Americans considered themselves a part of nature and sought to live in harmony with their environment, while European Americans, who understood the world as a great chain of dominance, sought to master nature.
the ideological assumptions of European culture. Eu-
thus became the primary ingredient in the federal govern-
ropean notions of private property conflicted with the
ment’s policy of Indian assimilation after the Indian Wars
tribal and familial interdependence of Indian people.
of the 19th century. The effort began in mission schools,
Most tribal groups did not possess a strong concept of
continued in federal boarding schools established through
private property and had little concept of land owner-
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and finally included
ship beyond customary use. European domesticity and
state public schools in the 20th century. To this day the
agriculture contrasted with the variety of subsistence
web of institutions delivering education to Indian people
methods used by Native Americans, none of which
remains divided among private, federal, and state institu-
depended on mercantile exchange. European ideas of
tions as well as a few tribally and community-controlled
capital gain and accumulation clashed with the tribes’
contract schools. Yet despite more than a hundred years
marginal or subsistence economies. The writing culture
of experimentation, Indian education remains an institu-
clashed with oral cultures, especially since among tribal
tion that is only marginally successful in its attempt to
peoples promises were spoken rather than written.
heal the persistent illiteracy, poverty, and cultural division
that it was purportedly designed to heal.
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
Schooling the Native American
The history of the “melting pot”idea suggests that all
minority cultures share the same problem: how to fit
Indian people have for centuries been characterized by
into the larger dominant culture of the United States.
White America as a “problem”—the uncivilized force
Should this idea be supported? How is the issue dif-
standing in the way of progress and westward expan-
ferent for Native Americans?
sion. European American attempts to educate Native
America were intended to be part of a civil solution
to a problem that had long been pursued by violent
Seeing this, European American leaders attempted to
means. Both formal schooling and the general social
acculturate Indians into the value system of European
education of Indian people are separate but intertwined
America. Literacy, domesticity, Christianity, agriculture,
efforts to socialize Indians to the dominant European
the dignity of labor, personal wealth, hygiene, manners—
American culture. The term social education, as used
these standards became the first line of attack in the ef-
here, includes agricultural and industrial policy as well
fort to eliminate the tribal Indian presence. If the Indian
as formal schooling. As such, social education of Native
couldn’t be eliminated, “Indianness” could be. Education
Americans was a broad-based governmental effort that
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 201
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
202
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
used a variety of public policy mechanisms, including
the turn of the century 25 were in operation. Increas-
schools, to socialize Indians to the “requirements” of
ingly during this time, Indians were also educated in
modern American society.
on-reservation boarding schools and in public schools,
Between 1866 and 1887 the push to expand school-
both of which were less expensive than schools far from
ing affected Native Americans, but not to the degree
the reservation.
expected. In 1878, 137 schools served Indian children
The policy of allotment contributed to the breakup
and the school population was only 3,500. By 1887
of tribal Indian lands and therefore to the breakup of
there were 231 schools serving 10,000 children out
tribal unity and identity. Boarding education also con-
of a total Indian population of 400,000. Such a small
tributed to tribal breakup by assimilating young Indians
fraction is a reminder of the extent to which Native
into non-Indian culture. The boarding school environ-
American families resisted formal education and its
ment began to draw many critics during the early part
assimilative approach.
of the 20th century.
Social Education, from Land Allotment
The Progressive Reform Movement
to Boarding Schools
European American reformers and opinion leaders
In 1886 Congress passed the Dawes Allotment Act to
soon joined the Native American tribes themselves in
distribute tribal lands to individual tribe members who
voicing opposition to the land-allotment and board-
could demonstrate their “blood quantum” Indian heri-
ing school policies that were contributing to the rapid
tage and a minimal competency in farming and animal
destitution rather than the assimilation of Native
husbandry. This legislation, it was argued, would en-
Americans. These critics objected to both the barba-
courage Indian people to become functioning members
rism of living and working conditions in the schools
of a domestic, agricultural society in a primarily capital-
and the fact that boarding education, in seeking rapid
ist economy. Thus, it supported the European ideology
assimilation, actually fostered resistance and rebellion
of private property ownership, while at the same time
to the dominant culture. Indians returning from the
working to move millions of acres from Indian hands
schools would go “back to the blanket,” unwilling
to Euro-American ownership. It was also the begin-
or unable to adapt to the civilization for which they
ning of the ideology of “competence.” The individual
supposedly had been trained. Assimilation was con-
had to demonstrate the ability to practice agricultural
sidered synonymous with progress, and no effort was
competence in exchange for land title. Competence was
spared in pursuing this end. Values integral to land
a measure of assimilation and so property went to the
allotment—veneration of private property, individual
more Euro-acculturated Indians. This policy enticed
competition, domesticity, toil, and European stan-
many impoverished Indians to sell their holdings and
dards of beauty, dress, and “hygiene”—were all part
thus liquidate the “problem” of communally held land
of the boarding school environment. In 1887, the
in a European American culture committed to private
Indian Rights Association, one of the most influential
property. Whereas allotment was intended to change
Indian support groups, had celebrated the Dawes Act
Indian notions of communal property, the policy would
as a great advance toward the association’s “general
reduce tribal lands by 100 million acres between 1886
policy of gradually making the Indian in all respects as
and 1933, after which the policy was suspended for the
the white man.”4 Yet it was the general failure—moral
next two decades.
and practical—of the radical assimilation policy that
The allotment policy was intended to teach Indians
spurred the next generation of reformers to criticize
the habits and practices of the yeoman farmer. At the
and change Indian social education policy.
same time, the federal government was providing for-
Francis E. Leupp was one of the first government offi-
mal education for Indian children at boarding schools
cials to be critical of the off-reservation boarding school.
with the intention of hastening their assimilation into
In 1905, Leupp became commissioner of Indian affairs,
mainstream American society and values. During the
the chief administrator of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
late 18th and 19th centuries the federal government had
His criticism of allotments and boarding education pre-
funded a number of Indian schools, most of which were
saged later developments, because he attacked not the
run by missionaries. After 1880 a large number of off-
intention of assimilation but the method by which it
reservation federal boarding schools were opened. By
proceeded. Leupp believed that the allotment of lands
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 202
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 203
Indian boarding schools were established to assimilate young Indians into the dominant European American values: veneration of private property, individual competition,
domesticity, toil, and European standards of dress and hygiene.
to Indians to make farmers out of hunters was an error.
sought to fit education to varying abilities and condi-
“A people reared to war or the chase,” he wrote, “could
tions, all in the service of an eventually more “efficient”
not be turned into farmers or laborers over night.”5 He
assimilation.
supported the use of reservation day schools so that civi-
lization could be brought to the Indian instead of bring-
Scientific Management
ing the Indian to civilization.
and Educational Reform
During Leupp’s tenure policymakers were beginning
to see the failures of the allotment policy and the board-
As early as 1866, Commissioner of Indian Affairs
ing school in more graphic detail. Helen Hunt Jackson’s
Dennis Cooley made an extensive survey of Indian
popular Century of Dishonor reminded educated readers
education. The government survey was an example
of the injustice, immorality, violence, and maladmin-
of numerous efforts under the emerging progressive
istration perpetrated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
impulse to study, with the help of the rational eye of
It had become clear that some allotted lands were both
the social scientist, conditions germane to the admin-
unsuited for agriculture and too small for rangeland. It
istration of Indian affairs. Cooley characterized Indian
was believed that some Indians were not gaining “com-
education as “the only means of saving any consider-
petence” to handle their allotments and were selling or
able portion of the Indian race from the life and death
“misusing” their land.
of the heathen.”6
The generation that followed Leupp believed that
Progressive social study and management are well
scientific administration and rational management,
illustrated in the 18-month study of the U.S. Indian
rather than rapid assimilation, were the answer to the
service carried out by the Brookings Institution’s In-
“Indian problem.” The goal for the next generation of
stitute for Government Research under the direction
reform was, in the words of modern liberals, “to make
of Lewis Merriam in 1926. Issued in 1928 and titled
scientifically rational” the assimilation process. They
the “Problem of Indian Administration,” the so-called
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 203
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
204
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Merriam Report concluded that reform of the Indian
would be crafted not by old soldiers or civil servants
service must not be a simple overhaul of bureau man-
but by progressive educators and administrators.
agement. Instead, the report recommended revising
the BIA policy of cultural assimilation through board-
“Progressive” Indian Education:
ing school education and land allotment. Represent-
Early Years
ing the progressive management approach of its time,
the study argued that more, not less, government ad-
The education section of the 1928 Merriam Report
ministration was required to effect policy change and
was prepared under the direction of W. Carson Ryan,
maintenance.7
a Swarthmore College professor of education. Ryan was
The Merriam Report stated that education was the
committed to the new concepts of progressive educa-
most fundamental concern of the bureau. Through
tion. As past president of the Progressive Education
education, the Indian could begin to understand bet-
Association and a specialist in vocational education, he
ter the demands of modern culture and technology.
believed that education should be fitted to the “needs”
This concern had been implicit throughout the his-
of the individual, that is, geared to “reasonable” expecta-
tory of federal Indian education policy, but starting
tions with respect to a person’s position in society and
with Merriam, reformers began to apply pressure for a
potential in the workforce.
different approach. The report concluded that it was
For Ryan, education was a process of adjustment to
important, in light of the most modern anthropologi-
the dominant economic and social factors facing the
cal and social science, that Indians retain their cultural
individual. Ryan wanted a complete readjustment of
wisdom, or at least that a benevolent policy of nonin-
the BIA education forces. As he would later write, “a
terference be instituted. If the Indian school was not
mere three Rs type of education is sufficiently absurd
directed to teach Indian culture, it was directed not to
anywhere, but nowhere more so than among the Pueb-
interfere with tribal life and ways. Through the influ-
los (Indians) where life itself provides genuinely the ele-
ence of anthropologists and the new cultural science,
ments that many progressive schools can only reproduce
antitribal, pro-Anglo indoctrination in the schools be-
artificially.”8 The Merriam Report urged reform of a
gan to fall into disfavor with the bureau, in principle if
coercive, mismanaged, haphazard assimilationist social
not always in practice.
and educational policy, and Ryan was joined in this po-
Indian culture thus became a value previously un-
sition by other social reformers. Yet when we study their
recognized by the BIA administration. Since Leupp’s
arguments and methods, what we see is not an attack on
tenure tens of thousands of acres of Indian land had
how assimilation resulted in the dissolution of Indian
been sold off, and there had been significant Indian
societies but, like Leupp’s criticisms two decades earlier,
combat participation in World War I. Partly as a re-
an attack on the methods by which that dissolution was
sult of these assimilationist steps, Indians had won
to be carried out.
citizenship while retaining their trust-protected sta-
As Chapter 4 detailed, progressive education re-
tus. Throughout the 1920s muckraking journalists
flected emerging interest in such areas as democratic-
had pressured Congress to examine the condition
participatory education based on the needs and interests
of Indian America, especially conditions in Indian
of students, activity-based learning, the union between
boarding schools. The Merriam Report, significantly,
work and learning, and the incorporation of prevailing
criticized the boarding schools for failing to assimilate
social conditions as a fundamental part of education.
Indian children. Citing a number of deficiencies in
Yet as progressivism worked its way into Indian policy,
the Indian Service, it declared that the new generation
a number of contradictions arose. Democratization of
of Indian Service administrators would spearhead re-
schools conflicted with the fact that all Indian school-
doubled efforts in social education, aided by the new
ing was planned and administered in the BIA hierarchy.
human sciences of anthropology, psychology, and
Indian control of education was not intended by the
sociology, together with new administrative exper tise
bureau, for despite their long tradition of consensual de-
and efficiency. Indians would progress, it was argued,
cision making, it was supposed that Native Americans
only if the most sophisticated management tech-
lacked the rationality to make democratic educational
niques and educational practices were employed. This
decisions. (It would not be until the 1960s that the first
new generation of solutions to the “Indian problem”
Indian boards of education would be formed in the
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 204
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 205
Indian contract schools, and they would have limited
BIA. A principal figure in this development was John
autonomy.) Activity-based learning reflecting the world
Collier, a social reformer who would come to have the
of work, intended to adjust Indians to their social re-
greatest impact on the Indian Service of any person
ality, would increasingly alienate them from schooling
in that century. During his tenure as commissioner
and higher education. All too often their progressive
of Indian affairs between the early 1930s and 1945,
schooling experience centered on training in arts and
Collier’s policies would have a wide-ranging effect
crafts, wood shop, and shed building.
on Indian education. Collier was confident that so-
Progressive educators and social scientists advocated
lutions to Indian problems could be found through
responding to the interests and needs of Indian chil-
the application of human sciences such as psychol-
dren. They tried to strengthen Indian cultures and la-
ogy, sociology, and anthropology. Throughout the
mented the destruction of Indian language and habits.
1930s and into the 1940s, Collier and the Indian
They encouraged cultural development and began the
Bureau employed social scientists in social and edu-
first programs of Indian bilingual education. Yet from
cational planning. From thinkers such as Dewey and
the beginning, cross-cultural education and bilingual
George H. Meade, who believed that a community of
education, as well as new arts and crafts programs, were
shared interests was central to modern progress and
instituted not as a means of strengthening Indian cul-
democracy, Collier derived his commitment to the re-
tures but as motivational tools to encourage the willing
surgence of “community.” Group identity and com-
acquisition of English and the acceptance of schooling
munity feelings were central to emerging theories that
and as a cure for the ever-present “problem” of Indian
indigenous people would progress and thrive only if
recalcitrance and apathy. Progressive educators such as
they retained their cultural, communal self-hood. The
Ryan encouraged these innovations as a practical way
rapid destruction of Indian community conscious-
to prepare Indians for a prideful place in the world of
ness, whether by land allotment or by boarding school
work. Yet this pride was supposed to well up in the
regimentation and culture blindness, represented to
breast of a marginally employed or unemployed laborer
Collier a form of social failure.
engaged in short-term, low-status assembly work, agri-
Working with social scientists from the Bureau of
cultural piecework, or the production of arts and crafts
American Ethnology, Collier developed a focus on
for the profit of White traders. Anything more ambi-
cross-cultural education that appeared to repudiate a
tious was not seen by progressive educators as part of the
centurylong effort to assimilate Indian children and
“available” Indian reality.
reviled the concept of manifest destiny by acknowl-
edging the value of Indian culture. Indeed, Collier
worked to bring an end to allotments and establish
Indian tribal government through the Indian Reorga-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
nization Act (IRA) of 1934. This law was the most
American Indian educational reform during the first
dramatic change in Indian affairs since the Dawes Act.
half of the 20th century might be characterized as
Elected tribal corporations were formed, apparently to
partly pluralist and partly assimilationist. How would
speak for the people in the tribe. These councils, while
you describe and assess the character of the plural-
eventually answerable to the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
ism embodied in Indian schooling reform? In explain-
served as administrative centers with which the gov-
ing your position, explain the degree to which those
ernment and the BIA could engage in the reservation
reforms appear to you to be consistent with demo-
system.
cratic ideals and why.
Yet accompanying all these developments were
counterthemes. On the one hand were changes
announcing the presence of a pluralist approach,
exalting Indian culture and purportedly renouncing
The Influence of John Collier
assimilation and paternalism. On the other hand were
During the progressive era as described in Chapter 4,
growing arguments among educators that new forms
the administration of the Indian Service was influ-
of schooling, closer to the “needs” of the Indian child,
enced by individuals who saw the developing social
would soften the psychological effects of an ongoing
sciences as a key to successful management in the
policy of assimilation and absorption. Acknowledging
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 205
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
206
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Indian culture, it was thought, would make Indians less
settlement house social centers could teach low-income
likely to resist the inevitable changes before them. Will-
and immigrant children virtues such as “citizenship,
ing participation would replace apathy and defiance.
ethics, social good will, play, and aesthetics.”11 Interest-
ingly, he believed that the new technology of motion
Collier’s Early Career
pictures could be a useful tool in this effort.
Collier’s interest in motion pictures led to his leader-
No one had more to do with this subtle shift in attitude
ship of the first movement to censor movies in the United
than Collier. While it is not the purpose of this discus-
States, from 1908 to 1914. As general secretary of the
sion to follow the career of any one reformer or adminis-
National Board of Censorship of Motion Pictures,
trator in the Indian Service, it is useful to understand the
he worked at “assisting” film producers to upgrade the
growth of Collier’s social philosophy and life because he
educational, moral, and artistic content of their films.
became the main architect of a new age in Indian affairs.
His belief that the arts could rehabilitate and harmo-
Collier’s early, more radical commitment to cultural plu-
nize social life eventually would play a role in his social-
ralism gradually changed to a belief in scientifically and
management approach to Native American culture.12
bureaucratically managed pluralism. At the roots of Col-
While in New York Collier became a part of the
lier’s approach to American Indian social policy we find
famous salon of wealthy New York socialite Mabel
the roots of new liberal schooling policy for Indians—
Dodge, who hosted radicals and progressives such as
schooling for assimilation to White societ y.
Lincoln Steffens, Walter Lippman, John Reed, Emma
To understand Collier’s social (and aesthetic) vision,
Goldman, and William “Big Bill” Haywood. The in-
it is important to identify his intellectual models. Collier
tellectuals and activists who gathered at Dodge’s salon
was born to a well-to-do, politically prominent Atlanta
tended to place more faith in writing and the arts than
family. His father, a progressive businessman, believed
in worker revolution, though they believed that Amer-
in the importance of cooperation between industry
ica was on the verge of a “cooperative commonwealth
and government. The elder Collier eventually became
that would be socialist, not capitalist, in its economy.”13
mayor of Atlanta but before that had organized the
Dodge had a special interest in American Indians and
Cotton States International Exposition, where Booker
eventually persuaded Collier, who had been involved in
T. Washington, in his famous “Atlanta Compromise”
a failed community -organizing effort in California, to
speech, extolled the virtues of the Black South as a great
visit the Pueblo people in Taos, New Mexico.14
potential engine of labor.
Collier was so struck by what he found among the
John Collier attended Columbia University in 1902,
Pueblos that he stayed in New Mexico from 1920
but it was his friendship with a New York tutor he had
through 1930. There he was active in a successful land
met earlier in Atlanta that most influenced the course of
repatriation movement. He came to believe that the
his life. Lucy Crozier introduced Collier to the ideas of
Pueblos’ communal lifestyle nurtured human personality
Nietzsche, the writings of the symbolist poets, and the
and potential in a manner that had been lost to Western
work of the new liberal sociologist Lester Frank Ward.
culture and that European Americans were a continuing
Collier’s studies with Crozier and in particular the ideas
threat to the Indian ways of life. “The deep cause of our
of Ward were to shape his belief in planned social change
world agony,” he wrote, “is that we have lost passion and
and the application of “social intelligence” (guided by
reverence for human personality and for the web of life
social science) to the solution of human problems.
and the earth which the American Indians have tended
In 1904, for example, Collier and others tried to
as a central, sacred fire since the Stone Age.”15
persuade the railroad companies to transport trainloads
In 1922 Collier had opportunity to put his beliefs
of unemployed northern immigrants to Appalachian
into action. He joined with the Pueblos in fighting a
regions, where the mixture of northerners and south-
U.S. congressional bill that would not only transfer tribal
erners would revitalize the biological and cultural char-
land to White squatters but would place the internal
acter of both racial “stocks.”9 After this venture failed,
government of the Pueblo “city states” under the juris-
Collier became deeply involved in the New York settle-
diction of the U.S. district court. Since Pueblo internal
ment house movement. Here he joined with others in
affairs were guided almost solely by religious traditions,
trying to use forums and lectures to address the “prob-
this bill would have created a legal basis for government
lems of social unrest and assist in the peaceful, demo-
control of Indian religious practices. The first all-Pueblo
cratic evolution of our society.”10 He believed that
tribal council since 1680 was convened to discuss the
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 206
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 207
bill, and Collier and a few other Whites were invite d.
Together they denounced the bill in the newspapers and
helped bring about its defeat.16
This victory helped shape Collier’s career as an Indian
advocate and government policy reformer. He next joined
with a number of other White new liberals to form the
Indian Defense Association, which he served as execu-
tive director. Mixing aesthetic values with a pragmatic
economic and social agenda, Collier sought to support
the revitalization of Indian culture, community ideals,
traditional manufacture, and tribal ownership of land.17
During the years Collier worked with the Indian
Defense Association there was little evidence of any
great change in the bureau’s policy toward Indian
tribal solidarity. The bureau reported in 1925 that
John Collier, commissioner of Indian affairs from 1933 to 1945,
the future well-being of the Indian lay in the ability
sought to exalt Native American culture and renounce earlier
to adapt, that Native people would have to absorb
policies of forced assimilation. However, his policy of
European civilization with school or without it.18 As
“managed liberalism” also had as its long-term goal to bring
Indians willingly into the mainstream of American culture.
late as 1932, a year before Collier’s appointment as
commissioner of Indian affairs, the secretary of the
the Indian people. Native Americans, always a people
interior reported the Interior Department’s aim to
of great social and cultural diversity, had become even
terminate the relationship between Indian people and
more fragmented by the effects of poverty, social disin-
the federal government.19 The Interior Department
tegration, and assimilation.
leadership must have felt acute economic pressure
In 1933 Collier helped institute school programs
both from the expense of Indian welfare and educa-
that he hoped might foster Indian racial heritage and
tion and from its knowledge of the yet-unexploited
identity. Arts and crafts were encouraged, and the day
resources of Indian lands. The call for Indian indepen-
school was praised as the vehicle that would provide
dence was in part a move intended to release the gov-
a center for Indian community growth.22 There were
ernment from the financial obligations of the so-called
other examples of such social-engineering programs,
Indian problem. Collier, however, was soon to become
and the Interior Department reported applause for the
commissioner of Indian affairs, and the Interior De-
effectiveness of such “practical” programs as the Indian
partment’s intentions would be thwarted.
Arts and Crafts Board.23
Just as the indigenous art became a means of boost-
Collier as Commissioner
ing Indian self-sufficiency, Indian language became a new
touchstone for the social progressives. Bilingual-bicultural
of Indian Affairs
educational programs were proposed as a way to effect a
President Franklin Roosevelt, on the strength of Interior
recovery in Indian self-awareness and increase educational
Secretary Harold Ickes’s recommendation, appointed
success. Tribal language deterioration was a fact that Col-
Collier commissioner of Indian affairs in 1933.20 In that
lier’s administration did not ignore.24 Yet the new bilin-
year, Collier began to attempt to realize his dream of a
gual-bicultural emphasis, was not presented primarily as
resurgent Indian community. With the help of Ickes,
an argument for the advancement of Native American cul-
he began an effort to dismantle the remaining board-
ture, in but first as a vehicle for a more willing acquisition of
ing schools. Indians would now attend public schools in
English language, and acculturation to Euro American cul-
increasing numbers as Collier laid the groundwork for
ture. This educational policy, like land reform, was devel-
a progressive social policy.21 His efforts provide a good
oped so that Indians might become “bilingual, literate, yet
example of the centralized social planning characteristic
proud of their racial heritage, completely self-supporting,”
of the New Deal. He attempted to weld his unified phi-
that is, self-supporting in an English-language industrial
losophy of Indian cultural values to a firm base of New
economy.25 At its best, it might be argued, Collier’s ad-
Deal social reconstruction. However, the uniformity
ministration supported a model of pluralism that did
of his dream did not take into account the diversity of
not seek to erase Indian culture and identity but instead
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 207
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
208
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
sought to educate a people for participation in two cul-
and not deviate sharply from, the line of force which is
tures. At its worst, these policies saw Indian culture only
central to the being of the individual or group. Thus may
as a necessary step toward assimilated membership in the
he influence profoundly and helpfully. Remember that
dominant White culture. The result, however, was a new
deep and central preoccupations, devotions and views of
affirmation of Indian cultural tradition.
life can be helped to apply themselves to new practical
ends. Here is the secret of efficient and democratic ad-
In 1934, for example, at the beginning of Collier’s
ministration.28
“Indian New Deal,” Secretary Ickes reported that
through 50 years of “individualization,” Indians had
Collier went on to say how Indian policy had moved
been robbed of economic initiative by the breakdown of
more centrally to “things Indian,” promoting a great-
their spirit. Thus, an effort to boost morale would ben-
er response than ever before from Indians. “There is
efit Indian economic independence and rehabilitation.
hardly any limit,” he writes, “to the energy, the good-
To do this, Indian policy would now focus on spiritual
will and the happiness which will meet us from within
regeneration. This effort implied a new recognition of
the Indian—if only we will work with him at his own
the beauty and worth of tribal cultural forms. Schools
centers.”29 Progress on the “Indian question” could
soon began to recognize Indian religions as a legitimate
now be scientifically managed. What was required was
expression of Indian culture. The rhetoric in the Depart-
scientific study of the Indian culture and then applica-
ment of Interior reports stated a policy of noninterfer-
tion of progressive education principles to enlist Indian
ence with tribal religious practice, whereas only a few
children into willing participation in assimilationist
years before the bureau had termed Indian rites pagan
education.
and “pornographic.”
Collier left an ambiguous legacy of tribalism that
Collier genuinely respected traditional Indian values
would foster some of the best and worst influences on
of democratic and equitable land use.26 Largely because
future Indian sovereignty and the trust relationship.
of his experience with Pueblo life, he believed that a re-
Indian people therefore responded to Collier’s social
newal of Indian sovereignty, of tribal hegemony, would
engineering and administrative progressivism in very dif-
be the beginning of recovery for all Indian societies. He
ferent ways. The several nations of the Iroquois, for ex-
believed that the basic goal of any community is growth
ample, made conflicting responses to Collier’s efforts.
through democratic self-governance. In a climate of
The Eastern Iroquois were largely opposed to Collier’s
recovery politics, this appeal to democracy, to consti-
paternalism and heavy-handedness, and Seneca leader
tutional rights, and for a program of economic rebirth
Alice Jamison waged a fierce campaign to blunt the
proved highly persuasive to an administration ready for
liberal reforms of the Indian Reorganization Act. She
social experimentation.
charged that such changes, while rationalizing the tribal
Collier and the bureau cooperated with the Univer-
government relationship, would ultimately compromise
sity of Chicago Committee on Human Development in
the Iroquois league’s sovereign status as a nation.30 Yet
a series of thorough “case studies” of individual Indian
while the majority of Iroquois fought the Indian Reorga-
nations. Appealing to principles of progressive social
nization Act and its pluralist progressivism, the Oneida
science rather than to Indian self-determination, this
Iroquois near Green Bay, Wisconsin, still look favorably
“action anthropology” was for Collier “a case in scien-
on the New Deal Writer’s Project, which funded the
tific exploration, wherein a practical problem of broad
Oneida Language and Folklore project for the reserva-
shape . . . became translated into a scientific problem.”27
tion. Through bureau anthropologists’ efforts, the rap-
Collier’s reason for supporting detailed culture study is
idly disappearing stories, language, and customs of the
clearly indicated in his foreword to one of those culture
Oneida were revitalized and tribe members were put to
studies, The Hopi Way, which is excerpted at the end of
work recreating lost crafts. In part, the memory of these
this chapter. That statement reflects his emphasis on so-
early successes laid the groundwork for the legitimiza-
cial management through scientific, progressive thought
tion of culturally sensitive curricula in Indian -controlled
and prefigures the prominent role the principles of pro-
schools today.
gressive education were to play in the Education Divi-
At the same time, the subtlety of Collier’s legacy is not
sion of the BIA. Collier asks:
so present in his support of the education efforts of Wil-
Does one seek to influence an individual or group?
lard Walcott Beatty, Collier’s director of the Education
Let him discover what is central to the being of that
Division of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Just as close ex-
individual or group. Let his effort at influence be near to,
amination of Collier’s career sheds light on how modern
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 208
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 209
Historical Context
Schooling and Native Americans
The following events should help you situate the educational developments in this chapter in a broader historical context. These events are illustrative; you might have chosen different ones if you were constructing such a timeline. For any item, you should be able to consider, What is its educational significance? Some of these events are not mentioned in the chapter and might lead you to further inquiry.
Early National Period
1794
Five years after George Washington becomes first U.S. president, Indian resistance to White rule in the Northwest Territory is broken
1811
General William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana Territory, defeats Indians in Battle of
Tippecanoe 1813
Powerful Indian Confederacy in Northwest collapses when Harrison defeats British in Ontario and Shawnee Chief Tecumseh is killed
1814
War with Creek Indians ends when General Andrew Jackson defeats them at Horseshoe Bend, Alabama 1818
Jackson leads U.S. forces into Florida to punish hostile Seminoles; Spain told by United States to control Indians or cede Florida
1825
Creek Indians reject treaty ceding all their lands in Georgia to United States; Congress adopts policy of forcibly removing all eastern Indian tribes to territory west of the Mississippi, thus establishing “Indian frontier”
Jacksonian and Post-Jacksonian Era
1830
Indian Removal Bill authorizes resettlement of eastern Indians to Oklahoma Territory; Sauk and Fox tribes in Illinois are finally forced to move west of Mississippi River
1832
Black Hawk War occurs when Sauk chief Black Hawk returns to Illinois to plant crops; his tribe is massacred by U.S.
and Illinois troops
1835
Gold found on Cherokee land in Georgia, and Cherokees are forced to cede lands to United States; Seminole war begins when Seminoles refuse to leave Florida; they attack and massacre U.S. troops 1842
Seminoles’ crops and villages are destroyed; they are forced to sign peace treaty and removed to Indian Territory in eastern Oklahoma
1843
Settlers begin great migration westward over Oregon Trail to Oregon Territory
1848
Treaty of Hidalgo ends U.S. war with Mexico, ending Mexican claims to Texas and ceding to United States present-day California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming, placing many indigenous peoples within borders of United States (leading to 20th-century Chicano observation, “We didn’t cross the border, the border crossed us”)
1849
U.S. Department of Interior is created to meet needs of western settlers
1851
Sioux Indians give all their land in Iowa and most of their land in Minnesota to United States Progressive Period
1871
Congress enacts Indian Appropriation Act, nullifying all Indian treaties and making all Indians wards of the United States 1871
U.S. Army suppresses Apache Indians and forces them onto reservations in New Mexico and Arizona; Apaches resist, conducting raids on White settlers
1877
As Reconstruction ends in the South, Nez Percé Chief Joseph’s tribe battles United States, then retreats across 1,600
miles of western states; is finally defeated and forced to a reservation (“I will fight no more forever”) 1878
Bureau of Indian Affairs counts 137 White-led schools serving Indian children
1879
Uprising of Ute Indians is suppressed, and they are removed from Colorado to Utah
1886
Apache Indian wars end in the Southwest as Chief Geronimo surrenders; Dawes Allotment Act passed to change Indian commitment to communal property, reduces tribal lands by 100 million acres over next 50 years.
1889
Oklahoma Indian Territory is opened to White settlers
1890
U.S. troops massacre 200 Sioux Indians at the Battle of Wounded Knee, South Dakota; progressive era ushers in Sherman Anti-Trust Act in nation’s capital
1901
U.S. citizenship granted to the Indians of the “Five Civilized Tribes”: Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles
1907
Oklahoma, formerly Oklahoma and Indian territories, becomes 46th state; Congress refuses to allow state to be named Sequoyah after Indian creator of the Cherokee alphabet
1920
Progressive activist John Collier begins a stay with Pueblo Indians that lasts 10 years 1928
Merriam Report, “The Problem of Indian Administration” is issued; argues for more government administration of Indian affairs
1933
Collier appointed commissioner of Indian affairs; begins to enact “progressive” agenda Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
To what extent did U.S. relations with Indian peoples change during the progressive era, and why?
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 209
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
210
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
liberalism translated into progressive social policy toward
Indian children, was to focus on vocationalism and not on
American Indians, Beatty’s career emphasizes the “social
a liberal education that would have included opportunities
efficiency” progressivism in these efforts.
for higher education. In fact the institutions of higher edu-
cation designed for Indians were often shared by African
Americans, and these were largely on the Tuskeegee model.
Willard Walcott Beatty: Progressive
Booker T. Washington served on the staff and faculty of
Education for Native Americans
the Hampton Institute, one such school, where working
Collier retained his social emphasis in the Education Di-
with both Native Americans and African Americans, he
vision of the BIA through his association with and sup-
would receive inspiration to extend his model.
port of W. Carson Ryan and Willard Walcott Beatty.
Beatty would argue that Indian people could be prof-
Both were presidents of the Progressive Education Soci-
itably educated to increase their already “tempermental”
ety and frequent contributors to the journal Progressive
inclination to manual labor. He would put forth as evi-
Education, and throughout their careers both closely as-
dence certain social-scientific experiments which argued
sociated themselves with the theories of educational pro-
that people could be encouraged to accept and even
gressivism. Whereas both Ryan and Beatty served Collier
enjoy a work environment that was regarded as low-
as directors of the Education Division, Beatty was Col-
statu s, disagreeable drudgery. Such acceptance was to be
lier’s personal appointee and brought a vigorous, almost
accomplished not by fundamental changes in the nature
messianic approach to Indian education administratio n.
of production but by fundamental changes in workers’
Before coming to the bureau Beatty had champi-
attitudes toward toil.
oned progressivism in the Bronxville School in New
Beatty cited the success of the Hawthorne experiments
York and as an elementary school principal in Skokie,
as evidence that progressive principles could increase all
Illinois. He received his widest recognition, however,
kinds of work output, whether job- or school-related.
as architect of the “Winnetka technique,” which con-
The Hawthorne effect was a phenomenon discovered in
sisted of the progressive education principles he ap-
a study of how lighting adjustments at a Western Electric
plied as superintendent of the Winnetka, Illinois,
assembly plant near Chicago affected the workers. The “ef-
schools located 10 miles north of Chicago. He served
ficiency experts” who conducted the study measured the
as president of the Progressive Education Association
effect of light adjustments on productivity and discovered
from 1933 until 1937, at which point Collier ap-
that no lighting adjustment was as effective in increasing
pointed him director of the bureau. Time magazine
production as the attention workers were receiving dur-
pronounced Beatty the “tribal leader” of progressive
ing the study. Beatty remarked that it was crucial to make
education in the United States.
workers “feel important,” since in this way workers “found
Beatty was an indefatigable writer, constantly express-
stability, a place where they belonged and work whose
ing his views on the direction of Indian education policy
purpose they could clearly see. And so they worked faster
in the pages of Indian Education, an official BIA newslet-
and better than they ever had in their lives.”31
ter. Indeed, most of the articles in the newsletter—which
The scientific study of human labor thus was in-
focused on educational philosophy issues relating to
tended to change not the actual repetitive drudgery of
Indian Service workers, administrators, and teachers—
the tasks but how workers felt about those tasks. The
were authored by Beatty.
object was to encourage positive attitudes without al-
Compared to the boarding school’s assimilationist
tering the relationship of labor to production; by alter-
approach, the progressive orientation of student-centere d,
ing the workers’ attitudes, management could offer the
activity-based learning within Indian communities seemed
illusion of control and thus increase cooperation and
to be a clear step forward for Native Americans. Since
production. An interesting and influential spin-off of
federal Indian policy was moving away from assimilation
these principles can be seen in some characteristics of
and toward pluralism, educational policy was encouraged
progressive school practice. One of the chief methods
to follow. Indeed, after Collier left the commisionership,
of applying these principles to education was to foster
Beatty stayed on and pushed an unambiguous program
the illusion that students had a hand in the design of
of progressivism, but one that was very different from the
instruction, just as workers were given the feeling they
developmental democracy of Dewey.
had control over the conditions of their labor. In this
It is no irony that the goal of education in the “new
way, progressive schooling effectively prepared students
boarding school” as well as in the public schools serving
for the progressive factory.
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 210
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 211
Native American education policy focused on industrial education, since European Americans considered a liberal education inappropriate for Indian males.
Reacting to the Merriam Report, which had objected
scorn. Older teachers in the service predicted that the
to harsh labor conditions in the boarding schools,
already difficult problem of teaching English to their
Beatty said that while it was appropriate that children
charges would be made more difficult. Naturally, this
should help with the cost of school upkeep, industrial
was not borne out by the facts. With the removal of the
work in the school would now be more “educational”
ban has come the beginning of that increased pride in
and more closely fitted to the world of work. No longer
race and culture which is necessary for worthy achieve-
would students labor with no purpose beyond their own
ment. And for the moment, what is equally important,
upkeep in school laundries or printshops; instead, they
an increased desire to learn English. . . . Psychologically
would learn skills that could be generalized to the world
we have won a great advantage in the schooling of
of work. “The schools cannot train for all occupations,”
Indians.”33
he wrote, “but they can aid the boy or girl in acquiring
Later, he attacked the problems posed by Indian
those types of skills that are common to many occupa-
consciousness, perceptions, and worldview as ex-
tions.”32 The object was to develop “good work habits
pressed in both language and behavior. Those who
and attitudes” as much as it was to learn a “vocation” or
worked among the various tribes had noted for many
receive an education. Efforts to teach Indian language
years that the tribal worldview, whether conditioned
and culture—often hailed as a method of preserving
by language or by culture, was very different from the
basic tribal values and encouraging a pluralist Indian
European American worldview. Indian peoples, for in-
presence—were in fact used as a technique of the kind
stance, often possessed a very different concept of du-
suggested by the Hawthorne experiment, to discourage
ration, or time sense. In Education for Cultural Change,
apathy and encourage willing Indian participation in the
Beatty referred to “the Great God Time,” to which, in
“normal transition” to assimilation.
his view, all of the White world bowed. He encour-
Along similar lines, Beatty also encouraged the
aged Indians to do the same, to join this worship and
production of bilingual materials for students. How-
become accustomed to “our clockwork civilization.”
ever, linguistic pluralism was never the goal, only a
For Beatty, therefore, a greater understanding of
feeling of pluralism. In Language, A Foundation Tool,
Indian cultural consciousness was valuable primarily
he wrote, “In 1934 when John Collier declared that
as a means of eliminating, rather than fostering, tra-
an Indian has as much right to his native language
ditional tribal perceptions. Under Beatty’s direction,
as anyone, the decision was greeted with doubt and
education for Indians in the new progressive climate
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 211
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
212
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
differed from earlier attempts to assimilate Indian
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#4
children only in form, not in function. While the new
progressive methods differed from the old boarding
In Chapter 4 various objectives and practices of pro-
school approach, the ultimate goals of assimilation re-
gressive education were presented in the context of
mained fundamentally the same.
an urbanizing, industrializing, and heavily immigrant
society. Are progressive education aims and practices
relevant to the changes in schooling developed for
Native Americans in the 20th century? Explain.
Schooling and Assimilation
of the Indian Child
After World War II, Beatty continued to apply pro-
gressive principles to the schooling of Indian children.
Afterword: The Case
The rhetoric of these principles cannot be allowed to
obscure their purpose, however. To repeat, indigenous
of the Navajo
culture and language study was not undertaken primar-
ily in recognition of their innate legitimacy but as a psy-
The European education of the Indian represents part of
chological technique to improve morale and increase
the shift from war to peace policy, from genocide to as-
the willingness of Indians to learn English. Similarly,
similation. European settlers first justified the conquest
neither democratic participation in the creation of in-
of tribal peoples by highlighting their savagery, their lack
struction nor hands-on activities were supported by the
of humanity. Education of Indians was pursued in the
progressives in recognition of the intrinsic legitimacy
belief that savagery could be turned to a useful purpose.
of such activities. Rather, they were seen as a way to
Through conquest and assimilation, the Indian people
overcome Indian apathy and resistance toward unfa-
of the East were changed forever, in accommodation to
miliar labor both at school and at work. Like Booker
the forces of European expansion. Today the tribes of
T. Washington’s Tuskegee students, Indians would
the Northeast are found in small pockets in the large cit-
receive an education appropriate to their status as mar-
ies and on several small scattered reservations. Although
ginal laborers suited primarily for repetitive handwork.
their numbers are small, the voice that remains—
The integration of work with schooling was a tacit ad-
as heard through such publications as the Mohawk
mission that for reasons of race and “temperament,”
Akwasasne Notes—is strong in its identity and tribal
Indians were considered permanent members of the
solidarity. Its presence is a testament to survival despite
laboring classes.
crushing opposition, and a witness to the resurgence of
Beatty’s progressive vision helped shape the direction
the Native American community in recent years.
of Indian education for decades, during which time the
The largest Indian territories today are found in
influence of progressivism on Indian education had its
the reservations west of the Mississippi, beyond the
greatest impact as a result of increasing federal adminis-
St. Louis Arch, in the Dakotas, the Northwest, the for-
tration of Indian society. Meanwhile, John Collier had
mer “Indian territories” in Oklahoma, and especially in
professed his faith in Indian cultures as part of a cure for
the Southwest—New Mexico and Arizona. Although
the ills of industrial materialism and the ethical decline
many Indian people have moved to large urban centers,
of Western society. But while the progressive efforts he
the reservations house the great population of landed
inspired and supported increased the educational em-
Indian peoples. The largest tribal enrollment and largest
phasis on Indian language and culture and provided a
reservation is an area covering parts of Arizona, New
school setting more in tune with the realities of Indian
Mexico, and Utah—the Navajo reservation. “Navajo-
life, his pluralist vision and recognition of Indian social
land” is larger than the state of West Virginia and is home
and political sovereignty served to further assimilationist
to approximately 240,000 people. It is a varied land of
goals. It also led Indians into the special status of mar-
great beauty and extensive natural resources. Whereas
ginal laborers reserved for America’s marginal peoples.
the Eastern Algonquin and Iroquois were the original
Education would be carefully designed to accomplish
Indians of the Euro-American imagination, the Navajo,
both goals, as progressive administrators used new lib-
if only because of their large numbers and the size of their
eral principles of social science efficiently to manage
homeland, represent an important part of contemporary
manifest destiny.
Native American reality.
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 212
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 213
The Navajo have rich social, cultural, and religious tra-
to their homelands, many struggling to revive the tradi-
ditions. Despite centuries of pressure to assimilate, they,
tional languages and values and the traiditions that de-
as much as any tribal people in the United States, have
fine them as persons and that were seldom counted by
managed to retain much of their language and culture.
non-Indian educators as available cultural capital to be
This persistence is a testimony to their adaptability as
fostered in formal education.
well as to their isolation. However, life for the Navajo
For the urban dweller or landless rural tribal member,
people today is fraught with complications, pressures, and
sovereignty is guarded by the concept of treaty rights and
poverty. Having largely preserved their tribal and familial
aboriginal title. Hunger for Indian material and human
identity, they deal daily with the contradictions of exten-
capital has coincided with efforts to erode legal and moral
sive resource exploitation and unrelenting poverty, televi-
concepts of aboriginal title and “trust,” which give mean-
sion and third-world mortality rates, high technology and
ing to sovereignty. The dominant models of Indian for-
low employment. In 1975 a landmark study by the U.S.
mal schooling and social education have been efforts to
Commission of Civil Rights reported that Navajo per
either force or wean the Indian culturally, socially, and
capita personal income was $900 per year, compared to
physically away from the land. Yet the lands and the
the U.S. average of $3,921. Navajo unemployment was
special relationship between the federal government and
60 percent; the U.S. average was 6 percent. Infant mortal-
the tribes were part of treaty rights gained in exchange
ity was more than double that of the general population.
for peace. Non-Indians seeking to understand Native
Average number of school years was 5, compared with
Americans must not forget that Indian people are not
12 for the general population. The most recent figures
immigrants. They continue to struggle to maintain their
show that these disparities continue to widen.
treaty rights and, through them, their lands, unique cul-
In 1950 the gap between personal income for the U.S.
tures, and religions. For the Navajo, as well as for all other
population and that for Navajos was around $900. By
Native American people, that struggle is waged often in
1972 that gap had grown to $3,021. Yet that period wit-
spite of, rather than as a consequence of, their exposure to
nessed an unprecedented growth in the “development”
schooling and other powerful forms of social education.
of Navajo mineral, natural, and tourism resources.34
Education is often understood to refer to socializa-
This development takes a neocolonial form in which
tion training for positions in the dominant culture and
most of the dollars generated on the reservation are not
employment market, and one argument given in favor
spent there; most of the jobs in resource development
of that interpretation is that education thus conceived
are not Navajo jobs. Sixty-seven percent of the dollars
could solve the staggering poverty suffered by genera-
made on the reservation is spent outside Navajo coun-
tions of native peoples. Yet the Navajo people, along
try; only 13 percent is spent inside, with the remainder
with many other tribes, have struggled at the local and
including taxes (12 percent), savings (3 percent), and
tribal level with the problem of balancing educational
“other” (5 percent).35
and economic growth with continued cultural and spiri-
Indian education has always been a response to the
tual integrity.
perceived ill preparedness of Indian people to fit into
During the post–World War II period increasing
Euro-American society. Indian education is the history
activism on the part of Indian people culminated in
of efforts to create the “competent” Indian, the civil
an era of community and tribal sovereignty. The Self-
Indian—to civilize the primitive so that when properly
Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975
trained he will assimilate smoothly into American eco-
(SDEA) was one part of that movement. In the mid-
nomic and social life, but on a level suited to his mar-
1960s American Indian education again conducted an
ginal status.
experiment in biculturalism. The Rough Rock Dem-
If the struggle is difficult for the largest tribe, one
onstration School in Arizona began as an experiment
with semisovereign title to some of America’s richest
in local community control of all significant aspects of
natural, mineral, recreational, and historical resources,
schooling. Located near the center of the Navajo reser-
consider the difficulties faced by Native Americans liv-
vation, in one of its most isolated and tradition-oriented
ing in urban environments or those living on the mar-
locations, Rough Rock became the symbol for a genera-
ginal lands they have retained as homeland remnants or
tion of schools, including more than 95 of the 185 BIA-
“inherited” by exile during the removals of the 19th cen-
funded schools, which operate on grants and contracts
tury. Today there are over a million Native Americans,
from the federal government. But lurking beneath the
and roughly half, living on nearly 300 tribal lands, cling
promise of Indian community control lay the threat that
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 213
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
214
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
such control must satisfy traditional, dominant-culture
In particular, can public schooling in a modern,
standards of “competence.” Failure in this regard will
materialist, capitalist society serve the well-being
seem to justify the federal government’s transfer of con-
of cultures whose worldviews are in important
tract schools from local to state control, abrogating the
ways antithetical to those of European Americans?
federal treaty trust responsibility. Currently, in many ar-
More generally, can a national agenda for pub-
eas the ability of schools to provide needed supplies and
lic education in a multicultural society serve the
funds comes from the ability of tribal gambling casinos
well-being of all the subcultures within that soci-
to offset the shortfall. Whether this is a healthy and pos-
ety? Who should determine what that well-being
itive source of social capital remains a controversial topic
all over Indian Country.
consists of—the members of the subcultures or the
government appointees of the dominant culture?
Or is there some process by which bicultural val-
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
ues can be served? How will you build your own
OF EDUCATION
position regarding these important and too often
The provision of public schooling for Native Americans
ne glected dimensions of education? More specifi-
in the first half of the 20th century raised unique
cally, your written statements of your philosophy
questions about the role and governance of educa-
of education can indicate the kind of message you
tion in a pluralist society. What in your reading has
want students and parents from other cultures to
stimulated your thinking about the importance of
receive from you as you interact with them. It can
Native American sovereignty and worldview as an
also indicate how you can make sure they get that
important facet of American education and history?
message from you.
Primary Source Reading
Preceding those excerpts is a selection from Collier’s
foreword to Laura Thompson and Alice Joseph’s The
Hopi Way.
A major theme of this chapter has been the degree to
which American Indians have been free to fashion their
own institutions—economic, educational, political—in
20th-century society. John Collier, as commissioner of
The Hopi Way (1944)
Indian affairs, was one of the more enlightened European
Americans to affect U.S. policy toward the Indians, but
John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs
even his version of Indian democracy was grounded in
progressive liberal ideals foreign to Indians. Collier’s em-
Now, to pass straight into Indian Service and its aims
phasis on scientific expertise and the use of specialists
and perplexities. Indian Service in the United States deals
for solving Indian problems was not ultimately embraced
in total ways with whole societies. It does this for ill or
by the tribal peoples, who simply wanted the resources
for good. Through generations that look gray and cold
and authority to establish their independence and self-
now in retrospect, Indian Service pursued one and an-
governance.
other special and discreet aim: to Christianize Indians, to
The difference in viewpoints is partly represented in
substitute the individual for the societal Indian, to make
the difference between an “assimilationist” policy to-
Indians into land individualists, to obliterate Indian
ward Indians and a “pluralist” policy. Contrary to Collier’s
superstition, to make go-getters of Indians. And policy
ultimately assimilationist aims, a pluralist policy seeks to
was dominated by preconceptions as to the nature of
allow groups to sustain their own cultures in harmony
Indian society. I cite two of these, from annual reports
with one another. A pluralist view is illustrated in the
of Indian Commissioners in the 80’s of the last century.
accompanying selection from the writing of American
Indians, written well after Collier left the commissioner-
ship of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. These excerpts af-
Source: From Collier’s foreword to Laura Thompson and Alice Joseph’s The Hopi firm a desire to nurture Indian culture in modern society.
Way (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1944).
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 214
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 215
The second quotation, dated 1886, reflects a usual view
build (but not the group forces alone). Mind and perfor-
as to the types of emotion evoked in Indians by their
mance in the individual must be measured, and through
own societies.
depth-psychology techniques, the types and trends of
“To assist in the great work of redeeming these be-
the individual unconsciousness must be explored. Bodily
nighted children of nature from the darkness of their
health must be examined. The physical environment,
superstition and ignorance . . .”
past as well as present, must be brought clearly, con-
“When they (Indian young people) return to their
cretely into the picture. And finally, administration, in
homes at night, and on Saturdays and Sundays, and are
its subdivisions and as a whole, must be viewed afresh in
among their old surroundings, they relapse more or less
the light of all of this data—data previously interrelated,
into their former moral and mental stupor.”
so far as possible, within itself.
The presumption was one of administrative omnipo-
Into contact with the specialists—anthropologists,
tence. What was willed by authority, and put into action
psychologists, physicians, and students of administration—
by authority—that was the thing which would be. The
the workers of Indian Service and, ideally, the Indians
obscure complexes of personality and of group influence
themselves, should be brought; and in the event, it has
and ancient, present physical environment were ignored;
proved that important parts of the project have been
good intention was deemed to be enough, without the
done by the lay members (White and Indian) of Indian
need to measure results; and the law of the multiplica-
Service.
tion of effects was taken into account not at all. It fol-
With this object in view—the scientific evaluation
lowed, that not even the sense of reality of the Indian
of Indian Service, and scientific planning—and under
Service men and women out on the ground among the
the sway of the hypothesis stated, and by the correlative
Indians was used in the making of headquarters policy.
or integrative use of the methods implied, the several
But I move into the immediate past, and the present.
monographs of this series have been produced. Supple-
. . . Change, at varying speeds, inhabits all of Indian
ments dealing with administrative application will be
life; change, at varying speeds, inhabits each group, each
presented at dates soon after the publication of each of
personality of the Indians. Is there any way to under-
the volumes, and it is hoped that there will be a final
stand more surely, to predict more reliably, to act with
volume devoted to principles of Indian administration
knowledge more precise, so that we can know, genuinely,
treated as a special case of universal democratic admin-
what worth our Indian effort has and how it may be
istration, and another devoted to the utilization of the
made significantly more realistic, and so that our good
whole body of the material for its light upon the science
(which we presume) may not become the enemy of a
of society.
better?
I have stated a view of life (and in so far, the view is
The answer, if indeed there were one, must rest,
merely my own), and an intended goal of investigation,
it seemed to us, in the use of not one but many tech-
and intended use of methods. None is likely to realize
niques of observation and measurement integratively.
as acutely as those who have given themselves to the
Our hypothesis—a truism, which yet leads to discovery
present enterprise, how incomplete is the accomplish-
when deeply meditated—was that the web of life and
ment. If it should prove to have carried forward by one
the world-field operate beneath as well as above the con-
critical fraction of a degree (in the vast arc which will be
scious threshold. And that the group and the individual
explored through centuries) the integrative use of the
are dynamically inseparable. And that the past, in the
special sciences in the knowing of man and the helpful
web of life and in the unconsciousness, is far more po-
control of his destiny, this result will have been enough.
tent than can easily be known. And that trends of action
Certainly into our problem of Indian Service the enter-
and tensions of the body-soul are stubborn and imperi-
prise has cast many beams of light that reach far. Areas
ous in men, though men may not know this fact at the
immanently important, never clearly brought into the
conscious level.
light before, are now in a clear and growing light. Will
From this hypothesis, there followed the method
we administrators, who include all the field forces of In-
which we sought to have applied. Social history and
dian Service, use the light?
the social present must be studied in relation to each
In a recent issue of INDIANS AT WORK, I wrote,
other. The group structure, the group imperatives must
and my thought took form from a reading of some
be known, and the individual must be known as that
of the materials of the present and the forthcoming
personality -formation where the group forces clash and
monographs:
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 215
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
216
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
“Does one seek to influence an individual or a
testimony she gave at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories,
group? Let him discover what is central to the being
Canada, in 1976. These are followed by a discussion of
of that individual or group. Let his effort at influence
a stipulated Native American curriculum and governance
be near to, and not deviate sharply from, the line of
plan outlined by Patricia Locke, past president of the Na-
force of that which is central to the being of the indi-
tional Indian Education Association, who is affiliated with
vidual or group. Thus, he may influence profoundly
the White Earth Chippewa (Mississippi Band) and the
and helpfully. Remember that deep and central preoc-
Standing Rock Sioux-Hunkpapa Tribe.
cupations, devotions and views of life can be helped
These three statements, by different American Indian
to apply themselves to new practical ends. Here is the
educational leaders, represent a view that differs sig-
secret of efficient and democratic administration. In-
nificantly from the view represented in the John Collier
dian policies in the last ten or twelve years have come
piece—and Collier was one of the more enlightened lib-
much nearer to the things central in the Indian’s being
eral educators of his era. The Collier piece was written
than they came in previous decades. Hence the marked
in the 1940s, and each of the selections below was writ-
increase in the social energy of Indians, and their great
ten in the 1970s, but the differences are greater than
and persevering response to the various practical pro-
the passage of three decades; they are differences in
grams. But we need to keep on trying, with greater, not
worldview.
with diminishing, energy, and we need to press ever in-
ward toward discovery of those attitudes, hopes, fears,
and patterns of functioning, and trends of the inner
drive, which are central to the Indians. There is hardly
Statements by Three American
any limit to the energy, the good-will, and the happi-
Indian Educators
ness which will meet us from within the Indian—if
only we work with him at his own centers.”
I. Dillon Platero, Second Director, Rough Rock
Demonstration School
Primary Source Reading
Today a major and fundamental shift in Indian educa-
tion is taking place. This new direction and emphasis has
Indians have seldom been asked what they want, nor
been selected and directed by the Indian People them-
have programs allegedly designed for their benefit often
selves: it is Indian control over Indian education. . . .
been developed with their participation. Indian initiative
This principle of local control is characteristic of a de-
was so long repressed that it is only recently that Indians
mocracy which is predicated upon reflecting the value and
have rediscovered their own voice. The first effective na-
dignity of each individual and places on local communi-
tional organization of Indians was the National Congress
ties major responsibilities for developing and molding
of American Indians, organized in 1944. Many large
an educational system uniquely tailored to the peculiar
tribes, however, such as the Navajo, do not participate in
needs of each community.
it. The Indian cause has also been supported by White-
It needs to be noted that this local responsibility and
initiated organizations, such as the Indian Rights Associa-
local control over education does not mean complete
tion (organized by Quakers in 1882) and the Association
local financing of that education. While the principle of
on American Indian Affairs (since 1923).
community control is recognized, it has rarely or never
The following are excerpts first from Dillon Platero
meant that community resources are the only, or even
and second from Ethelou Yazzie, Navajo educators who
the major, source of education funds. . . .
were the second and third directors of the demonstration
It is necessary to distinguish between involvement
schools at Rough Rock. Platero’s statement was drawn
and control. It is equally important to understand that
from a paper he prepared in 1973 entitled “Community
control often comes in parts, or pieces. Involvement was
Control-Historical Perspectives and Current Efforts, Both
a treasured objective in Indian education during the
Public and Private.” Yazzie’s comments were drawn from
1930s. During that period of time many ‘community
schools’ were created and many provided for participa-
tion and involvement in the operation of schools on the
Source: Both selections from Robert A. Roessel, Jr., Navaho Education and Action (Rough Rock, AZ: Rough Rock Curriculum Center, 1977), pp. 138–40.
part of parents and community residents. Parents were
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 216
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 217
encouraged to visit schools, special adult programs were
values. These students were then in a “no man’s land” with
developed and community improvement activities cen-
little self-esteem, identity, or values to guide them. Even
tered around the school . . .
Indian teachers had difficulty teaching these students . . .
This was, and is, good. The parents felt the school
Failure to introduce varying languages and cultures in
filled an important need in the life of the community
a positive light discourages the growing child’s receptiv-
which exceeded merely the education of children.
ity and his willingness not to pre-judge others and their
Yet this was not control! Control ultimately and fi-
cultures. Cultural domination has no place in education.
nally consists of hiring, firing, setting priorities, allocat-
A Bicultural system respects both cultures and works
ing funds and approving the curriculum. Forty years ago
with all segments of the community to the support of
we had participation and involvement without control:
each. The family and the educational system need to
today we are obtaining control and must consciously
work together as one with all parents knowing and car-
work toward community participation. . . .
ing about what goes on in the classroom. Neither group
While elsewhere in this great nation the principle of
should be allowed to undermine the other, but must
local control over education is accepted, it has been the
work together consciously to complement each other
exception rather than the rule in Indian education . . .
throughout the educational process . . .
. . . The only viable option is that of community
Community members, if they are willing to assume
(Indian) control over Indian education. The obstacles
the effort that it takes, can control their own schools,
which exist in realizing this objective can and will be
as does Rough Rock, right now. And in doing so, they
overcome. There is no other acceptable alternative.
transform more than an educational program. The in-
Indian and non-Indian people must unite so that com-
volvement of the community in the school has ramifica-
munity (Indian) control over Indian education is a real-
tions far beyond the educational realm.
ity rather than a dream and so that Indian people enjoy
the right to be wrong: the right to be right.
III. Patricia Locke, Former President, National
Indian Education Association
II. Ethelou Yazzie, Third Director, Rough Rock
Demonstration School
An Ideal School System for American
Indians: A Theoretical Construct
One of society’s purposes in requiring the formal edu-
cation of its children is to use its power and its ability
We are forced to adapt to the educational systems of the
to transmit, preserve, and examine a society’s history,
immigrant culture only because they are so numerous,
language, religion and philosophy. This power was to-
insistent and all-pervasive. It would be ideal if Indian
tally reversed in the education provided for the Navajo
people could live, learn and die in the contexts of our
and other Native Americans. The purpose of that sys-
cultures as they would have evolved, but we cannot. We
tem was to erase Navajo history, language, religion and
have been forced to compromise educationally, to seem
philosophy, and to replace it with the dominant culture
to adapt to some of the dominant society’s mores in our
of the Western European by means of an extensive and
educational patterns, because the prevailing educational
intensive resocialization process.
hierarchy is so sure of its infallibility. And they impose
Through education, the dominant establishment
laws and customs to make us conform.
tried to exert full control over the Navajo young. Navajo
We suffer in the name of education from their nurs-
children were forcibly taken from their parents and
ery schools, Head Start programs, secular and religious
families as early as seven years of age, and kept at distant
boarding schools, public day schools with formal hours
boarding schools for ten months out of twelve. This sev-
and foreign curricula, non-Indian foster parent programs,
ering of the young from their Indian backgrounds was
vocational schools and other foreign post-secondary sys-
supposed to make resocialization and cultural domina-
tems. Finally, there is the absurdity of “Golden Years”
tion easier—and it was done through a show of power.
programs where our elders learn to plan for their retire-
Cultural shock was inevitable. Disorientation and
ment and funerals.
frustration occurred. To many children and parents the
conflicting values were simply not acceptable. Other stu-
Source: From Thomas Thompson, ed., The Schooling of Native America (Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 1978),
dents, not knowing who to believe, resisted both sets of
pp. 120–31.
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 217
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
218
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
A listing of simple causes and effects of this educa-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#5
tional system would illustrate the damage being done to
tribal people:
The point of view informing this chapter suggests a
Nursery schools include deprivation of family nur-
strong connection between U.S. reform of American
turing and interruption of the organic learning pro-
Indian education and the elimination of native culture
cess. Head Start programs increase deprivation of the
and values. If Indian people could have controlled
extended family influence, freeing the mother to en-
their own educational destinies, how might they have
ter the work force and causing marital disfunction.
pursued an educational policy different from that im-
posed by the United States? In developing your re-
Secular boarding schools cause total deprivation of the
sponse, consider differences in ideology between the
family nurturing process; alienation from tribal lan-
dominant European American culture and the various
guage and culture occur. The same is true of religious
Indian cultures.
boarding schools with the addition that the child is
indoctrinated with alien myths and legends and be-
comes increasingly mutant as concepts of sin, hell and
paganism are reinforced.
A Conception of the Ideal
Non-Indian foster parents’ boarding programs means
Administration and Teaching Faculty
the child loses his family and tribal contacts. Parents are
bereaved as the child assumes a non-Indian identity and
School administrators, supportive staff, teachers and
is lost as a contributing tribal member. At vocational
teacher’s aides will be tribal members. When this is not
schools the student accepts the Christian work ethic: he
possible, personnel may be recruited from other tribes.
learns individualism, mercantilism, and acquisitiveness.
Non-Indian persons will sometimes be recruited, espe-
Post-secondary school systems create continued alien-
cially from the Asian community where religion and
ation from the tribal environment. They impose use-
life-styles are closer to American Indian Mores. For
less curricula that impede the students’ contribution to
instance, it would be preferable to have English taught
tribal support systems. Probable assimilation into the
by an Asian teacher, since semantic understandings and
dominant society occurs if the student survives foreign
interpretations would not be so diametrically opposed
counseling services. Finally gradual assumption of alien
to Indian cosmologies.
rhetoric and life styles takes place. “Golden Years” Pro-
Dillon Platero, head of the Navajo’s Rough Rock
grams involve the acceptance of the concept of “the gen-
Demonstration School at Chinle, Arizona, emphasized
eration gap.” Elders are lost as teachers; apathy, senility,
the disparity between Indian and non-Indian educa-
and death occur in isolation.
tional systems. He speculated that of both Indian and
Education for American Indian tribal people must
non-Indian graduates of this country’s Schools of Edu-
be related to the tribes’ cosmologies, and integrated into
cation who become involved in Rough Rock’s teacher
the past and future of the particular tribe. A traditional
training program, only thirty percent are retrainable. He
Indian does not think of a career for self-fulfillment. He
further stated that a minimum of two and one-half years
thinks of personal attainment only to serve tribal goals.
is required in the retraining and learning process.
Career satisfaction is often only a by-product of the de-
Another controversial statement made at a national
gree of effectiveness reached in serving short and long
Indian education meeting was the effect that no college
range tribal goals.
and university graduates should be allowed to teach
The child normally begins learning at birth in an
Indian children. They should be used as consultants
organic way. It is important to emphasize this in-
only. The obvious alternative would be to establish In-
trinsic and non-formal learning procedure because it
dian Education Programs for Indian Teachers of Indian
is a life-long process. The individual’s uncles, aunts,
Children. This idea will be discussed later under the
grandparents and the respected elders of the tribe are
model for post-secondary education.
the nurturers and teachers along with the parents. The
A vital and necessary part of the faculty would be re-
function of tribal members as teachers, administrators,
spected persons of the tribe. They would receive remu-
counselors, policy-makers and curriculum developers
neration commensurate with other teachers. The status of
of the young Indian should be an integral part of the
these older persons has traditionally been eminent. They
entire process of education.
are the repositories of oral literature and knowledge. They
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 218
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 219
would serve a double function as guidance counselors,
but this understanding will help him to overcome latent
and would provide natural motivation by transmitting
tribal antagonisms that still persist. The groundwork will
essential human knowledge for the continuance of tribal
have been laid for improved transtribal communications
support systems.
and unity. Arrangements will be made so that the college
The school board may wish to hire non-Indian cus-
student receives a stipend and course credit for the teach-
todians and janitors.
ing experience.
It is important that the child learns dual cultures and
The “traveling school” mechanism will also be inte-
multi-cultures from the fourth grade onward. He must
gral to the secondary school system. Secondary school
learn well the behavior of people from other cultures if
age youth will not be required to attend all White Stud-
he is to help his people survive. He will learn the values
ies courses unless it has been mutually determined that
and behavior expectations of other cultures as skills, not
the individual will relate to external governments in
as values. He may be chosen early by his tribe to pur-
later life for the benefit of the tribe.
sue a non-Indian college education or a technological
Dual record systems will have to be maintained at
education in order to help the tribe survive. If he is to
the Tribal Council’s Computer Center or one of the
become an attorney or a physician, he will have to learn
Regional Computer Centers so that the Indian student
the necessary academic skills. But great care should be
will not be penalized if he must leave the reservation
taken so that the student does not walk a path that will
and transfer to a non-Indian school. A report card with
cause him to fall over the brink into complete accultura-
grades in such acceptable courses as American history,
tion and assimilation.
English, geography, spelling, social studies, home eco-
High schools will be located on the reservations. Policy
nomics, reading and arithmetic will be maintained and
will be mandated by the tribe’s Education Committee,
made available for the transferring student.
by elected representatives from the reservation districts or
Sample secondary curricula in Indian Studies and
chapters, or by the tribe’s Department of Education. All
White Studies might be:
school personnel should be Indian except for individuals
who teach foreign languages and white studies.
Indian Studies
It is important that decisions be made about the indi-
Tribal Government Systems
vidual students’ direction of study for ensuing years. The
Tribal Council will have determined short and long range
Indian Reorganization Act Tribes
goals—with help from consultants of the American Indian
Terminated Tribes
Tribes Research Institute (see below)—and will have
made a human resource inventory. The tribe will know
Non-Federally Recognized Tribes
which areas of skill it is deficient in, and can pinpoint these
Tribes of Mexico
needs to the secondary student so that he may prepare
himself in these directions in keeping with specific tribal
Tribes of Central America
customs and ceremonies. Non-Indian holidays will not be
Tribes of South America
observed. Classes will be open and students will not be
grouped by age levels, but by aptitude and interest. Teacher
Tribes of Canada
discussions with parents and the student will take the
Modern Indian Religions
place of a formal grading system. School attendance will
not be mandatory. Beginning at eleven or twelve years, the
Ancient Indian Religions
student will participate in the tribe’s “school on wheels.”
American Indian History
Groups of ten to twelve students will travel to nearby and
selected distant reservations and off-reservation Indian
American Indian Pre-Law
communities, for “field work” in learning about other
American Indian Medicine
tribal people, and for the purpose of exchanging cultural
programs with their peers. College students, who are
Minority and Ethnic-Minority Relations
members of the tribes to be visited, will “conduct” these
Land Reform
traveling classes. Not only will the student learn about and
come to appreciate the richness and diversity of the tribes,
Comparative Minority Rhetoric
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 219
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
220
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Introduction to American Indian Business
Taoism, Hinduism
Administration
English Literature
American Indian Arts
Spanish Conversation
American Indian Law and Order
Caucasian Sociology
Ecology
Black Sociology
American Indian Literature and Poetry
Caucasian Law and Order Systems
Indian Communications Systems
European History
Grantsmanship
History of the Mexican Conquest
Regional Languages and Dialects
History of the U.S. Conquest
History of the Canadian Conquest
White Studies
Caucasian Psychology
State Governments
Caucasian Concepts of Real Estate
The U.S. Constitution
European Philosophy
The Congress
Caucasian Art History
Federal Agencies, Bureaus, and Departments, i.e.:
Department of the Interior
Caucasian Diseases
(Bureau of Land Management,
Caucasian Communications Systems
Bureau of Indian Affairs)
Department of Labor
Computer Science
Army Corps of Engineers
Mathematics
Department of Commerce
Department of Health, Education and Welfare
Economics
Comparative Religions
Caucasian Nutrition
Christianity, Buddhism
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 220
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Chapter 7 221
Developing Your
were used to provide a Eurocentric version of
Professional Vocabulary
education to American Indians. How does the lens
of progressivism in society and education (a lens
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
developed in Chapter 4 but revisited here) help us
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
understand that story?
important to education.
3. The history of the American “melting pot” idea
assimilation
dominant culture
suggests that all minority cultures share basically the
same problem: how to fit into the larger dominant
boarding school
John Collier
culture of the United States. Yet each minority group
Bureau of Ethnology
Merriam Report
is different, with a different history and different
needs. What particular issues associated with the
Bureau of Indian Affairs
scientific administration
development of a system of public education for
Cherokee Nation v.
tribal self-determination
Native Americans are different from those that apply
Georgia
to other American minorities? In developing your
Willard Walcott Beatty
response, rely on your own experience as well as the
community control
Worcester v. Georgia
material from this chapter.
cultural pluralism
4. Explain how U.S. policy toward Native
Dawes Allotment Act
American education may be seen as part of a
larger cultural, social, and economic conflict
between Native Americans and the dominant
Questions for Discussion
White culture.
and Examination
1. Most of the 3 million teachers currently teaching
in the United States, and most of the over 300,000
currently in teacher education programs, will
Online Resources
never have an American Indian student in their
classrooms. How could a chapter like this be at all
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
relevant to their teaching philosophy or teaching
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
practice?
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
2. This chapter is framed in large part as a story of
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
how progressive education ideals and practices
articles and news feeds.
toz24404_ch07_192-221.indd 221
23/08/12 3:09 PM
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 8
National School Reform The Early Cold War Era
By Stephen Preskill
Chapter Overview
Chapter 8 documents the emergence of the
University and later U.S. high commissioner to
modern American secondary school—the com-
Germany. Conant provides a lens through which
prehensive high school—in the post–World
the nationalism of the social and educational
War II period. The analysis is grounded in the
thinking of his day is examined. In contrast to
political–economic and ideological context of
Conant, the chapter presents a Primary Source
the cold war, but the components of modern
Reading by Mark Van Doren, who provides stu-
liberalism remain explicit. Thus, the fundamen-
dents with a different way to think about the
tal objectives of school reform that emerged in
central role of education in a modern democrat-
the progressive era—employable skills, social
ic society. This contrast suggests parallels with
stability, meritocracy, and equal educational
similar contrasts articulated elsewhere in the
opportunity—remained central to the thinking
book: Dewey versus Eliot, Washington versus
of cold war era reformers. Chief among these was
Du Bois, and Mann versus Brownson, among
Professor James B. Conant, president of Harvard
others.
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 222
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
Mid-20th-century-school texts continued the practice of teaching social values along with reading skills.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 8 seeks to
the idea of “national interest” itself becomes
achieve are these:
problematic.
1. This chapter should deepen and extend
5. Students should consider a relatively recent
students’ ability to think critically about the
historical instance of how an expressed
presuppositions underlying the structure and
commitment to democracy and equality can, in
content of modern schooling, particularly at the
modern liberal schooling policy, serve students
secondary level.
inequitably.
2. Another objective is to critically examine how
6. Students should also consider Van Doren’s
modern liberal commitments to such values as
alternative approach to democratic education in
expert knowledge, meritocracy, and nationalism
contemporary society, one that is committed not
influenced schooling in the latter half of the
to social or political outcomes but to an ideal of
20th century.
human development applicable to all students.
3. Students should also think critically about the
7. This chapter can help examine our tendency
school as an instrument of national political
to believe that the dominant way of thinking
policy in the political–economic context of the
about school and society in a particular era was
United States after World War II.
the only “sensible” approach or that it was a
necessary “product of the times” and therefore
4. This chapter asks students to question the
a consensus view.
notion of a nationalist agenda for schooling
within the context of democratic ideals so that
223
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 223
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
224
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Analytic Framework
The Early Cold War Era
Political Economy
Ideology
Cold war
McCarthyism
Containment
Meritocracy
Truman Doctrine
Social mobility
Postwar industrialization
Anticommunism
"Military-industrial complex"
Education for national interest
GI Bill of Rights
Corporate liberalism
National Defense Act of 1958
Slums and Suburbs
Schooling
Criticisms of public schools
Comprehensive high schools
Guidance counseling
Standardized testing for college
admission
College preparatory, general,
and vocational tracks
Advanced placement courses
Community colleges
Introduction: The Best and
the notion that the schools could be used effectively to
fight the cold war, James B. Conant became one of the
Brightest . . .
chief architects of the public high school during this
era. As educational philosopher James E. McClellan
By the turn of the 20th century most American chil-
wrote in 1968, “If a foreign visitor to these benight-
dren attended school, public or private. But only a
ed shores were required to take his views about the
minority proceeded beyond the eighth grade. Very few
policies governing American education from one, and
young people went on to high school, and even fewer
only one man . . . there could be only one sensible
graduated. The public high school did not become a
choice. . . . If any man spoke for and to American
mass institution until the 1930s. Even after World
educational policy (granted that in a most important
War II, educators continued to tinker with the high
sense no man does or can)—that man would be James
school’s structure and curriculum as new populations of
Bryant Conant.”1
students sought to enter its doors and as policymakers
As the president of Harvard University from 1933 to
increasingly looked to the high school for answers to
1953 and later as a public school investigator and reform-
society’s problems. This period of American education-
er, Conant took advantage of an unprecedented oppor-
al history, extending from the 1930s to the 1960s, not
tunity to influence educational policy. For over 30 years
only witnessed the institutionalization of the public
Conant promoted his meritocratic vision, stressing the
high school but led policymakers to link educational
selective function of schooling and the advancement of
quality to national security. Fervently committed to
the talented youngster. Through Conant’s judicious use
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 224
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 225
of powerful contacts and skillful appeal to public opin-
With the collapse of the stock market in 1929 and
ion, his ideas appeared frequently in the popular press,
the onset of the worst depression in American history,
often setting the agenda for educational debate.
these disparities of wealth and poverty became even
Conant’s initial interest in public schools grew out of
more glaring. Industrial output fell precipitously, and
efforts to attract to Harvard highly able students from
over one-fourth of the adult population lost their jobs.
all social classes. Within 10 years, he had become one of
While the working classes and oppressed minorities fared
America’s most notable advocates of school reform by
poorly, the great depression also victimized many others
arguing that a reconstructed educational system could
who were unaccustomed to hard times. Even those who
lead to a better society. Put simply, Conant favored an
held on to their jobs saw their wages slashed and their
educational system from kindergarten through college
standard of living drastically reduced. The stock market
that would sort students according to their ability, chal-
crash also impoverished a few wealthy Americans who
lenge the academically able, and specifically prepare all
had invested their fortunes in high-priced securities, but
others for useful places in society. Only then, he main-
others benefited by taking advantage of the depression’s
tained, would the best and the brightest secure society’s
greatly deflated prices. Although Franklin Delano Roos-
most responsible and powerful positions, with the less
evelt’s New Deal temporarily reduced unemployment
able pledging their political and moral support. Fur-
and raised some hopes, in general government failed to
thermore, Conant’s ideal educational system would
blunt significantly the depression’s devastating impact.3
effectively combat what he regarded as threats to the
In Europe, economic ruin increased acceptance of
social order—whether those threats were fascism in the
radical ideas from both right- and left-wing sources. In
1930s, communism in the 1940s and 1950s, or domes-
Italy, Germany, and Spain fascist dictators flourished,
tic unrest in the 1960s.
while other countries established communist parties. In
the United States, these ideologies had vocal supporters,
though none became dominant. Some prophesied
Political Economy
capitalism’s demise, while others counted on insti-
and Ideology of the Early
tutions such as the public school to help rescue free
enterprise. In general, ideological extremes were readily
Cold War Era
tolerated until post–World War II “red baiting”
brought dire consequences to Americans who had sup-
By the 1920s, the American economy had become the
ported radical causes in the 1930s.4
envy of the world. Americans appeared to have more
Most observers agree that U.S. mobilization for
food to eat, better clothes to wear, and more ways to
World War II ended the great depression. The war
amuse themselves than any other people on earth. Big
forced the application of Keynesian principles of defi-
business raked in huge profits, corporate offices scoured
cit spending that Roosevelt’s New Deal had never fully
the globe for new markets to exploit, and American
employed. Furthermore, the demand for soldiers abroad
stockholders were consumed in a prolonged frenzy of
and defense plant workers at home almost immediately
stock speculation and get-rich-quick schemes. But abun-
erased unemployment. Indeed, with the government
dance for some overshadowed the hardships of others.
footing the bill, it appeared that anybody who wanted to
In the 1920s agriculture reached a new low from which
work could work and any business that wanted to make
it did not recover for two decades. Poverty increased in
money could do so. As a consequence of war mobiliza-
urban areas, and starvation prevailed in many pockets in
tion, the United States again entered an era of enormous
the South. The New Deal legislation that would later em-
economic growth, with multinational corporations en-
power labor unions had not yet been passed, and many
joying huge profits with the tax-based support of the
members of the working classes toiled for long hours with
federal government.5
little hope of advancement or job security. With racism
continuing unabated, Black people suffered severely in
U.S. Fear of Soviet Communism
the middle of this economic boom. Almost universally
denied a decent standard of living, most Black people
After the end of World War II, in 1945, the new pros-
eked out an existence as tenant farmers in the southern
perity, the pent-up demand of the war years, and the in-
countryside or held the most menial and lowest-paid
creasingly sophisticated advertising techniques of large
jobs northern cities had to offer.2
corporations combined to launch a consumer buying
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 225
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
226
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
binge that appeared to know few bounds. A boom in
set in motion a series of events that ultimately led to the
low-cost single-family housing fueled further demand
U.S. war with Vietnam.
for family cars and the latest household appliances.
With the second policy, known simply as the doctrine
Despite a brief period of inflation, the demand for con-
of first use, the United States declared its prerogative to
sumer goods continued without letup. Although unem-
initiate nuclear bombing whenever enemy forces, wheth-
ployment mounted, it never exceeded 7 percent in the
er nuclear or conventional, threatened American military
1950s, and Americans showed little sympathy for the
installations. These policies required the United States
poor or the dispossessed. Neither the popular press nor
to stockpile thousands of nuclear weapons at great cost
the federal government paid much attention to the least
to taxpayers, but they also permitted the country to con-
well off during this period.
tinue reaping the benefits of a wartime economy without
Yet the health of the war-fueled economy depended
the added burden of waging a major war. The enormous
on a continued buildup of the military arsenal that the
growth of what President Eisenhower later called the
U.S. government had amassed to wage a two-front war
“military-industrial complex” served as another tangible
during World War II. Only the challenge of a powerful
result of America’s first-use and containment policies.8
new military foe would provide the United States with
Fear of Soviet communism reached nearly hysteri-
a justification for further augmenting its already massive
cal levels in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The House
store of armaments. The Soviet Union turned out to
Committee on Un-American Activities, Senator Joseph
be the perfect adversary. Although in 1945 they were
McCarthy, and such organizations as the John Birch
four years away from developing the atomic bomb, the
Society
all accused government agencies of harbor-
fully mobilized Soviets were intent on using their mili-
ing communists. Hearings were held and blacklists
tary might to occupy eastern Europe as a buffer against
were compiled to rid the United States of “reds” and
foreign attack. The U.S. government feared that unless
“pinkos.” A cloud of fear and dread overshadowed
the Soviet Union’s relentless march into Europe and
almost every institution in American life. Schools were
Asia was halted, communism would spread around the
no exception; teachers were increasingly required to
globe. The threat of Soviet expansion and the accom-
take loyalty oaths and forswear any involvement in the
panying instability it would bring particularly disturbed
Communist party.9
American multinational companies that had extended
Although fears of communist infiltration lessened con-
their operations to dozens of countries abroad. They
siderably after the mid-1950s, for the next two decades
argued that Soviet insurgents would create a political
climate antithetical to economic growth and that this
would threaten American well-being. Fearing the politi-
The Brandenburg Gate of the Berlin wall in June 1963. The
cal and economic consequences of communist expan-
28-mile-long wall physically and symbolically separated
sion, American government officials devised two key
Communist East Germany from capitalist West Germany
throughout the cold war.
policies to slow the Soviet juggernaut.6
Under containment, the first of the two policies, the
United States declared its intention of taking whatever
economic and military means were necessary to stop the
spread of communism. When President Harry S Truman
declared in 1947, “I believe that it must be the policy of
the United States to support free people who are resisting
attempted subjugations by armed minorities or by out-
side pressures,” he was opening the door to U.S. involve-
ment in other nations’ affairs throughout the world.7
Massive humanitarian aid to Greece and Turkey in 1947
under the Truman Doctrine was one manifestation of
the policy of containment. Marshaling United Nations
support for U.S. intervention in Korea in 1950 served as
another. In that year, U.S. support for French aid to the
South Vietnamese in their civil war with North Vietnam
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 226
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 227
American foreign policy continued to be based on the
held that the requirements of equal protection were
ideological split between the two superpowers and the
met by “separate-but-equal” treatment of the races by
premise that the Soviets were intent on spreading com-
government in support of “public peace and good or-
munism around the globe. It should not be ignored
der.” Ignoring the lone dissent by Justice Harlan that
that the U.S. leaders had their own expansionist plans.
“the Constitution is color blind,” this decision set the
Truman had declared in 1947, “The whole world should
pattern for race segregation throughout the South. It
adopt the American system. . . . The American system
took half a century for the Plessy precedent to be re-
can survive in America only if it becomes a world sys-
versed. This was done in the landmark case of Brown
tem.” Believing that “at the present moment in world
v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas of 1954. The
history every nation must choose between alternative
Court reversed Plessy by noting that understanding of
ways of life,” Truman assumed that any leftist insurrec-
the effects of race segregation in education had grown
tion was the work of Soviet expansionism and that the
since Plessy. The Court now accepted that the enforced
“American way of life” of representative democracy and
segregation of Black children “generates a feeling of in-
corporate capitalism was therefore threatened by revolu-
feriority . . . that may affect their hearts and minds in a
tions in small nations around the globe.10
way unlikely ever to be undone.” Therefore, the Court
Protests against the Vietnam War in the late 1960s
concluded that “in the field of public education the
and early 1970s would later question the foundation of
doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate
these assumptions, and for a few years during and after
educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
Vietnam few educators or policy analysts stressed the
Still, resistance to these changes in both the South
link between national security and educational quality.
and the North affirmed the deep and historical roots
But as will be discussed in Chapter 10, the Nation at Risk
of racial discrimination. In some cases, parents of
report in 1983 employed language that again stirred the
children from predominantly White schools literally
emotions of erstwhile cold warriors, warning Americans
battled Black people and government authorities to
everywhere that our failure to teach math and science
forestall the integration of their schools. Zoning ordi-
adequately was tantamount to unilateral disarmament.
nances were devised to keep African Americans out of
In addition to the Soviet threat, the issue of race dis-
White neighborhoods, and major banks ordered the
crimination confronted Americans in the post–World
redlining of Black business districts, which set down
War II era. Since emancipation, African Americans had
burdensome guidelines for the granting of loans to
been systematically deprived of life, liberty, and the pur-
Black merchants.
suit of happiness. After the war slow steps were taken to-
Largely because of the civil rights movement of
ward the elimination of segregation. President Truman
the 1950s and 1960s face-to-face discrimination against
desegregated the armed forces, and the Supreme Court
African Americans diminished and affirmative-action
declared segregated schools inherently unequal in the
initiatives helped foster a new class of Black profes-
Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954. Also, the
sionals and entrepreneurs. Yet backlashes against these
increasing number of novelists, playwrights, and film-
advances and the persistence of a faceless institutional
makers who focused on the theme of racial prejudice
racism contributed to the continuing hardships of
brought new attention to this most central of American
urban poverty. Public officials called on the schools
problems.
to halt the vicious cycle of poverty that plagued many
The aftermath of the Civil War had produced,
Black families, but the schools’ inadequacies were
among other legal enactments, the equal protection
merely a reflection of society’s unwillingness to com-
clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Con-
mit the resources necessary to address this problem
stitution for the protection of African Americans newly
effectively.11
released from slavery. This clause required that no
state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction
New Liberal Ideology
the equal protection of the laws.” As with all legisla-
in the Cold War Era
tion, it remained for the courts to interpret its mean-
ing and application to a variety of circumstances. U.S.
The beliefs and values shared by leaders of American
Supreme Court precedent was established in Plessy v.
economic, political, and military institutions after
Ferguson in 1896 (see Chapter 6), in which the Court
World War II were a clear extension of progressive era
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 227
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
228
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
new liberalism. Although domestic and international
kinds of expertis e, the ideological linkage between ex-
conditions had changed, those changes had not chal-
pert, centralized decision making and public well-being
lenged the fundamental commitments of corporate
grew stronger.
liberalism (explained in Chapter 4). The progressive
Similarly, the assembly lines and increasingly so-
era had replaced classical liberal faith in human rea-
phisticated technology of American industry further
son with faith in scientific methods, for example, and
concentrated workplace decision making among a few
in the post–World War II era the triumphs and perils
elite managers and engineers. The emergence of large
of scientific advancement dominated the thinking of
labor unions ushered in an age of increased job security
American policy analysts. With the advent of nuclear
and better wages and benefits, but the centralized deci-
weapons, the potential costs of war had never been so
sion making established during the progressive era was
great. The growing complexities of modern science
intensified. Another trend begun in the 19th century
and modern statecraft therefore further enhanced the
contributed to such centralized management: farm work
position of the highly trained expert while appearing to
became increasingly scarce. Whereas in 1920, 27 per-
dwarf the role of the ordinary citizen. The exigencies
cent of the working population worked on the farm, by
of modern life, with its emphasis on specialized knowl-
1960 only 6 percent of the working population worked
edge, interdependence, and conformity more than ever
there. Although only a hundred years earlier Abraham
seemed to overwhelm the individual.
Lincoln had extolled the value of self-employment,
Progress continued to be central to 20th-century
that ideal was effectively eliminated as an option for
liberal ideology and was considered achievable primar-
some 90 percent of all workers. Nearly everyone was
ily through science and technology. It was technologi-
managed by someone else.
cal superiority, in the form of the atomic bomb, that
These developments were reflected in the conduct of
had defeated the Japanese in war. Technology seemed
political affairs and in attitudes toward the common per-
also to contribute to a rapidly rising standard of living
son. Democracy had come to be regarded as a form of
as new uses for plastics, home appliances, and various
government that was properly administered by experts
medical breakthroughs (such as immunizations from
with only the perfunctory consent of the governed. The
childhood illnesses) won a great deal of public approv-
so-called common man was characterized as too selfish
al. As progress itself seemed to be the product of various
and uninformed to cope with the rigors of governing in
Centralized management by “experts,” begun during the progressive era, became even more entrenched during the 1950s as science and technology seemed to move decision making ever further from the realm of the ordinary citizen.
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 228
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 229
a complex age. Following the theory of the bell-shaped
the greatest threats to the freedom of the American
curve, leaders assumed that the welfare of the United
citizen were not from within but abroad—first fas-
States depended on identifying the select few with su-
cism and later Soviet communism. Freedom became
perior minds and placing them in positions of author-
increasingly identified with “our” way of life, while
ity. The prevailing view of liberty was in a sense what
“theirs” was unfree. Socialism, which had enjoyed a
George Santayana had called “provisional freedom,”
period of popularity in the United States earlier in the
one that somehow always led back to an orthodoxy that
century, was increasingly characterized as a “foreign”
embraced the virtues of American military and econom-
system of thought, totalitarian and anti-America n. “Free
ic dominance, meritocracy, and social stability.12
market capitalism” was opposed to “state-controlled
economies” in public discourse even though capital-
ism in the United States had long since ceased to be
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
a free market system. However, the identification of
the United States with freedom itself politically and
Did the concept of meritocracy play a role in your
economically, stifled critical debate about the flaws in
schooling experience. If so, how?
its social system. The enemy to freedom was not the
military-industrial complex despite the warnings of
President Eisenhower in 1961. Rather, the enemy to
This provisional freedom that emerged from the
freedom was the Soviet threat, a threat which was kept
postwar period was increasingly tied to nationalism.
alive in the public mind through persistent cold war
For classical liberals, a strong central government was
rhetoric punctuated by a series of international military
feared as a potential enemy to individual freedom.
interventions to “halt the Communist menace.”
Conversely, in the progressive era, modern liber-
It was extremely difficult for the common citizen
als posited a strong central government as the only
to question the actions of the U.S. military-industrial
real route to freedom, for only “big government” was
complex in the cold war era. A massive increase in U.S.
strong enough to regulate monopolies, big banking,
intelligence operations after World War II gave in-
labor organizers, poverty, and other internal threats to
creased credibility to the notion that the government
the freedom of the common person (see Exhibit 8.1).
knew what it was doing, even if the people did not and
The two world wars, however, seemed to establish that
(“for security reasons”) could not know. Thus, to enjoy
Exhibit 8.1 Classical versus New Liberal Conceptions of Freedom
Classical Liberal
New Liberal
1. Negative freedom: freedom from government restraint.
1. Positive freedom: government responsibility to act in
public interest.
2. Government must stay out of individuals’ lives except
2. Government may intervene in individuals’ lives to promote
when safety of society is at stake.
their happiness and well-being.
3. The individual is free to pursue own interests.
3. Individuals’ activities are always interconnected with
those of others.
4. Faith in individual to act with rational self-interest.
4. Faith in decisions of experts to decide the interests of
society and individuals.
Examples
Examples
a. State may provide schools but not require attendance.
a. Compulsory attendance is considered to be in the public
interest.
b. Education for individual freedom.
b. Education for social responsibility.
c. The state should not mandate personal behavior unless
c. The state may require the individual to wear seat belts or
that behavior threatens others or public safety.
motorcycle helmets both to protect the individual and to
protect public interests.
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 229
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
230
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
the freedoms of the United States, it seemed necessary
to leave the decision making to others and to trust blind-
ly in their goodwill. Some, such as James B. Conant,
argued that this was entirely consistent with Jefferson’s
democratic ideal, in which the talented would rise to the
top and the people could be counted on to defer to this
carefully selected intellectual elite. Nicholas Lemann de-
velops this point extensively.13
James Bryant Conant
James B. Conant’s modest origins hardly suggested a
future as one of America’s most respected educators.
Born in 1893, Conant was reared in a middle-class
home in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He struggled
through his first few years in school, blossoming as a
scholar only after responding to the challenges of the
prestigious Roxbury Latin School. After distinguish-
ing himself at Roxbury in the physical sciences, he
went on to Harvard, where he completed the require-
James Bryant Conant’s far-reaching influence on the American
ments for an A.B. degree in three years. He stayed on
high school is plainly apparent today—for better and for worse.
at Harvard to take a Ph.D. in organic and physical
chemistry in 1916.
After completing his doctorate at the age of 23,
Conant eagerly accepted a post as instructor of organic
Chemical Society. In 1931 Harvard named him the
chemistry in Harvard’s chemistry department. Despite a
head of its chemistry division.
successful first year, the nation’s entry into World War
Conant’s meteoric rise reached its zenith two years
I stalled Conant’s plans for advancement. Thinking he
later, in the depths of the great depression, when he
could best serve his country in the Chemical Warfare
agreed to assume Harvard’s presidency. A vocal critic of
Service, Conant quickly rose to become the head of a
the presidency of Abbot Lawrence Lowell, his immediate
division that would develop an improved method for
predecessor, Conant attributed the perceived decline in
producing mustard gas. Although he regarded the poi-
the quality of the Harvard faculty to Lowell’s preference
son gas research as a highly unattractive task, he consid-
for scholars with broad liberal arts backgrounds but little
ered it essential to the war effort. He also expressed no
specialized knowledge. Conant agreed that breadth was
misgivings about the morality of this work, saying years
desirable but also affirmed that great universities must
later that he did not see “why tearing a man’s guts out
recruit researchers of the first rank who are acknowl-
by a high-explosive shell is to be preferred to maiming
edged experts in their fields of specialization. Conant
by attacking his lungs or skin.”14
also regretted Lowell’s marked aversion to students from
At the war’s end Conant enthusiastically resumed his
racial and ethnic minorities, stressing what he regarded
academic career, plunging into a series of significant re-
as Harvard’s mission to educate the best and the bright-
search projects. Within a decade he had gained a nation-
est students, regardless of their social or economic back-
al reputation for his chemical research and had achieved
grounds.
the rank of full professor. Fellow chemists from around
Leading periodicals lauded Harvard’s decision to pass
the world hailed Conant’s investigations into the struc-
the presidential mantle from Lowell to Conant. They
ture of chlorophyll, and Harvard rewarded him with
acclaimed Conant’s scholarly accomplishments and ex-
an endowed chair in chemistry in 1929. For his distin-
pressed particular satisfaction with the fact that Conant
guished scholarly achievements, Conant also received
did not belong to the elite circle of Boston Brahmins.
Columbia University’s Charles F. Chandler Medal
The editors of The Nation dissented, however, noting
and the William H. Nichols Medal of the American
that Conant’s record lacked evidence of a broad social
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 230
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 231
consciousness. His affiliations with large corporations
general admission purposes. My own interest in the new
such as DuPont indicated to The Nation that Conant
type of examinations certainly was aroused by the report
might be “of that category of technicians for whom the
of Bender and Chauncey and its outcome. Eventually it
captains of industry loom as great men, wisely entrusted
would lead to my playing a part in the establishment of
with the destinies of our social order.”15
the Educational Testing Service.”16
The early years of Conant’s presidency were marked
Indeed, as Conant recalled it, his enthusiasm for the
by his decision to upgrade the faculty and bring a broad-
SAT represented an “almost naive faith” in standard-
er range of students to Harvard. He sought first to clear
ized tests. He came to believe that exams such as the SAT
the faculty ranks of what he regarded as dead weight,
offered a nearly foolproof method for ascertaining aca-
while hiring and promoting professors who had made
demic promise. He also thought that the testing move-
important scholarly contributions to their fields. Some
ment provided a solution to some of the problems of
praised this new “up or out” policy, as it came to be
public school instruction. With the help of testing, he
called, but others attacked it as unfairly subordinating
maintained, a child’s inherent abilities could be deter-
good teaching to the promotion of research. Conant
mined as early as age 12, and appropriate instruction
maintained that the university gave equal consideration
then could be prescribed. Despite minor shifts in his
to both teaching and research in making faculty promo-
point of view, for three decades Conant remained one of
tions and that up or out was a painful but effective way
the most vigorous supporters of testing, vocational guid-
to enhance faculty quality.
ance, and the selective function of schooling.
Throughout the 1930s Conant traveled extensively
Standardized Testing
to convince Harvard alumni and the general public of
and Student Selection
the need for national scholarships and standardized test-
ing. Frequently, he referred to himself as an “educational
Seeking to tear down some of the geographic and
Calvinist.” By this Conant meant that most students
financial barriers that had traditionally limited Harvard’s
were “predestined” to exhibit certain set capacities early
enrollment to students from the elite public and private
in their school careers which were “highly resistant to
schools of the Northeast, Conant proposed a National
change by external agencies.” Moreover, as Conant saw
Scholarship Program. This program would identify
it, a “strict educational Calvinist” was primarily con-
able young scholars and make it feasible for them to
cerned with sorting and classifying students according
attend Harvard. But Conant believed the program was
to their aptitude as measured by tests.17
doomed to fail unless a reliable and valid measure of
Conant did not worry that standardized tests might
academic aptitude could be found to ensure objectiv-
penalize late bloomers, because he doubted that even
ity in determining scholarship eligibility. After much
education could help a previously undetected talent to
deliberation and consultation with his assistant deans,
emerge. He observed, “The percentage of those who
Henry Chauncey and Wilbur Bender, Conant settled
have a delayed intellectual awakening was . . . too small
on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Assistant deans
to bother with.” Conant’s son, Theodore, later noted
Bender and Chauncey favored the SAT for the efficien-
regarding his father’s convictions: “He basically felt you
cy with which the multiple-choice test could be admin-
were pretty well formed by heredity more than environ-
istered and evaluated. Perhaps they were also impressed
ment and you were going to pretty well act out in sort
with the test develope r’s description of the exam as a
of a Greek tragedy.”18
series of progressively more difficult questions, each
Conant’s view of human nature and the education
with its own unambiguous solution and increasingly
process suited him well for his leading role in the cre-
tempting “traps.”
ation of the Educational Testing Service. In the 1930s
By the mid-1930s Harvard had adopted the SAT,
the College Entrance Examination Board, the American
finding it a very satisfactory device for selecting promis-
Council on Education, and the Carnegie Corporation
ing scholars. Owing to this success, Harvard eventually
all provided colleges and universities with a variety of
employed the SAT as a standard by which all under-
standardized tests for making admissions decisions. Ad-
graduate applicants would be measured. As Conant said:
vocates of testing, such as Conant and Henry Chauncey,
“The record seems to show that Harvard’s interest in the
thought that consolidating the testing divisions of these
use of objective tests for selecting national scholars was
three agencies would strengthen the testing movement
an important factor in promoting the use of the tests for
and give new impetus to the SAT as a leading admissions
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 231
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
232
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
criterion. After many years of debate, the three divisions
retreat from Conant’s ideal of social mobility. Echo-
merged in 1947 to form the Educational Testing Ser-
ing Charles Eliot’s fears and hopes, Conant wrote in
vice (ETS). As a member of its first board of trustees,
1940, “In short, a horde of heterogeneous students
Conant played a crucial role in the formation of ETS,
has descended on our secondary schools, and on our
stating in his memoirs, “The establishment of ETS was
ability to handle all types intelligently depends in
part of an educational revolution in which I am proud
large measure the future of this country.”20
to have played a part.” With the appointment of Henry
Chauncey, Conant’s former assistant dean, to the presi-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
dency of ETS, Conant boasted that he set Chauncey up
in business. He also could have boasted that with the
Are excellence and equality compatible ideals?
establishment of the ETS, America had moved one step
Explain .
closer to Conant’s vision of the meritocratic society.19
In the dark days before World War II, Conant
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
advanced the view that by giving recognition to the best
To what degree did standardized testing affect your
students and helping the rest of the students find their
education or your life plans?
educational niche, the schools would be promoting so-
cial stability and thus greatly enhancing national secu-
rity. He feared, however, that in practice schools were
Who Merits a College Education?
not doing enough to discourage “marginal” high school
students from pursuing a college education. In 1940,
Like many other Americans, Conant feared the long-term
with 11 percent of high school students going on to
consequences of the great depression. The hard times damp-
college, Conant called them the wrong 11 percent and
ened the traditional optimism of Americans, engender-
far more than American colleges could effectively teach
ing skepticism about the value of free enterprise and
without lowering standards. In addition to the problem
democracy. Some found fascism and communism ap-
of standards, Conant was concerned that an excessively
pealing, while others wanted to expand significantly
large population of college students might cause disrup-
the role of government in economic planning. Many
tions in the social order. With social stability, not the in-
Americans looked to Germany, Italy, and Japan for
tellectual fulfillment of each student, as his first priority,
alternative roads back to prosperity. Developments
Conant warned: “I doubt if society can make a graver
abroad intensified Conant’s sensitivity to the fra-
mistake than to provide advanced higher education of a
gility of democracy and led to a redoubling of his
specialized nature for men and women who are unable
commitment to capitalism and free enterprise. He
subsequently to use this training. Quite apart from eco-
concluded
that the depression and totalitarianism
nomic considerations the existence of any large number
jeopardized what he regarded as the very backbone of
of highly educated individuals whose ambitions have
democracy—social mobility.
been frustrated is unhealthy for any nation.”21
Redistributing wealth or achieving equality of con-
Near the end of World War II, the GI Bill of Rights
dition would not resolve this crisis. But school reform
provided full college scholarships to all veterans regard-
could help forestall permanent class stratification.
less of their academic “aptitudes.” As a group, veterans
Scholarships and accelerated classes would encourage
had worse academic records and lower SAT scores than
the intellectually gifted, while vocational education
the average college student. Before the passage of this
would meet the needs of the less academically able.
bill, Conant had lobbied vigorously for granting col-
Conant counted on Harvard and other elite institu-
lege subsidies only to a select group of veterans who had
tions to awaken rank-and-file teachers to the new
demonstrated high intellectual capacity. Given Conant’s
demands of modern society and to work with him
view that college should maintain a high level of selectiv-
to foster a new sense of community in the schools.
ity, failure to win support for his version of the bill must
Separate schools for the gifted and dull, although ad-
have been a bitter defeat. Like his presidential counter-
vantageous in some ways, would in the long run only
part at the University of Chicago, Robert Hutchins,
contribute to further divisiveness and a continued
Conant feared that an influx of nontraditional students
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 232
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 233
GI Bill provided millions of “academically promising”
students the opportunity to prove themselves as “late
bloomers.” Undeterred, Conant never wavered from his
belief that the “late bloomer” was a myth perpetuated
by an American public unwilling to accept fully what he
regarded as one of education’s chief functions—to sort
and to classify students by their cognitive ability.23
School Reform Reports
and Social Stratification
In 1945, with World War II coming to a close and
concerns about the postwar era becoming increasingly
acute, a spate of reports appeared on the future needs of
American education. Three of the most widely read and
discussed of these documents were Harvard University’s
General Education in a Free Society, the Educational Policy
Commission’s Education for All American Youth, and a
sociological study, Who Shall Be Educated? The Harvard
The college success of World War II veterans, many of whom
report set forth lucidly and eloquently the theory and phi-
had poor educational backgrounds, helped discredit the notion
losophy of general education. In searching for an overall
of Conant and others that the bill’s nonselective nature would
logic or unity to secondary school instruction, the authors
lead to massive academic failures.
emphasized the goals of effective thinking and clear com-
munication of thought. Moreover, the authors of this
would lead to a lowering of academic standards. Years
report affirmed that the great majority of high school stu-
later he complained that the passage of the GI Bill of
dents would benefit from a challenging course of study
Rights indicated America’s unwillingness to accept the
largely derived from the liberal arts.
selective principle of education, which he regarded as
The goals of the Harvard report stood in stark contrast
essential in a free and fluid society.
to the objectives of the Educational Policy Commissio-
Conant did not address the fact that his and
n’s (EPC) Education for All American Youth and Lloyd
Hutchins’s fears of lowered standards had proved
Warner, Robert Havighurst, and Martin Loeb’s Who
unwarranted. The GI Bill became one of the great-
Shall Be Educated? The EPC, with its life-adjustment
est academic successes in American history. Over two
orientation, asserted that only the 15 or 20 percent of
million veterans took advantage of the opportunity
students going on to college should be encouraged to
to attend college during the seven years the program
take a full complement of academic subjects. Less able
was offered, and almost one-fourth of them probably
students, the EPC explained, would focus on three
would have never attended college without the bill’s
practical goals during their four years of high school:
subsidies. Most impressive of all, more veterans than
vocational efficiency, civic competence, and personal
nonveterans distinguished themselves in academically
development. Largely agreeing with the EPC, Warner,
rigorous courses. Veterans earned better grades than
Havighurst, and Loeb argued that schools should be
nonveterans, and contrary to Hutchins’s predictions,
used to increase the degree of social mobility only mod-
they enrolled in liberal arts courses in far greater num-
erately. To try to do more than this, the authors main-
bers than nonveterans. Although Congress passed the
tained, would be to encourage more students to rise to
GI Bill partly to forestall massive postwar unem-
the top of the social pyramid than could be accommo-
ployment, the results of the bill showed that mature
dated by the status system. The authors thus called for
students, even from nonacademic backgrounds, could
a secondary school that would differentiate students ac-
flourish in an academic atmosphere.22
cording to measured ability and use an experienced staff
What may have eluded Conant, or at least what he
of guidance counselors to carry out a sorting function
chose never to comment on, was the striking fact that the
closely corresponding to society’s vocational needs.
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 233
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
234
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
As the initiator of the Harvard report, a member of
might use their positions of authority to coerce stu-
the commission that had produced All American Youth,
dents, Conant stated that school personnel could be
and an admirer of Who Shall Be Educated? Conant
counted on to employ “the democratic method of en-
sought to offer a picture of American education that
lightenment and persuasion.”25
would draw liberally on all three documents. He got
To make all of this work, Conant asserted, “there
his chance when Columbia University invited him to
should be no hierarchy of educational discipline, no one
deliver the prestigious Julius and Rose Sachs Lectures
channel should have a social standing above the other.”
in November 1945. In the three lectures, which he
But as an exasperated Nicholas Lemann has exclaimed:
collectively titled Public Education and the Structure
“Was this touchingly naïve, or willfully naïve, or just
of American Society, Conant focused on what he re-
unpardonably naïve?”26 What hope was there really of
garded as the necessary relation between education and
creating such an academic culture, Lemann wondered,
equality of opportunity. Although education had the
or was Conant merely attempting to mollify those who
potential to foster a high degree of social fluidity and
stood to benefit the least from his meritocratic vision?
reduce the emphasis on class distinctions and hereditary
privilege, he lamented that in the first decades of the
20th century education had tended to increase stratifi-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#4
cation in the United States. Without progress toward
Critically analyze the degree to which Conant’s edu-
greater social mobility, Conant feared that more dis-
cational recommendations might be characterized as
contented Americans would endeavor to foment social
elitist in nature.
change through violent action. He thus concluded that
“the chances of a nonrevolutionary development of our
nation in the next fifty years seem to me to be deter-
Education in a Divided World
mined largely by our educational system.”
As Conant saw it, if Americans would accept his
Three years later, with tensions between the United
vision of the ideal democracy, the potential violence
States and the Soviet Union steadily increasing, Conant
and disruption of the postwar years could be averted.
expanded the Sachs Lectures into a book titled Educa-
In his history of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, Nicholas
tion in a Divided World. In this book, Conant argued
Lemann has said that the big question for Conant was
that by promoting greater cultural and social unity, the
this: “How can you build a classless society through the
American public schools could serve as the first bulwark
mechanism of relentlessly classifying the entire popu-
of defense against the Soviets. As Conant saw it, the
lation?”24 First, Conant answered, Americans must
United States would prevail in the protracted struggle
acknowledge the important place of the well-trained,
between the two superpowers if American students
meritorious expert in every important field. Second,
learned to recognize and condemn the defects of the
they must reject advancement through hereditary priv-
Soviet system while absorbing “the historic goals of our
ilege and embrace a fluid social structure that would
unique society.”
allow talented people from any social class to rise to
In one section of Education in a Divided World
positions of importance and responsibility. Third, all
Conant attempted to demonstrate the superiority of
types of labor must be regarded as equal, with no posi-
American ideology by contrasting Soviet and American
tion being accorded more social status than any other.
attitudes toward the individual in society. Whereas
Once these values were accepted, Conant observed, stu-
the United States regards the individual as sacrosanct,
dents would no longer feel compelled to attend college
Conant offered, the Soviets subordinate the individu-
to reap the rewards of high status. Higher education,
al’s welfare to the demands of the state. Yet as we have
then, would be attractive only to those who genuinely
seen, Conant had consistently treated the individual
merited it and required it in their eventual occupations.
as a means to the end of greater cultural, social, and
Public schools would play a crucial role in this process
political unity. Ironically, Conant employed quota-
by sorting students according to their ability, and guid-
tions from Arthur Koestler’s novel Darkness at Noon to
ance counselors would assume the important job of
heighten this contrast. Yet as educational philosopher
selecting students for college preparatory courses. In
James McClellan had pointed out, Conant did not fully
response to those who feared that guidance counselors
explore the implications of Koestler’s work. A major
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 234
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 235
theme in Darkness at Noon is that even more important
schools in most other countries were highly centralized
than making a choice of values or demonstrating the
and run by the state, local communities administered
superiority of one ideology over another is the neces-
American schools, greatly increasing educational diver-
sity of keeping responsible discourse and inquiry going.
sity and the opportunity for experimentation. Conant
Conant, however, appeared willing to sacrifice the pursuit
conceded that inferior schools tended to emerge under
of knowledge and mutual understanding to the pursuit
America’s decentralized system and that some of those
of American dominance.27
schools were poorly equipped to prepare the academically
Conant’s contribution to a 1951 pamphlet called
talented for college. In general, however, he acclaimed the
Education and National Security extended the theme
American comprehensive high school for its role in nour-
of how educators could help the United States com-
ishing democratic unity.
pete more effectively with the Soviet Union. While the
school must impart certain moral and spiritual values,
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#5
its overriding purposes involved supplying the armed
forces with adequate personnel and training people to
Did the comprehensive high school form a part of
meet the nation’s critical needs. Whereas they condoned
your school experience? If so, how did it affect the
the study of history and critical thought, the authors
education of your fellow students?
also praised instructors for teaching their charges to
accept and support American foreign-policy engagements
such as the “police action” that then raged in Korea.
Although Soviet communism largely remained a tacit
The authors also wrote approvingly that teachers deter-
backdrop to Education and Liberty, at one point Conant
mine “how readily the young recruit adapts himself to
articulated the chief assumption of his educational pro-
military life, how the industrial employee learns his as-
posals. “If the field of Waterloo was won on the play-
signed operation, and with what speed and accuracy the
ing fields of Eton, it may well be that the ideological
new stenographer transcribes her notes.”28
struggle with Communism in the next fifty years will be
In his last year before leaving Harvard in 1953 to
won on playing fields of the public high schools of the
become the U.S. high commissioner to Germany, Conant
United States. That this may be so is the fervent hope of
published Education and Liberty. Based on a series of
all of us who are working to support and improve these
lectures delivered at the University of Virginia, this
characteristic American institutions.”29
book again affirmed Conant’s faith in American pub-
As Conant left Harvard, he continued to reflect on
lic schools. It also showed his growing mastery of the
the role of the American comprehensive high school. In
complexities of educational systems in Australia, New
Education and Liberty he had accumulated and presented
Zealand, Scotland, and England. Conant’s recent inves-
more firsthand knowledge of Australian and New Zealand
tigations of Australian and New Zealand schools (made
schools than he had of American schools. By closely study-
possible by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation) and
ing test results and directly observing selected American
increasingly broad knowledge of British educational his-
high schools, Conant hoped to demonstrate that compre-
tory considerably sharpened his ability to draw paral-
hensive secondary schools educated the academically tal-
lels between those school systems and public education
ented as thoroughly as did European-style homogeneous
in the United States. Although he noted the effective-
secondary schools. This objective would serve as the ini-
ness of those nations in educating talented youngsters,
tial basis for Conant’s investigation of the American high
Conant’s comparative study amounted to a celebration
school, a task he would undertake after serving his country
of both the diversity and the democratic unity of Ameri-
for four years in Germany.
can public education.
For the first time in his major writings, Conant stressed
School Reform in the Postwar Era
the unique function of the American comprehensive
high school. By mixing students of vastly different back-
In the postwar years educational debate in the United
grounds and abilities in the same school, he observed, the
States centered on the value of schooling for “life adjust-
comprehensive high school minimized class distinctions
ment.” In 1945 Charles Prosser, one of the early boost-
and avoided many of the social cleavages that charac-
ers of vocational education, declared that schools had
terized the other societies he had investigated. Whereas
failed to educate the majority of high school youth for
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 235
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
236
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
One of Conant’s major victories was helping establish the Educational Testing Service, which was responsible for developing the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
the demands of modern life. Claiming that most stu-
which taught “children what kind of behavior was socially
dents had spurned the traditional academic curriculum
acceptable and how to adjust to group expectations.”31
or had rejected vocational education, Prosser argued
Beginning in 1949 and continuing for about a
that those students needed instruction in the practi-
decade, a torrent of articles and books appeared that cen-
cal arts of home and family life and civic competence.
sured the public schools for lowering standards and in
Although the life-adjustment curriculum would not
general miseducating American youth. Almost all these
omit science, math, and the humanities, those courses
observers of the educational scene agreed that progressive
would stress hands-on experience and focus on con-
reforms and especially life adjustment had sadly dimin-
temporary problems. As one life-adjustment document
ished the importance of academic achievement. By stress-
put it, “citizenship training must concentrate on under-
ing personality development and meeting each student’s
standing the present, not studying the past.”30
individual needs, the critics argued, the schools were ne-
Although life-adjustment educators intended to make
glecting the traditional intellectual subjects and were thus
schooling more relevant and “functional,” many of the
failing to impart mental and moral discipline.
courses that appeared in school districts around the coun-
Of all the critics, perhaps the most interesting and per-
try in the half decade after the war appeared to reflect a
ceptive were former urban school board member Mor-
powerful anti-intellectual bias. In some school districts,
timer Smith and noted professional historian Arthur
entire instructional units were devoted to the etiquette
Bestor. Both adamantly maintained that the primary pur-
of dating, including discussion of such questions as “Do
pose of schooling should be intellectual training, and both
girls want to ‘pet’?” and “Should you go in with a girl
tenaciously clung to the belief that even the most ordinary
after a date (to raid the ice box)?” As educational historian
student could profit from a rigorously intellectual course
Diane Ravitch has pointed out, time and again one could
of study. While conceding the importance of serving a stu-
find evidence of school instruction during this period
dent’s needs, interests, and abilities, Smith insisted that to
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 236
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 237
develop well-roundedness, all students should be required
entire generation of students, Rickover’s elitist perspec-
to work at things for which they might not have talent.
tive sparked new interest. In response to spreading fears
Bestor affirmed the importance of giving all students a sol-
that the United States was losing the cold war because of
id liberal arts education regardless of how deficient their
its intellectually feeble school system, Congress passed
family or cultural background might appear. As Bestor
the National Defense Education Act of 1958. With
saw it, the school could have no more important function
strong endorsement from President Eisenhower, this
than to overcome educational handicaps, thereby achiev-
legislation allocated millions of dollars for upgrading the
ing its true democratic mission of meeting the fundamen-
teaching of science and math and improving procedures
tal need of all people for intellectual enrichment.
for identifying and educating gifted students. The hear-
In 1956, Smith, Bestor, and colleagues of theirs
ings that led up to this legislation and the general concern
formed the Council for Basic Education (CBE). The
regarding Russian technological superiority launched a
CBE’s commitment to making intellectual training the
new round of attacks against the public schools.
highest priority of the public schools was as strong as its
In the middle of this continuing debate, in the late
opposition to the differentiation of students by ability.
winter of 1959, James B. Conant released his first study
The CBE’s original statement of purpose declared “that
of secondary schools, The American High School Today.
only by the maintenance of high academic standards
Conant asserted that the comprehensive high school,
can the ideal of democratic education be realized—the
by educating academic and vocational students under
ideal of offering to all the children of all the people of
the same roof, contributed to democratic unity while
the United States not merely an opportunity to attend
also doing an adequate job of preparing both popula-
school, but the privilege of receiving there the soundest
tions for their respective post–high school destinations.
education that is offered any place in the world.”32
Most important to school people, who had grown tired
Another critic of life-adjustment education, Admiral
of defending themselves against an unremitting barrage
Hyman Rickover, took a different view. For Rickover, a
of educational criticism, Conant appeared to accept the
naval engineer and nuclear submarine designer, techni-
educational status quo with only minor modifications.
cal and scientific education for a small, talented elite took
Indeed, Conant’s skillful manipulation of public opinion
precedence over all other kinds of schooling. As a naval
ensured The American High School Today wide and favor-
admiral and stalwart cold warrior, Rickover asserted that
able exposure, which tended to defuse subsequent edu-
“education is America’s first line of defense” in compet-
cational criticism. How Conant accomplished this feat
ing with the Soviet Union. Although Rickover spoke of
requires us to examine closely some of the events that led
educating all children well, he focused attention on the
up to the publication of The American High School Today.
15 or 20 percent he regarded as academically talented.
The future mathematicians, physicists, and linguists, he
The Great Talent Hunt
believed, must be trained in homogeneous, European-
style secondary schools where academic standards would
Between 1953 and 1957, while Conant served as high
be maintained and sentimental attachments to the slow
commissioner to Germany, John Gardner, the president
child would not impede the main task at hand. Rickover
of the Carnegie Corporation, and Henry Chauncey, the
not only rejected mixed-ability classes but also regarded
head of the ETS since 1947, indicated in their annual re-
the comprehensive high school as an unfortunate vestige
ports that their thinking about the education of the aca-
of a less complicated era. Rickover envisioned a school
demically talented closely paralleled Conant’s. At ETS,
system that would identify talented students at an early
which had quickly become the most powerful institution
age and enroll them in accelerated educational programs.
for sorting young people in American society, Chauncey
In the long run, he argued, this highly selective process
referred year after year to the role standardized tests were
would enhance American freedom by helping the United
increasingly playing in identifying scientific and tech-
States keep pace with the Soviets. Rickover’s envisioned
nical talent. He feared Soviet technological superiority
school system might slight the majority of students, but
but suggested that testing and guidance could become
as Rickover reminded his readers, “The future belongs
America’s “secret weapon” by making “our education
to the best educated nation. Let it be ours.”33
system fit the needs of youth better than the Russian
After the Soviets launched Sputnik in 1957, alarm-
system meets the needs of Russian youth.”34
ing the American public and making them think that
Although less concerned with the Soviets, John
their schools had failed to teach science and math to an
Gardner also emphasized the importance of educating
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 237
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
238
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
talented youth. In his first annual report for the Carn-
literature and language, and several years of history? If
egie Corporation, Gardner showed that he put great
this important task could be accomplished in a school
faith in IQ tests. He stated that a student with an IQ
also attended by less able students, the comprehensive
score between 108 and 115 would barely qualify for
high school would be realizing its crucial mission: the
admission to a four-year college and that an IQ below
identification and development of the most academi-
108 just about eliminated a student’s chance to compete
cally talented and the social integration of both college-
effectively in college. Increasingly, Conant frequently
bound and non-college-bound students.
referred to an IQ of 115 as an appropriate cutoff for
On May 16, 1957, the board of trustees of the
identifying the academically talented.
Carnegie Corporation announced that it was approv-
ing the appropriation of $350,000 to the ETS for
the administration of the study of the American high
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#6
school by James B. Conant. By that time the objec-
tives of the study had been clarified, the staff had been
Explain the role that concern about national security
hired, the schools to be studied had been identified
played in at least five of James B. Conant’s educa-
and contacted, and a tentative schedule of school visits
tional proposals.
had been worked out.
Between September 1957 and July 1958 Conant
conducted the first phase of his study. During that
In 1956 Gardner titled his second annual report “The
period Conant and an associate visited over 50 compre-
Great Talent Hunt.” He described at length the impor-
hensive high schools in 18 states, filing a detailed report
tant new role that the gifted must play in American
after each visit. According to Conant, those schools all
society and the special obligation of educators to chal-
had a “high degree of comprehensiveness”—that is,
lenge those students and develop their talents. In subse-
with more than half the students enrolled in vocational
quent reports Gardner continued to stress the education
programs and with a significant minority taking col-
of the talented but also tried to make a case for counsel-
lege preparatory classes. Conant and his staff deemed
ing students away from college who he believed were
a comprehensive high school satisfactory if it gave
not suited for it. In his book Excellence, which appeared
“a good general education for all the pupils as future
shortly after the first Conant report, Gardner wrote
citizens of a democracy, provide[d] elective programs
that the educational system must work effectively as a
for the majority to develop useful skills, and educate[d]
“sorting-out process.” As Gardner put it, “The Schools
adequately those with a talent for handling advanced
are the golden avenue of opportunity for able young-
academic subjects —particularly foreign languages and
sters; but by the same token they are the arena in which
advanced mathematics.”36
less able youngsters discover their limitations.” Thus, in
At the conclusion of his investigations Conant
the late 1950s Gardner was advancing the same themes
reported that eight schools were successfully fulfilling his
that Conant had been voicing since the late 1930s: iden-
objectives for the comprehensive high school. Although
tifying and promoting the talented while discouraging
reluctant to make sweeping generalizations about the
the rest of the students from enrolling in college prepa-
condition of public secondary education in the United
ratory programs.35
States, Conant admitted that “no radical alteration in
In December of 1956 Conant proposed to Gardner
the basic pattern of American education is necessary in
that the Carnegie Corporation finance his investigation
order to improve public high schools.” By so uncritically
of the education of talented youth in comprehensive
accepting the educational status quo, Conant ensured
high schools. Although he sought to ascertain whether a
a favorable reception for his report. While Conant did
school containing college-bound and non-college-bound
offer 21 recommendations for improving public high
students could educate both populations effectively,
schools, as historian Raymond Callahan has said, “Any
he was chiefly interested in the academically talented.
superintendent who could say he was adopting Conant’s
Could the comprehensive high school identify and
recommendations, or better yet, that his school system
develop students with IQs of 115 or better and provide
had already been following them for years, was almost
them with solid instruction in a foreign language, math-
impregnable.” Consequently, shortly after the pub-
ematics through calculus, physics and chemistry, English
lication of The American High School Today, Conant
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 238
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 239
achieved wide renown as America’s premier educational
planned to spend another full year talking to school
statesman. To express its gratitude formally, the American
boards and getting their reactions to his findings and
Association of School Administrators presented Conant
tentative recommendations. Conant curtailed these vis-
with a specially inscribed award:
its in order to hurry the report’s release. As Conant and
his advisers knew, by January 1959 the public was ready
Thomas Jefferson, more than any other man, convinced
for an affirmative and constructive study on public edu-
the new nation that education is essential to a free people.
cation. Conant consciously wrote the report to give the
Horace Mann, more than any other man, convinced the
expanding nation that public schools supported by all and
public exactly what it wanted.
open to all must be established if the nation was to achieve
Conant praised the comprehensive high school and
its destiny. A century later, with the people frightened, the
condemned radical solutions, but two major concerns
nation threatened, free institutions held in doubt, and the
tempered his upbeat message. First, the small high school
public schools under severe criticism, James Bryant Conant,
(with a graduating class of fewer than 100 students)
more than any other man, by his logic, keen analysis, patri-
would have to be eliminated. According to Conant, it
otic sacrifice, and courageous vision rekindled the nation’s
was expensive and inefficient to maintain good academ-
flame of faith in free men’s basic human values and rebuilt
ic and vocational programs for so few students. Since the
confidence in the public schools of America.37
small schools rarely bore the necessary costs willingly,
Although the upbeat message Conant communi-
inferior education was the usual result. Second, Conant
cated to public educators partly explained the favorable
believed that too many schools, both large and small,
reception his first report received, a skillfully engineered
were not sufficiently challenging the academically tal-
media blitz also greatly increased its chances for success.
ented. Especially troublesome were the number of boys
Both Conant and the Carnegie Corporation/ETS con-
neglecting courses in science and mathematics. Conant
glomerate maintained important ties to leading book
also lamented the dearth of four-year foreign language
publishers, newspapers, and magazines that helped keep
programs in the high schools he visited. In addition to
Conant’s name constantly in the public eye. Further-
believing that foreign language study exposes the future
more, the publicity campaign for The American High
scientist or engineer to another culture, Conant stressed
School Today was planned meticulously. The campaign
that “our grim competition with the Soviet Union in
organizers designated themselves the “joint chiefs”;
the newly developing countries calls for people who can
they called the Carnegie Corporation offices the “con-
pick up a language quickly and match their Russian
trol center” and often wrote of the best way to deploy
counterparts who realize the importance of linguistic
their forces. To sustain media coverage over a period of
competence.”39
months, the “joint chiefs” built a news release structure
Even before The American High School Today had
that ensured the appearance of a continuing stream of
become a best-seller, positioning him as the nation’s number-
newspaper and magazine articles about Conant and his
one educational expert, Conant wrote a confidential memo
study. As the joint chiefs put it, they wanted to treat
to his staff that took the public schools to task for failing
the publication of The American High School Today as a
to challenge the academically talented. In the memo he ad-
news story, not a literary event that might put them at
mitted that he presented his findings more positively than
the mercy of unfriendly book reviewers. With McGraw-
he would have if he had not been writing in reaction to a
Hill lined up to publish the Conant reports, a key pil-
negative and tense atmosphere of debate. Still, he confided
lar of the envisioned release structure was intact. One
that the vast majority of the schools he visited were badly ne-
of McGraw-Hill’s initial advertisements indicated the
glecting the education of the most gifted students. Conant
firm’s willingness to promote Conant’s study forcefully.
particularly blamed the educational establishment in state
In boldface letters, it read
universities for graduating so many teachers who tended
to give the same amount of attention to all their students
THE CONANT REPORT—A BOOK THAT WILL
regardless of academic aptitude.40
AROUSE NATIONAL ATTENTION AND MAKE
In The American High School Today, Conant did
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY.38
not reveal his underlying reasons for vigorously pro-
Careful timing also helped The American High School
moting the training of the best students. Although his
Today attract attention. After spending his first year
earlier writings showed that concerns about the Soviet
personally investigating secondary schools, Conant had
threat had spurred his school reform efforts, school
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 239
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
240
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
people unfamiliar with these ideas had to consult a
of the academically talented students who were not
lesser-known companion volume to understand the
being challenged and encouraged to go on to college
full thrust of Conant’s educational message. Titled The
were girls. He was not troubled by this, because he
Child, the Parent, and the State, this book represented
particularly wanted to recruit males for strategically
in a sense the social and philosophical underpinnings
important careers and, at the same time, sought to re-
of The American High School Today. Throughout this
duce college enrollments. As Conant put it, “a good
work, Conant maintained that the divided world he
deal of the talk about the bright people who don’t go
had described 10 years earlier still prevailed and that
to college just may be a question of the girls.”42 In re-
the schools had the same responsibility to take up the
sponse to a letter from the president of Bennington
challenge of halting the spread of Soviet communism.
College, inquiring why Conant put so much empha-
Conant believed Americans had adjusted too easily to
sis on hard, male-oriented subjects like science, math,
living in a “divided world” and had failed to take serious-
and engineering, Conant explained matter-of-factly: “If
ly the role of the schools in effectively competing with
we were not living in such a grim world, I doubt that
the Soviets. If Americans conceded the gravity of the
I should advocate the high school program I recom-
rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union,
mend in my report. From the academically talented will
Conant argued, they would actively work to eliminate
come the future doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists
the small inefficient high school, increase foreign lan-
and scholars, as well as . . . business executives. These
guage study, and in general see to it that talented youth
professional people will be 97 percent men.”43 Ever ea-
developed their abilities as fully as possible. After all,
ger to avoid controversy, Conant confined his thoughts
Conant warned, these future scientists, engineers, and
on these matters to private correspondence. But these
professionals would prove to be invaluable weapons in
sentiments remained still another sign of Conant’s will-
the technological race with the Soviets.
ingness, indeed, his intent, to restrict the education of
Conant rejected Admiral Rickover’s proposal that
the majority to further the education of that small, pre-
Americans support separate schools for the academically
dominantly male elite whom he believed would uphold
talented. He believed that the public high school should
the national interest.
enroll students preparing for vocations along with those
preparing for college, but his rationale was largely social,
Slums and Subversives
not educational. First and foremost, this arrangement
would foster greater democratic feeling. It would forge
Conant’s continuing interest in the comprehensive
closer relationships among future professional people,
high school as a source of social cohesion led him
craftspersons, engineers, and labor leaders and help
eventually to investigate the segregated urban and elite
promote “not only equality of opportunity but equal-
suburban high schools of the Northeast and Midwest.
ity of esteem in all forms of labor.” Conant wavered on
The schools Conant visited, which formed the basis
the direct benefits of vocational education, however. At
for his next book, Slums and Suburbs, were the very
times he thought it could effectively prepare students
antithesis of the comprehensive high school. At one
for particular vocations. At one point he compared
extreme, the urban schools in low-income and pov-
vocational education to the advanced placement pro-
erty neighborhoods stressed vocational education and
gram, because, like the gifted college preparatory stu-
direct preparation of students for the workplace. At
dent, the able vocational student should be in a position
the other extreme, the wealthy suburban schools edu-
to assume the responsibilities of a second-year appren-
cated almost all their students for college. Conant par-
tice in many skilled trades. But more often and more
ticularly regretted the tendency of suburban parents
realistically, Conant referred to vocational education as a
to push their children into college preparatory cours-
“motivating force” that would keep the potential drop-
es regardless of their academic ability. Wider use of
out in school, where he would learn the vocational hab-
guidance services and standardized test scores would
its and citizenship responsibilities demanded by modern
encourage more students to enter vocational programs,
American society.41
Conant thought, and increase the comprehensiveness
One of Conant’s blind spots, even within this narrow
of these elite schools. When it came to the impover-
vision of educational opportunity, was the education
ished urban schools, however, as historian Clarence
of females. As he proceeded with his investigations of
Karier has said, Conant’s “sense of ideal community
American high schools, he came to realize that many
gave way to what he judged was practically possible.”
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 240
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 241
Historical Context
The Early Cold War Era
The following events should help you situate the educational developments in this chapter in a broader historical context. These events are illustrative; you might have chosen different ones if you were constructing such a timeline. For any item, you should be able to consider, What is its educational significance? Some of these events are not mentioned in the chapter and might lead you to further inquiry.
1940s
1940
U.S. Department of Labor reports that less than 17 percent of all married women in the United States are employed outside the home
1941–1945
United States enters World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor; women enter the workforce while men are at war; African Americans pressure Roosevelt to establish Fair Employment Practices Committee 1944
GI Bill of Rights is passed, paving the way for masses of World War II veterans to attain a college education at government expense
1945
Thousands of White students walk out of classes to protest integration in Gary, Indiana; this walkout becomes a precedent for future resistance to integration
1945
United States destroys Hiroshima and Nagasaki with first use of atomic bomb, bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific
1948
Truman orders end to segregation in armed forces
1949
Nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union begins when Soviets test atomic bomb 1950s
1950
Senator Joseph McCarthy whips up national fears of communists in media, entertainment, government, and public life
1953
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for atomic secrets spying
1954
Supreme Court rules in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that segregated schools are “inherently unequal”
and thus unconstitutional, reversing Plessy v. Ferguson; Brown also establishes that other public facilities separated on basis of race are inherently unequal
1955
Supreme Court orders that the integration of schools proceed “with all deliberate speed”
1955
Montgomery bus boycott begins as result of Rosa Parks’s refusal to sit in the back of the bus 1957
Launching of Sputnik I by the USSR leads Americans to believe that the Soviets are ahead in missile technology; schools blamed for “technology gap”
1957
Southern Christian Leadership Conference forms; led by Martin Luther King, Jr., it is dedicated to nonviolent protest of racial discrimination
1958
U.S. National Defense Education Act promotes teaching of sciences, foreign languages, and mathematics 1959
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba, forming first communist government in Latin America 1959
James B. Conant publishes The American High School Today
1960s
1961
Michael Harrington publishes The Other America, revealing that millions of Americans live below poverty level 1962
Students for a Democratic Society leads student protests against Vietnam throughout the nation 1962
Supreme Court orders University of Mississippi to admit student James H. Meredith; Ross Barnett, governor of Mississippi, tries unsuccessfully to block Meredith’s admission
1963 Publication
of
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan revitalizes feminist movement
1963
More than 200,000 marchers from all over the country stage the largest protest demonstration in the history of Washington, DC; Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers “I Have a Dream” speech 1963
Medgar Evers, field secretary for NAACP, is assassinated outside his home in Jackson, Mississippi 1963
Assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas
1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed, granting equal voting rights to African Americans 1964
Martin Luther King, Jr., awarded Nobel Peace Prize
1964
Escalation of U.S. presence in Vietnam following alleged Gulf of Tonkin incident
1965
Medicare Act, Housing Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a new immigration act, and voting-rights legislation are enacted
1966
National Organization for Women is formed
Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
Besides “cold war fever,” how do you interpret what is going on in the United States during the cold war that will change the nation markedly?
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 241
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
242
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Thus, in considering ways to improve urban schools,
measures of academic aptitude, and if students per-
Conant rejected both racial integration and expansion
forming below the expected levels of excellence (IQ
of academic offerings as impracticable and unneces-
below 115) were to be counseled away from academic
sary.44
courses, then guidance counselors almost by default
Few readers of Slums and Suburbs were aware that
would be steering most African American students
the threat of Soviet communism again played a key role
toward vocational studies. Somehow, the thought that
in arousing Conant’s sympathy for the plight of urban
these schools, with their vocational emphasis, might
schoolchildren. Although he mentioned this threat in only
be contributing to the “social dynamite” in the cities
one paragraph of the book, Conant had not lost his talent
never occurred to Conan t; he just studied the data and
for dramatically drawing parallels between America’s so-
offered his recommendations accordingly. He did not
cial problems and the waging of the cold war. He wrote: “I
seem to understand, as historian Henry Perkinson has
do not have to remind the reader that the fate of freedom
pointed out, that “instead of enhancing and fulfilling
in the world hangs very much in the balance. . . . Com-
his expectations of determining his own destiny, this
munism feeds upon discontented, frustrated, unemployed
educational ‘equality of opportunity’ simply corrobo-
people. . . . These young people are my chief concern,
rated the black child’s feelings of powerlessness.” By
especially when they are pocketed together in large num-
condoning vocationally oriented education for most
bers within the confines of the big city slums. What can
urban Black youth, Conant was harking back to the
words like ‘freedom,’ ‘liberty,’ and ‘equality of opportu-
theory of “Negro education” promulgated by Booker
nity’ mean to these young people? With what kind of zeal
T. Washington, which relegated Black youth to the
and dedication can we expect them to withstand the re-
least challenging forms of education to prepare them
lentless pressures of communism? How well prepared are
for the most menial jobs.46
they to face the struggle that shows no sign of abating?”45
A bitter irony resides in Conant’s vocationalist think-
Conant believed that the struggle to win the hearts
ing for students who didn’t meet his definition of “aca-
and minds of urban youth depended on the effectiveness
demically talented,” a definition that excluded all but a
of vocational education programs. He cited a number of
few urban African American students. The irony is that
examples of how vocational education in predominantly
in 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court had just ruled that
Black high schools had fostered stability and other desir-
segregation of the races in public schooling is unconsti-
able social behaviors. Dunbar Vocational High School
tutional. This ruling, Brown v. The Board of Education,
in Chicago provided a paradigm. While the school tai-
overturned the Supreme Court ruling of 1896, Plessy
lored its curriculum to meet the students’ vocational
v. Ferguson, which had made “separate but equal” the
needs, the academic program also had successfully
law of the land shortly after Booker T. Washington had
prepared a handful of students for college, though this
delivered his Atlanta “Cast down your buckets” address.
was clearly not the school’s primary purpose. In fact,
While the Brown decision made school segregation
students at Dunbar could not remain in the academic
illegal, Conant’s policies had the consequence of segre-
program without successfully completing all shop class-
gating Black students from White students in the college
es. One cannot help wonder how many more students
preparatory and advanced placement classes Conant so
would have gone on to college from Dunbar, or simply
vigorously endorsed. While separate vocational schools
enjoyed new intellectual challenges, if academic courses
for African Americans would no longer be legal af-
had been stressed as much as vocational ones. Conant
ter 1954, a more insidious kind of segregation, which
approved of some academic courses for minority students
Conant did nothing to curtail, would come to be seen as
and claimed they should constitute at least half of the
normal in comprehensive high schools throughout the
curriculum. But the entire tone of the “Slums” section
latter half of the 20th century.
of Slums and Suburbs—with hardly a reference to the
As the 1960s wore on, Conant’s fears of the com-
education of the academically talented—had a decided
munist bogey gave way to new fears of social unrest.
bias toward vocational education.
The “social dynamite” he had observed in America’s
Conant’s advocacy of a system of vocational educa-
cities began exploding in the middle 1960s. Conflagra-
tion for slum schools followed logically from the rest
tions in almost every major city alerted the nation that
of his educational philosophy. If most Black students
urban Blacks were fed up with second-class treatment.
scored poorly on IQ and SAT tests and other accepted
On college campuses students staged numerous protests
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 242
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 243
against the Vietnam War and authoritarian educational
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#8
practices. Conant especially feared these developments.
He thought that the emergence of the new left posed the
What political outcomes were most important for
latest threat to a stable American democracy. He also
Conant? Were they compatible with democratic ideol-
became increasingly convinced that the colleges’ will-
ogy? Explain.
ingness to accommodate larger and more diverse pop-
ulations of students had strengthened the position of
radical elements on campus. In response to these cam-
pus disruptions, Conant actively promoted the junior
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
college movement. Not only would the junior colleges
absorb some of those students whom Conant believed
OF EDUCATION
had fueled the fires of the protest movement, these col-
A number of issues in this chapter have great sig-
leges would also satisfy the educational ambitions of the
nificance for how teachers and other educators see
most “marginal” students. Moreover, the junior colleges
their work today: (1) Is the concept of “meritocracy”
would meet technical training needs rarely addressed in
a useful one to explain why some students succeed
high school and would appear to enhance equal oppor-
academically and others do not, or is meritocracy
tunity without sacrificing meritocratic principles and
the high standards of the four-year college.47
more myth than reality? (2) If not everyone is going
Whatever success the junior colleges might have
to attend college, what should high school do for
had in “cooling out” the discontented and defusing the
students who, by their own choice or by circum-
explosive atmosphere on some college campuses, Conant
stances they can’t control, are not “college bound”?
was dismayed that his school reforms had not opened the
and (3) Whose interests should guide the education
door to a better world. He applauded the new attention
of our nation’s youth, and who gets to decide that
that teachers were giving the academically talented as a
question? A coherent philosophy of education can
result of his efforts, but he regretted the new round of
guide any educator in thinking more clearly about
attacks the schools were forced to endure. This time the
each of these issues.
attacks came from the left, with most critics inveighing
James B. Conant initially used his Harvard power
against the rigid structure and “mindlessness” that char-
base to promote what he saw as a more meritocrat-
acterized public schools. Nevertheless, Conant adamantly
ic society, striving to make the university and the
maintained that a properly conceived educational system
could help bring about his version of the ideal society. Yet
public school adhere to the principles of selectivity
it remained a very unimaginative vision, with an educa-
and excellence as he understood them. Conant re-
tion system designed to help most people seek satisfaction
peatedly warned that the school must first prepare
in mind-numbing employment or the periodic oppor-
talented youth for strategically necessary scientific,
tunity to choose between two nearly identical political
professional, and technological occupations. Only
candidates. Despite his constant references to democ-
secondarily, he believed, should the school train
racy, Conant sought a government run by experts with
the rest of the students for occupational roles that
only limited participation by the masses. The education
played less significant supporting roles in advanc-
system he had worked for throughout his career would
ing the national interest. Conant’s views demon-
make an important contribution to shaping what the
strate the importance of all three questions above.
nation’s citizens would come to take for granted about
Is it really a meritocracy, for example, when chil-
how high schools should serve the social order.
dren from some neighborhoods consistently and
predictably do better than children from other
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#7
neighborhoods? Are we really selecting the most
talented, or are we just using schools to select
Who determines the “national interest”? How do ed-
ucation and schooling influence the national interest?
those who started school as the most advantaged?
How are they influenced by the national interest?
Furthermore, what do we mean by “talent” and
how does that affect how we teach and evaluate
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 243
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
244
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
students from different backgrounds? A teacher’s
not possibly find jobs commensurate with their ed-
answer to that is likely to influence how he or she
ucational experience. Knowing the unchallenging
teaches and evaluates students. If we assume all
nature of most modern work, Conant feared that
kids start at the same place in the competition for
the resulting frustration would disrupt the social
school success, then it makes sense to treat them
order. Of course, vocational education carried the
all the same and see who “wins.” But if we assume
additional virtue of keeping potential troublemak-
they start at very different places, depending on
ers in school. At least they would be off the street,
cultural and economic background, then different
perhaps picking up some useful skill while absorb-
strategies are necessary to support the success of
ing the responsibilities of citizenship in a pluralistic
different students. In such an environment, the idea
society. In general, Conant’s fears of instability and
of a competitive “meritocracy” makes little sense.
his belief that most people were incapable of de-
Despite his enduring interest in public education,
riving benefit from rigorous teaching and learning
Conant’s first allegiance was to college and univer-
impelled him to renounce liberal education for all
sity training, which he believed should be reserved
but a small minority.
strictly for the most meritorious. Only at the college
But the teacher who wishes to serve democrat-
level did the immense investments in the educa-
ic ideals may well pause to consider whether the
tion of young people begin to pay dividends in the
schools should be in the business of predicting and
production of urgently needed engineers and sci-
shaping the vocational futures of students. Surely,
entists. It followed that if the lower schools were to
for the foreseeable future, there is little reason to
serve the more essential colleges, university lead-
expect that every single high school student will go
ers had to exert considerable influence on the pub-
on to achieve a baccalaureate degree. But for many
lic secondary schools. Believing that the strength
teachers, the point of a public education through
of higher education depended on the sorting ef-
high school is simply this: to equip each young per-
ficiency of the elementary and secondary schools,
son with the knowledge and skills to choose the best
Conant and his universities pioneered the SAT,
postsecondary step for himself or herself, and to have
advanced placement, and the academic inventory
the preparation necessary to succeed at that choice.
(a survey of advanced courses available to “talent-
Young people with a strong college-preparatory high
ed students in each school”) to differentiate more
school diploma can choose college, the military,
sharply the bright from the dull and the gifted from
technical training, or a job, for example; whereas
the average. Accordingly, these reforms increased
vocationally trained youth may not be in the posi-
the schools’ abilities to funnel qualified students
tion to choose college education or to succeed if
into colleges to meet more directly the technologi-
they do choose it. Yet, it may be argued, all young
cal and strategic needs of the nation. Not surpris-
people in a democratic culture should be equipped
ingly, Conant and his other university counterparts
to make that choice for themselves.
gave only the most superficial consideration to the
The progressive education goals examined in
education of non-college-bound students.
Chapter 4, including social stability, employable
When Conant did attend to the problem of edu-
skills, meritocracy, and equal educational opportu-
cating students he regarded as less able, his solu-
nity, continued to shape school reform in the post–
tion was vocational education. Instead of seeking
World War II era. The Conant era reforms did not
to produce self-education and self-cultivating men
establish new directions for schooling but consoli-
and women, he favored an education that would
dated old gains from the social efficiency approach.
psychologically prepare students for a future oc-
Two dimensions of that approach were embraced
cupation, thus ensuring a smooth transition from
by most American educators and the public at large
school to work. He opposed giving all students a
during the Conant era. First, it became a largely
liberal education, because even if they could profit
unquestioned assumption that the first priority of
from such an education, he reasoned, they could
schooling was promoting “the national interest”
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 244
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 245
as defined by designated leaders. Second, it fol-
to promoting political, economic, and social stabil-
lowed that schools could protect national interests
ity. Consequently, only a small group of ostensibly
in a cold war by selecting and preparing students
“talented” students have been provided with the
for their vocational futures in an expert-led so-
sort of intellectual challenge that might otherwise
ciety. As a result of Conant’s years of efforts, the
be the birthright of every American youth.
role and functions of the American comprehensive
In The Big Test, Nicholas Lemann concludes his
high school became increasingly defined by those
provocative history of the SAT by condemning the
assumptions.
assumption of Conant and his accomplices like
But in a democratic society, school teachers and
Henry Chauncey and John Gardner that educa-
administrators need to be wary of having the inter-
tion at its best is a rigorous sorting-out process. He
ests of their students defined as the national inter-
warns that this is, in fact, the worst possible model
ests. Who gets to decide what the national interest
for education in a democratic society. He writes:
is? The party in power at the time? The rich, who
“The chief aim of school should be not to sort out
dominate the U.S. Senate decade after decade?
but to teach as many people as possible as well
Big businesses and financial interests, who domi-
as possible, equipping them not for work but for
nate U.S. economic policy and influence military
citizenship. The purpose of schools should be to
policy? Is it in the national interest for parents to
expand opportunity, not to determine results.”48
have a voice in what is in their children’s interests?
This is a sharp and accurate critique, because
Should teachers, who are the professionals who
Conant consistently treated the school as an iden-
teach the children and youth? When it comes to
tifier of talent, not as an institution designed to en-
how each child is educated, what is in the national
large and develop ability. Conant always worked
interests, and who gets to decide? In a democratic
from a scarcity model. Talent is both fixed and
culture, how are differences among these differ-
rare, he insisted. It must be found, not so much
ent groups’ perspectives resolved? Notice that in
to make a good society as to sustain a society ca-
the Primary Source Reading for this chapter, poet
pable of holding its own against external or inter-
Mark Van Doren expressly addresses the question
nal threats. Lemann contends that “the best and
of educational goals and national interests, and his
most distinctive tradition in American education is
ideas may have an impact on your own educa-
the tradition of pushing to educate more people.”49
tional philosophy.
He notes as well that this tradition is not neces-
The long lament about the ineffectiveness of pub-
sarily what traditional leaders have supported,
lic schools continues. While a variety of education-
but has been carried forward by everyday lead-
al officials scramble to assign blame and provide
ers in neighborhoods, communities, and schools
explanations, few of them have assessed the situ-
who have always believed “ordinary people are
ation historically. Yet the historical record shows
capable of more,” much more than government
clearly that reformers such as Conant used enor-
officials or policymakers or college presidents have
mous power to consolidate the current structure of
ever thought possible.
American public education. The result of this struc-
The lesson for all of us who care about educa-
ture, with standardized testing, tracking, and the
tion and making it better is simple. The problems
differentiated curriculum as its base, has been that
of education should be addressed directly and most
the vast majority of students avoid the most aca-
powerfully by those closest to children—teachers,
demically challenging subjects in favor of courses
parents, community members, and the children
deemed more appropriate to their skill levels and
themselves. Only they have the knowledge and the
presumed vocational futures. Although Conant and
commitment to help individual schools reach their
other reformers claimed to weigh the best interests
full potential. Surely this is one of the major les-
of all students, in effect they shifted the focus of ed-
sons of David Tyack’s and Larry Cuban’s important
ucational concern from educating each schoolchild
history of public school reform— Tinkering toward
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 245
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
246
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Utopia. Government must increase its support for
comes to educational change and renewal, the best
education, policymakers can assist, courts often
and wisest reformers reside in our local schools and
can set new initiatives in motion, and colleges and
our local communities. With adequate resources,
universities should provide expertise and needed
societal backing, and the liberty to make construc-
resource s. Yet, “unless practitioners are also en-
tive and appropriate changes tailored to the needs
listed in defining problems and devising solutions
of these communities, there is no telling how far
adapted to their own varied circumstances and lo-
American education might go in finally living out
cal knowledge, lasting improvements will probably
John Dewey’s democratic ideal of ensuring “the
not occur in classrooms.”50 In other words, when it
all-around growth of every member of society.”51
Primary Source Reading
each man receives his full complement of limbs—hands,
feet, tongue, etc.—although all men are not to be arti-
ficers, runners, scribes, or orators; so at school all men
The following selection presents a view of the aims of
should be taught whatever concerns man, though in
education in contrast to James B. Conant’s position
after life some things will be of more use to one man,
that the conditions of the cold war world should influ-
others to another.” Thus Comenius, the title page of
ence how different people should be educated and to
whose Great Didactic promised that it would set forth
what purposes. Columbia University English professor
“The whole art of teaching all things to all men”—to
and poet Mark Van Doren argued instead that education
“the entire youth of both sexes, none excepted.”1 It was
should not prepare people for any particular kind of soci-
a noble vision, and it has never been realized. We teach
ety or political system but should treat people “as ends
our entire youth, but we do not teach them enough.
in themselves.” In Van Doren’s view, the only proper aim
What was once for a few must now be for the many.
of education was to develop the intellectual and personal
There is no escape from this—least of all through the
capacities of each person to the greatest degree pos-
sacrifices of quality to quantity. The necessity is not to
sible, after which society would be well taken care of
produce a handful of masters; it is to produce as many
by such well-educated people. If this selection seems
masters as possible, even though this be millions. An
particularly difficult to read, the student might consider
ancient sentence about liberal education says it is the edu-
whether it is Van Doren’s prose or the relative unfamil-
cation worthy of a free man, and the converse is equally
iarity of his ideas that causes one to stop frequently to
ancient; the free man is one who is worthy of a liberal
review the course of the argument.
education. Both sentences remain true, the only difficulty
Van Doren’s essay was first published in 1943, during
being to know how many men are capable of freedom. The
World War II, and then republished in his book Liberal
capacity was once a favor bestowed by fortune; the gentle-
Education in 1959—the same year that Conant published
man was a rare fellow whose father was rich or famous.
The American High School Today. Van Doren’s use of
It is also, however, a capacity which nature bestows, and
masculine pronouns was typical of the time.
nature is prodigal. Liberal education in the modern world
must aim at the generosity of nature, must work to make
the aristocrat, the man of grace, the person, as numerous
Excerpts from “Education for All”
as fate allows. No society can succeed henceforth unless
its last citizen is as free to become a prince and a philoso-
Mark Van Doren
pher as his powers permit. The greatest number of these
is none too many for democracy nor is the expense of
Education is for all, and there can be no compromise
producing them exorbitant. “A new degree of intellectual
with the proposition. “Just as in his mother’s womb
power,” said Emerson, “is cheap at any price,” and this
Source: Excerpt from Mark Van Doren, Liberal Education (New York: Beacon Press, 1959), pp. 28– 42. First published in 1943 by Henry Holt and Company.
1John Amos Comenius was a Czech educational reformer born in Moravia. He
© 1943 by Mark Van Doren.
lived from 1592 to 1670.
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 246
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 247
is true no less for a country than for one of its citizens. In
and teaches that by teaching the importance of thinking
proportion as the theory is clear it will not confound itself
well. It does not achieve its end by pretense or coer-
with notions that the education of men, as distinguished
cion, or by a conspiracy to confuse the attempt with the
from the training of animals, is something for a class—say
deed. “There is no such thing,” says Albert Jay Nock, “as
a leisure class. The only slaves in our society ought to be
democratic manners; manners are either bad or good.”2
its machines. There is a myth that machines have minds
So with anything else that is human. There is no such
and so are educable, but no man will admit this. “We
thing as democratic morals and ideas. Morals are either
Americans,” says Alexander Meiklejohn, “are determined
bad or good; ideas are either shallow or profound. De-
that there shall not be in our society two kinds of people.
mocracy’s business is with morals as such, and with the
We will not have two kinds of schools—one for gentle-
deepest ideas available to its citizens.
men and ladies, the other for workers and servants. We
Democracy cannot survive a loss of faith that the best
believe that every man and woman should be governed.
man will make the best citizen. It certainly cannot afford
All the members of our society must have both liberal
to educate men for citizenship, for efficiency, or for use.
and vocational education. There shall be one set, and only
Its only authority is reason, just as its only strength is
one set, of schools for all people. The first postulate of a
criticism. It will not distinguish between its own good
democracy is equality of education. The gospel of Come-
and the happiness of its members. It will study how to
nius is still true.” In proportion as our theory is clear it
distribute well the things that are good for men, but
will agree with the foregoing.
it will study with equal care the goods of men, which
What, then, of the fact that education when liber-
incidentally make more sense in the singular: the good
al, when occupied with human discipline, is arduous
of man. The citizen will never forgive a society, demo-
beyond all other known pursuits? Sufficient wisdom
cratic or otherwise, which taught him to do what time
sometimes seems almost esoteric, an accomplishment of
has shown to be wrong or silly. He can never blame a
genius which the mass is bound to find unintelligible,
society which encouraged him to be all that he could be.
no surface difference appearing between the subtlety of
If the teaching was good, he has no one else to blame.
the philosopher and the caprice of the tyrant. Socrates
Democracy does not provide alibis.
supposed that philosophers would be useless only in a
The circle of the relation between the state and the
democracy, where he assumed they would not be heard.
individual, a circle which is drawn when we say that
It is a question once more of the few and the many. And
each depends upon the other for its good, can be bro-
the answer is never that all men will be the best men.
ken only if we distinguish between the individual and
The sensible desire is simply that all men should be as
the person. The individual has no relation to anything
good as possible. The higher the average the safer the
except the state or society of which he is a member, and
state. But the pyramid will have symmetry only if the
to which he is a relative. But the person is not a member.
same attempt is made with every person: to produce in
He is the body of himself, and such is always to be un-
him the utmost of his humanity, on the assumption that
derstood as an end, not a means. As a ruler, he has first
this is what he possesses in common with every other
ordered his own soul. As the ruled, he likewise orders his
person.
soul. And this is something which he is unique among
A democracy that is interested in its future will give
creatures in knowing how to do, even though he many
each of its members as much liberal education as he can
never do it perfectly. The good state—democracy—will
take, nor will it let him elect to miss that much because
let him try, on the theory that good citizenship will fol-
he is in a hurry to become something less than a man. It
low naturally from even moderate success; though it will
is obvious that all must not be less than they are; and a
let him try anyway. For without autonomy he cannot
democracy must be prepared to give the entire quantity
find the center in himself from which in fact emanate
of itself that can be taken.
the very generosity and lawfulness, the respect for others
“A state which dwarfs its men in order that they may
that is a form of respect for himself, necessary to the op-
be more docile instruments in its hands even for ben-
eration of society at all. Society may command fear and
eficial purposes will find that with small men no great
obedience; it cannot force love or friendship, which are
thing can really be accomplished.” The warning of John
Stuart Mill has lost no force. The good state wants great
2Professor Albert Jay Nock was a humanist professor at Columbia University early
democrats; and gets them by teaching the love of truth;
in the 20th century.
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 247
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
248
Part One Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
irreducibly personal, and developed in places to which
some of our license is lost. But it is the only region where
politics as most conceive it has no access. Yet they are
personality is finally possible. For the paradox once more
the foundation of good politics, which in this sense must
emerges: an individual, thinking the best thoughts of
be personal to succeed greatly. Democracy wants mil-
which he is capable, and mastering the human discipline
lions of one-man revolutions, if only because the result
without jealousy for his own rule, becomes more of him-
might be a nation of persons worth organizing. Norman
self than he was before. “Certain men,” wrote Plato in
Foerster has suggested that “the individual, while learn-
one of his letters, “ought to surpass other men more than
ing to live wisely, becomes progressively more fit to be
the other men surpass children.” If that is a definition
lived with.”3 He supports the remarks with a line from
of aristocracy, the definition of democracy would be a
Aeschylus: “The wise have much in common with one
condition in which all men surpass themselves, putting
another.” The only common good is that which is com-
behind them childish things.
mon to good men.
Democracy when it is secure will not deny its infe-
The powers of the person are what education wishes
riority to persons. The superiority of its persons is its
to perfect. To aim at anything less is to belittle men;
only strength. To say as much is to say that democracy
to fasten somewhere on their exterior a crank which
lives dangerously. For humanity is dangerous, and is not
accident or tyrants can twist to set machinery going. The
to be controlled by committees of men. But the danger
person is not machinery which others can run. His mind
from its freedom—from a program which asks it what
has its own laws, which are the laws of thought itself. A
it can be rather than tells it what to do—is less than the
congressman recently recommended that American youth
blind risk that is run when the program is to mislead and
be “taught how to think internationally.” It would be still
miseducate it; or, what amounts to the same thing, to
better to teach them how to think. Democracy depends
educate it partially. No risk is as real as that. There is
for its life upon the chance that every man will take all the
danger anyway, as all teachers of pupils and parents of
judgments he can. When he falls short of that he gives
children know. Good teachers, parents, and states, how-
the government another name. He is no longer at home
ever, will prefer the high danger to the low.
in the republic of the mind, where, since thought is free
“The question, ‘What is a good education?’ ” says
and only merit makes one eminent, he is less than a slave.
Mortimer Adler, “can be answered in two ways: either
The state is doubtless superior to the individual on
in terms of what is good for men at any time and place
many counts. But when the question is one of good or
because they are men, or in terms of what is good for men
bad, right or wrong, true or false, democracy must ap-
considered only as members of a particular social or po-
peal to insight, imagination, and judgment; and these
litical order. The best society is the one in which the two
are personal things—things, that is, of man rather than
answers are the same.”4 That best society, doubtless, is
society. By personal, it should be clear, the eccentric
still to exist on earth. But when it completely exists, per-
is not signified. Insight into what? Imagination about
haps at the end of history, its name will be democracy.
what? Judgment concerning what? Not, surely, the acci-
And all of its citizens will be educated persons.
dents of individual belief, but the essentials of the human
situation. The individual, thinking about these, becomes
personal in the grand dimension. The trivial dimension
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#9
is something with which we happen to be more familiar,
but this should not discourage us from using the word,
Compare the major educational recommendations of
which has a long and important history. To be personal
James B. Conant with those advocated by Mark Van
in the trivial dimension means that in politics we culti-
Doren in “Education for All,” assessing their relative
vate little areas of freedom where we can live in isolation
significance for democratic life.
from the wilderness of compulsion. We have secrets; we
lead the buried life. The large area of human freedom is
a better place to breathe in. It is a general area, and in it
4Mortimer Adler is a University of Chicago philosopher, educator, and, most
3Professor Norman Foerster was a humanist professor at the University of Iowa
recently, author of The Paideia Proposal, a humanist educational approach for early in the 20th century.
school-age pupils.
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 248
24/08/12 1:03 PM
Confi rming Pages
National School Reform Chapter 8 249
Developing Your
of terrorism affected the consciousness of American
Professional Vocabulary
schoolchildren or American educational policy?
Explain your view.
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
3. Van Doren argues that “Democracy . . . cannot
important to education.
afford to educate men for citizenship, for efficiency,
or for use.” Throughout this Primary Source
The American High
life-adjustment
Reading, he makes clear that the aims of education
School Today
education
cannot be based on the economic or political needs
of any particular society, even a democracy, but on
community college
provisional freedom
the needs and capacities of individuals as human
containment
Scholastic Aptitude Test
beings. Can a school system actually operate on
such premises? Explain.
Educational Testing
Senator Joseph
Service
McCarthy
4. Show the degree to which modern liberal ideology
and modern psychology were important for Conant’s
GI Bill of Rights
Slums and Suburbs
educational reforms.
John Birch Society
Sputnik
5. In your view, which educational thinker—Conant
or Van Doren—offers an educational vision that is
more likely to serve the needs of all the members
Questions for Discussion
of a diverse society such as ours: male and female,
and Examination
rich and poor, and of African, Asian, European, and
1. This chapter suggests a significant connection
Latino descent, among others?
between standardized testing in schools and what
might be called cold war ideology. What connection
is being suggested, and do you believe this is a valid
association to make? Explain.
Online Resources
2. Children who attended schools in the 1950s and
1960s were acutely aware of the threat of the cold
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
war and news-media warnings of possible Soviet
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
aggression. How does this compare with what
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
students experienced after the terrorist attacks in the
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
United States in September 2001? Has the threat
articles and news feeds.
toz24404_ch08_222-250.indd 249
24/08/12 1:03 PM
This page intentionally left blank
Confi rming Pages
Part Two
Educational Aims
in Contemporary Society
9 Liberty and Literacy Today:
12 Diversity and Equity Today:
Contemporary Perspectives
Defining the Challenge
10 Teaching in a Public Institution:
13 Diversity and Equity Today:
The Professionalization Movement
Meeting the Challenge
11 Differentiated Schooling, Labor
14 School and Society: Teaching and
Market Preparation, and
Teacher Leadership in the 21st
Contemporary School Reform
Century
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 251
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 9
Liberty and Literacy Today Contemporary Perspectives
With Arlette I. Willis, contributing coauthor
Chapter Overview
Chapter 9 is the first chapter in Part 2 and is
absence of critical literacy that would allow most
thus the first chapter to develop Part 1 themes
Americans to develop an alternative to the cor-
in a contemporary context. This chapter revisits
porate liberal perspective. The Primary Source
the themes of liberty and literacy presented in
Reading at the end of the chapter raises ques-
Chapter 2. The contemporary perspective of
tions about literacy, the Internet revolution and
Chapter 9 shows that the term “literacy” identi-
the degree to which this has changed students’
fies more than one concept; that is, the meaning
chances for a literacy that will allow them to
of literacy changes with historical setting and
critically question standing social arrange-
ideological orientation.
ments.
This chapter presents ideological hegemo-
ny theory as an explanation for the general
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 252
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Contemporary textbooks are increasingly
inclusive of multiple cultural practices.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 9 seeks to
4. This chapter should enable students to describe
achieve are these:
and explain how the different perspectives on
literacy—conventional, functional, cultural, and
1. Students should be able to discuss Jefferson’s
critical—potentially serve different social groups
conception of the connection between literacy
and different ideological orientations in con-
and democracy, and to compare it with the
trasting ways.
critical literacy perspective. To what degree are
the methods of critical pedagogy necessary to
5. Students should be able to explain how the
achieve critical literacy?
three different literacy perspectives serve
different educational goals.
2. Students should be able to discuss the basic
tenets of cultural and ideological hegemony
6. Students should be able to explain the importance
theory, and the extent to which that theory is
of media access and consolidation of media
supported by data in this chapter and in their
as it relates to current trends in information
experiences.
technology.
3. Students should be able to discuss whether
7. Students should be able to explain the arguments
contemporary society is marked more by
for and the critiques of the unique yet related
hegemonic than by participatory democratic
construct of cultural literacy.
processes, and to what extent schools serve one
or the other of those ideals.
253
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 253
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
254
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Analytic Framework
Liberty and Literacy in the United States
Political Economy
Ideology
“Military-industrial complex”
Emergence of neoliberalism
War in Iraq and Afghanistan
Social consensus versus
ideological
hegemony
Governmental and economic “elites”
Free marketplace of ideas versus
Two-party system of government
“information
marketplace”
Corporate control of mass media
Democracy and critical literacy
Worst economic recession since
Great Depression
Increasing gap between rich and poor
Rapid growth of digital technology
Schooling
Corporate control of textbooks
Hidden curriculum of schools
Inculcation of social values
Selective omission in the curriculum
Political socialization for passivity
No Child Left Behind
“Market competition” in new schools
and pathways to teaching.
Introduction: Revisiting
social, economic, and political events and thus help them
recognize and protect their interests. Popular literacy was
Literacy
for Jefferson and other classical liberals one of the cor-
nerstones of a free society. Our current condition has left
Chapters 1 through 3 in this text form a particularly use-
educators to ponder the relationship between a local em-
ful foundation for our examination of literacy. Chapter 1
phasis on access to fair education and education policy
begins our reflection on the relationship between educa-
forged by national imperatives. For example, the over-
tion and the development of human reason. We consider
arching federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policies
the legacy of ethnic, racial, and gender exclusion from that
have left us with challenging questions regarding rhetori-
liberal or “freeing” education that, as Aristotle character-
cal and real goals of education. Students and teachers are
ized it, is “worthy of a free man.” We also begin our ex-
facing new strictures regarding the relationship between
amination of property relations, which worked to limit
classroom time spent in search of equal educational goals
access to this education, and the intertwined gender, race,
or spent in search of the pedagogical recipe that will re-
and colonial relations, which served to justify an educa-
sult in more correct answers on standardized tests. Critics
tion for what Rousseau would call “role-playing” rather
such as the National Center for Fair & Open Testing have
than free choices in acquiring the freedoms that Jeffer-
questioned whether this emphasis, which is purported to
son would intone as central to “the pursuit of happiness.”
benchmark success, holding schools accountable for those
Chapter 2 described Thomas Jefferson’s faith in the abil-
traditionally underachieving, has paradoxically deprived
ity of an educated populace to safeguard its liberties. In
those children. They argue that these students are less
particular, Jefferson believed that the skills of reading
likely to learn higher levels of critical and creative think-
and writing would equip people to stay informed about
ing, which are essential for fair access to higher education.
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 254
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 255
One ideal of literacy is that students learn to nego-
“public” education Mann inspired. Our public schools
tiate multiple texts and prepare for democracy and its
tantalize us with the promise of a free, fair, and hu-
communication challenges. Under NCLB and the larger
manizing universal education, while they also taunt us
reform agenda, students most at risk for missing access to
with the vestiges of exclusion, education for “evident
high literacy are subjected to reading programs scripted
and probable destinies,” blind patriotism, and inade-
to be read by teachers. Schools and districts that adopt
quate fair access to the goods of an increasingly crucial
these reading programs are required to sign assurances
credential market, upon which individual economic
that scripts will be followed to the letter. Education critic
opportunity and security are based.
Jonathan Kozol describes a school where one of these
Chapter 4 serves as a springboard for the world of
programs, Success For All, is implemented. Consistent
public education where the promise of literacy for all is
with scripted teaching, educational behaviors are strictly
placed before us in the comprehensive education system
monitored. He writes: “There was, it seemed, a for-
with which we live. We are required to observe compet-
mal name for every cognitive event within this school:
ing definitions of the educated person, where the gravity
‘Authentic Writing,’ ‘Active Listening,’ ‘Accountable of differentiated wage labor and monopoly capitalism Talk.’ The naming systems are allied to a re-Taylorization
bends the light of reason, altering our perception of fair-
of curriculum. Like that earlier effort, these regimes have
ness in the distribution of educational goods.
‘a way of ordering cognition . . . [that] disproportionately
In this chapter we will explore the social construct of
affects low SES and minority schools.’”1
literacy. We will discuss several ways in which this term
Thus, while scripted reading and regimes of order
has been used in educational policy discussions, and fo-
and discipline are prescribed to address the “achieve-
cus on its connection to the basic themes of educational
ment gap” between minority and middle-class students,
promise and real school practice.
research results show few positive effects on achieve-
For example, during the previous national push for
ment. These techniques are more likely to be ap-
“excellence” in education, starting with the Nation at
proaches in which students are only asked to respond
Risk movement in the Reagan administration, great
mechanically, not creatively, nor to bring in their per-
emphasis was placed on international comparisons of
sonal backgrounds and knowledge. Only correct recall
learning and literacy. Currently, when compared to in-
of factual information and accuracy are emphasized.
ternational standards of literacy as defined by the U.S.
In middle-class schools where children come to school
Department of Education, it is children in high poverty
with requisite social capital to meet benchmarks, there
U.S. schools who are left behind. Fourth-graders in U.S.
is still in-district competition for scores, but fewer inter-
public elementary schools with the highest poverty levels
ruptions in teacher autonomy on curriculum.
“score lower on the combined reading literacy scale com-
Meanwhile the USA Patriot Act works to increase sur-
pared to their counterparts in schools with lower poverty
veillance on information outlets and library borrowing
levels,” levels being defined by free and reduced school
for the stated purpose of tracking terrorism. Education
lunch access.2 Under the No Child Left Behind policy,
in the “national interest” may compete with the freedom
supporters, which included conservative Republican
to teach for developing a democratic appraisal of current
President Bush and liberal Democrat Edward Kennedy,
conditions. At stake is the ideal of an edu cation that, again
argue that rigorous statewide assessments will be the im-
as Jefferson cited, enables one to identify and affect con-
petus for change that will work to level the crisis in lit-
ditions that either “secure or endanger” one’s freedom.
eracy and education. This movement has continued and
At the same time, Jefferson’s view of literacy reveals
even accelerated under President Obama and his “Race
serious limitations in his social and political thought. Like
to the Top” theme in national policy. However, critics
his contemporaries, for example, he limited non-Whites’
have charged that it is just those children traditionally
access to literacy. His Bill for the More General Diffusion
left furthest behind that will fare worst in the current ef-
of Knowledge provided for literacy for White children but
fort to benchmark success with a standardized test.
not for children of African American or Native American
The issue of literacy, when reflectively considered,
descent. Jefferson’s classical liberal assumptions about
tells us a great deal about school and society in the
the inherent superiority of Whites undergirded his views
United States today. This chapter focuses on literacy as
about literacy and political participation .
a way to illuminate the relationships between school-
Chapter 3 sends us in search of the foundations of
ing, political economy, and ideology in contemporary
freedom and exclusion, which continue to trouble the
culture. First, as a fundamental objective of education,
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 255
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
256
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
the study of literacy helps us understand particular fea-
unanswered fundamental questions about someone’s
tures of schooling, for example, how schools serve some
ability to read and write. It really isn’t clear how much lit-
groups in society more successfully than others. Second,
eracy existed in the Jeffersonian and common-school eras
because literacy is affected not only by schools, but also
discussed in Part 1. Further, these studies of crude litera-
by social processes and institutions outside the schools,
cy, known as signature literacy, have led some researchers
the study of literacy illuminates important details of the
to conclude that the literacy rate of White males exceed-
political economy of today’s society. Social context must
ed that of White females and was nearly universal in New
always be examined in judging the successes and failures
England and the Middle Atlantic and southern regions in
of schools. Finally, the study of literacy helps us recog-
the 1800s. The self-reports of adults to the U.S. Census
nize the competing ideologies within our society. Differ-
Bureau in 1850, however, indicate that White male and
ent opinions prevail regarding why literacy is important,
female signature rates were nearly equal.3
and these different views often are grounded in differing
Still, some things do seem clear about literacy in
ideological perspectives. For example, recent growth of
the last two centuries, and they are instructive. It ap-
neoliberal ideology has been a challenge to the idea of
pears certain, for example, that people from upper social
free public education. It has been successful partly be-
classes were more literate than those from lower social
cause it has reconstituted the notion of positive freedom
classes. Wealthier people had access to more forms of
by reinvigorating the classical liberal ideology of laissez-
education—including schools, tutoring, and parental
faire, negative freedom (freedom from government inter-
instruction—than did poorer people. Gender, too, was
ference), and privileged property rights as against rights
an obstacle to literacy. Because formal schooling and
to public goods, like public education. Yet neoliberalism
participation in public and commercial life were con-
is a redefinition of rights. For example, the “privatiza-
sidered important primarily for men, women of the last
tion” of schooling refers not to a return of private fee
two centuries had lower literacy rates than men.4 Ironi-
schooling to replace public school. Rather it argues that
cally, however, mothers and women in “dame schools”
private groups should have access to public funds and
provided the earliest literacy instruction that most chil-
licensure to run public schools. These arrangements also
dren received.
privilege parents with the “social capital”—educational
Racism also affected the chances of acquiring literacy.
background, discretionary time, transportation options,
Before the Civil War, in most southern states it was il-
and so on. For the neoconservatives this is a recaptured
legal for a slave to learn to read and write, because it was
“freedom” to choose. For the critic of these changes it
widely believed that a literate slave would not be an obe-
further restricts access to educational capital by those
dient slave. Despite such laws, many African Americans
whose needs are the greatest.
learned by individual or group efforts to acquire literacy,
including secret lessons held in privately funded schools
housed in churches. In addition, schools were established
A Brief Historical Perspective
for African Americans as early as 1770 in Phila delphia,
1787 in New York, and 1792 in Baltimore. Nonethe-
Literacy often refers to general reading and writing skills.
less, it is estimated that in 1865, 90 percent of African
One way the concept of literacy is used, then, is to de-
Americans, slave or free, were illiterate.5 After emanci-
scribe rates of reading and writing ability. This is difficult
pation, political and economic discrimination together
to quantify and may lead to differing conclusions. It is
with educational segregation created new obstacles to
difficult to compare literacy rates in contemporary soci-
literacy among the Black population.
ety with literacy rates in earlier times. First of all, there is
We saw how two prominent Black leaders, Booker
lack of agreement about how to define literacy. Second,
T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, differed regarding
in the 18th and 19th centuries there were no widespread,
the purposes of literacy. For Du Bois, liberal education and
systematic studies of literacy such as exist today. Avail-
preparation for higher education were desirable goals for
able studies of early American literacy are generally based
students, some of whom (his talented tenth) would move
on the ability of individuals to sign their names on legal
into leadership roles. Washington, rather, saw African
documents such as wills. By that standard, illiteracy was
Americans best prepared with vocational studies, on a long
near zero for males in some New England communities
developmental road to eventual leadership and power.
by 1800, and it is near zero throughout the country to-
Native Americans offer a special case worthy of men-
day. The ability to produce a signature, however, leaves
tion. Many Native American nations resisted White value s,
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 256
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 257
customs, and ways. However, members of the Cherokee
It can be redefined in context and evaluated accord-
nation sought to emulate Whites by adapting themselves
ing to criteria that reflect access to freedom. Simply,
to White ways. They formed a governing body, schools,
if as a society we value choices, do we equally value
and a newspaper and owned African slaves. Chief Sequoya
fair access to the information-gathering skills and in-
developed a syllabary for the Cherokee language. Many
formation sources that makes choice meaningful? Past
people were taught to read, and children attended schools
and present literacy rates are not only affected by dif-
where they learned to read and write Cherokee. On
ferences in social class, race, gender, and region; they
February 21, 1828, their first newspaper, The Cherokee
are also closely tied to social need. To be illiterate in
Phoenix, written in Cherokee and English, was published.
today’s culture is to be significantly handicapped in the
Like Whites, the Cherokee viewed their newspaper as a
conduct of everyday affairs, to be so regarded and to
source of information about events important to them.6
be relegated to the “margins” of mainstream life. This
Literacy rates also varied by region in 18th- and 19th-
was not as true in earlier centuries, when the everyday
century America. New England, with its more urban
requirements for literacy were less demanding. In that
demography and commercial base, tended to empha-
predominantly agrarian society, literacy was not so es-
size schooling and literacy more than did the South,
sential to employment and the conduct of daily affairs.
which was more rural and almost feudal in its social
In fact, an illiterate person could be a respected and pro-
order. With fewer schools, inhabitants of the western
ductive member of the rural community.8 Most people
frontier were also less literate in general than people of
could not vote anyway, for example, and thus were
the Northeast. It should be remembered, however, that
not in that way disadvantaged by illiteracy. Although
many pre-20th-century Americans learned to read and
Jefferson and others considered literacy necessary to the
write outside of schools, especially at home.
conduct of republican government, it is important to
Local community ordinances, however, could make
note that in 1800 women, people of African descent,
school ing a public, not simply a personal, issue. The
and Native Americans had no voice in government, and
Massachusetts Education Act of 1789 allowed for
only a small minority consisting of White, male prop-
the equal education of males and females. In addition,
erty owners was eligible to vote. Nor did religious life
the law did not prevent the use of public funds to educate
depend absolutely on literacy. Bible reading was con-
African Americans. Historian Stanley Schultz reports
sidered essential in Protestant culture and was therefore
that in Boston at the beginning of the 19th century, few
an inducement to literacy, but people could participate
African American children attended school. Schultz at-
in religious life without reading. Thus being illiterate
tributed the low attendance patterns to poor econom-
in the 18th century and throughout much of the 19th
ic conditions and overt acts of prejudice experienced
did not necessarily mean being handicapped in the pur-
by African American children in schools. In 1798,
suit of well-being and full participation in society. The
African American parents petitioned the school board
socio economic marginality of the illiterate is largely a
for separate schools for their children. The request was
20th-century phenomenon, though the valuing of lit-
initially rejected and later accepted by the school board.
eracy is deeply rooted in Western culture. Nevertheless,
By the 1820s, however, African American parents, frus-
all powerless groups in U.S. history, African, Asian, Na-
trated by the poor quality of teaching in the segregated
tive, and Mexican and their descendants, have desired
schools, began to request that schools be reintegrated.
access to literacy. They have valued literacy and educa-
In 1855, the governor of Massachusetts signed into law
tion. The history of each group in the United States
an act preventing communities from denying access to
reveals that they desired to educate themselves, often
school on the basis of race or religious belief.7
in the hope of economic and social advancement. Par-
ents did not want to see their children experience the
servitude they had endured. Employers, landowners,
Literacy and Power: Literacy
and overseers, however, had limited interest in educat-
ing the children of workers. They wanted to maintain
as a Social Construction
a cheap source of labor and often feared an educated
workforce. Unlike slaveholders who denied African
Literacy can be discussed as a general condition of ac-
slaves any access to literacy, however, most employers
cess and ability to gain information that can be use-
have historically encouraged literacy. Early in the 20th
ful for the pursuit of general freedom and happiness.
century this meant allowing children to be educated up
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 257
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
258
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
to the sixth or eighth grade. The emphasis in schooling
contribution to the pluralist school that dominated po-
was often on the development of a “good” worker and
litical science in this country during the 1950s. Pluralists
on vocational training, as Chapter 4 described.
argued that despite being governed by a very small group
of decision makers, modern societies are consistent with
Ideological Hegemony Theory:
democratic ideals so long as the governing groups repre-
Democracy and the Consolidation of
sent competing political interests and are accountable by
Economic Power9
election to the general population. That this normative
account of democracy described political conditions in
Jefferson believed that popular literacy could ensure
the United States was virtually an article of faith in the
the democratic distribution of power; however, the
pluralist camp, and Who Governs? was intended to pro-
20th century witnessed power flowing into business
vide empirical data to bolster that faith.
and government in ways he could not have foreseen.
It came as some surprise, then, that President Eisen-
Especially since World War II, the complex relation-
hower would warn the nation in 1961 of “the poten-
ship between corporate power and the mass media
tial for the disastrous rise of misplaced power” of a
requires a reexamination of the relations between lib-
“military-industrial complex” under which “public
erty and literacy in the United States today. Here we
policy itself could become the captive of a scien-
examine the sources of information against which in-
tific technological elite.”11 Whereas Dahl’s work
dividuals may test their powers of judgment regarding
strengthened our traditional view of political pow-
political and social arrangements. We also examine a
er, Eisenhower’s speech echoed the leftist critique of
powerful theory of political and social stability that
power C. Wright Mills had advanced five years earli-
challenges our notions of freedom and a “free” mar-
er in The Power Elite. 12 In Mills’s analysis, which the
ketplace of ideas. The public debate that followed the
pluralists took pains to reject, the important power
Iraq war placed a focus on the availability of accurate
in the United States was concentrated in the hands of
information and the role of corporate media compa-
an elitist group made up of those in leadership posi-
nies as stewards of fair, balanced information gather-
tions in government, the military, and the corporate
ing and public dissemination.
establishment. For Mills, this elite was neither open
In 1961, two events revealed contrasting assessments
to competition from other interests nor significantly
of power in the United States: the publication of Robert
accountable to the citizenry. Eisenhower was warn-
Dahl’s Who Governs? and President Dwight Eisenhower’s
ing the nation, in effect, that Mills was closer to the
farewell address to the nation.10 Dahl’s book was a major
truth than the pluralists cared to admit.
Some forms of literacy, such as the ability to create and interpret youth graffiti, are not highly valued by the dominant culture.
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 258
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 259
To what degree is the exercise of power in contempo-
corporations account for roughly 60 percent of all corpo-
rary society “open”? In Who’s Running America? first pub-
rate revenues and all corporate assets. The latest available
lished in 1976 and then revised during each subsequent
Census data show that there were 6 million firms with
presidential administration through George W. Bush,
employees in 2007. For example, in 1996 over 75 per-
Thomas Dye agreed with Mills that power resides not pri-
cent of the nation’s industrial assets were concentrated in
marily in individuals but in institutions.13 Dye’s approach
100 corporations. In 1950 that percentage was 39.8. The
provided a concrete look at the most powerful positions in
positions in Dye’s list control over half the nation’s in-
three major sectors of American society: corporate, public
dustrial assets; over half the utilities, banking, and trans-
interest, and government. By identifying the most power-
portation assets; over two-thirds of the nation’s insurance
ful positions in each of the top 100 industrial corporations;
assets; over half the endowed assets in the nation’s private
the top 50 utilities, communications, and transportation
colleges and universities; one-third of the nation’s daily
companies; the top 50 banks; the top 50 insurance com-
newspaper circulation; and over nine-tenths of broadcast
panies; and the top 15 investment firms, Dye found that
news. In addition, these positions dominate the legal
4,325 positions carry extraordinary influence in the cor-
field and investments and securities, all the major stand-
porate sector. In the public interest sector, he identified
ing committees in the House and Senate, the Supreme
2,705 positions in the mass media, in education, in phil-
Court, and the four branches of the military. These are
anthropic foundations, in the most prestigious law firms,
the positions occupied by those whom Mills called “the
and in civic and cultural organizations. In the government
power elite” and whom Prewitt and Stone have more re-
sector, Dye identified the most influential committee posi-
cently called “the ruling elite.”
tions in Congress, the most powerful positions in the leg-
In Power and Powerlessness, John Gaventa found that
islative and executive branches, and the key positions in the
his efforts to study the power relations in an Appalachian
military for a total of 284 government positions. The total
community required asking “not why rebellion occurs in
from these three sectors is 7,314 positions that, accord-
a ‘democracy’ but why, in the face of massive inequali-
ing to Dye, wield the major decision-making power in the
ties, it does not.”14 It is tempting to ask similarly of U.S.
most influential institutions in political and economic life.
society in general: If power relations are as undemocratic
The influence of these institutions and of those
as elite theorists describe, why do citizens not only ac-
who run them is remarkable. In Dye’s account, 100
cept it, but also continue to think of the social order as
Social analysts have warned of an undemocratic power elite that
controls major institutions in this country.
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 259
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
260
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
democratic? Answering this question raises issues that are
1. Institutional elites who share common economic
fundamentally educational in character.
and political interests control the dominant political
If the concentration of power has been accurately por-
and economic institutions of the United States.
trayed by elite theorists, what are the educational conse-
quences? First, it is necessary to miseducate a population in
2. Though they may disagree on particular policies or
important ways for people to perceive a nondemocratic so-
strategies, these institutional elites share a common
ciety as democratic, thereby sustaining unequal power rela-
worldview, or ideology, which reflects and justifies
tions. Second, the processes of participating in such a society
the organization of dominant institutions.
are not as educational as Jefferson, Dewey, and others would
3. Through such institutions as the government, the
have us believe. Each of these points will be treated in turn.
workplace, the school, and the mass media, the
The theory that best contributes to our understanding
general populace is socialized into accepting these
of how society miseducates in order to sustain nondemo-
ruling ideas.
cratic power relations is that of ideological hegemony. The
term “hegemony” refers to unequal power relationships
4. Although ruling ideas do not reflect the experience
between two or more cultures, ideologies, socioeconomic
of all social classes, they serve to limit discussion
groups, and so on. Since there is no single, definitive ac-
and debate, prevent the formation of alternative
count of ideological hegemony theory, it is regarded as
social explanations, and promote a general accep-
one of the most suspect collections of concepts in the
tance of the status quo.
social sciences. Some formulations are better than oth-
It is not possible to document all the ways in which
ers, however, and the intent of this section is to provide
various social institutions structure experience to legiti-
a coherent account of the available literature. T. Jackson
mize the dominant ideology, but we can examine two
Lears’s essay on cultural hegemony is an exemplary dis-
institutions that have particularly concerned hegemony
cussion, and parts of our account rely on his treatment.15
theorists: the popular media and the schools. These two
The first thing to note about hegemony theory is that,
institutions are particularly important to hegemony
like all theories, it is an effort to explain selected facts. These
theorists because they explicitly communicate ideologi-
general facts appear to be most relevant in contemporary
cal perspectives to the general population. It is valuable
society: The United States is made up of many individuals
in this regard to recall Jefferson’s high regard for both
and groups with different and often conflicting interests;
newspapers and schools as pillars of a democratic society.
the social order benefits some groups far more than others
Jefferson’s faith in a free marketplace of ideas led him
in terms of health, wealth, access to positions of power, and
to claim that newspapers were even more important to
freedom to pursue personal interests. Despite conflicting
democracy than government was. Cultural hegemony
interests and differing benefits, U.S. society is a very orderly
theorists argue that we now have reason to doubt the ef-
one, with stable economic, government, and social institu-
fectiveness of both the news media and the schools in
tions and a class structure that did not change apprecia-
preserving democratic understandings and lifestyles.
bly throughout the 20th century. This stable social order
is maintained not at gunpoint or through threat of force
but through the cooperation of its citizenry. Hegemony
Mass Media and Ideological Hegemony
theorists seek to explain the basis of this cooperation as the
foundation of the social world itself.
Jefferson’s concepts of the free marketplace of ideas and
A first attempt to explain hegemonic social order
the power of human reason both depend on adequate ac-
might be expressed this way: A small minority of U.S.
cess to ideas and information. The steady consolidation of
citizens control the political and economic institutions
media sources is a challenge to this notion. The Internet
that shape the civic beliefs, values, and behavior of most
offers an important but complex counterweight to this.
of the population. In contrast to traditional democratic
For example, now the best, most current information on
theory, which holds that the social order is based on
media consolidation was in book form. At the time of
public consensus, ideological hegemony theory argues
this writing, the most current and widest and deepest
that the social, political, and economic institutions of
source is the website by Anup Shah (www.globalissues.org/
this society serve a relatively small group at the expense
humanrights/media/corporations/owners.asp).16
of the majority of citizens. Hegemony theory can be
There are currently six media companies that control
summarized in four general propositions, each of which
the large majority of information consumables. AOL/
requires further development:
Time Warner is the largest, having completed the largest
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 260
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 261
media merger in history. On January 10, 2000, America
right to a free market of ideas. Thus the very economic
Online and Time Warner announced a merger in a stock
freedom of the market moves in ways to limit freedom
swap valued at $350 billion. The Federal Trade Com-
in the political social marketplace. As another case in
mission supported this merger, and saw no conflict of
point, while NBC, the National Broadcasting Com-
national interest or antitrust issues. Supporters saw noth-
pany, was, until recently, an unconsolidated singular
ing negative. Gerald Levin, chief executive of AOL/Time
media entertainment and news company, it was owned
Warner predicted global media would become the domi-
by industrial giant General Electric. The ninth-largest
nant industry of the 21st century—so powerful that they
corporation in the world, GE revenues are equivalent
might in fact become more powerful than governments.
to the Gross National Product of Norway. If it were a
“So what’s going to be necessary is that we’re going to
national economy it would be larger than 130 coun-
need to have corporations redefined as instruments of
tries.20 For example, GE benefits from its defense con-
public service,” he said, adding, “It’s going to be forced
tracts for profit, how might this have affected balanced
anyhow because when you have a system that is constantly
news coverage of military conflict? A GE website, GE
available everywhere in the world immediately, then the
in the News, reported, just prior to the outbreak of war
old-fashioned regulatory system has to give way.” Robert
in Iraq, “a war in Iraq could clip air traffic, which in
McChesney notes the “massive paradox” that with the ex-
turn would hurt the sale of spare parts by GE’s aircraft-
plosion of information and technology, “sitting atop this
engines unit. Still, the company currently expects aero-
golden web are a handful of media firms—exceeding by
space operating profits to jump by 5% to 10% this
a factor of 10 the size of the largest media firms of just
year, as GE benefits from cost reductions, a growing
15 years earlier.”17 Detractors say that media conglomer-
services segment and military sales.”21
ates must be most carefully regulated to ensure competi-
GE purchased the largest Spanish-language television
tion, because they define, by their production of video,
network and The History Channel, a prime cable net-
audio, publishing, news and entertainment, the free mar-
work source of political and his torical interpretation. Time
ketplace. Here the freedom to pursue property rights, in
magazine, a center-conservative news magazine, is cited as
the form of media holdings, lays in stark contrast to the
the source of an article identifying GE as easily the most
freedom of citizens to pursue the truth from a healthy
globally diversified company in the world, with increas-
variety of sources.18 However, Robert Pitofsky, chair of
ing global market share, and the company most aggressive
the U.S. federal Trade Commission said, “Antitrust is
in increasing profits through “corporate welfare” to en-
more than economics. And I do believe that if you have
able job cuts in the United States. It was an enthusiastic
issues in the newspaper business, in book publishing,
proponent of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade
news generally, entertainment, I think you want to be
Agreement, and, according to its workers’ news outlet,
more careful and thorough in your investigation than if
has aggressively fought labor gains by internationalizing
the very same problems arose in cosmetics, or lumber, or
production.22
coal mining. . . . I mean, if someone monopolizes the cos-
The classical liberal faith in the power of the market
metics field, they’re going to take money out of consum-
cuts two ways in the GE case. Adam Smith would not
ers’ pockets, but the implications for democratic values
flinch when noting the tendency of GE to seek profit
are zero. On the other hand, if they monopolize books,
at the expense of its labor force. It would also tend, by
you’re talking about implications that go way beyond
the same principle, to seek advantage by encouraging
what the wholesale price of books may be.”19
information dissemination consistent with its military,
global, and international interests. At the beginning
of 2007, eight media companies dominated the U.S.
The Paradox of Media
news business: Disney, Time Warner/AOL, Viacom,
GE (NBC), News Corporation, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and
Property Rights and Public
Google. Here the classical liberal notion of free markets,
Information Rights:
which assumes, also, new markets, meets modern lib-
eralism’s and modern capitalism’s radical reduction of
From NBC to GE to Comcast
markets, strangling the diversity of opinion and ideas
that are required for any political economic arrangement
Thus the tendency toward corporate consolidation
to serve the ideal of democracy. We use the GE example
pursued, with government regulatory support, as a lib-
to indicate how the interests of ownership can taint the
eral property right, works to conflict with the citizen’s
process of delivering news.23 In 2010 General Electric
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 261
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
262
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
completed its sale of NBC Universal, which includes all
policy that ultimately relies on the American worker
its media outlets, to media giant Comcast.This creates
to die in foreign battles to protect the interests of capi-
a media behemoth. Comcast is also the nation’s largest
talists. The Great Recession has been in part due to
provider of broadband cable and Internet, controlling
consolidation in financial markets and banking, and
media across distribution platforms.24
the success of those industries to wield great influ-
ence on Congress to weaken regulations that required
their activities to be transparent to the public. Critics
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
also argued that the consolidation of news media and
What are the possible educational responses to the
their alignment with corporate finance also resulted in
paradox of freedom in information markets?
less critical coverage of financial fraud during this pe-
riod. This perspective, which has been developed by a
number of scholars in the United States and abroad,
is typically not made available to the American pub-
Beyond NBC we must examine the information-
lic through the news media.25 News corporations in
shaping power of the corporate consolidated media.
America are, after all, capitalist institutions; their in-
The news media outlets of these corporations report
terests would be threatened if they alienated advertis-
a great many negatives about American society, but
ers who depend on current American foreign policy
these criticisms nearly always stay within clearly ac-
for their profits. Further, many representatives of U.S.
ceptable bounds. For example, even though criticisms
multinational corporations serve as directors of major
often address problems faced by American institu-
U.S. news corporations.
tions, they do not address problems in how those
When Thomas Jefferson argued that daily newspa-
institutions are structured. The media may criticize
pers were so essential to democratic life that he would
how the game is being played, but it never questions
rather see a society without government than a soci-
the rules of the game itself. A few detailed examples
ety without newspapers, he had no way of knowing
can illustrate this point.
that multinational corporations would one day con-
Reports on the domestic economy of the United
trol the public’s exposure to the media, and that the
States often point out unemployment, job layoffs,
independent newspaper would become a species close
welfare cuts, and the flight of corporations to third-
to extinction.
world nations. This is presented as bad news, but the
The most extensive treatment of this relatively recent
American public is given no way of understanding
development is The Media Monopoly, written by Ben
how such bad news is an inevitable outcome of the
H. Bagdikian, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and
structure of corporate capitalism itself. A structural
professor of journalism at the University of California,
critique would examine how unemployment is built
Berkeley. Bagdikian writes:
into our capitalist system and how it benefits capi-
talists by keeping workers in competition with one
At the end of World War II . . . 80 percent of the daily
another for scarce jobs. Such a critique could show
newspapers in the United States were independently
how the interests of corporate owners make it rational
owned, but by 1989 the proportion was reversed, with
for them to sometimes act against the interests of the
80 percent owned by corporate chains. In 1981 twenty
workers, for example, by investing their profits in the
corporations controlled most of the business of the coun-
less expensive workforces of foreign countries rather
try’s 11,000 magazines, but only seven years later that
than in industries that would benefit workers in the
number had shrunk to three corporations.26
United States.
Given our present economic structure, the inter-
Again, for Jefferson, the notion of a “free market-
ests of labor are dependent on the interests of capi-
place of ideas” was predicated on a diverse array of
talists, and the interests of capitalists are best met, as
privately owned newspapers and pamphlets with com-
they themselves proclaim, by developing third-world
petitive points of view. Each citizen would be free
labor markets. Thus, what is represented as our na-
to accept or reject those publications on the basis of
tional interest is largely determined by the interests of
how well his or her own interests were reflected. In a
corporate directors who readily abandon the American
controlled marketplace of ideas, however, such choice
worker for cheap foreign labor and support a foreign
has largely evaporated. Bagdikian notes that “in order
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 262
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 263
to have the power of rejection, the public needs real
free marketplace of ideas. And the news media perhaps
choices and choice is inoperative where there is mo-
make up a smaller part of that picture than do the en-
nopoly, which is the case in 98 percent of the daily
tertainment media. Todd Gitlin is one of several writ-
newspaper business, or market dominance of the few,
ers who have described the ways in which television
which is the case with television and most other mass
programming, apparently designed for entertainment,
media.”27
reinforces rather than questions the dominant ideology.32
In 1930 there were 132 newspapers sold daily per 100
Further, it can be argued that it is not just the mes-
households in the United States. By 1965 the number was
sages on television that affect people’s ability to think
reduced to 111 papers per 100 households, and in 1986 the
about their culture. The technology itself may have an
number had declined to 72.28 Bagdikian reports that
impact on our ability to develop the literacy skills to
the 1982 edition of the World Press Encyclopedia ranked
read deeply and critically. A U.S. government study, for
the United States 20th in papers sold per person, with
example, showed the following:
only 272 daily papers sold per 1,000 population. This
compares, for example, with 572 sold per 1,000 people
Students who watched 3 or fewer hours of television a day
in Sweden, 526 in Japan, 472 in East Germany, and 447
showed higher levels of reading proficiency than those who
watched 6 or more hours each day. In 1994, 57 percent
in Luxembourg, to cite the top four. UNESCO’s 1990
of 4th-graders and 59 percent of 8th-graders watched 3 or
Statistical Yearbook shows that by 1990 the United States
fewer hours daily, while 75 percent of 12th-graders did so.33
had fallen still farther behind the leading nations.29 By
2003, another 150 daily papers had disappeared from the
Bagdikian’s work in 1980 was groundbreaking and
scene in the United States. The percentage of Americans
provides us with a benchmark for his later work.34
who read a daily paper declined from 62 percent in 1990
to 55 percent in 2002.
Communications
In 1983, the men and women who headed the 50 mass
media corporations that dominated American audiences
Technologies: From
could have fit comfortably in a modest hotel ballroom. The
Jefferson’s “Free Marketplace
people heading the 20 dominant newspaper chains prob-
ably would form one conversational cluster to complain
of Ideas” to the “Information
about newsprint prices; 20 magazine moguls in a different
circle denounce postal rates; the broadcast network people
Marketplace”
in another corner, not being in the newspaper or maga-
zine business, exchange indignation about government
Computer technology and the World Wide Web are
radio and television regulations; the book people compete
providing a tantalizing if sometimes troubling platform
in outrage over greed of writers’ agents; and movie people
to look at literacy in this century. On one hand, the
gossip about sexual achievements of their stars.
alternative press and opinion developing in numer-
By 2003, five men controlled all these old media once
ous websites and weblogs (blogs) is one of the main
run by the 50 corporations of 20 years earlier. These five,
owners of additional digital corporations, could fit in a
challenges to the consolidation of media information
generous phone booth. Granted, it would be a tight fit
power. Indeed, Danny Scheckter, executive director of
and it would be filled with some tensions.30
MediaChannel.org, points out the illusion of Internet
diversity. The total number of companies that control
Of course, the pervasiveness of television and the
60 percent of all minutes spent online in the United
Internet has contributed to the decline of newspaper
States dwindled 87 percent, from 110 in March 1999
circulation in the United States, but this is not encour-
to 14 in March 2001. It is functioning strongly in the
aging news. Ownership of television stations, even when
world of opinion and in political campaigning and
cable TV is taken into account, is more concentrated
fundraising. However, the access to this new form of
than ownership of newspapers in part because there
“property” implies new issues regarding the informa-
are so few TV stations in comparison to newspapers.31
tion marketplace and the question of who owns the
There is much more that could be written—and has
means of knowledge production and distribution. In
been written—about the ways in which the commu-
What Will Be: How the New World of Information Will
nications media have institutionalized violations of a
Change Our Lives, Michael Dertouzos writes about the
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 263
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
264
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
future of technology and society in the United States
Given this dramatic growth in the availability of
and the world. In this volume Dertouzos, director of the
computers and the Internet in schools and homes, we
MIT Lab for Computer Science, compares the current
can expect to see many studies being conducted with
information technology revolution with the industrial
titles similar to this one by Ronald D. Owston: “The
revolution in England and the technology revolution
World Wide Web: A Technology to Enhance Teaching
of the early 20th century: “The Industrial Revolution
and Learning?” Owston asks, Does the Web increase ac-
began in England when the steam engine was invented
cess to education? Does it promote improved learning?
in the middle of the eighteenth century. . . . Technical
Does it contain the costs of education? He finds that “a
change had largely stopped by the end of the nineteenth
promising case exists for the Web in all three areas. The
century when a new wave of innovations appeared: the
case is rooted largely in how educators are actually using
internal combustion engine, electricity, synthetic chem-
the Web today.”37 Owston’s study illustrates the great
icals, the automobile. . . . Both revolutions had dark
potential of the Web but also shows that this potential
sides as well as bright.” The author goes on to assert
is not always tapped.
that the current “Information Revolution will trigger a
similarly sweeping transformation,” which he calls “the
The Rise of Social Media
Information Marketplace.” In 1980 he wrote this about
the information marketplace:
Social media are a developing hybrid of technologies,
By Information Marketplace I mean the collection of
including Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, micro-
people, computers, communications, software, and ser-
blogging, wikis, podcasts, and instant text messaging.
vices that will be engaged in the intraorganizational and
Social media are distinct from industrial or traditional
interpersonal information transactions of the future.
media, such as newspapers, television, and film. They
These transactions will involve the processing and com-
are relatively inexpensive and accessible to enable any-
munication of information under the same economic mo-
one to write, publish and access information. Our dis-
tives that drive today’s traditional marketplace for material
cussion of media consolidation has focused on corporate
goods and services. The Information Marketplace already
exists in embryonic form. Expect it to grow at a rapid rate
industrial media, which generally require significant re-
and to affect us as importantly as have the products and
sources to publish information. By contrast, these media
processes of the industrial revolution.35
are characterized by diffusion and personalized control
of information, with links to the hyperexpanding world
In addition to the growth of the use of computers
of the Internet. Beyond but including this social con-
and the Internet in society in general, concerns about
tent media such as YouTube and Facebook have created
access and the “digital divide” continue. According to
alternative spaces for information sharing. The radical
2005 and 2010 reports from the National Center for
redistribution of information is still a question of plat-
Education Statistics (NCES):
form consolidation, with increasing monopolization of
• 81 (2005) and 92 percent (2010) percent of high
the Internet search power. The promise of social media
school sophomores who were White non-Hispanic
as a means toward an expanded and democratized mar-
and 83 percent of Asian American sophomores
ketplace of ideas is real. However, the following ongoing
used a personal computer at home at least once a
issues remain: information surveillance, private access to
week, but only 56 (2005) and 82% (2010) percent
and secret use of public posts, governments employing
of African American and Hispanic sophomores
censorship and surveillance.
did so.
Educators have begun to work with such media as
a way of involving students more fully in the world of
• 53.7 percent of low-income high school sophomores
ideas, academic studies, and news. While great progress
reported using a computer at least once a week at
has been made, however, one issue has emerged that is
home, while 88 percent of high-income sophomores
central to the media explosion, monopolization of stu-
did so.
dent attention, not with one idea or corporate media
• By 2003, 99 to 100 percent of schools in urban and
message, but with the media themselves. Social network-
rural environments alike were connected to the In-
ing via Facebook is the main source of communication
ternet, but student access to school computers varied
for college students. Social bullying and isolation have
with family income across all grade levels.36
emerged as a problem. With social networking and
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 264
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 265
Internet-mediated knowledge production multiplying
influence of capitalism on the market economies of the
exponentially, some worry that the rise in immediacy
world:
will be paid for in a loss of social memory. Earlier media
With the productivity gains made possible by all the in-
connections in a print world constituted a special kind
formation and information tools at their disposal, the
of record that demanded attention and a logical focus
rich nations and rich people of the world will improve
from topic to topic and event to event. Hyperinforma-
and expand their economic goods and services, thereby
tion has attracted the attention of critics who claim that
getting richer. As they get richer they will leverage the
social media in fact create an illusion of interpersonal
Information Marketplace even further, thereby experi-
connection, monopolizing time during which interper-
encing exponentially escalating economic growth. The
sonal relationships might otherwise develop. Some argue
poor nations and poor people, by contrast, can’t even get
deterioration of language, writing and conversational
started. . . . The painful conclusion is that, left to its own
skills. Still others talk about the addictions to social me-
devices, the Information Marketplace will increase the gap
dia that particularly affect the young during which the
between rich and poor countries and between rich and poor
people. 38
opportunity to develop socially and emotionally and in-
tellectually is lost, perhaps permanently. Social media are
Later, Dertouzos argues: “We must help ensure that
a new challenge to our models of literacy and democracy.
with respect to this critical gap the Information Market-
They have been a real presence in movements for change
place is not ‘left to its own devices.’ ” This resolution,
in the Arab world in the past several years, and in the
however, is far from easy to attain. If public or govern-
mobilization of citizens, the power of monopoly finance
mental intervention is being advocated, the specter of
in the Great Recession and foreclosure crises, and the
Orwell’s Big Brother is immediately raised: Do we want
“Occupy” movement. While you are reading this, some
a strong central government to control powerful infor-
of your classmates are attending deeply to a world that
mation technologies? If the government does not play a
is both intimate to their private world and connected to
role, however, is it not inevitable that the haves will move
the most public of social spaces. Where this heads will be
further ahead of the have-nots in information, power, and
a part of your educational journey and legacy.
wealth?
Recall Dertouzos’s claim that each revolution in tech-
Dertouzos recognizes that the political economy of
nology has a bright and a dark side and notice that in the
capitalism will play a major role in the nature and dis-
data presented earlier, it is clear that some segments of
tribution of technology resources. He writes that market
society—those with greater economic resources—have
forces will coerce national policies in some directions and
greater access to new technologies in homes and schools.
not others:
Dertouzos believes this is a matter of great concern, giv-
Already, the world is moving with giant strides in the
en the political economy of the United States and the
quest for massive economic growth. The Information
Marketplace is a central factor in this growth and can even
be regarded as the largest potential market in the world. A
George Orwell wrote in the dystopian novel 1984 of a world in
nation that seeks economic growth in the global economy
which technology would be used to control citizens, not
liberate them.
has no choice but to join in. Most of the control over the
machinery of the Information Marketplace will be exerted
by the industrially wealthy nations, which are democratic
nations as well. . . . By its very definition, this control
distributed in the hands of the bulk of the people who
will use the Information Marketplace runs counter to cen-
tralized control by Big Brother. . . . [N]o self-respecting
dictator would want it.39
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
Examine textbooks used in your classes. Using library
sources, find examples of inclusion or exclusion that
bear out the ideological hegemony thesis.
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 265
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
266
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
At the same time that our system of capitalist democ-
Antonio Gramsci, an important ideological hegemony
racy and its founders are praised, a number of important
theorist, argued this position some 50 years ago, saying
details of American social history are selectively omitted.
that the working person in a capitalist society tends to
One of these is the role of conflict in producing progres-
be paralyzed into passivity and inactivity by this ba-
sive social change. Jean Anyon’s study of high school
sic contradiction between democratic political rheto-
social studies texts reveals that positive social changes
ric and the daily experience of nondemocratic forms
in civil rights, the resolution of the Vietnam War, labor
of life.42 Gramsci’s account perhaps goes a long way
unions, and the women’s movement are presented as tri-
toward answering Gaventa’s question cited earlier: “not
umphs of the legal system and of processes of discussion
why rebellion occurs in a ‘democracy’ but why, in the
and bargaining. The role of disruptive protests that often
face of massive inequalities, it does not.”
involved violent repression by the police and military is
If correct, the hegemony theorists’ analysis has
ignored. The message explicitly communicated in these
many implications for education, two of which are
texts is that consensus rather than power or conflict is
fundamental. First, it appears that society is educating
what makes history and leads to progress. The effective-
in deeply contradictory ways. On the one hand, citi-
ness of protest and militant collective action is selectively
zens are taught in the schools and through the media
omitted.
that they live in a democratic society. On the other
A related example is omission from history texts
hand, they are taught through daily experience not to
of the success of the Socialist party early in the 20th
expect participation in fundamental decisions affect-
century. If portrayed at all, it is most often portrayed
ing their lives. Finally, they are not educated by either
negatively, as an insignificant movement on the part of
school or society to examine and question such contra-
an irresponsible few.40
dictions between rhetoric and reality. Instead, citizens
As Michael Apple points out, a fundamental linkage
learn from an early age to tolerate the contradictions
exists between the overt and implicit messages in school
if they see them at all. It requires nothing less than in-
texts and the economics of textbook publishing itself.
doctrination to convince people in a hegemonic, non-
Some states regulate the political content of their texts,
democratic society that democracy is working well.
and publishers cannot afford to ignore those guidelines
If the hegemonic theorists are correct in arguing that
if they want to sell books.41
American education contains a stiff dose of indoctrina-
Just as schools strengthen the prevailing ideologi-
tion, we should not be surprised that the most literate
cal hegemony through both their processes and their
classes are the most convinced.43
academic content, so society as a whole strengthens the
Second, hegemony theory points out a more subtle
prevailing ideological hegemony through the decision-
form of popular miseducation, which Peter Bachrach
making processes of most workplaces and through the
contrasts to the “developmental” view of democracy.44
ideology that underlies and controls the media. The
This view holds that democratic forms of life place upon
decision-making processes of the great majority of
citizens demands that are themselves uniquely educa-
workplaces, for example, are characterized by authori-
tive. As Jefferson believed in the 18th century and John
tarian, hierarchical structures in which workers do not
Dewey in the 20th, there is no democratic justification
participate in major decisions that affect their work-
for a ruling class that monopolizes decision making, no
ing lives. On the one hand, this hierarchy is legitimized
matter what its credentials and expertise. A democracy
by claims of talent and training on the part of supe-
stripped of significant, systematic participation by people
riors and by the need for efficiency in decision mak-
in the fundamental decisions affecting their lives is not
ing. On the other hand, the resulting forms of work
a democracy at all, and it therefore fails to educate the
life are decidedly nondemocratic. This nonparticipa-
populace through political participation. Democratic de-
tory experience in the workplace contrasts markedly
cision makers continue to learn about the world around
with the prevailing political rhetoric that U.S. society is
them in order to make their decisions; they learn from
democratic. This conflict between the nondemocratic
the consequences of their decisions and go on. Those who
relations of daily experience and the culture’s procla-
do not participate in the decision-making process are not
mations of democracy is rarely analyzed and evaluated
required to learn, and if hegemony theorists are correct,
in popular discourse. Instead, people live with the con-
the already large educational gap between the powerful
tradictions, generally not recognizing them as such.
and the powerless grows greater.
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 266
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 267
Historical Context
Significant Events
In Part 2 of this text, significant events of the last 40 years of U.S. social and educational history, from the 1970s through 2008, are listed in each chapter. As in Part 1, these events are illustrative; you might have chosen different ones if you were constructing such a timeline.
1960s
1960
Six years after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision against school segregation, the modern “sit-in”
movement begins when four Black students from North Carolina A&T College sit at a “Whites-only” Woolworth’s lunch counter and refuse to leave when denied service
1962
Students for a Democratic Society formed at Port Huron, Michigan
1962
The Supreme Court orders the University of Mississippi to admit James H. Meredith; Ross Barnett, governor of Mississippi, tries unsuccessfully to block Meredith’s admission
1962
Supreme Court upholds ban on public school prayer
1963
More than 200,000 marchers from all over the United States stage the largest protest demonstration in the history of Washington, DC; the “March on Washington” procession moves from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial; Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King delivers “I Have a Dream” speech
1964
Student Mario Savio leads Free Speech Movement at University of California at Berkeley 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed
1966
Former teacher Margaret C. McNamara founds Reading is FUNdamental (RIF)
1968
Bilingual Education Act passed
1969
Theodore Roszak publishes The Making of a Counter Culture
1969
250,000 antiwar protesters (the largest antiwar demonstration ever) march on Washington, DC, calling for the United States to leave Vietnam
1969
The Stonewall rebellion in New York City marks the beginning of the gay rights movement 1970s
1970
A subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives holds hearings on sex discrimination in
education, the first in U.S. history
1972
Title IX Educational Amendment passed, outlawing sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal financial assistance
1973
Native Americans defy federal authority at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
1975
Congress passes Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142)
1979
Moral Majority is founded, forming a new coalition of conservative and Christian fundamentalist voters in resistance to
“liberal excesses” of 1960s and early 1970s
1980s
1980
Ronald Reagan is elected president, promising to reverse the “liberal trends in government”
1980
Microcomputers begin to appear in U.S. classrooms
1983
A Nation at Risk, a report by the Presidential Commission on Excellence in Education, advocates a “back to basics”
education; becomes the first major document in the current reform movement
1984
Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act continues federal aid for vocational education until 1989
1990s
1992
Americans with Disabilities Act, the most sweeping antidiscrimination legislation since the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, guarantees equal access for people with disabilities
1994
Number of prisoners in state and federal U.S. prisons top 1 million, giving United States the highest incarceration rate in the world
1996
Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act, denying federal recognition to same-sex marriages 1999
Kansas Board of Education votes against testing any Kansas students on science curriculum related to theory and science of evolution (but it would be restored in 2001 by new school board)
1999
Federal Communications Commission loosens restrictions on any one company controlling too much of the cable industry, allowing AT&T to win more than a third of the nation’s TV, phone, and high- speed Internet franchises (continued)
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 267
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
268
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Historical Context (concluded)
2000s
2000
Campaigning on a platform emphasizing ethical character, George W. Bush loses popular vote to Vice President Al Gore but wins the presidency by a 5–4 Supreme Court ruling ending the recount of disputed votes in Florida 2001
Media giants AOL and Time Warner merge, increasing concentration of media ownership 2001
September 11, 2001: Two hijacked commercial airliners destroy the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, marking the worst-ever terrorist attack on American soil; a third hijacked airliner crashes into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, while a fourth crashes into rural Pennsylvania; about 3,000 people are killed 2001
The United States launches a retaliatory attack in Afghanistan against terrorist organization al-Qaeda, and the Office of Homeland Security is created; cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security is created in November of the following year 2001
Congress passes bipartisan USA Patriot Act, intended to assist the war on terrorism by providing new powers to law enforcement agencies; American Civil Liberties Union and other critics claim the act removes or weakens essential checks against government invasion of privacy
2002
The US. House (voting 296–133) and the U.S. Senate (77–23) give President Bush support to use military force against Iraq, which the White House had mistakenly claimed was developing a program of using weapons of mass destruction; by July 2003, the White House acknowledges inaccuracy of intelligence information
2002
Republicans emerge from midterm elections with a new majority in the U.S. Senate and an increased majority in the House of Representatives
2003
U.S. and allies launch war against Iraqi regime and declare victory on May 1; resistance continues, however, and far more U.S. casualties are sustained after May 1 than before; deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is captured December 13
2004
President Bush reelected over Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts; victory attributed to Bush campaign’s success in increasing participation among conservative voters impressed with Bush’s strong stand on terrorism and Iraqi war 2005
Press coverage lags as Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans, LA; delayed federal response raises questions about uneven national commitments to public welfare and race equity
2006
The Chinese government censors activist websites with the tacit approval of Google, the U.S.-based and world’s largest search engine
2007
Subprime mortgage lending triggers extensive mortgage crises and foreclosures in the U.S. housing market 2008
In Iraqi war, U.S. millitary death toll surpasses 4,000 and Iraqi death toll surpasses 1 million 2009
The U.S. Labor Department reports that January 2009 saw 598,000 jobs lost, the highest number since December 1974
General Motors files for bankruptcy and announces it will close 14 plants in the United States 2010
Sept. 16: The percentages of American living below the poverty line ($10,830 for an individual and $22,050 for a family of four) reached a 15-year high, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Over 44 million people, or 14.3 percent of Americans, are considered living in poverty. The United States is experiencing its worst economic period since the Great Depression
2011
The Arab Spring movement begins in Tunisia when demonstrators take to the streets to protest chronic unemployment and police brutality. Occupy Wall Street, an organized protest in New York’s financial district, expands to other cities across the United States, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Occupy Wall Street defines itself as a group of activists who stand against corporate greed, social inequality, and the disproportion between the rich and poor
Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
For the purposes of studying Chapter 9 you might ask of each decade: Which five events from this decade (1970s, 1980s, and so on) have the most direct significance for the issues discussed in this chapter?
Contemporary Perspective
most citizens of the United States have in mind when we
think about ourselves as a highly literate nation. After
on Literacy: Conventional
all, virtually the entire population of this country has at-
Literacy
tended school, where reading and writing are taught in
the earliest grades.
Probably the simplest definition of “conventional” litera-
This is exactly the reasoning employed by the
cy is that which appears in most dictionaries: “the ability
U.S. Bureau of the Census, which found in the 1980
to read and write.” It is this simple form of literacy that
census, for example, that 99.5 percent of U.S. adults
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 268
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 269
are literate.45 The Census Bureau defined literacy as
Functional Literacy
“the ability to read and write a simple message in
any language.” The literacy rate was determined by
Shifting definitions of literacy have helped obscure ac-
asking people what grade level they had completed
curate literacy rates. In the social construction of literacy
in school and, for those who completed fewer than
debate the term “functional literacy” has had perhaps the
five grades, whether they could read. Nearly all the
most discussion. In 1993 the National Center for Edu-
respondents claimed either to have finished the fifth
cation Statistics redefined literacy beyond reading and
grade or to be able to read anyway. Thus the Census
writing, asked participants to complete tasks, defined an
Bureau concluded that only 0.5 percent of the na-
adult as someone 16 years of age or older, and scored
tion’s adults are illiterate.
responses in a range of literacy achievement. The defini-
As linguist Shirley Brice Heath notes, many schol-
tion of literacy used in the survey is illustrative of the
ars and policymakers have challenged the Census
shifting concerns about literacy. In the report, literacy
Bureau’s findings and its simple definition of litera-
was defined as “using printed and written information
cy.46 First, its findings are highly suspect because they
to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to
rely heavily on written questionnaires and telephone
develop one’s knowledge and potential.”47 This report,
interviews. The former method is very ineffective for
the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS), provides
reaching the illiterate, and the latter method ineffec-
useful data on 26,000 adults and will be referred to at
tive for reaching the poor, among whom illiteracy is
several points in this chapter.
most common.
The origin of the term “functional literacy” says some-
More damaging to the Census Bureau’s findings,
thing important about its nature. The term was first used
however, is its definition of literacy. In the view of Heath
by the U.S. Army during World War II to mean “the ca-
and other critics of the conventional literacy perspective,
pability to understand written instructions necessary for
even if people respond that they are able to read and
conducting basic military functions and tasks . . . a fifth-
write—the conventional notion of literacy—the most
grade reading level.” Rather than using a fixed definition
important questions remain unanswered. One unan-
of literacy such as the ability to read and write, the Army
swered question is what the 99.5 percent of U.S. adults
recognized that literacy needed a definition that was ad-
are able to read and write. If, for example, they can
justable to particular contexts. If a recruit could read and
read and write their own names, they can legitimate-
write, but not well enough to function in the context of
ly answer the Census Bureau in the affirmative. This
the written materials provided by the Army, that recruit
standard, after all, was used to judge the literacy rates
was judged functionally illiterate.48
of Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries. But we
Because functional literacy is conceived with respect to
do not know what level of literacy is reflected in the
particular social contexts, being functionally literate may
Census Bureau’s data.
differ greatly in different societies. This makes functional
The conventional literacy perspective does not
literacy difficult to define with precision. The United
focus on the vast differences in literacy that prevail
Nations suggested the following definition in 1971:
among different
population groups in the United
“A person is literate when he has acquired the essential
States. African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans,
knowledge and skills which enable him to engage in all
Native Americans, recent immigrants from Europe
those activities in which literacy is required for effective
and elsewhere, and poor people of all ethnic back-
functioning in his group or community.”49 The Literacy
grounds call attention to the fact that some popula-
Volunteers of America, Inc., also invokes the notion of “ef-
tion groups in our society are much more literate than
fective functioning” in its definition of functional literacy:
others and that these differences greatly influence their
lives. By claiming that virtually everyone in society is
literate, we obscure important questions about levels
Functional literacy relates to the ability of an individual to
use reading, writing, and computational skills in everyday
of literacy among the various groups in our society and
life situations. For example, a functionally illiterate adult
what this means in terms of social benefits and costs.
is unable to fill out an application, read a medicine bottle
In sum, the conventional literacy perspective appears
[or] newspaper, locate a telephone number in a directory,
to emphasize social and educational progress and ob-
use a bus schedule or do quality comparison shopping. In
scure the social and educational inequalities that other
short, when confronted with printed materials, such peo-
conceptions of literacy might reveal.
ple cannot function effectively.50
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 269
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
270
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
One well-known early effort to investigate func-
Limitations of the Functional
tional literacy was conducted in the mid-1970s at the
Literacy Perspective
University of Texas, using an index called the adult
performance level (APL).51 The APL project tested
The value of the functional literacy perspective is that
how well adults could function in 65 tasks requiring
it shows how our society educates (in terms of literacy,
literacy skills in everyday life. From 20 to 60 percent
at least) different social groups to different degrees.
of those tested failed to perform successfully at tasks
There are, however, limits to this approach. As we
such as writing a check that a bank would process,
have seen earlier, despite his own use of the functional
addressing an envelope adequately, figuring the dif-
perspective to illustrate the severe problem of illiteracy
ference in price between a new and a used appliance,
in the United States, Jonathan Kozol argues against the
making change for a purchase, matching personal
term “functional.” He writes, “If there is a single word
qualifications to a written job application, and de-
we would do well to wipe away from the vocabulary
termining whether a paycheck was correct. The APL
of a literate society, it is the invidious modifier ‘func-
researchers concluded that 30 million people are
tional.’ It is a bad word, chosen by technicians but un-
“functionally incompetent” and that another 54 mil-
fortunately accepted without protest by the humanistic
lion “just get by.” Author Jonathan Kozol, in his ac-
scholar and the pedagogic world alike.”54 Kozol’s ba-
claimed book Illiterate America, argues that approxi-
sic objection to the functional literacy perspective is
mately 60 million people cannot read well enough
that it denotes as a goal “the competence to function
to understand the antidote instructions on a bottle
at the lowest levels of mechanical performance” instead
of kitchen lye, the instructions on a federal income
of indicating a more ambitious conception of literacy.
tax return, or the questions on a life insurance form.
Certainly Jefferson did not have only minimum com-
He writes that these 60 million people are “illiterate
petence in mind when he described the connections
in terms of U.S. print media at the present time.”
between literacy and a free society.
In other words, one-third of the adult population
Educator Colin Lankshear and others have added to
was functionally illiterate. The more recent NALS
Kozol’s criticism of the functional literacy perspective. A
findings suggest that Kozol’s figures may somewhat
second limitation on this perspective, according to Lankshear,
overstate functional illiteracy in the nation today but
is its tendency to blame the victims of social inequality for
that 40 to 44 million adults function at the lowest of
illiteracy. The emphasis tends to fall on the personal defi-
the five levels of literacy identified.52
ciency of the illiterate person. Consequently, the concept
Such definitions, although leaving open what it
of functional illiteracy, in practice, tends to initiate illiter-
means to “function effectively,” help raise important
ate people into a powerful series of assumptions.
questions about society and education. For example,
(i) The problem is within me. If I cannot get a job, or the
the functional literacy perspective shows how social
job I want, it’s because of something about me rather than
groups differ in literacy rates, something the conven-
something about the world (such as a shrinking or shifting
tional literacy perspective obscures. The APL study,
labor market, or an economic crisis);
for example, suggested that now, just as in Jefferson’s
(ii) If others do better than I do, that is because they
time, gender affects the chances of being literate: About
are better than I am. If I want to do as well, then I have to
23 percent of women over age 18 were identified as
improve. The “game” or “race” itself is proper, legitimate,
functionally illiterate, compared with 17 percent of
beyond question. I’m just not a sufficiently skilled or com-
men. The more recent NALS data, however, did not
petitive “player”;
confirm these gender differences, except in quantita-
(iii) To get better I will have to have my faults diag-
nosed and be taught how to improve. Others have this
tive literacy activities.53
knowledge. It is not for me to determine the problem or
Perhaps more disturbing were the differences in lit-
the cure.55
eracy among different ethnic groups. The APL study
indicated that 16 percent of White people, 44 percent of
In sum, says Lankshear, the functional literacy
Black peopl e, and 56 percent of Latinos over age 18 were
per s pectiv e leads people to see the illiterate person as
functionally illiterate at that time. Although the illiteracy
someone who must be improved by others. This view,
rate among minority youth is lower than that among
Lankshear argues, is “an initiation into passivity.” It also
adults, it is still scandalous.
implies that the illiterate person need only be trained to
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 270
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 271
the minimum work levels that industry needs. Who does
perspective. The more conservative of the two has become
this benefit most, the learner or industry? Lankshear asks.
known as cultural literacy, while the more radical may be
Under NCLB, educators have witnessed a renewal of
regarded as critical or emancipatory literacy.
curricular “Taylorization.” Mechanical, scripted reading
programs such as Success For All (SFA) and Reading
First (RF) have increasingly deskilled the teaching of
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
reading. Like the methods of Frederick Taylor, as we
What, in your view, does the functional literacy per-
have seen, these programs disproportionately affect stu-
spective contribute to our understanding of the political
dents and teachers in low-SES and minority schools.56
economy of literacy in the United States? If these are
With Reading First we see an intriguing intersec-
valuable contributions, is the functional approach an
tion between literacy, corporate influence peddling,
adequate view of literacy on which to base educational
and consolidation. In a recent case, these two giants of
policy? Explain.
the reading industry, RF and SFA, battled over the cur-
ricular moral high ground. In 2007 a federal inspection
of RF found evidence that program directors steered
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#4
the grant-application process for the $1 billion annual
initiative to ensure that particular reading programs
E. D. Hirsch argues that his conception of cultural
and instructional approaches were widely used and that
literacy preserves the connection between literacy
others were essentially left out.57 Indeed, recent studies
and liberty found in the views of Thomas Jefferson
have shown that while RF increased some functional/
and Martin Luther King, Jr. Do you agree? Explain.
basic reading skills, comprehension, the building block
of advanced literacy, in fact declined.
This limitation of the functional perspective becomes
apparent in popular news articles on illiteracy as a threat
Critical Literacy
to institutions—“The Scourge of Adult Illiteracy,” as
the New York Times put it.58
Critical literacy is a multidisciplinary perspective that re-
Popular news stories warn that illiteracy is so high
focuses us on the issue of knowledge and the distribu-
that soon “there won’t be enough people equipped to
tion of power in educational communities working to
handle complex new technology” and that “these func-
maintain and improve their democratic institutions and
tional illiterates exact a high national price” in terms of
hopes. This is a refocusing on education as nurturing the
the costs of welfare and unemployment compensation.
ability to see what will “secure or endanger” freedom.
Or, as literacy advocate Barbara Bush, mother of Presi-
Those who embrace the critical literacy perspective most
dent George W. Bush, argued, “Most people don’t know
frequently pay respect to the work of Brazilian educator
we spend 6.6 billion dollars a year to keep 750,000 illit-
Paulo Freire, whose 1973 book Pedagogy of the Oppressed
erates in jail. I’m trying to remind people that there’s a
remains the most creative and influential work in critical
direct correlation between crime and illiteracy, between
literacy. Freire explicitly avoids making recommendations
illiteracy and unemployment.”59 These comments em-
for literacy education in the United States but approves of
phasize that functional illiteracy is dysfunctional for so-
the efforts of U.S. educators to do so. In particular, Freire
ciety. It is a “social disease that affects us all,” proclaims
cites the work of Henry Giroux, a professor of curriculum
an advertisement by Gulf & Western Corporation. To
theory who has done a great deal to define the signifi-
help people become functionally literate, from this per-
cance of Freire’s work for schooling in the United States.
spective, is to indicate how they can help institutions
Giroux is so committed to the theoretical importance of
function better. Educator Neil Postman notes in this
Freire’s approach to critical literacy that he writes, “The
connection that “some minimal reading skill is necessary
principles underlying Freire’s pedagogy are essential to
if you are to be a ‘good citizen,’ but ‘good citizen’ here
any radical theory of literacy.” Indeed, other major con-
means one who can follow the instruction of those who
tributors to radical or critical theories of literacy—among
govern him.”60
them Stanley Aronowitz, Jonathan Kozol, and Ira Shor—
Two other perspectives on literacy have been developed
all cite Freire extensively in their work. Freire continued
in an effort to overcome the limitations of the functional
to develop his thinking until his death in 1997.61
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 271
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
272
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
In Theory and Resistance in Education, Henry Giroux
literacy, and cultural literacy—miss the essential value
points out that Freire’s work long ago showed how lit-
of literacy, which is its potential for human liberation.
eracy has the potential not only to liberate people but
This is why critical literacy is sometimes referred to as
to make oppressed people believe that the dominant
emancipatory literacy. Freire and Macedo write:
culture is correct in portraying them as “inferior and re-
In our analysis, literacy becomes a meaningful construct
sponsible for their location in the class structure.” Giroux
to the degree that it is viewed as a set of practices that
continues: “In this case—largely as a result of what it does
functions to either empower or disempower people. In the
not say—literacy produces powerlessness, making people
larger sense, literacy is analyzed according to whether it
voiceless and denying them the tools they need to think
serves as a set of cultural practices that promotes demo-
and act reflectively.”62 These comments illustrate several
cratic and emancipatory change.64
important features of the critical literacy perspective. First,
critical literacy draws attention to power relations in soci-
For critical theorists, the other three forms of literacy
ety by focusing on oppression. Usually this oppression is
examined in this chapter serve primarily to support es-
defined in terms of economic and political discrimination
tablished relations of oppression and thus disempower
on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, or (perhaps most
people rather than empower them.
pervasively) social class.
Second, the critical literacy perspective, unlike the
Critical Literacy Method
other literacy perspectives examined in this chapter,
particularly attends to how knowledge and power are
The first three literacy perspectives are all compatible
interrelated. In modern capitalist society, as in other so-
with the teaching methods most commonly used in U.S.
cieties, what knowledge is of most worth is determined
schools—methods that emphasize learning the skills of
by those who dominate the culture’s institutions. The
reading and writing and learning information about
dominant ideology is dominant because its proponents
U.S. and world culture. The methods for teaching from
are those people who control the social institutions.
a critical literacy perspective, however, are not so famil-
People without such class-defined knowledge, usually
iar. In Education under Siege, Aronowitz and Giroux
the poor and otherwise oppressed, are considered infe-
provide some beginning principles on which a critical
rior to those in the dominant educated class.
literacy pedagogy could be based:
Third, for critical literacy theorists, the basis of lit-
In the first instance, critical literacy would make clear the
eracy is the capacity to think and act reflectively, not the
connection between knowledge and power. It would pre-
ability to read lines on a page. That is, the connection
sent knowledge as a social construction linked to norms
between literacy and liberty is taken so seriously in this
and values, and it would demonstrate modes of critique
perspective that the skill of reading words is considered
that illuminate how, in some cases, knowledge serves very
less significant than the skill of “reading the world,” as
specific economic, political, and social interests. . . . Thus,
Freire says. The point of critical literacy is not reading
critical literacy is linked to notions of self- and social em-
words but understanding the world—and acting to
powerment as well as to the process of democratization.
change the social relations of oppression to relations of
In the most general sense, critical literacy means helping
students, teachers, and others learn how to read the world
liberation. Giroux writes:
and their lives critically and relatedly; it means developing
Literacy, for Freire, is a quality of human consciousness as
a deeper understanding of how knowledge gets produced,
well as the mastery of certain skills. The uniqueness of this
sustained, and legitimated; and most importantly, it points
approach is that it is situated in a critical perspective that
to forms of social action and collective struggle.65
stresses the transformation of relations between the domi-
Exactly what this might mean in terms of specific
nated and the dominant within the boundaries of specific
historical contexts and concrete cultural settings.63
classroom practice is a matter that remains to be worked
out by both theorists and teachers. Helping “students,
Simply put, the critical literacy perspective re-
teachers, and others learn how to read the world criti-
defines literacy as the ability to understand and act
cally” is not something that theorists claim to know ex-
against the social relations of oppression. Because they
actly how to do in the context of the United States, so
lack an account of this combined ability to understand
they look to the achievements of Paulo Freire in Brazil
and to act, argue critical literacy theorists, the other
and elsewhere. Instead of teaching Brazilian peasants
forms of literacy—conventional literacy, functional
the language and cultural information of the educated
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 272
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 273
Critical literacy equips people to form independent judgments about relations of
power and domination.
classes, Freire took as his starting point the experi-
It is important to stress that a critical pedagogy of literacy
ences, understandings, and language of the peasants
and voice must be attentive to the contradictory nature of
themselves. He based his pedagogy on the importance
student experience and voice and therefore establish the
of “dialogue,” in which teacher and students educated
grounds whereby such experience can be interrogated and
one another with respect to their understandings of the
analyzed with respect to both strengths and weaknesses.66
world. The knowledge of the peasants was not regarded
One might legitimately ask of such an approach, “But
as inferior or inadequate but as legitimate learning that
what about reading and writing? Doesn’t critical literacy
could be critically examined for its strengths and weak-
include reading and writing?” E. D. Hirsch wrote an ar-
nesses. In particular, the dialogue took seriously the
ticle citing the high written and “cultural” literacy require-
peasants’ discontent with their conditions at the bot-
ments in the pedagogy of hegemony theorist and critical
tom of the socioeconomic order and sought to develop
theory avatar Antonio Gramsci.67 Indeed, Gramsci argued
an understanding of why those conditions prevailed. In
for a traditional curriculum and against what might have
constructing such an understanding, both teacher and
been termed a “life adjustment” curriculum, as a guard
students developed a greater awareness of the ways in
against an intellectually and politically crippled society.
which inequality and oppression were built into the so-
The most direct answer to this question is yes. The
cial and economic order of Brazilian society—and they
critical literacy perspective does include reading and
began to develop ways to change that order.
writing, but it defines them in important new ways.
In relying on Freire’s theories and practices in Brazil,
Reading and writing are not perceived as a set of skills
Henry Giroux offers the following as an initial step to-
for merely functioning in existing society or as a way
ward a corresponding pedagogy in U.S. schools:
to become “culturally literate” but rather as a means to
understand, express, and change the social relations that
The type of critical pedagogy being proposed here is fun-
favor some people at the expense of others. Giroux,
damentally concerned with student experience; it takes the
Kozol, Shor, and others recognize that those who are
problems and needs of the students themselves as its start-
unable to read and write are easily victimized by a soci-
ing point. This suggests both confirming and legitmating
the knowledge and experience through which students
ety that values reading and writing so highly. But mere
give meaning to their lives. Most obviously, this means
functional literacy drill endangers the stimulation of in-
replacing the authoritative discourse of imposition and
terest and meaning, which may make schooling for mar-
recitation with a voice capable of listening, retelling, and
ginalized children more meaningfully a promise for fair
challenging the very grounds of knowledge and power. . . .
chances to advance their education, and will not in itself
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 273
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
274
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
prevent such victimization. For critical literacy to exist,
in everyday publications, information that “truly literate”
there must be a combination of critical understandings
people must bring to the act of reading. In part, this list
and actions together with the ability to use the language
is intended to serve as an educational checklist: Are we
tools of the dominant culture.
teaching these items in school? If not, says Hirsch, we
are teaching only the mechanics of reading and writing,
Cultural Literacy:
something far short of true literacy in his view.
Arguments for
Cultural Literacy: Whose Interests
High-Status Curriculum
Are Served?
The cultural literacy perspective seems well suited to
Recognizing the limitations of the functional litera-
the educational aims of those who would return to a
cy perspective, scholars such as de Castell, Luke, and
“knowledge-based” curriculum that emphasizes familiarity
MacLennan have called for a conception of literacy that
with the traditional elements of the nation’s dominant cul-
takes into account particular cultural contexts and “the
tural perspectives. These perspectives are largely grounded
broader literacy needs for social and political practice,
in the achievements of White, male, middle-class culture,
as determined by the needs of any truly participatory
as a look at Hirsch’s list in Exhibit 9.1 reveals —and as he
democracy.”68 This is an expansion of the meaning
himself readily admits. Hirsch’s argument for the need to
of literacy cited in national reports, and includes the
employ language and cultural knowledge and understand-
importance of knowledge underlying the decoding
ings in reading and writing suggests that there is one culture,
process used in message decoding and interpretation.
one language, and one set of knowledge and understanding
Perhaps the most prominent and influential effort to
needed for a person to become culturally literate.
describe a conception of literacy consistent with the
Hirsch is by now familiar with the concern of his
cultural context and democratic ideals of U.S. schools
critics: that his list is culturally exclusive and privileges
is E. D. Hirsch, Jr.’s, best-selling 1987 book Cultural
Euro-American language and perspective. His book
Literacy. Hirsch deplores any conception of literacy
with Joseph F. Kett and James Trefil has a response cur-
that reflects only a technical “skills orientation” to read-
riculum for nationalism:
ing. In a related article written for educators, Hirsch
argues that language cannot be disentangled from the cul-
We know from the history of Europe that national schools
tural knowledge and understandings that give language
can achieve high literacy “. . . for everyone in a multicul-
meaning. Thus, “if one believes in literacy, one must
tural population. France did so with a population that, up
also believe in cultural literacy.”69 Hirsch claims that his
to the eighteenth century, spoke at least four different lan-
conception of cultural literacy goes beyond the technical
guages. . . . Viewed in a long historical perspective, it has
reading of functional literacy to embrace the democratic
been the school, not the home, that has been the decisive
factor in achieving mass literacy. . . . When the schools of
ideals of Thomas Jefferson and Martin Luther King, Jr.
a nation fail adequately to transmit the literate national
His critics, of course, disagree.70
language and culture the unity and effectiveness of the na-
Hirsch’s approach could also be described as cultural
tion will necessarily decline.”71
“fluency” with a focus on “acquaintanceship” with a mul-
tiplicity of persons, terms, and concepts, which Hirsch
This idea of transmission of the national language
argues are indispensable to the furnishing of a cultivated
and culture is a conservative approach to education, but
or cultured mind. Critics would argue that disembodied
Hirsch et al. argue that literacy is by its very nature con-
term collections lead away from the stimulation of inter-
servative, because in any culture’s literacy, “Some of its
est and meaning-making that is essential to the develop-
elements do not change at all.”
ment of critical literacy.
Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates,
Hirsch and two colleagues—a historian and a natural
Jr., might be two of the “elitists” Hirsch has in mind,
scientist—compiled a 63-page categorized list of names,
because they would like the conception of cultural liter-
places, events, titles, and other items to illustrate the kinds
acy to be more transformative than conservative. Their
of things with which culturally literate people should be
1997 book The Dictionary of Global Culture attempts to
familiar (see Exhibit 9.1). The list is an effort to reflect
embrace a view different from Hirsch’s. They are trying
unexplained information that writers typically mention
to show that contemporary culture in the United States
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 274
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Exhibit 9.1 Excerpt from 1066 through AIDS
E. D. Hirsch’s Introduction to “What Literate Americans Know”
E. D. Hirsch, Jr., is William R. Kenan Professor of English, Joseph Kett is chair of the Department of History, and James Trefil is professor of physics, all at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. This list is provisional; it is intended to illustrate the character and range of the knowledge literate Americans tend to share. More than 100 consultants reported agreement on over 90 percent of the items listed. But no such compilation can be definitive. Some proposed items were omitted because they seemed to us known by both literate and illiterate persons, too rare, or too transitory. Moreover, different literate Americans have slightly different conceptions of our shared knowledge. We see the list as a changing entity, partly because inappropriate omissions and inclusions are bound to occur in a first attempt. Comments and suggestions are welcome and should be sent to Dr. Hirsch at the Department of English, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22903. Correspondents should bear in mind that we do not seek to create a complete catalog of American knowledge but to establish guideposts that can be of practical use to teachers, students, and all others who need to know our literate culture.
The List*
1066
academic freedom
Adam and Eve
Aeneas
1492
a capella
Adams, John
Aeneid, The (title)
1776
accelerator, particle
Adams, John Quincy
aerobic
1861–1865
accounting
Adaptation
Aeschylus
1914–1918
acculturation
Addams, Jane
Aesop’s fables
1939–1945
AC/DC
Addis Ababa
aesthetics
1984 (title)
Achilles
Adeste Fideles (song)
affirmative action
Aaron, Hank
Achilles’ heel
ad hoc
affluent society
Abandon hope, all ye
acid
ad hominem
Afghanistan
who enter here.
acid rain
adieu
aficionado
abbreviation
acquittal
ad infinitum
AFL-CIO
Aberdeen
acronym
adiós
Africa
abolitionism
acrophobia
Adirondack Mountains
Agamemnon
abominable snowman
Acropolis
adjective
Age cannot wither her,
abortion
Actions speak louder than
Adonis
nor custom stale/Her
Absence makes the heart
words.
adrenal gland
infinite variety.
grow fonder.
act of God
adrenaline (fight or flight)
aggression
absenteeism
actuary
adultery
agnosticism
absolute monarchy
acupuncture
adverb
agreement
absolute zero
A.D.
AEC (Atomic Energy
agribusiness
abstract art
ad absurdum
Commission)
Ahab, Captain
abstract expressionism
adagio
Aegean, the
AIDS
*The portion reprinted here represents about one-sixtieth of the total list.
Source: E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know (New York: Vintage Books, 1988), pp. 146, 152–55.
has multicultural roots and that to know our culture
freedom was deepened by their understanding of the Old
deeply, we should know those diverse origins:
Testament and by their experience of racial slavery.
What we are suggesting, in effect, is that we all par-
[L]argely because of Europe’s involvement in half a mil-
ticipate, albeit from different cultural positions, in a
lennium of trade and of empire, her economy, technol-
global system of culture. That culture is increasingly
ogy, religion, and culture are not the products only of
less dominated by the West, less Eurocentric, if you
“white” people, of Europeans and their descendants out-
like. And so there must be more and more people in
side Europe. Take two entirely different, but representa-
the West, like ourselves, who are both aware of their
tive examples: that the rebirth of European philosophy in
ignorance of many of the “other” traditions and want to
the European Renaissance owed a great deal to the Arab
know more. . . . [W]e have placed some of the achieve-
scholars who had kept alive Greek classical learning during
ments of Western culture alongside those of many other
the European Dark Ages; and the idea of democracy in
cultures and traditions. We have done this in part be-
the United States was refashioned in part out of the con-
cause those juxtapositions enrich our understanding
tributions of African-Americans whose understanding of
and appreciation of the achievements of “our” culture;
275
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 275
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
276
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
in part because we think that in preparing the new gen-
each approach reflects an understanding that cultural
erations for culture that is more global, it is essential for
literacy —in the sense of knowing a little bit about a lot
them to learn about William Shakespeare as they learn
of cultural concepts—is not the same as an ideal of a
about Wole Soyinka from Nigeria, Murasaki Shikibu
well-educated person. As Hirsch et al. say:
from Japan, Rabin dranath Tagore from India.72
Appiah and Gates chose an interesting method. They
We also hope and expect that no one will be willing to stop
contacted scholars from cultures around the world,
with cultural literacy as a final educational aim. Cultural
literacy is a necessary but not sufficient attainment of an
asking
them for their views of the most important
educated person. Cultural literacy is shallow; true educa-
components of their respective cultures—components
tion is deep. But our analysis of reading and learning sug-
so significant that all well-educated people in a global
gests the paradox that broad shallow knowledge is the best
society should know something about them. The first
route to deep knowledge.74
10 entries reveal something about what this method
yielded. The definitions of these terms range from half
Some educators believe that one route to deeper
a column to two columns in length, but the abbreviated
knowledge is implied in the concept of critical literacy,
phrases below will give you some idea of the breadth of
to which we now turn.
the entries.
Surely the cultural literacy perspective is correct in
seeking to go beyond the mechanics of reading and
Abakwa, Sociedad—a secret society of African ex-
writing to a deeper understanding of ourselves and our
traction based in Cuba.
society’s ideals and processes. However, the question
abangan—an Indonesian term referring to a large
remains: Does cultural literacy, as Hirsch advocates it,
Javanese peasant community there.
really embody the best aims of literacy? Advocates of
critical literacy answer with an emphatic no.
‘Abbasid—the second major dynasty of Islamic rul-
ers, or caliphs.
‘Abd al-Nasir, Gamal (Nasser, 1918–1970)—Egyptian
Schooling and Ideological
political leader, one of the Arab world’s greatest 20th-
Hegemony
century leaders.
Achebe, Chinua (1930– )—Nigerian essayist and
A number of researchers have investigated ways in which
novelist, author of Things Fall Apart.
schooling socializes students into an authoritarian and
adab—Arabic term meaning “manners” and
unequal social order that claims allegiance to freedom
“literatur e.”
and equality. So examined, the school can be seen as a
status quo institution that reinforces dominant values
adat—Arabic term for a particular system of cus-
and ideologies and teaches uncritical acceptance of the
toms and legal arrangements.
existing social order. Ideological hegemony theory sug-
Ade, King Sunny (1946– )—Nigerian musician
gests that it is not consent but compliance that is fostered
internationally known for his dance-pop Yoruba
in the schools and that both the organization and the cur-
juju music.
riculum of schools are responsible for this compliance.
Hegemony theory focuses importantly on the con-
adobe—building material made of heavy clay soil,
tent of school curriculum material. Students are social-
sun-dried into bricks.
ized into the existing political–economic system not
Aeschylus (525–456 b.c.e.)—Greek playwright, au-
just by practicing it in schools but by having it por-
thor of oldest extant body of Greek drama, including
trayed in their texts as desirable and legitimate. Texts
Seven Against Thebes and Agamemnon. 73
routinely praise our economic and political system and
routinely criticize other systems. Likewise, texts rarely
In one sense, both dictionaries of cultural literacy
criticize our system. The first kind of political socializa-
share in common the commitment to a notion of lit-
tion is sometimes referred to by hegemony theorists as
eracy that goes beyond the technical skill of decoding sym-
positive inculcation; the second is referred to as selec-
bols into words. Each seeks a deeper understanding of
tive omission. These can be illustrated by statements
ourselves and our culture’s ideals and processes. And
from social studies textbooks.
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 276
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 277
An example of positive inculcation is the praise of the
investigation will necessarily have to consider relations
free market system that routinely appears in social stud-
of power in the wider culture.77
ies textbooks, the corresponding claim that the U.S. free
Teachers can think critically about curriculum and
market economy is democratic, and the delegitimation
textbook use and seek participation in the widening of
of alternative political–economic systems. Such claims
source material selection. They can also intervene pru-
are in some measure misleading: There is no completely
dently yet effectively by encouraging democratic process-
free market economy in the United States, and if there
es in school space use and in student learning activities.
were, it would not necessarily be democratic. Slavery
In the educational reform movement of the 1980s a
and some of the most antidemocratic abuses of immi-
great many different “literacies” were advocated: func-
grants, women, and children occurred in a historical
tional literacy, computer literacy, civic literacy, aesthetic
period when our economy was much less regulated by
literacy, and so on. Each use of the term literacy focuses
government than it now is. Similarly, trumpeting the
on a different realm of learning that its advocates wish to
U.S. political –economic system over the systems of oth-
designate as fundamental to education as the three Rs.
er nations obscures important truths. As Derek Bok has
Using the word literacy seems to accomplish this. As a
shown, citizens of the United States lag behind the citi-
result, the term is often used to mean that which the one
zens of most other industrialized nations in the majority
using it believes should be learned. Thus, the meaning
of measures of quality of life.75
of the term becomes altered in ways that serve different
A critical consciousness, while of primary impor-
social and educational aims.
tance, is not enough; it must be accompanied by
From this perspective, one can see what kind of edu-
reading and writing skills, which have the potential
cation is being promoted by the advocates of each kind
to enhance personal and social liberation. Donaldo
of literacy treated in this chapter. Those who advocate
Macedo writes that the radical educator “will enable
functional literacy want people to function in society’s
students to become literate in their culture as well as
existing social and economic roles; those who promote
in the codes of the dominant classes.” Freire elabo-
cultural literacy want a greater understanding of the es-
rates on this point by using the illustration of Black
tablished culture; those who advocate critical literacy
students in U.S. schools:
focus on empowering people to criticize and change po-
litical and economic oppression. There are no advocates
The successful usage of the students’ cultural universe re-
of conventional literacy as an educational goal because
quires respect and legitimation of students’ discourse, that
it is so minimal. Are all these perspectives on literacy
is, their own linguistic codes, which are different but never
equally good and valuable? Now that we have examined
inferior. . . . In the case of black Americans, for example,
how they fit into different educational orientations, how
educators must respect black English. . . . The legitimation
of black English as an educational tool does not, however,
can we use them?
preclude the need to acquire proficiency in the linguistic
The usefulness of the various perspectives on literacy
code of the dominant group.76
depends on the goal we have in mind. For example, if
we want to provide evidence of the successes of the U.S.
A tension clearly exists here. What balance should
social and educational systems, the conventional literacy
the critical perspective seek between criticism of the
perspective is the most useful and valuable, because it
dominant culture on the one hand and learning its
indicates that illiteracy has been virtually eliminated in
“linguistic code” on the other? Such tension is inher-
the United States. Yet we have seen that this perspec-
ent, from the critical literacy perspective, in learning
tive obscures the way illiteracy and power are distributed
both to “read the world” critically and to “read the
among the various social groups in this country.
word,” which may be uncritical and biased. Without
If our goal is to measure people’s ability to function
the critical reading of the unequal power relations that
at a minimum level within existing social and econom-
structure society, however, literacy does not realize its
ic institutions, the functional literacy perspective will
essential value of liberating the literate—at least in the
seem most valuable. However, we have seen that this
critical literacy perspective. Contemporary curriculum
perspective tends to settle for a minimum-skill view
theorist Cameron McCarthy is among those who ar-
of literacy that does not attend to higher-order think-
gue that teachers can effectively engage students in ex-
ing and that may promote passivity in the learner.
amining how knowledge is produced and sustained in
Further, there is reason to question this view because
U.S. schools and the wider cultures and that such an
it seems to locate the source of illiteracy primarily in
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 277
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
278
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
individuals themselves rather than in the larger social
students’ struggles and nurture their voices and writing
order—a social order that seems systematically to al-
toward developing a critical literacy.
locate illiteracy to some socioeconomic groups but not
The journal Rethinking Schools is an invaluable source
to others.
for teachers looking for models of critical pedagogy. In
Finally, if the goal is to emphasize the relationship
just one issue Hawaiian educator Wayne Au emphasizes
between literacy and empowerment, the critical literacy
how critical teacher practice is possible and desirable.
perspective seems most valuable. It begins with the no-
There the curriculum emphasizes student voices blend-
tion that power is unequally and undemocratically
ing with the stories in curriculum. There the diversity of
distributed in contemporary society; it emphasizes
functional and cultural literacy are incomplete without
that those in power define their knowledge as the most
this blend of democratic practice. He also emphasizes
worthwhile; it recognizes that traditional definitions of
that critical literacy practice is a team sport. Nurturing
literacy serve the interests of those who have the great-
local regional and national networks is a key element in
est wealth and power, not those who have the least;
teacher professional life.79
and it asserts that literacy should help those with the
It is instructive at this point to reflect upon Thomas
least power understand these relationships and act to
Jefferson’s view of the importance of literacy in the
change them. Paulo Freire has long practiced such an
United States (see Chapter 2). Clearly Jefferson thought
approach to literacy in Brazil and elsewhere, but the
literacy was important for the everyday reading and
practice of critical literacy in the United States lags
writing, buying and selling functions that people had
behind the theory.
to do at that time. He also valued literacy for the cul-
We can evaluate the different literacy perspectives,
tural understanding it made possible; he advocated
then, by reference to various goals. It is therefore im-
the teaching of history, for example, in the elementary
portant to choose perspectives carefully. Which one,
grades. And Jefferson was clearly fond of the cultural
for example, is best suited to the interests of inner-city
achievements of civilized humanity; he valued reading
schoolchildren? An inner-city teacher or school that em-
the works considered classics for the pleasure of learning
braces a functional literacy perspective may be largely
and enjoyment of literature.
satisfied if all students can read at the sixth-grade level
But Jefferson was not satisfied with a literacy that
when they graduate from high school, because such stu-
was restricted to everyday functioning and cultural
dents will be able to function in society. But a teacher
appreciation, though he valued those things. He ar-
who embraces cultural literacy might ask, “What un-
gued that literacy was necessary for political power
derstandings do such students have of Western civili-
and freedom and particularly necessary for guarding
zation, of U.S. economic, social, and political institu-
against undemocratic abuses of power. In proclaiming
tions? Enough to participate as citizens and voters or
that “knowledge is power,” Jefferson was recognizing
only enough to choose the best buy at the supermarket?”
a relationship between knowledge and power that the
And a teacher of critical literacy could ask, “And what
critical literacy theorists of today have elaborated on
if students did have such knowledge of historical and
and extended. Unlike the critical theorists, however,
contemporary institutions? Whose interests would such
Jefferson was content to allow members of the
knowledge serve: their own interests in becoming equal
nonmajority culture to be excluded from the benefits
participants in political life or the interest of those who
of literacy and the benefits of power. Nor was he sen-
benefit from leaving political power and participation
sitive to the potential of a genuine cultural pluralism
unequal?” Different perspectives on literacy reflect dif-
that honored the cultures of people of color. Accord-
ferent educational aims.
ing to historian Ronald Takaki, “Jefferson had envi-
Teachers seeking to engage their students in a cur-
sioned . . . a nation of racially homogeneous people
riculum that empowers students in democracy and a
covering the entire continent.”80
pedagogy of human rights are frustrated by the recent
Jefferson recognized that literacy is in part mini-
growth of deskilling and what theorist Michael Apple
mum reading, writing, and computational skills, and he
has termed the conservative “restoration” of property
thought that these skills could be taught to most students
privileges in education.78 Freire wrote an elegant book
in three years of elementary instruction. He did not
that is a signpost toward inclusive democratic literacy.
think, however, that it was enough to employ such skills
Titled Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters to Those Who
mechanically; he did not settle for a conception of learn-
Dare Teach, Freire urges students to identify with their
ing that overlooked the relationship between literacy and
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 278
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 279
liberty. Similarly, both the cultural literacy perspective
to recognize that their teaching is not just about
and the critical literacy perspective claim to preserve an
reading, writing, ‘rithmetic, or calculus, or foreign
indispensable relationship between liberty and literacy,
language. It is also about imparting social and po-
yet they do so in different ways. The cultural literacy
litical values, whether teachers mean to do this or
perspective emphasizes traditions of representative gov-
not. Schools don’t just teach lessons about literacy;
ernment and participation in established institutions.
they teach lessons about how society works, who
The critical literacy perspective asserts that when these
institutions are themselves constituted undemocratically,
succeeds and who does not, and why. And to an
only by developing a critical perspective on power and
important degree, teachers can influence what
knowledge can literacy serve the goal of rejuvenating po-
kinds of social and political messages get delivered
litical and economic liberty for all citizens, not just the
in their classrooms.
privileged classes.
As this chapter illustrates, the literal and politi-
Jefferson believed he had articulated a conception of
cal significance of “literacy” has changed as so-
literacy that, for his own time, was consistent with demo-
ciety has changed. Although one who could read
cratic ideals. There is one question we may ask of each per-
and write a bit was considered literate in Jeffer-
spective on literacy examined in this chapter. To what de-
son’s era, such rudimentary literacy skills do not
gree is it consistent with democratic ideals in our own time
necessarily qualify one as literate in our time. To
and place? It is a question we may rightfully ask of any
some extent, the definition of literacy has changed
educational approach in our society and one that recurs in
with society. The various dimensions of literacy
various forms throughout the remainder of this text.
in contemporary life are coined in such terms as
functional literacy, cultural literacy, and critical
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#5
literacy, all of which differ from the conventional
notion of literacy as the simple ability to read and
What elements in the school community or the wider
community might object to teaching for critical literacy
write. While there is no universal agreement on
in public schools? Why?
the meanings of those coined terms, each points
to a different way in which literacy is embedded
in social contexts. Each reminds us that different
teachers can settle for, or aspire to, different levels
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#6
of literacy for their students—and that teachers can
To what degree do you find the critical literacy per-
communicate different expectations of literacy to
spective consistent with John Dewey’s democratic
different students, whether they intend to or not.
ideal, expressed in Chapter 4, of “the all-around
The concept of functional literacy, for example, is
growth of every member of society”? Explain how
critical literacy theory does or does not serve this
grounded in a view of the degree of literacy that
ideal.
people need to function well or independently in
a world pervaded by the written word. In this re-
spect, functional literacy in one time and place may
differ from functional literacy in another. A question
arises regarding what it is to function well or in-
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
dependently. Are the skills of reading and writing,
OF EDUCATION
however fluently, enough to interpret written text
Early in U.S. history, the primary purpose of schools
well? Or are some kinds of background knowledge
seems to have been to teach children to read, write,
also important in the uses of functional literacy?
and “know their numbers.” But from the very begin-
Such a question lies at the foundation of the notion
ning, schools have also sought to shape the beliefs
of cultural literacy, which proposes that fluent read-
and values of the young, who were expected to ab-
ing and writing skills alone are not adequate for in-
sorb religious or moral or political “truths” as they
terpreting written text. Embedded in all such text are
learned the skills of literacy. Teachers today need
cultural meanings, and the reader’s understanding
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 279
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
280
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Access to computer literacy may well serve to exacerbate the differences between social classes if a
“technology gap” persists in schools.
of those meanings will influence the interpretation
functional or even cultural literacy is a tool that can
of the text. One task of educators, in this view, is not
be used to liberate or to dominate; if literacy is to
just to teach functional literacy skills but to teach
be liberating, people need to be educated to think
the background knowledge necessary to interpret
carefully about power.
written text in its cultural context. Thus, knowledge
The power of functional and cultural literacy to
of history, literature, politics, science, and other di-
assist in dominating a population’s ways of under-
mensions of human experience is necessary to make
standing the world is illustrated by the concept of
sense of written text. As the background knowledge
ideological hegemony, sometimes referred to as
differs so will the reader’s interpretation of the text
cultural hegemony. Consideration of the decision-
differ. As a teacher in any subject, knowing that stu-
making processes of modern capitalist culture sug-
dents bring different backgrounds to class, should
gests that while Jefferson may have been correct
you help the students connect new learning with
that a society cannot be ignorant and free, neither
the necessary background knowledge? Do some
is education a guarantee of freedom. The popular
students need more help with this than others?
press and other news and entertainment media,
Does your philosophy guide you to give different
together with the schools, can inculcate ways of
kinds of help to different students?
thinking and valuing in a population that leave
Advocates of critical literacy argue that any ad-
gross concentrations of economic and political
equate conception of literacy should include a
power in the hands of a very small minority while a
conceptual connection to human liberty. They as-
society proudly proclaims itself as democratic. Nor
sert that it is important for citizens to develop the
is there strong reason to believe at this time that
knowledge, skills, and dispositions to reflect criti-
new communications technologies will seriously
cally on their experiences and the power relations
challenge the concentration of wealth and power
within their daily lives. They further argue that
in the hands of a few.
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 280
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 281
We are left to wonder what Jefferson would
could be sexism, consumerism, glorification of
think of the role today’s schools play in the pro-
violence, desire to win or succeed even if cheat-
cess of developing self-governing citizens. It
ing is necessary, and so on. Good teachers know
would appear that our schools—and the kind of
what social values they stand for, and which they
literacy they develop —play at least some role in
stand against. How can you justify to others the
helping students accept that participatory self-
fostering of values that may seek to resist certain
government is no longer a realistic goal in modern
social norms? In the public schools, a religious
society. Moreover, as Dewey pointed out, schools
position is not an appropriate justification for a
are only one agency of socialization, and there
teacher’s choice of values. How might democratic
are many others in society. Some, like family,
values constitute a basis for your choices of what
peer groups, and the media, may be more pow-
values to embrace, and which to reject, in your
erful than schools at instilling values that you as
classroom? Your philosophy of education should
a teacher might find objectionable: among these
be able to make that clear.
Primary Source Reading
The Future of Reading
“Is Google Making Us Stupid?” That’s the question
Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really
that writer Nicholas Carr posed in a 2008 article in The
Reading?
Atlantic. That same year, the New York Times published
a page one article by Mokoto Rich on the Internet’s ef-
MOTOKO RICH
fects on literacy. We have reproduced that piece for you
here, not because it’s a good example of critical literacy,
BEREA, Ohio—Books are not Nadia Konyk’s thing.
but because it addresses some of the issues raised in
Her mother, hoping to entice her, brings them home
this chapter—and because it challenges the reader to
from the library, but Nadia rarely shows an interest.
raise issues that this article omits.
Instead, like so many other teenagers, Nadia, 15, is ad-
The Mokoto Rich article is a good example of main-
dicted to the Internet. She regularly spends at least six
stream journalism: interesting, informative, and fo-
hours a day in front of the computer here in this suburb
cused on an important issue that confronts all of us:
southwest of Cleveland.
the impact of the Internet on literacy in young people.
A slender, chatty blonde who wears black-framed
But does it go far enough? In reading this piece, ask
plastic glasses, Nadia checks her e-mail and peruses
yourself what concept of literacy lies at the founda-
myyearbook.com, a social networking site, reading
tion of the article: functional literacy, cultural literacy,
messages or posting updates on her mood. She search-
critical literacy, or something else altogether? In your
es for music videos on YouTube and logs onto Gaia
opinion, does this article address the literacy issues
Online, a role-playing site where members fashion al-
that you as an educator are most concerned about in
ternate identities as cutesy cartoon characters. But she
a democratic society? Put differently: The article is in-
spends most of her time on quizilla.com or fanfiction.
teresting and informative, but is it sufficiently critical?
net, reading and commenting on stories written by
How could this article have been more critical, in your
other users and based on books, television shows or
view?
movies.
Her mother, Deborah Konyk, would prefer that
Nadia, who gets A’s and B’s at school, read books for
a change. But at this point, Ms. Konyk said, “I’m just
A version of this article appeared in print on July 27, 2008, on page A1 of the New York edition.
pleased that she reads something anymore.”
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 281
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
282
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Children like Nadia lie at the heart of a passionate
period on one author’s vision. On the Internet, readers
debate about just what it means to read in the digital
skate through cyberspace at will and, in effect, compose
age. The discussion is playing out among educational
their own beginnings, middles and ends.
policy makers and reading experts around the world,
Young people “aren’t as troubled as some of us older
and within groups like the National Council of Teachers
folks are by reading that doesn’t go in a line,” said Rand
of English and the International Reading Association.
J. Spiro, a professor of educational psychology at Michi-
As teenagers’ scores on standardized reading tests
gan State University who is studying reading practices
have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours
on the Internet. “That’s a good thing because the world
spent prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading—
doesn’t go in a line, and the world isn’t organized into
diminishing literacy, wrecking attention spans and de-
separate compartments or chapters.”
stroying a precious common culture that exists only
Some traditionalists warn that digital reading is the
through the reading of books.
intellectual equivalent of empty calories. Often, they ar-
But others say the Internet has created a new kind
gue, writers on the Internet employ a cryptic argot that
of reading, one that schools and society should not dis-
vexes teachers and parents. Zigzagging through a cornu-
count. The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who
copia of words, pictures, video and sounds, they say, dis-
might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watch-
tracts more than strengthens readers. And many youths
ing television, to read and write.
spend most of their time on the Internet playing games
Even accomplished book readers like Zachary Sims, 18,
or sending instant messages, activities that involve mini-
of Old Greenwich, Conn., crave the ability to quickly find
mal reading at best.
different points of view on a subject and converse with oth-
Last fall the National Endowment for the Arts issued
ers online. Some children with dyslexia or other learning
a sobering report linking flat or declining national read-
difficulties, like Hunter Gaudet, 16, of Somers, Conn., have
ing test scores among teenagers with the slump in the
found it far more comfortable to search and read online.
proportion of adolescents who said they read for fun.
At least since the invention of television, critics have
According to Department of Education data cited
warned that electronic media would destroy reading.
in the report, just over a fifth of 17-year-olds said they
What is different now, some literacy experts say, is that
read almost every day for fun in 2004, down from nearly
spending time on the Web, whether it is looking up
a third in 1984. Nineteen percent of 17-year-olds said
something on Google or even britneyspears.org, entails
they never or hardly ever read for fun in 2004, up from
some engagement with text.
9 percent in 1984. (It was unclear whether they thought
of what they did on the Internet as “reading.”)
Setting Expectations
“Whatever the benefits of newer electronic media,”
Dana Gioia, the chairman of the N.E.A., wrote in the
Few who believe in the potential of the Web deny the
report’s introduction, “they provide no measurable sub-
value of books. But they argue that it is unrealistic to
stitute for the intellectual and personal development ini-
expect all children to read To Kill a Mockingbird or Pride
tiated and sustained by frequent reading.”
and Prejudice for fun. And those who prefer staring at a
Children are clearly spending more time on the In-
television or mashing buttons on a game console, they
ternet. In a study of 2,032 representative 8- to 18-year-
say, can still benefit from reading on the Internet. In
olds, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that nearly
fact, some literacy experts say that online reading skills
half used the Internet on a typical day in 2004, up from
will help children fare better when they begin looking
just under a quarter in 1999. The average time these
for digital-age jobs.
children spent online on a typical day rose to one hour
Some Web evangelists say children should be evalu-
and 41 minutes in 2004, from 46 minutes in 1999.
ated for their proficiency on the Internet just as they are
The question of how to value different kinds of read-
tested on their print reading comprehension. Starting
ing is complicated because people read for many rea-
next year, some countries will participate in new inter-
sons. There is the level required of daily life—to follow
national assessments of digital literacy, but the United
the instructions in a manual or to analyze a mortgage
States, for now, will not.
contract. Then there is a more sophisticated level that
Clearly, reading in print and on the Internet are dif-
opens the doors to elite education and professions. And,
ferent. On paper, text has a predetermined beginning,
of course, people read for entertainment, as well as for
middle and end, where readers focus for a sustained
intellectual or emotional rewards.
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 282
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 283
It is perhaps that final purpose that book champi-
life as half cat, half human, on both fanfiction.net and
ons emphasize the most. “Learning is not to be found
quizilla.com.
on a printout,” David McCullough, the Pulitzer
Nadia said she wanted to major in English at col-
Prize–winning biographer, said in a commencement ad-
lege and someday hopes to be published. She does not
dress at Boston College in May. “It’s not on call at the
see a problem with reading few books. “No one’s ever
touch of the finger. Learning is acquired mainly from
said you should read more books to get into college,”
books, and most readily from great books.”
she said.
The simplest argument for why children should read
What’s Best for Nadia?
in their leisure time is that it makes them better read-
ers. According to federal statistics, students who say
Deborah Konyk always believed it was essential for
they read for fun once a day score significantly higher
Nadia and her 8-year-old sister, Yashca, to read books.
on reading tests than those who say they never do.
She regularly read aloud to the girls and took them to
Reading skills are also valued by employers. A 2006
library story hours.
survey by the Conference Board, which conducts re-
“Reading opens up doors to places that you probably
search for business leaders, found that nearly 90 percent
will never get to visit in your lifetime, to cultures, to
of employers rated “reading comprehension” as “very
worlds, to people,” Ms. Konyk said.
important” for workers with bachelor’s degrees. Depart-
Ms. Konyk, who took a part-time job at a dollar
ment of Education statistics also show that those who
store chain a year and a half ago, said she did not have
score higher on reading tests tend to earn higher incomes.
much time to read books herself. There are few books in
Critics of reading on the Internet say they see no
the house. But after Yashca was born, Ms. Konyk spent
evidence that increased Web activity improves reading
the baby’s nap time reading the Harry Potter novels to
achievement. “What we are losing in this country and
Nadia, and she regularly brought home new titles from
presumably around the world is the sustained, focused,
the library.
linear attention developed by reading,” said Mr. Gioia
Despite these efforts, Nadia never became a big reader.
of the N.E.A. “I would believe people who tell me that
Instead, she became obsessed with Japanese anime
the Internet develops reading if I did not see such a uni-
cartoons on television and comics like “Sailor Moon.”
versal decline in reading ability and reading comprehen-
Then, when she was in the sixth grade, the family bought
sion on virtually all tests.”
its first computer. When a friend introduced Nadia to
Nicholas Carr sounded a similar note in “Is Google
fanfiction.net, she turned off the television and started
Making Us Stupid?” in the current issue of the Atlantic
reading online.
magazine. Warning that the Web was changing the way
Now she regularly reads stories that run as long as 45
he—and others—think, he suggested that the effects of
Web pages. Many of them have elliptical plots and are
Internet reading extended beyond the falling test scores
sprinkled with spelling and grammatical errors. One of
of adolescence. “What the Net seems to be doing is
her recent favorites was “My absolutely, perfect normal
chipping away my capacity for concentration and con-
life . . . ARE YOU CRAZY? NOT!,” a story based on
templation,” he wrote, confessing that he now found it
the anime series “Beyblade.”
difficult to read long books.
In one scene the narrator, Aries, hitches a ride with
Literacy specialists are just beginning to investigate
some masked men and one of them pulls a knife on her.
how reading on the Internet affects reading skills. A re-
“Just then I notice (Like finally) something sharp right
cent study of more than 700 low-income, mostly His-
in front of me,” Aries writes. “I gladly took it just like
panic and black sixth through 10th graders in Detroit
that until something terrible happen . . . .”
found that those students read more on the Web than
Nadia said she preferred reading stories online be-
in any other medium, though they also read books. The
cause “you could add your own character and twist it
only kind of reading that related to higher academic per-
the way you want it to be.”
formance was frequent novel reading, which predicted
“So like in the book somebody could die,” she contin-
better grades in English class and higher overall grade
ued, “but you could make it so that person doesn’t die or
point averages.
make it so like somebody else dies who you don’t like.”
Elizabeth Birr Moje, a professor at the University
Nadia also writes her own stories. She posted “Die-
of Michigan who led the study, said novel reading
ing Isn’t Always Bad,” about a girl who comes back to
was similar to what schools demand already. But on
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 283
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
284
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
the Internet, she said, students are developing new
Though he also likes to read books (earlier this year
reading skills that are neither taught nor evaluated in
he finished, and loved, “The Fountainhead” by Ayn
school.
Rand), Zachary craves interaction with fellow readers
One early study showed that giving home Internet
on the Internet. “The Web is more about a conversa-
access to low-income students appeared to improve
tion,” he said. “Books are more one-way.”
standardized reading test scores and school grades.
The kinds of skills Zachary has developed—locating
“These were kids who would typically not be reading
information quickly and accurately, corroborating find-
in their free time,” said Linda A. Jackson, a psychology
ings on multiple sites—may seem obvious to heavy Web
professor at Michigan State who led the research. “Once
users. But the skills can be cognitively demanding.
they’re on the Internet, they’re reading.”
Web readers are persistently weak at judging whether
Neurological studies show that learning to read
information is trustworthy. In one study, Donald J.
changes the brain’s circuitry. Scientists speculate that
Leu, who researches literacy and technology at the Uni-
reading on the Internet may also affect the brain’s hard
versity of Connecticut, asked 48 students to look at a
wiring in a way that is different from book reading.
spoof Web site (http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/) about
“The question is, does it change your brain in some
a mythical species known as the “Pacific Northwest tree
beneficial way?” said Guinevere F. Eden, director of the
octopus.” Nearly 90 percent of them missed the joke
Center for the Study of Learning at Georgetown Uni-
and deemed the site a reliable source.
versity. “The brain is malleable and adapts to its envi-
Some literacy experts say that reading itself should be
ronment. Whatever the pressures are on us to succeed,
redefined. Interpreting videos or pictures, they say, may
our brain will try and deal with it.”
be as important a skill as analyzing a novel or a poem.
Some scientists worry that the fractured experience
“Kids are using sound and images so they have a world
typical of the Internet could rob developing readers of
of ideas to put together that aren’t necessarily language
crucial skills. “Reading a book, and taking the time to
oriented,” said Donna E. Alvermann, a professor of lan-
ruminate and make inferences and engage the imagina-
guage and literacy education at the University of Geor-
tional processing, is more cognitively enriching, without
gia. “Books aren’t out of the picture, but they’re only one
doubt, than the short little bits that you might get if
way of experiencing information in the world today.”
you’re into the 30-second digital mode,” said Ken Pugh,
a cognitive neuroscientist at Yale who has studied brain
A Lifelong Struggle
scans of children reading.
In the case of Hunter Gaudet, the Internet has helped
But This Is Reading Too
him feel more comfortable with a new kind of reading.
A varsity lacrosse player in Somers, Conn., Hunter has
Web proponents believe that strong readers on the Web
struggled most of his life to read. After learning he was
may eventually surpass those who rely on books. Read-
dyslexic in the second grade, he was placed in special ed-
ing five Web sites, an op-ed article and a blog post or
ucation classes and a tutor came to his home three hours
two, experts say, can be more enriching than reading
a week. When he entered high school, he dropped the
one book.
special education classes, but he still reads books only
“It takes a long time to read a 400-page book,” said
when forced, he said.
Mr. Spiro of Michigan State. “In a tenth of the time,”
In a book, “they go through a lot of details that aren’t
he said, the Internet allows a reader to “cover a lot more
really needed,” Hunter said. “Online just gives you what
of the topic from different points of view.”
you need, nothing more or less.”
Zachary Sims, the Old Greenwich, Conn., teenag-
When researching the 19th-century Chief Justice
er, often stays awake until 2 or 3 in the morning read-
Roger B. Taney for one class, he typed Taney’s name
ing articles about technology or politics—his current
into Google and scanned the Wikipedia entry and other
passions—on up to 100 Web sites.
biographical sites. Instead of reading an entire page,
“On the Internet, you can hear from a bunch of
he would type in a search word like “college” to find
people,” said Zachary, who will attend Columbia Uni-
Taney’s alma mater, assembling his information nugget
versity this fall. “They may not be pedigreed academics.
by nugget.
They may be someone in their shed with a conspiracy
Experts on reading difficulties suggest that for strug-
theory. But you would weigh that.”
gling readers, the Web may be a better way to glean
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 284
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
Liberty and Literacy Today Chapter 9 285
information. “When you read online there are always
said several members of a committee that sets guide-
graphics,” said Sally Shaywitz, the author of Overcoming
lines for the reading tests believed large numbers of
Dyslexia and a Yale professor. “I think it’s just more com-
low-income and rural students might not have regular
fortable and—I hate to say easier—but it more meets the
Internet access, rendering measurements of their on-
needs of somebody who might not be a fluent reader.”
line skills unfair. Some simply argue that reading on
Karen Gaudet, Hunter’s mother, a regional manager
the Internet is not something that needs to be tested—
for a retail chain who said she read two or three business
or taught.
books a week, hopes Hunter will eventually discover a
“Nobody has taught a single kid to text message,”
love for books. But she is confident that he has the read-
said Carol Jago of the National Council of Teachers of
ing skills he needs to succeed.
English and a member of the testing guidelines commit-
“Based on where technology is going and the world
tee. “Kids are smart. When they want to do something,
is going,” she said, “he’s going to be able to leverage it.”
schools don’t have to get involved.”
When he was in seventh grade, Hunter was one of 89
Michael L. Kamil, a professor of education at Stan-
students who participated in a study comparing perfor-
ford who lobbied for an Internet component as chair-
mance on traditional state reading tests with a specially
man of the reading test guidelines committee, disagreed.
designed Internet reading test. Hunter, who scored
Students “are going to grow up having to be highly
in the lowest 10 percent on the traditional test, spent
competent on the Internet,” he said. “There’s no reason
12 weeks learning how to use the Web for a science class
to make them discover how to be highly competent if
before taking the Internet test. It was composed of three
we can teach them.”
sets of directions asking the students to search for infor-
The United States is diverging from the policies of
mation online, determine which sites were reliable and
some other countries. Next year, for the first time, the
explain their reasoning.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Devel-
Hunter scored in the top quartile. In fact, about a
opment, which administers reading, math and science
third of the students in the study, led by Professor Leu,
tests to a sample of 15-year-old students in more than
scored below average on traditional reading tests but did
50 countries, will add an electronic reading compo-
well on the Internet assessment.
nent. The United States, among other countries, will
not participate. A spokeswoman for the Institute of
The Testing Debate
Education Sciences, the research arm of the Depart-
ment of Education, said an additional test would over-
To date, there have been few large-scale appraisals of
burden schools.
Web skills. The Educational Testing Service, which ad-
Even those who are most concerned about the preser-
ministers the SAT, has developed a digital literacy test
vation of books acknowledge that children need a range
known as iSkills that requires students to solve informa-
of reading experiences. “Some of it is the informal read-
tional problems by searching for answers on the Web.
ing they get in e-mails or on Web sites,” said Gay Ivey,
About 80 colleges and a handful of high schools have
a professor at James Madison University who focuses on
administered the test so far.
adolescent literacy. “I think they need it all.”
But according to Stephen Denis, product manager at
Web junkies can occasionally be swept up in a
ETS, of the more than 20,000 students who have taken
book. After Nadia read Elie Wiesel’s Holocaust mem-
the iSkills test since 2006, only 39 percent of four-year
oir Night in her freshman English class, Ms. Konyk
college freshmen achieved a score that represented “core
brought home another Holocaust memoir, I Have
functional levels” in Internet literacy.
Lived a Thousand Years, by Livia Bitton-Jackson.
Now some literacy experts want the federal tests
Nadia was riveted by heartbreaking details of life in
known as the nation’s report card to include a digital
the concentration camps. “I was trying to imagine this
reading component. So far, the traditionalists have held
and I was like, I can’t do this,” she said. “It was just
sway: The next round, to be administered to fourth
so—wow.”
and eighth graders in 2009, will test only print reading
Hoping to keep up the momentum, Ms. Konyk
comprehension.
brought home another book, Silverboy, a fantasy novel.
Mary Crovo of the National Assessment Govern-
Nadia made it through one chapter before she got en-
ing Board, which creates policies for the national tests,
grossed in the Internet fan fiction again.
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 285
12/09/12 12:17 PM
Confi rming Pages
286
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Developing Your
2. From the point of view of the primary source reading,
Professional Vocabulary
discuss, using examples, ways that digital commu-
nication may impact attention, access to accurate
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
information, and development of critical literacy.
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
important to education.
3. Which of the perspectives on literacy presented in
this chapter do you think is the most important for
conventional literacy
literacy as a social
individual teachers and for schools in general to
construction
embrace in the United States today? Defend your
critical literacy
view, taking into account relevant dimensions of
cultural literacy
mass media
political economy and ideology as you understand
them.
functional literacy
NAEP (National
Assessment of
4. In what ways do social media both contribute to and
hidden curriculum
Educational Progress)
create issues for general student literacy, for critical
ideological hegemony
Paulo Freire
literacy, and for the quality of communication in
school and out?
the “information
marketplace” versus a
“marketplace of ideas”
Questions for Discussion
and Examination
Online Resources
1. What features of contemporary U.S. ideology and
political economy come to light in the critical
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
literacy perspective that do not emerge in the other
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
literacy perspectives? In your view, should teachers
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
try to take these features into account in their
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
approaches to teaching? Explain.
articles and news feeds.
toz24404_ch09_251-287.indd 286
12/09/12 12:17 PM
This page intentionally left blank
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 10
Teaching in a Public
Institution The Professionalization Movement
Chapter Overview
Chapter 10 brings a contemporary perspective
comparatively lower status among profes-
to the issues raised in Chapter 3 on school-
sions, this chapter maintains that teaching is
ing as a public institution. Chapter 10 explores
clearly a profession nonetheless, with its own
the meaning of the “professionalization” characteristics and ethical mission. Moreover, movement to improve schools by improving
despite social forces that might work in favor
teachers and teacher preparation. A key con-
of the success of some students and against
sideration in this discussion is whether teach-
the success of others, teachers are challenged
ing is a profession. This chapter points out that
to identify the sources of authority from which
unlike other occupations called professions,
they can operate effectively in their own class-
teaching serves the entire childhood and
rooms. The education of teachers, at the uni-
youth population and is both publicly funded
versity level, and during a career, can work
and publicly controlled. In addition, most of
toward Building an intellectual and practical
its practitioners are women, who have histori-
foundation for the exercise of meaningful
cally earned less and have had less profes-
authority. This process is addressed in the pri-
sional autonomy than men. Despite teaching’s
mary source reading.
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 288
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Textbooks for teachers attempt to commu-
nicate knowledge of the profession.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 10 seeks to
4. Students should be able to discuss whether and
achieve are these:
how teaching is unique compared with other
occupations that are called professions.
1. Students should consider whether teachers can
uncritically accept district goals and practices for
5. Students should be able to discuss how the
their classrooms, if the school system’s goals
profession of teaching has evolved with
and practices systematically produce unequal
different historical eras, and that in the 21st
outcomes in different ethnic and economic
century, a new view of school organization—and
classes of K–12 students. Prospective teachers
therefore a new view of teaching—is rapidly
are helped to explore their sources of profes-
developing.
sional authority for holding their classrooms to a
6. Finally, teachers as well as school leaders are
higher standard than the district might support.
seeing that for the diverse learning needs of
2. This chapter seeks to discuss the origins of
children to be met, schools need to be places
teaching as an occupation, and the extent to
where teacher learning is highly valued—and
which that occupation has become a profession.
that schools can be organized for such teacher
learning.
3. Students should consider whether there is a
definition of a profession to which teaching or
any other profession must adhere.
289
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 289
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
290
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Analytic Framework
The Professionalization Movement
Political Economy
Ideology
Neoliberal faith in market competition in
social
institutions
Belief in the professions as based on
expert
knowledge
Belief in professions as deserving
elevated status and income
Undervaluing of educators as
professionals
Belief in economic progress through
individual talent and education,
not through social programs
Schooling
Dominant Ideology and the
This new direction emphasizes that it is not just culture
Teacher’s Professional
in general that schools help sustain, but it is a particular
ideological view of one’s culture that is put forward in
Authority
schools: an ideological view that supports the institutional
and economic dominance of a society’s ruling class. This
As Chapter 9 suggests, the past 30 years of educational
dominant-class ideology is put forward not only by schools
research have marked a growing interest in the role of
but by other information-producing institutions such as
ideology in schooling.1 By developing the notion of
news media, government, and economic agencies as well.
“dominant ideology,” scholars have given a new direc-
It is understood as the “dominant ideology” because (1)
tion to the old observation that schools transmit culture.
it is this ideological perspective, and no other, that is
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 290
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 291
supported, consciously or not, by the dominant social
in school subject matter, but also through the struc-
institutions (including schools) as correct and justified;
ture and practices with which schools are organized.
and (2) it explains and justifies the prevailing social order
The dominant ideology thus appears not only in the
in terms of the beliefs and values of the dominant social
claims made in social studies texts about the fairness of
class. This emphasis on the domination, or “hegemony,”
the U.S. “free enterprise system,” for example, but also
of one ideology over all others in controlling, explaining,
in individualized competition for grades. Such com-
and justifying a society’s social order has led to a particular
petition makes it appear to students that they have all
description of how the dominant ideology prevails: the
been given an equal chance to succeed, when, in fact,
theory of ideological hegemony.
vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds make their
Ideological hegemony theorists do not claim that
chances very unequal. Further, hegemony theorists have
because one ideology dominates in a given modern
pointed out that another way in which schooling pro-
technological society, all members of that society, in
motes hegemony is by selectively omitting treatment of
all social classes, share that ideology to a similar degree.
important social issues that would tend to raise contra-
Rather, they claim that one ideological view is promoted
dictions within the dominant ideology. Racism and sex-
by dominant institutions to the exclusion of alterna-
ism, for example, while formerly not treated at all, now
tive views that might otherwise be formed. As long
are presented as problems that were addressed and more
as members of the dominant social class share a com-
or less resolved during periods of activism in the years
mon ideology, it is not important to the maintenance
immediately before and after 1970. Labor strife and eco-
of social order, say hegemony theorists, whether this
nomic class inequality are similarly dismissed with a few
ideology completely makes sense to, or is fully agreed
cursory statements, rather than addressed as important
upon by, the subordinate classes in society. As long as
subjects of knowledge in a democratic society. Students
they act in accord with the dominant institutions in
are not educated to raise questions or develop interpre-
society—schools, government, and economic agencies,
tations that challenge the dominant ideology.
for example—it is not important for members of the
Such omissions illustrate hegemony theorists’ obser-
subordinate classes to share totally the belief and value
vation that not only is a dominant set of ideas supported,
system of the dominant class: Their actions alone, the
but a particular way of seeing problems is promoted.
theory maintains, are enough to support the dominant-
Social structure is so fixed, so taken for granted, that
class position.
some questions cannot, it appears, be raised in any
But why, one might ask, do the lower and middle
meaningful way. The result is the appearance of con-
classes act in accord with the dominant ideology if it
sensus, when in fact there may be little agreement but
helps keep them in a subordinate position? Primarily,
few ways to disagree.
claim hegemony theorists, they do so for one or both of
One illustration of this appearance of consensus is the
two closely related reasons: Either they do not have an
use of letter grades in schooling. Teachers from elementary
alternative understanding of the social structure available
schools to colleges, objecting to the undesirable effects of
to them that would guide their acting in any other mean-
the A-through-F system, often say such things as “I don’t
ingful way, or the opportunities for acting otherwise are
like to use grades,” or even “I don’t believe in grades.” It
severely limited by existing social structures. Further,
is a credit to them that they see the damage so often done
this theory holds that schools must share responsibility
by a system that seems above all else to emphasize how
not only for failing to help people learn to challenge the
each student compares to his or her peers. Yet, despite
dominant ideology, but for actively promoting it.
their objections, despite their realization that grades often
In fact, Chapter 9 illustrates the strong possibility
interfere with education, teachers overwhelmingly con-
that well-intentioned teachers can easily be complicit
tinue to use them, giving the outward appearance that
in reproducing not only the social inequalities that stu-
they “believe in” the practice. Why? One reason is that
dents bring to the classroom, but also reinforcing the
their institutions, the schools, simply demand it. Another
dominant ideology that limits students’ ability to think
is that teachers lack an adequate understanding of what
critically about their lived reality. Do teachers have to be
kind of questions about grades they would have to raise
agents of the status quo?
in order to suggest persuasive alternatives. Such questions
Ideological hegemony theorists have pointed out
would have to deal with the role of schooling in a larger
that the ideology of the upper class is taught not only
society that maintains sharp inequalities between social
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 291
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
292
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
classes yet claims to give everyone an equal chance to suc-
refuses to obey directives and then refuses to be punished
ceed. To raise such questions, even to see the problem in
may be barred from school, and if under school-leaving
that way, requires that teachers be educated in ways they
age, may be forced by the courts to attend reform school
are not ordinarily educated in an ideologically hegemonic
or jail. In such cases, the basis of teachers’ authority—as
society. Further, teachers are not educated to see the pos-
employees of the state—becomes very clear and real.
sibilities of collective, militant action for changing edu-
Teachers who base their authority too simply on
cational policies they do not “believe in.” Except in such
their role as state employees usually have few disputes
areas as wages, benefits, and class size, too often teach-
with the institutional objectives of the school. Just as the
ers continue to view good educating as an individualistic
school’s authority becomes their authority, the school’s
enterprise. And where do they have opportunity to see it
objectives become their objectives. If the school seeks
modeled otherwise?
to promote “meritocracy” by labeling children bright,
If hegemony theorists are correct—and Chapter 9
average, and low-ability, then teachers seek to do this
produced evidence to support their analysis—then the
also. If the school seeks to teach employable skills by
implications for the public school teacher are serious.
preparing working-class children for working-class jobs
The teacher becomes an important actor in a process
and professional-class children for professional-class
that effectively prevents students from forming under-
jobs, then teachers do also. If the school and its text-
standings of themselves and their society that are dif-
books seek to achieve social order and stability at the
ferent from what the dominant classes of society want
expense of the best development of most students’ criti-
them to understand. Teachers who entered the field of
cal and intellectual skills, then teachers also seek such
education to help students learn to think and question
order and stability.
for themselves find instead that they are helping stu-
However, such a simple view of being authorized
dents learn to accept things as they are.
by the state leaves the teachers’ authority very unclear
That teachers are important actors means they are
when there are contradictions in the stated objectives of
not helpless bystanders in the process of promoting the
schooling: If the school claims to seek the best possible
dominant ideology of the social order. They can help
intellectual development of all its students and at the
students learn to question the dominant order of their
same time steers a great many of them into vocational
society and to recognize how ideological hegemony
programs so they will not become “overeducated,” the
helps maintain that order. Teachers who wish to do so,
teachers are left with a dilemma: Which goal should be
however, are in a very difficult position because it is not
served—intellectual excellence or vocational skills?
easy to see what authorizes them to question, for exam-
Another problem is that the teachers’ expert knowl-
ple, the textbooks or schooling practices that the state
edge sometimes conflicts with the way the school
apparently employs them to support.
achieves its objective of a stable society. The state may
For teachers who view themselves primarily as
provide, for example, high school texts in which a
employees of the state, the basis—or source—of their
teacher recognizes an erroneous account of U.S. military
teaching authority seems easy to find. The author-
involvement in Latin America. Some important facts are
ity of the state institution—the school—becomes the
omitted and some are wrongly reported, apparently in
authority of the teachers. The teachers have the right to
order to make the United States appear heroic and in
expect and enforce the obedience of the students so that
order to inspire pride in one’s country. The state autho-
institutional objectives can be achieved. As long as the
rizes the teacher to teach the text, but what authorizes
teachers act within the boundaries of what is expected
the teacher to teach a different account, one he or she
of persons in that official position, they have a right to
believes to be true from exposure to other sources?
expect and enforce obedience.
Yet another dilemma arises because the state is not
Another way to state this is that as employees of state
the final authority for all the values that a free people
institutions, teachers are authorized to do certain things
may hold. To illustrate this, imagine that the sixth-grade
with students that depend on their obedience. Teachers
social studies book now has a part on race relations that
are authorized to tell students where to sit, when to speak,
portrays racial discrimination as a thing of the past—a
what assignments to do and when to turn them in, and
problem that was cleared up by civil rights legislation
so on. In addition, teachers have the authority to punish
in the 1960s. The teacher has evidence that Blacks are
students who do not obey such directives. A student who
still unfairly treated—but where does he or she locate
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 292
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 293
the authority to teach differently from the textbook, to
The teachers’ views are not right just because they are
criti cize the social system he or she is a part of ?
the teachers’. Nor is every student’s view just as correct
It is the mark of the totalitarian state that it settles
as any other’s. In both cases, evidence and arguments
all such dilemmas. The totalitarian state determines the
should be presented to support the claims that are being
rules of schools, determines what is to be taught and
made. Textbooks, too, may be examined by present-
how, and determines what is to be regarded as valid
ing questions about whether their methods of inquiry
knowledge—thus the state seeks total authority.
and argumentation are fair or biased. This authority of
In the nontotalitarian state, however, teachers make
the rules of valid inquiry provides a basis of authority
a tragic mistake if they grant such total authority to the
from which teachers may legitimately teach students to
state institution of schooling. It is tragic because, first, the
question the authority of institutions. Such questions
teachers surrender their own autonomy just as do teachers
as “What is the evidence?” and “How good is the argu-
in the totalitarian state. More tragic is that these teachers
ment?” are dangerous to authoritarianism.
surrender the autonomy of the students—for such students
are not taught how to question, how to object, how to
2. The Authority of the Expert
think critically about their society. They are taught that
the institution is an authority not to be challenged.
The authority of the rules can bring students into a class-
To teachers who seek for their students the intellec-
room, and it can authorize teachers to insist on methods
tual development that can lead to autonomous, think-
of inquiry that undermine authoritarianism. However,
ing, questioning individuals, the authority of the state
knowing which questions to raise depends in part upon
is not enough. Other dimensions of authority must be
teachers’ developing an expertise that goes well beyond
developed as well. These other dimensions help teachers
the subject matter supplied by the school.
locate three bases of authority by which they are autho-
Teachers with a broad knowledge of the academic
rized to teach in ways that the state may not consistently
discipline at hand will be able to guard against, and
support. These three bases are the authority of rules, the
to alert students to, errors and half-truths in texts and
authority of expertise, and the authority of community.
prepared curricula. Such teachers will also have a basis
of authority to request and argue for a better math
1. Using the Authority of the Rules
book, a more enlightened reader, a less racist social
studies book, simply because they will know the dif-
to Educate
ference. Further, such expertise can help teachers raise
In part, this basis of authority is very compatible with
questions that are essential to understanding the mate-
the institutional nature of the school. If all teachers do
rial at hand, even if such questions are usually outside
all day long is use the rules to maintain order, they may
the scope of the dominant ideology as it is reflected in
get through the day just fine. But rules can serve the
schools. The ability to defend their position depends
students much more educatively. If rules establish order
not on the authority of the state, but on the authority
only for the sake of order or for the efficient transmis-
of expertise. Teachers cannot afford to know less about
sion of the dominant ideology, then they may be justly
their subject than does the school board that decides
scorned. But if rules bring 30 students into a single
upon the curriculum.
room at a particular time so that they may be taught
something that will help them develop their minds,
3. Pedagogical Authority: The
then the rules can be part of a liberating process. Clearly,
Authority of Community
teachers can use rule authority not just to their own or
the school’s advantage, but more importantly, to the
When teachers regard the state unproblematically as
intellectual advantage of the students.
the central basis of their authority, they serve the inter-
A second instance of the authority of rules is often
ests of those who advocate the dominant ideology by
overlooked: the authority of the rules of valid inquiry.
carrying out their institutional objectives. These objec-
There are valid and invalid ways of arriving at the truth
tives may or may not overlap with the best interests of
of a matter, and they follow certain rules of procedure.
the student. Literacy for all, for example, is one of the
They include stating hypotheses, presenting evidence,
state’s objectives, and this probably serves the interests
hearing contrasting views, and evaluating arguments.
of the student well; it is in the interest of each student
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 293
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
294
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
to become literate. The objectives of meritocracy and
rules of valid inquiry, as authority bases that the com-
employable skills, however, while serving the social
munity can endorse.*
order that controls schooling, may not well serve the
Other elements of the community can be strong sup-
majority of students who are relegated to second- and
port for teachers who seek bases of authority other than
third-rank educational tracks.
the simple fact of their employment with the state. Par-
Although we have identified the authority of rules
ents and students might have higher aspirations than the
and the authority of expertise as kinds or dimensions
aspirations held for them by those who control school-
of authority that are important to teachers who seek
ing. The community might object to such practices
to locate valid bases of authority within the institu-
as use of standardized tests that discriminate against
tion of schooling, there is yet a more fundamental
minority and poor people. In such cases, teachers can
base of authority to be explored. This is pedagogical
recognize that there are other bases of authority than the
authority.
institution provides: The authority of community can
The function of teachers in any society—whether or
be very real when the interests of part of the community
not the teachers are employed by the state—is to fit,
conflict with the interests of those who control school
rather than to misfit, students for more mature and
policy. Teachers are often called upon to make choices
autonomous participation in the community. Every
about whose interests they will serve. When the existing
community exists not only as a physical group of peo-
community doesn’t provide guidance in making such
ple, dwellings, activity, and so on, but also as a historical
choices, the ideal of community sometimes can.
collection of ideals and principles that may or may not
That there are conflicting elements in any commu-
be demonstrated in the present group life. The process
nity points to the need for teachers to have some way to
of fitting students for community life, then, is an effort
decide whose interests their teaching will serve. Perhaps,
to prepare students both for the existing community
too, teachers believe in certain ideals of community life
and to bring them to understand and to appreciate the
for which there is no vocal support in the existing com-
historical values and ideals that point to a more ideal
munity. Do they have the authority to teach what they
community than the one that exists.
think is right even when the existing community does
What kind of teaching is authorized, then, depends
not appear to authorize it? How can teachers find the
upon what the environing community of the school
authority to teach the equality of all races, for example,
counts as acceptable. Almost no community in the
in a community that is openly, actively racist?
United States, for example, authorizes the teaching of
The answer lies in the teacher’s knowing the ideals
communism as a desirable form of life. Some commu-
of the wider, historical community of which the exist-
nities authorizes the teaching of the biblical story of
ing community is a part. Teachers do not have to teach
Adam and Eve as the true story of creation, while most
racism, sexism, and materialist greed just because these
do not. Some communities authorize the censorship of
characteristics may best describe the community their
such popular authors as Mark Twain and J. D. Salinger,
students are preparing to enter as mature members.
while other communities will not tolerate such censor-
Rather, the teachers’ duty is to recognize the historical
ship. Some farming communities insist that agricultural
ideals that make community life worth living, ideals upon
knowledge form a part of the curriculum, while urban
which the larger society is founded: ideals of human
communities do not.
dignity and equality, freedom, and mutual concern of
Teachers who seek to fit students for their commu-
one person for another.
nity life need to understand what kind of community
Just as teachers can justify teaching foreign lan-
students are preparing to enter if they are to serve their
guages to students in a remote rural community in
interests well. A teacher’s authority to teach extends only
which only English is spoken, so can they teach the best
so far as those who speak for the community, such as
ideals of the wider society, even if those ideals are not
the school board or a principal, believe the teacher is
well represented in the existing community. To do this,
teaching what ought to be taught. A teacher who teaches
teachers must form an educational point of view about
something the community won’t authorize will have
what people can and should become; about what right
to answer to that community. When this happens, a
teacher can often call upon the historical values of the
*For the original formulation of these remarks on authority and community, see
community, or upon expert knowledge, or upon the
Kenneth D. Benne, A Conception of Authority (New York: Russell and Russell, 1943).
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 294
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 295
relationships are, and what people need in order to par-
state-controlled certification standards, Mann pushed
ticipate in them; about what a good society is, and what
teach ing in the direction of becoming a profession.
kind of people it takes to have one.
Previously it had been a loosely organized occupation
If such an educational point of view is developed,
that was open to anyone regardless of training and
teachers can employ all their bases of authority—the
certification. We also saw in Chapter 3 how Mann
authority of rules, of expertise, and of the community,
actively sought to recruit women into the normal
real and ideal—to teach students what they will need to
schools for this newly professionalizing occupation, a
know in order to take their places in a more adequate
development that would seem to be good for women
community than the one they presently know. This
and good for teaching. It would appear to open profes-
is not to say that teachers should prepare students for
sional opportunities for women and provide a core of
some nonexistent utopia. Rather, teachers must develop
better-prepared practitioners for an emerging profes-
an understanding of the community as it exists and an
sion. Yet today, prominent school reformers are still
understanding of what kind of people will be required
trying to “professionalize” an occupation that, unlike
to make it better. They can try to develop for them-
other, more established professions, is predominantly
selves an ideal of the community their students should
female. Their efforts may have to take into account
strive for, and they should help their students with the
the subordination of women in American culture.
knowledge, the values, and the skills they will need if
If the feminization of teaching has contributed to its
they are to be resiliant enough to maintain high stan-
comparatively low status among the professions, it
dards of belief and conduct in an imperfect society.
may also be true that teaching has not been the route
To do all of this, teachers must learn to develop for
to professional autonomy for women that other pro-
themselves an educational philosophy that will guide them
fessions have been (though for fewer women).
in locating the community they wish to serve. Such a com-
Can an occupation with over 3 million practitioners,
munity is not found on a roadmap; it is a community that
most of whom are women, be expected to achieve profes-
may exist only as a set of ideals and principles that history
sional status similar to that of such professions as medi-
and careful reflection provide us. But the authority of those
cine, law, and architecture? Or is teaching so conditioned
ideals may be for teachers the strongest authority of all.
by its history as a gendered, publicly funded occupation
that it is unsuited to certain kinds of professionalization?
The Professional Teacher:
If so, efforts to improve education by professionalizing
teaching may be misplaced.
Remembering Horace Mann
Efforts to professionalize teaching are currently cen-
tered, as they were in Mann’s time, on the intention
In Chapter 3 we examined the early history of the
to improve schooling. Just as in the 1830s and 1840s,
common
-school movement, which sought to reform
the current professionalization movement raises ques-
schooling to meet what influential leaders saw as the
tions about the funding and control of the profession of
needs of Massachusetts in the 1830s. Part of this reform
teaching as well as questions about who should become
movement included Horace Mann’s efforts to improve
teachers and how they should be prepared. Four of the
the quality and quantity of teachers available to the new
most important issues to consider in the contemporary
common schools. It led also to Mann’s successful effort to
debate on professionalism are these:
centralize state control of schooling. We thus saw how an
early instance of school reform produced changes in how
• Preparation and licensure of practitioners for a mass
teachers were prepared and how schools were governed.
profession that must serve the entire population, not
Of particular interest was the development of normal
just private clients who seek services.
schools, which were devoted to what Mann saw as teach-
• The consequences of public funding of the profes-
ers’ educational needs. The curriculum in these schools
sion compared with private funding.
included pedagogy, some psychology of learning, and
the subject matter that teachers were expected to teach.
• The role and status of women in the profession.
By establishing for the first time a specialized body
• The tension between public and professional control
of knowledge that all teachers were expected to master
over teaching practice and what will be accepted as
and using that knowledge as the basis for establishing
the specialized knowledge base of the profession.
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 295
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
296
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Each of these issues has an impact on the status and
skills necessary to provide high-quality education to the
rewards of the profession. Taken together, they define
common-school children of Massachusetts. To establish
teaching as unique among the professions. They also
these skills, he believed, specific programs of education
help us understand whether the movement to profes-
and training were necessary, and the normal school was
sionalize teaching is likely to have an impact on the
born. In the normal schools we see the beginning of one
quality of schooling in the 21st century.
of the most critical features of any profession: the pull-
ing together of a specialized body of knowledge that all
practitioners are expected to master through extended
Professionalization
study. Government licensure or certification is used to
ensure mastery of the professional knowledge base. In
of Teaching:
fact, these two features—an identifiable body of special-
Historical Perspective
ized knowledge and government licensure—are iden-
tified by educational historian Joel Spring as the most
Common-School Reform
important defining elements of a profession.2
There were other ways in which Mann began to
Each of the main periods of school reform we have
confer professional status on an occupation whose
examined, from the common-school reforms through
practitioners varied greatly in the quality of their
the Conant era, included as part of its reform agenda
preparation and methods. For example, his effort to
the effort to improve teaching and teachers. Horace
establish and enforce a moral code of behavior through
Mann, for example, sought to make teaching more
both the state and local school councils can be viewed
effective and respectable by treating pedagogy as a field
as a way to achieve something like a professional code
worthy of study for all teachers. His primary purpose
of ethics to which practitioners could be expected to
was not to give teaching the status of a profession but
adhere. And by standardizing both the content and
to provide sufficient numbers of practitioners with the
the conduct of schooling through the state board of
The basic configuration of the typical classroom, with student desks facing the
teacher’s desk, has remained largely intact since the 18th century.
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 296
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 297
education, Mann was seeking to standardize the qual-
era introduced the notion of the scientific management
ity of professional practice. As states gained the power
of schooling, and both the efficiency progressives and
to influence and even control the school day and the
the democratic-development progressives wanted teach-
school curriculum, however, the decision-making
ers to have a better understanding of the newly emerg-
autonomy of teachers was severely constrained. This
ing research on the psychology of learning and the
tension between state control and teacher autonomy,
principles of group management. In addition, teacher
both of which are components of professionalism,
educators with a social-reconstructionist orientation at
would prove to have very different consequence s for
Columbia Teachers College in the 1930s argued that
teaching than for private-practice professions such as
teachers should have distinctive preparation in the his-
medicine and law. In those fields, professional licen-
tory, sociology, and philosophy of education. They
sure did not so severely limit the control of the field
could then become “educational statesmen,” capable of
by the professionals themselves.
leading the schools and their students to the forefront of
Yet it would seem on the face of it that what resulted
democratic changes in America.5
from Mann’s ambitious reforms in Massachusetts was a
An interesting tension developed here as teachers
solid foundation for the establishment of a true profes-
colleges and other four-year institutions began pay-
sion. But as John Goodlad pointed out, the 20th century
ing increasing attention to the preparation of educa-
dawned with teaching still far short of professional
tional administrators. On the one hand, professional
status. Goodlad notes, for example, that the typical
administrators were being educated to play a greater role
two-year normal-school curriculum provided poor
in school management and decision making; on the
professional preparation. The body of professional
other hand, teachers were also being given more exten-
knowledge it presented was ill defined, its students
sive education so that they could, presumably, exercise
often did not plan to go into teaching, and its atmo-
greater autonomy in their work. By the beginning of
sphere was both unscholarly and submissive. Such
World War II, the normal-school era had ended and
characteristics do not fit well with the preparation of a
teacher education was primarily a four-year state uni-
professional capable of autonomous practice based on
versity enterprise. The fact that teachers were increas-
specialized expertise.3
ingly required to have a baccalaureate degree and that
teaching and teacher education had come under the
Progressive Era Reform
governance of state regulations gave the appearance of
moving teaching closer to being a profession. In truth,
These, in fact, were some of the concerns that led pro-
however, increased control of schools and school districts
gressive educational reformers in the late 19th and early
by administrative experts, as described in Chapter 4,
20th centuries to reexamine the nature of teaching and
meant that teachers’ autonomy was increasingly threat-
teacher preparation. A development that came about
ened. “Administrative progressiv ism” becomes a legacy
at that time was the attachment of teacher preparation
that is not easily sidestepped in the current move to
programs to four-year baccalaureate degrees, such as law
reform teaching.
and medicine had come to require. These new four-year
programs sought to provide a greater theoretical base in
Conant Era Reform
the psychology of learning and the history and philoso-
phy of education. William R. Johnson’s research suggests
Within a few years after the end of World War II, both
that normal schools had already begun extending to four
teaching as an occupation and the education of teach-
years of study by the end of the 19th century and were
ers came under increasingly hostile criticism from
increasingly emphasizing academic subject matter over
those who considered schooling in the United States to
pedagogy.4 With the location of teacher education pro-
have gone academically “soft” (see Chapter 8). In the
grams in four-year state colleges and universities, the age
early 1950s, books such as Arthur Bestor’s Educational
of the two-year normal school ended relatively early in the
Wastelands attacked schools’ curricula. In the late
20th century.
1950s, after the launching of the Soviet Sputnik, the
The impulse for such improvement through more
Conant reforms called for greater academic rigor,
rigorous academic preparation came from the larger
“ability grouping,” and increased emphasis on math,
school reform movements of the progressive era. That
science, and vocational training. Then, in 1963, two
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 297
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
298
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
books were published attacking teacher education:
Professionalism and
James D. Koerner’s The Miseducation of American
Teachers and James B. Conant’s The Education of
Contemporary School Reform
American Teachers. Consistent with the reform move-
ment’s increased emphasis on academic rigor for the
The “excellence” reform movement of the 1980s contin-
presumably academically talented, both men dispar-
ued into the 1990s, and school performance has remained
aged teacher education courses, which they believed
a topic in the forefront of news coverage and political
to be intellectually unchallenging and professionally
campaigns.
useless, and emphasized preparation in academic
For example, days after taking office, President Bush
content areas.6 In addition, Conant emphasized the
announced his intent to pass the No Child Left
importance of an intensive period of practice teaching,
Behind law. Enacted in January 2002, the bipartisan
which was seen to be more consistent with the clinical
law reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Educa-
or internship training of such professions as medicine
tion Act of 1965. It seeks to raise accountability of local
and law. In the end, however, Conant, Koerner, and
school systems for educating all students. Its primary
others did little during this reform period to profes-
provisions include the following:
sionalize teaching. Johnson writes:
• increased accountability for states, school districts,
Teachers came to be seen as less central to the improve-
and schools
ment of the schools during the early 1960s because,
• greater choice for parents and students, particularly
beyond a consensus among lay critics that more intensive
academic training was needed, there was no agreement on
those attending low-performing schools
how to train teachers. This was not a matter of disagree-
• more flexibility for states and local educational
ment over which models of professional training ought to
agencies (LEAs) in the use of federal education
be supported. There were no models. Not even imperfect
dollars
ones which might, through renovation and reform, hold
promise for the future.7
• a stronger emphasis on reading, especially for our
youngest children
Johnson goes on to suggest that given this skepticism
concerning the preparation of teachers, the account-
All of these have implications for the quality of teachers
ability movement of the 1970s and thereafter, which
who are expected to “leave no child behind” (see the
linked teacher evaluation to student test scores, can be
Primary Source Reading).
understood as an effort by legislators and policymakers
A key dimension of this reform movement has been
to control the quality of teaching from the top down.
renewed attention to the education of teachers, with
Insofar as the accountability movement emphasizes the
strong arguments made again for the professionalization
management of teachers rather than their professional
of the teaching occupation. The present reform move-
autonomy, it appears to step away from professionalism
ment has emphasized, perhaps above all else, improving
in teaching rather than toward it. But as Jurgen Herbst
the measured academic achievement of students in our
argued, professionalization in teaching has histori-
schools. From the early reports in 1983, such as A Nation
cally taken on the trappings and bureaucratic control
at Risk, to the Clinton administration’s Goals 2000: Edu-
of managed occupation. This, of course, is opposed to
cate America Act , to Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act
professionalism, which emphasizes “the recognition and
improved achievement in so-called basic academic areas
practice of a teacher’s right and obligation to determine
has been touted as necessary for the United States to
his or her own professional tasks in the classroom.”8
compete economically in the world marketplace. NCLB
It would appear that the period following the Conant
requires that teachers test students in reading and math
reforms produced movement away from professionalism
every year in grades 3 through 8. Schools with low test
in teaching despite Conant’s recommendations for how
scores face numerous sanctions. While few students are
to achieve better schooling through reformed teacher
taking the option, one NCLB proviso allows children in
education. And if the school reform movement of the
low-performing schools to transfer. Some schools will be
1980s and 1990s is any indication, educational policy-
publicized as “underperforming” and will be required to
makers are still not satisfied with the achievements of
respond successfully or face governance changes. Many
schools or the preparation of teachers.
educators have criticized the early results of NCLB. They
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 298
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 299
As the progressive era ideology of expert top-down management began to pervade
schools, colleges of education began preparing professional administrators to run
schools using principles of scientific management taken from business.
cite the punitive nature of the Act, forcing schools to
to measure up in several ways. To use a crude produc-
abandon critical thinking or enrichment in favor of rote
tion model, we might say that the quality of the raw
learning. Students in high-poverty schools face exposure
materials (teacher education candidates), the quality of
to learning goals that emphasize “training” rather than
the processing (teacher education), and the quality of
the liberal education preparation most valued in higher
the final product (teachers and the organization of the
education.
profession) are all lacking—or so goes the rhetoric. In
In the recent spate of educational reform reports,
terms of the quality of the input, it is asserted that
discussion of the professionalization of teaching always
the talent or background of the candidates entering
begins with concern for the quality of schooling in the
teacher training is inferior to those entering other pro-
United States. Once it is established that education in
fessions. In terms of the processing, it is asserted that
schools is deficient, it is a logical step to hold the teach-
teacher education programs are not as rigorous as the
ers responsible for it. If there are problems in schooling,
programs in medicine, law, architecture, and other
it is asserted, they are due in part to inadequacies among
professions. And in terms of the output, it is asserted
the teachers. But what is inadequate about teachers? In
that teachers, with their inferior academic talents and
attempting to answer this question, scholars and crit-
inadequate preparation, are often not competent to
ics turn to professionals in other fields, such as medi-
perform the complex tasks expected of them; further,
cine and law, for comparison. This appears at first to
they populate a profession that is structured with less
be appropriate, since we are accustomed to thinking of
autonomy, lower status, and fewer material rewards
teaching as a profession that requires a college degree,
than other professions.
claims a body of specialized knowledge, and requires a
This three-part comparison of teachers to other
license to practice.
professions is explicit in Tomorrow’s Teachers, the first
of three manifestos of the Holmes Group, a consor-
tium of deans from the colleges of education of major
Comparing Teaching
research universities in the United States. In the
to Other Professions
middle of the school reform movement of the 1980s,
the Holmes Group began its “Agenda for Improving
When we look to other professions for standards of
a Profession” with the following comparison between
comparison, it is said, teaching as a profession fails
teaching and other professions. In this comparison, the
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 299
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
300
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
candidates, the preparation, and the structure of the
commitment to specialized expertise and scientific ratio-
profession fare poorly:
nality. The proponents of professionalizing teaching use
as their criteria for a profession such characteristics as the
Professional education prepares people for practical assign-
existence of a scientific knowledge base that practitioners
ments: to teach, to heal, to design buildings or to manage
can master through prolonged study, state licensure based
organizations. . . . Unhappily, teaching and teacher education
on demonstrated mastery of that knowledge base, and
have a long history of mutual impairment. Teacher education
decision-making autonomy for practitioners who demon-
long has been intellectually weak; this further eroded the pres-
tige of an already poorly esteemed profession, and it encour-
strate such mastery. This approach also confers elevated
aged many inadequately prepared people to enter teaching.
social status and material rewards on those who have been
But teaching long has been an underpaid and overworked
licensed as having acquired this specialized expertise.
occupation, making it difficult for universities to recruit good
As we saw in Chapter 3, these professionalization
students to teacher education or to take it as seriously as they
measures all got their start in the common-school era,
have taken education for more prestigious professions. Teach-
when we saw a turning point in the teaching profes-
ing, after all, comes with large responsibilities but modest
sion in the United States. By creating the first state
material rewards. Good teachers must be knowledgeable, but
normal school, Horace Mann tried to prepare teachers
they have few opportunities to use that knowledge to improve
who would help the schools achieve their fundamental
their profession, or to help their colleagues improve. And,
tasks of 3 Rs and political and moral socialization. Since
despite their considerable skill and knowledge, good teach-
morality was so closely tied to religion, it meant reli-
ers have few opportunities to advance within their profession.
As we try to improve teaching and teacher education,
gious teaching in schools alongside 3 Rs and Republican
then, we cannot avoid trying to improve the profession in
forms of government. Mann thought that the challenge
which teachers will practice.9
to teaching was too great to be left to chance, so there
had to be places where teachers learned subject matter
The Holmes Report argued that teaching compares
content as well as how to teach.
unfavorably to other professions, and it offers recom-
Mann’s teacher preparation movement resulted in
mendations for how to make teaching more closely
the beginnings of a profession of teaching. Though some
resemble those professions. Yet if teaching is so distinc-
may question whether teaching is a profession or a quasi-
tive an enterprise that it is difficult to compare with
profession, there is probably little to be gained by such a
other professions, professionalizing teaching may be the
discussion. Teaching, like other professions, has charac-
wrong way to improve schooling. To examine whether
teristics unique to it—there is no single model to which
making teaching “more professional” is best for schools,
all professions conform. Mann’s efforts also resulted in
it becomes appropriate to ask, Should teaching be
the shifting of teaching from a male to a female occupa-
viewed as a profession like others, or is it so different
tion, which preserved and even exacerbated teaching as a
that the differences make comparisons misleading?
low-status, low-pay occupation. Further, Mann’s effort to
After discussion of such questions, members of the
“standardize” the profession—by establishing consensus
Holmes Group chose to pursue the “professionalization”
about what good professional practices were—represents
model for teaching, as did the Carnegie Forum’s Task
an effort that continues today in the work of the National
Force on Teaching as a Profession. These groups will
Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Finally, it could
be discussed in the following text because both made
be said that in the era of one-room schoolhouses, school
highly publicized recommendations for standardizing
masters and mistresses, and the early normal schools, a
the teaching profession for greater professionalization
particular view of teaching as an isolated profession was
and improved schooling. Their approach to standard-
established. This stands in contrast to a view of the teacher
ization, as we will see, is in some ways reminiscent of
as a member of an organized body of professionals who
Horace Mann’s, but with new ideological justification
through teaming and collaboration can accomplish things
and in a different historical context.
that individuals cannot.
Since the 19th century, other developments took
Professionalism versus Neoliberal
place that further affected the profession of teaching:
Market Competition
• Schools changed from one-room schoolhouses to
All the attempts to define professionalism presented in this
factory-style buildings that required new methods
chapter are grounded in modern liberalism, particularly its
of organization if they were to serve equal education
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 300
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 301
for all kids, but the model of the teacher as isolated
developing post–cold war world. In all of these phases,
practitioner prevailed.
teaching remained largely a female, low-status,
low-pay (in comparison to other professions), mass
• With urbanization, industrialization, and immigra-
public occupation in which practitioners worked in
tion at the dawn of the 20th century, school systems
isolation from one another.
began differentiating their curricula—tracking
working-class kids into factory futures and middle-
class kids into management and professional futures.
A neoliberal response to the problems of the
The truly rich didn’t need public schools, and more
profession If the professionalization movement can
and more private schools opened themselves to a
be described as a modern liberal response to the needs
select few middle-class kids with the “talent” to
of schools through expert training of a professional
attend private prep schools.
class of teachers, it is clear that a neoliberal response has
developed over the past 20 years: Alternative Routes to
• In the post–World War II era, high schools further
Teacher Certification (ARTC). These alternative routes
institutionalized tracking with advanced placement
range from Teacher for America to Troops to Teachers
(AP) and vocational education tracks, so teachers saw
to a new national exam that college graduates can take to
themselves preparing kids for the workplace, or some
become teachers without having to go through any teacher
degree of postsecondary education (community colleges
preparation program at all. These alternative routes are
or maybe the state school); or for competitive colleges
defended by neoliberal advocates in part because they break
and universities where AP tracks could lead. During
the “monopoly” of schools and colleges of education
this period the Jim Crow era was ended by
and thus will improve the profession through greater
law, resulting in the integration of thousands of
competition (deregulation) among routes to the teaching
formerly segregated schools and the eventual
profession.
“achievement gap” that showed differences in
In general, ARTC programs do not look like tradi-
learning outcomes for different ethnic groups. At the
tional undergraduate or even graduate teacher prepara-
same time, as national priorities seemed increasingly to
tion programs that require completion of a degree and/or
drive school policy, teachers began turning to their
certification before full-time teaching can begin. Martin
unions—American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
Haberman’s idealized summary of a “pure” ARTC is
and International Education Association (IEA)—to
intended to reveal the “deregulator” rationale behind each
gain some voice and pay. They were looked on by
program component:
many as blue-collar union people rather than as
members of a profession.
The essential knowledge base for alternative certification
programs is the competence of candidates in the cognate
• In the 1980s, the contemporary school reform
disciplines (#1). This base can be readily assessed by writ-
movement began, and one of its most significant
ten tests of subject matter (#2). All professional studies are
initiatives has been the development of professional
merely skills and information that can be readily learned
standards for teachers at the state and national
on the job, through common sense, practice, having a col-
league in the school (#4) and an occasional meeting (#5).
levels. These standards have attempted to codify
The basic assumption is that candidates learn to teach by
in writing what good teaching is, and the National
teaching (#3) and can do so in the most difficult school
Board for Professional Teaching Standards was
situations (#6) if they know their subjects. Finally the
formed partly to demonstrate that good teaching
determination of who should be licensed is based on per-
can reliably be assessed.
formance, including student achievement (#7), and that
those most capable of making these decisions are the can-
• If the primary purpose of schools in Mann’s time
didates’ employers (#9 and #10).10
was a common education for all in literacy, political
principles, and moral training, it changed in the
The years 2001, 1996, and 1986 provide benchmarks
progressive era to preparation for employable skills
for thinking about significant events in this history. Ear-
and for social stability; changed again in
lier still, the year 1983 deserves special mention for the
post–World War II to competition in a cold war
Reagan White House publication of A Nation at Risk,
world; then changed again in the 1980s to economic
the launching point for the late-20th-century school
competition in world capitalism in a rapidly
reform movement. The A Nation at Risk demand for
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 301
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
302
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
improved student learning and improved teacher qual-
In 2001, two more events, this time on the fed-
ity helped fuel the alternative certification movement.
eral level—passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Also in 1983, New Jersey governor Tom Keane con-
and funding for the American Board for Certification
vened a task force, headed by the late Ernest Boyer, to
of Teacher Excellence—promised to have significant
create an alternative to teacher certification that would
impact on the ARTC movement. Among the many
attract liberal arts graduates to the teaching profession.
far-reaching provisions of NCLB was the stipulation
C. Emily Feistritzer, a participant, has called the task
that by the end of the current school year (2005–2006)
force “officially the beginning of the alternative certifica-
all teachers must be fully qualified. While it is largely
tion movement.”11 The National Center for Educational
the responsibility of each state to determine the pre-
Information was founded at that time to begin tracking
cise meaning of fully qualified, the Act in effect holds
developments in alternative certification, and it remains
ARTC programs to the same standards to which all
today one of the best sources of information in that area.
teacher education programs are held. The chief dif-
By 1986, when the Holmes Group and the Carnegie
ference between the two is that ARTC candidates are
Commission published manifestos on the future of the
allowed to work full-time as teachers while earning
teaching profession, New Jersey had created a national
their teaching certificates. Moreover, the second major
stir with its Provisional Teaching Certificate, and other
event of 2001—the American Board for Certification of
states soon followed. Holmes and Carnegie called for
Teacher Excellence (ABCTE)—demonstrates that the
teacher preparation to be more rigorous and more grounded
NCLB “highly qualified teacher” standard for alterna-
in professional research, even calling for extended pro-
tive routes to certification may be more accommodating
grams of teacher preparation. Meanwhile, the nascent
than many anticipated.
alternative certification movement was putting teachers
The ABCTE is potentially more significant to the
into classrooms with only a summer of preparation. By the
teaching profession than NCLB because it reduces teacher
end of 1985, six states had produced nearly 300 ARTC
certification requirements. A project of what Haberman
teachers. By 1996, this number had grown to some
calls the “deregulators” and the U.S. Office of Educa-
7,000 ARTC graduates in 16 states. Even the American
tion, ABCTE has developed a “Passport to Teaching,”
Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE),
described on the ABCTE website as the “premier national
widely regarded as a main pillar in the teacher education
teacher certification program . . . ideal for knowledgeable
establishment, was in the ARTC business, publishing a
and motivated professionals who want to change careers
volume titled Alternative Paths to Teaching: A Directory of
and pursue their dreams of becoming teachers, and for
Postbaccalaureate Programs (1996).
current teachers who need to earn their certification”
In 1986, ARTC programs were still in their infancy.
(www.abcte.org/passport).
Despite considerable growth, by 1996 the movement
The ABCTE website presents a five-step individual-
was still far from what it has become today. In 1996,
ized program of study intended to prepare postbachelor
alternative certification was still not fully on the radar
candidates to “demonstrate mastery on rigorous exami-
screen in most educational discourse. It was not, for
nations of subject area and professional teaching knowl-
example, on the agenda of the national governors
edge.” All of this can be done without the assistance of a
conference on education that year which called for an
college of education or any teacher preparation program
annual accounting of education progress. Education
other than the individualized study plan. Currently, this
Week began writing its Quality Counts series in response
method can lead to certification in five states—Florida,
to the governors’ conference, but did not include
Idaho, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Utah—but
ARTC as one of the many indicators of progress in its
efforts are in place to extend the initiative to all other
first Teaching Quality report—nor for several years
states as well. The website ensures that “All teachers
thereafter. By January 2006, Quality Counts included
certified through Passport to Teaching are considered
ARTC programs as a mainstream indicator of “Efforts
highly qualified according to the No Child Left Behind
to Improve Teacher Quality.”12 Today, the National
Act of 2001.”
Center for Educational Information reports that 47
states have produced over 200,000 ARTC teachers. In
Political–Ideological Perspective Certainly, the
Texas, for example, the majority of new teachers are
advent of ABCTE has changed the future field of play
now trained in alternative certification programs, com-
in alternative certification. While schools and colleges
pared with none in 1986.
of education can embrace the opportunity to provide
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 302
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 303
their own ARTC programs, ABCTE allows prospec-
those who support private, parochial, charter, voucher and
tive teachers with undergraduate degrees to forgo
home schools; the United States Department of Education
higher education programs altogether. ABCTE and
since 2000; several prominent foundations; many academ-
the Passport to Teaching are as staunchly opposed by
ics in the liberal arts and in fields outside of education;
those whom Haberman terms the “professionalists,”
large numbers of the general public and many elected offi-
cials. The stated goal of the deregulators is to do away with
as they are energetically supported by those he terms
current state systems of teacher licensing and allow schools
the “deregulators.” In a 2006 Web article on alternative
to hire knowledgeable teachers in a free market system.14
routes, Haberman offers a concise and colorful account
of the ideological tensions dividing the two camps—
There can be no doubt that a rift like Haberman
both of whom profess to improve student learning by
describes is both real and persistent. The evidence goes
improving the quality of classroom instruction. First,
back to educators’ vigorous resistance to New Jersey’s pro-
he describes the professionalists, sometimes referred to as
visional certification in 1985; it continues in the current
the “educational establishment,” as including:
conflict between supporters and critics of ABCTE over
whether any national test by itself can provide adequate
faculty and administrators in education departments and
evidence of an individual’s preparedness to be a teacher.15
colleges, the administrators and staffs of the 50 state edu-
It is well documented in the extensive references in jour-
cation departments, the NEA and the AFT, the National
nal articles such as “Does Teacher Certification Matter?
Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education
(NCATE), and until the year 2000, the United States
Evaluating the Evidence.”16 At the same time, as the title
Department of Education. . . . Professionalists firmly
of that article suggests, it is fair to question whether the
believe that colleges and universities are capable of prepar-
rift is based on political–ideological differences or simply
ing teachers and indeed are the only organizations capa-
on an empirical question: Do teachers really need extensive
ble of doing so. Essentially, the professionalist position
preparation in professional education courses to learn how
is based on the existence of their knowledge base, which
to teach well? Would the consequences of ABCTE for the
they equate with the knowledge bases used to prepare
teaching profession be positive, negative, or negligible?
other professionals, e.g., physicians, nurses, lawyers, engi-
neers. . . . The stated goal of the professionalists is to limit
Traditional Criteria for the Professions
the power to certify teachers to schools and departments of
education in colleges and universities. They are dedicated
Those who, like the Holmes and Carnegie commis-
to the proposition that no one should enter a classroom as
sions, look to the traditional professions as models for
a licensed teacher who has not completed a state approved
the occupation of teaching take what might be called a
program of professional studies offered by an accredited
traditional sociological perspective. They identify sev-
school of education.13
eral traits that characterize a profession’s place in the
Opposing the professionalists, says Haberman, are
larger society—such as autonomy grounded in certifi-
the deregulators, who are viewed by the “educational
ably expert knowledge or social status and rewards—
establishment” as driven by a conservative, market-
and argue that if teaching adequately exhibited those
based ideology:
traits, it would clearly be a profession and that public
schooling would be improved.
The constituencies comprising the deregulators group
There is, however, no full agreement on what con-
hold a range of opposing views. . . . They believe that
stitutes a profession. The National Labor Relations Act
what teachers know is not a “professional knowledge base”
attempted in 1948 to define a professional as one who is
known only to teachers but common sense known to any-
one who is a college graduate, a parent, or anyone in the
engaged in work predominantly intellectual . . . involving the
general public who is willing to think about their own
consistent exercise of discretion and judgment . . . of such
school experiences. The deregulators believe that in place
character that the output produced cannot be standardized
of education courses people learn to teach by actually teach-
. . . requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field
ing. . . . The essence of the deregulators’ argument is that
of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged
what is wrong with schooling in America is that the teach-
course of specialized intellectual instruction and study.17
ers don’t know enough of the subjects they teach, and that
the whole structure of licensing teachers is a protectionist
By this definition, is a teacher a professional? Certainly
plot to keep people who possess the requisite knowledge
the work is more “intellectual . . . involving the con-
in the cognate fields from teaching children. Some of the
sistent exercise of discretion and judgment” than sim-
constituencies comprising the deregulators group include
ply physical and routine. At least among teachers we
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 303
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
304
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
consider to be good at their craft this is true. What
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
about the other criteria expressed earlier? How do teach-
ers measure up in terms of acquiring a specialized body
Some readers of this book will be teachers who are
of knowledge through prolonged study?
going through alternative routes to teacher certifica-
While an argument could be made that teachers
tion, while others will be graduates of “traditional”
are professionals by the previous definition, one of
routes. Are ARTCs good for the profession and good
the most recent and comprehensive studies of profes-
for Pre-K–12 students in schools, or not? What’s your
sional preparation for teaching argues emphatically that
argument, and what’s your evidence?
teaching is “not quite” a profession. In the 1990 volume
Teachers for Our Nation’s Schools, John Goodlad writes,
“The conditions necessary to a profession simply have
not been a part of either teacher education or the teach-
Teaching as a Public
ing enterprise.” Goodlad identifies the following as the
Profession
necessary conditions for professional status:
• A reasonably coherent body of necessary knowledge
Earlier we considered briefly the issue of the relatively
and skills.
low status of teaching among the occupations. In con-
sidering school teaching as at best “a quasi-profession,”
• A degree of homogeneity in groups of program
educator Dee Ann Spencer presents a brief summary
candidates with respect to expectations and curricula.
that identifies three factors that must be considered in
•
Rather
clear
borders demarcating qualified candidates
assessing the prospects for the improvement of teaching.
from the unqualified, legitimate programs of
Spencer writes:
preparation from the shoddy and entrepreneurial,
In summary, teaching is considered a quasi-profession
and fads from innovation in theory and research.18
because of low pay and teachers’ lack of control over their
While Goodlad asserts that these conditions are “largely
work place. The conditions under which teachers work
lacking,” he goes on to say that teaching may be con-
are more similar to those of blue-collar workers than to
sidered a profession, but a “weak” one, “not quite” the
those of other professionals. The way in which the organi-
zational structure of schools has developed over time and
profession that others are:
the predominance of women in teaching have created and
perpetuated these conditions.20
Our studies have led us to several conclusions (and related
hypotheses) supporting the proposition that teaching is a
Each of these issues—low pay, lack of control
weak profession. . . . First . . . there is not a knowledge
over workplace decisions, and the predominance of
base sufficient to justify the claim that teaching warrants
women—interacts with the others in shaping the nature
classification as a profession. . . . Our second conclusion,
and status of teaching as a quasi-profession, and each
related to the first, is that the knowledge underlying and
will be examined briefly here.
relevant to teaching has been little codified. The process is
In doing so, however, we will examine an alternative
just beginning. . . . Our third conclusion is that curricu-
lum development in teacher education is largely absent,
hypothesis: teaching is a “partial” or “quasi” profession
inadequate, primitive, or all of these.19
only if the concept of “profession” is narrowly defined.
If we accept the notion that there are different kinds of
Goodlad is reflecting the view, found in the Holmes and
professions, teaching can be understood as a distinctive
Carnegie reports, that teaching is not a profession in the
type of profession with distinctive features of its own.
sense that the major professions are but that it could
How one defines professions is to some degree an ideo-
become such a profession if certain reforms in teacher
logical choice. For example, to define professions by the
education were enacted. Unlike the Holmes and Carn-
characteristics of medicine and law, which contract pri-
egie reports, he focuses only on professional preparation
vate clients on a competitive basis, are male-dominated,
and does not go on to talk about the conditions of work
and resist public, democratic control in favor of control
(autonomy, rewards, and so on) in the occupation. As
by privileged expertise, is to ensure that publicly funded
indicated earlier, the Holmes and Carnegie reports do
and controlled, female-dominated, and noncompetitive
make recommendations for restructuring the profession
professions appear deficient. Given these defining cri-
of teaching as well as preparation for it.
teria, rectifying that “deficiency” seems like a sensible
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 304
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 305
Teaching is sometimes called an “isolated” profession because teachers spend
most of their work day apart from the company of other adults.
thing to do. If, however, one starts from the point of
teacher excellence that is both responsive to the pub-
view that the modern liberal emphasis on expert control
lic, the school boards, parents, and state and national
of decision making might not be appropriate to all pro-
authority, and maintains the power to define quality
fessions, different reasoning is possible.
of education from within the sources of authority that
constitute the life of the scholar, the world of schol-
Teaching “Job” versus Teaching
arship in the arts and sciences, social and behavioral
Profession: The Issue of Professional
sciences, and all the disciplines that impact the minds
Control
of citizens. “Administrative professionalization,” on the
other hand, is the term we use to describe efforts to
Like the term “progressive,” the term “professional” is
improve teaching from outside or on the tangent of the
fraught with equivocated historical uses. In an interest-
academy. This is bureaucratic profession building that
ing way these two terms overlap to create some contem-
treats teachers as employees more than as “academic”
porary teaching control paradoxes. In Chapter 4 we
colleagues, whose performance is judged by “expert”
saw how the term “progressive” takes on two different
administrators, and “management professionals.”
meanings. In the case of Deweyan progressivism, edu-
Herbst contrasts professionalization (credentialing,
cators were urged to expand their locus of authority, to
career ladders, increasing specialization, more admin-
celebrate the democratic life by increasing possibilities
istration) with professionalism, which emphasizes “the
for control by teachers and by students. On the other
recognition and practice of a teacher’s right and obli-
hand, Eliot’s progressivism is focused, not on demo-
gation to determine his or her own professional tasks
cratic workplaces, but on the differentiation of labor
in the classroom.”21 He, like other theorists critical of
and the role of administrative “experts” in the design
the administrative professionalization model, does not
and planning of work, in this case teacher work. This
assume that teaching needs to be like other professions.
legacy remains with us. We have two definitions of pro-
He seeks instead the conditions under which teachers
fession. The first we will call academic professionalism,
could determine for themselves what they want their
following the work of Jurgen Herbst. In this defini-
profession to be. For the nation as a whole to move in
tion we describe the teacher as a member of a public
that direction would require an ideological shift away
profession that works to elevate the quality of teaching
from faith in experts as decision makers and toward a
and teacher’s lives from within the “guild” of teachers
commitment to democratically shared decision making
and scholars. This approach centers on a definition of
among teachers in schools.
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 305
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
306
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
One difficulty with that vision, however, and a
because the institutions in which they conduct their
potentially severe one, is that there are many stakehold-
practice are primarily public institutions supported by
ers in the schools: teachers, parents, students, the busi-
public taxes. In private schools (where about 12 percent
ness community, legislators, and others. If democratic
of teachers work), teachers are supported by tuition that
decision -making processes require dialogue among all
often provides them with less income than the public
stakeholders, teachers become one voice among many—
schools provide. For the most part, teachers are consid-
and an often devalued, female voice at that. Given a
ered public servants, who, like police and firefighters,
commitment to democratically shared decision making,
must depend on the public for their support. In addi-
the movement toward professionalism, based on a lib-
tion, teachers greatly outnumber such public servants
eral view of progress through expert autonomy, becomes
as police and firefighters. Consequently, their salaries
suspect. A tension develops between administrative pro-
are often lower than those in other public-servant posi-
fessionalization and the special role of the teacher who
tions that do not require a college degree. There are
seeks to serve the democratic ideals of the community.
currently over 3.5 million teachers in public and private
The dominant modern liberal ideology of top-down
elementary, middle, and secondary schools, and projec-
decision making and administrative professionalization
tions suggest there may be over 4.2 million by 2016 (see
operates to rule some issues out of the public debate.
Exhibit 10.1.)22 Furthermore, their services are selec-
The fact that the ongoing school reform movement
tively, not universally, available, most often on a private
has focused less on these underlying social issues
contractual basis as the need arises. Imagine what would
than on academic professionalism is evidence of how
happen to physicians’ salaries if their numbers were
powerful is the legacy of administrative progressiv-
quintupled and they were paid with tax dollars. Would
ism. Currently, the national political agenda has
we say that physicians were no longer professionals?
increased greatly the leverage on efforts to set criteria
for good teaching as good standardized test scores.
Public versus Private Funding Using 3.0 million as
No Child Left Behind legislation has turbocharged
a conservative estimate of public school teachers, one can
the move away from teacher-made assessment and
quickly see the enormous increase in public expenditures
local academic standard setting, toward standardized,
that would be necessary if salaries were raised even $10,000
one-size-fits-all, indicators of quality. These indicators
across the occupation. An additional expenditure of $30
are increasingly threatening to create a class of pariah
billion annually, or even half that amount, is not one that
schools, and teachers, ignoring the effects of socio-
state governments or the public is likely to support (see
economic disparity on school achievement. On the
Exhibit 10.2. Partly as a consequence of such large num-
other hand, the legislation offers encouragement that
bers of teachers, a rough leveling effect has operated his-
districts place “highly qualified” teachers and aides in
torically to keep teachers at about the median point of all
every classroom.
full-time occupations. In the period 1929–1930, teach-
ers earned 2 percent more than the average for full-time
employees working for wages or salary in all industries if
Political–Economic Dimensions
supervisors and principals are included in these figures. Dur-
of Teaching as a Public Profession
ing World War II the average for teachers dropped to 15
percent less than other workers, but by 1972 it had risen
Teaching as a Mass Public Profession The often-
to 24 percent more. Since then, the average has fluctu-
cited problems of low status and low rewards for teach-
ated between 11 and 22 percent more than the pay for
ing are not sufficient evidence that teaching is a weak
other workers.23 Although this shows some improve-
or quasi-profession. Although teacher pay is inevitably
ment, it may well be a function of the increased numbers
related to teacher status in a materialistic society, it is
of higher-paid school administrators since World War II.
also related to many other factors. Among them is the
The fact that teacher salaries are state and locally
need to use public funds to support 2.5 million pub-
funded is part of the nation’s historical commitment
lic school teachers. This dependence on public funding
to state-level control of education, and the fact that
(along with other factors that follow) has contributed to
there is no national policy on teacher salaries accounts
low pay for teachers relative to other professions. Teach-
for the wide discrepancies even in the same region. But
ers cannot ordinarily “hang out a shingle” as members
discrepancies among average teacher salaries within a
of other professions can, that is, go into private practice,
state are typically greater than those between states or
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 306
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 307
Exhibit 10.1
Actual and Middle Alternative Projected Numbers for Elementary and Secondary
Teachers, by Control of School: Fall 1991 through Fall 2016
Millions
5
Projected
4
Total
3
Public
2
1
Private
0
1991
1996
2001
2006
2011
2016
Year
Source: U.S Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data (CCD), “State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary/Secondary Education,” 1990–1991 through 2003–2004; Private School Universe Survey (PSS), selected years, 1991–1992 through 2003–2004; and Elementary and Secondary Teacher Model, 1973–2003. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/projections/projections2016/figures/figure_29.asp?referrer=list.
regions, because in a given community, local resources
science/history, engineering, and physical sciences by
can play the decisive role in funding local schools. Some
49, 43, 63, and 81 points, respectively.25
towns and cities are simply much wealthier than oth-
Educational researcher Geraldine Clifford writes that
ers. Exhibit 10.2 indicates the extent to which state and
teaching has been underpaid throughout history regardless
local revenues have contributed most of the funding for
of the gender of the majority and the method of paying
schooling in the United States.
for teaching.26 She asserts that this is due in part to the low
Whether teaching is a weak profession, not quite a
social status of its clients, who are children. While the cli-
profession, or a profession unique among the profes-
ent status of children may be a factor, it seems clear that the
sions, it is clear that it is not materially rewarded as
preponderance of women in the field of teaching has also
much as other professions tend to be. In 1992, when the
kept salaries depressed. Typically, occupations dominated
average pay for public elementary and secondary school
by women provide earnings that are much lower than
teachers had risen to $34,434, this represented more
those in male-dominated occupations requiring similar
than a doubling of the average salary earned in 1980
skill levels. In 2002, women earned just 75 percent of men
and a tripling of the average salary earned in 1972. Yet
working in the same occupation. Even in female-dominated
after adjustment for inflation, the salaries had increased
occupations, women on average earn significantly less than
only $92 per year since 1972. 24 In 2008, public school
do men working in the same occupations.27
teachers earned an average of about $50,000, which rep-
resents an increase since 1990 of just over $1,000 if held
constant for inflation (see Exhibit 10.5).
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
These differences in salary may or may not account
In When Best Doesn’t Equal Good (New York: Teach-
for the fact that teaching seems to draw fewer academi-
ers College Press, 1994) Sears, Marshall, and Otis-
cally skilled students than other professions do. The
Wilborn conclude that the “best and the brightest”
National Center for Education Statistics reports that in
are not the best teacher candidates because they
2002, SAT verbal scores of college-bound high school
leave the field. In that case, is it necessary to recruit
seniors intending to major in education lagged behind
middling people but train them well?
the scores of students intending to major in social
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 307
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
308
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Exhibit 10.2
Annual Per Capita State and Local Education Expenditure, 1990–2000
$1,400
1,300
1,200
1,100
1,000
900
800
Elementary/secondary
700
Higher education
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
Annual School Revenue by Source, 1993–2003
60%
Local
State
Federal
50
40
30
20
10
0
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Teaching as a Predominantly Female Profession
experience. If Spencer is correct that the predomi-
The question that arises, of course, is whether the
nance of women in the field is a major obstacle to
movement toward professionalization of teaching will
teachers’ obtaining professional status comparable to
be likely to change significantly the status, rewards,
that of other professions, there is cause to be skeptical
and lack of control over their occupations that teachers
of the professionalization approach because teaching
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 308
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 309
Exhibit 10.3 Percentage Distribution of Revenues of Public Elementary and Secondary Education in the United States, by Source: Fiscal Year 2006
Federal
(9.1%)
Local
(44.4%)
State
(46.5%)
Note: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS),”
‘fiscal year 2006, Version 1a. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/expenditures/figures/figure_01.asp.
promises to remain predominantly female for some
teaching. From the standpoint of town councils and local
time to come. Further examination reveals additional
school boards, female teachers in Horace Mann’s time were
relationships between gender and teaching.
considered to be more malleable than men for the various
As the Holmes Group notes, occupations that are
demands and limitations of the job. Further, as school-
female-dominated tend to earn lower income and enjoy
ing spread throughout the populace, the notion grew that
lower status than male occupations that require compa-
teachers should be a bridge between the personal, nurtur-
rable skills and training. And as Spencer notes, increasing
ing environment of the home and the more impersonal,
the proportion of women in a field has historically tended
group-oriented environment of the school and outside
to expand the number of male administrative professionals
world. By virtue of their experience as homemakers, as well
who control that field.28 Since the 1860s women have been
as their nurturing instincts, women were considered ide-
the majority of teachers, and this condition is not likely to
ally suited to help children cross this bridge.30
change. In 1999–2000 women made up the majority of
As the low status and salaries of 19th-century school-
the U.S. teacher workforce: A total of 2,590,000 teachers
masters made the job increasingly unappealing to its tra-
were female while 860,000 teachers were male (75 vs. 25
ditional male candidates, there arose a simultaneous need
percent). The percentages of female and male teachers
for more teachers to staff the growing number of schools.
were similar in both public and private schools: Female
As these new teaching positions were increasingly filled
teachers made up 75 percent of public school teachers
by women, any potential demands for perquisites were
and 76 percent of private school teachers. However, the
stifled by the fact that the only alternative occupations
distribution of teachers by sex differed widely by grade
available, factory and domestic labor, were unappealing
level. Among those teaching in the elementary grades,
to many women. At the same time, as John Rury has
1,340,000 teachers were female, while 140,000 teachers
pointed out, more rewarding management and commer-
were male (91 vs. 9 percent). In contrast, at the high school
cial opportunities were drawing men out of teaching.31
level, 570,000 teachers were female, while 470,000 teach-
One reason that other occupations have historically
ers were male (55 vs. 45 percent) In the middle grades,
drawn men away from teaching is the fact that teaching is a
there were 660,000 female and 250,000 male teachers
“flat” occupation. That is, good job performance does not
(73 vs. 27 percent).29
naturally lead to a higher-paying managerial or ownership
position. Except when given additional administrative
Historical Perspective Historically women have been
chores, such as curriculum specialist or department chair,
thought by some to be ideally suited to the occupation of
teachers at the beginnings and ends of their careers have
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 309
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
310
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Exhibit 10.4 Inflation-Adjusted Current Expenditures per Pupil for Public Elementary and Secondary Education in the United States: Fiscal Years 1985–2006
Inflation-adjusted
current expenditures
per pupil (in 2006 dollars)
$10,000
$9,000
$8,000
$7,000
$6,000
$5,000
$4,000
$3,000
$2,000
$1,000
85
91
96
98
01
02
03
04
05
06
19
1986
1990
1989
1988
1987
1995
1994
1993
1992
19
1997
19
2000
1999
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
Fiscal year
Note: Data have been adjusted to fiscal year 2006 dollars to account for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is published by the U.S. Labor Department, Bureau of Labor Statistics. This price index measures the average change in inflation of a fixed market basket of goods and services purchased by consumers.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS),”
fiscal year 1985, Version 1a; fiscal year 1986, Version 1a; fiscal years 1987–2001, Version 1b; fiscal year 2002, Version 1c; fiscal years 2003–2005, Version 1b; fiscal year 2006, Version 1a. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/expenditures/figures/figure_02.asp.
similar responsibilities. In contrast, educational adminis-
for America’s Future, was released in late 1996 by the
tration has a hierarchical structure that progresses from
National Commission for Teaching and America’s Future
school to district to state levels. As opposed to teaching,
(NCTAF), funded by the Rockefeller and Carnegie Foun-
which is female dominated, administrative jobs, which
dations (see the Primary Source Reading at the end of this
are higher paying and more prestigious, have historically
chapter). What Matters Most adds substantially to the
been dominated by men.
work of the earlier Carnegie Commission and Holmes
Group reports. The National Commission began with
Current Reform Activity In the liberal women’s
three fundamental premises:
movement of the 1970s, one goal was to redress the bal-
1. What teachers know and can do is the most
ance of female policymakers in schools and school dis-
important influence on what students learn.
tricts. That effort continues, although part of the focus
has shifted to addressing the empowerment of teachers
2. Recruiting, preparing, and retaining good teachers
who choose not to leave the classroom for administra-
is the central strategy for improving our schools.
tive posts. The choice is often made not because teach-
3. School reform cannot succeed unless it focuses
ers do not value administrative tasks or desire more
on creating the conditions in which teachers can
responsibility for policymaking and implementation
teach, and teach well.
but because they do not want to leave teaching—and
the choice is often either/or. Teaching remains a valued
When one focuses on the teaching conditions necessary
set of activities for them, and classroom life is not traded
for optimal student learning, the issue of professionalism
for central administration offices.
is framed not by seeking to make teaching look like other
An important national report to emerge from the pro-
professions. Instead, the issue of professionalism in What
fessionalization movement expressly seeks to support and
Matters Most is grounded in how the distinct knowledge and
reward the professionalism of teachers who remain in
skills of the teaching profession can be incorporated into the
the classroom. This report, What Matters Most: Teaching
governance of teacher licensing and the nature of teacher
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 310
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 311
Exhibit 10.5 Estimated and Alternative Projected Numbers for Average Annual Salaries of Classroom Teachers in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools: 1990–1991 through 2015–
2016
School Year
Constant 2003–04 Dollars1 Current
Dollars
Estimated
1990–91 $45,979
$33,084
1991–92 45,875
34,063
1992–93 45,747
35,029
1993–94 45,477
35,737
1994–95 45,378
36,675
1995–96 45,339
37,642
1996–97 45,024
38,443
1997–98 45,274
39,350
1998–99 45,854
40,544
1999–2000 45,960
41,807
2000–01 46,128
43,395
2001–02 46,651
44,660
2002–03 46,777
45,776
2003–04 46,752
46,752
2004–05 46,476
47,750
Middle alternative projections
2005–06 46,561
48,533
2006–07 47,017
49,907
2007–08 47,185
51,124
2008–09 47,373
52,446
2009–10 47,768
—
2010–11 47,989
—
2011–12 48,231
—
2012–13 48,405
—
2013–14 48,489
—
2014–15 48,553
—
2015–16 48,580
—
—Not available.
1Based on the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Note: Calculations were made using unrounded numbers. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Elementary and Secondary Teacher Salary Model, 1970–1971 through 2002–2003; and National Education Association, Estimates of School Statistics. (Latest edition 2005. Copyright 2005 by the National Education Association. All rights reserved.) (This table was prepared November 2005.) Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/projections/projections2015/tables/table_36.asp.
preparation and professional development. In addition,
Public Control versus
the report recommends the recognition and reward of
teachers who have demonstrated advanced professional
Professional Autonomy
achievement, using rigorous standards and teacher assess-
ments developed by the National Board for Professional
Who Controls the Schools?
Teaching Standards, which the Carnegie Commission had
Who Should?
recommended early in the 1980s, earlier in the contempo-
rary school reform movement.
It is not easy to determine “who controls the schools,” to
borrow the title of a well-known book on the subject. It
is instructive to note the various agencies and constituen-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
cies that seem to be legitimate stakeholders in determin-
ing what counts as important knowledge and values in the
Doesn’t the public have a legitimate interest in the
quality of teachers and schooling? Criticism of school-
schools and how they should be taught. In a 1991 U.S.
ing has prompted the current reform movement. Is
Department of Education survey, for example, two-thirds
this criticism warranted?
of public school teachers reported that they did not have
complete control over decisions concerning classroom
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 311
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
312
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
The nurturing side of teaching has been used to classify it as a “helping”
profession that is more suitable to women than men. Is there any reason that
a helping profession should have less status than a more impersonal one?
discipline. But, it might be argued, this is as it should be.
California, a conservative Christian group that claims
Do we want each teacher to decide, on the basis of his
120,000 members in 868 chapters in all 50 states. This
or her best professional judgment, how to discipline each
group was one of several that in 1993 fought to use the
child regardless of what state or local school board policy
courts to ban certain public school textbooks because
or the federal courts have ruled? It would appear that all
of their “secular humanist” content.
these constituencies have a legitimate role to play in the
Influence of yet a different kind comes from major
teacher’s decision making, and the teacher’s professional
foundations with the resources to sponsor research stud-
duty is to be influenced by these agents. Under NCLB,
ies and policy documents. The Rockefeller Brothers
teachers are subjected to a new fixation on “state content
Fund, for example, has weighed in on the profession-
standards” and test results, altering the notion of teacher
alism debate with a booklet called A Shared Vision:
judgment and authority considerably.
Policy Recommendations for Linking Teacher Education
Similarly, it is difficult to hold teachers account-
to School Reform. Teachers are also influenced by such
able to a codified body of knowledge that is influ-
professional organizations as the National Council
enced by so many groups. The Educational Testing
of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Coun-
Service reports that 41 states test students to demon-
cil of Teachers of English, organizations that attempt
strate accountability to the taxpayers. Teachers are ill
to set the curriculum and teaching standards for their
advised to ignore the content of those tests when they
respective fields. And finally, those who are calling for
are teaching. On the other hand, a 1992 article in the
more systematic licensure in the teaching profession
journal School Administrator was titled “School Reform
seek to influence what teachers will learn by holding
by University Mandate” to indicate the influence that
teacher education programs and teachers accountable
university entrance requirements have over school cur-
to specific expectations regarding what teachers should
ricula.32 Meanwhile, schools and colleges of education
know and be able to do. The major national teachers’
have the responsibility of preparing new teachers, but
unions, the American Federation of Teachers and the
state mandates are designed to influence what schools
National Education Association, have supported such
of education can and should do in such preparation.
recommendations.
State legislatures are in turn subject to a variety of
All these organizations represent various elements of
political and economic forces exerted by various pres-
the public that the public schools are expected to serve.
sure groups. Among these, for example, is Citizens
Who should determine the public interest if not the
for Excellence in Education, based in Costa Mesa,
people themselves, through governmental bodies and
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 312
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 313
special interest groups? The authority for what should
policy and recommend legislation to the state legisla-
be taught in schools must ultimately lie with the public
ture. State departments advise their boards on policy
as well as with professional teachers and administrators.
and legislation and execute policy set by state boards.
Consequently, teachers must ultimately learn how to
State departments also promulgate rules and regula-
balance a great number of competing perspectives while
tions for the conduct of public education. As a general
focusing on the best interests of each child in every class-
rule, states exercise authority for establishing minimum
room. The task is truly challenging even to the wisest
standards, which individual school districts must meet
and most experienced teachers.
and may exceed if they wish. These minimum standards
To appreciate the relationship of public control and
include teacher certification requirements, the mini-
professional autonomy in American education, it is nec-
mum number of days public schools must be in session,
essary to understand the role of the governmental struc-
compulsory student attendance rules, required subjects
ture that undergirds public education and the various
to be taught, graduation requirements, school health
legal and extralegal considerations that affect students,
and safety standards, school finance policy, responsi-
teachers, parents, and others with involvement and
bilities of local boards of education, and more. Some
interest in public schools.
states, for example, California and Texas, require state
approval of any textbooks used in local schools. It is
Statutory Control Structure
important to understand that once the state has dele-
gated specific authority to local districts, that authority
An understanding of U.S. educational governance begins
cannot be arbitrarily superseded.
with the Tenth Amendment to the United States Con-
Local school board members, whether elected by
stitution, which states: “The powers not delegated to the
citizens living in the school district or appointed by the
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it
local government in which the school district is set, are
to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
representatives of state government in their communi-
the people.” Because education is not mentioned any-
ties and generally serve without pay. School boards are
where in the Constitution, the individual states have ple-
empowered to set school district policy within the broad
nary power over public education. However, given the
framework established by state law. Among the most
early American tradition of placing government control
important powers exercised by a local school board are
as close to the people as possible, a form of educational
appointing the school superintendent, approving the
government developed in which a significant portion of
school district budget, negotiating collective bargaining
state control of public education was delegated to local
agreements with teachers’ unions, and acting on all dis-
school districts created by the state. Because government
trict employee hiring and dismissal decisions. The role
education policy is under the control of each state, there
of the school superintendent has two basic components.
is no uniform pattern to school districts. They vary in
The superintendent of schools serves as the leader of the
size, number, and even in regard to whether they exist
educational staff, responsible for providing direction
at all. For example, Illinois has about 2,000 local school
and supervision for all aspects of school district activity.
districts and Hawaii has not created any.
The superintendent’s other, equally important role is to
advise the school board on all matters before it, recom-
State Government and Local Control It is impor-
mend policy to it, and implement the policy decisions
tant to understand that while most states have delegated
of the school board.
authority for daily operations to local districts, school dis-
Three of the most important national acts that have
tricts remain creatures of the state. The state legislature
exerted enormous influence over the direction and con-
may create new ones or dissolve existing ones. A Michigan
duct of education deserve mention. The National Defense
court decision provides a good description of this relation-
Education Act of 1958 funded program improvement s
ship: “The legislature has entire control over the schools
and student study grants in science, mathematics, for-
of the state. . . . The division . . . into districts, the conduct
eign languages, and guidance because Congress deemed
of the school, the qualifications of teachers, the subjects to
educational improvements in these areas necessary for
be taught therein, are all within its control.”33
national defense during the cold war. The Elementary
State education policy is administered through boards
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (currently reautho-
of education and state departments of education. State
rized as No Child Left Behind) provides large amounts of
boards exercise general control over state educational
funding to schools directed at improving the education of
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 313
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
314
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
A sizeable portion of the teaching force still teaches in rural
environments .
students whose education is limited by poverty. Finally,
constitutional safeguards against government abuse of the
the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
rights of the people as set forth in civil rights amendments
(currently reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabili-
and statutes. Even though the language of the First and
ties Education Act) requires school districts to serve the
Fourth Amendments prevents only the national govern-
needs of disabled students according to rules and regula-
ment from abusing civil rights, the U.S. Supreme Court
tions established by the U.S. Department of Education.
has decided that state government (including public
Even though federal funding is authorized to enable
schools) is similarly forbidden from violating these fun-
school districts to meet federal guidelines for serving
damental rights. State and federal courts have the role of
handicapped students, the amount of funds provided
hearing complaints from students, educators, and other
has proved inadequate, requiring schools to divert large
citizens regarding charges of civil rights abuses by pub-
proportions of their bud gets to this purpose.34 This last
lic schools. Since the mid-20th century, there has been a
act illustrates that federal support for new mandates can
large increase in educational litigation that affects all those
be a mixed blessing for school districts.
involved in schooling. The extent of school-related court
Federal control over education extends far beyond the
suits has been great enough for many to call the justices of
requirements of these and related acts. This is so because
the U.S. Supreme Court “the black-robed school board.”
many of these acts provide that if school districts refuse
Prospective teachers should be familiar with the major
to implement them or improperly implement them, all
court decisions that influence school policy.
of their federal funds may be at risk. This is a serious
While many federal education cases focus on con-
concern for all public school districts, since an average
stitutional civil rights amendments, others are litigated
of about 8 percent of their budgets comes from federal
on the basis of various federal civil rights acts affecting
funds, which most districts can ill afford to lose.
education. Chief among these is the Civil Rights Act of
The second source of federal influence over education
1964, which forbids discrimination because of race, color,
comes from civil rights amendments to the Constitution,
religion, sex, or national origin by any agency receiving
primarily the First Amendment (protection of religious
federal funds. Other congressional civil rights statutes that
freedom and freedom of expression), the Fourth Amend-
have been the source of educational litigation include
ment (privacy protection), and the Fourteenth Amend-
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which
ment (rights of due process and equal protection of law).
forbids schools to discriminate in their programs on the
It is important to understand that public school districts
basis of gender; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which
are agents of state government and therefore subject to
forbids discrimination based on a disability by any agency
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 314
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 315
receiving federal funds; the Family Educational Rights
teacher ability and student programs. Foundation funds
and Privacy Act of 1974, which requires schools to allow
are directed to applicants whose proposals address the
teachers to inspect their personnel files and challenge mate-
issues deemed appropriate by the funders. As a result,
rial in them as well as make all student records available for
the boards of these private organizations exert influence
inspection by parents or by students aged 18 or above and
over the direction of American education equal to that
to challenge material in those records; and the Equal Access
of the research and development funding provided by
Act of 1984, which forbids schools allowing various groups
national and state governments.
to meet in the school to deny access to groups on the
Textbook publishers also exert a powerful influence
basis of religious, political, or philosophical views. Teach-
on school policy (see Chapter 9). It is estimated that
ers receive specific protections against hostile actions by
75 percent of classroom time and 90 percent of home-
school boards because of pregnancy (Pregnancy Dis-
work time are spent with text materials.35 The major
crimination Act of 1978) or age (Age Discrimination in
textbook-publishing firms exercise care in seeing to it
Employment Act of 1967).
that textbooks designed for broad national sales avoid
offending large buyers. Thus, when states with statewide
adoption policies or very large districts are seen to be
offended by the treatment of a particular topic, publish-
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#4
ers may try to chart a course that produces maximum
Increasingly, children and youth are attending schools
sales. The result may be harm to the intellectual integrity
with pagers and cell phones on their persons, some-
of their products, reducing them to a lowest common
times for bad reasons (drug dealing) and sometimes
denominator of treatment designed to avoid offending
for good reasons (maintaining contact with home
any potential buyers. For example, some districts domi-
after school). If schools try to restrict the use of such
nated by Christian fundamentalist groups complain
communications devices, what issues of due process
that social studies texts fail to provide appropriate space
and privacy need to be considered? Explain.
to the contributions of Christianity to Western civiliza-
tion, while districts influenced by minority groups voice
the same complaint regarding treatment of the contri-
butions to civilization of their race or ethnicity.36 Text-
Who Controls the Schools?
book publishers’ attempts to please everyone are often
Extralegal Influences
the result of the profit motive rather than a concern for
Government legal structure, laws, and court decisions
scholarly rigor and pedagogical effectiveness.
are not the only influences on school control. Govern-
A more recent pressure on the nature of textbooks
ment personalities, particularly the personal influence of
has developed from the aforementioned national reform
the president, serve as a powerful extralegal influence on
effort emphasizing school accountability. Many states
education policy. A prominent example of this is the
now require standardized testing of students on both
influence exerted by President Reagan during the 1980s.
national and state-prepared tests. This has caused school
The issuance by his administration of the Nation at Risk
districts to demand textbooks and related materials that
report, which criticized poor school performance as an
emphasize the particular types of learning demanded by
internal threat to national security that was more seri-
the state and national tests. Again, national textbook
ous than the external threat of Soviet communism, is a
publishers attempt to respond to their largest buyers,
prime example. The result of Reagan’s use of the “bully
creating problems for schools without sufficient buying
pulpit” was a wave of school reform in which almost
power to influence textbook development.
every state participated. This has resulted in efforts to
This influence exerted by national tests in the cur-
make both teachers and students more accountable for
rent reform movement is only the most recent extra-
school performance.
legal influence of tests on school policy. For many
A variety of nongovernmental forces exert influence
years schools have used nationally standardized tests
equal to that exerted by government. For example, pri-
to track students into various ability levels, including
vate foundations such as Carnegie, Ford, Lilly, Kellogg,
assignment of students into various special education
and MacArthur dispense millions of dollars to support
categories. Those dissatisfied with the predominance of
higher education research directed at improving school
testing as a student sorting mechanism call attention to
practices and support of school programs for improving
the fallibility of tests for this purpose, particularly when
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 315
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
316
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
they serve as the only, or even primary, determinant of
As time has passed, the traditional NEA–AFT rivalry
student classification. In California, the Association of
has been replaced by increasing cooperation in recog-
Black Psychologists sued the California State Depart-
nition of the important political influence that can be
ment of Education on the basis of its claim that the
exerted by combining forces. This has resulted in the
major standardized intelligence tests, which were used
merging of some local NEA and AFT affiliates in Cali-
to classify children as “mentally retarded,” were cultur-
fornia and elsewhere. However, enough differences
ally biased against Black children. The resultant appel-
remain between the two national agencies to make a
late court decision ( Larry P. v. Riles, 1984) found that
merger unlikely. Even while divided, the two organi-
the tests did contain enough bias against Black students
zations converge on a number of national issues, mak-
to find a violation of the equal protection rights of
ing their influence a powerful force on the direction of
minority students. An opposite conclusion was reached
national education policy.
on the same issue in the Illinois federal court ( PASE
v. Hannon, 1980). Since the U.S. Supreme Court has
never ruled on the issue, it remains a matter of contro-
Professional Satisfaction and
versy. The proper resolution of the problem advocated
by most educators is to consider a number of sources
Professional Ethics
of evidence in making decisions about the appropriate
placement of students in school programs. Test results
Researchers increasingly are turning to teachers to find out
should be used, but in conjunction with evidence of
what is right, wrong, and possible in the teaching occu-
school grades, teacher judgments, and other relevant
pation. NEA research revealed in 2002 that 88 percent
information that sheds light on the educational poten-
of teachers wish for more influence over curriculum and
tial of the student.
instruction decisions in their schools.37
A final extralegal influence deserving attention is that of
Studies of what teachers find most and least satisfy-
the two nationwide teacher organizations, the American
ing about their work reveal factors similar to those that
Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Edu-
operate in most occupations. Researcher Karen Seashore
cation Association (NEA). Both focus on influencing
Louis, in studying the general literature on quality of
teacher welfare and educational improvement by lobby-
work life, found several conditions that teachers, like
ing for legislation at the national level and at the state
other workers in various occupations, find important.38
level through state affiliates and representing teachers in
These conditions include
local district collective bargaining agreements. There was
1. Respect and status in the larger community.
a time when the NEA preferred professional sanctions
to teacher strikes as a way to influence school district
2. Participation in decision making that influences
and state education policy and concerned itself mainly
control over their work setting.
with general improvement of education rather than con-
centrating on teacher welfare issues such as salary and
3. Frequent and stimulating professional interaction
fringe benefits. In contrast, the AFT operated more in
among peers within the school.
the mold of a traditional labor union, using labor strikes
4. Opportunity to make full use of existing skills
as its most powerful weapon. Because of the success of
and knowledge and to acquire new ones
the AFT at winning teacher salary increases and related
(self-development) and the opportunity to
teacher welfare concessions in large urban districts,
experiment.
thereby winning teachers from the NEA to its side, the
NEA has developed a stance more consistent with labor
5. Procedures that permit teachers to obtain frequent
movement tradition, including strikes, that rivals that of
and accurate feedback about the specific effects of
the AFT. Although the NEA is far larger than the AFT,
their performance on student learning.
both are very active in supporting candidates for politi-
6. A pleasant physical working environment and
cal office who favor their positions and opposing those
adequate resources for carrying out the job.
with contrary platforms, both publish professional jour-
nals, and both support a variety of teacher development
7. A sense of congruence between personal goals and
programs for members.
the school’s goals, or a low degree of alienation.39
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 316
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 317
Since the student Free Speech Movement began on the University of California–
Berkeley campus in 1964, students have tested the limits of court rulings on freedom of speech in educational settings.
Louis writes that her interviews with teachers reveal that
recent survey data, spends 47 hours per week on school
the first of these may well be the most critical factor, fol-
duties, while the average secondary school teacher
lowed by the second, third, and fifth.
spends an average of 51. The difference may well be
The U.S. Office of Education confirms Louis’s study
due to the fact that on average, elementary school
with regard to teachers’ felt need for greater respect for
teachers have about 25 students in class, while second-
their profession. While most teachers (53 percent) in a
ary education teachers have an average of 23 students
1986 study indicated that greater respect for their pro-
in each of five classes.41
fession would exert a major impact on keeping them
Despite the importance of salary to teachers who
in teaching, more involvement in decision making also
said better pay would affect their decision to continue
was a high priority. But if asked to rank factors, a plural-
or leave teaching, recent studies remind us that other
ity (26 percent) chose better pay (with more room for
conditions are important to job satisfaction and that job
future increases) as the one factor that would have the
satisfaction in teaching leaves something to be desired.
greatest impact on their decision to continue or leave
Yet 50 percent of private school teachers said they cer-
teaching.40
tainly would become teachers again, whereas only 40 per-
One clear effect of the school reform movement of
cent of public school teachers said that. Why would this
the 1980s was the effort to increase teachers’ salaries.
be? The same study indicates that overall, only 11 per-
As illustrated earlier in Exhibit 10.5, however, the aver-
cent of public school teachers were highly satisfied with
age teacher salary has barely kept up with inflation over
their working conditions, compared with 36 percent
the past 25 years. And teachers still work long hours.
of private school teachers.42 These conditions include
The average elementary school teacher, according to
those that Louis identified above. Some of these, such as
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 317
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Historical Context
Teaching as a Public Profession
This timeline is different from the one in Chapter 9, though they both cover the last 40 years or so. For the purposes of studying Chapter 10, you might again ask of each decade: Which events from this decade (1970s, 1980s, and so on), have the most direct significance for the issues of teaching as a public profession discussed in this chapter?
1960s
1960
Six years after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision against school segregation, the
modern “sit-in”
movement begins when four Black students from North Carolina A&T College sit at a “Whites-only” Woolworth’s lunch counter and refuse to leave when denied service
1960
President Dwight Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which acknowledges the federal government’s responsibility in matters involving civil rights
1963 Publication
of
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan revitalizes the feminist movement
1964
Head Start, U.S. educational program for low-income preschool children, is established 1964
Student Mario Savio leads Free Speech Movement at University of California at Berkeley 1966
Former teacher Margaret C. McNamara founds Readings Is Fundamental (RIF)
1968
Bilingual Education Act passed
1969
250,000 antiwar protesters (the largest antiwar demonstration ever) march on Washington, DC
1969
The Stonewall rebellion in New York City marks the beginning of the gay rights movement 1970s
1970
A subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives holds hearings on sex discrimination in education, the first in U.S. history
1970
Supreme Court upholds new 18-year-old voting age
1972
Title IX Educational Amendment passed, outlawing sex discrimination in educational institutions
receiving federal financial assistance
1975
Congress passes Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142)
1975
Congress votes to admit women to Army, Navy, and Air Force academies
1978
Proposition 13 in California begins U.S. “taxpayer revolt” against government spending 1980s
1982
Equal Rights Amendment fails to win state ratification
1982
Reagan establishes “new federalism,” transferring social programs to local and state control 1983
A Nation at Risk, a report by the Presidential Commission on Excellence in Education, advocates a “back to basics”
education; becomes the first major document in the current reform movement
1984
Education for Economic Security Act (Public Law 98-377) passed, adding new science and math programs at all levels of schooling
1984
Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act continues federal aid for vocational education until 1989
1990s
1991
Unemployment rate rises to highest level in a decade
1992
Americans with Disabilities Act, the most sweeping antidiscrimination legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, guarantees equal access for people with disabilities
1993
United States follows other industrialized nations with Family Leave Act that guarantees workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for medical emergencies
1995
Supreme Court rules against any affirmative action program that is not “narrowly tailored” to accomplish a “compelling government interest”
1996
Clinton signs welfare reform legislation, ending more than 60 years of federal cash assistance to the poor and replacing it with block grants to states to administer
1996
Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act, denying federal recognition to same-sex marriages 1997
Supreme Court rules 5–4 that public school teachers can work in parochial schools that need remedial or supplemental classes
1998
Students at schools in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Springfield, Oregon, open fire on students and teachers, killing seven and injuring many others
1999
Kansas Board of Education votes against testing any Kansas students on science curriculum related to theory and science of evolution (but it would be restored in 2001 by new school board)
2000s
2001
The No Child Left Behind Act expands the federal government’s role in elementary and secondary education 2003
Millions of demonstrators around the world take to the streets to protest the planned U.S. invasion of Iraq 2003
President Bush orders the invasion of Iraq
2003
The Pentagon says major combat operations are ended in Iraq after the takeover in April of the last Iraqi stronghold 2003
U.S. Supreme Court votes 6–3 to strike down Texas sodomy law banning sexual conduct between gay people 2003
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court holds a 4–3 decision that gay couples in Massachusetts have the right to marry 2004
President Bush declares his support for an amendment to the Constitution that would ban gay marriage Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
How does the recent history of the gay and lesbian rights movement have potential impact, if any, on teaching as a profession?
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 318
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 319
opportunity for frequent peer interaction and partici-
Therefore, schools must be organized to eliminate,
pation in decision making, are clearly conditions that
as much as possible, the isolated, privatized practice of
school systems can address.
teaching that was characteristic of the one-room school-
house. When schools began looking like factories, they
did not reorganize the work of teaching into collab-
Teaching and Teacher Learning as
orative teams solving problems together. Union orga-
Collaborative Activities
nization did not create such teaming, either, around
the learning needs of students. But in this new view of
In the 21st century, a new view of school organization—
teaching as a collaborative professional activity, a clear
and therefore a new view of teaching—is rapidly devel-
consensus is emerging from administration and unions
oping. To meet the learning needs of children, schools
alike that teachers need to work together to create the
need to be places where teacher learning is highly valued.
spaces for teachers to collaborate in professional learn-
This is because:
ing communities that focus on the learning needs of
• What teachers can learn in a brief teacher education
students.
program is limited. Imagine learning to play a
Even within that collaborative mode, the teacher
musical instrument at the professional level by
must be concerned about newly developed professional
reading about that instrument for three years in
norms and standards, as well as laws, that affect each
college, observing it being played for a semester, then
teacher as an individual. Teachers ignore the laws and
playing it yourself for a semester before taking your
the relevant professional standards at their peril. Ulti-
place on the concert stage. Virtually no one could
mately, the teacher is not a Lone Ranger in the class-
do it, and no one is expected to. Yet we expect
room, but a representative of several wider communities:
teachers to perform at a high professional level by
• The community of subject matter specialists that
preparing them in just that manner. And it could be
determines what is true, not true, or debatable in
argued that meeting the varied learning needs of an
each subject, whether it’s history or mathematics or
entire classroom of children or youth is a far more
literature, and so on.
complex and demanding task than playing in a
concert orchestra.
• The community of teaching researchers and prac-
titioners who have established a knowledge base
• Moreover, what teachers can learn in a teacher ed
about what is effective and ethical in the classroom.
program is necessarily general so it can apply to many
kinds of school settings, while teachers need to learn
• The local community in which the school resides,
a lot about the particulars of one school setting when
because that community has cultural and linguistic
they begin teaching there. This includes the culture
norms, practices, and expectations of teachers to
and practices of the school as well as the culture and
which teachers must be sensitive.
practices of the community of the school.43
• The community of the particular school that
determines what the norms and expectations are
• The level of teaching expertise required to meet the
for teachers in the school, whether they pertain to
needs of children who are not learning well is huge,
personal appearance or professional conduct in the
and good teachers take years to learn their craft.
hallways or peer relationships.
To meet the learning needs of children schoolwide,
These are some of the communities of values and practices
teachers need to learn how to work together, and this
that give teachers the authority to act in some ways and not
can best be learned by doing it with the particular teach-
others. Teachers who represent these communities well are
ers in that school. If student learning is valued, then
usually on safe professional and ethical ground. However,
teacher learning must be highly valued, and therefore
sometimes those communities may have expectations that
teacher collaboration must be valued. The theory and
do not fit the teacher’s own philosophy. One or another of
practice of professional learning communities has devel-
these communities may endorse physical punishment or
oped dramatically in the past decade. We have learned
belittling of children as good methods of classroom man-
that teachers who are supported in their efforts to work
agement, for example. Or the history text may be clearly
together to solve problems in the school can have a sig-
mistaken about something the teacher knows well to be
nificant impact on student learning.44
true. When there is conflict between a teacher’s values and
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 319
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
320
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
the values of the communities he or she represents in the
fairly competing values of the various constituencies
classroom, it is important to be thoughtful and strategic
to be served by the schools, but also by each teacher’s
about how that conflict is addressed. The way in which
understanding and ethical commitment to serving
it is done will be, for better or worse, a learning occasion
democratic ideals. But where does one go for guidance
for the teacher, the students, and the environing commu-
concerning what is meant by “democratic ideals”? For
nities. If the occasion is well planned by the teacher for
example, John Dewey’s belief that the moral mean-
optimal adult learning as well as student learning, good
ing of democracy is its commitment to “the all-around
outcomes can result. Poorly addressed, these conflicts can
growth of every member of society.”46 Among all our
become damaging for all concerned.
social institutions, only the schools have accepted such
a broad mandate. Translating this ideal into classroom
Democratic Ethics and
practice, for the “all-around growth of every member”
the Profession of Teaching
of the class, is part of the ethical challenge that teach-
ers may elect to meet. This challenge is thus one of the
That teaching is situated amid the competing values and
defining features of the profession of teaching.
demands of the public provides another component of
its uniqueness as a profession: the professional ethics
of teaching. Each profession has its own ethical codes,
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
and teaching is no exception. The ethical codes of each
OF EDUCATION
profession are shaped by the activities and responsibili-
ties unique to that profession, and since each profes-
For the school reform movement to focus on the
sion has different responsibilities, the ethical codes vary
quality of teaching is a signal to teachers, school
accordingly. According to philosopher Michael Scriven,
administrators, and the public that the connec-
examples of the professional ethical responsibilities of
tions between good schooling and good teaching
teaching include
are strong. Efforts to improve schooling necessarily
respecting confidentiality of student and personnel records;
take teachers, their preparation, and their practice
avoiding favoritism or harassment (sexual or otherwise) of
into account, and the professionalization effort also
particular students—as well as avoiding the appearance of
seeks to do this. The push for professionalization
favoritism or harassment; not presenting oneself as repre-
could result in increased status and benefits for
senting the school’s viewpoint unless specifically empow-
teachers, yet the acknowledgment and protection
ered to do so; ensuring that cheating does not occur and is
punished and reported when it does; avoiding all versions
of teacher interests require a close examination of
of “teaching to the test” and other test invalidation such
the ways in which professionalization could both
as requesting that less able students stay home on test day
serve and undermine them.
. . . ; assisting with activities such as the development and
Teachers are a vital but not solitary component
enforcement of professional ethical standards.45
in the massive American educational system.
In this list of examples, Scriven focuses on the ethical
Although more power and autonomy could change
responsibilities that derive from day-to-day activities of
the nature of teaching practice, teachers cannot
teaching, just as ethical codes are derived from the activ-
be held accountable for systematic failures in the
ities of other professions. A distinctive dimension of the
wider society that adversely affect their work.
ethical conduct of teaching, however, goes beyond these
Good teaching can open new life possibilities for
day-to-day activities to the underlying mission of the
young people in even the harshest living con-
public school. This underlying mission is grounded in
ditions, but good teaching is not likely to solve
the special relationship between education and democ-
problems of drugs, violence, poverty, economic
racy: Each is needed for the other to reach its full poten-
tial. No other profession takes as its fundamental goal
recession and resulting unemployment, or other
the nurture of the knowledge, skills, and dispositions
societal conditions that require direct solutions
necessary for young people to take independent places
of their own. Yet because the ultimate author-
in democratic life. The teacher therefore finds that pro-
ity for what is to be taught in schools lies in the
fessional ethics are determined not just by the activi-
knowledge and values of the wider society, teach-
ties of the profession, not just by the need to balance
ers tend to be held accountable by a great many
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 320
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 321
different segments of the public—parents, local
reforms that make teaching more like other pro-
governments, state governments, the business
fessions but leave the quality of schooling little
community, representatives of minority groups the
improved. If the problem to be addressed is the
schools have not served well, and others. How to
quality of schooling, a better question would be,
remain responsive to these various groups that
What do teachers need to be to accomplish their
have a legitimate stake in schooling, and yet
educational tasks best? The questions that follow
remain autonomous professionals whose educa-
from that would include:
tional judgments are trusted, remains a problem
•
What kinds of people make the best
for the professional educator.
teachers?
As the possibilities of improving the status of
•
How can we select and prepare them?
teaching are considered and implemented, the var-
•
How should schools be structured for the
ious constituencies that have influence over schools
education of the students?
need to take the history and particularities of teach-
ing into account. It is possible that such study would
Perhaps Holmes and Carnegie are correct and the
reveal the strengths of an occupation that carries
answers to those questions lead to the conclusion
historically feminized values such as nurturing, sup-
that teaching should be more like the other pro-
port, and attention to personal relationships. Those
fessions. But that claim needs to be persuasively
values could then be integrated into the strategies
argued, not just asserted through comparisons
that evolve for the improvement of the conditions
with established professions. What matters in the
under which teachers are educated and become
end is not the designation of “professional” but
responsible for the education outcomes and futures of
that teachers have a range of knowledge, skills,
subsequent generations. We can question whether
and dispositions to respond to distinctively edu-
a historically feminized occupation with 3 million
cational problems effectively. Such knowledge,
practitioners can ever be expected to achieve the
skills, and dispositions are not likely to be simply
material rewards and status enjoyed by male-
lay knowledge or common sense. This special-
dominated professions with a fraction as many
ized knowledge, however, doesn’t itself define
practitioners. If this likelihood is remote, one can
a profession, for there is specialized knowledge
further ask which dimensions of professionalization
in many crafts and occupations. But the debate
would be of benefit to teachers and their students
whether teaching is really a profession becomes a
and how. If teaching is to have higher professional
red herring brought about by calls to professional-
status than it now has, it will be likely nevertheless
ize teaching. The problem at hand is to determine
to occupy a distinct niche among the professions.
what teachers need to accomplish their educa-
One mark of the success of the professionalization
tional tasks. One issue you may wish to address in
of teaching will be the degree to which teachers
your philosophy of education is the kind of work-
achieve significant influence in making the fun-
ing climate you wish to be a part of and to con-
damental decisions that affect their working lives
tribute to, and how you would or should respond
while successfully engaging representatives of the
to the new regimes of accountability mandated
many educational constituencies in dialogue over
under NCLB. Should it be one in which it’s every
what should be taught, to whom, and how.
person for himself or herself, or one in which col-
Making teachers look more like other profession-
leagues work together for common school goals?
als, however, may be a mistaken approach to the
One in which you have no voice in school decision
original question that gave rise to the professional-
making, or one in which your ideas are sought out
ization discussion: How can schooling be improved?
by school leaders? While you might not find the
Professionalization proves to be a misleading line
ideal working environment, are you prepared to
of thought if it leads to a protracted discussion of
work collaboratively to achieve it? If so, how? If
whether teaching is really a profession or leads to
not, why not?
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 321
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
322
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Primary Source Reading
NCATE—which accredits more than 600 colleges
and programs nationally that graduate two-thirds of
new teachers—has initiated what James Cibulka, its
This chapter has criticized the teacher professionaliza-
president, called a “redesign and transformation” aimed
tion movement as a way to reform schooling in the
at making teaching a more respected profession with
United States. Yet, the chapter endorses a view of
heightened preparation standards throughout.
professionalism in teaching that embraces strong pro-
The panel, he said, will “identify what the best prac-
fessional preparation, professional commitment, and
tices are in strong clinical preparation and in preparing
professional standards of ethics and performance.
teachers to more effectively teach diverse learners.” Efforts
Clearly, this chapter finds encouragement in the 1996
will focus on building partnerships between universities
report on teaching and learning in the United States,
and making sure ideas are “relevant to policies at the
What Matters Most: Teaching for America’s Future.
national, state and local level.” After this week’s sessions,
Students are encouraged to consult the website of
the panel will meet again in April before issuing a final
the National Commission on Teaching and America’s
report in May, a timeline he said is accelerated because
Future to learn more about the commission’s high
the change is badly needed and the national environment
expectations for teachers.
is ripe for change.
Professional teacher preparation, especially the con-
In an October speech at Columbia University’s
nection between teacher practice and higher education,
Teachers College, Duncan said “America’s university-
is crucial to meaningful school improvement. This article,
based teacher preparation programs need revolutionary
by Jennifer Epstein, demonstrates the level of concern
change—not evolutionary tinkering.” In another speech
regarding the fit between the university, the teaching
that month, at the University of Virginia, he suggested
profession and the American school.
that “teaching should be one of our most revered pro-
fessions, and teacher preparation programs should be
among a university’s most important responsibilities,”
Making Teaching a Profession
an opinion he voiced again in a column published in the
magazines of the National Education Association and
Jennifer Epstein
American Federation of Teachers.
Among the ideas to be seriously considered by the
WASHINGTON—After spending much of the fall
panel: the restructuring and rebranding of teaching as
calling for major reforms to the nation’s teacher prepa-
a practice-based profession like medicine or nursing,
ration programs, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s
with a more closely monitored induction period—akin
pleas appear to have begun to encourage action, as a
to a doctor’s residency—and career-long professional
major accreditor begins an effort this week aimed at
development.
bringing major changes to colleges of education and
Tom Carroll, a member of the panel and president of
school districts alike.
the National Commission on Teaching and America’s
More than two dozen teacher educators and educa-
Future, said he wants the group “to respond with a very
tion policy leaders will converge here Wednesday and
proactive, forward-looking vision of what we need to do
Thursday for the first meeting of the National Coun-
to reinvent teacher preparation.”
cil for Accreditation of Teacher Education’s (NCATE)
Panelist Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow
Panel on Clinical Preparation, Partnerships and Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and former Improved Student Learning, charged with recommend-dean of Teachers College, said he hopes to see the group
ing scalable ways to improve in-the-classroom training
take steps to bridge “the yawning chasm of practice
and strengthen relationships between school districts
and theory between the universities and the schools.”
and the colleges and universities that prepare their teach-
Schools, he said, should “become teaching hospitals,”
ers. The recommendations, in turn, would probably
environments where undergraduate and graduate stu-
form the basis for revisions to the council’s accreditation
dents preparing to become teachers can learn as they
standards.
contribute to the instruction of primary and secondary
students. Levine published a series of highly critical (and
controversial) reports about the problems in teacher
Source: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/01/05/teachers.
education several years ago.
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 322
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Teaching in a Public Institution Chapter 10 323
Most teacher preparation programs already include
Sona K. Andrews, provost of Boise State Univer-
some element of clinical practice, or student teach-
sity, said her institution’s college of education is “actu-
ing, but Levine said the problem he has seen at dozens
ally one of the few that puts students in the classroom
of programs was that there was “no connection
throughout the entire tenure that the student is here.”
between the clinical experience and what went on in
The university has strong relationships with local school
the university.” Ideally, he said, students “would teach
districts to ensure that the two entities are serving one
in the morning, spend the afternoon learning theory
another’s needs.
connected to what went on that morning, and then
The ivory tower and the little red schoolhouse must
preparing for the next day.”
learn how to work together, Cibulka said. Student
To Catherine Emihovich, a panelist who is dean of
teachers must be placed with master teachers rather than
the University of Florida’s College of Education, “the
“the teachers that say they need a student teacher.” They
time has come” for major changes to teacher prepara-
need “strong relationships with supervising teachers and
tion. “Secretary Duncan has been pushing for change
with other teachers in the school and other students
and the true understanding of teaching as a profession,
learning in the preparation program.”
and we are too,” she said. “We must treat teaching as a
That’s possible, he said, only if the two kinds of
recognized profession that occurs in stages rather than
institutions work together. “To be successful it is going
to see it in the old model where students study it in col-
to have to be done in partnership. Working together,
lege, graduate in four years . . . and then are working in
I think we’re going to begin to actually change the
the field and done with their education.”
profession.”
Developing Your
teaching. In your view, are there other reasons that
Professional Vocabulary
should be included, or do the reasons presented
have adequate explanatory value? Explain.
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
2. Given that professional status, autonomy, and the
important to education.
material reward structure in teaching compare
poorly to those of other professions, what do you
Brown v. Board of
National Board for
expect to derive from teaching in terms of personal
Education
Professional Teaching
rewards? What evidence do you find in this
Standards
chapter that your expectations are likely or not
democratic ethics
likely to be met? How adequate is that evidence, in
profession
due process protection in
your view? Explain your position.
schools
professional autonomy
3. What issues of teacher professionalism are raised
professional ethics
by the Primary Source Reading? Are these issues
expert management
relevant to your own administrative aspirations as
professionalization versus
Holmes Report
a teacher? Explain.
professionalism
Lau v. Nichols
Title IX
Online Resources
Questions for Discussion
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
and Examination
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
1. This chapter lists several reasons, from the
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
economic to the ideological to the demographic,
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
for the relatively low professional status of
articles and news feeds.
toz24404_ch10_288-323.indd 323
07/09/12 2:53 PM
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 11
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market
Preparation, and Contemporary
School Reform: The Post–Cold
War Era
Chapter Overview
Chapters 11 through 13 correspond to Chapters
these ideals are worthy of shaping our educa-
4 and 7 in their emphasis on race, ethnicity, eco-
tional aims for all students.
nomic class, and gender as elements of social
This chapter argues that the democratic ideal
and economic inequity. Chapter 11 corresponds
of “the all-around growth of every member of
to Chapter 4 in its attention to the contrast be-
society” that Dewey advocated and that remains
tween vocational education and the liberal ideal
compelling today has not been well served in
in education. Some readers view this chapter as
the historical development of “labor force”
the most important one in the volume. It makes
education goals, programs, and results. The
explicit a theme that has pervaded the text up
chapter then examines a different approach to
to this point: While the historical ideals of lib-
work preparation education that uses vocational
eral education have come from cultures that
methods to achieve traditional liberal educa-
were structured in racist, sexist, and class-based
tion ideals and leaves open a wider opportunity
ways, key dimensions of liberal education ideals
for students to make a variety of postsecondary
are worth preserving. These ideals emphasize
choices, regardless of their primary and second-
both the full development of the intellectual and
ary schooling. Examples of current practice illus-
emotional capacities of each person and the idea
trate the Deweyan approach to education through
that as human beings we have more in common
vocations instead of for vocations.
than in contrast with one another; accordingly,
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 324
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Public education can introduce all students to the life
of the mind as well as to employable skills.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 11 seeks to
liberal education for embodying democratic
achieve are these:
ideals more thoroughly than a vocationalist or
differentiated-curriculum approach does.
1. This chapter should demonstrate the supporting
arguments for labor market education in public
5. This chapter should explain how the four major
schools and analyze how well this education has
themes of the contemporary reform movement
served the population it has been intended to
have influenced the conduct of schooling in the
serve.
United States.
2. Students should be able to discuss how the
6. Students should be able to identify who decides
rhetoric of advocates of differentiated education
on and who benefits from the recommendations
contrasts with the available data on the nature of
and policies of the contemporary reform
the American workplace in the foreseeable future.
movement.
3. Another objective is to discuss whether a revised
7. Students should be able to evaluate the
view of workplace education that focuses on
political–economic analysis presented in this
traditional liberal educational goals instead of
chapter and discuss whether it captures the
preparation for the workplace is more support-
meaning of the contemporary reform movement.
able for educational and economic reasons.
8. Finally, this chaper should equip students to
4. Students should be able to consider the histori-
analyze the extent to which the contemporary
cal ideal of liberal education and how that ideal
reform movement can improve educational
can be used to serve the interests of all students.
outcomes.
Further, they should consider the potential of
325
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 325
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
326
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Analytic Framework
Political Economy
Ideology
Society divided by class and race
Meritocratic versus democratic
ideals
Society divided by gender
Education as a sorting
Immigration at high rate
mechanism to locate leadership
Gendered workplace undergoing
in democracy
change
Government as economic
Growth in service-sector jobs
regulator versus unfettered free
Growth in digital technology
economy
Government support for
Equal treatment for different ethnic
vocational
education
and gender groups
Several years of economic growth
Schooling
Sharp differences in student performance
in different neighborhoods
Emphasis on college preparatory and
advanced placement courses for
strongest
students
Emphasis on school to work for lower-
performing
students
Meritocracy and employable skills as
prominent educational goals
Emergence of community college as site
for vocational education
Introduction: The Purposes
curriculum theorists have criticized the class, gender, and
race biases of vocational education in public schools.
of Schooling
Historian Edward Krug, in his classic work The Shap-
ing of the American High School 1920 –1941, identifies
In the 18th and 19th centuries the primary purpose of
one source of ideological and political–economic con-
schooling was to teach young people academic skills.
test and change in education. He called it the “cult of
Young men and women developed workplace skills not
business” This was an extension of the social stability
in schools but in apprenticeships and other on-the-job
proponents—schoolmasters who sought in the 1920s
training, whether for skilled crafts or for the newly devel-
to respond to those arguing that the academic life of
oping factories. The beginning of the 20th century, how-
learning and inquiry was hostile to the orderly devel-
ever, brought with it the effort to mix job preparation
opment of American life and unsuited to the majority
with academic schooling, a mix that remained controver-
of students. Along with this cult of business came
sial throughout the century. Just as some Black educators
an ideology of anti-intellectualism, social and politi-
questioned Booker T. Washington’s emphasis on voca-
cal conformity, and the ritual of high school culture.
tional education for African American youth, educators
This relationship between commerece, industry, and
from John Dewey to Mark Van Doren to contemporary
education was not new at this time and not uniform.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 326
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 327
For example, while business elite were influencing the
education and high school as postsecondary school prepa-
differentiation of education for industrial efficiency,
ration dominate the discussion in the early 20th century.
organized labor fought back largely rejecting the de-
College prep and trades/vocational schooling character-
formation of teachers’ work. For example, in 1923 the
ize early-century efforts to academically track students.
New York Federation of Labor called for class size and
However, there are political and economic forces that
teacher load reductions, provisions for teacher tenure,
drive schooling. David Angus and Jeffrey Mirel argue
and elimination of supervisory ratings, and significantly
that the most significant 20th-century development is
limited vocational training to students over 16. Also, in
the so-called general track. It points to another interest-
1923 the American Federation of Labor’s committee
ing development in school and labor preparation. Market
on education rejected censorship and business interfer-
conditions such as the surplus population of unemployed
ence with teachers’ academic authority. This movement
youth led this trend.3 Angus and Mirel write, “In the 1910s
also saw labor reject the junior high school, which was
and 1920s the primary mission of high schools was the
developed during this period as a mechanism for early
preparation of young people for adult roles and respon-
vocational tracking toward economic efficiency.1
sibilities in the economy either through academic or
John Dewey had called these business values a part of
vocational education. While that mission did not disap-
the “religion of prosperity” and was concerned that such
pear during the 1930s and the 1940s, it was rapidly rel-
prosperity would not be fairly distributed. He also noted
egated to a secondary position as the need to keep young
that it would foster a knee-jerk patriotism, “industrial
people out of the labor market became a crucial social and
fodder” equivalent to the “efficient cannon fodder” turned
economic necessity.”4 As the president of the American
out by other nations. This comes on the heels of the
Youth Commission (AYC) Howard Bell put it, “If they
Great War and the role of imperialist militarized Germany,
[high school–age youth] get jobs, they displace adults and
whose own waves of 19th-century public education
thus aggravate the national problem of unemployment.”5
reform spawned both the 20th-century research-model
This “custodial” mission of the American school must
university and the most comprehensive system of public
be kept in mind whenever we observe reform breaking
education and template for anti-intellectual working-
out in the United States, and, indeed now, in the glob-
class education.
al marketplace.6 Ginsburg’s volume is a compilation of
The culture of business influence in education
papers each pointing to international, noneducational
reform is firmly established in the 20th century during
schooling functions: labor pool adjustment, political
times of wealth creation, as in the 1920s’ insecurity
stability, certainly vocational and academic tracking. The
and in the 1930s. These movements are characterized
reforms discussed in this text are mainly idiosyncratic to
by vocational and custodial goals. Ironically, business
the United States, but labor markets and state-sponsored
elites in the 1980s would retool this language in a new
education dovetail wherever wage-labor and managerial
narrative of testing and standards.
differentiations exist in mature or emerging economies.
As we saw earlier in Booker T. Washington’s argu-
The general track courses later metamorphosed into a
ments, the arguments of social-efficiency educators of
curriculum of “life adjustment” and were heavy on leisure
the progressive era, James B. Conant’s arguments in the
studies, lighter noncollege preparatory “adapted” versions
early cold war era, and similar arguments presented early
of general science, some social studies, language “arts,”
in the 21st century, the primary purpose of schooling
“work experiences,” practical math, “modern problems,”
is often defined in terms of the economic conditions
hygiene, and other commercially focused versions of
and needs of the larger society rather than in terms of
academic subjects.7
what each individual needs to be a well-educated per-
The 1960s witnessed a revival of vocational educa-
son.2 Many teachers have not had the opportunity to
tion. As we saw in Part 1, James B. Conant emphasized
think carefully about the difference between the ideals
vocational education in his much-discussed 1959 book
of liberal education and those of vocational education,
The American High School Today. Conant argued, for
as Mark Van Doren did in Conant’s time, for example.
example, that a comprehensive high school could be
This chapter affords an opportunity to think about
regarded as successful if one of the three major things it
those purposes of education in today’s world.
accomplished was to offer an extensive elective program
We have seen how labor force preparation and responses
that prepared the majority of students for the workplace
to workplace changes are a leading political–economic
immediately after high school. The other two items that
discourse at least since the early 19th century. Liberal
he identified as marking a successful comprehensive
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 327
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
328
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
high school were the provision of a good education for
high-tech and service industries. The skills of highly paid
all students as future citizens and an advanced curricu-
factory workers continue to become obsolete. By the year
lum aimed at the most “talented” students.8
2000, some 75 percent of [manufacturing] employees will
Three of Conant’s 21 recommendations attempted to
need to be retrained in new jobs or taught fresh skills for
systematize the vocational education direction established
their old ones. On the average, workers now change jobs
from four to six times in their work lives. There is a strik-
in the progressive era. Conant argued in recommendation
ing trend toward a requirement of more education for the
1, for example, that “a meaningful sequence for a major-
fastest-growing kinds of jobs, those in technical, mana-
ity of the students would be a series of courses leading to
gerial, and professional areas. A projection of new jobs
the development of marketable skills.”9 In recommenda-
to be created between 1984 and 2000 shows that more
tion 2 Conant advised that each student should choose
than half will require education beyond high school,
either an academic or a vocational or commercial sequence
with about a third to be filled by college graduates. The
of courses, though he cautioned that any student at any
median years of education required for new jobs for 2000
time should be able to switch from one of these sequences
will be 13.5 compared with 12.8 for 1984. In absolute
to another. In recommendation 7 Conant focused on
numbers, most new jobs will be in service occupations
diversified vocational education programs, which he be-
such as administrative support, marketing, and sales. By
lieved ought to be provided in any good comprehensive
the year 2000, some 88 percent of the work force will
hold jobs in the service sector. While the rate of growth
high school. He meant secretarial and home econom-
will be greatest in higher-skill areas, the largest number of
ics courses for girls and trade and industrial courses for
jobs will be for cooks, nursing aides, waiters, and janitors;
boys. He argued that these programs should be geared
for cashiers in marketing and sales; and for secretaries,
to employment opportunities in the local community.10
clerks, and computer operators in administrative support.
Conant’s widely publicized recommendations sig-
Other than the computer operators, most of these catego-
naled renewed emphasis on vocational education in
ries require only modest skills. But even here there will
the late 1950s and early 1960s. One of his most sig-
be increased expectations that these workers can read and
nificant contributions was to provide an emphatic
understand directions, do arithmetic, and be able to speak
answer to a debate that had endured since the incep-
and think clearly. The unskilled clearly will be the most
tion of vocational education at the turn of the cen-
vulnerable.11
tury. This dispute concerned whether there ought to
Wirth points out that the model of the American
be separate high schools for students in vocational and
workplace on which vocational education programs of
academic programs. Conant clearly argued that such a
the progressive period were based no longer accurately
separation was inadvisable and that a comprehensive
represents the American economy (see Exhibits 11.1
high school should offer different kinds of curricula
and 11.2). The American workplace has shifted signifi-
under the same roof.
cantly from heavy manufacturing industries to services-
producing businesses, in particular small firms that
The Future of the Workplace
require people with flexible, multiple skills.
For example, the U.S. government reports that from
1990 to 1992 nearly a million jobs among operators,
Thus the stage was set early in the 20th century for the
fabricators, and laborers were eliminated while signifi-
kinds of labor force training and custodial “holding” of
cant increases were recorded among jobs designated as
the needs of markets in labor. This section examines the
managerial, professional, technical, sales, and service.12
kinds of information that might be shared with students
Many of the fastest-growing occupations are in fact
to help them more fully understand the realities of work
related to high technology, as indicated in Exhibit 11.2.
in the 21st century.
For example, the fastest-growing jobs (in terms of
percentage growth) were computer service techni-
Future Jobs
cians, computer systems analysts, computer engineers,
and so on. On the other hand, it is important to note
Wirth writes about the ongoing shift in the American
that these high-tech positions actually constitute a
workplace from manufacturing to service industries:
very small percentage of the total job growth. That
In the steady trend toward a computer-driven society,
is, although such jobs are growing rapidly, relatively
there continues to be a strong shift from manufacturing to
few of them are available. The fastest-growing job
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 328
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 329
Exhibit 11.1
Employment in the 10 Occupations with Largest Projected Job Growth, 1996 and
Projected 2006
Quartile Rank
Employment
Change
by
1996
1996
2006
Number
Median
Weekly
(in (in (in
Earnings
of
thousands thousands thousands
Full-Time
Education
and
Training
Occupations
of jobs)
of jobs)
of jobs)
Percentage
Workers
Category
All occupations
132,353
150,927
18,574
14%
—
—
Ten Occupations with Largest Job Growth: 1996–2006
1. Cashiers
3,146
3,677
530
17%
4
Short-term on-the-job training
2. Systems analysts
506
1,025
520
103
1
Bachelor’s degree
3.
General managers
and top executives
3,210
3,677
467
15
1
Work experience plus
bachelor’s or higher degree
4. Registered nurses
1,971
2,382
411
21
1
Associate degree
5. Salespersons, retail
4,072
4,481
408
10
3
Short-term on-the-job training
6.
Truck drivers, light
and heavy
2,719
3,123
404
15
2
Short-term on-the-job training
7.
Home health aides
495
873
378
76
4
Short-term on-the-job training
8.
Teacher aides and
educational assistants
981
1,352
370
38
4
Short-term on-the-job training
9.
Nursing aides,
orderlies, and
attendants
1,312
1,645
333
25
4
Short-term on-the-job training
10.
Receptionists and
information clerks
1,074
1,392
318
30
4
Short-term on-the-job training
Total
19,486
23,627
4,139
21
—
Share of all jobs
(percentage) 14.7%
15.7%
22.3%
— —
—Means not applicable.
Source: G. Silvestri, “Occupational Employment Projections to 2006,” Monthly Labor Review, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Employment Projections, November 1997.
category, database administration, for example, repre-
vocational education programs are not well suited to
sented a small percentage of the job growth in Ameri-
provide. Examples include cashiers, salesclerks, gen-
can society and even a smaller percentage of total jobs.
eral office clerks, registered nurses, food servers, teach-
The same can be said for the other high-tech jobs in
ers, and truck drivers. Only a few of these jobs—such
Exhibit 11.2.
as secretaries, nursing aides, and orderlies—are posi-
For a truer picture of job growth in American soci-
tions for which high school curricula are preparing
ety we need to look at the growth in numbers of jobs in
students. The question arising from such data is, is
the job market. For example, although the category of
an entire vocational education curriculum needed to
computer engineers is one of the fastest-growing job
prepare someone to be a secretary or a nursing aide or
categories in terms of percentage growth, it accounts
an orderly? Notice the kind of training and education
for only 235,000 new jobs. On the other hand, as
each job in Exhibit 11.1 requires.
Exhibit 11.1 shows, the fastest-growing job category in
terms of total number of jobs available is cashiers, with
Educating for the Workplace
530,000 new jobs. In fact, by far the greatest numbers
of new jobs available are service jobs or professional
This question of what kind of high school education is
jobs that require the kinds of skills that most secondary
most productive for non-college-bound workers must
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 329
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
330
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Exhibit 11.2 Employment in the 10 Fastest-Growing Occupations: 1996 and Projected 2006
Quartile Rank
Employment
Change
by
1996
1996
2006
Number
Median
Weekly
(in (in (in
Earnings
of
thousands thousands thousands
Full-Time
Education
and
Training
Occupations
of jobs)
of jobs)
of jobs)
Percentage
Workers
Category
All occupations
132,353
150,927
18,574
14%
—
—
Ten Fastest-Growing Occupations: 1996–2006
1.
Database administrators,
computer support
specialists, and all
other computer
scientists 212
461
249
117
1
Bachelor’s
degree
2. Computer engineers
216
451
235
109
1
Bachelor’s degree
3. Systems analysts
506
1,025
520
103
1
Bachelor’s degree
4.
Personal and home
care aides
202
374
171
85
4
Short-term on-the job training
5.
Physical and
corrective therapy
84
151
66
79
4
Moderate-term on-the-job
training
6.
Home health aides
495
873
378
76
4
Short-term on-the-job training
7.
Medical assistants
225
391
166
74
3
Moderate-term on-the job
training
8.
Desktop publishing
specialists
30
53
22
74
2
Long-term on-the-job training
9.
Physical therapists
115
196
81
71
1
Bachelor’s degree
10.
Occupational therapy
assistants and aides
16
26
11
69
3
Moderate-term on-the-job
training
Total
2,101
4,001
1,899
90
—
Share of all jobs
(percentage) 1.6%
2.7%
10.2%
—
—
—Means not applicable.
Source: G. Silvestri, “Occupational Employment Projections to 2006,” Monthly Labor Review, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Employment Projections, November 1997.
also be addressed when teaching students about the
agreement are the skills that are emphasized more in aca-
realities of the working world. One important question is,
demic programs than in distinctly vocational education
What do employers themselves want in a worker? What
programs. A look at the U.S. Department of Labor pro-
kinds of skills are most valued and sought after when
jections for the years 2002–2012 (Exhibit 11.4), for ex-
businesses hire new employees? Exhibit 11.3 represents
ample, indicates that the overwhelming majority of new
findings from a series of studies (1986 through 1988)
jobs are those for which either a general education at
that reflect employers’ preferences in their prospective
the high school level or a college degree is most suitable.
employees’ skills. The five major studies conducted dur-
The college degree jobs that grew the fastest between
ing this period unanimously recommend reading and
2002 and 2012 were:-medical assistants, network sys-
comprehension skills, written and oral communication
tems and data communications analysts, physician as-
skills, thinking, problem-solving and decision-making
sistants, social and human service assistants, home
skills, and computational skills. Such items as technical
health aides medical records and health information
skills, flexibility, good work habits, and scientific knowl-
technicians, physical therapist aides, computer software
edge reflect much less agreement among employers. In
engineers,computer software engineers, and systems
short, the worker characteristics on which there is most
software professionals. A great many other jobs do not
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 330
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 331
Exhibit 11.3 Summary of Workforce Competency Reports: The Workforce of the Future
Workforce Projection Report
Southern
Building
a
Michigan
Growth
Workplace
Quality
Desired Competency
Employability
Policies
Basics
Workforce
Workforce 2000
or Skill
Task Force
Board
(ASTD/DOL)
(DOL, ED, DOC)
(Hudson Institute)
Reading and
comprehension skills
•
•
•
•
•
Written and oral
communication skills
•
•
•
•
•
Thinking,
problem-solving, and
decision-making skills
•
•
•
•
•
Computational skills
•
•
•
•
•
Technical skills
•
•
•
Flexibility
•
• •
Ability to learn/adaptability
•
•
•
•
Positive attitude,
motivation, and
self-direction
•
•
•
•
Teamwork and
interpersonal skills
•
• •
Creativity •
•
•
Understanding of the
“big picture”
• •
Good work habits
•
Multicultural
skills
•
•
Scientific knowledge
•
•
Career and personal
development
•
•
• Explicitly stated in the report.
Implied.
Source: Sophisticated Technology, the Workforce, and Vocational Education, Illinois State Board of Education, 1989, p. 33.
require occupationally specific preparation in the high
magazine, William Serrin reported that “half the jobs
school but depend instead on the kinds of skills men-
created in the U.S. between 1979 and 1987 paid wages
tioned above: the three Rs, problem solving, and criti-
below the poverty level for a family of four.”14 In con-
cal thinking. These jobs include salespeople, food service
ditions similar to those at the turn of the century, more
workers, building custodians, cashiers, truck drivers,
family members are required to work, mothers and
nursing aides and attendants, guards, and receptionists.
children include d.15
One reason for the low wages, according to Serrin, is
Income and Benefits
that most of the new jobs are not high-tech but low-tech,
in services rather than in manufacturing. In 1992, for
In examining workforce projections for the year 2000,
example, the median weekly wage for men in manu-
the journal American Demographics claimed that “many
facturing was $406, and men in precision production
of the jobs that will have the most openings in the
earned median wages of $503 weekly. Both of these were
decade ahead are service jobs that require little edu-
areas of declining employment, while the expanding
cation and offer little hope for advancement.”13 This
service jobs paid only $330 weekly. A similar situation
raises an uneasy specter. In a 1989 article in The Nation
prevailed for women, though the corresponding incomes
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 331
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
332
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Exhibit 11.4 Fastest-Growing Occupations, 2002–2012 (Numbers in thousands of jobs) Employment
Change
Quartile
Rank
by
2000 Standard Occupation
2002
Most Significant Source of
Classification Title
2002
2012
Number
Percentage Median
Postsecondary Education or
Annual Training†
Earnings*
Medical assistants
365
579
215
59%
3
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Network systems and data
communications analysis
186
292
106
57
1
Bachelor’s degree
Physician assistants
63
94
31
49
1
Bachelor’s degree
Social and human service assistants
305
454
149
49
3
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Home health aides
580
859
279
48
4
Short-term on-the-job training
Medical records and health
information technicians
147
216
69
47
3
Associate degree
Physical therapist aides
37
54
17
46
3
Short-term on-the-job training
Computer software engineers,
applications
394
573
179
46
1
Bachelor’s degree
Computer software engineers,
systems software
281
409
128
45
1
Bachelor’s degree
Physical therapist assistants
50
73
22
45
2
Associate degree
Fitness trainers and aerobics
instructors
183
264
81
44
3
Postsecondary vocational award
Database administrators
110
159
49
44
1
Bachelor’s degree
Veterinary technologists and
technicians
53
76
23
44
3
Associate degree
Hazardous materials removal
workers
38
54
16
43
2
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Dental hygienists
148
212
64
43
1
Associate degree
Occupational therapist aides
8
12
4
43
3
Short-term on-the-job training
Dental assistants
286
379
113
42
3
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Personal and home care aides
608
854
246
40
4
Short-term on-the-job training
Self-enrichment education teachers
200
280
80
40
2
Work experience in a related
occupation
Computer systems analysts
468
653
184
39
1
Bachelor’s degree
Occupational therapist assistants
18
28
7
39
2
Associate degree
Environmental engineers
47
65
18
38
1
Bachelor’s degree
Postsecondary teachers
1,581
2,184
603
38
1
Doctoral degree
Network and computer systems
administrators
251
345
94
37
1
Bachelor’s degree
Environmental science and
protection technicians,
including health
28
38
10
37
2
Associate degree
Preschool teachers, except special
education
424
577
153
36
4
Postsecondary vocational award
Computer and information systems
managers
284
387
103
36
1
Bachelor’s or higher degree, plus
work experience
Physical therapists
137
185
48
35
1
Master’s degree
Occupational therapists
82
110
29
35
1
Bachelor’s degree
Respiratory therapists
86
116
30
35
2
Associate degree
*The quartile rankings of Occupational Employment Statistics annual earnings data are presented in the following categories: 1 5 very high ($41,820 and over), 2 5 high ($27,500 to $41,780), 3 5 low ($19,710 to $27,380), and 4 5 very low (up to $19,600). The rankings were based on quartiles using one-fourth of total employment to define each quartile. Earnings are for wage and salary workers.
†An occupation is placed into one of 11 categories that best describes the education or training needed by most workers to become fully qualified. For more information about the categories, see Occupational Projections and Training Data, Bulletin 2572 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2004).
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 332
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 333
were lower in each category. In short, as the number of
To predetermine some future occupation for which educa-
manufacturing jobs declines, the jobs that are replacing
tion is to be a strict preparation is to injure the possibilities
them tend to pay much lower wages.16
of present development and thereby to reduce the adequacy
Another related point is that “both employed and
of preparation for a future right employment.
unemployed people are experiencing a substantial ero-
When educators conceive vocational guidance as
sion of benefits.” Serrin argued that the number of
something which leads up to a definitive, irretrievable,
and complete choice, both education and the chosen voca-
Americans with no health insurance is growing by a
tion are likely to be rigid, hampering further growth. . . .
million a year, and fewer than half of U.S. workers are
If even adults have to be on the look-out to see that their
now covered by pension plans—a significant decline
calling does not shut down on them and fossilize them,
from the 1970s. It is also important to note that in the
educators must certainly be careful that the vocational
new labor market only 60 percent of U.S. workers are
preparation of youth is such as to engage them in a con-
employed full-time, year-round. Those preparing to en-
tinuous reorganization of aims and methods.22
ter the workforce need to know which jobs are full-time
jobs with full benefits and which are seasonal or tend
It appears clear that the changing nature of the work-
toward part-time rather than full-time employment.17
place in the 1990s and beyond makes it very risky to
In examining income and benefits, students in
train students for specific jobs. Most vocational educa-
vocational programs could also study employment
tors recognize this fact. More difficult to articulate is
and income differentials among different population
an education that uses vocational activities as a means
groups. To examine why full-time working women
to educate students in the kind of intellectual skills and
only earn 72 percent of the income of men, for example,
capacities that will give them maximum flexibility. If
would raise opportunity for understanding gender dis-
students are educated through vocations rather than
crimination in the workplace.18 Similarly, study of the
for them, they may choose to attend either two-year or
employment patterns of different population groups
four-year colleges, enter the military, pursue job-specific
would show that African Americans are unemployed
training, or enter the working world. Allen Weisberg’s
over the decades at a rate consistently double that of
words are worth recalling: “We know that general lit-
the White population despite having closed the edu-
eracy skills are more likely than any other factor to yield
cation gaps dramatically. Thus, the effects of race on
success in the labor market.”23
employment could be examined. Such inequities will
The value of using vocations as a means to teach gen-
be further addressed in Chapter 12.
eral literacy skills lies primarily in the motivational value
of vocational activities and projects. Hands-on problem
Vocational Education
solving can be a powerful motivator to students alien-
ated from conventional academic teaching methods.
as a Teaching Method19
This is partly why in Democracy and Education Dewey
saw such pedagogical potential in school shops and
When Dewey wrote in 1916 that “the only training for
laboratories.24 Many teachers in “academic” classrooms
occupations is training through occupations,” he was ad-
have much to learn about motivating students through
vocating an educational approach that has never been
activity-centered teaching, an area where vocational
well understood.20 Like many vocational training pro-
educators have the opportunity to provide genuine lead-
grams today, the vocational education Dewey advocated
ership. Further, vocational educators who find ways to
was activity-oriented and project-centered rather than
make intellectual development come alive through con-
“book-centered.” Although his approach was based on
crete projects and activities may well attract a broader
activities and projects related to actual occupations, its
student clientele than they currently attract. So con-
primary objective was not preparation for a particular
ceived, vocational education courses would be dramati-
occupation or even a specific range of occupations but
cally different from those now seen in comprehensive
rather “intellectual and moral growth.”21 Dewey argued
high schools. Their aims would not be, as they now are,
that vocational education programs were not primarily
very different from the aims of the academic courses.
aimed at such growth and that students were instead
Consequently, groups of students would not be tracked
being prepared for specific occupational futures that
into separate vocational futures, yet different teaching
closed off other alternatives. As Dewey put it:
approaches would all seek the same academic ends.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 333
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
334
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
minded” and then segregated from the high-status
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
academic programs.
Would a curriculum designed according to Dewey’s
2. A new conception of vocational education that
philosophy of learning through vocational education
prepares students for employment after high
be academically rigorous enough for the best high
school, postsecondary education, or the combina-
school students? Explain your view.
tion of postsecondary education and employment
that has become increasingly common.
The authors of this volume first emphasized Dew-
ey’s notion of “education through vocations” in 1988
3. Getting students to think about their occupational
and then again in 1993, when the first edition of this
futures, the curricular choices they make in high
textbook was published. It was therefore with consider-
school, and the relationship between school-based
able interest that we noted the publication in 1995 of
learning and future work life.
W. Norton Grubb’s two-volume edited collection of
4. The “greatest ambition”: to reshape the entire
essays, Education through Occupations in American High
high school, for all students and all teachers . . . by
Schools. Grubb, a longtime respected critic of traditional
replacing the aimless choice of electives with a more
approaches to vocational education, relies heavily on
coherent set of academic and elective courses uni-
Dewey’s theoretical perspective as the foundation for the
fied by a broadly defined occupation, an industry,
two volumes. The books were written in an effort to ex-
or some other intrinsically important theme.
plore the theoretical and practical potential of the notion
of curriculum integration as it is described in only gen-
5. A way to reduce the tracking and segregation that
eral terms in the Perkins Amendments of 1990.
permeates the high school by giving students
In the concluding essay of the two volumes, “Achiev-
genuine choice among coherent programs of study
ing the Promise of Curriculum Integration,” Grubb
that respond to their interests.
writes, “Integrating academic and vocational educa-
6. Better motivation of students by engaging them in
tion is a reform rich with possibilities precisely because
constructing their own learning and making clear
there are so many purposes it can serve.” These purposes
how such learning is related to their own purposes.
include the following innovations:
7. A way for high schools to establish connections to in-
1. Programs of greater intellectual sophistication for
stitutions outside their walls, including postsecondary
students who for various reasons have been labeled
institutions (community colleges, four-year colleges,
academically incompetent and presumed “manually
technical training programs) and employers.25
4-H projects often provide excellent examples of learning through vocations, not necessarily for vocations.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 334
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11
335
years, and “vocational education” would be reserved for
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
postsecondary instruction. In fact, our nation is currently
Grubb identifies seven important purposes to be
witnessing just such a shift of vocational programs from
served by the new integration of vocational and liberal
secondary schools to community colleges.
education. To what degree are these an improvement
Students rarely have the opportunity to consider what
on the traditional goals of vocational programs, and to
the term liberal education means or why anyone would
what degree is it likely that these goals will be suc-
advocate such an education. Most efforts to understand
cessfully achieved in the new integration? Support
the term focus attention on the educational ideals of
your assessment.
classical Athens and on ideals that informed Jefferson’s
thinking as described in Chapter 2. In The Politics, which
The Meaning of
Jefferson read, Aristotle argues that in the best kind of edu-
cation, “it is the whole of excellence which ought to be
a Liberal Education26
cultivated, and cultivated for its own sake.”27 For Aristotle,
such an education equips citizens for “a life of action and
Historical Perspectives
war” and other such “necessary or useful acts.” Even more
important is the development of the qualities that equip
The Deweyan notion of educating through vocations,
citizens “to lead a life of leisure and peace” and “to do
rather than for them, abandons the fundamental rationale
good acts.” How to accomplish this? For Aristotle, “The
for vocational education as Conant and others developed
exercise of rational principle and thought is the ultimate
it: preparation of non-college-bound students for specific
end of man’s nature,” and education should be planned
occupations. If that rationale is to be abandoned, there
“with a view to the exercise of these facilities.”28 Aristotle
is no longer any reason to advocate vocational education
recognizes that young people will not always choose the
in public schools at all. Under Dewey’s approach, what
studies that most exercise their rational faculties, for their
is now termed “vocational education” would simply
appetites may lead them elsewhere, “but the regulation of
become an alternative approach to educating students
their appetites should be intended for the benefit of their
for academic, intellectual, and personal growth. In other
minds.”29 For Aristotle, one of the roles of the teacher,
words, the traditional aims of a liberal education would be
and of good government, is to see that the appetites of the
embraced for all students throughout their public school
young are cultivated toward wisdom and virtue.
John Dewey recommended the use of vocationally oriented activities as a
method of teaching traditional academic subject matter. The activity pictured
here could be used to teach science and problem-solving skills as well as how
to work together.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 335
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
336
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Aristotle’s remarks might seem like a cloud of ideal-
mind and character needed to perform both kinds
istic words at first, but three features of his educational
of acts. Here Aristotle argues for the development
thought are relevant here:
of the rational capacities, for in his view, goodness
and wisdom are both grounded in reason.
1. Educating for the “whole of human excellence”
3. If left to their own devices, young people may not
means educating for both vocational ends and other
choose their studies wisely, and so they need to be
ends that are useful “for their own sake” in the
guided in the cultivation of their appetites so their
development of the good person. This is the primary
highest human capacities will be served.
reason for Aristotle’s emphasis on philosophy and
music and, more broadly conceived, literature and
It is worth noting that Aristotle accused the Greek
the arts.
states, as well as individuals, of choosing unwise forms
2. Each person’s education should emphasize not
of education: “The Greek states of our day which are
just “useful” and “good” acts but the qualities of
counted as having the best constitutions . . . have fallen
Historical Context
Social Diversity, Differentiated Schooling, and Contemporary School Reform
For the purposes of studying Chapter 11, you might ask of each decade: Which events have the most direct significance for the issues of liberal education and vocational education discussed in this chapter?
1960s
1960
Six years after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision against school segregation, the modern “sit-in”
movement begins when four Black students from North Carolina A&T College sit at a “Whites-only” Woolworth’s lunch counter and refuse to leave when denied service
1960
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which acknowledges the federal government’s responsibility in matters involving civil rights
1963
More than 200,000 marchers from all over the United States stage the largest protest demonstration in the history of Washington, DC; the “March on Washington” procession moves from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial; Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech 1964
Economic Opportunity Act funds Job Corps and Head Start programs
1964
Civil Rights Act passes Congress, guaranteeing equal voting rights to African Americans 1964
President Johnson elected; calls for “Great Society” programs as part of his “war on poverty”
1966
The Medicare Act, Housing Act, the first Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a new immigration act, and voting-rights legislation are enacted
1968
Large-scale antiwar demonstrations (Columbia and other universities and Democratic Convention) 1968
Rioting in poor urban neighborhoods
1968
American Indian Movement (AIM) launched
1968
Alicia Escalante forms East Los Angeles Welfare Rights Organization, the first Chicano welfare rights group 1968
Bilingual Education Act passed
1968
Richard Nixon is elected president and begins emphasizing his platform of law and order and government responsiveness to the silent majority, dismantling many of the Great Society programs of Kennedy–Johnson era 1969
The Stonewall rebellion in New York City marks the beginning of the gay rights movement 1970s
1972
Title IX Educational Amendment passed outlawing sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal financial assistance
1975
Congress passes Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142)
1979
Moral Majority is founded, forming a new coalition of conservative and Christian fundamentalist voters in resistance to
“liberal excesses” of 1960s and early 1970s
1980s
1980
Ronald Reagan is elected president, promising to reverse the “liberal trends in government”
1982
Unemployment exceeds 10 percent for first time since Great Depression of 1930s; federal budget deficit exceeds $100
billion for first time ever
(continued)
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 336
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 337
Historical Context (concluded)
1983
A Nation at Risk, a report by the Presidental Commission on Excellence in Education, adovcates
“back to basics”
education; becomes the first major document in the current reform movement
1984
Education for Economic Security Act (Public Law 98-377) passed, adding new science and math programs at all levels of schooling
1984
Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act continues federal aid for vocational education until 1989
1990s
1990
Congress passes $1.3 billion amendments to Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act 1991
Unemployment rate rises to highest level in a decade
1992
Americans with Disabilities Act, the most sweeping antidiscrimination legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, guarantees equal access for people with disabilities
1992
With unemployment at 7.8 percent, Bill Clinton defeats George Bush and Ross Perot for presidency 1993
United States follows other industrialized nations with Family Leave Act that guarantees workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for medical emergencies
1993
Supreme Court rules unanimously that public schools must permit religious groups to use their buildings after hours if they allow community groups to do so
1995
Economy signals strong recovery, with Dow Jones index topping 4,000 for the first time ever 1996
Census Bureau reports that the gap between the richest 20 percent of Americans and everyone else has reached postwar high
1997
U.S. economy continues to grow, driving unemployment below 5 percent for first time in 24 years; Dow Jones industrial average tops 7,000 in February and 8,000 in July; mergers and acquisitions of major corporations reach all-time high
1997
Supreme Court rules 5–4 that public school teachers can work in parochial schools that need remedial or supplemental classes
1998
President Clinton announces budget surplus of over $70 billion, the first since 1969 and largest ever 1999
Kansas Board of Education votes against testing any Kansas students on science curriculum related to theory and science of evolution (but it would be restored in 2001 by new school board)
1999
Federal Communications Commission loosens restrictions on any one company controlling too much of the cable industry, allowing AT&T to win more than a third of the nation’s TV, phone, and high- speed Internet franchises 2000s
2000
Campaigning on a platform emphasizing ethical character, George W. Bush loses popular vote to Vice President Al Gore but wins the presidency by a 5–4 Supreme Court ruling ending the recount of disputed votes in Florida 2001
Energy-trading company Enron becomes the largest firm ever to file for bankruptcy, leading to far- reaching financial and political scandal
2001
Days after taking office, President Bush announces the intent to pass the No Child Left Behind law; enacted in January 2002, the bipartisan law reauthorizes the Eiementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and seeks to raise accountability of local school systems for educating all students
2001
The No Child Left Behind Act expands the federal government’s role in elementary and secondary education 2001
On September 11, two hijacked planes strike and destroy the World Trade Center, while a third plane destroys a portion of the Pentagon, and a fourth crashes in Pennsylvania; some 3,000 people die in the
worst terrorist attack on American soil 2003
U.S. unemployment rises to highest level in 9 years, 6.4 percent; White House projects $450 billion budget deficit for 2003, the largest in U.S. history
2003
Millions of demonstrators around the world take to the streets to protest the planned U.S. invasion of Iraq 2003
President Bush orders the invasion of Iraq
2003
The Pentagon says major combat operations are ended in Iraq after the takeover in April of the last Iraqi stronghold 2004
J. P. Morgan Chase acquires Bank One for $58B and stock, further concentrating wealth 2004
At State of the Union address, President Bush announces a record-strong economy
2005
Skyrocketing oil prices and unresolved issue of privatizing Social Security lead the economic news 2006
Consensus builds toward alarm over impacts of global climate change
2007
Housing market free fall caused by fraudulent subprime lending schemes and rampant indebtedness Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
Quite a few of these items concern either (1) economic indicators in the United States, or (2) the politics of race, class, and gender. What do each have to do with public schools? In your view, which wave of school reform from the 1980s and 1990s, the first or the second wave, seems to be most evident in the George W. Bush era of No Child Left Behind? Explain.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 337
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
338
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
short of this ideal. . . . There has been a vulgar decline
forward must inevitably leave parts of the past behind.
into the cultivation of qualities supposed to be useful and
In “The Study of the Past—Its Uses and Its Dangers,”
of a more profitable character.”30 Aristotle’s complaint is
Alfred North Whitehead wrote:
echoed today by critics who hold that the vocational cur-
For each succeeding generation, the problem of Education
riculum (or in higher education, professional studies) is
is new. What at the beginning was enterprise, after the lapse
given too much attention at the expense of liberal studies.
of five and twenty years has become repetition. All the pro-
If Aristotle’s ideal is admirable in its concern for
portions belonging to a complex scheme of influences upon
the whole of human excellence, it is worth remember-
our students have shifted in their effectiveness. In the lecture
ing that he did not intend his ideal for the whole of
halls of a university, as indeed in every sphere of life, the
Athenian society. Only Athenian citizens were to be
best homage which we can pay to our predecessors to whom
liberally educated, and citizens constituted a minority
we owe the greatness of our inheritance is to emulate their
courage.32
of that society. Women and the non-Athenian work-
force known as metics were excluded from citizenship.
Despite the stubborn resistance to ideological
What is more, the citizen’s opportunity for leisure and
change that is characteristic of modern, liberal, capital-
the cultivation of artistic sensibilities was made possible
ist society, our nation’s history is in part a story of the
by the institution of slavery. Aristotle reflected classical
reconstruction of liberal ideals. When Jefferson wrote
Athenian society in promoting education for all its citi-
about equality and inalienable rights, he had no inten-
zens, rich and poor, but classical Athens excluded the
tion of applying these ideals to women, for example, or
majority of its inhabitants from citizenship and failed
to African Americans and Native Americans. Yet since
to provide a liberal education for them. Neither women
Jefferson’s time American activists have reconstructed
nor non-Athenians—the latter considered to be of infe-
those ideals and used them as leverage to gain civil and
rior racial stock—were believed to have the rational
political rights for women and people of color.
capacities necessary for citizenship or wisdom.
Likewise, if the ideals of liberal education are worth sal-
This historical tendency to reserve liberal education
vaging, it takes a certain amount of courage to articulate and
for the social elite was also echoed by the noted Renais-
fight for their value in an educational environment as devot-
sance educator Vergerius:
ed to vocationalism as ours is today. For non-college-bound
We call those studies liberal which are worthy of a free
students in the secondary schools, “getting a good job” is
man; those studies by which we attain and practice virtue
presented as the primary rationale for staying in school, and
and wisdom; that education which calls forth, trains, and
for those who plan to go on to college, “getting a good job”
develops those highest gifts of body and of mind which
is too often the fundamental rationale for a college degree.
ennoble men, and which are rightly judged to rank next in
College faculty groups, educational researchers, and edu-
dignity to virtue only.31
cational foundations are once again busy with the task of
Examined in its Renaissance context, the ideal of liberal
reconstructing the liberal education ideal, illustrating again
education expressed here is again reserved for the few—in
Whitehead’s words: “For each succeeding generation, the
this case, males of courtly society. There is some tempta-
problem of Education is new.”
tion today to reject the vision of liberal education offered
These contemporary efforts have in common, first,
by Aristotle and Vergerius as a thoroughly elitist, sexist,
a commitment to recognizing a distinction between
and racist ideal. However, some educators read into these
learning that is an instrument in an occupation and
classic statements the possibility that all people might be
learning that is intrinsically valuable for the way it
educated in the qualities of mind and character that are
shapes a person’s understandings, character, and expe-
most appropriate to freedom and virtue. The difficulty is
rience. Second, these various efforts recognize the value
to develop an educational ideal that can be embraced by
of both breadth of study (across areas of knowledge)
all races and both genders that is conducive to the devel-
and depth of study (within at least one specialized area).
opment of all of us.
Finally, contemporary educators attend not only to
the disciplinary content (usually expressed as required
Reconstructing a Liberal Education Ideal Al-
subjects or courses) of liberal education but also to the
though it is important to begin any consideration of
qualities of mind that are historically associated with
liberal education with a careful examination of its his-
the educated person. But what it is to be an educated
torical tradition, anyone seeking to carry that tradition
person remains a disputed and problematic concept.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 338
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 339
Analytic Framework
Political Economy
Ideology
Global economic competition
National interests versus local
control of institutions
Decline of manufacturing
Meritocracy
Increase in Latin, African
American, and Asian American
"Free market" competition and
populations
limited
government
Three of last four presidents
conservative
Republicans;
congressional
majority
is
Republican
Schooling
Control of schools; tension between
national agenda and local control
Increase in reliance on standardized testing
Decrease in support for bilingual and
multicultural
education
School choice, vouchers, and charter schools
"Accountability" for school performance
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
The business interests and values that we identify with
predicted that the weakness of American education
20th-century schooling have not disappeared. These
would usher in an era of economic decline. Although
interests are not mutually exclusive of liberal education,
unprecedented prosperity by the end of the 1990s dis-
but we have seen the developing tension between these
pelled those warnings, the reform movement, fueled
values and the instrumental, commercial values of cur-
by critical teacher shortages and the need for educa-
rent arrangements in American capitalism. Central to
tional responses to changing demographics, presses
this has been the mobilization of schooling in its service.
forward. Four themes characterize the current reform
This produces a tension between the needs of business
movement: standardized assessment as indicative of
for an “efficient” workforce with appropriate investment
educational excellence; tension between concern for
in particular skills and attitudes consistent with corporate
excellence and concern for diversity and equity; stu-
competition. Yet these same skills may not serve well with
dent and parent choice in schooling; and restructuring
what Dewey called the “overall growth and development”
in school governance, school processes, and the teach-
or the “ flourishing” of the student.
ing profession. A critical analysis shows that the earlier
economic problems resided in economic and political
policies, not in school policies.
Contemporary School Reform
Social Changes
One route to understanding American educational his-
tory concerning labor market preparation is to exam-
and School Reform
ine the various reform movements that have shaped
American schooling. With the publication of A Na-
It is possible to view the evolution of American society
tion at Risk in 1983, policymakers and social critics
through periodic efforts to reform the educational system.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 339
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
340
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Large-scale social changes inevitably produce correspond-
and student-centered learning. School reform was driven
ing changes in schools. For example, we saw in Chapter 2
by the idea that classrooms should reflect the reformers’
how Jefferson and the other colonial leaders commit-
view of the “real world” of work and citizenship. Once
ted themselves to the notion of a statewide community
again, schools were seen as primary for socializing a diverse
school network through which all potential voters could
population into a culturally homogeneous one with appro-
acquire the knowledge and literacy skills needed to func-
priate vocational and political skills and attitudes.
tion effectively in a democratic society. The ideals of liter-
Whereas citizenship goals dominated the discourse
acy and political freedom were inextricably intertwined in
of colonial school reform, socialization and economic
the minds of those colonial leaders. Thus, America’s great
goals dominated school reform agendas during the late
experiment in political democracy brought an equally
19th and early 20th centuries. Then, after World War II,
radical experiment in mass education. As the right to vote
America experienced yet another wave of school reform.
gradually spread throughout the population, so too did
This time, however, it was motivated largely by fear of an
access to some form of community- or state-sponsored
external military and political threat. The Soviet Union
education.
had successfully launched Sputnik, the world’s first arti-
Vocationalism and custodial schooling are not to be
ficial satellite. This scientific achievement, coupled with
separated from goals set by reformers for the preparation
the Soviets’ aggressive program of political expansion,
of immigrants and migrants in the burgeoning industrial
caused American leaders to launch a massive investment
centers. In Chapters 3 through 4 we saw how wave after
in defense-oriented school reform. As we saw in Chapter 8,
wave of late-19th-century immigration and migration
defense-related subjects such as math, science, and for-
not only radically increased America’s overall population
eign languages became the focus of the new “core” curri-
but radically changed its racial and ethnic composition.
cula that sprang up around the country. Simultaneously,
Northern cities were increasingly populated with ethnically
comprehensive high schools sponsoring new, advanced
diverse people looking for work, and the newly emerging
curricula for students scoring high on standardized
factory system had much work to offer. It is no accident
achievement tests began appearing. Reform leaders were
that common school improvement, which sought to
concerned with the development of elite students capable
socialize these diverse masses to American values and lan-
of shoring up the national defense.
guage and to a factory-oriented work ethic, arose during
This brief historical account of past school reform
this period. The schools were seen as a panacea for han-
efforts is offered as a prelude to the following discussion
dling the massive urbanization and industrial problems
of the present school reform movement. We will begin
of the 19th century.
with a general examination of reform activity during the
Just before this period of industrialization came the
past decade and then look at the three stages that have
emancipation of 4 million Black Americans after the
characterized this and other reform movements. We
Civil War. Once again the schools were expected to
will then conclude, as we began, by looking briefly at
solve the attendant problems of social, political, and
the political– economic and ideological context of the
economic integration into mainstream American life.
current reform effort. Gene Glass notes how the term
During this period an educational revolution took place
“reform” has mutated away from its lexical definition
in the South as African Americans swarmed to various
“to remake or reshape.” Citing Ansary’s work, Glass
kinds of schools in an attempt to achieve the education
notes the shift in meaning: to call yourself a reform-
that was rightfully theirs under a system that was sup-
er now is to say you are concerned, well-meaning,
posed to guarantee political and economic equality.
insightful, and that your prescription entails solutions
School reform took another major turn in the first half
to a problem you have named.33
of the 20th century with the emergence of progressive edu-
cation. Driven by the belief in progress through scientific
Schooling as a Response to New
management, leaders in American government, industry,
Social and Economic Conditions
and education began supporting larger, more centrally
controlled institutions directed by scientifically trained
During the progressive era, urbanization, new immigra-
experts. Schools broadened their curricula to include exten-
tion, and the emerging corporate-capital industrial system
sive vocational educational programs and infused into their
convinced a coalition of business, political, and profes-
academic programs the practice of classroom democracy
sional leaders that the classical approach to schooling was
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 340
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 341
inadequate. Partly as a result, progressive reformers intro-
These economic and demographic changes led busi-
duced compulsory public schooling to instill necessary
ness and government leaders to the view that our schools
skills and industrial values in all citizens, a differentiated
should respond to an economy “at risk” by elevating the
curriculum for students with different skill levels, voca-
academic performances of all students at all levels of
tional education to prepare students for the world of work,
achievement. These better-educated students would then
and extracurricular activities to further socialize students
be able to perform well in an information-processing
with values appropriate to the new industrial order.
economy and help the United States become more com-
In strikingly similar fashion, in the 1980s political and
petitive in the world marketplace. The argument of the
business leaders began pointing to changing social and
policymakers was helped considerably by data showing
economic conditions that they felt necessitated school
what appeared to be genuinely dismal academic per-
reform. The three new economic and social realities most
formance by U.S. students. SAT and ACT scores had
frequently cited were (1) the decline of manufacturing
been declining steadily since the early 1960s; approxi-
as the economic base of the United States and the con-
mately 700,000 students were dropping out of school
current rise of information processing, service industries,
each year, and of those who remained in school, fewer
and high technology; (2) our declining ability to com-
than 40 percent of 17-year-olds could analyze moder-
pete in world markets, with the result that the United
ately complicated reading passages about topics studied
States has gone from being a major lending nation to
in high school; finally, our 13-year-olds ranked behind
perhaps the world’s leading debtor nation; and (3) the
such nations as Korea, Spain, and Ireland, and several
apparent decline in the academic skills of American
Canadian provinces in mathematics performance34 (see
students, whether measured against past American per-
Exhibits 11.5 and 11.6).
formance or against that of students from other indus-
The data for African American and Latino students
trialized nations. An often cited demographic factor in
were even more discouraging, with dropout rates in
this declining academic picture is the rising proportion
some Chicago and New York schools ranging from
of Latino and African American students in the nation’s
63 to 68 percent. Further, “disadvantaged urban
schools, with attendant problems of poverty and cultural
17-year-olds” lagged 22 points behind the national
and language difficulties. Not since the new immigration
average in a 1984 national reading assessment35 (see
of the progressive era has cultural pluralism been such a
Exhibit 11.7). Members of the business community
central concern of our nation’s schools.
were quick to translate such educational problems
Exhibit 11.5
Trends in SAT College Entrance Examination Scores That Led to Current Reform
Movement
520
510
500
490
Mathematical
480
470
core 460
S
450
Verbal
440
430
420
410
400
1963
1968
1973
1978
1983
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, The Condition of Education—Volume 1 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988).
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 341
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
342
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Exhibit 11.6
Trends in ACT Composite Entrance Examination Records That Led to A Nation at Risk
Reform Movement
21.0
20.5
20.0
19.5
coreS 19.0
18.5
18.0
17.5
1963
1968
1973
1978
1983
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, The Condition of Education—Volume 1 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988).
Exhibit 11.7
Percentage of In-School 17-Year-Olds at or above Various Reading Levels in the
Mid-1980s
BASIC: Find information in a
short paragraph
99%
INTERMEDIATE: Recognize
84%
paraphrases of lengthy passages
ADEPT: Analyze moderately
39%
complicated passages about
topics studied in high school
ADVANCED: Extrapolate ideas
in specialized documents
5%
common in professional and
technical work
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Source: National Assessment of Education progress, The Reading Report Card (Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service,1986.
into financial costs to the nation. The dropout rate,
NCLB ratchets up the call for higher standards and test-
for example, was estimated to cost the nation some
based accountability:
$240 billion annually36 (see Exhibits 11.8 and 11.9).
• Improved teacher training and test-based licensure
On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed
into law the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001,
• Annual tests in elementary reading and mathematics
which was part of a legislative package that included the
• The chance for children in failing schools to transfer out
reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Educa-
tion Act (ESEA). It represents the most sweeping change
These are among the central features that link NCLB to
of ESEA since its passage in 1965. In the following ways,
the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 342
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 343
Exhibit 11.8
Mid-1980s High School Completion Rates among 18- and 19-Year-Olds by Race and
Hispanic Origin
85%
80
White
75
70
Total
65
Black
60
55
Hispanic
ercentage CompletedP 50
45
40
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, The Condition of Education—Volume 1 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988).
Exhibit 11.9
Dropout Rates among Youth Ages 16 to 24 by Race and Hispanic Origin, October
1972–2005
Percentage
50
40
34
Hispanic
30
Black, non-Hispanic
23
20
21
All races
15
12
10
11
9
White, non-Hispanic
6
0
1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
Note: This indicator uses the status dropout rate which measures the percentage of young adults aged 16 to 24 who were not enrolled in a high school program and had not received a high school diploma or obtained an equivalency certificate. Due to changes in the race categories, estimates from 2003 are not strictly comparable to estimates from 2002 and before. Prior to 2001, the black race catergory included Hispanics.
Source: Reproduced from: Sources: Data for 1972–2001: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 2003. NCES 2003-067. Washington, DC: 2003. Figure on p.42. Data for 2002: Child Trends’ calculations of U.S. Census Burreau, School Enrollment–Social and Economic Characteristics. of Students: October 2002: Detailed Tables: Table 1. Data for 2003: Child Trends’ calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment–Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2003: Detailed Tables: Table1. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/
cps2003.html. Data for 2004: Child Trends’ calculations of U.S. Census Bureau, School Enrollment– Social and Economic Characteristics of Students: October 2004: Detailed Tables: Table 1.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2004.html. Data for 2005: Child Trends’ calculations of U.S.
Census Bureau, School Enrollment–Social and Econnomic Characteristics.of Students: October 2005: Detailed Tables: Table 1. http://www.census.gov/population/
www/socdemo/school/cps2005.html.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 343
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
344
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
The New Consensus on
measurable results in standardized achievement
Excellence in Education
tests targeted at traditional academic curricula.
Bennett’s concern for a common content is
In order for there to be widespread agreement that
reflected in the Reagan and Bush administra-
these were indeed the economic and social conditions
tion reports, each of which argues for a com-
to which schools should respond and agreement on
mon core of five academic subjects similar to
how the schools should respond, consensus had to be
Horace Mann’s “five Rs.” The “five new basics”
consciously built among government, business, and
for secondary school graduation articulated in A
educational leaders at the state and national levels.
Nation at Risk are English, mathematics, science,
Mark G. Yudof wrote early in the reform movement:
social studies, and computer science. The Clinton
administration’s America 2000 replaced these five
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the new era in edu-
with a slightly different list: English, mathemat-
cational policy, the one that partially explains the popular
ics, science, history, and geography. Both reports
appeal of the many recent reports on the status of education,
is the attempt to generate, locate and reinforce a consensus
called for greater rigor in academic standards,
on U.S. public schooling. A Nation at Risk helped to serve
assignments, homework, and time on task for all
that consensus-building role, proclaiming that “the Federal
students, not just those considered college bound.
Government has the primary responsibility to identify the
NCLB would enjoin a school’s failure in read-
national interest in education.”37
ing and math test results by listing that school as
failing to make “adequate yearly progress.” This
The specific issue of national interest will be dis-
can be used then as a basis for students to transfer
cussed later in the chapter. What is notable here is the
and for the school to be denied funding if school
early 1980s perception among policymakers that one of
improvement plans (SIP) don’t produce results.
the ills affecting American education was precisely the
lack of consensus about what schools should achieve
The call for higher standards was accompanied
and why. In 1986, Secretary of Education William J.
by a call for greater “accountability.” School
Bennett urged just such a consensus when he argued for
report cards, state report cards, and national
the “three Cs: character, content and choice.” In call-
achievement testing, for example, are all ideas
ing for schools to teach a common culture of “common
that have been proposed or implemented since A
values, common knowledge, and a common language,”
Nation at Risk. They are seen as measurable ways
Bennett recalled Horace Mann’s efforts to build univer-
to hold schools and districts accountable for their
sal values and a uniform curriculum into the common-
“products,” the students. In addition, the early
school movement in Massachusetts.38
reports called for lengthening the school day and
This effort to establish common cultural values,
the school year as a means to achieve the new
knowledge, and language has met with great resistance
vision of excellence. Finally, a number of reports
from those who hold what they regard as democratic
identified the need for better trained and more
commitments to diversity of values, knowledge, and
talented teachers as a necessary component of this
language. This close connection between diversity and
new excellence. The increased use of standard-
democracy, however, is not viewed by the consensus
ized tests is one of the clearest characteristics sep-
builders as part of the “common political vision” they
arating recent reform from those reformers earlier
feel to be the national interest.39 In their consensus-
in the 20th century who focused on curriculum,
building campaign, several major themes have emerged,
pedagogy, and course taking. Assessment replaces
and all of these themes, with some shifts in emphasis,
curriculum as the standard of judgment.
have been sustained within the second wave of reform
efforts. The four major themes running through near-
2. A tension between concerns for “excellence”
ly two decades of school reform (as well as from early
and concerns for diversity and equity. Distinctly
reports) may be identified as follows:
at odds with some aspects of the purported new
consensus is the view that democratic schooling
1. An academic-achievement definition of
will suffer if the various forms of diversity—racial,
“educational excellence.” A Nation at Risk
ethnic, gender, and disabling conditions—are
sought to define excellence primarily in terms of
not adequately understood and respected in the
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 344
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 345
teaching –learning processes of schools. To focus
the 1980s and became for some analysts synony-
on a narrow core of common values and content
mous with the second wave of school reform.40
stemming almost entirely from a male-dominated
For some, the restructuring movement meant
European tradition may well exclude or disadvan-
primarily the movement to decentralize school
tage children with backgrounds that are not White,
governance, while for others, as we shall see,
male, and middle-class; on the whole, the schools
restructuring referred to new approaches to school
did not serve those children well in the 20th
curriculum. Although restructuring in one form
century. Further, it is argued, the standardized
or another has been central to every major school
tests, which have historically been used as account-
reform movement in U.S. history, the particular
ability measures, will further disadvantage stu-
character of the current restructuring movement
dents from cultures that are unaccustomed to the
merits its own discussion.41
language and codes of such tests.
3. Choice in schooling. Bennett’s reference to
Restructuring
“school choice” reflects a theme that has run
steadily through the school reform movement
Historian David Tyack observes that the concept of
since the beginning—weakly at first but strongly
restructuring “has become a magic incantation” that
and explicitly advocated in America 2000. Accord-
“is now gaining the popularity of excellence in the early
ing to this concept, parents and students should be
1980s or equality in the 1960s.”42 Tyack notes, however,
allowed to select any school of their choice, whether
that school “restructuring” has come to mean very differ-
or not it is in their neighborhood, on the basis of
ent things to different people. In general he agrees with
its perceived quality and its compatibility with
Passow, Kirst, and others that restructuring is partly a
their personal educational goals. Some schools
response to the failures of the early “excellence” move-
might be very traditional, and others very innova-
ment of the 1980s to produce the reforms envisioned in
tive, but parents and students should be able to
A Nation at Risk. In reading Tyack’s characterization of
“vote with their feet,” in this view. The schools
what restructuring has come to mean in the second wave
would be supported by a “voucher” system in
of reform, we can see distinct elements of the first wave
which each family would receive a voucher for the
still contained within it:
tuition of each child and the school that the child
People regard restructuring as a synonym for the market
attended would be paid by the state on the basis
mechanism of choice, or teacher professionalization and
of the number of vouchers it received. The system
empowerment, or decentralization and school site man-
would thus be designed so that the better schools
agement or involving parents more in their children’s edu-
would flourish because of high state revenues
cation, or national standards in curriculum with tests to
derived from high attendance, and poor schools
match, or deregulation, or new forms of accountability, or
would have to improve or perish. The philosophy
basic changes in curriculum and instruction, or some or
all of these in combination. Slogans suitable for bumper
here is grounded in the notion of a laissez-faire,
stickers proclaim the new dogmas: Choice is the answer;
free market economy. More will be said on this as
small is beautiful; blame the bureaucrats.43
we examine the ideology of reform. School choice
is also a centerpiece of NCLB.
Certainly one major stream of the restructuring effort
has to do with the processes of decision making in schools
4. Restructuring school governance, school
and school districts. Perhaps the most ambitious example
processes, and the teaching profession. A
of this kind of restructuring is found in Chicago, which in
Nation at Risk and other reports recommended an
1989 elected 542 local school councils, or local boards of
increased role for citizens, especially for the busi-
education, one at each of Chicago’s public schools. Each
ness community, in school governance and leader-
council consists of six parents, two teachers, two com-
ship. Despite the tension between greater teacher
munity representatives, and the principal. Thus, nearly
autonomy and greater community and business
6,000 citizens now exercise genuine authority in Chicago
input into school decision making, the thrust
schools, including the power to hire principals, draft local
toward restructuring the teaching profession and
school improvement plans, and control the school budget
school governance grew in importance throughout
to accomplish their aims.44
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 345
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
346
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Contemporary School
in world markets because American schools were do-
ing their jobs poorly, Margonis argues that the poor
Reform: A Critical View
performance of the American economy was due to eco-
nomic factors apart from the schools. The growing in-
At this point it is useful to return to our analytical
ability of the United States to dominate world markets
framework and use the notions of political economy
through military might since the Vietnam War, the rise
and ideology to think critically about the contemporary
of union participation at home, and federal regula-
school reform movement.
tion of corporate activity had led many businesses to
reinvest in nonunion states and in foreign countries.
The Political–Economic Origins of the
Margonis cites one study estimating that 38 million
Contemporary School Reform
jobs were lost to these processes in the 1970s, losses
that severely damaged the economies of many states.
Movement
Holding these events responsible for the economic
Basing his analysis on work by economists critical of
plight of the United States is very different from hold-
the policies of corporate capitalism and an education
ing schools responsible, and so Margonis’s analysis is
reform report, Action for Excellence, that was published
important to consider.
within two months of A Nation at Risk, educator Frank
One notable exception to the states that were suffer-
Margonis offers an alternative perspective on the politi-
ing economically in the early 1980s was Massachusetts,
cal economy of school reform.45 Action for Excellence
which had been very successful in attracting high-
was published in 1983 by the Education Commission
technology firms into and around the highly educated
of the States Task Force on Education for Economic
Boston area. This highly publicized feat eventually
Growth. It was supported by liberal as well as con-
provided much of the political leverage for catapult-
servative governors and other leaders at the state level
ing Governor Michael Dukakis into the Democratic
because it suggested a national economic and educa-
party’s presidential nomination for the 1998 elec-
tional strategy for helping the economies of the states,
tion, but before that it had sent a message to other
which were enduring the worst recession since the
states about what was needed for economic recovery:
Depression of the 1930s. Rather than accepting the
high-tech industry, which requires a strong educational
standard argument that American industry was failing
environment.
Deteriorating economic conditions in the United States in the 1980s combined with an increasingly global economy that requires a competitive labor force were behind the current reform movement in education.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 346
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 347
Other states naturally sought to duplicate Massachu-
favorable tax laws, a weakening of anti-trust legislation
setts’s success in attracting high-tech firms. However,
and environmental regulation, and a new educational
lacking equivalent educational resources, they turned
policy. More than anything else, the educational reforms
to the federal government for support in upgrading
of 1983 testify to the indirect power capital can exercise
over political processes by constantly shopping for desir-
their educational facilities. The resulting coalition
able plant locations.46
between corporate America, the states, and the federal
government produced what has come to be known as
This loyalty to the free market rather than to the
the “excellence” movement in education. As was previ-
public good, argues Margonis, should warn us of the
ously noted, the goal was to upgrade the academic skills
dangers of the states’ strategy of trying to attract busi-
of all students, both those who were gifted and those
ness through educational upgrades:
who were “at risk,” for the workplace of the future.
This brief scenario explains how in the early 1980s
While high-technology industries are likely to locate
deteriorating economic conditions together with an
research facilities near educational centers, nationalistic
increasingly international economy led to a new era of
rhetoric should not lead us to expect loyalty from them.
educational reform. The movement was economically
Such firms, because of their high labor intensity, are par-
motivated. The cause of our economic problem was
ticularly mobile and have played states off against one
seen largely as a failure of our educational system to
another, abandoned plants, and located much of their
production in low-cost labor markets. An educational pro-
provide an internationally competitive labor force, and
gram designed to serve these industries does not amount
the way to correct this failure was to form a new educa-
to a unified national mobilization; rather, it is a part of
tional coalition between state and federal governments
a corporatist movement in which greater public resources
and corporate America. At this point it is worth taking a
are expected, in [Senator Paul] Tsongas’s words, to “reflect
look at each of these underlying assumptions.
the priorities of the private sector.”47
The first assumption, that the motivating force
behind the current reform movement lay in a deteriorat-
If Margonis is right that corporate policy rather
ing economy, is proclaimed in the language of the early
than educational failure is the principal cause of our
reform documents. It is also evident in the organizations
economic woes, what can be said regarding the third
that sponsored these educational reform documents:
proposition underlying current reform efforts? That
the Business Higher Education Forum, the Economic
proposition, you might recall, maintained that a new
Commission of the States, the Carnegie Forum on Edu-
educational coalition between state and local govern-
cation and the Economy, and so on.
ments and corporate America was the way to upgrade
The second proposition, that the failure of the edu-
the nation’s educational system and thereby upgrade its
cational system is the principal cause of the depressed
labor force. According to Margonis, such a coalition is
economy, deserves the sort of detailed analysis that
suspect, since the analysis of the origin of the nation’s
Margonis, among others, has offered. Rather than accept-
economic problems is mistaken: It is not education that
ing the standard argument that American schools were
lies at the heart of the problem but economic policy
doing their jobs poorly, Margonis argues that this poor per-
itself, and economic policy is not being addressed in the
formance of the American economy was due to econom-
school reform movement.
ic factors apart from the schools, as noted above. Citing
This view is echoed by educational historian Chris-
economists Carnoy, Shearer, and Rumberger, Margonis
tine Shea, who agrees with Margonis that the educational
sums up his analysis in the following paragraph:
strategy of the reform movement was designed to benefit
business first and the citizenry second. She argues that a
By systematically directing investment away from factories
basic claim of the reform consensus builders—that a new
located in the U.S. major corporations struck back at labor
education for all students is needed for the labor demands
and citizen groups which had infringed upon business
of high technology—simply misrepresents the reality of
control of production [through minimum wage laws, fair
the high-technology industry. Shea, like Margonis, cites
labor standards, occupational health and safety provisions,
equal employment opportunity, extended unemployment
Action for Excellence, noting that the education most empha-
benefits, and improvements in worker compensation].
sized in this document is the development of “learning to
The devastation of regional economies resulting from
learn” skills for the new technological labor market. “Most
such disinvestment set the conditions for many businesses
factory and service industry jobs in America today,” says
to gain greater public subsidization for corporate research,
the report, “fall into this category.” Action for Excellence
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 347
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
348
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
then goes on to describe the minimal communication
can justify concentration of resources only in a relatively
and computation skills it designates as “learning to learn”
small minority of skilled students. It would take a ratio-
skills. This leads Shea to conclude that the liberal reform
nale different from the economic argument—for exam-
agenda
ple, a rationale emphasizing the right of each citizen in a
democratic society to be educated to participate fully in
has been designed for an increasingly small sector of Amer-
the political processes of that society—to justify school
ican youth. For the vast majority of noncollege-bound/
reform that would benefit all citizens regardless of skill
minimal-competency students, the end of formal school-
level, social class background, or ethnicity. Third, if the
ing is expected to occur as soon as they demonstrate
contemporary school reform movement reflects “the
acquisition of “learning to learn” minimal-competency
priorities of the private sector,” it can be expected to
skills. As such, the school reform proposals are intended to
remain limited in its impact on the educational lives of
do little more than to prepare minority children for a series
of dead-end, low-paying jobs in the secondary labor mar-
most students in most schools. In a later section, we will
ket. . . . [ Action for Excellence] admits that highly skilled
examine that thought more thoroughly.
labor will not likely be in great demand in America’s high
tech future, but it “sugar coats” this bitter reality in the
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
soothing rhetoric of “advancing technology, upward
mobility, and increasing opportunity.”48
Do you believe the school reformers of the 1980s
and 1990s adequately understood the basic social
Shea goes on to cite data similar to those presented earlier
and economic problems that undergird problems in
showing that most of the jobs in the new service economy
student learning? Explain.
are not going to require high-technology knowledge. Yet
this reality is obscured by the corporate liberal ideology
behind the reform proposals.
School Reform Today:
Understanding the political economy of the origins
New and Continuing Initiatives
of the contemporary school reform movement thus
requires recognition of several factors. First, the sources
We have seen how different themes were emphasized at
of the nation’s economic problems resided primarily in
different points in the course of the last 25 years of school
economic and political policies, not in schooling poli-
reform and that these different points of emphasis—first
cies. Even though the educational achievement of the
on centralizing standard setting, then on “restructuring”
nation’s youth in the early 1980s was deficient and the
and having site-based decision making, for example—
economy was in serious trouble, the former did not cause
led to different efforts at change. Some areas of emphasis
the latter; therefore, improving educational achieve-
in the late 1990s were not emphasized at all in the early
ment is not likely to cure the nation’s economic woes.
1980s (computer technology, for example), and others
In fact, the nation’s economy improved tremendously
can be traced right back to the beginning—not just the
after the 1980s, leading to President Clinton’s reelec-
beginning of this reform era but the beginning of com-
tion, without a corresponding improvement in student
mon schools. Teacher professionalization would be a
learning. Correspondingly, despite the establishment of
prime example. These are two of five areas of prominent
new standards of course taking in the 1980s with the
school reform activity as we move further into the 21st
Nation at Risk, the minority achievement gap, dropout
century. The others are school choice, parent involve-
rates, and college attainment of the student cohort first
ment in schools, and school-to-work reforms.
were affected by these changes have not changed and in
some cases are worse.
Computer Technology Desktop computers did not
Second, it appears clear that the emerging technolog-
become widely available until the late 1980s, and now, two
ical and service workplace does not require a great many
decades later, schools are rarely without them. Comput-
highly educated people, because most new jobs do not
ers are part of a wider information revolution in society
require advanced understanding of math, science, and
rather than simply a component of school reform. We
technology. Insofar as the state governments are increas-
have already noted, in Chapter 9, the rapid growth of
ing requirements in those areas, and insofar as business
the World Wide Web in educational settings and homes
is intervening to help fund advanced learning, it appears
and recent research suggesting that the Web can, if used
that the “high-tech” rationale for school improvement
appropriately, enhance teaching and learning. We have
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 348
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 349
also raised cautions about whether the Web might, as
Thus, if larger school districts really want to promote
educational innovations and reforms often do, serve
higher morale and greater involvement among parents,
economically privileged youth and children better than
one simple thing they might consider is to allow parents to
lower-income youth who have less access to the equip-
choose among schools in the district. Some urban districts
ment and to well-prepared teachers.
fear that this would cause chaos, unwanted competition
among local schools, and increased ethnic or racial segre-
The president of the United States proclaimed in
gation, but the evidence so far available does not support
his 1996 State of the Union Address that “every class-
such fears.50
room in America must be connected to the informa-
tion highway.” This is an enormously expensive goal
So far, so good. But soon the call for “public schools of
that must necessarily compete with other approaches to
choice” underwent what seemed to be a logical trans-
improving student learning. Larry Cuban argues that
formation: a movement to provide every school-age
the “techno-reformers” are part of a significant prob-
child or youth with a tax voucher—a kind of coupon in
lem in intro ducing computer technology to schools in
the amount the district would ordinarily spend on that
that the techno-reformers do not understand the social
child’s education—to be “spent” at whatever school the
organization of classrooms and schools, tend to make
family wanted, public or private. The argument was (and
inflated claims for what computers can accomplish,
is) that in a free market system, private schools should
help cause administrators to invest massive sums in
have as much right as public schools to be supported by
a technology that is not being used productively, and
the government, and the best schools would attract the
end up blaming the teachers for the waste.49
most students, thereby thriving and multiplying, while
Given the pace of technological change, it is very
inadequate schools would simply die or have to improve
difficult to predict the eventual impact of the Web on
due to lack of “customers.” School-choice advocate
schools and school reform. It might serve to bring teach-
Raywid objected strongly:
ers and administrators into more immediate contact, for
example, with “best practices” and successful reforms in
In the cities, vouchers would quickly solidify a two-tiered
educational system consisting of nonpublic schools and
schools and districts. The federally funded North Cen-
pauper schools. That development would impoverish us
tral Regional Educational Laboratory in Oak Brook,
all, because it would represent an abandonment of efforts
Illinois, for example, has an Internet server, Pathways to
to improve education for disadvantaged youngsters, who
School Improvement, that any teacher in the nation can
are already a majority in most U.S. cities.51
use to investigate a wide range of innovations in areas
such as curriculum, school organization, and student
By examining the inequitable and inefficient voucher
assessment. The address is www.ncrel.org/sdrs/. Com-
system currently used in Australia and then comparing
munication of the best ideas in schooling is more readily
it with the much more successful and equitable pub-
available than ever before, though the distance from an
lic school system in France, Berliner and Biddle concur
idea to its successful implementation still requires com-
that Raywid’s concerns are well founded.52
plex professional and personal qualities from those who
Not only would vouchers for private schools be likely
would want to accomplish change.
to serve those with money at the expense of the poor,
another problem quickly becomes evident: Using tax
money to fund religious education or religious schools
School Choice, Vouchers, and Charters
violates the First Amendment separation of church and
The “choice movement” in public schooling has its roots
state. But some school reformers are happy to use the
in the alternative school or “free school” movement of
choice movement to move to a voucher movement,
the 1970s. Early in the 1980s, school reformers such as
with something called “charter schools” as a transition
Hofstra University’s Mary Anne Raywid saw that some
between the two. National Education Association presi-
parents wished to send their children to nearby public
dent Bob Chase quotes one such school reformer:
schools rather than the ones to which their children
“What is called for is an incremental strategy that helps accli-
were assigned by the district. Research found that par-
matize the public to school choice, readying them for phase
ents and children who were able to choose which public
two, vouchers,” said voucher activist Roxane Premont, in
school to attend tended to have greater investment in
a speech at the Christian Coalition’s annual conference in
the school and had higher morale as a result. As Berliner
September [1996]. “Christians can enjoy the control they
and Biddle write:
exercise in charter schools even as they push for vouchers.”53
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 349
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
350
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
The future looks mixed for such a strategy. In 1997 a
will never expand sufficiently to address the needs of the
court decision declared the Cleveland, Ohio, voucher
great majority. Political scientist John Witte agrees. He
system unconstitutional after nearly a year of operation.
has written that the choice movement is like a pack of ter-
The issue was church–state separation, because most of
riers nipping at the heels of the public school system. The
the 1,900 students using the voucher plan were doing so
terriers will not go away, but they won’t have the power
for religious institutions. The state had been providing
to change the system in fundamental ways.58
for low-income students to attend religious schools at
Despite a generation of school reform since A
state expense.54
Nation at Risk, the promise of the fair distribution of
But what is this “charter school” to which Premont
life and work opprtunities and the chance for a postsec-
refers? A charter school is one for which the school dis-
ondary education seems elusive. One example is illustra-
trict grants a group of people, which could include par-
tive and exemplary. Melissa Roderick of the University
ents, community members, and teachers, a charter, or
of Chicago has found that the college attendance and
authorization, to open a school that reflects their shared
retention rates among graduates of Chicago public
educational philosophy. The district then funds that
schools (CPS) is still seriously lacking. She finds that test
school like any public school. NEA president Chase
scores and advisement are key obstacles. CPS is a predom-
concedes that charter schools have become laboratories
inantly Black and Hispanic school landscape, reflecting
for innovation, helping strengthen public schools, but he
the White middle-class exodus to suburbia. In 2005
is concerned that they have also attracted privatization
72 percent of 12th graders stated they hoped to com-
abuses. “In states such as Massachusetts, Michigan, and
plete a bachelor’s degree or higher. Forty-one percent ac-
Arizona, these groups have succeeded in passing laws that
tually enrolled, and among Black males, just 10 percent
grant charter status not just to legitimate public schools,
actually graduated.59
but also existing private schools, to home-schoolers, and
Far greater rates of college attendance would be an
even to individuals and for-profit companies with no
expectation, a greater equity among SES, ethnic, and
track record in education.”55 Chase is seeking to protect
racial groups. This will require deeper commitments to
what he perceives as the public, democratic mission of
teacher academic preparation, fair distribution of all the
the tax-supported school system, which he believes is
conditions required for postsecondary success beyond
threatened when tax dollars are used to support private
hollow standards, teacher proof scripts, and the polit-
beliefs, interests, and even profits.
icized rhetoric of schooling as merely a function of a
Despite such objections, new plans for “privatiz-
socialized response to politicized economic “crises.”
ing” schooling continue to be developed and acted on.
One of the most recent is the idea of “contract schools,”
which would extend the charter school approach to all
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
public schools by having each one set up a contract with
the local school board for its funding, its mission, and
OF EDUCATION
its accountability. The board would then have the right
This chapter has examined the contemporary leg-
to terminate weak schools and fund promising ones—
acy of two conflicting educational traditions: (1)
much like the practice of firing employees who don’t
vocational or “general” education, with its roots
perform well and giving raises to those who do.56 But
in the era of progressive education, and (2) liberal
should this principle be applied to schooling in a demo-
education, with its roots in classical Athens.
cratic society? The state of Florida believes the answer is
Such a discussion raises questions about the
yes, and it recently legalized school vouchers statewide.
fundamental aims of education for all citizens of
Similarly, President George W. Bush has expressed
strong support for school vouchers.
a democratic society. As you articulate and justify
Critics of vouchers and their variants say that they are
your educational goals and methods, the follow-
incapable of having any major reform impact on the mas-
ing questions become important: Can a democracy
sive public school system and that at best they will amount
afford to socialize major parts of its population to
to “tinkering on the fringe of reform,” as Gerald Tirozzi
accept less education and intellectual development
says.57 He argues that with 46 million public school stu-
than the society is capable of offering? Or should
dents, the private school capacity of 6 million students
Dewey’s “all around growth for every member of
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 350
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 351
society” (see Chapter 4) be the fundamental aim for
for schooling change as social conditions change. A
all citizens? Can the limited intellectual demands of
teacher’s head can be turned this way and that in an
low-skill occupations define our educational aims
effort to keep up with new demands and new expec-
for the millions of people who will one day fill those
tations. Successful teachers have their own philosoph-
occupations? Or should they be educated to the
ical compasses to keep their heads on straight.
limits of their capacity, partly because each parent
We have seen, for example, how early American
should (and usually does) want the greatest possi-
political leaders were primarily concerned with
ble intellectual, emotional, and moral development
freedom from despotic, centralized political con-
of his or her children? And if human development
trol and how this perception framed their vision of
for its own sake is our educational ideal, what kind
schools dedicated to democratic values and central
of school experiences will help bring about such
literacy. Then, during the late 19th century, school
development?
reform was driven by the realization of the social-
It should be instructive that the children of the
ization problems that accompanied the massive
upper and upper-middle classes are not typically
immigration of ethnically diverse Europeans and the
counseled into vocational education curricula, for
emancipation of 4 million African Americans. Again,
such curricula are not considered by members of
during the cold war era, perceptions of an exter-
those classes to be adequate for their children,
nal military threat from communist Russia sparked
even if their children are not particularly strong
school reforms intended to strengthen the national
academically. If this is so, the belief that vocation-
defense by identifying America’s most academically
al education as it now exists is adequate for the
able students and developing their intellectual
children of the poor and working classes should
abilities. Finally, the current reform movement, al-
be questioned and resisted. If, on the other hand,
though multidimensional, received its start in the
we find that schools are largely unsuccessful in
1980s amidst a growing sense of insecurity in
teaching such students using approaches found to
the face of international economic competition. It
be successful for upper- and middle-class children,
has transformed into something else in the 21st
it may well be that our approaches to teaching
century, however: an effort to transform the role
should be expanded to fit the learning styles and
of government to import the logic of the “competi-
dispositions of all students. In your philosophy of
tive marketplace” from business into education, in
education statement, do you see greater evidence
the hope that a deregulated competition among
that your position is guided more by a liberal edu-
education providers, private and public, will stimu-
cational ideal, or by a vocational ideal?
late innovation and excellence that a “government
Citizens of the United States, perhaps more than
monopoly on education” presumably stifles.
any other people, seem to have a deep-seated, even
The above sketch of major school reform move-
exaggerated faith in the ability of their schools to
ments deals only with what classical liberal and
solve major social problems. Certainly this is true
then modern liberal reformers (including those
of those businesspeople, professionals, and other
who are popularly called conservatives because
reform leaders who have expressed this faith
of their commitment to principles of corporate
throughout the nation’s history. Yet the particular
liberalism) perceived to be the dominant prob-
nature of school reform in any historical period
lem of each historical period. Also, embedded
varies with the perceptions of the problems to be
in most reform movements are perceptions of
solved, at least among those people who have the
other, lesser problems. For example, the current
power to implement reform. Regardless of what
reform movement, although primarily focused on
their own philosophies of education might be,
economic rehabilitation, also contains a host of
teachers typically work in a system not of their
issues related to the education of an increasingly
making, implementing educational reforms they
multicultural population and the empowerment
rarely have a hand in shaping. Society’s priorities
of teachers and parents. Likewise, such national
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 351
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
352
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
problems as sexually transmitted diseases, drug
• Does our school reform agenda address too
abuse, childhood obesity, character education,
many social problems and too few distinctly
and coping with terrorism seem to find their way
educational problems?
into the reform agenda.
• How amenable are these social problems to an
The discussion of the relationship between per-
educational solution?
ceived social problems and school reform leads us
back to such perennial education questions as these:
• And finally, in the face of one reform move-
ment after another, what is a teacher to do?
•
Have we perceived our social problem(s)
Again, it seems important to learn from the
correctly?
most successful teachers, whose philosophies
• Who should have a voice in deciding what the
of education enable them to find in each reform
problems are and how schools should go about
era something they can learn that will help
solving them?
their students learn.
Primary Source Reading
By 1940, the typical 18-year-old had a high school
diploma, up from just 9 percent who had achieved this
milestone in 1910. After World War II, the GI Bill
helped usher in a huge expansion in higher education.
Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting
As a result, members of the U.S. Baby Boom genera-
the Challenge of Preparing Young
tion far surpassed their counterparts in other countries
in educational attainment.
Americans for the 21st Century
This surge in educational attainment laid the founda-
Pathways to Prosperity Project, Harvard
tion for the staggering increase in American wealth and
Graduate School of Education
power that came to be known as the American Century.
By 2000, per capita income, adjusted for inflation, was
February 2011
five to six times as large as it had been in 1900.
Yet as we end the first decade of the 21st century,
there are profoundly troubling signs that the U.S. is
THE CHALLENGE
now failing to meet its obligation to prepare millions
of young adults. In an era in which education has never
The Persistence of “The Forgotten Half”
been more important to economic success, the U.S. has
One of the most fundamental obligations of any
fallen behind many other nations in educational attain-
society is to prepare its adolescents and young adults
ment and achievement. Within the U.S. economy, there
to lead productive and prosperous lives as adults. This
is also growing evidence of a “skills gap” in which many
means preparing all young people with a solid enough
young adults lack the skills and work ethic needed for
foundation of literacy, numeracy, and thinking skills
many jobs that pay a middle-class wage. Simultaneous-
for responsible citizenship, career development, and
ly, there has been a dramatic decline in the ability of
lifelong learning. For over a century, the United
adolescents and young adults to find work. Indeed, the
States led the world in equipping its young people
percentage of teens and young adults who have jobs is
with the education they would need to succeed. By
now at the lowest level since World War II.
the middle of the 19th century, as Claudia Goldin
These problems have been building for years. In
and Lawrence Katz write in their book, The Race
1988, the William T. Grant Foundation published a
between Education and Technology, “the U.S. already
report that called the then 20 million non-college-bound
had the most educated youth in the world.” At the
youth “the forgotten half,” and warned: “they are in dan-
turn of the 20th century, just as Europe was catching
ger of being caught in a massive bind that can deny them
up, the rapid spread of the “high school movement”
full participation in our society.” A decade later, the
helped the U.S. vault ahead again.
American Youth Policy Forum issued The Forgotten Half
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 352
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 353
Revisited, and concluded that these ill-equipped young
Going forward, these trends will only intensify. Al-
adults “have lost considerable ground versus their coun-
though labor market projections, like all economic
terparts only a decade earlier.” Since then, there have
forecasts, are inherently uncertain, we are struck by the
been many other reports—such as the National Acade-
work of the Center on Education and the Workforce
mies’ study, Rising above the Gathering Storm—that have
at Georgetown University. The Center projects that the
sounded similar alarms. Yet for all the attention, we have
U.S. economy will create some 47 million job openings
failed to take effective action. Meanwhile, the challenge
over the 10-year period ending in 2018. Nearly two-
has become increasingly urgent.
thirds of these jobs, in the Center’s estimation, will
require that workers have at least some postsecondary
A More Demanding Labor Market
education. This means, of course, that even in the sec-
The “forgotten half” challenge has deepened with the
ond decade of the 21st century, there will still be job
growing importance of postsecondary education to suc-
openings for people with just a high school degree, and
cess in the labor market. In 1973, nearly a third of the
even for high school dropouts. But the Center projects
nation’s 91 million workers were high school dropouts,
that applicants with no more than a high school degree
while another 40 percent had not progressed beyond
will fill just 36 percent of the job openings, or just half
a high school degree. Thus, people with a high school
the percentage of jobs they held in the early 1970s. Even
education or less made up 72 percent of the nation’s
if the Center has overestimated demand for postsecond-
workforce. In an economy in which manufacturing was
ary credentials, the long-term trend is undeniable.
still dominant, it was possible for those with less educa-
The message is clear: in 21st century America, educa-
tion but a strong work ethic to earn a middle-class wage,
tion beyond high school is the passport to the American
as 60 percent of high school graduates did. In effect,
Dream. But how much and what kind of postsecondary is
a high school diploma was a passport to the American
really needed to prosper in the new American economy?
Dream for millions of Americans.
The Georgetown Center projects that 14 million
By 2007, this picture had changed beyond recogni-
job openings—nearly half of those that will be filled by
tion. While the workforce had exploded nearly 70 percent
workers with postsecondary education—will go to peo-
to 154 million workers, those with a high school educa-
ple with an associate’s degree or occupational certificate.
tion or less had shrunk to just 41 percent of the work-
Many of these will be in “middle-skill” occupations such
force. Put another way, while the total number of jobs
as electrician, and construction manager, dental hygien-
in America had grown by 63 million, the number of jobs
ist, paralegal and police officer. While these jobs may
held by people with no postsecondary education had ac-
not be as prestigious as those filled by B.A. holders, they
tually fallen by some 2 million jobs. Thus, over the past
pay a significant premium over many jobs open to those
third of a century, all of the net job growth in America
with just a high school degree. More surprisingly, they
has been generated by positions that require at least some
pay more than many of the jobs held by those with a
postsecondary education.
bachelor’s degree. In fact, 27 percent of people with
Workers with at least some college have ballooned
postsecondary licenses or certificates—credentials short
to 59 percent of the workforce, from just 28 percent in
of an associate’s degree—earn more than the average
1973. Over the same period, many high school drop-
bachelor’s degree recipient.
outs and those with no more than a high school degree
Demand for middle-skilled professionals is exploding
have fallen out of the middle class, even as those who
in the nation’s hottest industry, healthcare, which has
have been to college, and especially those with bache-
added over half a million jobs during the Great Recession.
lor’s and advanced degrees, have moved up. The lifetime
Openings for registered nurses and health technologists—
earnings gap between those with a high school educa-
positions that typically require an associate’s degree—are
tion and those with a college degree is now estimated
expected to grow by more than 1 million by 2018. There
to be nearly $1 million. And the differential has been
will also be exceptionally rapid growth in such healthcare
widening. In 2008, median earnings of workers with
support jobs as nursing aide, home health aide, and atten-
bachelor’s degrees were 65 percent higher than those
dant. Though such positions are still open to high school
of high school graduates ($55,700 vs. $33,800). Simi-
graduates, they are increasingly filled by people with some
larly, workers with associate’s degrees earned 73 percent
postsecondary education or a certificate. Similarly, over
more than those who had not completed high school
half of massage therapists and dental assistants now have a
($42,000 vs. $24,300).
postsecondary certificate.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 353
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
354
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
There will also be a huge number of job openings in
background who leaves community college after com-
so-called blue-collar fields like construction, manufac-
pleting a one-year occupational certificate program—
turing, and natural resources, though many will simply
also counted in our “some college” category—may earn
replace retiring baby boomers. These fields will provide
more than many students who complete a four-year
nearly 8 million job openings, 2.7 million of which will
degree program. As the recent OECD reports suggest,
require a postsecondary credential. In commercial con-
other countries manage to equip a much larger fraction
struction, manufacturing, mining and installation, and
of their young people with occupationally relevant skills
repair, this kind of postsecondary education—as op-
and credentials by their early twenties. Consequently,
posed to a B.A.—is often the ticket to a well-paying and
these young people experience a much smoother tran-
rewarding career.
sition into adulthood, without the bumps and bruises
so many of our young are now experiencing. The les-
CONCLUSION
sons from Europe strongly suggest that well-developed,
high-quality vocational education programs provide
The American system for preparing young people to
excellent pathways for many young people to enter
lead productive and prosperous lives as adults is clear-
the adult workforce. But these programs also advance
ly badly broken. Failure to aggressively overcome this
a broader pedagogical hypothesis: that from late adoles-
challenge will surely erode the fabric of our society. The
cence onward, most young people learn best in struc-
American Dream rests on the promise of economic op-
tured programs that combine work and learning, and
portunity, with a middle-class lifestyle for those willing
where learning is contextual and applied. Ironically,
to work for it. Yet for the millions of young Americans
this pedagogical approach has been widely applied in
entering adulthood lacking access to marketable skills,
the training of our highest status professionals in the
the American Dream may be just an illusion, unlikely
U.S., where clinical practice (a form of apprenticeship)
ever to come within their grasp. If we fail to better pre-
is an essential component in the preparation of doctors,
pare current and future teens and young adults, their
architects, and (increasingly) teachers.
frustration over scarce and inferior opportunities is like-
When it comes to teenagers, however, we Americans
ly to grow, along with economic inequality. The quality
seem to think they will learn best by sitting all day in
of their lives will be lower, the costs that they impose
classrooms. If they have not mastered basic literacy and
on society will be higher, and many of their potential
numeracy skills by the time they enter high school, the
contributions to society will go unrealized. This is a
answer in many schools is to give them double blocks
troubling prospect for any society and almost certainly
of English and math. Northern European educators, by
a recipe for national decline.
contrast, believe that academic skills are best developed
As President Obama has said, we now need every
through embedding them in the presentation of com-
young American not only to complete high school, but
plex workplace problems that students learn to solve in
to obtain a postsecondary credential or degree with cur-
the course of their part-time schooling. These educators
rency in the labor market. Most Americans now seem
also focus on helping students understand underlying
to have gotten the message that a high school education
theory—not only how things work, but why.
is no longer sufficient to secure a path to the middle
This philosophy isn’t simply about learning: it’s also
class. As we have noted, college enrollment has been
about how to enable young people to make a successful
steadily rising over the past decade. The problem is
transition to working life. What is most striking about
completion: nearly half of those who enroll leave with-
the best European vocational systems is the investment,
out a degree. While the economic returns to “some
social as well as financial, that society makes in support-
college”—a category no other country uses in calculat-
ing this transition. Employers and educators together see
ing higher education outcomes—are greater than those
their role as not only developing the next generation of
for young people with only a high school diploma, they
workers, but also as helping young people make the tran-
vary widely depending on family background. Because
sition from adolescence to adulthood. If we could develop
of family connections and social networks, a middle-
an American strategy to engage educators and employers
class student dropping out of a selective college is much
in a more collaborative approach to the education and
more likely to find his way into a decent job than a
training of the next generation of workers, it would surely
working-class student dropping out of a less selective
produce important social as well as economic returns on
urban university. However, a young person of whatever
investment. Let us embark on this vital work.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 354
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform Chapter 11 355
Developing Your
2. This chapter appears to take the position that (1) all
Professional Vocabulary
students are capable of benefiting from an academic
as opposed to a vocational or general track
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
education and (2) an academic curriculum is the
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
most appropriate one for all students. To what
important to education.
degree does the chapter adequately support this
position, and to what degree do you agree with it?
charter schools
A Nation at Risk
Justify your position.
custodial education
No Child Left Behind
3. Discuss the potential of blogs to figure into the
Act of 2001
educational excellence
way education debates might unfold in the 21st
school choice
century.
general academic track
school restructuring
4. Discuss how NCLB is an extension and a revision
general education
of ideas from earlier reforms.
service occupations
Goals 2000: Educate
5. Most of today’s college students attended school
America Act
standardized achievement
during the contemporary school reform movement.
testing for
heterogeneous grouping
To what degree has your education been influenced
accountability
by such school reform? Explain.
homogeneous grouping
tracking and detracking
labor market
voucher system for
liberal education
schools
Questions for Discussion
Online Resources
and Examination
1. This chapter contrasts the aims of vocational or
Go the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
general track and liberal education. To what degree
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
are these aims significantly different, and to what
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
degree are they similar? Explain and defend your
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
point of view.
articles and news feeds.
toz24404_ch11_324-355.indd 355
07/09/12 2:54 PM
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 12
Diversity and Equity Today Defining the Challenge
Chapter Overview
Chapter 12 begins by defining the differences be-
The chapter then turns from social inequalities
tween two similar concepts: equity and equality.
to educational inequalities among various so-
It then reviews the history of efforts to address
cial groups. The social construction of different
educational equity since the 1954 Supreme Court
ethnic, gender, and economic groups’ status in
decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,
schools is considered. While particular attention
Kansas. Current social inequalities are explained,
is paid to African Americans and Latinos, Asian
including such political–economic dimensions
Americans and students with disabilities are also
as income, employment, housing, and political
considered. The Primary Source reading points
power differences among different ethnic and
out specifics regarding socio-economic, ethnic
gender groups.
and racial dimensions of the “achievement gap.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 356
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Authors increasingly investigate how education
serves different social groups differently.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 12 seeks to
4. Students should be able to discuss how the
achieve are these:
political–economic context of schooling influ-
ences learning outcomes from one generation
1. Students should be able to assess the validity
to the next.
of the assumption that differences in children’s
success in school are due largely to differences
5. Students should be able to discuss specific
in children’s native capacity for learning.
points of similarity and difference between
today’s struggles with cultural diversity and
2. This chapter should help students examine
educational equity, and the struggles of the
variables that might affect student learning, and
progressive era.
analyze how and to what degree race, ethnicity,
social class, and gender play important roles.
6. Finally, students should understand how the
dimensions of social and economic inequality in
3. Another aim is to evaluate the assertion that
this chapter are related to inequalities in
students should be “treated as individuals”
schooling experiences and discuss whether
without regard to gender or cultural background
cultural deficit theory adequately explains these
and discuss how important gender and cultural
differences.
background are in shaping individual identity.
357
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 357
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
358
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Analytic Framework
Diversity and Equity Today
Political Economy
Ideology
Social inequalities:
Equal opportunity
Racial and ethnic
Meritocracy
Gender
Genetic deficit theory
Economic class
Cultural deficit theory
Diversity across and within groups
Racism
Inequalities in employment
Sexism
Effects of poverty and racism on
families
Class bias
Income versus wealth differences
Disability bias
Education for All Handicapped
Social construction of which
Children Act
human differences matter
Schooling
Inequalities in educational resources
Inequalities in educational expectations
Standardized achievement test
differences
Educational attainment differences
Language differences and school
achievement
Inclusion of students with disabilities
in “mainstream” classrooms
Gender and learning differences
No Child Left Behind
Introduction: Inequity
Those who have the most skill and talent, work hard-
est, and have the best luck are expected to prosper in a
and Inequality
free market economy. The free market is supposed to
structure a system of rewards that bring out the produc-
From its very origins American society has struggled with
tive best in people. In practice, however, this theory is
questions of equity and equality. Although these terms
questionable. It assumes that the starting conditions
derive from the same linguistic stem, they carry sub-
for everyone allow for fair competition or, at the very
stantially different meanings. Equality denotes “equal”;
least, that social institutions treat everyone fairly. British
equity, “fair.” Even as an ideal, democracy does not call
economic historian R. H. Tawney draws the distinction
for an identical existence for each citizen or promise
in this manner:
to equalize outcomes. In theory, democratic ideals of
[To] criticize inequality and to desire equality is not, as is
freedom marry well with ideals of economic freedom.
sometimes suggested, to cherish the romantic illusion that
men are equal in character and intelligence. It is to hold
Robert N. Carson wrote the original draft of this chapter.
that, while their natural endowments differ profoundly, it is
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 358
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 359
the mark of a civilized society to aim at eliminating such in-
The meritocracy issue reemerged during the 1960s,
equalities as have their source, not in individual differences,
as we saw in the cold war era of Chapter 5, and
but in its own organization, and that individual differences,
remained at the center of educational discussions for the
which are the source of social energy, are more likely to
next 20 years. Fueling the new debate, as we shall see,
ripen and find expression if social inequalities are, as far as
was the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
practicable, diminished.
decision and the ensuing Coleman study. These in turn
. . . it is by softening or obliterating, not individual dif-
ferences, but class gradations, that the historical movements
led to several “cultural deprivation” studies, which will
directed towards diminishing inequality have attempted to
be analyzed briefly in the next section. The cumulative
attain their objective.1
effect of these works was to reestablish the idea that
some individuals and groups are inherently unequal.
Liberal Ideology:
The source of inferiority was not considered to be social
or economic conditions but flaws residing in some in-
Meritocracy Reexamined
dividuals and groups. Moreover, because their inherent
deficiencies were considered to be of such magnitude,
Social theorists and educators have long been con-
it was argued that they could not benefit from the kind
cerned with the origins of inequality. Does inequality
of education their superiors received. Thus, the 1960s
stem from deficiencies within certain individuals or
debate appeared to confirm the fairness of America’s
groups or from external social and economic condi-
meritocratic economic structure. If some children suc-
tions? It is important to remember that inequalities
ceeded in school while others failed, it was believed, the
which have their source in social organization mean
fairness of the system ensured that children succeeded
that some, the socially privileged, have advantages
due to their own individual merit.
which are denied to others in the society. The privi-
leged often find it comforting as well as expedient to
Social Conditions behind
interpret these socially derived inequalities as intrinsic
the New Debate
personal qualities. Not only do they claim personal
ownership of their advantages, they often charge the
It is instructive to examine the social conditions out of
socially disadvantaged with personal ownership of their
which this new meritocracy debate emerged. Perhaps
deficiencies, justifying the low socioeconomic benefits
the first major challenge to the meritocratic conclu-
accruing to the disadvantaged.
sions reached at the beginning of this century resulted
In addition to frequent misuses of the terms equity
from the “GI Bill,” which appeared near the end of
and equality, much confusion has resulted from inad-
World War II as members of the Roosevelt adminis-
equately analyzing the implications of inequality. What
tration began planning for the demobilization of the
sorts of educational and social policies are needed as a
American armed forces. Their primary concern was
result of inequality, whatever its origin? Are some in-
to entice GIs to enter college rather than the labor
dividuals so unequal that they cannot benefit from the
market and thus help prevent massive unemployment.
kind of education others receive, and if so, should they
Many of these GIs came from poorly educated families
be denied access to decision-making authority?
that earlier had been judged inferior, and so they were
As we have seen, these equity and equality issues were
not expected to succeed in college. In accordance with
settled during the first decades of the 20th century as
prevailing meritocratic ideas, many educators were
psychologists such as E. L. Thorndike and Lewis Terman
horrified at the prospect of this horde of unprepared
along with sociologists such as E. A. Ross and Charles
and ill-suited students leaving their lower-class back-
H. Cooley convinced the American public that African
grounds and crashing the citadels of learning. Educa-
Americans and the “new immigrants” were innately in-
tors forecast widespread failure for these new students.
ferior to Anglo-Saxon Americans.2 This conclusion led
Much to their surprise, however, most of the GIs
to the development of different and inferior educational
were very successful. As a group, they graduated at a
programs for these groups. Thus, differentiated curricu-
higher rate than did the regular students and achieved
la soon became standard in American schools and were
higher grades en route to their diplomas. This success
seen as a major component in the American system of
presented a new reality, a new set of social facts that
meritocracy.3
most social analysts and educators chose to ignore.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 359
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
360
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 opened the way to scenes such as this, in which U.S.
Marshals forceably protected the right of a young African American student to attend a previously all-
White elementary school.
Nevertheless, it represented a potential chink in the
Meanwhile, the nation was becoming increasingly
armor of the meritocratic ideology.
entangled in the Vietnam War and the social inequi-
In 1954, immediately after the positive experience
ties that the war protest movement uncovered. And
of the GI Bill, came the Supreme Court’s Brown v.
if the preceding events were not enough to unsettle
Board of Education ruling, which stated, “It is doubted
the national psyche, President Lyndon Johnson, in an
that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed
attempt to secure a political coalition of urban ethnics,
in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education
African Americans, and liberal intellectuals, declared a
. . . [and such opportunity] must be made available to
war on poverty that found domestic foes almost as in-
all on equal terms.”4 This reopened the debate about
tractable as those in the rice paddies of southeast Asia.
equity in American society. Michael Harrington’s
To round things out, events in the area of industrial
1962 best-seller, The Other America, 5 added fuel to the
labor relations were equally contentious, as seen in the
debate as he reminded the middle class that one-third of
conflict at General Motors’ Vega plant, where workers
Americans were still ill fed, ill housed, and ill clothed.
demanded democratic control of the workplace.
Apparently, the umbrella of the “middle class” did not
It became clear to many that such events were caus-
cover as much of the populace as conventional wisdom
ing a major reassessment of the modern liberal ideology
had assumed. This awareness of widespread inequal-
undergirding meritocracy. Many critics questioned the
ity and inequity was heightened by the growing civil
“new liberal” faith in scientific expertise and scientific
rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
rationality as the best ways to organize the workplace and
and the urban riots that followed his murder in 1968.
plan domestic and foreign policy. Expert and elite control
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 360
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 361
of social institutions did not seem to be producing the
3. Measured student performance on standardized
progress that modern liberalism promised. Further, the
tests showed considerable differences, with White
uncritical nationalism that modern liberalism had fos-
students well ahead of African American students
tered in so many Americans was being questioned. And
in test results.
the promise of freedom for all Americans seemed to be
4. The measured differences in school resources
an illusion, given the pervasive conditions of poverty that
seemed to have little or no effect on the differences
seemed to constrain millions of Americans who simply
in students’ performance on standardized tests;
didn’t have an equal chance at the American dream of a
that is, educational inputs (facilities, curricula,
self-sufficient life.
teachers) seemed to make no meaningful differ-
As if these concerns were not enough, there were
ence in outcomes (academic achievement).
simultaneous attacks on the schools that were prepar-
ing children for their future roles in the meritocracy.
5. The only variable that seemed to affect educational
These attacks ranged from Admiral Hyman Rickover’s
achievement (“outcomes”) was “quality of peers.”
demand for a technological elite to defend America from
6. Minority children, especially African Americans,
the onslaught of world communism,6 to Arthur Bestor’s
Latinos, and Native Americans, entered school
charge that the schools were an intellectual “wasteland”7
with lower achievement scores, and this gap
that threatened the very existence of American democ-
increased throughout their stay in school.
racy, to Nat Hentoff’s assertion that the inner-city
schools were so underfunded that they could not edu-
Although it was profoundly influential in the national
cate.8 Thus, education, the major institutional support
discussion about schools and inequality, the Coleman
for meritocracy, was also under severe assault.
study was seriously flawed. According to Samuel Bowles
and Henry Levin, for example, the statistical method
used to analyze the data grossly underestimated the
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
positive effects of schooling on student achievement.9
In other words, if the study had been conducted dif-
A basic assumption in American schooling has been
ferently, it would have shown that schools do matter a
that students’ success in school and in economic life
great deal—that different levels of school input produce
is based on their learning abilities in an equitable edu-
very different outcomes in student learning. In addition
cational system. How does this assumption relate to
to flaws in the statistical method used, the data collect-
the idea of our society as a meritocracy?
ed by Coleman’s team were in themselves misleading:
Teacher quality, for example, was measured primarily
by years of schooling and years of teaching experience.
The Coleman Report
Despite its flaws, the Coleman Report succeeded in
focusing attention away from educational inputs (what
To fulfill one of the provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights
schools bring to students) and toward what children bring
Act, the U.S. Office of Education commissioned James
to school. It seemed to invite the scientific investigation
Coleman to conduct a survey “concerning the lack of
of unequal education achievement by looking for flaws in
availability of equal educational opportunity for indi-
the children rather than in the schools or in societ y.
viduals by reason of race, color, religion, or national
origin.” This study initiated the new debate on equity.
The Cultural Deprivation Studies
Coleman’s team of researchers gathered data on over
6,000,000 schoolchildren, 60,000 teachers, and 4,000
During the winter of 1966–1967, the Carnegie Foun-
schools across the United States. His findings were star-
dation sponsored a seminar at Harvard University to
tling. To summarize them briefly:
examine the implications of the Coleman Report. Two
books were conceived during the seminar: On Equality of
1. Most African American students and White
Educational Opportunity, edited by Daniel P. Moynihan
students attended different schools.
and Frederick Mosteller, and Inequality, by Christopher
2. According to “measurable” characteristics (e.g.,
Jencks and his associates. Both books reanalyzed the
physical facilities, curricula, material resources, and
Coleman database; that is, they used the data collected
teachers), these schools were quite similar.
by the Coleman researchers rather than gathering new
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 361
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
362
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
data. Thus both books suffered most of the same flaws
more money on schooling—even though schools do
as the original Coleman study.
not make any difference in a person’s future—because
The Moynihan–Mosteller work10 concluded that
most people spend 20 to 25 percent of their lives in
since educational inputs are roughly the same for all
school and thus schools should be “pleasant.”13 Dur-
children, America had achieved equal educational
ing the following decade many educators worried,
opportunity. The authors argued that educational
talked, and planned about making schools more
expenditures were already high, and since further
“pleasant” places. The real cost of this kind of activity
expenditures were not likely to raise educational
was to deflect attention away from questions about
achievement for minorities, such increases would be
how to make schools more effective learning centers
economically unwise. America, according to these
for children.
writers, had already reached the point of diminishing
Henry M. Levin’s review14 of Jencks and colleagues’
returns regarding educational expenditures. In retro-
work points out many of its major flaws. Levin notes
spect, it is interesting to note that the argument for a
that the authors’ conclusion that family background
halt in rising educational expenditures did not origi-
has little effect on future income, especially for the
nate with the conservative Nixon or Reagan admin-
rich and the poor, defies the results of many stud-
istrations but with liberal Harvard social scientists
ies of intergenerational mobility which show that the
who were supported by the Carnegie Foundation.
effect of family is quite significant. Regarding their
This oc curred because the Moynihan–Mosteller work
conclusion that schooling has only a small effect on
reinforced the Coleman Report’s suggestion that the
income, Levin suggests that their interpretation of
achievement problems faced by minority students
what constitutes “small” may be open to interpreta-
rested not with the schools but with the students
tion. The data showed that the difference in annual
and their cultural backgrounds. More money for the
income between high school graduates and elemen-
schools, in that interpretation, would provide little
tary school graduates who were otherwise identical
benefit. By implication, the book also bolstered the
was 16 percent in favor of the high school graduates;
notion that poverty stems from personal problems
between college graduates and elementary school
within the poor rather than from problems within
graduates, the difference was 48 percent in favor of
the social system.11
the college graduates. Levin notes, “Jencks appar-
Christopher Jencks and colleagues’ Inequality 12 was
ently believes that such differences are small, but two
even more explicit, although perhaps unintentionally
men separated by such income disparities might not
so, in its attempt to rescue the economic system from
agree.”15
charges of inequity. The authors began by arguing that
In light of the massive flaws in these studies and
the Coleman data showed substantial equality of inputs
the fact that they nevertheless exerted, and continue to
in public schools. They also asserted that cognitive in-
exert, considerable influence on educational and social
equality was not affected by schooling but was largely
policy, the question arises, How did this happen? The
dependent on the characteristics of the child upon en-
most reasonable explanation seems to be that these ideas
tering school. Like Moynihan and Mosteller, they noted
were congenial to the powerful in our society because
that unequal achievement was caused by deficiencies in
they served to justify and explain their own positions
the child, not in the school.
of privilege. In other words, these ideas were powerful
The conclusions of Jencks et al. regarding economic
because they accorded well with the dominant ideology:
inequality were not as predictable as their assertions
modern liberalism. They reinforced and appeared to jus-
about educational inequality. They argued that noth-
tify a meritocratic arrangement of society and schooling.
ing in the Coleman data could be shown to affect
They deflected arguments that questioned the validity
future economic success. According to Jencks et al.,
and fairness of such arrangements. Regardless of the
family background, schooling, IQ, and cognitive
reasons these studies became so influential, they con-
skills had little or no predictive value on future eco-
tinue to affect the way Americans think about equity
nomic success. They did hazard a guess, which they
and schools.
acknowledged lacked data support, that economic
Let us now examine some of the data concerning
success was probably related to “luck” and special
income, race, social class, gender, and schooling. Sub-
competencies, such as the ability to hit a baseball.
sequently, we shall examine theories that attempt to
Nevertheless, they recommended that society spend
explain the relationships found in these data.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 362
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 363
The Political–Economic
while for Black and Hispanic families it ranged from
$33,000 to $34,000.18 These are huge differences not
Context
only in paying for college, but even for buying ade-
quate clothing and housing a family in neighborhoods
The Demographics of Modern
where good public schools prevail.
American Society
To gain a more detailed picture of how wealth and pow-
er are distributed in society, social scientists examine data
The United States has been known from its beginning as
on income, educational level, childhood mortality, teen-
a “land of opportunity,” and today it ranks near the top
age pregnancy, substance abuse, home ownership, capital
of all industrialized nations in per capita purchasing pow-
stock, and other social indices. These variables are then
er.16 The United States is also one of the most schooled
matched against different demographic groups organized
countries, in terms of years of schooling per capita. Per
by age, race, ethnicity, social class, gender, and so forth.
capita education spending in the United States com-
(See Exhibits 12.1 and 12.2 for years of school completed
pares well with other countries: Over 85 percent of U.S.
related to age, through 2000, with 2010 census verifying
students graduate from high schools, and U.S. college
continuation of those trends.) The next few sections
and university systems enroll nearly 20 million students,
step back from this larger picture of general prosperity
attracting applicants from all over the world.17
to examine outcomes for several different demographic
These statistics give an encouraging picture of
groups. The intent is to reinforce with statistics what
American society. Unfortunately, this picture is mis-
is already common knowledge: Social, economic, and
leading. For example, almost half of those who go on to
political outcomes generally favor men over women,
college will drop out. And of those who drop out, a dis-
White people over people of color, and upper- and
proportionate number are from minority backgrounds.
middle-class people over the urban poor and the work-
For example, six different states have school districts
ing class.
where the high school dropout rate is over 25 percent,
and nationwide the dropout rate for African American
and Hispanic students far exceeds the dropout rate for
Race, Ethnicity, and the
other populations. Although the nation is prosperous
Limits of Language
overall, income inequality is among the highest in the
industrialized world. According to the U.S. Census
In this section we examine data for specific minority
Bureau, recent median income for White and Asian
groups. Bear in mind that both race and ethnicity are so-
American families ranged from $55,000 to $60,000,
cially constructed terms that are difficult to define. There
Exhibit 12.1 Years of School Completed by Persons 25 Years Old and Over, 1940–2000
100%
80
Less than 12 years
60
4 years of high school or more
age of persons
40
ercentP
20
4 or more years of college
0
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1960 Census of Population, Volume 1, part 1; and Current Population Reports, Series P-20; and Current Population Survey, unpublished data.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 363
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
364
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Exhibit 12.2 Years of School Completed by Persons 25 to 29 Years of Age, 1940–2000
100%
80
4 years of high school or more
60
age of persons 40
Less than 12 years
ercentP 20
4 or more years of college
0
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1960 Census of Population, Volume 1, part 1; and Current Population Reports, Series P-20; and Current Population Survey, unpublished data.
is, for example, no definition of race that will stand
seems to perpetuate that mistaken notion. It might be
up to scientific analysis, and so it must be understood
better, it seems, to eliminate the term altogether from
that race is not a purely biological term. For example,
the way we refer to ourselves as humans—unless to
the distinction between White and African American
affirm that we are all one race.
is largely determined by legal ruling, as is the case in
However, the term race has been historically used
Louisiana. There the courts have held that a person is
to differentiate us from one another, not to unite us.
African American if the equivalent of one great-great-
(For the African and the Scandinavian to say they are
great-great-grandparent was African American (i.e., if a
of the same race seems like nonsense to most people,
person is one sixty-fourth African American). Hispanics
as if the language were being used in a way it was not
are usually classified by virtue of a Spanish surname—
meant to be used.) Therefore, focusing on race draws
clearly a cultural rather than a biological distinction. The
our attention to the differences among us rather than
important point is that these terms refer less to innate
to the similarities. The same might be said for ethnicity,
biological differences than to socially constructed dif-
a term which does have a strong basis in social science.
ferences in how people are perceived to be members
Focus on this term, too, can make people uncomfort-
of various groups (see the American Anthropological
able, because in the middle of the effort to affirm what
Association Statement on “Race” in Table 12.1).
we have in common with one another—our essential
There are several difficulties with trying to talk or
humanness—social scientists and educators use a term
write about issues of race and ethnicity. One, as the
that emphasizes our differences. This may be perceived
Dictionary of Race and Ethnic Relations points out, is
as divisive. It separates us by different languages and dif-
that every time we use the word race, we appear to be
ferent cultural histories. In short, focus on ethnicity, like
perpetuating a concept that has no basis in science.19
focus on race, seems to divide us rather than unite us,
The Human Genome Diversity Project, for example,
but for different reasons.
has demonstrated that the darkest-hued African and the
There is still another difficulty with the language
lightest-skinned Scandinavian are 99.99 percent identi-
of race and ethnicity: Our terms of ethnic identifica-
cal in their genetic composition.20 Yet the concept of
tion are disputed and often inaccurate. There is not
race has historically operated as if the differences among
full agreement among Native Americans (or American
large groups of people (traditionally “Caucasoid, Mon-
Indians, or Indians, or indigenous peoples) about which
goloid, and Negroid”) are so significant as to identify us
identifying term to use. Some of these terms (Indians,
as subspecies of the larger human species, a division that
Americans) are the historical legacy of conquering
has no scientific basis. To continue to use the term race
Europeans, and most cultures resist having their names
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 364
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 365
imposed by other cultures. One’s identity is in part
self-representation. The term white is itself a cultural
shaped by one’s name, and we resist having our own
construction with ideological baggage.
names for ourselves replaced by someone else’s names for
Even when we respect the names different peoples pre-
ourselves. Similarly, most Asian Americans now resist be-
fer for themselves, our efforts to talk about ethnicity are
ing called “Orientals,” and most African Americans resist
stymied by the fact that broadly inclusive terms are mis-
being called “Negroes.” While some African Americans
leading. For example, to generalize about Hispanics or
and Hispanics and Asian Americans use the term
Asian Americans overlooks profound cultural differences,
people of color to refer to non-White, non-Hispanic
even historical hostilities, within each of those subgroups.
people in the United States, this obscures the fact that
While Japanese and Chinese and Cambodians are very
some Hispanics in the United States identify strongly
different culturally and economically in the United
with their European origins, are in all outward respects
States, the term Asian American seems to allow us to
“White,” and do not want themselves described as “peo-
generalize about them as if they were basically similar.
ple of color.” In their view, they are as “white” as any
Similarly, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexicans have
other U.S. language or ethnic group (Polish, German,
different histories and important differences in their sta-
Irish) of European descent. Alternativel y, some Hispan-
tus in the U.S. economic and educational system, but
ics would choose to self -identify as Latino or Chicano
they are all Hispanics in our use of the language.
(about which more later), terms that are chosen in part
If our language is such a clumsy tool for talking about
to make specific political statements about identity and
these matters, why talk about them? Why can’t we all be
Table 12.1 AAA Statement on “Race”
The following statement was adopted by the AAA Executive Board, acting on a draft prepared by a committee of representative American anthropologists. It does not reflect a consensus of all members of the AAA, as individuals vary in their approaches to the study of “race.” We believe that it represents generally the contemporary thinking and scholarly positions of a majority of anthropologists.
In the US both scholars and the general public have been
of which are found among different indigenous peoples
conditioned to viewing human races as natural and separate
in tropical regions. These facts render any attempt to
divisions within the human species based on visible physical
establish lines of division among biological populations both
differences. With the vast expansion of scientific knowledge
arbitrary and subjective.
in this century, however, it has become clear that human
Historical research has shown that the idea of race has
populations are not unambiguous, clearly demarcated,
always carried more meanings than mere physical
biologically distinct groups. Evidence from the analysis of
differences; indeed, physical variations in the human species
genetics (e.g., DNA) indicates that there is greater variation
have no meaning except the social ones that humans put on
within racial groups than between them. This means that
them. Today scholars in many fields argue that race as it is
most physical variation, about 94%, lies within so-called racial
understood in the USA was a social mechanism invented
groups. Conventional geographic “racial” groupings differ
during the 18th century to refer to those populations brought
from one another only in about 6% of their genes. In
together in colonial America: the English and other European
neighboring populations there is much overlapping of genes
settlers, the conquered Indian peoples, and those peoples
and their phenotypic (physical) expressions. Throughout
of Africa brought in to provide slave labor.
history whenever different groups have come into contact, they
From its inception, this modern concept of race was
have interbred. The continued sharing of genetic materials has
modeled after an ancient theorem of the Great Chain of
maintained all of humankind as a single species.
Being which posited natural categories on a hierarchy
Physical variations in any given trait tend to occur
established by God or nature. Thus race was a mode of
gradually rather than abruptly over geographic areas. And
classification linked specifically to peoples in the colonial
because physical traits are inherited independently of one
situation. It subsumed a growing ideology of inequality
another, knowing the range of one trait does not predict the
devised to rationalize European attitudes and treatment of
presence of others. For example, skin color varies largely
the conquered and enslaved peoples. Proponents of slavery
from light in the temperate areas in the north to dark in
in particular during the 19th century used race to justify the
the tropical areas in the south; its intensity is not related
retention of slavery. The ideology magnified the differences
to nose shape or hair texture. Dark skin may be associated
among Europeans, Africans and Indians, established a rigid
with frizzy or kinky hair or curly or wavy or straight hair, all
hierarchy of socially exclusive categories, underscored and
(continued)
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 365
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
366
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Table 12.1 (concluded)
bolstered unequal rank and status differences, and provided
that both are genetically determined. Racial myths bear no
the rationalization that the inequality was natural or God-given.
relationship to the reality of human capabilities or behavior.
The different physical traits of African-Americans and
Scientists today find that reliance on such folk beliefs
Indians became markers or symbols of their status
about human differences in research has led to countless
differences.
errors.
As they were constructing US society, leaders among
At the end of the 20th century, we now understand that
European-Americans fabricated the cultural/behavioral
human cultural behavior is learned, conditioned into infants
characteristics associated with each race, linking superior
beginning at birth, and always subject to modification.
traits with Europeans and negative and inferior ones to
No human is born with a built-in culture or language. Our
blacks and Indians. Numerous arbitrary and fictitious
temperaments, dispositions and personalities, regardless
beliefs about the different peoples were institutionalized
of genetic propensities, are developed within sets of
and deeply embedded in American thought.
meanings and values that we call “culture.” Studies of
Early in the 19th century the growing fields of science
infant and early childhood learning and behavior attest to
began to reflect the public consciousness about human
the reality of our cultures in forming who we are.
differences. Differences among the racial categories were
It is a basic tenet of anthropological knowledge that
projected to their greatest extreme when the argument
all normal human beings have the capacity to learn
was posed that Africans, Indians and Europeans were
any cultural behavior. The American experience with
separate species, with Africans the least human and closer
immigrants from hundreds of different language and
taxonomically to apes.
cultural backgrounds who have acquired some version
Ultimately race as an ideology about human differences
of American culture traits and behavior is the clearest
was subsequently spread to other areas of the world. It
evidence of this fact. Moreover, people of all physical
became a strategy for dividing, ranking and controlling
variations have learned different cultural behaviors and
colonized people used by colonial powers everywhere. But
continue to do so as modern transportation moves
it was not limited to the colonial situation. In the latter part
millions of immigrants around the world. How people
of the 19th century it was employed by Europeans to rank
have been accepted and treated within the context of
one another and to justify social, economic and political
a given society or culture has a direct impact on how
inequalities among their peoples. During World War II, the
they perform in that society. The racial world view was
Nazis under Adolf Hitler enjoined the expanded ideology of
invented to assign some groups to perpetual low status,
race and racial differences and took them to a logical end:
while others were permitted access to privilege, power
the extermination of 11 million people of “inferior races”
and wealth. The tragedy in the US has been that the
(e.g., Jews, Gypsies, Africans, homosexuals and so forth)
policies and practices stemming from this world view
and other unspeakable brutalities of the Holocaust.
succeeded all too well in constructing unequal popula-
Race thus evolved as a world view, a body of
tions among Europeans, Native Americans and peoples
prejudgments that distorts our ideas about human
of African descent. Given what we know about the
differences and group behavior. Racial beliefs constitute
capacity of normal humans to achieve and function
myths about the diversity in the human species and about
within any culture, we conclude that present-day
the abilities and behavior of people homogenized into racial
inequalities between so-called racial groups are not
categories. The myths fused behavior and physical features
consequences of their biological inheritance but
together in the public mind, impeding our comprehension
products of historical and contemporary social,
of both biological variations and cultural behavior, implying
economic, educational and political circumstances.
Source: Reproduced by permission of the American Anthropological Association from Anthropology News 39, no. 6 (September 1998).
one and stop emphasizing differences among us? (In fact,
people are treated differently from others in our society.
some would prefer that U.S. Census Bureau and other
Without race and ethnicity as categories, we can’t find
official documents would stop requiring us to identify
answers to important questions about whether schools
ourselves as African American, Asian and Pacific Island-
are serving all children equally well—or whether skin
er, American Indian, and so on.) One very important
color or cultural background might be factors in why
reason, as indicated in Cornel West’s Race Matters, 21 is
some children perform better than others. We would
that people in the United States are deeply affected—
not be able to learn that Minnesota, a state with a highly
privileged, damaged, even killed—according to their
regarded school system, ranks “dead last of all the states
perceived membership in one racial or ethnic group or
among African American fourth-graders,” to cite a 1996
another. To stop talking about race and ethnicity is to
study of academic achievement. If we take away race
lose an important tool for understanding why some
and ethnicity as tools for analysis, we can’t notice that
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 366
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 367
African American males are more likely to be killed or
lead to different life chances for children in different
to go to prison in our society than they are to graduate
groups. Further, family income correlates highly with
from college. Without the tools for noticing that this is
school achievement, which means that children from
happening, we cannot begin to ask why. Without asking
low socioeconomic status (SES) families will tend to
why, we cannot begin to do anything about it.22
perform less well in school than do high-SES children.
On the one hand, our language about race and eth-
Harold Hodgkinson pointed out more than 15 years
nicity is imprecise and often misleading. The very use of
ago, for example, that high-SES African American
the term race seems to perpetuate a wrong-headed idea
eighth-graders perform better in an advanced math-
about human beings. Yet these seem to be the best tools
ematics than do low-SES White or Asian American
we have for pointing out one huge category of problems
eighth-graders.25
that must be addressed if a school system seeks to serve
Given that SES and race interact in complex ways,
democratic ideals. Those problems exist when children
income disparities among different ethnic groups can
experience different educational outcomes not on the
have great consequences for children. And income dis-
basis of their individual talents and interests but on the
parities among different racial and ethnic groups are sig-
basis of their membership in a cultural group—whether
nificant in the United States today. The U.S. Bureau of
that group is defined by race, ethnicity, family income,
the Census reported, for example:
gender, or another characteristic. Even when the tools
of language are clumsy, they are often sufficient to help
• While the income median of White families was
us inquire into whether all children are receiving the
well above the median household income of the
educatio n they deserve in a democratic society. Put dif-
United States overall ($57,073 in 2003 dollars),
ferently, race may not be a coherent concept, but racism
median earnings of African American and Hispanic
is a real phenomenon.
families were much lower: respectively, $38,674
and $38,718.26
Ethnicity, Income, and Wealth If race and ethnicity
were of no consequence in American society, we would
• Over 21 percent of White households earned over
not expect great differences in income among different
$100,000 in 2003, while 9 percent of African
racial and ethnic groups. Where income varied among
American households earned over $100,000 and
individuals, we would expect the differences to be due
7 percent of Hispanic households of any race earn
not to race and ethnicity but to such factors as educa-
over $100,000.27
tion and individual talents or interests. Where income
• At the opposite end of the income distribution,
varied among families, we would consider such factors
12 percent of White households earn below $20,000,
as the number of income earners in the household. In
while 26 percent of African American households
fact, as Sheldon Danziger points out, educational differ-
and 21 percent of Hispanics of any race earn below
ences do not explain very much of the disparity between
this figure. Only 15 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander
income earnings among non-Hispanic Whites, African
households fall below this figure.28
Americans, and Hispanic individuals; correcting for
educational differences does not eliminate most of the
• When family wealth is measured, which considers
income differences.23 Other differences, such as age,
not just annual income but a family’s full financial
region, and racial bias in employment and promotion
assets, such as real estate and stocks, the differences
practices, are among those which must be examined.
are much greater. In 2001, White families had a
Similarly, Andrew Hacker has found that the difference
median net worth of $117,722. African American
between the number of two-income White households
families had a median net worth of $18,510 and for
and two-income Black households does not explain
Latino families it was $11,149.29
the large gap in household income between those two
• The poverty level in 2000 was established at
groups, especially because a higher percentage of Black
$17,650, well under half the median household
married women than White married women work out-
income for the nation. Among Asian/Pacific
side the home.24
Islander families, 12 percent fell below poverty
What is most salient for our purposes here is that
level, compared to 10 percent of White families. In
the income differences are very real for different racial
contrast, 22 percent of Hispanics and 24 percent of
and ethnic groups, and these income differences
African Americans fell into this poverty category.30
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 367
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
368
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
In seeking explanations for such marked differences
for example, we will see a theory suggesting a certain
among different ethnic groups, we should avoid the
amount of resistance to school norms among children
simple suggestion that the higher levels of education
in some ethnic groups but not in others. A group’s cul-
attained by Whites and Asian Americans provide the
tural practices, together with how groups are differently
answer. It is instructive, for example, that while the edu-
perceived by people who hire and fire in the workplace,
cation gaps between Blacks and Whites have steadily
have different consequences for different groups. The
narrowed since the late 1960s, the poverty levels for
nation’s unemployment rates for Whites and Asian/
Whites have remained between 9 and 11.3 percent,
Pacific Islanders in 2004, for example, were 4.5 and 6.3
while for Blacks they have remained much higher, be-
percent, respectively. Regarded as the “model minority”
tween 21 and 30 percent.31 Furthermore, Blacks and
by employers as well as by some educators, Asian/Pacific
Hispanics with the same level of education as Whites,
Islanders do not encounter the sort of discrimination
whether a high school diploma or a college or gradu-
directed against African Americans or Hispanics, the
ate degree, continue to earn less than their White
unemployment rates for whom in 2004 were 10.7 and
counterparts.32 The discouraging message here is that
7.0 percent, respectively.34
differences in employment and income are due to fac-
Such data tell us some important differences among
tors other than a person’s education. While additional
groups but obscure important differences within groups.
education can create opportunities for individuals in all
For example, the relatively high household income
ethnic groups, the historical record shows that it is not
levels cited above for Asian/Pacific Islanders hide dif-
likely in itself to overcome differences among groups
ferences among different Asian groups. A 2006 study,
as long as various forms of ethnic discrimination exist.
for example, shows that median family income in
the United States ranged from $70,849 for Japanese
Ethnicity and Employment Hacker shows that
and $70,708 for Asian Indians to about half that for
for the last 30 years unemployment rates for African
Cambodians and Hmong. Among “Hispanics,” unem-
Americans have remained steadily at two to two and a
ployment rates for Puerto Rican men tend to be double
half times the unemployment rates for Whites. Again,
those for Cuban American men.35 The general labels
we are tempted to look for an explanation in education-
Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander can cause us to over-
al differences. But as Hacker tells us, African Americans
look important cultural and economic differences
with college degrees have even worse unemployment,
among the many different groups comprised by them.
compared to college-educated Whites, than African
Similarly, discouraging data about Black poverty and
Americans who have only a high school diploma as
unemployment can obscure the reality of the growing
compared to their White counterparts. Perhaps even
Black middle class, which has more in common with
more discouraging to African Americans is the com-
the White middle class than with the Black underclass
parison of their recent unemployment rates with those
in terms of economics, employment, and educatio n.
20 or 30 years ago. In the 1960s, Black unemployment
went above 11 percent only in one year and stayed at
Ethnicity and Family We are learning from many
or below 8 percent for the last half of the decade. In
quarters that changes in the American family affect all
the 1980s and early 1990s, despite dramatic educational
ethnic groups, but some more severely than others. The
increases for African Americans, Black unemployment
great majority of the 17.5 million children living in
rates never went below 11 percent and for most years
single -parent households, for example, are White non-
hovered in the range of 14 to 18 percent.33 The mes-
Hispanic. It might seem, therefore, that information on
sage is that unemployment differentials, like income
the changing family structure in our society might better
disparities, are dependent on socioeconomic conditions
be discussed as a subtopic of economic class or gender
other than education. While additional education can
rather than ethnicity. We mention family characteristics
create opportunities for individuals in all ethnic groups,
here largely because of the particular significance that
it is not likely in itself to overcome differences among
single-parent families have for African American chil-
groups as long as various forms of discrimination based
dren. For 80 years, from 1880 to 1960, the proportion
on ethnicity persist.
of Black children living with a single parent held steady
Discrimination interacts with cultural practices and
around 30 percent, according to the new research by the
traditions differently in different ethnic groups. In the sec-
University of Minnesota. During the same time, the pro-
tion on social theory and education in the next chapter,
portion of White children living with only one parent
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 368
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 369
stayed at about 10 percent. But in recent years, those fig-
The job market has changed, however, shrinking
ures have climbed—to 63 percent for Black children and
the middle class by eliminating manufacturing jobs and
19 percent for White children. In data averaging from
shifting many of the remaining jobs away from the cen-
2000 to 2002, 25 percent of White children were living
tral city to the suburbs or overseas to sources of cheap
in low-income or poverty-level families. This figure is 58
labor. Many African Americans in the inner city have
and 62 percent for African American and Latino fami-
been left behind without jobs and without opportunities
lies, respectively. The federal poverty level is $18,400 per
for upward mobility. The breakdown of the family, the
family of four. Low income is below 200 percent of that
exit of African American professionals from the inner city,
level.36 As Hodgkinson notes about correlations between
the erosion of the tax base, and the increase in drug use,
poverty and single-parent families, “when both par-
violence, and crime have all served to leave the inner city
ents work, family income does not double; it trip les. ”37
a disastrous place to grow up. By the early 1990s hous-
Single-parent families are thus a significant reason that
ing and employment problems had actually worsened as
over 8.3 million White children, 4.6 million Black chil-
the Bush administration tightened budgetary restraints
dren, and nearly 3 million Hispanic children were listed
on social spending.
as living in poverty in 1991 by the U.S. Bureau of the
For the purposes of illustrating socioeconomic
Census. Put in percentages, 16.1 percent of White non-
inequalities, many of the examples presented here
Hispanic children, 45.6 percent of African American
have contrasted African Americans with non-Hispanic
children, and 39.8 percent of Hispanic children lived in
Whites. This is partly because of the status of African
poverty in 1991. There is little doubt that these deep
Americans as the largest American ethnic minority
economic differences will contribute to different educa-
group but also because discrimination against African
tional and life outcomes for these children.38
Americans is uniquely grounded in a history of
Some of these life opportunities are eliminated very
enslavement and subsequent related prejudice and op-
early, even before birth. Hodgkinson reports that one-
pression. As Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the
fourth of pregnant mothers receive no medical care dur-
Children’s Defense Fund, wrote in an open letter to
ing the crucial first trimester of pregnancy, when some 20
her own children:
percent of disabilities might have been prevented by early
It is utterly exhausting being black in America—
prenatal care.39 The United States has the highest infant
physically, mentally, and emotionally. While many
mortality rate of any industrialized nation, due signifi-
minority groups and women feel similar stress, there
cantly to the effects of racism and poverty on African
is no respite or escape from your badge of color. . . . It
Americans. African American infants die at a rate twice
can be exhausting to be a Black student on a “white”
that of White infants, and in some inner-city areas (such
campus or a Black employee in a “white” institution
as Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia), infant mortality
where some assume you are not as smart as compa-
rates exceed those in Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Chile.40
rable whites. The constant burden to “prove” that you
Compared with White children, African American
are as smart, as honest, as interesting, as wide-gauging
children are twice as likely to be born prematurely,
and motivated as any other individual tires you out.43
suffer low birth weight, live in poor housing, have no
While the African American experience in the
parent employed, and see a parent die. Compared with
United States has been distinctively oppressive, the
White children, African American children are three
fastest-growing minority groups in the nation are Asian
times more likely to be poor, live in a female-headed
Americans and Hispanic Americans, groups with great
family, be placed in an educable mentally handicapped
internal variation that are affected by different kinds
(EMH) class in school, die of known child abuse, and
of discrimination. More will be said about Asian
have their mothers die in childbirth.41
Americans and Hispanics as we move later to the is-
sues of education and ethnicity.
Ethnicity and Housing Half the nation’s African
Americans are concentrated into just 25 major metropoli-
Gender
tan areas. Two-thirds of all African American youth still
attend segregated schools.42 Patterns of segregation in hous-
Originally, political representation in America excluded
ing nationwide have changed surprisingly little in the past
women. The family rather than the individual was as-
30 years despite the rise of a highly visible African American
sumed to be the political unit, and men represented the
middle class and laws aimed at desegregating society.
family unit. Remaining single for men and for women
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 369
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
370
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
was discouraged by social censure and at times by
an impressive 98 percent of the respondents felt that a
political and economic means as well. As documented
woman should have exactly the same educational op-
in Chapter 5, paternalistic social arrangements drawn
portunities as a man.44 Almost as many felt that women
from European society dated back through medi-
should have the same pay for equal work as well as
eval times to the classical formulations of Greece and
the same opportunity for management and other posi-
Rome. Paternalism refers to a male-dominated social
tions of responsibility. In attitude at least, the public
arrangement embedded in traditional family, state, and
seems to have adjusted to the notion that women are
church structures. When the purpose of education is
entitled to equality in the workplace. Most women
seen as preparing individuals for places in society, there
felt that the equal rights movement had made their
are clear implication s for the education of females in
lives better. One important trend is clear: Women of
a male-controlled society. Although the proportion of
all races are closing the education gap with men, and
women completing high school and college and ascend-
in some cases outperforming men in completing col-
ing to positions of responsibility, power, and wealth has
lege.45 This is expected to have a significant effect on
increased dramatically since the days when women were
who gets hired for which jobs in the future, even if
legally subordinate to men, significant differences still
employment discrimination persists.
exist between the conditions and experiences of modern
There seems to be a “glass ceiling” that prevents
men and women. A closer look at some of these differ-
women from reaching the top positions in the economic
ences will establish a foundation for later discussions of
world, although it does not prevent women from seeing
gender issues in American education.
the top echelon. Most commentators agree that this
barrier has been constructed by the materials of gender
Gender and Employment Most people, men
discrimination rather than by any inherent deficiency
and women, feel that an occupation is important to
in women. Nevertheless, some gains are clearly visible.
their well-being. In a survey conducted by the U.S.
Women have entered into the ranks of lawyers, doctors,
Department of Education 20 years ago, 84 percent of
and other professionals in numbers unparalleled in previ-
males and 77 percent of females indicated that being
ous generations. Between 1972 and 1990, the proportion
successful in work was far more meaningful to them
of lawyers who were women rose from 4 to 21 percent.
than having a high income. Furthermore, most of
In the same period, the proportion of women physicians
those surveyed felt that a woman could successfully
nearly doubled, to 19 percent, according to the U.S.
balance career aspirations and family obligations. And
Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Since the mid-19th century, women have outnumbered men in the teaching profession.
Increasingly, women are taking more leadership roles in the profession as well.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 370
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 371
Despite these gains, many occupations remain pre-
the United States is the only Western democracy that
dominantly female. Dental hygienists, preschool and
fails to protect the careers of young working mothers.
elementary teachers, secretaries, receptionists, practical
By the mid-1980s, for example:
nurses, day care workers, domestic servants, typists,
• Swedish working women received a nine-month
dressmakers, registered nurses, dietitians, speech
maternity leave at 90 percent of pay.
therapists, teacher’s aides, and bank tellers are still
over 93 percent female, and some of these jobs are
• Italian working women received a five-month
nearly 100 percent female. Some 59 percent of all
maternity leave at 80 percent of pay.
female workers are employed in sales, clerical, and
• Hungarian working women received 20 weeks’ leave
service work. Conversely, some jobs remain over 95
at 100 percent of pay.
percent male: loggers, auto mechanics, tool-and-die
makers, skilled building tradesmen, millwrights, engi-
In 1992, Shapiro reported that the United States
neers, mechanical engineers, aircraft mechanics, car-
was the only industrialized nation without a mandated
penters, civil engineers, industrial engineers, welders
maternity leave policy; paid leave at 60 to 100 percent of
and cutters, machinists, and sheet metal workers. And
salary is the norm in most of the other nations. In 1993,
of course, in the U.S. Congress, males constitute the
the United States passed the Family Medical Leave Act,
overwhelming majority of the senators and represen-
which partly closed the gap with other nations by pro-
tatives who make the laws of the land.
viding workers with up to 12 weeks of paid leave for
specified family medical emergencies. U.S. employers
continued to resist paying for advanced education and
Gender and Income Income differences between
additional training for female employees on the grounds
men and women have persisted since the beginning of
that they may subsequently have children and quit. This
the industrial era. That gap had been shrinking until
ignores the fact that male employees also quit: Men
recently. In 1980, for example, full-time year-round
change jobs every seven years on average and are encour-
women workers earned 60 percent of what men earned,
aged to do so to keep from stagnating.48
while in 1991 women earned 70 percent of men’s sala-
Since the 1990s, maternity leave has increased in other
ries. But in 2006, full-time year-round working women
nations. USA Today recently reported that Canadian
earned 70.7 percent of men’s salaries, which is essential-
women can receive up to 14 months of family leave, with
ly zero progress in 15 years. This rate of progress would
up to a year in Australia. USA Today reports: “Out of 168
not be encouraging to millions of women who are heads
nations in a Harvard University study last year, 163 had
of their households.46
some form of paid maternity leave, leaving the United
More recently, Census Bureau data give us more de-
States in the company of Lesotho, Papua New Guinea
tailed ways to examine male–female income differences.
and Swaziland.”49 By 2006, reports the Institute for
For example, in 2006 the majority of full-time women
Women’s Policy Research, only 8 out of 100 companies
workers earned less than $35,000 annually, while only
offered the full 12 weeks encouraged by the 1993 law,
37 percent of men earned such a low salary. At the other
while 14 out of 100 offered 2 weeks or less. Sixty-two
end of the scale, more than 20 percent of men earned
percent of the 100 best companies for working mothers
$75,000 or above, a figure surpassed by some experienced
offered 6 weeks or less, half what the law encourages.50
teachers in well-funded school districts. Nationwide, 6.3
Why does the United States lag so far behind the rest of
percent of women make that amount or more. Perhaps
the industrialized world in supporting women’s time off
more distressing is that women with a college degree
for infant care? Students are invited to reflect together on
make less than men who did not graduate from college,
what dimensions of ideology and political economy in
and women with a graduate degree make less than men
the United States best explain such differences.
who only graduated from college.47
Socioeconomic Class
Gender and Parenting The 56.5 million working
women in America represent 45 percent of the entire
Socioeconomic class is an arbitrary designation intended
labor force over age 16, and over 10 million of these
to group people whose social interests coincide by virtue
women are heads of households. Having children can
of similar levels of wealth, income, power, occupation-
be economically dangerous for working women, since
al responsibility, social prestige, and cultural identity.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 371
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
372
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Although it is difficult to establish criteria separating one
improved considerably since 1969–1970. White high
class from another, the notion of class is still useful for
school graduation rates since then have increased from
noting group differences. As we saw in Chapter 4, the
54 to 81 percent, while White poverty has increased.
dominant ideology of American society derives from an
Black high school graduation rates have increased from
essentially middle-class, Enlightenment vision of prog-
31 to over 67 percent, while poverty has not abated.
ress which holds that rational people can control their
And Hispanic graduation rates have increased from
own destiny and get what they deserve. Some social
37 to 52 percent, while poverty among Hispanics has
critics now charge that this vision is deeply flawed. The
slightly deepened.53
world is not as rational as was once believed, nor is hu-
man society so easily perfected. These critics also main-
Class, Income, and Power If the middle class is
tain that modern liberalism cannot protect the interests
defined by income level, it is shrinking. However, if it is
of certain groups in society. The values and worldview
defined according to the percentage of white-collar jobs,
of one class do not necessarily apply to people situated
it has grown overall, since many well-paid manufactur-
elsewhere in the social structure.
ing jobs are being replaced with white-collar jobs at or
The myth that virtually all Americans are middle class
near the minimum wage. Perhaps the simplest and most
obscures what the numbers say. It neatly hides the fact
common way to designate class is by income bracket.
that a small percentage at the top is fabulously wealthy
Many economists define the middle class by income
and obscures the reasons why a disproportionate num-
levels between $25,000 and $100,000, which includes
ber of people at the bottom are truly distressed. Finally,
about 60 percent of the American population, accord-
our long-cherished faith in social mobility is not very
ing to the nonpartisan, nonprofit Drum Major Institute
well supported by the evidence. Class structure tends to
for Public Policy.54
be more rigid than most of us realize or care to admit.
But there is something very limiting about the em-
This rigidity has been maintained partly in the interest
phasis on income shared by liberal and conservative
of social stability.51
treatments of class differences today. Although the con-
The news media do depict a poverty class, but all too
cept of different “classes” of society goes back hundreds
often as a problem of minority populations. Although
of years, and Ben Franklin used the term freely in de-
African American poverty rates are three times White
scribing how little class difference existed in American
poverty rates, White non-Hispanics still account for 23.7
colonial society, a new conception of class was intro-
million of the more than 40 million people living in pov-
duced in 1848. In that year, Karl Marx and Friedrich
erty in the United States. And though 32.7 percent of
Engels declared in the Manifesto of the Communist Party,
African Americans and 28.7 percent of Hispanics live in
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history
poverty, most members of both groups do not. Still, pov-
of class struggle,” which may be the most famous single
erty is a problem that hits ethnic minorities and women,
remark on class in the history of social science.55
as well as the young, at disproportionate rates.52
Marx and Engels had a view of class that was very
These poverty rates are particularly disturbing on two
much about power and conflict. It was at once an eco-
counts: their stability over time and their resistance to
nomic concept, defining classes in terms of who did the
the increasing educational attainment of all the groups
wage labor to produce goods versus who owned the pro-
involved. After 1969, for example, White poverty rates
duction facilities and profits—and a power concept that
increased from 9.5 to 11.3 percent in 1991. During
emphasized the power of one class over the other, and
that period African American poverty rates remained
the resulting conflicts between them (see Chapter 4).
essentially stable: In 1969 poverty among Blacks stood
Within 100 years, Marx’s notion of class as the power
at 32.2 percent, and in 1991 it was 32.7 percent. Since
of one economic group over another was essentially
1975, when the government began keeping records
replaced in American social science. One example of this
on Hispanics, the Hispanic poverty rate remained
is W. Lloyd Warner’s 1949 book Social Class in America,
relatively stable at about 27 to 29 percent, with some
subtitled A Manual of Procedure for the Measurement
slightly better years in the late 1970s. It would appear
of Social Status. Warner replaced Marx’s two opposing
that in economic periods, good and bad, poverty is a
classes with multiple gradations of class that would be-
fact of life for large segments of American society, par-
come known as socioeconomic status (SES): upper class,
ticularly minority populations. Yet for all three of these
upper-middle class, lower-middle class, upper-lower/
broad population groups, the educational levels have
class, and lower-lower class. These gradations were based
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 372
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 373
on family income, educational attainment, occupation,
institutional arrangements that produce unequal results
and type and location of dwelling.
for certain groups.
The Marx–Engels notion of class was based on division
We should also bear in mind that much progress has
of people into two classes according to their different plac-
been made in spreading formal education to broader
es in the production of goods: either owning the means of
segments of society. This tells us that reform is not futile
production or working for those owners. The SES version
and that problems can be addressed. In 1900, for ex-
is based more on the idea of people as consumers of goods,
ample, only about 10 percent of the population gradu-
defined by their incomes, their purchases, and their ability
ated from high school. In 1940, 24.5 percent graduated
to buy such social goods as education.
from high school and 4.6 percent completed college.
In 1998, in one century’s time, 78 percent of White
Education: Ethnicity,
students graduated from high school, while 56 percent
of African American students and 54 percent of Latino
Gender, and Class
students graduated from high school.56 With each suc-
cessive stage of formal schooling, the pool of minority
We now turn to the issue of social equity in school-
students eligible for the next stage gets further reduced.
ing. Do schools promote the success of some members
About 38 percent of White students enter and 23 per-
of society while hampering the success of others? Do
cent complete college; 29 percent of African American
schools uniformly serve the needs of all children, or
students enter and only 12 percent complete college.
do they contain mechanisms that subtly and system-
Notably, for African American students entering the
atically discriminate against some students? We do know,
nation’s 100 highest-ranked institutions, the graduation
contrary to the conclusions of the Coleman Report,
rate is over 40 percent.57 Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, and
that schools in poor areas where academic achievement
Native Amer icans complete college at the rate of roughly
is low tend to be poorly staffed, overcrowded, under-
9 percent of the population. Completion of graduate or
funded, undersupplied, and wrought with physical
professional school is 8 percent for White Americans, 4
and emotional dangers. These conditions represent
percent for African Americans, and 2 percent each for
one form of social inequity. Are there others, perhaps
Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, and Native Americans.58
more subtle and even more effective in maintaining
Admission to higher education depends on standard-
the status quo? Are there fundamental differences in
ized tests such as the SAT and the ACT.59 These tests
the way African American, White, Indian, Latino, or
do not measure intelligence. They measure the acquisi-
Asian children experience the institution of schooling?
tion of ideas, information, and patterns of thought that
Are there fundamental differences between the expe-
are representative of the dominant culture and, as such,
riences of male and female, rich and poor? And do
are used as predictors of first-year success in college.
schools provide equitable treatment to students who
What they correlate with most strongly is the economic
are judged to have physical or psychological disabilities
background of the student, with some differences also
or handicapping conditions? Let us begin this portion
attributable to gender and ethnicity.60 This economic
of our inquiry by returning to the general demographic
variable helps account for the fact that the average SAT
categories described earlier to examine the outcomes of
score of African American students is 200 points lower
schooling for children according to racial and ethnic
than that of White and Asian students on a scale rang-
characteristics, gender, and class differences.
ing from 400 to 1600. Desegregation has not succeeded
in bringing minority students into sufficient contact
Race, Ethnicity, and Education
with the White majority—that is, with the culture that
the system rewards. Both neighborhood segregation and
In examining the data on schooling, bear in mind the
school segregation result in isolation from a cultural
distinction between equality of results and equity of
norm whose values and icons are often different, for
social conditions. Inherited talents and dispositions
example, from those of the African American culture.
may vary from student to student, and so different
The following details are illustrative:
outcomes can be expected for different students. What
intrigues and disturbs social scientists is the situation in
• Unbelievably, a recent Harvard study showed
which whole groups of people systematically perform
that racial segregation in America’s schools has
below the levels of other groups. We must question the
been growing, not shrinking, since the 1980s.61
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 373
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
374
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
In 1968, when the United States first began to
But other ethnic groups also lag behind the performance
survey racial and ethnic population of its public
of the non-Hispanic White majority in ways that must
schools, 80 percent of students were white. Today,
be attributed to socioeconomic factors rather than to
44 percent of public school children are minori-
native learning ability.
ties. School desegregation reached its peak over
Since the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954,
20 years ago. In 1988, one-third of black students
national concern about educational equity has focused
attended schools that were at least 90 percent
largely on the education of African Americans, the second
black. Today, partly due to more a more conserva-
largest American minority group, behind Hispanics. In
tive judiciary, 40 percent of black students attend
2005, the nation’s minority population totaled 98 million,
such a school. Black and Latino children are more
or 33 percent of the country’s total of 296.4 million.
segregated in 2009 than they were at the time of
Martin Luther King Jr.’s death.
• Hispanics continue to be the largest minority group
at 42.7 million. With a 3.3 percent increase in
• Many desegregated schools display de facto in-school
population from July 1, 2004, to July 1, 2005, they
segregation. The upper-level courses enroll almost
are the fastest-growing group.
all White students, while the lower-level courses
enroll mostly Latino and Black students.
• The second largest minority group was Blacks (39.7
million), followed by:
• And finally, while the percentage of minority students
• Asians (14.4 million)
grows in American schools, and while segregation
• American Indians and Alaska natives (4.5 million)
increases, most teachers are White, whether experienced
or new to the profession. Despite a great deal of talk
• Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders
about increasing the diversity of the teaching
(990,000)
profession in the past 20 years, more than 85 percent
• The population of Non-Hispanic Whites who indi-
of all pre-K–12 teachers are White—a figure that has
cated no other race totaled 198.4 million in 2005.
changed little over time.62
Of the national population increase of 500,000 in 2005,
about 300,000 was because of natural increase, with
Given the significance of cultural differences and
200,000 attributed to immigration.63 Because the track
economic deprivation for school performance, it is not
record of American schools in dealing with some minor-
surprising that so many African American children en-
ity groups has not been good, the challenge to educators
counter difficulty in schools and on standardized tests.
in the next 10 years is considerable.
Scholastic Achievement Tests do not measure intelligence. They
measure the acquisition of the ideas, information, and thought
patterns of the dominant culture and, as such, are used as
predictors of first-year college success.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 374
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 375
Already, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.9
Counter to the view that Asian Americans are uni-
million U.S. households, or 3.2 percent of the nation’s
formly successful in school, a Seattle study showed that
total, are linguistically isolated, meaning that “no person
one-fifth of the school population was Asian American
above age 14 speaks English fluently.” Of these house-
and that as a whole over 39 percent of this group scored in
holds, 1.6 million speak Spanish and 0.5 million speak an
the “at risk” category on the district’s standardized reading
Asian language. The greatest growth since 1980 has been
test, about the same as the Hispanic students. Some Asian
in Asian languages, which are now 4 of the top 10 spo-
American subgroups, notably the Vietnamese, Samoan,
ken. Chinese has doubled, and Korean and Vietnamese
and Southeast Asian students, did appreciably worse
have more than doubled; with the addition of Tagalog
than the Hispanic students in reading and language
(spoken in the Philippines), they represent over 3 million
skills together, while other groups, such as the Japanese
people. Nationwide, 13.8 percent of all residents speak a
and Chinese, did nearly as well as or better than the
language other than English at home.64
White American students.68 The effects of economic,
cultural, and linguistic differences are further revealed
The Model Minority Historian Ronald Takaki in the 1993 study, Adult Literacy in America. This mas-writes that “today, Asian Americans are celebrated as
sive inquiry shows White non-Hispanic adults to be
America’s ‘model minority.’ ” Takaki cites feature sto-
significantly more proficient in all three literacy areas
ries in Fortune and the New Republic applauding Asian
under investigation than all other population groups,
Americans as “America’s Super Minority” and “America’s
including African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders,
greatest success story.” Takaki objects to this charac-
American Indians, and five different groupings of His-
terization as inaccurate, however. “In their celebration
panic origin.69
of this ‘model minority,’ the pundits and the politi-
As we have seen, a term such as “Asian American” can
cians have exaggerated Asian American ‘success’ and
usefully draw our attention to a general classification of
have created a new myth. . . . Actually, in terms of
people even if there are significant differences among
personal incomes, Asian Americans have not reached
cultural histories within that larger classification. Those
equality.” Income inequalities among Asian American
cultural histories need further attention. Historian
men were evident in Takaki’s data: Korean men earned
Sucheng Chan notes that almost a million people from
only 82 percent of the income of White men, Chinese
China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and India came
men 69 percent, and Filipino men 62 percent.65 Takaki
to the United States and Hawaii from the mid-1800s
explains:
to the early 1900s (in contrast to 35 million European
The patterns of income inequality for Asian men reflect
immigrants from 1850 to 1930). Of those Asian and
a structural problem: Asians tend to be located in the
Pacific immigrants, the Chinese (about 370,000) came
labor market’s secondary sector, where wages are low and
first, pushed out by poverty and strife in China and at-
promotional prospects minimal. Asian men are clustered
tracted by California gold and jobs in Canada and the
as janitors, machinists, postal clerks, technicians, waiters,
American West. Next, in the late 1800s and early 1900s,
cooks, gardeners, and computer programmers; they can
about 400,000 Japanese came, followed by 180,000
also be found in the primary sector, but here they are found
Filipinos and less than 10,000 Koreans. They were
mostly in the lower-tier levels.66
recruited by Hawaiian sugar plantation owners who
Takaki notes that although they are highly educated,
needed thousands of workers, and these workers and
Asian Americans are generally not represented in posi-
their families often migrated east to the United States,
tions of executive leadership and decision making. A
which soon created an independent flow of immigra-
comment that appeared in the Wall Street Journal is
tion from the Asian and Pacific countries.70 These
telling: “Many Asian Americans hoping to climb the
immigrants, like immigrants from Europe, took jobs,
corporate ladder face an arduous ascent. Ironically, the
started businesses, sent their children to school, and over
same companies that pursue them for technical jobs of-
time began to assimilate into the mainstream culture,
ten shun them when filling managerial and executive
language, and values while still retaining some cultural
positions.”67 We are reminded that Asians have a long
values and practices from their home countries.
history of discrimination in the United States, includ-
After a sharp reduction in Chinese and Japanese im-
ing the Chinese Exclusion Act of the 1880s and the
migration brought about by the world wars and the sub-
imprisonment of Japanese American citizens during
sequent cold war, Europeans, Canadians, and Mexicans
World War II.
constituted the great majority of new immigrants to the
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 375
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
376
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
United States. Then a new source of Asian American im-
for students who do not understand English are effectively
migration developed during and after the war in Vietnam.
foreclosed from any meaningful education.72
The 1965 Immigration Act and its amendments, the 1975
Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, the
The public at large, and perhaps some educators as well,
1980 Refugee Act, and the 1987 Amerasian Homecoming
perceive Asian Americans to be high achievers in school,
Act have facilitated increased immigration from Southeast
students who don’t need the support of the courts.
Asia. Since 1965, Asian/Pacific immigration has increased
We have seen, however, that different Asian American
to the point where it now constitutes half of all immigra-
groups perform differently in school, and language can
tion into the United States.71
be an element of the problem for some students. It will
Today, the fastest-growing minority group in the na-
be important for educators not to make assumptions
tion is Asian and Pacific Americans, more than doubling
about the growing number of Asian American students
in size since 1980. It is projected to more than double
in their schools and classrooms other than that all chil-
again by 2020, resulting in an Asian/Pacific popula-
dren will need our best educational support. The Asian
tion of nearly 20 million in the United States (see Table
American experience has been a difficult one even when
12.2). By the early 1990s there were nearly 2 million Asian
success is apparent for some families. As Chan writes:
American children and youth between the ages of 5 and
Thus the acculturation process experienced by Asians in
19 in school in the United States, with heavy concen-
America has run along two tracks: even as they acquired
trations of that population in major cities, where Asian
the values and behavior of Euro-Americans, they simul-
languages are spoken in the home and the community.
taneously had to learn to accept their standing as racial
Interestingly, it was the 1970 class action suit brought by
minorities —people who, because of their skin color and
Kinney Lau and 11 other Chinese American students
physiognomy, were not allowed to enjoy the rights and
against Alan Nichols and the San Francisco Board of
privileges given acculturated European immigrants and
native-born Americans. In short, if they wished to re-
Education that led to the historic Supreme Court case
main and to survive in the United States, they had to
Lau v. Nichols. The Court’s ruling provided the basis for
learn how to “stay in their place” and to act with def-
the nation’s bilingual education mandates, which in turn
erence toward those of higher racial status. . . . Asian
have had a profound effect on the education of Hispanic
Americans, more so than black or Latino Americans, live
Americans. The Court unanimously ruled that
in a state of ambivalence—lauded as a “successful” or
“model minority” on the one hand, but subject to con-
there is no equality of treatment merely by providing students
tinuing unfair treatment, including occasional outbursts
with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum;
of racially motivated violence, on the other.73
Table 12.2 Asian/Pacific Americans: Population by Ethnicity: 1980 and 1990
1980
1990
Percentage
Growth
Total Asian/Pacific
3,726,440*
7,273,662
95%
Chinese 806,040
1,645,472
104
Filipino 774,652
1,406,770
82
Japanese 700,974
847,562
21
Asian Indian
361,531
815,447
125
Korean 354,593
798,849
125
Vietnamese 261,729
614,547
135
Hawaiian 166,814
211,014
26
Samoan 41,948
62,964
50
Guamanian 32,158
49,345
53
Other Asian/Pacific
226,001
821,692
264
*The 1980 number for Asian/Pacific Americans in this table is slightly higher than that used in other published reports because it includes the count for “other”
Asian/Pacific American groups. Other published census reports include only nine specific Asian/Pacific American groups for the 1980 count. Therefore, our calculation of percentage growth is 95 percent, which is lower than the published 108 percent growth.
Source: The State of Asian Pacific America: Policy Issues of the Year 2020 (Los Angeles: LEAP Asian Pacific Public Policy Institute and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, 1993), p. 12.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 376
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 377
• The Asian population rose by 3 percent, or 421,000
These regional differences remind us of the very dif-
people, between 2004 and 2005.
ferent cultural histories of different Hispanic groups.
• Of the increase of 421,000 in the Asian population
While Cubans began making their presence felt in the
between 2004 and 2005, 182,000 was because of
20th century, for example, most heavily immigrat-
natural increase and 239,000 was attributed to
ing after the communist revolution in Cuba in 1959,
immigration.
Mexican Americans had a long history in the South-
west before it became the southwestern United States.
• The Asian population in 2005 was younger, with a
Thousands from Texas to California did not immigrate
median age of 33.2 years compared to the popula-
to the United States at all but found themselves inside
tion as a whole at 36.2 years. About 26 percent of
this nation’s borders when their lands were conquered.
the Asian population was under 18, compared with
It has sometimes been said of that historically Mexican
25 percent of the total population.74
population that they did not cross the border but the
border crossed them. Yet people readily assume that
Hispanic American Diversity Just as it is an error
most Mexican Americans and other Hispanics are im-
to generalize about the experience of all 17 different
migrants, if not “illegal aliens.” However, three-fourths
Asian immigrant groups now part of the American cul-
of the Hispanic population in this country was born in
ture, it is a mistake to think of “Hispanic” as describing
the United States.76
a single people. As Holli and Jones write:
Different Hispanic groups have very different
Hispanic is an umbrella term encompassing Spanish-
migration histories. They have come from different
speaking people of different races and twenty separate
parts of the hemisphere—North America (Mexico),
nationalities. Hispanics come from as far as Uruguay, at the
Central America, the Carribean (Puerto Rico and
edge of South America, or as near as Texas, once a part of
Cuba), and South America—and they have tended
Mexico. Some have been here since the First World War,
to concentrate in different parts of the United States.
while others arrived only yesterday. They include high
Carrasquillo writes:
skilled professionals, political refugees trying to regain
what they have lost, and peasants who never had much to
In general, Mexicans settled in the southwest, the Puerto
lose. They share a language and a culture.75
Ricans and Dominicans in the northeast, the Cubans
Bilingual education and ESL (English as a second language) are designed to enable
limited English proficiency (LEP) students to learn better in all subject areas, not just language.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 377
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
378
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
in the southeast and northeast, and South and Central
the lower economic rungs are all too often struggling
Americans have spread out in the United States with large
academically even if they are born in this country.
numbers found in the west and south (Nicaraguans) and in
As Laura E. Perez points out in quoting the National
the northeast (Colombians, Peruvians and Ecuadorians) of
Council of La Raza,
the United States.77
Immigration and migration patterns have had a pro-
Hispanic undereducation has reached crisis proportions. By
found impact on the U.S. population. According to
any standard, Hispanics are the least educated major pop-
the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly one-fifth of Americans,
ulation in the United States; Hispanic students are more
likely to be enrolled below grade level, more likely to drop
or 47 million U.S. residents aged 5 and older, spoke
out, less likely to be enrolled in college, and less likely to
a language other than English at home in 2000. That
receive a college degree than any other group.81
was an increase of 15 million people since 1990, and
most of them were Spanish speakers. Spanish speakers
Yet Perez notes different experiences of different sub-
increased from 17.3 million in 1990 to 28.1 million
groups within the Hispanic population and notes that
in 2000, a 62 percent rise.78 And in 2008, the Official
the largest group, Chicanas and Chicanos (Americans
Census Bureau count is that the Hispanic population
of Mexican descent) have the lowest educational attain-
has reached 45 million in the U.S., 15 percent of the
ment. Cubans, in contrast, have the highest, with Puerto
population.
Ricans falling closer to the Mexican Americans. The
Then in 2006, the Census Bureau released data
low educational attainment is paralleled by low socio-
on the most comprehensive survey of immigration
economic measures for the Mexican American commu-
in the United States ever performed. Immigrants liv-
nity. The per capita income cited by Perez for Mexican
ing in U.S. households increased by 16 percent, to
Americans is about 60 percent that of Whites, and
a current total of 35.7 million foreign-born residents
about 38 percent of Mexican American children live in
in the country. The dramatic increase is from 2000
poverty. Perez cites research showing that “Chicanao
to 2005, with many newcomers moving to states that
primary and secondary students are in significant dis-
traditionally have not had many immigrants. The
proportion held back grades and tracked into programs
number of immigrants living in American households
for slow learners or the mentally retarded or ‘special’
rose 16 percent, fueled largely by recent arrivals from
inferior academic or vocational tracks.”82
Mexico, according to fresh data released by the Cen-
Not only economic class differences but language dif-
sus Bureau.79
ferences as well influence the school experiences of His-
Despite their common language and some shared
panic young people. Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
cultural practices and despite their grouping under the
refers to a level of listening/speaking and/or reading/
designation “Hispanic” for political purposes, differenc-
writing in English that is not at or near native-level
es among these cultures are significant. Referring to the
proficiency, and by far the largest group of these in the
Hispanic experience in Chicago, where half a million
United States is Spanish-speaking. Cisneros and Leone
Hispanics reside, Holli and Jones write:
report that of the 2.2 million LEP students in U.S.
schools, federal bilingual program funds are provided
As a result of migration history, each Hispanic group
only for 251,000 of them, or about 11 percent. These
holds deeply felt concerns and attitudes not shared by
authors believe that bilingual programs would assist
others. For example, many Cubans share a strong anti-
LEP students’ success in schools and that the problem
communist sentiment reflected in several organizations
of developing a sound bilingual educational policy will
formed to oppose Cuban leader Fidel Castro. . . . Cubans,
increase as numbers of LEP students rise in the com-
therefore, are suspicious of communist influences in the
community-based development efforts that are prevalent
ing years. If the data cited by Cisneros and Leone are
in Mexican and Puerto Rican areas. . . . Immigrants from
reliable, as much as 20 percent of the population of
Cuba and South America, because many are affluent, are
the United States will be Hispanic by the year 2040,
dismissed by some Mexicans and Puerto Ricans as not
though it is not yet clear how many of these will be LEP.
really Hispanic.80
Table 12.3 indicates the 10 states with the highest LEP
enrollments today. Chapter 13 will address the ques-
Such social class differences can influence the ex-
tion of whether we are prepared to meet the challenge of
periences of Hispanic children in schools. Those from
educating these young people in our schools.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 378
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 379
Table 12.3 States with Highest LEP
By far, the nation’s economically disadvantaged students
Enrollments and Increases
pay the highest price for the pervasiveness of tracking
in public education. . . . In other words, disadvantaged
Percentage
students [as measured by an index that includes paren-
State 1992
2003 growth
tal income and education, parental occupation, and the
presence of consumer goods in a household] are three
California 1,151,819 1,599,542
39%
times less likely to be in the academic track than afflu-
Texas 344,915
630,148
83
ent students are, but three times more likely than affluent
New York
194,593
302,961
56
Florida 130,131
292,077 124
students to be in the vocational track.83
Illinois 94,471
164,414
70
Social class may prove to be a more effective determi-
Arizona 83,643
149,354
79
nant of future opportunities than either race or gender.
With the breakdown of housing segregation, minority
Source: OELA: Office for English Language Acquisition (formerly OBEMLA), State families that succeed financially can now move into the
Resource Pages, 2004, www.ncela.gwu.edu.
suburbs, where their children will experience life very
much as the children of White middle-class families
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
do. And girls born into middle- and upper-class fami-
What does the shift from the “Office of Bilingual Edu-
lies now tend to experience a climate more supportive
cation” to “Office for English Language Acquisition”
of personal autonomy and professional aspirations than
indicate about the policy and ideological drift from the
did their mothers and grandmothers. In the case of
Clinton to Bush administration? Discuss.
poor and working-class children, however, the evidence
strongly indicates that neither the processes nor the out-
comes of schooling are the same as they are for children
of the upper classes. Social scientists are now exploring
Socioeconomic Class and Education
several evident patterns.
Children who are poor tend to go to schools with other
Thomas Toch has observed that the links between fam-
children who are poor. Minority students attend school
ily economic status and school labeling are significant:
with other minority students of similar socioeconomic
Historical Context
Diversity and Equity Today—Defining the Challenge
For the purposes of studying Chapter 12, you might ask of each decade: Which events have the most direct significance for the issues of teaching different social groups of children for different educational outcomes discussed in this chapter?
1960s
1960
Six years after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision against school segregation, the modern “sit-in”
movement begins when four Black students from North Carolina A&T College sit at a “Whites-only” Woolworth’s lunch counter and refuse to leave when denied service
1960
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which acknowledges the federal government’s responsibility in matters involving civil rights
1961
Michael Harrington publishes The Other America, revealing widespread poverty in the United States 1962
The All-African Organization of Women is founded to discuss the right to vote, activity in local and national governments, women in education, and medical services for women
1962
The Supreme Court orders the University of Mississippi to admit student James H. Meredith; Ross Barnett, the governor of Mississippi, tries unsuccessfully to block Meredith’s admission
1963
More than 200,000 marchers from all over the United States stage the largest protest demonstration in the history of Washington, DC; the “March on Washington” procession moves from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial; Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech 1963
Medgar Evers, field secretary for the NAACP, is killed outside his home in Jackson, Mississippi 1964
Civil Rights Act passes Congress, guaranteeing equal voting rights to African Americans 1964
Head Start, U.S. educational program for low-income preschool children, is established 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 379
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
380
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
1965
United Farm Workers strike
1966
The Medicare Act, Housing Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a new immigration act, and voting-rights legislation are enacted
1966
Black Panther Party founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale
1968
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy are assassinated
1968
Bilingual Education Act passed
1968
American Indian Movement (AIM) launched
1968
Alicia Escalante forms East Los Angeles Welfare Rights Organization, the first Chicano welfare rights group 1969
The Stonewall rebellion in New York City marks the beginning of the gay rights movement 1970s
1971
Busing to achieve racially balanced schools is upheld by the Supreme Court
1972
Title IX Educational Amendment passed, outlawing sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal financial assistance
1973
Native Americans defy federal authority at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
1975
Congress passes Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142)
1978
In University of California v. Bakke, the Supreme Court disallows a quota system in university admissions but gives limited approval to affirmative action plans
1980s
1980
One million African American students enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States 1980
Ronald Reagan is elected president, promising to reverse the “liberal trends in government”
1982
Equal Rights Amendment fails to win state ratification
1984
Reverend Jesse Jackson becomes first African American to challenge for major party nomination for president 1986
New Hampshire teacher Christa McAulliffe killed along with six astronauts when space shuttle Challenger explodes on national TV
1990s
1991
Unemployment rate rises to highest level in a decade
1992
Americans with Disabilities Act, the most sweeping antidiscrimination legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, guarantees equal access for people with disabilities
1993
Pentagon rules “don’t ask, don’t tell”: gays and lesbians may serve in military but may not proclaim or openly practice their sexual orientation
1994
Number of prisoners in state and federal prisons tops 1 million, giving United States the highest incarceration rate in the world
1995
Supreme Court rules against any affirmative action program that is not “narrowly tailored” to accomplish a “compelling government interest”
1996
Census Bureau reports that the gap between the richest 20 percent of Americans and everyone else reached postwar high
1996
Clinton signs welfare reform legislation, ending more than 60 years of federal cash assistance to the poor and replacing it with block grants to states to administer
1996
Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act, denying federal recognition to same-sex marriages 2000s
2001
The No Child Left Behind Act expands the federal government’s role in elementary and secondary education 2001
A Massachusetts company announces the first-ever clone of a human embryo
2002
Republican Trent Lott, recently chosen as Senate Majority Leader, left office because of remarks that appeared to many to be supportive of racial segregation
2003
Millions of demonstrators around the world take to the streets to protest the planned U.S. invasion of Iraq 2003
In an attempt to stem the widespread practice of Internet filesharing, the recording industry files 261 lawsuits against people of all ages
2003
By a vote of 5–4, the Supreme Court upheld an affirmative action program providing preference to minority candidates for admission to the University of Michigan law school; by a vote of 6–3, however, the Court rejected undergraduate admissions policies that favored ethnic minorities using a numerical formula
2006
The U.S. Census Bureau releases data on the most comprehensive survey of immigration in the United
States ever performed; the number of immigrants living in American households rose 16 percent in five years, fueled largely by recent arrivals from Mexico, and dispersing to areas across the United States other than traditional centers of immigration
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 380
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 381
2008
In U.S. presidential primary elections, the last two candidates vying for the Democratic party nomination, for the first time in history, are an African American man (Barack Obama) and a woman (Hillary Clinton); another prominent Democratic contender was former governor Bill Richardson, a Latino; this is hailed as evidence of dramatic progress for women and for minority populations in the United States, but candidates and commentators observe that the campaign repeatedly surfaces issues of race and gender discrimination in the country
Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
Knowing what you do about economic, social, and educational inequality today, how successful was the activisim of the 1960s in the effort to achieve equality among different social groups?
background. The suburbs, where the wealth tends to
Equity, Education,
be located, are not part of the general tax base that
and Disabling Conditions
supports inner-city schools, and so there is little or no
cross-fertilization of resources or equalization of condi-
We have seen how membership in an ethnic or economic
tions. The “better” schools get more qualified teachers
group can influence how individuals in that group per-
and the best science labs, computer systems, reading
form and are evaluated and rewarded in schools and in
materials, and other resources. Poor children are not ex-
the larger society. Questions of equity arise, as noted
pected to be as smart or to work as hard as middle- and
early in the chapter, when individuals’ standing in
upper-class children. They are not expected to know as
school or society seems to be influenced by their group
much or learn as much. They are not expected to do as
membership rather than by their individual merits. Such
well in life.84 These lower expectations lead to differen-
questions apply to children and adults with physically
tial treatment by teachers.
or psychologically disabling conditions. It is not always
Parents of upper- and middle-class standing are
clear whether such individuals are allowed to succeed on
more likely to become involved in the process of their
the basis of their own merits, especially when they are
children’s education. They tend to feel welcome in the
labeled and treated as a group for whom expectations of
school environment and to feel that they are equipped
success are lower than for others who have not been so
to make a contribution.85 Conversely, the parents of
labeled and grouped.
lower-class children tend to feel alienated from their
In 1975 Congress sought to address such equity ques-
children’s schools and education. The cultural pat-
tions with the Education for All Handicapped Children
terns and icons of poor and working-class children are
Act (EHA). As Judith Singer and John Butler write:
different from those of the dominant class, are not
Hailed as a “Bill of Rights” for children with handicaps,
a part of the school’s culture, are not rewarded, and
the law outlined a process whereby all children, regardless
are not generally understood by teachers whose back-
of the severity of their handicap, were assured the same
ground differs from that of the students. Disputes
educational rights and privileges accorded their non-
over bilingual education further illustrate the sepa-
handicapped peers: “a free appropriate public education.”
ration of culture between schools and their minority
EHA was to transform special education practice across
students.86 Chapter 13 will revisit bilingual education
the nation by bringing all states up to the standard that
as a response to the needs of LEP students.
some states, prompted by court action and advocacy by
handicapped rights groups, already had adopted.87
One result of this act, for reasons soon to be mentioned,
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
has been to increase the number of students designated
Using evidence from this chapter, evaluate the validity
by the schools as disabled. Currently, 4.3 million stu-
of this statement: The demographic and educational
dents out of a total K–12 public school population of
data on Asian Americans suggest that educational and
over 47 million students have been designated as stu-
social equity efforts should be focused on other ethnic
dents with some sort of special needs. Between 1991
groups, such as African Americans and Hispanics.
and 2002 there was a 35 percent increase in the number
of children designated as “special needs,” adjusted for
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 381
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
382
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
general enrollment increase. The largest and fastest-
physical challenges—sightlessness, cerebral palsy, or an-
growing of these categories throughout the 1980s was
other multidisabling condition—but the growth of the
“learning disabled,” which grew from 32 percent of the
learning-disabled category suggests that some students
special education population in 1980 to 46 percent by
are being labeled as disabled who in another social envi-
1991. In 1991 there were 2,129,000 of 4,710,000 and
ronment might not be perceived as different from other
in 2003 there were 2,846,000 of 6,407,000. That figure
children. Yet with extra funding tied to the identifica-
has remained stable between 1991 and 2003. According
tion of students as disabled, there is an incentive for
to the American Almanac, “speech impaired” was the
well-meaning educators to label students in ways that
next largest group, with 22.8 percent of special needs
might prove damaging. Toch addresses both the label-
students in 1991, followed by “mentally retarded”
ing and the incentive issues as follows:
(12.4 percent), “emotionally disturbed” (9.0 percent),
There is a powerful stigma attached to “special education”
and then several categories each with no more than 2.2
in the school culture; to be labeled a learning disabled stu-
percent of the population of students designated with
dent in a public school is to suffer the disparagement of
disabilities: hard of hearing and deaf, orthopedically
peers and teachers alike. And rarely do students who have
handicapped, other health impaired, visually handi-
been labeled learning disabled return to the mainstream of
capped, multihandicapped, and deaf-blind.88
school life. Indeed, since schools receive additional fund-
Education analyst Thomas Toch explains part of the
ing for learning-disabled students, . . . they have an incen-
reason why learning disabled has become the largest of
tive to continue classifying a student as “LD.”92
these categories. First, it “has proven particularly hard to
Another incentive for schools to identify more students
define.” Toch elaborates:
as learning disabled is that the performance scores of
The U.S. Department of Education’s definition of the
these students will then not be averaged into those of the
term, “a disorder in one or more basic psychological
school district when standards of accountability are im-
processes involved in understanding or in using lan-
plemented as part of the educational reform movement.
guage spoken or written . . . ,” is broad. And it is only
Even the U.S. Education Department has issued a warning
one of approximately fifty official but often vague and
that raised standards may be “exaggerating the tendency
overlapping definitions of the term in use in public
to refer difficult children to special education.”93
education today. As a result, in many school systems
“learning disabled” has become a catchall category, and
Gender and Education94
an increasing number of disadvantaged but otherwise
“normal” students are being relegated to it, even though
We have discussed how race, ethnicity, economic class,
P.L. [Public Law] 94-142 prohibits inclusion in the cat-
and disabling conditions may influence the experience
egory of students whose learning problems stem from
of schooling of different groups of students. The largest
“environmental, cultural or economic disadvantages.”89
of all “minority” groups (often a majority) is females. In
Even Madeleine C. Will, the U.S. Department of Edu-
studying the relationship between gender and education,
cation’s official in charge of special education between
we need to ask, (1) Are the processes of education dif-
1983 and 1989, acknowledged that the “misclassifica-
ferent for girls than for boys? and (2) Are the outcomes
tion” of learning-disabled students has become a “great
of schooling different for women than for men? The
problem.”90 Toch also cites Alan Gartner, a former di-
answer appears to be yes on both counts.
rector of special education in the New York City school
During most of Western history, as we saw in Part 1,
system, who wrote, “The students in such programs are
women were characterized differently from men and
not held to common standards of achievement or be-
those characterizations were used to certify their in-
havior.” Toch elaborates, noting that “only rudimentary
ferior and subordinate status. Generally women were
skills and topics are taught in classes for the learning
characterized as emotional, affectionate, empathetic,
disabled, homework is rarely if ever assigned, and the in-
and more prone to sensual behavior. Men were charac-
structors for the learning disabled typically have little or
terized as rational, just, more directly in the “image of
no background in the academic subjects they teach.”91
God,” and susceptible to seduction by women’s sensual
The issue of labeling is a critical one in the delivery
intrigues. Thus, men were seen as naturally more fit for
of services to children with disabling conditions, real or
social and family leadership roles. Educational insti-
perceived. Certainly some children have such obvious
tutions and ideals usually reflected these male–female
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 382
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 383
characterizations. Consequently, women were often
learned at other life stages. It is important to understand
relegated to education at the mother’s side rather than
that individuals are not entirely passive recipients in this
in schools.
socialization process. Each brings somewhat different
experiences to the process. Thus, different individuals
will learn slightly or even vastly different roles when
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#4
exposed to the same socializing conditions.
It is also vital to understand that the socialized roles
The Coleman Report was a major document in post–World
and the resulting expectations become “reality” for
War II American schooling debates. Critically analyze the
individuals, groups, and society. For example, many
role that this report—and the response to it by modern
19th-century White southerners believed the role as-
liberals (e.g., Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Christopher
Jencks et al.)—plays in developing the arguments of this
signment to African American slaves that designated
chapter.
them as happy, passive, shiftless, lacking rationality,
and needing direction. The fact that society or a group
in society assigns a role to a particular group and be-
lieves the reality of that role does not make the role
Societal Definitions of Gender
assignment natural, fair, or moral. Nevertheless, it does
make it very difficult for anyone to renounce or reject
Chapter 5 presented a historical account of exclusions
it because one seems to be contradicting reality. The
and limitations on the education of girls and women
process of role socialization reflects what social theorists
in American schools and colleges. The central issue of
call “social construction of reality.” One of the factors
female education in the last quarter of the 20th century
that contributes to the strength of this social construc-
was not de jure equal access to educational institutions
tion of reality regarding roles is that the content of a
and curricula. Girls and women are no longer denied
role always serves a social function. The role content
equal access to education by law; indeed, since Congress
assigned to African American slaves provided the struc-
enacted Title IX in 1972 and the subsequent Women’s
ture of justification for slavery and for the labor system
Educational Equity Act in 1974, sex bias in school ac-
of the antebellum South. The fact that the role assign-
cess, services, and programs has been illegal. However,
ment serves some social function should not lead one to
women are still in practice excluded from educational
assume that it is therefore desirable or fair. This assump-
opportunities through processes more subtle and com-
tion is made especially often in the case of gender roles.
plex than those prior to Title IX. This de facto exclusion
Early in the 20th century George Herbert Mead and
of some women from educational opportunities revolves
other social psychologists explained how an individu-
around gender definitions. The central issue in female
al develops her or his sense of self primarily through
education today is therefore the problems related to
inter action with groups. It is the way that others react
gender and the way those problems affect women’s self-
to the individual which helps define that person’s iden-
concept and academic performance.
tity. On a simpler level, the nursery story “The Ugly
Sex refers to the biological characteristics of males
Duckling” demonstrates the process. As long as the
and females; gender refers to societal expectations, roles,
baby swan was in the company of ducks who responded
and limitations placed on a person because he or she
to her as if she were ugly, she believed and acted as if
is male or female. It is the socially sanctioned expecta-
she were ugly. Only when she grew into a swan and was
tions and limitations, not the fact of biological sex dif-
confronted with other swans who reacted to her as if she
ferences, that cause the greatest difficulties for females in
were truly beautiful did she change her understanding
contemporary educational settings. Gender definitions
of herself. Unfortunately, for most humans it is much
compose a complex and sometimes subtle set of prob-
more difficult to move from the society of ducks to that
lems. The powerful impact of gender definitions may be
of swans.
more easily understood when one considers that gender
definitions result in learned or socialized “roles.”
Most of our social behavior stems from learned roles.
Sex Roles in Infancy It is instructive to examine
There are roles associated with race, social class, occupa-
the messages contemporary American society provides
tions, and religion as well as gender. All humans begin to
for girls at every stage of their maturation. Barbara Sin-
learn some of these roles almost at birth. Other roles are
clair Deckard provides a revealing account of social in-
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 383
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
384
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
teractions that confront girls and from which girls must
Kohlberg found that among 5- and 6-year-old children,
construct their self-identification:
“Fathers are perceived as more powerful, punitive, ag-
gressive, fearless, instrumentally competent and less
Before a newborn baby leaves the delivery room, a bracelet
nurturing than females. . . . Thus, power and prestige
with its family name is put around its wrist. If the baby
appear as one major attribute of children’s sex-role ste-
is a girl, the bracelet is pink; if a boy, the bracelet is blue.
These different colored bracelets indicate the importance
reotypes.”98 Observers should not be surprised that one
our society places on sex differences, and this branding
of the most hurtful epithets to be hurled at a boy is to
is the first act in a sex role socialization process that will
call him a girl. Gender lessons are among the earliest and
result in adult men and women being almost as different
most powerful lessons of infancy and early childhood.
as we think they “naturally” are. . . . Perhaps because sex
is such an obvious differentiating characteristic, almost all
Sex Roles in Early Education Sex roles continue
societies have sex roles. Women are expected to think and
to play a significant role in early education. When chil-
behave differently. The societal expectation and belief that
dren enter preschool, they are confronted with constant
women and men are very different tends to become a self-
reminders of gender differences. Kirsten Amundsen’s
fulfilling prophecy. 95
study found that teachers encouraged boys to be aggres-
These societal expectations strongly influence the way
sive, assertive, and independent. Girls were discour-
parents react to children. Deckard reports one study
aged when they exhibited daring or aggressiveness and
where parents described their girl babies as “significantly
were encouraged to be timid, cooperative, and quiet.99
softer, finer featured, smaller, and less attentive than
Preschool classroom research shows that girls receive
boy babies, even though there actually was no difference
less instructional time, less affection, and less teacher
in the size or weight of the two sexes.” Another clinical
attention than boys.100
study of college students’ descriptions of babies found
This pattern continues in primary school. Studies
that the students described a baby as “littler,” “weaker,”
have found that primary school teachers talk more to
or “cuddlier” when informed that the baby was a
boys. They talk to boys even when the boys are in remote
girl.96 Thus, even at birth our evaluations of a baby are
classroom locations, but they talk to girls only when the
directed by social expectations of gender.
girls are close to the teacher. Boys are asked higher-order
Babies are brought home to a gender-directed color-
questions more often than girls. Teachers tend to give
coded world. It is not that blue is better than pink but
boys instructions about projects, while they often show
that all girls are seen as different from boys. This differ-
girls how to complete the work. Boys are praised more
ence continues, according to Deckard, into early infancy
frequently for the intellectual quality of their work, while
as the child begins play activities. Parents encourage
girls tend to be praised for neatness and following direc-
boys to take chances and develop independence, while
tions.101 The lessons are clear: Boys are important and
girls are protected and shepherded toward dependence.
expected to be competent, and girls are unimportant
Boys are praised for aggressiveness, and girls for willing-
and expected to need help. One study of elementary and
ness to take direction. Boys are counseled to be like Dad;
middle school students showed that boys shouted answers
girls, like Mom. Parents buy dump trucks for their sons
eight times more often than girls. Moreover, when boys
and Barbie dolls for their daughters.
called out answers, teachers tended to listen, but when
Research indicates that these gender lessons are
girls responded in a like manner, they were most often
learned by children. At age 2 or 3 children use the terms
told to raise their hand if they wished to speak.102 More-
boy and girl as “simple labels rather than the concep-
over, teachers are more apt to ask questions of boys when
tual categories.” A year or so later they begin to view the
they do not volunteer.103 Such teacher behavior reinforces
sexes as opposite and distinguish between girls’ things
the subtle messages girls receive from home and society.
and boys’ things. And by age 6 both girls and boys be-
One study asked groups to evaluate a variety of items
gin to enforce sex roles. “Boys more consistently choose
ranging from paintings to résumés. When the subjects
and prefer sex-typed toys and activities, and these prefer-
were led to believe that the author of the item was
ences accelerate with age throughout early childhood.”97
male, they consistently valued it more highly. When
This seems to be the natural outcome of the fact that
a second group was asked to evaluate the same items
society generally values male roles and denigrates female
with the supposed authors’ sexes reversed, they consis-
roles. Children learn these gender values early. Lawrence
tently evaluated the item lower when they believed its
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 384
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 385
author was a woman.104 A similar study asked college
research, which used studies from 1963 and 1907 as a base
students to evaluate scholarly articles. In this study both
line, concludes that, “the lists of most frequently required
women and men rated the articles higher when they be-
books and authors are dominated by white males, with
lieved they were written by men.105 Societal messages
little change in overall balance from similar lists 25 or 80
reinforce school gender lessons. Women are viewed
years ago.”110
as less capable, and their work is devalued. The result
The report noted that research during the 1980s and
is to emphasize to girls that they are not expected to
1990s in other secondary school subject areas, such as
be independent, creative, intellectually competent, or
social studies and foreign languages, showed similar de-
aggressive. Surely these messages must contribute to the
velopments. Research on social studies texts indicated
general lack of self-confidence that researchers find in
that “while women were more often included, they are
girls at the secondary school level and beyond.106
likely to be the usual ‘famous women,’ or women in
Unfortunately, instructional materials communicate
protest movements. Rarely is there dual and balanced
many of the same messages to students. During the last
treatment of women and men, and seldom are wom-
few decades several studies analyzing sex bias in instruc-
en’s perspectives and cultures presented on their own
tional materials have been published.107 The seminal
terms.”111 In instructional material for foreign languages
work was Dick and Jane as Victims: Sex Stereotyping
the research commonly found “exclusion of girls, ste-
in Children’s Readers. It analyzed almost 2,800 stories
reotyping of members of both sexes, subordination or
in 134 elementary school readers used in three New
degradation of girls, isolation of materials on women,
Jersey suburbs during the 1970s. Most of the stories were
superficiality of attention to contemporary issues or so-
about males: there were two and one-half times as many
cial problems, and cultural inaccuracy.”112
stories about boys as there were about girls, three times
Linda K. Christian-Smith’s “Voices of Resistance:
as many stories about men as about women, six times
Young Women Readers of Romance Fiction” highlights
as many male biographies as female biographies, and
an important curriculum issue with respect to young
even twice as many male animal stories as female animal
women with low reading ability in secondary schools.113
stories. In the stories boys and men were portrayed as
Since the early 1980s teen romance novels have become
brave, creative, smart, diligent, and independent. Girls
the third most widely read young adult books. They are
were most often timid, passive, adventureless, and de-
now a $500-million-a-year industry.114 The teen ro-
pendent on boys to help them. Men were shown in 147
mance novels are designed for “reluctant readers” and
different occupations; women were shown in 26, mostly
are sold through school book clubs to students. Often
traditional female occupations.108
students are allowed to substitute these works for more
traditional English readings that they see as too diffi-
Gender Bias in Secondary Schools The problem
cult or boring. The books are gender-differentiated, with
persists in secondary school curriculum materials. A
mystery and adventure books for males and romance, dat-
1971 study of popular secondary U.S. history texts
ing, and problem-solving novels for females. Christian-
found that women were almost totally absent and
Smith investigated the use of these romance novels in a
that the little material devoted to women tended to
midwestern city and intensively studied the reactions of
be less than complimentary.109 The 1992 study by the
about 30 young women to this literature. Not surpris-
American Association of University of Women, How
ingly, teachers were reluctant to allow their students to
Schools Shortchange Girls, concluded:
abandon traditional literature but quickly acquiesced to
pressure from both the students and educational author-
Studies from the late 1980s reveal that although sexism
ities who demanded improvement in reading scores.
has decreased in some elementary school texts and basal
The young women reported that the romance novels of-
readers, the problem persists, especially at the secondary
fered “escape, a way to get away from problems at home
school level, in terms of what is considered important
and school,” “better reading than dreary textbooks,”
enough to study.
A 1989 study of book-length works taught in high
“enjoyment and pleasure,” and “a way to learn about
school English courses reports that, in a national sample of
romance and dating.”115 Christian-Smith found that
public, independent, and Catholic schools, the ten books
the young women often developed their own interpreta-
assigned most frequently included only one written by a
tions for the social situations portrayed in the novels.
woman and none by members of minority groups. This
However, because teachers did not require discussion of
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 385
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
386
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
these readings, the young women seldom had any op-
too large—breasts, blond, full-bodied hair, clear and
portunity to understand the novels in a way that would
fair complexion, between five feet two inches and five
help them “locate the contradictions between popular
feet five inches tall, fashionable clothes, and the latest
fiction’s version of social relations and their own lives as
cosmetics. It is little wonder that most young women
well as help them to develop the critical tools necessary
spend a large amount of money, time, and energy on
to make deconstructive readings that unearth political
their physical appearance. And the results do not lead to
interests that shape the form as well as content of popu-
self-satisfaction. A 1990 national survey discovered that
lar fiction.”116 Thus, “when young women read teen
only 29 percent of high school girls were “happy the way
romance novels similar to Quin-Harkins’s California
I am.”120 One should not be surprised that many young
Girl, they become parts of a fictional world where men
women are often depressed or that eating disorders are a
give meaning and completeness to women’s lives and
problem among teenage girls.
women’s destinies are to tend the heart and hearth.”117
If appearance concerns are not sufficient to distract
The teen romance novel issue points to two problems
many young women from academic matters, the de-
faced by teenage women in American schools. The first
mands of demeanor certainly do not contribute to their
is the double burden of gender and class. Working-class
academic success. By the time young women reach the
and lower-class young women are faced with many cur-
teen years they have learned the appropriate demeanor
ricular choices. Usually they are without guidance. Their
for a “popular” girl. Deference to male pride is essential.
families often do not have the experience, information,
Girls must never “show up” boys. It is an unusual young
or knowledge necessary to provide useful guidance. The
woman who does not know that she is not supposed
schools normally abrogate their responsibility to provide
to seem smarter than the boys if she is to be popular.
the essential guidance. Christian-Smith indicated that
Deckard states, “The really popular, successful high
teachers did not long insist on providing reading guid-
school girl is not a ‘brain’ or even an athlete; she is a
ance, and when students chose romance novels, teachers
cheerleader. She embodies the supportive and admir-
did not follow with discussions of the materials, which
ing role assigned to girls. She is defined in terms of her
might have provided an educationally sound experience.
relationship to boys.”121 It is relatively certain that this
Carl A. Grant and Christine E. Sleeter note that schools
aspect of gender roles does not contribute to the aca-
generally provide resources for students but tend to take
demic success of young women. How much it detracts
a laissez-faire attitude toward students, especially working-
is a complex and difficult question. Unfortunately, little
class students.118 These students often follow the “path
research has been devoted to it.
of least resistance,” taking the courses or completing the
readings that are easiest or require the least amount of
time and work. Often the students do not realize what
Gender and Academic Achievement There is an
is at stake when they make these decisions. Schools do
enormous amount of research data on academic achieve-
not help make the issues clear.
ment and participation. Much of it is discussed in the
The second problem highlighted by the teen romance
AAUW report. Summarizing some significant recent
novel issue is related to puberty, dating, and romance.
studies, the report states:
As young women enter puberty, they are presented
with gender roles by parents, television, movies, maga-
Despite a narrowing of the “gender gaps” in verbal and
zines, romance novels, and commercials. Most of these
mathematical performance, girls are not doing as well as
sources emphasize the importance of popularity. To be
boys in our nation’s schools. The physical sciences is one
critical area in which girls continue to trail behind. More
popular in contemporary American society, a young
discouraging still, even the girls who take the same math-
woman must cultivate the interest of young men. This
ematics and science courses as boys and perform equally
requires both socially conditioned beauty and socially
well in tests are much less apt to pursue scientific or tech-
sanctioned demeanor. One of the young women in
nical careers than their male classmates. This is a “gender
Christian-Smith’s study put the issue succinctly: “The
gap” our nation can no longer afford to ignore.122
prettiest and most popular girls have their pick of the
boys.”119 Girls are constantly bombarded by television
It is well documented that as young women advance in
and other mass media with models of beauty. Few in-
high school and college, they increasingly lower their
deed are the young women who can fit the conventional
estimation of their academic abilities and lower their
mold for beauty: slim, long slender legs, large—but not
goals.123 Although the process leading to this condition
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 386
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 387
is complex, it is difficult to ignore the central role of
local school boards increased from 10 percent in 1927
gender in the decline of self-confidence among young
to only 33 percent in 1990. Also in 1990, 72 percent
women. This decline results in many missed academic
of all schoolteachers were women; however, 72 percent
and career choices.
of school principals and 95 percent of superintendents
were men.127 According to research by Professor Linda
Skrla of Texas A&M, 90 percent of district superinten-
dents are male. Given that 75 percent of teachers are
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#5
female, the odds that a woman will rise from teaching
What role has gender played in the ways Americans
to the superintendency are 40 to 1.128 These numbers
have organized and conducted schooling in recent
represent only a slight improvement in the percentage of
years? Does your own experience tend to confirm or
females in administrative posts in the past 20 years: In
challenge the portrayal of gendered education in this
1971, 99 percent of superintendents were men and 72
chapter? Explain how.
percent of principals were men.129
This disparity does not exist because there are many
fewer qualified women available for administrative
Evidence of Concern for Gender Equity It
positions or because men are better educational adminis-
would be comforting to believe that since the passage
trators. One study in the mid-1970s showed that about
in 1972 of Title IX, which mandates equal education-
the same number of male and female teachers had the
al opportunity for girls and boys, there has been an
necessary credentials, the major difference being that the
increased awareness and marshaling of resources to
median number of years of teaching experience before
eliminate gender inequality in American education. In-
appointment to the principalship was only 5 for men
deed, there have been some encouraging signs. Female
while it was 15 for women.130 There is no evidence to
participation in high school athletics has increased
suggest that women are less effective than men as edu-
from 4 to 26 percent, and the success of U.S. women
cational administrators. Indeed, a 1960s study by Neal
in team sports beginning with the 1996 Olympics was
Gross and Anne Trask showed that “professional perfor-
directly attributed to the success of Title IX.124 There
mance of teachers and the amount of student learning
has been a narrowing of the achievement gap between
were higher on the average in schools with women prin-
males and females as mea sured by standardized tests.
cipals. Further, the morale of the staff did not depend on
In some areas curriculum materials are less gender-
the gender of the principal.”131
biased. Some important research on gender equity and
education has been published. On the whole, however,
Remaining Barriers Many of the obstacles colonial
it is fair to say that the effort has been poorly financed
American women faced have been removed. The de jure
and its results have been less than sterling.
barriers that kept women from educational institutions
Between 1983, when the U.S. Department of Educa-
and professions in the early eras have been dismantled.
tion issued its report A Nation at Risk, and the release of
Women can now enter primary and secondary schools
the AAUW report in 1992, there were at least 35 reports
and institutions of higher education. It is illegal to bar
by major educational task forces. Only one addressed
a woman from any educational setting simply because
the question of gender equity.125 At least part of the
she is a woman. Unfortunately, we have discovered that
problem may be the fact that few women were members
admission to a school does not necessarily mean equal
of the 35 groups issuing the reports. One group had no
access to an education. Most of the current barriers that
women. In only two did women constitute at least 50
deny women equal access to education involve societal
percent of the membership. The 35 groups had a total
definitions of gender and resulting social and educa-
of 834 male and only 171 female members.126 Perhaps
tional practices.
it should not be a surprise that there was very little men-
Until American society begins to believe that all
tion and almost no discussion of gender issues as part of
persons are equal and treats everyone as an individual
the problems facing American education.
rather than typing people according to group mem-
Lack of adequate female representation in leadership
bership, we will continue to experience problems of
positions is a continuing problem in American educa-
equal educational opportunity. As long as we believe
tion. In 1991 only 9 of the 50 chief state school offi-
that women are different from men, with qualitatively
cers were women. Female representation on American
different characteristics and abilities, we will continue
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 387
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
388
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
to believe that certain occupations are for males and
importantly influenced by their cultures and if stu-
certain others are for females. The corresponding
dents in American schools come from identifiably
denigration of women’s gender roles will continue to
different cultural backgrounds, treating all students
contribute to the vast inequality of income between
as individuals requires attention to the cultural
women and men. The inevitable result is a lowering of
difference s.
self-esteem and a closure of opportunity for women.
There is significant evidence that the content
The fact that societal attitudes and behaviors are
and processes of American schools have been
central to the problem of equal educational opportunity
relatively hospitable to the achievement of White
for women is not an excuse for inaction on the part of
middle-class students and especially to White
schools or teachers. If we believe that every child has
the right to the best education she or he can absorb, we
middle-class male students. Certainly, females
must act to counter the damaging educational effects of
succeed in schools too, as do a great many children
gender bias. As teachers we have an obligation to under-
from African American, Hispanic, Native American,
stand the causes of any problem that inhibits the learn-
Asian, and other racial and ethnic backgrounds.
ing of any group of children. While this is much more
But if members of any of those groups perform
easily said than done, schools in several communities
disproportionately poorly in schools, educators
throughout the country are showing us ways to teach
should become alerted to a possible mismatch be-
all groups of children more successfully. We turn to this
tween the school culture and the home culture
challenge in Chapter 13.
of the student. All too often such an observation
leads to two destructive misunderstandings. The
first is that students from such mismatched cul-
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
tural backgrounds are culturally (and, it is often
OF EDUCATION
thought, linguistically) deficient, and therefore
This chapter has challenged a basic assumption
the schools have to correct these deficiencies;
underlying 20th-century schooling in the United
the second is that any Native American, African
States. This chapter’s challenge was grounded in
American, or Hispanic child necessarily has cul-
a critical examination of social science theories
tural barriers to surmount in school.
that purport to explain why some racial, ethnic,
The cultural deficiency misunderstanding is
and social class groups consistently perform more
grounded in the failure to recognize that students
poorly than others in schools and in the economy.
from different racial and ethnic backgrounds are
In addition, gender differences in school and soci-
already living in full and rich cultures with cus-
ety were examined briefly for their contribution to
toms, histories, and linguistic systems that don’t
understanding inequality and inequity in school-
need correcting. Educators have no reason to be-
ing. The belief that in our educational system a
lieve that such students are not capable of learning
person’s success in school and in economic life is
rigorous academic material; to the contrary, there
based only on his or her innate learning ability has
are shining examples of how schools can respond
been shown to be unfounded.
to such students to support their academic success.
Yet liberal ideology locates the source of school
What needs to be recognized is that the American
success and failure in individuals, and some educa-
school’s content and processes reflect the values
tors are fond of the maxim that treating all students
and practices of a dominant culture that devalues
as individuals will ensure equitable educational
the language, values, and practices of many minor-
experiences. Research indicates, however, that
ity cultures. Moreover, such students are too easily
the group differences (among ethnicities or social
judged deficient by inadequate standards that are
classes, for example) in school performance can-
class- or race-biased. It would be more education-
not be attributed simply to individual talent and
ally sound for educators to examine the interac-
motivation without taking into account the cultural
tion of the school and the child rather than just the
contexts that shape individuals. If individuals are
performance of the child as measured by dominant
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 388
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 389
standards. Some educators have developed an
it is not. In addition, part of gender sensitivity is
analysis of school experience which suggests that
learning to celebrate and reward certain social-
schools can indeed respond in ways that secure
ized feminine characteristics, such as caring, coop-
the success of students from subordinated cultures.
eration, and nurturance—which are often not well
Such responses demand a conception of cultural
rewarded in society or in schooling—while at the
pluralism that respects diversity among peoples
same time helping female students develop the
and among students’ different ways of encoun-
skills and self-confidence to succeed in tradition-
tering the school culture. Such a conception may
ally male domains such as mathematics, science,
not come “naturally” to a profession that is largely
and community leadership. Similarly, the contribu-
White and socialized by the dominant culture’s
tions of all minority groups can be celebrated and
value and practices.
affirmed while students from African American,
Gender theory suggests a way to avoid the sec-
Native American, Asian, and Hispanic cultures are
ond misunderstanding: that an individual possess-
helped to succeed in the linguistic and academic
es certain characteristics just by virtue of belonging
skills that the dominant culture rewards. Culture
to a racial, ethnic, or gender group. To make such
sensitivity, however, is not just recognizing African
an assumption conforms to the definition of bias,
American History Month; it is learning to recognize
and this is something most educators wish to avoid.
when the subordinating forces of the dominant
Yet to ignore ethnic or gender differences—to be
culture are interfering with a student’s learning
“gender -neutral” or “race-neutral” in the treatment
potential and then seeking to equip students to
of students, for example—may overlook a variable that
respond to those forces. Not all African American
is crucial to understanding a student’s experience of
students, or all American students, experience
the world and of school. If students come to school
such interference, and those who do may not ex-
with very different preparations for success in the dis-
perience it all the time. Being culturally sensitive
tinctively White middle-class school culture, to ignore
and pluralistic requires one to learn to recognize
important differences in the effort to achieve “equal
when race or ethnicity, just like gender or social
treatment” may lead to very inequitable results. It
class, is a significant variable in a student’s learn-
seems we are caught on the horns of a dilemma: To
ing experience.
take account of students’ group differences may be
The consequences of all this for building a phi-
biased, but not to take account of them is to treat dif-
losophy of education are several, but one of the
ferent learners as if they were the same, which will
most important is the teacher’s commitment to
benefit some learners at the expense of others.
what has by now become a modern cliché: All
To treat students as individuals is, at its best, to
children can learn. Well, it might be said, of course
try to take account of and respond to differences
they can, and some learn quickly and well, while
among students that have consequences for learn-
others learn just a little. But some teachers and
ing. If gender or cultural background is significant
school leaders maintain the conviction that when
in making a student the individual learner he or
every student isn’t learning well, something is
she is, there are times when that factor needs to
amiss and needs correction. They know that there
be taken into account. Yet to assume that an Afri-
are schools in which low-income children of ma-
can American student should be treated differently
jority and minority backgrounds succeed at very
simply because he is African American or that a
high academic levels, and that such schools serve
girl needs special treatment because she is a girl is
as proof that all children really can learn well. The
to risk racial or gender bias. Jane Roland Martin’s
most successful teachers try to locate the sources
contribution to the solution of this dilemma has
of failure to learn not in the child, or in the child’s
been the notion of “gender sensitivity,” in which
home, but in the interactions between the child
the teacher seeks to recognize when gender is a
and home and school. With such a conviction,
significant variable in student learning and when
teachers know that the school (and the teacher)
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 389
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
390
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
bears a major part of the responsibility for improv-
students do poorly. Rather, the teacher asks, what
ing the learning outcomes.
are the reasons why these children with so much
If you were a parent of a low-income minor-
ability are not learning, and how do we address
ity child, which kind of teacher would you want
those reasons? With such a teacher, the classroom
your child to have: one who was truly convinced
becomes a learning environment in which all chil-
of the ability of all children to learn challeng-
dren really do learn. How the teacher’s conviction
ing academic material, or one who was not? For
translates into classroom and school practices to
a teacher to have such a conviction means that
support student success is the focus of the next
he or she does not begin to doubt it when some
chapter.
Primary Source Reading
education, you may be unaware of important facts
about the U.S. educational system or may be surprised
to learn how things have changed in recent years. This
edition of A Public Education Primer updates and ex-
A Public Education Primer:
pands on the version originally published by the Center
on Education Policy in 2006. Like the first publication,
Basic (and Sometimes Surprising)
this revised edition pulls together recent data about
Facts about the U.S. Educational
students, teachers, school districts, schools, and other
aspects of elementary and secondary education in the
System
U.S. Included are facts and figures on the distribution
This report was written by Nancy Kober, a CEP
of students, student demographics, educational entities
consultant, and Alexandra Usher, CEP research as-
and their responsibilities, funding, student achieve-
sistant. Diane Stark Rentner, CEP’s director of na-
ment, teachers, and other school services. As much as
tional programs, and Jack Jennings, CEP’s president
possible, the data compiled here come from the federal
and CEO, provided advice and assistance. Based in
government—primarily the National Center for Educa-
Washington, D.C., and founded in January 1995 by
tion Statistics (NCES), the data-gathering arm of the U.S.
Jack Jennings, the Center on Education Policy is a
Department of Education. Where NCES data are not
national independent advocate for public education
available, we’ve carefully chosen data from other reliable
and for more effective public schools. The Center
sources. This primer is meant to give an overall snapshot
works to help Americans better understand the role
of elementary and secondary education in the nation’s
of public education in a democracy and the need to
public schools. In general, we’ve used data for the most
improve the academic quality of public schools. We
recent year available. In many cases, these recent data
do not represent any special interests. Instead, we
are compared with data from ten years earlier or with
help citizens make sense of the conflicting opinions
future projections to show how things have changed or
and perceptions about public education and create
are expected to change. A few indicators, such as those
the conditions that will lead to better public schools.
relating to student achievement, show trends going back
two or more decades to provide a historical perspective.
The data in this report represent national averages. The
Introduction
experiences, trends, and issues in your local community
Public education matters, whether you’re a student, par-
may vary somewhat from the broad picture presented
ent, teacher, administrator, employer, or taxpayer. Al-
here. We hope this primer will provide you with suf-
though you undoubtedly know something about public
ficient background information about public education
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 390
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 391
to encourage your interest in education issues and your
Much of this improvement occurred before 2005. Asian
involvement in your local schools.
American students have also made gains in both sub-
Since the 1990s, most racial/ethnic groups have
jects since the 1990s, except in grade 8 reading. Native
made gains on NAEP in reading and math at grades 4
American students have not made significant progress in
and 8, but not in grade 12 reading. Moreover, progress
either subject compared with 1994.
in narrowing achievement gaps has been inconsistent.
In grade 12 reading, the average 2011 scores for all
At grades 4 and 8, average scores on the main NAEP
major racial/ethnic groups did not differ significantly
have gone up for African American, Latino, and white
from their 1992 scores. In grade 12 math, average scores
students since 1992 in reading and since 1990 in math.
for all groups increased from 2005 to 2009.
Reading: Trends by Racial/Ethnic Group in Average Scores on the Main NAEP
Grade and group
1992
1994
1998
2000
2002
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
Grade 4 (scale of 0–500)
White
224†
224†
226†/225
224
229
229
229
231*
230*
231
African American
192†
185†
193†/193
190
199
198
200
203
205*
205
Latino
197†
188†
195†/193
190
201
200
203
205*
205*
206
Asian American
216†
220†
221†/215
224
224
226
229
231*
230*
231
Native American
211*
214*
207*
202*
204*
203*
204*
202
Grade 8 (scale of 0–500)
White
267†
267†
271†/270
272
272
271
272
273
274
African American
237†
236†
243†/244
245
244
243
245
246
249
Latino
241†
243†
245†/243
247
245
246
247
249
252
Asian American
268*†
265†
267*†/264*
267
270
271
271
273
274
Native American
248*
250*
246*
249*
247
251*
252
Grade 12 (scale of 0–500)
White
297†‡
293†
297†‡/297‡
292
293
296
African American
273†‡
265†‡
271†‡/269‡
267‡
267‡
269
Latino
279†‡
270†‡
276†‡/275‡
273‡
272‡
274
Asian American
290†‡
278†
288†‡/287
286
287
298
Native American
274†‡
279‡
283
*Not significantly different from 2011
†Accommodations not permitted
‡Not significantly different from 2009
Sources: NCES, The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2011, figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 20, 21, 22 and 23, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2011/2012457.pdf; and Grade 12 Reading and Mathematics 2009 National Pilot and State Results (2011), figure 4, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2009/2011455.pdf toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 391
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
392
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Math: Trends by Racial/Ethnic Group in Average Scores on the Main NAEP
Grade and group
1990
1992
1996
2000
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
Grade 4 (scale of 0–500)
White
220†
227†
231†/232
234
243
246
248
248
249
African American
188†
193†
199†/198
203
216
220
222
222
224
Latino
200†
202†
205†/207
208
222
226
227
227
229
Asian American
225†
231†
226†/229
246
251
253*
255*
256
Native American
217*
208
223*
226*
228
225*
225
Grade 8 (scale of 0–500)
White
270†
277†
281†/281
284
288
289
291
293*
293
African American
237†
237†
242†/240
244
252
255
260
261*
262
Latino
246†
249†
251†/251
253
259
262
265
266
270
Asian American
275†
290†
288
291
295
297
301*
303
Native American
259*
263*
264*
264*
266*
265
Grade 12 (scale of 0–300)
White
157
131
African American
127
138
Latino
133
175
Asian American
163
161
Native American
134
144
*Not significantly different from 2011
† Accommodations not permitted
Sources: NCES, The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics 2011, figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 21, 22, 23 and 24, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2011/2012458.pdf; and Grade 12 Reading and Mathematics 2009 National Pilot and State Results (2011), figure 14, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2009/2011455.pdf At grades 4 and 8, progress has been made in narrow-reduced-price school lunches. Students are eligible
ing the achievement gap between African American and
for free lunch if their family income does not exceed
white students, except in grade 8 math. Latino–white
130% of the poverty level and for reduced-price lunch
gaps have not narrowed significantly, except in grade
if their family income is above 130% but below 185%
8 reading. Native American–white gaps have not nar-
of the poverty level. Students with family incomes above
rowed in either grade or subject. In grade 12 reading,
185% of the poverty level are not eligible for either free
achievement gaps have not narrowed significantly since
or reduced-price lunches. NAEP trends based on family
the 1990s for any racial/ethnic group.
income go back to 2003. On the main NAEP, higher-
Students from low-income families have lower
income students outperform lower-income students. At
average test scores than students from higher-income
grades 4 and 8, both reading and math scores are highest
families.
for students not eligible for subsidized lunch and lowest
To compare achievement among different income
for students in the free lunch group. Scores for students
groups, NAEP uses students’ eligibility for free or
eligible for reduced-price lunch fall in between.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 392
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 12 393
Reading: Trends by Income Group in Scores on the Main NAEP
Grade and group
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
Grade 4 (scale of 0–500)
Not eligible
229
230
232
232
235
Reduced-price lunch
211
212
215
216
218
Free lunch
199
201
203
204
206
Grade 8 (scale of 0–500)
Not eligible
271
270
271
273
275
Reduced-price lunch
258
255
255
256
261
Free lunch
244
245
246
247
250
Source: NCES, The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2011, figures 11 and 27, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2011/2012457.pdf Math: Trends by Income Group in Scores on the Main NAEP
Grade and group
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
Grade 4 (scale of 0-500)
Not eligible
244
248
249
250
252
Reduced-price lunch
230
234
236
235
239
Free lunch
220
224
225
226
228
Grade 8 (scale of 0-500)
Not eligible
287
288
291
294
296
Reduced-price lunch
271
270
274
276
279
Free lunch
256
260
263
265
268
Source: NCES, The Nation’s Report Card: Mathematics 2011, figures 11 and 28, http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2011/2012458.pdf Similar data by student income groups are not avail-low-poverty schools have done better on the grade 12
able at grade 12. But NAEP does compare the average
NAEP than high-poverty schools.
grade 12 scores in high-poverty and low-poverty schools,
As all of these data indicate, large achievement
based on the percentage of students in the school who
gaps exist between higher-income and lower-income
are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Since 1998,
students.
Average Grade 12 Scores by School Poverty on the Main NAEP, 2009
School poverty
(percentage of students
In school eligible for
Average grade 12 reading score
Average grade 12 math score
free or reduced-price lunch)
(scale 0–500)
(scale 0–300)
0–25% (low-poverty)
299
166
26–50%
286
150
51–75%
276
140
76–100% (high-poverty)
266
130
Source: NCES, The Condition of Education 2011, tables A-11-2 and A-12-2, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011033.pdf toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 393
07/09/12 2:55 PM
Confi rming Pages
394
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Developing Your
2. We often think of “motivation” as a highly indi-
Professional Vocabulary
vidualistic character trait. Individuals in any racial
or ethnic group may be highly motivated to achieve
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
or apparently lacking in motivation altogether. Yet
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
some authors argue that ethnicity is important in
important to education.
shaping motivation to learn and other attitudes
toward schooling. Evaluate this argument.
cultural deprivation
Hispanic versus Latino
studies
3. This chapter focuses on gender as well as on race,
meritocracy
ethnicity, and social class in considering the issue of
Education for All
model minority
educational and social equity as it concerns different
Handicapped Children
groups of students. To what degree do you find that
Act
race
considering all these different variables in one
equality
racism
treatment obscures important differences among
them, and to what degree does it illuminate
equity
sex-role socialization
similarities that are profitably considered together?
ethnicity
sex versus gender
Defend your view.
GI Bill of Rights
socioeconomic class
glass ceiling for women
Online Resources
Questions for Discussion
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
and Examination
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
1. Using your reading and any pertinent, reliable outside
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
source, identify and discuss the educational and social
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
consequences of the trend in school segregation.
articles and news feeds.
toz24404_ch12_356-395.indd 394
07/09/12 2:55 PM
This page intentionally left blank
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 13
Diversity and Equity Today Meeting the Challenge
Chapter Overview
Chapter 13 extends the discussion of social and
to understanding why different social groups
educational inequality in Chapter 12 to examine
perform differently in school. These approaches
some of what we know about meeting the chal-
include genetic deficit theory, cultural deficit theory,
lenges of diversity and equity in today’s schools.
and critical theory. The last theory incorporates
Whereas Chapter 12 might be described as a
cultural difference theory, cultural subordination
“language of critique” in its description of social
theory, and resistance theory in trying to explain
and educational inequality, Chapter 13 pres-
educational inequality in the United States.
ents a “language of possibility.” It is possible
Finally, the chapter turns to a variety of peda-
to understand teaching and learning differently
gogical (teaching) approaches to supporting suc-
and to teach in ways that include more children
cess for all students. These approaches include
in successful learning experiences.
multiculturalism, culturally responsive peda-
How teachers understand the complex rela-
gogy, bilingual and ESL instruction, and gender-
tionships between the school and the child
sensitive teaching, among others. The Primary
plays a major role in how they respond to the
Source reading highlights the importance of
learning needs of their students. This chapter
teaching which includes students’cultural refer-
explores several different theoretical approaches
ences in all aspects of learning.
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 396
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Bilingual and multicultural education remain controversial in the 21st century.
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 13 seeks to
respond to the needs of different children. How
achieve are these:
similar are these ideas to culturally responsive
pedagogy?
1. This chapter should help students examine
the arguments regarding the power of social
5. Students should be able to consider the exam-
inequalities and inequities to influence unequal
ples of successful learning by low-income and
educational outcomes in schools today, and
minority students and discuss whether these
discuss to what degree they agree or disagree
examples are applicable to other teaching
with the authors that teachers and schools can
settings.
have a significant influence that resists the
6. Students should be able to analyze different
impact of social inequalities.
approaches to multicultural, culturally responsive,
2. Students should consider Jane Elliott’s famous
and inclusive pedagogy and discuss which
classroom experiment, the Discrimination Day
seem most valuable for achieving the national
exercise, and discuss what sense can be made
teaching standards described in
of it today.
Chapter 10.
3. Students should be able to assess and discuss
7. Finally, students should understand the impor-
which main theories of social and educational
tance of school organization to teacher success.
inequality seem best able to explain the data on
If teachers want to have maximum impact on
social and educational differences described in
student learning, they must better understand
Chapters 12 and 13.
how schools must be led and organized for that
impact to be optimal.
4. Another aim is to consider the degree to which
the gender-sensitivity concept applies to race
sensitivity or ethnicity sensitivity in the effort to
397
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 397
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
398
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Analytic Framework
Diversity and Equity Today: Meeting the Challenge
Political Economy
Ideology
Social inequalities
Equal opportunity for all
Racial and ethnic
Meritocracy
Gender
Economic class
Diversity across and within groups
Racism
Inequalities in employment and pay
Sexism
Efects of poverty and racism
on families
Disability bias
Income versus wealth differences
Social construction of which
human differences matter
Education for All Handicapped
Children Act
Neoliberal commitment to
market competition
Language and dialect differences
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
Schooling
Achievement testing
Advanced placement tests
Antiracist education
Culturally responsive pedagogy
Bilingual education
ESL instruction
Multicultural education
Inclusion of all children in a least
restrictive environment
Organizing schools for student success
Rise of charter schools
Introduction: Does Social
differently, often according to their group memberships.
Further, these differences seem regularly to advantage
Inequality Necessarily
those whose group membership is White, economically
Determine Educational
middle class or better, and male. This is not to claim that
people of color, people from low-income backgrounds,
Outcomes?
and females never achieve as much as White middle-
class males do in this country’s educational and social
Chapter 12 explored how such variables as race, eth-
institutions; virtually anyone reading this book knows
nicity, gender, and economic class can affect different
of such successes. Rather, we tried to show that trends
groups’ experiences in school and in the wider society. It
or patterns of inequality often influence an individual’s
seems clear that many people experience social institutions
life chances. Individuals succeed or fail not simply due
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 398
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 399
to their native abilities and applied efforts but also on
disadvantaged groups can succeed against the statistical
the basis of their membership in one or more ethnic,
odds, individual schools and classrooms can chart inde-
gender, or economic groups.
pendent courses against prevailing patterns of inequal-
Institutional biases along lines of class, ethnicity,
ity. But how? What do we know about schools and
and gender are, as Chapter 12 demonstrated, alive and
teachers that might help us see what must be done so
persistent in the 21st century. Simply watching the
that children from low-income groups, for example,
newspapers carefully can reveal dimensions of the chal-
will be allowed to succeed on the basis of their talents
lenge to educators, as research studies are often reported
rather than on the basis of whether they were born into
in the press. For three decades, for example, girls have
the “right” demographic category? The purpose of this
scored substantially lower than boys on the SAT
chapter is to examine what we know about meeting
exam, thus receiving only 40 percent of the National
the challenges of diversity and equity in contemporary
Merit Scholarships despite outnumbering boys 56 to
schools.
44 percent in taking the PSAT, the first step in that
scholarship competition.1 Turning to the performance
Jane Elliott’s Experiment
of Hispanic and African American students on stan-
dardized measures of academic proficiency, recent com-
parisons to White non-Hispanic students show that the
It is enlightening to reflect on the following experi-
gaps between minority and majority students are once
ment conducted by an elementary school teacher. She
again growing.2 Meanwhile, despite a booming national
was initially motivated toward the experiment in April
economy, the poverty rates for African Americans and
1968 while watching the television coverage following
Hispanics are more than double, almost triple, the
the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. The death of
poverty rate of White non-Hispanics, which bodes ill
a national figure was sad enough, but Jane Elliott was
for future educational attainment for large numbers of
stunned by the insensitivity of newscasters interview-
people from those ethnic groups.3
ing African American leaders: “Who is going to hold
These inequalities take place in two (among many)
your people together now? What will they do? Who will
problematic institutional contexts: The first is the
control their anger?”6
wider U.S. society, in which countless acts of overt
Elliott was a third-grade teacher in Riceville, Iowa,
racism (including prosecutable hate crimes) are com-
an all-White, all-Christian farming community, popu-
mitted every day, while institutional racism is thor-
lation 898. When she arrived at class the next day, her
oughly embedded in the socioeconomic system.4 The
children had already heard the news and Elliott had
second context is school, in which taken-for-granted
already made up her mind to teach them what prejudice
approaches to testing, grouping, and tracking stu-
and discrimination were really about. The experiment
dents work against the success of low-income and
she conducted that day and repeated in subsequent
minority students while appearing to many educators
years would eventually make national news. It would
and the public to be consistent with good educational
also project Elliott to national prominence following a
and democratic practice.5
documentary special by ABC News titled “The Eye of
It is important to engage in critical study of the
the Storm.”7
nature and consequences of racism and sexism in this
Most of the children had had little contact with
country’s social institutions, especially in schools, which
African American people. What they knew of African
influence young people’s perceptions of themselves and
American people would have come from their parents
others in important ways. But critique is not enough; it
and from television, and so Elliott started there. As the
is also important to examine ways in which schools and
children described their impressions, a pattern began
teachers can serve the interests of all children equally
to emerge: African American people were poor; they
well rather than contributing to the position of advan-
did not manage as well as White people; they were not
taged groups. Although we can certainly locate the
as smart, not as honest, not as civilized, not as moral;
sources of school inequities outside the schools, in the
they fought a lot and were prone to riot; they smelled
larger socioeconomic system, this wider system does not
bad. The children were not being mean or vindictive.
necessarily determine what goes on in schools and class-
They were saying matter of factly what they had picked
rooms. It would be more accurate to say that the wider
up here and there regarding the nature of African
society influences the classroom. Just as individuals from
American people. Elliott pressed further. Are African
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 399
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
400
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Strong teachers find ways to create connections with all their students.
Americans discriminated against? Yes. Do they deserve
extra minutes of recess. But inferior, blue-eyed children
it? Well, maybe not. How would you feel if you were
were not allowed to play with them unless specifically
discriminated against? Not very good. These were all
invited to do so. Nor could blue-eyed children use the
nice, appropriate responses. But Elliott knew from
big playground equipment. Brown-eyed children got to
experience and observation that these are the common
go to lunch first, could go back for seconds, and could
sentiments of a nation that is, by common consent,
choose their lunch-line partners. None of the blue-eyed
fundamentally racist.8
children were allowed those special privileges. When
How would it feel to be an African American boy
asked why these various rules should apply, the brown-
or girl? Would you like to find out what discrimina-
eyed children eagerly supplied reasons. Jane Elliott
tion feels like? she asked. Her students said they would.
nodded her approval.
The children were lumped into two status groups. The
The children caught on very quickly and assumed
17 children in her class who had blue eyes became one
their various roles with chilling realism. Once the sense
group. The other group, called the “brown eyes,” con-
of it was clear, the roles became real and the children
sisted of the 11 children whose eyes actually were brown
entered into the constructed reality. Elliott continued to
and the 3 children who had green eyes.
play her role. Every time a blue-eyed child made a mis-
“Today, the blue-eyed people will be on the bot-
take, she identified it as evidence of inferiority. Every
tom and the brown-eyed people on the top,” Elliott
time a blue-eyed child had difficulty reading, she shook
explained. To their questioning looks she added, “What
her head and asked a brown-eyed student to take over.
I mean is that brown-eyed people are better than blue-
She said later:
eyed people. They are more civilized than blue-eyed
By the lunch hour, there was no need to think before iden-
people. And they are smarter than blue-eyed people.”
tifying a child as blue- or brown-eyed. I could tell simply
Because of these traits, Elliott continued, different
by looking at him. The brown-eyed children were happy,
rules would have to apply, depending on whether a child
alert, having the time of their lives. And they were doing
had blue eyes or brown eyes. Brown-eyed children could
far better work than they had ever done before. The blue-
use the drinking fountain, but blue-eyed children had to
eyed children were miserable. Their posture, their expres-
use a paper cup. Brown-eyed children would have five
sions, their entire attitudes were those of defeat. Their
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 400
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 401
classroom work regressed sharply from that of the day
a university research ethics committee would approve
before. Inside of an hour or so, they looked and acted as
Elliott’s experiment today because of the very real
though they were, in fact, inferior. It was shocking.
potential for psychological harm. It is particularly sober-
ing to consider that such harm can occur in a day or two
The following Monday she reversed the scheme: “I lied
of experiencing discrimination, while some people suffer
to you on Friday. I told you brown-eyed people were
discrimination all their lives.
better than blue-eyed people. That’s not true. The truth
is that blue-eyed people are better than brown-eyed
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#1
people. They are smarter than brown-eyed people. They
are more civilized. They are. . . .”
What are the lessons teachers might learn from Jane
As easily as that she reversed the roles, and once
Elliott’s experiment? How would these lessons be
again the children entered into their assigned iden-
important to a teacher’s effectiveness, in your view?
tities. Those children who had been discriminated
What dangers can you see in trying to implement
against on Friday were gleeful, and many of them
such an experiment in today’s classroom? Explain.
were bent on revenge. Those brown-eyed children
who had felt like “hot shots,” who had felt “smarter,
bigger, better, and stronger,” quickly learned how
demoralizing it is to be categorized and treated as
Theories of Social Inequality
inferior.
Later, Elliott would write:
Elliott’s experiment can help us develop a theory, or at
least hypotheses, about factors that lead to school suc-
All of the children enjoyed being considered superior. . . .
But some of them took a savage delight in keeping the
cess or failure. If we are to understand how to respond
members of the “inferior” group in their place, in asserting
to social and educational inequalities, we need to
their superiority in particularly nasty ways. . . . Nor had I
understand them. In this section we will examine three
realized until I saw it how destructive a feeling of inferiority
different theoretical approaches to explaining inequal-
really is, how it can literally change a personality, how it can
ity in society and school performance. These theories
drag down efficiency, destroy motivation.9
differ significantly in where they locate the source of
inequality. A theory of genetic inferiority locates it in
An Important Note of Caution
the individua l; a theory of cultural deprivation, also rec-
ognizable as cultural or linguistic deficit theory, locates
Jane Elliott’s Discrimination Day exercises were repeated
it in the individual’s home culture; finally, a theory of
for many years, and at the request of business and gov-
cultural subordination locates it in the structural rela-
ernment she has subjected adult audiences to the same
tionships of power differences between different social
experience, with strikingly similar results. With few
groups. These labels suggest which theory Elliott may
exceptions, members of a group identified as supe-
have found most compatible with her own view. Can
rior tend to act and feel superior. Curiously, Elliott
you identify it?
discovered that members of the “superior” group gained
The first two theories, genetic inferiority and cul-
new confidence in their schoolwork, glimpsed new
tural deficit, are taken from liberal social and intellec-
capabilities in themselves, and actually shot ahead aca-
tual traditions which assume that individuals craft their
demically. Those identified as inferior tended to accept
own destinies. The theories often lead to the conclu-
the constraint, lost confidence in themselves, could not
sion that society and the law should leave individuals
concentrate, and suffered a measurable decline in aca-
alone to rise or sink according to their own merit. Most
demic performance. When the experiments were over,
important, these theories tend to embrace a particular
Elliott conducted a skillful debriefing, restored shat-
view of the world that we have previously identified
tered friendships and crushed egos, and helped her stu-
as a middle-class, scientific worldview, a cultural ori-
dents draw from the experience the important lessons
entation that Henry Giroux refers to as technocratic
it contains. However, we urge you not to conduct this
rationalit y.10 As we shall see, theories of genetic or cul-
experiment in your own classrooms. The primary reason
tural inferiority stem from modern liberalism because
is that experiences of discrimination are so hurtful that
they leave the existing social order essentially intact,
they can be damaging. It is doubtful, for example, that
vindicate the liberal resistance to a government role in
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 401
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
402
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
individual (but not corporate) economic success and
transformed into the myth of the IQ score, whose scien-
failure, and locate the source of social inequalities in
tific appearance makes it seem even more convincing and
the victims.
potent. Terman’s passage offers an explanation of social
The third type of theory derives from that branch of
classes in terms of genetic intelligence. The same criteria
thought called critical theory, which is characterized by
can easily be adapted to racial and ethnic inequalities.
a willingness to question the existing rules of society
Here is a sample from a passage written during the early
and locate the source of inequalities in social structural
part of the last century by Henry Garret, in a pamphlet
arrangements rather than in inherent characteristics of
titled Breeding Down:
individuals or groups. Critical theorists see inequitable
You can no more mix the two races and maintain the
power relations in society as the fundamental source of
standards of White civilization than you can add 80 (the
social, economic, and educational inequality among social
average I.Q. of Negroes) and 100 (average I.Q. of Whites),
groups.
divide by two and get 100. What you would get would be a
race of 90s, and it is that 10 percent differential that spells
Genetic Inferiority Theory
the difference between a spire and a mud hut.12
Long ago, Plato wrote that one social group could sub-
Garret does not specify to which aspects of White civi-
ordinate another social group only if it were able to tell
lization he is referring—certainly not the period of the
convincingly a certain “necessary lie.” The full account
Thirty Years’ War in Europe, when ignorance, disease,
is in the Republic, Book III (414A–415E). Here is the
poverty, filth, and sheer animal savagery prevailed. Nor
essential passage:
does he specify which standards of African civilization
he has in mind, though he probably does not mean the
“[You] are all brothers in the city,” we shall tell them in
our fable, “but while God molded you, he mingled gold
ancient dynasties of Egypt, which influenced the culture
in the generation of some, and those are the ones fit to
of all modern European civilizations.
rule, who are therefore the most precious; he mingled
The genetic, or biological, argument has been used
silver in the assistants; and iron and brass in farmers and
repeatedly to rationalize the suppression of racial minori-
the other craftsmen.”
ties, females, and people from lower socioeconomic
classes. It has been particularly evident in White discrim-
This necessary lie is known as the “myth of the metals.”
ination against African American people, in part because
It is the classic statement of that imagined, God-given
of its continuity with the racist beliefs that once sustained
superiority that justifies social inequalities in the minds
slavery. Terman, like many other leading educators of his
of those whose chances for success have been greatly
time, actively supported the eugenics movement in the
enhanced by inclusion in the dominant social group.
United States. Various eugenics societies sought to create
Later, during medieval times, the nobility was sanc-
policies that would control the gene pools of Americans
tioned by church authorities as having been ordained
by means of selective marriage, sterilization, and immi-
by God to rule over commoners. The myth of the met-
gration restrictions. Genetic deficit theory has received
als persists to the present. Here, in a passage written in
its modern, pseudoscientific defense by Arthur Jensen,
1923 by educational psychologist Lewis Terman, is its
William Shockley, and Richard Herrnstein, each of
modern equivalent dressed in scientific terminology:
whom has over the past 30 years used interpretations
Preliminary investigations indicate that an I.Q. below 70
of IQ and standardized test scores as part of the effort
rarely permits anything better than unskilled labor; that the
to explain the “findings” of the Coleman, Moynihan–
range from 70 to 80 is preeminently that of semi-skilled
Mosteller, and Jencks et al. studies.13
labor, from 80 to 100 that of the skilled or ordinary clerical
The Jensen and Herrnstein studies, conducted in
labor, from 100 to 110 or 115 that of the semi-professional
the late 1960s, were built on the following assump-
pursuits; and that above all these are the grades of intel-
tions: (1) IQ tests are valid measures of intelligence,
ligence which permit one to enter the professions or the
(2) intelligence is mainly inherited, (3) lower IQ test
larger fields of business.11
scores indicate that African Americans are less intelli-
Terman played a leading role in applying the Stanford-
gent and therefore less educable than Whites, (4) occu-
Binet intelligence test to the mass testing of students in
pational level and income are dependent on intelligence
the United States. The myth of the metals has thus been
and resulting academic achievement, and (5) poverty
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 402
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 403
therefore results from inherited deficiencies in the
C. Murray, again claimed to have found genetic ori-
poor, not from unequal school and employment
gins of intelligence differences among different groups.
opportunities.
Again their research was widely refuted.14
Critics of the Jensen–Herrnstein thesis quickly
replied that IQ test scores measure the cultural knowl-
Cultural Deficit Theory
edge of children from middle- and upper-class families,
not intelligence. They also pointed out that Jensen and
After modern theories of genetic inferiority lost favor in
Herrnstein offered no evidence linking intelligence with
the early 1970s, liberal social scientists began searching
heredity and that their database was a patchwork accu-
for another model that would help organize the data
mulation of old, flawed data that had been compiled
and explain the persistence of low achievement rates in
over 60 years by various researchers under varying con-
minority youth. They began to reason that these chil-
ditions and for various purposes. It is ironic that as a
dren were not biologically inferior but came from an
result of the Jensen–Herrnstein episode, IQ tests have
inferior home environment. Poor and minority children
lost much of their credibility, although they continue
did not have the same social, cultural, and intellectual
to reinforce racial stereotypes of “deficient” minority
opportunities as middle-class White children; they did
groups.
not travel, visit libraries and art museums, go to zoos,
The breakdown of genetic inferiority theory began
or participate on a daily basis in sophisticated adult
as a result of the Army Alpha test administered to
conversations. Their poorer, less-educated parents were
1,750,000 draftees during the 1917 call-up for World
unable to prepare them for school. So went the cultural
War I. The test purported to show the mental age of
deficit argument.
White recruits as several years higher than that of African
The language of the “ghetto” was brought into ques-
Americans. In fact, 89 percent of the African American
tion and attacked as an inadequate linguistic vehicle.
men tested were ranked as “morons,” and thousands of
Poor children, especially poor African American chil-
men who had recently immigrated from Europe scored
dren, did not grow up in circumstances that would
as “feeble-minded.” In 1945 Harvard anthropologist
teach them to think, reason, and speak in the man-
Ashley Montague made a more detailed analysis of the
ner generally approved by the dominant social order.
data. He pointed out that the gap between White and
Thus, it was reasoned, they were victims of linguistic or
African American test scores was greatest in the deep
cultural deficiencies. When these children entered the
South and smallest in the North. Furthermore, African
formal stages of their public education, many of them
Americans in the northern states had scored better than
could not compete with White children whose pre-
Whites in the southern states. The claim that the test
school experience had prepared them for the cultural
measured “intelligence” was finally called into question,
environment and the social structure of the school.15
as was the conclusion that African Americans were less
This preparation gap served as the pretext for grouping
intelligent than Whites. Since scores varied by location,
poor and minority children into vocational and nonaca-
it was clearly not the case that genetic endowment was
demic curricula and placing them into educable men-
being measured.
tally handicapped (EMH) classes at a rate three times
Theories of genetic inferiority break down anytime
that of their White peers. The penalty for not com-
social and educational programs successfully close the
ing to school equipped with the approved social and
gap between test scores for different groups—a phe-
cultural graces was relegation to an education devoid
nomenon that is happening with increasing frequency as
of challenging intellectual content. In short, poor and
educational practice becomes better adapted to cultural
minority students were expected to fail and were put
differences. Finally, genetic theories of inequality have
into programs that encouraged failure.
lost favor because they deal with only a small amount
Since some children entering school could not read
of evidence and because the conclusions drawn from
or count, did not know the letters of the alphabet, and
them do not lead in a useful direction. They neither
could not name the colors, claims of cultural deficiency
stimulate strong research nor contribute to the resolu-
were not entirely groundless. Poverty does take its toll on
tion of social and educational inequalities. Nonetheless,
children. Thus, there was enough evidence supporting
in 1994 Herrn stein drew national attention with publi-
the theory of cultural deficiency that it gained widespread
cation of The Bell Curve, in which he and his coauthor,
acceptance.
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 403
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
404
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Programs such as Project Head Start were designed to equip minority and poor children from “underprivileged backgrounds” with the same school-readiness abilities as their better-off peers from the mainstream culture.
Theories of cultural and linguistic deficiency guided
not test for the competencies developed in other cultural
the whole compensatory education movement during
and linguistic systems.
the 1960s and 1970s. These programs were attractive
Critics argue that there is not a single American cul-
because they left existing social and cultural arrange-
ture but numerous cultures competing, intermingling,
ments intact, located the problem of low achievement
and informing one another. And in each culture, or
in the student’s home culture, and seemed to point the
subculture, ways of behaving and relating to others,
way toward a solution. If children were growing up with
ways of knowing, ways of thinking, modes of expres-
an inadequate grounding in the basics, society merely
sion, shades of meaning, icons and symbols, memories
needed to provide remedial education to older students
and history—the thousands upon thousands of subtle
and compensatory or preventive schooling for young chil-
associations on which a cultural system is built—are
dren. Programs such as Project Head Start were designed
different. What was needed, some scholars argued, was
to equip minority and poor children from low-income
a theory to help investigate the relationships among
backgrounds with the same abilities and knowledge
these several cultures in order to understand social,
that their better-off peers had.
economic, and political patterns of dominance and
These programs did show results. Follow-up on
subordination.
Project Head Start and similar programs revealed posi-
tive effects for children on standardized tests, dropout
Critical Theory
rates, and so forth. But despite these encouraging results
in the area of schooling, inequalities persist. One major
Liberal theories are characterized by the tendency to take
problem is the fact that cultural deficit theory takes for
for granted the existing social, economic, and political
granted the legitimacy of the dominant culture and does
organization that has come down from classical and
not call into question its privileged status as the cultural
Enlightenment conceptions of humanity and society
norm. Since children from minority cultures are tested
(see Chapter 2). In the two liberal social theories we have
and evaluated using the language and social knowledge
examined so far, middle-class, Anglo-American, Protes-
of the dominant culture, they are operating at an obvi-
tant culture serves as the conceptual frame of reference
ous disadvantage. Standardized testing procedures do
from which all other groups are considered. This cultural
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 404
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 405
Cultural deficit theorists view bilingual education as an attempt to overcome
cultural “deficiencies,” while cultural difference theorists view it as the school’s attempt to help students from different but equal cultures adapt to the mainstream culture.
hegemony has been allowed to happen, critics charge,
Although the authority of the school probably will pre-
because the dominant social group has accumulated
vail in a situation like this, there is clearly a problem here
sufficient power to make its standards prevail.
that cannot be resolved merely by recourse to hierarchical
Whereas liberal theories derive from the entrenched
superiority .
position of the dominant culture, critical theory is
Critical theory asks that we look not so much at the
characterized by a willingness to call into question the
child or at the school, both of which function well in
whole social order and to place the concept of power
certain contexts, but at the relationship between the
relations at the center in discussing a problem. In the
child and the school as the primary unit of analysis.
critical theories we are about to examine, the point of
Specifically, critical theory looks at the power relation-
view of each party or group involved is legitimated
ship between the child’s culture and the culture of the
and their relationships are considered. Critical theories
school in an effort to assess conflicts. Instead of assum-
rely on multiple frames of reference, as the following
ing the greater legitimacy of one culture over another,
examples illustrate.
it asks, What is the power relationship among these
If a child from a minority family is having trouble
cultures? When a conflict between child and school is
in school, the quality of any assessment of the conflict
identified, it is therefore treated not as a problem resid-
depends greatly on what is taken for granted. School
ing in the student but as a mismatch between the cul-
authorities may point to the child as the source of the
ture of the student and the culture of the school, in
problem. The child acts bored, seems uncommitted,
which the school represents the power of the dominant
uninterested; the child fantasizes, skips school, gets
culture and the child’s culture is relatively powerless in
into fights. Since Anglo children do well at the same
this context. A search for solutions to these mismatches
school, how can the problem lie with the school? School
is then conducted in such a way that both the needs
officials blame the child. Yet the parents know that the
of the student and the legitimate interests of the larger
child does well at home, relates appropriately to family
society are respected.16
and peers, and is curious and generally cheerful. So how
can the problem lie with the child? The parents suspect
Cultural Difference Theory Perhaps nothing has
the school of discriminatory practices toward the child.
so clarified the inadequacy of traditional social science
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 405
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
406
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
scholarship as the advance of minority interests in this
Also, the Indian worldview does not separate mind and
century. As minority groups have gained power, their
body as Western civilizations have done since the time
self-assertion has compelled the dominant culture to
of Plato. Indians cherish a tribal life quite different from
recognize alternative frames of reference. The histori-
the acquisitive, self-assertive materialism of cosmopoli-
cal bondage to a single, monolithic cultural perspective
tan Westerners, who have largely tried to subdue nature
runs counter to the dimension of the classical liberal
rather than live in harmony with it.
view of education that values understanding and adap-
Learning styles also differ between Anglo and Indian
tation of multiple perspectives as the key to a fuller
cultures. Whereas White children are accustomed to
and more mature intellect. And it cherishes a diverse
trying things, to learning new tasks by trial and error,
and many-sided understanding of perennial issues as
Indian children are often taught to learn by observation.
the key to human liberty. But modern liberalism has
They are taught not to make mistakes but to acquire
privileged another strain of classical liberalism in which
new skills by watching them being performed.17 In
the cultural products of classical societies have become
school, Native American students resist being pushed
canonized as “culture.”
into public learning tasks they have not yet mastered.
The transition from cultural deficit theories to cul-
Interpreted through Anglo criteria, the hesitant Indian
tural difference theories marks a significant passage
youth seems to lack initiative.
in the social sciences. It represents a transition from a
There are other differences between Anglo culture
fixed frame of reference to multiple frames of reference.
and Indian culture: the interpretation of history, for
Anthropologists and linguists, disgraced by their willing
example, and the criteria for what constitutes excellence
endorsement of imperialism, nationalism, and cultural
in art, literature, and music. And there are extreme
jingoism leading up to the world wars, have acquired a
differences in how best to interpret and understand
respect for human culture in all its splendid variety. This
nature, human society, and the relation of humanity
view allows for a richer, more appreciative sense of the
to nature. American Indians have never fully accepted
human cultural panorama. Other social scientists have
the notion that the land can be parceled out and sold
followed suit.
to the highest bidder. European science and technol-
Cultural difference theory, then, respects the variety
ogy, for all its pragmatic success, has had a devastat-
of human cultures and assesses the relationships among
ing impact on cultures around the globe through the
various cultural groups. Within education, one of
imperialism, cultural hegemony, and environmental
the first tasks of cultural difference theory has been
damage it has produced. American Indians have good
to investigate how the experience of schooling differs
reasons not to be enamored of the consequences.
for children who grow up in different cultural set-
The Native American example is simply an illustra-
tings. In the past, educators and others have tended
tion. Other cultural groups, too, differ in important
to undervalue the fact that children generally do well
ways from the dominant group. Traditional definitions
when schooled and evaluated within their own culture.
of culture have centered on the formal expressions of a
It is when children of one culture are schooled by the
people’s common existence—language, art, music, and
institutions of another that cultural mismatches result.
so forth. If culture is more broadly defined to include
This is what happens to countless minority children in
such things as ways of knowing, ways of relating to
American society.
others, ways of negotiating rights and privileges, and
Cultural mismatches can occur with respect to
modes of conduct, thought, and expression, the term
subject matter, learning styles, ways of knowing and
culture applies not only to ethnic groups but to people
demonstrating knowledge, attitudes toward authority,
grouped on the basis of gender and social class. Gender
modes of behavior, and socialization patterns, among
identity, then, entails cultural as well as physiological
other factors. For example, Native Americans, who as
dimensions. And class is characterized by differences
scholars have mastered the dominant culture in addition
of culture as well as differences of socioeconomic
to their own, point to many discontinuities between
status. By expanding the idea of culture to include
the Indian culture and the dominant Anglo culture of
gender and social class distinctions along with race and
the United States. For the most part, Indians are not
ethnicity, we can analyze how different groups experi-
a competitive people in the ways that the larger society
ence the world and express themselves and how pat-
sanctions. Tribal life tends to encourage social cohesion
terns of dominance and subordination arise between
and cooperation rather than competitive individualism.
groups.
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 406
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 407
That schools participate in the subordination of cer-
or castelike backgrounds.18 Autonomous minorities,
tain social groups is something scholars have resisted
such as the Amish, Jews, and Mormons, differ from
examining. The traditional view has held that schools
African Americans and American Indians, for example,
are neutral places where common learning experiences
in their histories: The former groups came to North
prepare everyone equally well for life in an equitable
America voluntarily and were able to control some of
society. However, critical and radical scholarship of
the terms of their relationship to the dominant culture.
recent decades shows how schools serve as instruments
Blacks and Indians, however, were enslaved and/or
of social policy in which the interests of the dominant
murdered, and those historical legacies remain.
group are served at the expense of other groups.
Voluntary immigrant minorities, such as the Irish
Mechanisms of subordination do not depend on
and the Germans, also have very different historical
physical duress. Far more effective is the subtle yet sys-
circumstances from people of color.
tematic reduction of self-confidence—the crippling
Finally, castelike minorities, writes Ogbu, are groups
of personal and group identity that this chapter
that have been relegated to a subordinate status by legal
describes. Castelike minority groups have regularly
and extralegal means. As in the traditional caste system of
and deliberately resisted assimilation for the express
India, the rules of structured inequality are well defined
reason that it would destroy the last vestiges of their
and fairly rigid. African Americans, Mexican Americans,
group identity and solidarity. And the schools, when
Native Americans, and Puerto Ricans are cited as exam-
faced with such resistance, have tended toward pun-
ples of castelike minority groups that experience forms
ishment and the withholding of opportunities for
of institutional racism and bias not generally directed at
status and mobility. Failure to conform to Anglo
other minority groups.19
standards of culture and civility is treated as evidence
of an inferior intellect. Our current task, then, is to
Cultural Subordination Theory Cultural subor-
assess how cultural differences become the basis of
dination theory (the last of the theories summarized in
cultural subordination.
Exhibit 13.1) examines the social processes that lead to
A common retort is, “If the Irish made it, the Germans
lower status for minority groups. It also examines the
made it, and the Asians are making it, then why can’t
inequalities that appear to be structured into the social
the African Americans, why can’t the Indians, and why
system. Subordination theory followed difference theory
can’t the Mexicans and Puerto Ricans?” The answer is
when scholars finally realized that discrimination was
that many of them are making it, but for those who
not an accidental or inevitable consequence of cultural
are not, it is necessary to recognize that group status
differences. Cultural subordination theory has applica-
depends on historical circumstances. John Ogbu sug-
tion not only to relations between dominant and subor-
gests differentiating among minorities according to
dinate racial and ethnic groups but to gender relations
whether they have autonomous, voluntary immigrant,
and social class relations as well.
Exhibit 13.1 Summary of Differences between Various Theories of Inequality
Genetic Inferiority
Cultural Deficit
Cultural Subordination
Causes of inequality
Inherited
The inferior cultural background
Power differences embedded in
of the poor and the superior
the socioeconomic structure
cultural background of the rich
between the rich and the poor
Remedy
None
Force poor to acculturate to the
Change power relationships in
culture of the advantaged class
the socioeconomic structure
Implications for
Track the poor into
Compensatory classes to
Critical teaching about power
schooling
less rigorous or
eliminate the cultural
relationships to arm the poor
vocational programs
commitments of the poor and
to demand changes and
provide them with superior
inform the rich that some of
culture of the advantaged
their advantages are socially
class; tracking
derived and not personal traits
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 407
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
408
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
To see what role schools might play in perpetuat-
If the schools Anyon describes are representative, it
ing social inequalities, Jean Anyon studied five modern
must be conceded that the processes and outcomes of
elementary schools in New Jersey. In the study, schools
schooling are not the same for all children in American
serving working-class children were found to be relatively
society. Far from serving as the great equalizer in our
indifferent to academic content beyond “the basics.”
society, the schools tend to prepare students for destinies
Teachers rated their students as “lazy” and as not know-
that generally correspond to their social class background.
ing anything. Instruction was by rote and repetition,
Nor is it any secret how this occurs.
intended to inculcate basic facts and procedures. Teach-
In modern public schools, selection into a given track
ers insisted that students follow set ways of doing things.
starts as early as the first grade, when assignments are
Upon interviewing students, Anyon concluded that most
made to reading groups.23 Longitudinal studies show
had not developed a very clear sense of how knowledge
very little movement up or down once a student has
is created. When asked where knowledge came from,
been assigned to an ability group. But on what basis is
they said it came from “books,” “the dictionary,” even
this initial selection made? The Coleman Report (1966)
“The Board of Ed.”20 Anyon documented how students
showed a high correlation between “achievement” and
resisted and sabotaged teachers’ efforts and, in turn, how
social class. It also showed that this correlation was not
teachers resented students.
significantly affected by elementary education.24
Anyon then investigated conditions in a school serv-
Modern schooling includes testing, tracking, and
ing “middle class” students, a school serving the chil-
counseling children into separate destinies. Ability
dren of “affluent professionals,” and finally a school
grouping has been criticized as undemocratic because
in which the children’s parents were described as the
it tends to restrict the entry of many students into
“executive elite.” Throughout this progression up
opportunities for stimulating higher-order thinking
the socioeconomic ladder, the quality of education
and perpetuates the social class structure of the larger
improves and the nature of instruction changes. The
society. John Duffy cites research showing “the numer-
teachers no longer emphasize “the basics” but concen-
ous advantages for the academic, personal and social
trate on helping students develop advanced intellectual
development of all students when they learn in coop-
skills. “My goal is to have the children learn from expe-
erative, heterogeneous settings as opposed to homoge-
rience. I want them to think for themselves,” said one
neous, competitive settings.”25
teacher from the affluent professional school.21 In such
Boards of education, school administrations, and
schools, students are urged to make decisions, to think
teaching staffs are all composed primarily of White,
things through, to take risks and test hypotheses. Indi-
middle
-class professionals with a heavy ideological
vidualism is emphasized, and students understand that
commitment to the status quo. By the year 2000 minor-
knowledge is something people construct from their
ity enrollments in public schools reached 40 percent,
interaction with the world. They have a good sense of
yet the percentage of minority college students prepar-
how science operates.
ing for roles in education has actually declined in the
Finally, in the “executive elite” school, teachers
last 10 years.26 This cultural imbalance between teach-
frankly confessed that these children of privilege would
ers and students probably will further perpetuate the
“go to the best schools, and we have to prepare them.”
status quo.
High expectations have been set by parents who are
The curriculum also reflects a largely White, male,
accustomed to having their phone calls answered and
middle-class worldview. It emphasizes mathematics and
their instructions followed. These are educated par-
science and favors intellectual skills and knowledge over
ents who know how to demand an education for their
social skills. The literature studied sends a message to
children. Students in such a school might be asked to
minority children that culture is a largely European attain-
debate whether the Athenians were wrong in condemn-
ment. The civics, history, and sociology studied tend to
ing Socrates for his beliefs.22 They have a conservative
vindicate the European experience while devaluing the
view of knowledge and see it as a store of traditional
experience of African Americans, Native Americans,
information that must be mastered. However, most
women, Asians, and Latinos.
also understand that the knower plays a significant role
The structural arrangements of schools and class-
in knowing. These students are competitive, confident,
rooms can also affect how students fare. Large classes
and relatively sophisticated in their mastery of the
may favor socially assertive people. Female and Native
school environment.
American students may, more frequently than their
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 408
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 409
classmates, find a competitive, urgent, and noisy class-
Some African American students, too, exhibit resis-
room climate uncongenial. And the minority student
tance strategies. Cooperation with the schools means
sitting among self-confident members of the dominant
capitulation to an alien culture that has long held African
group may feel continuously threatened by the lack of
Americans in bondage. To take on the cultural attributes
reinforcement for his or her own cultural background.
of White people is to enter into a client relation with the
The climate of learning is important because confidence
dominant culture, to engage in “Uncle Tomming.” But
is so necessary to a person’s growth and yet so fragile
that is exactly what is required in order to succeed. And
during the years of childhood and adolescence. As Jane
so young African Americans, caught between cultures,
Elliott’s Discrimination Day exercise demonstrated to
tend to drop out of school at disproportionate rates and
dozens of well-off students, it takes very little to shatter
to engage in otherwise self-destructive patterns of resis-
that confidence and so turn a potential winner into a
tance. Students with lower socioeconomic backgrounds
second-class citizen.
also engage in resistance strategies. And when they do
so, an unsophisticated teaching staff can conclude that
they have no interest and no talent for learning.
To better understand how cultural differences can set
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#2
up patterns of interference with learning, let us examine
While there is a clear contrast between cultural deficit
a topic that has received a great deal of attention in recent
theory and cultural difference theory, cultural subordi-
decades: the English dialect characteristic of inner-city
nation theory is presented as flowing conceptually from
African American children. The misunderstandings on
cultural difference theory. What are the conceptual con-
this topic run deep, and the consequences are severe
nections between the latter two theories, in your view,
when a teacher misinterprets why the language of Afri-
and what difference might these connections make to
can American children differs from that of the domi-
a classroom teacher?
nant culture. The study of African American English is
representative of cultural differences in general and of
the consequences that occur when subordinate cultural
patterns conflict with those of the dominant group. Let
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#3
us look first at the basic ideas that most linguists who
A basic assumption underlying American schooling
have studied this problem generally agree on.27
has been that students’ success in school and in
First, all of the thousands of languages and dialects
economic life is based on their learning abilities and
that currently exist are capable of supporting complex
attitudes in an equitable educational system. Critically
cognitive processes, and all can adequately express
analyze this assumption.
human problems, dreams, and scientific, aesthetic, his-
torical, philosophical, and religious impulses. All these
languages can and do generate or borrow new words to
express new ideas or relationships. All have a complex
Resistance Theory One corollary to cultural sub-
grammatical structure. In short, it is not true that one
ordination theory is resistance theory. Researchers
of these languages or dialects is superior or inferior as a
have found that students experiencing discriminatory
means of communication within a culture. “Cockney”
practices soon retreat into a posture of resistance in
is as good as BBC English, African American vernacular
which they stop working with the school and its agents.
is as good as standard American speech, and Spanish is
Adolescent girls, for example, have been found to act
as good as French, English, or German.
dumb, curtail their efforts, and refrain from demon-
Second, the prestige attached to a language or dialect
strating intellectual prowess because of social pressure
depends not on its intrinsic linguistic characteristics but
and the assumption that as females, they will even-
on the economic and military power of the group that
tually assume a role subordinate to males in society.
uses it as a primary language. Thus, English is granted
Although this is less true of upper- and middle-class
higher value than French in Canada. Sometimes a ruling
girls, some female high school valedictorians lose con-
class will decree its language as the official language of
fidence when they get into college. This rarely happens
the state in order to entrench its own power while mak-
to male valedictorians, however, since society expects
ing access more difficult for those speaking other lan-
them to continue doing well.
guages. For example, after the Norman conquest, French
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 409
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
410
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
became the official language of England. In Greece the
A Useful Digression: Bilingual
ruling class even created an artificial language to exclude
and ESL Instruction as Bridges
lower-class individuals, who could not afford tutors,
to English Proficiency
from full participation in the civil process.
Third, all people, including children, learn better if
Language and culture are intertwined in complex
they can better comprehend the language of instruction.
ways. Since the 1974 Lau v. Nichols decision, which
Thus, instruction in the mother tongue is most effective.
affirmed the right of language minority students to
It is necessary, however, for nonstandard speakers eventu-
receive instruction tailored to their needs, the United
ally to learn to negotiate the standard language if they wish
States has struggled with different approaches to sup-
to experience success where that language is dominant.
porting the academic success of limited English profi-
Fourth, not all nonstandard speakers have developed
cient (LEP) students, who are more likely to perform
their primary language to the same degree. Those who
poorly in school and to drop out of school than are
are less proficient in their own native language may need
English proficient students. LEP students are defined
ongoing work in that language in order to acquire the
by the 1978 Amendments to the Bilingual Education
new language. Thus, a bilingual program whose goal of
Act as “individuals who come from environments
a speedy transition to standard English leads to elimi-
where a language other than English is dominant”
nation of instruction in the primary tongue may be less
or “where a language other than English has had a
efficient with many students than a program in which
significant impact on their language proficiency” and
primary language instruction is continually developed.
who therefore “have sufficient difficulty speaking,
Fifth, the way a child’s primary language is valued,
reading, writing, or understanding the English lan-
especially by teachers and peers, strongly affects the stu-
guage to deny such individuals the opportunity to
dent’s self-concept. A positive self-concept is essential
learn successfully in classrooms where the language
for effective learning. Thus, when teachers continually
of instruction is English or to participate fully in our
tell students that the use of their primary language is
society.”28
wrong or incorrect, the effect is to diminish the stu-
Because these students are widely distributed
dents’ confidence as learners and potentially reduce
through out the nation, 42 percent of all public school
their ability to learn.
teachers have at least one LEP student in their classes.
Sixth, every language has a variety of linguistic styles.
Only 7 percent of these teachers have classes with over
For example, a professor’s standard English speech will
50 percent LEP students. Of all schools with LEP stu-
vary according to whether he or she is lecturing to a
dents, 76 percent provide programs in English as a
class, delivering a paper before professional colleagues, or
second language (ESL), while 36 percent offer bilin-
rehashing the “good old days” with high school friends. It
gual education programs.29 There are very different
is important to remember that a person’s total linguistic
approaches to instruction for LEP students. Because
capacity cannot be measured through a single linguistic
there are more than 10 times as many Spanish-speak-
environment. Unfortunately, we frequently make such
ing students in the United States as the next high-
linguistic generalizations about schoolchildren.
est language (French), Spanish-speaking students are
Seventh, a major cause of reading failure is the cultural
most likely to receive bilingual instruction (academic
conflict that occurs between standard-English-speaking
instruction in two languages, intended to progress
teachers and children from nonstandard language back-
to proficiency in English), though bilingual educa-
grounds. The problem is not the difference in cultural or
tion may be offered in other languages, too, when
linguistic values but the teacher’s ability to recognize and
the concentration of students is high enough (as it
address those differences.
is, for example, in a Polish neighborhood in Chi-
cago). Given the hundreds of thousands of students
who speak French, Chinese languages, Korean, Ara-
bic, Portuguese, German, Cambodian, Greek, Italian,
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#4
Yiddish, Farsi, Russian, and scores of other languages,
What sort of classroom practices might follow from
however, it is not possible to offer instruction to those
cultural subordination theory as opposed to cultural
students in their home language and in English, as
deficit theory? Explain.
bilingual programs do. Therefore, ESL programs are
offered so those students can spend concentrated
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 410
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 411
school time making a transition from their language
BEV: Language and
to English.
Cultural Subordination
What might be said at this point is that such pro-
grams have been devised for LEP students as a bridge
Although the Oakland board did not cite this passage
from where they are linguistically to where they need
from author James Baldwin in their policy, it offers a
to be to partake fully of the educational and economic
telling comment on the relations between language and
benefits of the dominant culture. It was apparently
culture. It was written 25 years ago in an essay titled “If
this kind of reasoning that led the Oakland, Califor-
Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me What
nia, School District to pass a new policy that stirred
Is?” Baldwin writes:
national controversy, although the basic idea was an
The brutal truth is that the bulk of the white people in
admirable one: that many African American students
America never had any interest in educating black people,
are entitled to a linguistic bridge from their Black
except as this could serve white purposes. It is not the
English Vernacular (BEV)—or “Ebonics,” as the
black child’s language that is despised. It is his experience.
Oakland Board of Education termed it (from ebony
A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him,
phonics)—to standard English. Unfortunately, the
and a child cannot afford to be fooled. A child cannot be
policy was unclear enough, and the public (includ-
taught by anyone whose demand, essentially, is that the
ing some African American leaders) hostile enough
child repudiate his experiences, and all that gives him sus-
to the policy, that a great national stir was created,
tenance, and enter a limbo in which he will no longer be
black, and in which he knows he can never become white.
obscuring some of the more interesting educational
Black people have lost too many black children that way.31
issues at stake for African American youth who speak
a nonstandard form of English .30 Eventually, the Oak-
Baldwin concludes that Black English, with its own
land board revised the policy to make clear that it was
cultural history and purposes unique to its origins in
not trying to teach Ebonics on an equal footing with
slavery, is clearly a language. This thought bears further
standard English but was trying to honor the rich-
examination.
ness of students’ language and culture as a foundation
One of the first difficulties an African American child
on which to build academic success, including profi-
(not all, but some) might encounter in public school is
ciency in standard English.
the well-meaning teacher who tries to correct his or her
Increasingly, it has become recognized that definitions of good teaching must
address teachers’ abilities to create successful learning environments for children of all ethnic backgrounds.
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 411
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
412
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
speech patterns. A child who says “They be mine” or “I
can make word problems difficult for some African
ain’t got none” is speaking a dialect of American English
American students, as well as LEP students, to under-
known as Black English Vernacular (BEV). Bolinger
stand and solve.35
and Sears explain:
At issue here is neither the presumed inadequacy of
African American intellects (genetic inferiority) nor the
According to one theory, the historical basis for Black
supposed inadequacy of African American culture as a
English is the African pidgin used in the slave trade,
preparation for school (cultural deprivation) but rather
the only language available to blacks sometimes thrown
a mismatch between African American culture and
together from different language backgrounds to keep
the dominant Anglo culture of America. Aware of the
them from communicating effectively with one another.
long history of racial antipathy, some African American
As with all pidgins . . . the nuisance irregularities of mor-
students may resist assimilationist policies designed to
phology were discarded and syntax was simplified. The
result was that as blacks gradually rebuilt a speech com-
“whiten them up” to Anglo standards. The teacher’s
munity in the lands to which they were transported, they
understanding of cultural differences largely determines
had to reconstitute the grammar, which retained certain
whether the uniqueness of African American culture
features of the pidgin even while it was being “relexified”
becomes a cause of celebration or a source of discrimina-
with words taken in constantly from the standard.32
tion. William Labov writes:
When the everyday language of black children is stigma-
The authors quote a passage from Fickett33 describ-
tized as “not a language at all” and “not possessing the
ing verb tenses in BEV: “I do see him.” “I did see him.”
means for logical thought,” the effect of such labelling is
“I done seen him.” “I been seen him.” These passages
repeated many times each day of the school year. Every time
lead progressively into the past tense. In the opposite
that a child uses a form of the BEV without the copula
direction, future tenses leading away from the present
or with negative concord, he will be labelling himself for
include these: “I’m a-do it.” “I’m a-gonna do it.” “I
the teacher’s benefit as “illogical,” as a “nonconceptual
gonna do it.”
thinker.” This notion gives teachers a ready-made, theo-
BEV systematically drops the copula (connective
retical basis for the prejudice they may already feel against
link) “to be” when it is actually superfluous in Standard
the lower-class black child and his language. When they
American English (SAE). “He going” instead of “He is
hear him say I don’t want none or They mine, they will be
going,” and “It mine” instead of “It is mine” lose noth-
hearing, through the bias provided by the verbal depriva-
tion theory, not an English dialect different from theirs,
ing in precision or meaning if the convention of usage
but the primitive mentality of the savage mind.36
is understood. Other examples of linguistic differences
include “I ask did he do it” in place of the “if ” construc-
Of course, it must be emphasized that the term Black
tion in SAE: “I asked if he did it.” The expression “John
English should not be taken to mean that all African
moves” in SAE becomes a double-subject “John, he
American children speak in that linguistic system. The
move” in BEV. Third-person possessives in BEV drop
language one speaks is not biologically determined but
the “s”: “John cousin” instead of “John’s cousin.” In
is a function of one’s cultural background. A great many
BEV the present tense of the verb “to be” is rendered
African Americans grow up in the dominant Anglo cul-
“be”: “He be here.” This is a durative (continuing) form
ture, speaking standard English. Millions of African
of the present tense to indicate ongoing action as distin-
American children, however, especially those from
guished from a fleeting condition in the present. Last
poorer families that tend to live in neighborhoods segre-
in this incomplete list of features is the use of negative
gated from White communities, speak a language differ-
concord (double negatives) such as “I don’t want none”
ent from that of the larger society and the school because
and “He ain’t got none.”34
that is the dominant language of their neighborhood and
Related to the linguistic issue are patterns of thought,
of their home. Theories of cultural subordination show
ways of knowing the world, that are embedded in the
that traits valued in the larger society are those that are
language of African American students. When these
also valued and rewarded in the schools. Cultural traits
ways of knowing and of expression encounter scho-
subjected to discrimination in the larger society become
lastic challenges phrased in standard English, patterns
the target of subordination in the schools. The question
of interferenc e can be set up that result in confusion
arises, then, of what to do with students whose cultural
and nonlearning. In mathematics classes, for example,
background is not legitimated by the dominant society
conflicting ways of employing English prepositions
in schools, business, and other institutions, though it
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 412
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 413
may be valued in such cultural forms as hip-hop and
instead to use these cultural resources as a bridge to the
rap music.
kinds of learning valued by the dominant culture.
Benign neglect is not the answer. Critical theorists point
out that when cultural differences are simply ignored or
Gender Theory: An Illustration
overlooked by well-meaning teachers, students suffer in
of Sensitivity to Differences
the long run because they wind up unequipped to func-
tion in the larger society. To leave students as they are is
Feminist theory has explored these three possibilities
not to empower them to function in the larger society.
with respect to gender issues. In the early phases of mod-
Characteristics of racial and ethnic minorities, females,
ern feminist thinking, scholars asked that girls not be
and people of lower socioeconomic backgrounds should
socialized differently from boys or treated in a different
not be subjected to patterns of censure. But if differences
manner. While this “gender-free” approach to education
are to be accepted and celebrated, new approaches to
overcame some of the grosser policies of sex discrimi-
education must be found.
nation, it did not serve to equalize educational results.
By ignoring gender-based differences in favor of gender
“neutrality,” teachers allowed those differences to create
a subtle form of social dominance as boys proved more
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#5
gregarious and forceful in their classroom tactics.
If you do not speak Spanish and therefore cannot offer
In the second phase of feminist theory, scholars
bilingual instruction, how can you best support the
recommended strategies to compensate or equalize
learning of children whose first language is Spanish
the effects of gender differences within the classroom
and who are limited in their English proficiency? How
as it was traditionally arranged. This “bias” approach
does this relate to the approach you will use with
proved less than satisfactory because it still retained a
speakers of English as a second language from other
male-oriented framework. It assumed that standards of
language backgrounds, such as those of Asia or East-
male performance should be the norm and that through
ern Europe? Finally, is any aspect of your approach rel-
active compensatory measures females could be brought
evant to supporting student learning for speakers of
into line with those standards.
Black English Vernacular? Explain your position on all
In a third phase of thinking, feminist scholars have
three issues.
begun to reconsider all the operational premises of educa-
tion and society. Instead of looking for ways to overcome
the differences between males and females, they have
begun a quest to ensure that these differences are recog-
nized, respected, and incorporated into the mainstream
Pedagogical Approaches
of American society and education.
to Pluralism
Current research is exploring the extent to which
female traits are grounded in socialization and the extent
There appear to be three general strategies for teachers
to which they are grounded in biology. The assessment
to use with respect to cultural and social group differ-
may never be completed because biology and environ-
ences. These terms are being used here in the broadest
ment interact in inseparable ways, and at present the
sense to include differences grounded in race and eth-
preference is to see biological determinism as a relatively
nicity, social class, and gender. The three approaches
weak component of genderization. What is significant
are to (1) ignore differences and to teach to a single
to the current discussion is not whether nature or nur-
standard, (2) seek to eliminate differences by having all
ture is most responsible for gender differences but how
students conform to a single standard, and (3) teach in
those differences are treated by society. When women
a manner sensitive to differences without being biased
are relegated to a subordinate status, traits of personality
by group differences, that is, without attributing char-
and intellect thought of as female also become deval-
acteristics to individuals by virtue of their membership
ued. In American society these traits include nurtur-
in groups. The first two ways tend to be a denial of dif-
ance, feeling, caring, empathy, social interest, and the
ferences or of the significance of differences. The third
capacity to cultivate meaningful and long-range social
approach, based on sensitivity toward differences, rejects
relationships. Education, designed initially to serve in
the stigma associated with such differences and chooses
the preparation of males, emphasizes qualities deemed
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 413
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
414
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
In a just society, race and culture would not serve as obstacles to school success.
essentially masculine: rationality, individualism, detach-
“Care, concern, connectedness, nurturance: these are as
ment, commercial productivity, competitiveness, and
important for carrying on society’s economic, political,
aggressiveness.
and social processes as its reproductive ones. If educa-
Jane Roland Martin has pointed out that traditional
tion is to help all of us acquire them, the ideal of the
theories of education often took no account of gender
educated person and the theory of liberal education . . .
and seldom even mentioned females.37 When females
must be redefined.”38
were mentioned, as in Rousseau’s Émile, the objec-
Martin’s call for gender-sensitive education has a
tive was to cultivate a companion for the male, not an
great deal in common with the general pluralistic trend
interesting, autonomous being. Or in the case of Plato’s
currently emerging in educational theory and practice.
Republic, women were trained as if they were men, with-
This trend does not assume that all performance dif-
out recognition of gender differences. Martin describes
ferences in schools are due to gender, ethnic, or social
the traditional American education as one based on
class differences. Rather, it recognizes that group dif-
attri butes generally associated with males and devoted
ferences often can be important in explaining the rela-
primarily to the “productive” aspects of society: aspects
tive performance of individuals and that teachers can
valued for their production of material well-being. She
teach more effectively if they are sensitive to such cul-
urges adaptation of a “gender-sensitive” approach that
tural origins of individual performance. Sophisticated
gives equal value to such “reproductive” virtues as caring
classroom approaches to cultural pluralism, which
and nurturance and intimate social connections and in
include consideration of gender and social class, may
the process helps reconstruct society along more coop-
well become the next major educational reform, one in
erative and humane lines.
which teachers will be asked to teach in a way that is
A gender-sensitive approach to education requires
“culturally responsive” or “culturally relevant” to their
that schooling be conducted so that traits deemed to
students’ diversity (see Exhibit 13.2). Gordon Berry
be feminine are not stigmatized but are recognized,
has suggested that “the secondary school pupil has a
respected, and cultivated by everyone. In this broadened
moral responsibility to learn, understand, and respect
view, with both men and women freed from gender ste-
values inherent in other races and religions, and to
reotypes, everyone stands a better chance of developing
practice behaviors that will ensure dignity and civil
in accordance with his or her unique nature rather than
rights to males and females of cultural groups different
in accordance with restrictive stereotypes. Martin writes:
from [his or her] own.”39
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 414
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 415
Exhibit 13.2 Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
Culturally relevant pedagogy is an approach to teaching and learning that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes (Ladson-Billings, 1994). Unlike sociolinguistically grounded approaches such as culturally appropriate (Au & Jordon, 1981), culturally congruent (Mohatt & Erickson, 1981), and culturally responsive (Cazden & Leggett, 1981; Erickson & Mohatt, 1982), the cultural referents in this pedagogical perspective are not merely vehicles for bridging or explaining the dominant culture; they are aspects of the curriculum in their own right.
Three dimensions of culturally relevant pedagogy are its emphases on academic achievement, maintaining and supporting cultural competence, and engendering a sense of sociopolitical critique.
Teachers who might be regarded as culturally relevant educators demonstrate broad pedagogical understandings in three areas: conceptions of themselves and others, conceptions of social relations, and conceptions of knowledge. In their conceptions of themselves and others culturally relevant teachers.
• Believe that all students are capable of academic success,
• See their pedagogy as art—unpredictable and always in the process of becoming,
• See themselves as members of the community,
• See teaching as a way to give back to the community, and
• Believe in the Freirean notion of “teaching as mining” or pulling knowledge out, not putting it in.
In their conceptions of social relations, culturally relevant teachers
• Maintain fluid student-teacher relationships,
• Demonstrate a connectedness with all students,
• Develop a community of learners among students, and
• Encourage students to learn collaboratively and be responsible for each other.
In their conceptions of knowledge, culturally relevant teachers
• Understand that knowledge is not static—it is shared, recycled, and reconstructed,
• Understand that knowledge must be viewed critically,
• Recognize the need to be passionate about knowledge and learning,
• Scaffold or build bridges to facilitate learning, and
• Believe that assessment must be multifaceted, incorporating multiple forms of excellence.
Multicultural education must address issues of pedagogy. In addition to what we teach students, how we teach them is equally important. Culturally relevant pedagogy attempts to help teachers focus on the totality of the teaching–learning experience.
Rather than focus on fragmented pieces, culturally relevant teaching asks teachers to consider their underlying beliefs and ideologies as they attempt to teach all students successfully.
References
Au, K., and Jordan, C. (1981). Teaching Reading to Hawaiian Children: Finding a Culturally Appropriate Solution. In H. Trueba, G.
Guthrie, and K. Au (Eds.), Culture and the Bilingual Classroom: Studies in Classroom Ethnography (pp. 139–52). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Cazden, C., and Leggett, E. (1981). Culturally Responsive Education: Recommendations for Achieving Lau Remedies II. In H.
Trueba, G. Guthrie, and K. Au (Eds.), Culture and the Bilingual Classroom: Studies in Classroom Ethnography (pp. 69–86).
Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Erickson, F., and Mohatt, G. (1982). Cultural Organization and Participation Structures in Two Classrooms of Indian Students. In G. Spindler (Ed.), Doing the Ethnography of Schooling (pp. 131– 74). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers for African American Children. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Mohatt, G., and Erickson, F. (1981). Cultural Differences in Teaching Styles in an Odawa School: A Sociolinguistic Approach. In H. Trueba, G. Guthrie, and K. Au (Eds.), Culture and the Bilingual Classroom: Studies in Classroom Ethnography (pp. 105–19).
Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Vogt, L., Jordan, C., and Tharp, R. (1987). Explaining School Failure, Producing School Success: Two Cases. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 18, pp. 276–86.
Source: Carl A. Grant and Gloria Ladson-Billings, eds., Dictionary of Multicultural Education (Phoenix, AZ: Org Press, 1997), pp. 62–63.
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 415
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
416
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Multicultural Education
self-concepts .”42 These goals are to be met by teach-
and Democratic Pluralism
ing lessons about stereotyping and name-calling and
to counter such tendencies by teaching positive images
The convergence of these several concerns is made
of minority groups and teaching about individual dif-
explicit in a work by Christine Sleeter and Carl Grant40
ferences. This approach, designed to make people feel
that describes five approaches to achieving a pluralistic
good about themselves and each other, is criticized on
education. Sleeter and Grant’s categories recall the dis-
the grounds that the fundamental sources of discrimi-
tinction made between “assimilationist” and “pluralist”
nation and poverty which lead to feelings of inferior-
approaches to cultural differences described in connec-
ity do not reside in human relations but in institutional
tion with Native Americans in Chapter 7. Roughly
arrangements that promote inequality.
summarized, the assimilationist educational approach
seeks to obliterate cultural differences among minority
Single-Group Studies The goals of single-group
groups so that those groups will have the same cultural
studies are to foster social equality, acceptance, and
knowledge and values as the dominant culture. The
recognition of the identified group and to “promote
pluralist approach seeks ways to preserve and celebrate
willingness and knowledge among students to work
distinctive cultural heritages as valuable contributions to
toward social change that would benefit the identified
the vitality and diversity of the wider culture. Applying
group.”43 These goals would be addressed by teaching
that distinction to Sleeter and Grant’s five approaches
specific units about the identified group, including that
to multicultural education reveals some of them to be
group’s own perspective, how it has been victimized,
more assimilationist and others to be more pluralist in
and the issues it currently faces. Ethnic studies courses
orientation.
(women’s studies, Indian studies, African American
studies) are examples. This approach serves a purpose
but has limitations. It does not effectively alter the
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#6
main curriculum, which in the view of many crit-
ics only reinforces the very problems a multicultural
What do the authors mean by pluralism and demo-
education attempts to correct. The traditional curricu-
cratic pluralism? How is this relevant to classroom
lum derives from the experience of White, middle-class
practice?
males. Single -group studies convey a sort of add-on
approach that lacks incorporation or serious challenge
to the status quo.
Teaching the Exceptional and Culturally Different
In the teaching-the-exceptional approach, the goals
Multicultural Education The goals of multicul-
are to “fit people into the existing social structure and
tural education include promotion of “social structural
culture.” This is done by use of “bilingual education,
equality and cultural pluralism (the United States as a
ESL, remedial classes and special education, all of which
‘tossed salad’)” and promotion of “equal opportunity in
are seen as temporary and intensive aids to fill gaps in
the school, cultural pluralism and alternative life styles,
knowledge.” The general strategy is to create bridges
respect for those who differ, and support for power
between the student’s present knowledge and the tradi-
equity among groups.”44 Ideas and concepts should
tional curricular aims of the school. Because the student
be represented as the product of many peoples’ con-
must conform to the dominant culture, this approach
tributions, critical thinking and analysis of alternative
is favored mainly by “white, middle class teachers who
viewpoints should be taught, and instruction should be
take their own background and culture for granted and
allowed to proceed in more than one language. Some
are searching for a way to incorporate or deal with those
critics have argued that an emphasis on different cul-
they view as different.”41
tures soon decays into a sort of balkanization of culture
in which different groups are allowed to develop accord-
Human Relations In the human relations approach,
ing to their own ethos and as a result become further
the primary goals are to “promote feelings of unity,
disfranchised from participation in the main society.
tolerance, and acceptance within [the] existing social
Other critics have argued that in trying to teach a little
structure” and to “promote positive feelings among
about every special-interest group, no in-depth learning
students, reduce stereotyping, [and] promote students’
occurs. Advocates of a particular group are likely to feel
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 416
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 417
slighted when their group gets less attention than they
wealth, power, or happiness. But advocates believe that
feel it deserves.45 Finally, critics argue that merely teach-
it would be another form of elitism for a small group of
ing about diversity does little to empower change.
educators to tell other people what the “right” vision of
the better society is. Rather, young people—particularly
Education That Is Multicultural and Social
those who are members of oppressed groups—should
Reconstructionist Proponents of the reconstruc-
understand the nature of oppression in modern soci-
tionist approach desire an education that is multicul-
ety and develop the power and skills to articulate their
tural, but they also want it to equip students for life
own goals and vision and to work constructively to
“in the real world.” The real world, they argue, is not
achieve that.46
devoted to feel-good pedagogy and the benevolent com-
Advocates of multicultural and social reconstruc-
pensation of inequalities. Instead, the real world is fun-
tionist education argue for (1) practicing democracy,
damentally sexist, racist, and class-biased. In response
(2) analyzing the circumstances of one’s own life,
to this grim scenario, the goal of multiculturalism is
(3) developing social action skills, and (4) forming social
combined with the goal of social reconstructionism—a
coalitions across the boundaries of race, ethnicity, social
pedagogy that equips students not only to understand
class, and gender.
the world but to criticize it effectively and change it.
Practicing democracy entails a kind of active
Advocates of this approach do not loudly and clearly
engagement in the decisions that affect one’s own life.
articulate one particular vision of the ideal society. They
Unfortunately, schools often do not encourage such
begin by assuming that resources should be distributed
engagement. Relationships in schools are structured
much more equally than they are now and that people
hierarchically, and the traditional lecture format from
should not have to adhere to one model of what is con-
grade school to graduate school encourages passiv-
sidered “normal” or “right” to enjoy their fair share of
ity and boredom. Practicing democracy means taking
Historical Context
Diversity and Equity Today—Defining the Challenge
Chapter 13 is a companion chapter to Chapter 12. The two have identical timelines because they address the same basic social and educational inequities.
1960s
1960
Six years after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision against school segregation, the modern “sit-in”
movement begins when four Black students from North Carolina A&T College sit at a “Whites-only” Woolworth’s lunch counter and refuse to leave when denied service
1960
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which acknowledges the federal government’s responsibility in matters involving civil rights
1961
Michael Harrington publishes The Other America, revealing widespread poverty in the United States 1962
The All-African Organization of Women is founded to discuss the right to vote, activity in local and national governments, women in education, and medical services for women
1962
The Supreme Court orders the University of Mississippi to admit James H. Meredith; Ross Barnett, the governor of Mississippi, tries unsuccessfully to block Meredith’s admission
1963
More than 200,000 marchers from all over the United States stage the largest protest demonstration in the history of Washington, DC; the “March on Washington” procession moves from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial; Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech 1963
Medgar Evers, field secretary for the NAACP, is killed outside his home in Jackson, Mississippi 1964
Civil Rights Act passes Congress, guaranteeing equal voting rights to African Americans 1964
Head Start, U.S. educational program for low-income preschool children, is established 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed
1965
United Farm Workers strike
1966
The Medicare Act, Housing Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a new immigration act, and voting-rights legislation are enacted
1966
Black Panther party founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 417
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
418
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
1968
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy are assassinated
1968
Bilingual Education Act passed
1968
American Indian Movement (AIM) launched
1968
Alicia Escalante forms East Los Angeles Welfare Rights Organization, the first Chicano welfare rights group 1969
The Stonewall rebellion in New York City marks the beginning of the gay rights movement 1970s
1971
Busing to achieve racially balanced schools is upheld by the Supreme Court
1972
Title IX Educational Amendment passed, outlawing sex discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal financial assistance
1973
Native Americans defy federal authority at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
1975
Congress passes Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142)
1978
In University of California v. Bakke, the Supreme Court disallows a quota system in university admissions but gives limited approval to affirmative action plans
1980s
1980
One million African American students enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States 1980
Ronald Reagan is elected president, promising to reverse the “liberal trends in government”
1982
Equal Rights Amendment fails to win state ratification
1984
Reverend Jesse Jackson becomes first African American to challenge for major party nomination for president 1986
New Hampshire teacher Christa McAulliffe killed along with six astronauts when space shuttle Challenger explodes on national TV
1990s
1991
Unemployment rate rises to highest level in a decade
1992
Americans with Disabilities Act, the most sweeping antidiscrimination legislation since the Civil Rights Act of 1964, guarantees equal access for people with disabilities
1993
Pentagon rules “don’t ask, don’t tell”: gays and lesbians may serve in military but may not proclaim or openly practice their sexual orientation
1994
Number of prisoners in state and federal prisons tops 1 million, giving United States the highest incarceration rate in the world
1995
Supreme Court rules against any affirmative action program that is not “narrowly tailored” to accomplish a “compelling government interest”
1996
Census Bureau reports that the gap between the richest 20 percent of Americans and everyone else reached postwar high
1996
Clinton signs welfare reform legislation, ending more than 60 years of federal cash assistance to the poor and replacing it with block grants to states to administer
1996
Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act, denying federal recognition to same-sex marriages 2000s
2001
Days after taking office, President Bush announces intent to pass No Child Left Behind law; enacted in January 2002, the bipartisan law reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and seeks to raise accountability of local school systems for educating all students
2003
The Supreme Court backs affirmative action in a case involving admissions at the University of Michigan; in a separate decision, a 6–3 vote overrules a Texas sodomy law, legalizing gay conduct
2003
President Bush addresses the nation to request $87 billion for reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, on top of the $79
billion already spent
2006
The U.S. Census Bureau releases data on the most comprehensive survey of immigration in the United States ever performed; the number of immigrants living in American households rose 16 percent in five years, fueled largely by recent arrivals from Mexico, and dispersing to areas across the United States other than traditional centers of immigration
2008
In U.S. presidential primary elections, the last two candidates vying for the Democratic party nomination, for the first time in history, are an African American man (Barack Obama) and a woman (Hillary Clinton); another prominent Democratic contender was former governor Bill Richardson, a Latino; this is hailed as evidence of dramatic progress for women and for minority populations in the United States, but candidates and commentators observe that the campaign repeatedly surfaces issues of race and gender discrimination in the country
Thinking Analytically about the Timeline
What confidence do you have that the conditions of schooling are likely to improve for those portions of our population who are least well served by schools? Why?
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 418
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 419
active command of one’s own life and education,
From the far left came calls for violent overthrow
“learning to articulate one’s interests, openly debate
of the corporate capitalist state. Although revolutions
issues with one’s peers, organize and work collectively
are messy and the results are seldom gratifying, there
with others, acquire power, exercise power, and so
are good moral and ethical as well as social reasons to
forth.”47
work for a more equitable society. Even for individuals
Analyzing the circumstances of one’s own life means
whose relative prosperity is guaranteed by current social
learning to see reality as it is, stripped of the myths that
arrangements, there are good reasons to want to see
often mask it. Students have to unravel the discrepancies
changes made. Moreover, there are strategies that each
between their commonsense understanding of the world
teacher can employ to promote equity without wait-
and the ideological explanations they have internalized as
ing until someone organizes the revolution. This brings
truth. Brazilian educator Paulo Freire has long used this
us to the language of possibility. What can be done to
approach.
provide educational success for those population groups
Developing social action skills is a goal incorporated
that have succeeded least in our schools?
by critical theorists as they watched the repeated fail-
Many critical theorists now view gradual and local-
ure of earlier protest movements and individual forms
ized change as the most reasonable goal, especially
of resistance that often proved self-destructive. Stanley
for educators, who are among educated society’s least
Aronowitz and Henry Giroux, for example, argued that
empowered people. There are discernible practices
“if students are to be empowered by school experiences,
that work both to educate students and to empower
one of the key elements of their education must be that
teachers.
they acquire mastery of language as well as the capacity
For example, math educator Uri Treisman suc-
to think conceptually and critically.”48
ceeded in turning around the dismal failure rate of
Forming social coalitions requires that relatively
minority students entering freshman calculus courses
disempowered social groups, whether defined by race,
at the University of California at Berkeley, where the
ethnicity, gender, income, or another shared character-
“minority” population now accounts for two-thirds
istic, must seek collective influence by working together
of the total enrollment. The mathematics workshop
toward common goals. The question arises, How might
Treisman established cut the dropout rate among Afri-
schools provide experiences that would help prepare
can Americans and Hispanics in calculus classes from
students for such coalition building?
60 to 4 percent, an achievement that has been sus-
tained for several years.49 The goal was accomplished
Programs That Work
not by babying students but by challenging them, not
by driving them to compete harder but by structur-
The view that schools operate as autonomous centers
ing effective group study sessions that resulted in a
of learning, independent of environing cultural condi-
professional community of devoted young scholars.
tions, has proved to be dangerously naive. Schools are
Treisman began by studying the success patterns of
institutions embedded in the elaborate context of a soci-
another minority group, Asian Americans, who were
ety’s social, economic, and political structures. What is
excelling in calculus. What Treisman found was that
taught in the schools of any given society and how it is
Asian students had set up a support network. They
taught depends on the values and views of that society’s
studied together, helped one another, and maintained
dominant social group—including that society’s values
a dialogue by which conceptual understanding was
concerning cultural diversity.
constantly monitored and corrected. African Ameri-
Social relations in the larger society tend to be repli-
can students, by contrast, were accustomed to a sort
cated in the schools. For teachers concerned with the fate
of rugged individualism. They socialized together but
of disenfranchised children and generally with the future
studied alone and seldom asked for help or acknowl-
of democracy, the outlook can be discouraging. In the
edged difficulties. This independent approach had
1960s the language of critique ripened into a language of
stood them in good stead in high school, where peer
anger and despair as social critics began to understand the
influences often were resisted in favor of individual
extent to which power and cunning have contributed to
academic success.
social inequalities. These critics lost faith in the axioms
Treisman set up a workshop in which African
that society is fair and that the underprivileged are deserv-
American students were invited to study together. A
ing of their fate.
math department staff member was on hand during
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 419
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
420
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
study sessions to lend support. The workshop was
League schools, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, and
neither billed nor run as a remedial program for los-
Columbia.52
ers but as a professional support group, an honor
These few examples reflect some of the principles of
society having high expectations. Study became a
a multicultural, reconstructionist education described
social activity, an accepted and ongoing part of these
in the following passage by Sleeter and Grant, leaders
students’ lives.
in the research on cultural pluralism. They call for an
The success of Treisman’s approach has been repli-
educational approach
cated at several universities, including the University of
that advocates making the school and classroom reflect
Illinois by Merit Workshop Program director Paul
and celebrate diversity. [The] curriculum, including
McCreary. Minority students in McCreary’s workshop
materials, visual displays, films, guest speakers, and
cut the rate of unsatisfactory performance from 44.5 to
content taught orally, should regularly represent experi-
23.8 percent, outscoring all other sections on the final
ences, perspectives, and contributions of diverse groups
exam. Again, this success has been sustained over each
and should do so in a conceptual rather than a frag-
semester of the workshop’s existence.
mented manner. This should be done all the time, in all
Public schools also may benefit from this sort of
subject areas. Nonsexist language should be used, and
bilingualism or multilingualism should be endorsed.
commitment to high standards and strategies that work.
The curriculum should be equally accessible to all stu-
An article in the Journal of Negro Education 50 describes
dent groups; grouping practices or teaching procedures
the success of a high school set up by the New York
that enable only certain groups of students access to
City public school system on the campus of the City
high-status knowledge or better teaching should be
College of New York. In a city where the dropout rate
avoided. Teachers should build on students’ learning
runs to 30.7 percent and where an estimated 60 percent
styles rather than assuming that all learn best in the
of African American students never finish high school,
same way, and they should maintain high expectations
the A. Phillip Randolph High School graduates all but
for all students. Cooperative learning should be used
1.8 percent and sees from 92 to 97 percent of its stu-
to develop skills and attitudes of cooperation. Sexist
dents accepted into four-year colleges. In this school 44
possessive behavior should be avoided, and teachers
percent of the students receive some form of public assis-
should develop positive self-concepts in all students.
Biased evaluation procedures should be avoided; evalu-
tance; 76 percent are African American, and 23 percent
ation should be used for improving instruction, not
are Hispanic.
for sorting and ranking students. Home/community-
The school succeeds in part because high standards
school relations should be developed, and parents
have been set, a clear sense of direction has been pro-
should be actively involved, particularly if they are
vided, curriculum development is ongoing, teachers are
lower-class and/or minority. Staffing patterns should
directly involved in all stages of planning, and parents,
reflect cultural diversity and offer a variety of role mod-
students, staff, and the community are all drawn into
els for males and females of different race and class
the process. Nationwide, these seem to be the charac-
backgrounds. Finally, extracurricular activities should
teristics of schools that work. The attitude of the Ran-
not perpetuate race and sex stereotypes.53
dolph School is that “every child can learn, must learn,
Such a vision may be rejected by some as utopian, but
and will learn.”51 The curriculum is rigorous. It empha-
there are too many instances to ignore in which Ameri-
sizes math and science as well as a mastery of written
can schools serve as successful environments for low-
English and speech. Students are required to devote 80
income
, African American, and Hispanic students.
hours to community service to instill values of civil and
The late educator Ron Edmonds reminded us that
social responsibility. Students undergo frequent test-
resistance to belief in the academic abilities of students
ing and evaluation to ascertain current academic lev-
from different cultural backgrounds lies more in preju-
els, ensuring correct placement in courses and upward
dice than in the students’ abilities to learn. Edmonds
movement when warranted. They are also coached in
wrote in 1979:
the skill of test taking so that they will score well on
the SAT. Because of concerted, well-managed effort
How many effective schools would you have to see to
by all involved, Randolph High School has placed in
be persuaded of the educability of poor children? If your
the top 5 percent of all secondary schools in the nation
answer is more than one, then I suspect that you have rea-
sons of your own for preferring to believe that basic pupil
and has sent over 45 percent of its students to Ivy
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 420
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 421
performance derives from family background instead of
alternative approaches designed to engage students in
the school’s response to family background.54
using higher-order thinking skills to make connections
Like critical theorists, gender theorists, and cultural
between academic learning and their life experiences.
pluralism theorists, Edmonds urged that the analysis
Specifically, teaching for meaning helps students make
focus not primarily on the characteristics of the stu-
greater meaning of their studies by maximizing the
dent, not primarily on the characteristics of the school,
following:
but on the interaction between the school and the
child. Only by examining such relationships can we
• First, where they [students] are actively engaged in
see how the school culture interacts with the culture
the attempt to make sense of things they experience
and characteristics of the child to support or discourage
in school, they are encouraged to be meaning makers.
learning and human development. Edmonds believes
• Second, they derive meaning from seeing the rela-
that students from all social groups are equally capable
tionship of parts to a whole, rather than being left
of learning and that the duty of the educator is to help
with only parts. Opportunities to connect one con-
create an environment that responds to each child’s
cept or one skill to another increase their conceptual
needs—needs that are importantly conditioned in
grasp of what they are doing, whether it involves
our culture by social variables such as race, ethnicity,
communication, problem solving, appreciation of
gender, and social class.
artwork, or carrying out projects.
It is important to observe that this discussion of
approaches that succeed with low-income and minority
• Third, they find meaning by connecting new learn-
students is not a discussion about self-esteem. Although
ing experiences to their existing body of knowledge,
strong self-esteem is valuable, it is not a substitute for
assumptions, and meanings, many of which are
learning. Educator Lilian Katz drew national media
rooted in their upbringing and cultural roots.57
attention in 1993 when she pointed out how many
This study by Knapp and his associates is particularly
educational programs were focusing on self-esteem as if
meaningful because of its scale; 140 classrooms were
good feelings were the same as good academic develop-
studied in diverse school settings in the West, the Mid-
ment.55 Then, in February 1997, an article written by
west, and the East. The findings remind us that the
AFT President Albert Shanker was published the day
intellectual capacities of low-income children demand
after his death making a similar argument in response to
our respect and our most challenging—not our most
a recent report suggesting that some students, teachers,
“dumbed down”—instructional strategies.
and the public are still being hoodwinked by a “self-
esteem movement” that substitutes big doses of praise
for effective instruction. Self-esteem should not be a
product of praise, he argued, but of the satisfaction that
comes with successful learning.56
Thinking Critically about the Issues
#7
A recent volume by Michael S. Knapp and associ-
ates presents a major nationwide research study of
What would be some examples of “teaching for
teachers who succeed with children in high-poverty
meaning” in the subject areas and grade levels in
classrooms. As you would expect, these classrooms are
which you hope to teach?
disproportionately populated by children of color.
Knapp et al. found that teachers who succeed in bring-
ing about measurably strong academic learning with
high-poverty children are those who do three things
well: maintain classroom order, respond effectively to
Diversity, Equity,
diverse cultural backgrounds, and teach for meaning.
By “teaching for meaning,” Knapp et al. mean that
and Special Education
teachers reject a traditional focus on student deficien-
cies and the traditional emphasis on learning discrete
In Chapter 12 we briefly visited the relationship
skills ordered from “basic” to “advanced.” Instead, they
between the growing number of students identified as
write, those who teach for meaning use a number of
“learning disabled” and the low academic performance
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 421
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
422
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
of students from low-income backgrounds. The spe-
as well as self-contained and resource classrooms in special,
cial education debates that have been ongoing at least
compensatory, remedial and gifted education—are organi-
since the 1960s have tried to address questions of
zational pathologies. . . . Students are subjected to—and
equity for special-needs students. The very act of label-
subjugated by—these practices because, given their struc-
ing students as “special needs” or “disabled” has itself
tural and cultural contingencies, traditional school organi-
zations cannot accommodate diversity and so must screen
raised equity issues. Recently, Thomas Skrtic argued
it out.60
that the educational and equity needs of students with
weak academic skills, many of whom are now labeled
Skrtic’s position is underscored by researchers Elizabeth
learning disabled, cannot be addressed without signifi-
Bondy and Dorene D. Ross, who wrote in 1998:
cant school reforms that place greater decision-mak-
ing power in the hands of well-trained and educated
The problem of overrepresentation of minority students
teachers.58
in special education programs was first called to the atten-
Multicultural education specialist James Banks has
tion of the educational community in 1968 . . . [and] this
offered a definition of multicultural education that
pattern has tenaciously persisted . . . , of all ethnic groups,
is intended to place questions of equity and school
black students, particularly black males, have the highest
reform at the heart of the meaning of multicultural
overrepresentation in special education placements.61
education:
This is not to say that students with carefully diag-
nosed emotional or physical disabilities should not
There is an emerging consensus among specialists that
multicultural education is a reform movement designed
receive special educational attention. Rather, it reminds
to bring about educational equity for all students, includ-
us of what Toch pointed out in Chapter 12: The labels
ing those from different races, ethnic groups, social classes,
on most students may say more about the system than
exceptionality, and sexual orientations.59
about the students. Skrtic reports that the leading spe-
cial education advocates of the Regular Education Ini-
Banks’s definition is intended to draw attention to his
tiative in special education all agree that “the EHA and
view that multicultural education is the most equitable
mainstreaming are fundamentally flawed, particularly for
way to address the educational needs of all students and
students who are classified as mildly to moderately hand-
that for schools to provide the necessary structure and
icapped (hereafter mildly handicapped); that is, students
resources to do so will require reforms in the way schools
classified as learning disabled, emotionally disturbed,
conduct their business. Banks’s definition draws atten-
and mentally retarded, who make up over two-thirds of
tion to another issue as well: There are many kinds of
the 4.5 million students served under the law.”62
student diversity, and it might serve students well if we
The challenge to the teacher, then, is to devise an
would resist partitioning off some kinds of differences as
environment that will support learning for students
“special” needs—especially when the educational needs
with very different skill levels and interests—so differ-
of most children identified as special are the same as the
ent that some of these students have been traditionally
needs of all children. Special educational programs, even
excluded from regular classrooms. Banks and other
under the Education for All Handicapped Students Act
multicultural education advocates believe that multi-
of 1975 and in the recent Regular Education Initiative,
cultural perspectives are a way to respond to the learn-
which is intended to improve on the negative conse-
ing needs of the widest array of students. This is easier
quences of that act, become another form of tracking.
said than done, however, when resources are limited. In
Skrtic writes, “The restructuring debate does not recog-
our Primary Source Reading, for example, we present
nize special education as a form of tracking.” However,
a discussion of the importance of culture “responsive
he continues:
to students’ race and ethnicities and incorporated into
curriculum and pedagogy.
Students whose needs fall on the margins or outside of
these standard programs must be either squeezed into them
Finally, it is important to emphasize the following.
or squeezed out of the classroom. Given the inevitability of
Upon completion of their teacher education programs,
human diversity, a professional bureaucracy can do noth-
teachers rarely have the professional maturity to meet
ing but create students who do not fit the system. In a pro-
the learning needs of students whose learning needs
fessional bureaucracy, all forms of tracking—curriculum
vary widely. Great teachers will attest to this. The
tracking and in-class ability grouping in general education,
development of such expertise requires time, a great
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 422
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 423
deal of further learning, and school organizations that
and the exclusion of African Americans from
support teacher learning and teacher problem solv-
schooling. Later, genetic inferiority theory was
ing. Therefore, all teachers who want their talents
used to justify the tracking of different groups
and commitments to have impact on their students
of students into different school experiences and
need to understand how crucial is the organization of
consequently different places in the socioeco-
the school.
nomic order.
As the explanation of differences in group per-
formance shifted from genetic deficit theory to
BUILDING A PHILOSOPHY
cultural deficit theory, a new way of blaming
OF EDUCATION
the victim was introduced. In this approach, the
problem of low school performance was attributed
Some schools and teachers have outstanding
no longer to the genetic inheritance of the indi-
academic success with low-income and minor-
vidual but to the individual’s home life or cultural
ity students, but most schools do not. What is the
inheritance. Such thinking led to efforts to place
difference?
low-achieving students into remedial programs
In contrast to Chapter 12, which described some
that would address their supposed cultural defi-
of the dimensions of inequality in contemporary
ciencies, protecting the assumption that the per-
schooling and society, Chapter 13 has focused on
formance problem lay with the student, not with
how teachers and schools can respond equitably
the school.
to differences among students. Jane Elliott’s class-
While a great many citizens, including educa-
room experiment with her elementary school stu-
tors, most likely still adhere to a cultural deficit
dents, first conducted over 30 years ago, reminds
explanation of group and individual differences
us that even children can understand that quali-
in school performance, recent years have seen
ties judged as inferior or superior among people
increased attention to cultural difference theory.
are not inherent and permanent but are socially
This approach portrays minority subcultures not
constructed. We see as well that whatever social
as deficient but instead as different from the
group is most powerful has the opportunity to
dominant school culture, leading to a mismatch
define superiority and inferiority in ways that are
that advantages students whose home lives most
advantageous to that group.
closely resemble the school cultural language,
How human differences are defined and val-
values, and nonverbal communications. Such
ued in our culture is deeply rooted in ideology.
thinking has led to a questioning of why some
Despite its history-changing positive emphasis
cultures’ practices are rewarded and honored in
on liberty and equality, the history of liberal ide-
the school environment while others’ are deval-
ology is marked by racist and sexist assumptions.
ued. The resulting explanation, which recognizes
These assumptions play a role in attempts to
that schools institutionalize the power and ideol-
explain why one group performs better or is more
ogy of the dominant social group, has led to a cul-
highly rewarded than another in schooling and
tural subordination theory. The example of Black
in society more generally. Efforts to understand
English Vernacular illustrates how a perfectly
these group differences often become theories
complete linguistic system can be devalued in the
of social and educational inequality. Differences
school culture and how that devaluing can play a
among these theories are extremely important
role in teachers’ expectations of student achieve-
because they have very different implications
ment, advantaging students whose primary lan-
for how to respond to differences among indi-
guage matches the school’s.
vidual students and among groups of students.
How to respond to such differences of language
For example, a theory of genetic inferiority was
and culture so that the needs of every child are
used in the pre–Civil War era to justify slavery
served? Is it sensible to assume that the learning
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 423
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
424
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
needs of all African American children are different
of multiculturalism, as this chapter has shown,
from their Hispanic and White non-Hispanic coun-
with perhaps the most promising one focusing on
terparts? Or that the learning needs of all boys
James Banks’s notion of educational equity for all
are different from the needs of all girls? To make
students. Such an approach honors the importance
such assumptions is to define individuals only
of group differences, including those identified as
according to group membership, which is clearly
physical and mental disabilities, and seeks a plural-
a bias to be avoided. Here the differences among
istic approach to teaching that benefits all students.
bias, neutrality, and sensitivity become important.
Chapter 12’s section on building a philosophy
Treating students neutrally, as if the differences
of education placed emphasis on the importance
between them did not exist, risks disadvantage to
of the teacher’s conviction that all children can
those students whose starting points lag behind,
learn. This section on building a philosophy
and so neutrality along lines of gender, ethnicity,
underscores another conviction: No teacher, espe-
or social class does not present a solution.
cially an early career teacher, knows all that he or
The stance of gender sensitivity, or ethnic sensi-
she needs to know about how to support the suc-
tivity, or class sensitivity, however, allows teach-
cessful learning of all children. The most success-
ers to keep before them the question, When is
ful teachers commit themselves to learning from
race or gender or class a relevant variable in this
and about their students and their cultures. They
student’s or group of students’ performance, and
commit also to learning from and about other
when is it not? When performance differences
teachers’ approaches and techniques, because
originate in group membership, as in the case of
the community of excellent teachers knows more
language or the different socialization of girls and
than any one of them. Finally, teachers who suc-
boys, a teacher’s response might well be different
ceed with all kinds of students learn from their
than it will be if the origins are idiosyncratic to
own practice by reflecting on what is working,
the child.
what needs changing, and why. The philosophy
To be sensitive to and to respect such differences
of education of the most effective teachers is thus
is a major component of a multicultural approach
a philosophy of learning as well as a philosophy
to teaching. There are several different varieties
of teaching.
Primary Source Reading
celebrates fundamental cultures offers full, equitable
access to education for students from all cultures.
Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy
that recognizes the importance of including students’
Teaching Diverse Learners
cultural references in all aspects of learning (Ladson-
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Billings, 1994).
Some of the characteristics of culturally responsive
Culture is central to learning. It plays a role not only in
teaching are:
communicating and receiving information, but also in
1. Positive perspectives on parents and families
shaping the thinking process of groups and individu-
2. Communication of high expectations
als. A pedagogy that acknowledges, responds to, and
3. Learning within the context of culture
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 424
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 425
4. Student-centered instruction
• Conduct home visits in which parents are able
5. Culturally mediated instruction
to speak freely about their expectations and
6. Reshaping the curriculum
concerns for their children
7. Teacher as facilitator
2. Keep parents apprised of services offered by the school
1. Positive Perspectives on Parents and Families
• Send weekly/monthly newsletters (in the home
Whether it’s an informal chat as the parent brings the
language) informing parents of school activities
child to school, or in phone conversation or home visits, or
• Conduct monthly meeting at parents’ homes or
through newsletters sent home, teachers can begin a dialogue
community centers to inform parents of school
with family members that can result in learning about each
of the families through genuine communication.
activities
—Sonia Nieto
• Host family nights at school to introduce par-
ents to concepts and ideas children are learning
WHAT
in their classes and to share interactive journals
Parents are the child’s first teacher and are critically impor-
tant partners to students and teachers. To help parents
3. Gain cross-cultural skills necessary for successful
become aware of how they can be effective partners in
exchange and collaboration
the education process, teachers should engage in dialogue
• Research the cultural background of students’
with parents as early as possible about parents’ hopes and
families
aspirations for their child, their sense of what the child
• Visit local community centers to find out about
needs, and suggestions about ways teachers can help.
the cultural activities and beliefs of the students
Teachers explain their own limitations and invite parents
• Tour students’ neighborhoods to identify local
to participate in their child’s education in specific ways.
resources and “funds of knowledge” (Moll et al.,
Parent involvement need not be just how parents can
1992)
participate in school functions. Oftentimes, religious and
cultural differences preclude active participation in school
activities. However, parental involvement also includes
2. Communication of High Expectations
how parents communicate high expectations, pride, and
When a teacher expresses sympathy over failure, lavishes
interest in their child’s academic life (Nieto, 1996).
praise for completing a simple task, or offers unsolicited
help, the teacher may send unintended messages of low
WHY
expectations.
Constant communication with parents is an important
—Kathleen Serverian-Wilmeth
aspect of a child’s educational progress. Involving par-
ents and families in their child’s educational process
WHAT
results in better scholastic achievement. When families
All students should receive the consistent message that
share their “funds of knowledge” with the school com-
they are expected to attain high standards in their school
munity, teachers get a better idea of their students’ back-
work. This message must be delivered by all that are
ground knowledge and abilities, and how they learn best
involved in students’ academic lives, that is: teachers,
(Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez, 1992).
guidance counselors, administrators, and other school
personnel. Teachers should understand students’ behav-
HOW
ior in light of the norms of the communities in which
they have grown. They should respect all students as
1. Seek to understand parents’ hopes, concerns and
learners with valuable knowledge and experience.
suggestions
• Conduct needs assessments and surveys (in the
WHY
parents’ first language) of what parents expect
Effective and consistent communication of high expec-
of the school community
tation helps students develop a healthy self-concept
• Establish parent-teacher organizations or
(Rist, 1970). It also provides the structure for intrinsic
committees to work collaboratively for the
motivation and fosters an environment in which the
benefit of the students
student can be successful.
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 425
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
426
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
HOW
• Assign independent work after students are
familiar with concept
1. Communicate clear expectations
• Use role-playing strategies
• Be specific in what you expect students to know
• Assign students research projects that focus
and be able to do
on issues or concepts that apply to their own
2. Create an environment in which there is genuine
community or cultural group
respect for students and a belief in their capability
• Provide various options for completing an
• Encourage students to meet expectations for a
assignment
particular task
2. Bridge cultural differences through effective
• Offer praise when standards are met
communication
3. Learning Within the Context of Culture
• Teach and talk to students about differences
between individuals
The increasing diversity in our schools, the ongoing
demographic changes across the nation and the movement
• Show how differences among the students make
towards globalization dictate that we develop a more in-
for better learning
depth understanding of culture if we want to bring about
• Attend community events of the students and
true understanding among diverse populations.
discuss the events with the students
—Maria Wilson-Portuondo
4. Student-Centered Instruction
WHAT
In our multicultural society, culturally responsive teaching
Children from homes in which the language and culture
reflects democracy at its highest level. [It] means doing what-
do not closely correspond to that of the school may be
ever it takes to ensure that every child is achieving and ever
at a disadvantage in the learning process. These children
moving toward realizing her or his potential.
often become alienated and feel disengaged from learn-
—Joyce Taylor-Gibson
ing. People from different cultures learn in different
ways. Their expectations for learning may be different.
WHAT
For example, students from some cultural groups prefer
Student-centered instruction differs from the traditional
to learn in cooperation with others, while the learning
teacher-centered instruction. Learning is cooperative,
style of others is to work independently. To maximize
collaborative, and community-oriented. Students are
learning opportunities, teachers should gain knowledge
encouraged to direct their own learning and to work
of the cultures represented in their classrooms and adapt
with other students on research projects and assign-
lessons so that they reflect ways of communicating and
ments that are both culturally and socially relevant to
learning that are familiar to the students.
them. Students become self-confident, self-directed,
and proactive.
WHY
Children learn about themselves and the world around
WHY
them within the context of culture (Northeast and
Learning is a socially mediated process (Goldstein,
Islands Regional Educational Laboratory at Brown
1999; Vygotsky, 1978). Children develop cognitively
University, 2002). Students from minority cultures
by interacting with both adults and more knowl-
may feel pressured to disavow themselves of their cul-
edgeable peers. These interactions allow students to
tural beliefs and norms in order to assimilate into the
hypothesize, experiment with new ideas, and receive
majority culture. This, however, can interfere with
feedback (Darling-Hammond, 1997).
their emotional and cognitive development and result
in school failure (Sheets, 1999).
HOW
HOW
1. Promote student engagement
1. Vary teaching strategies
• Have students generate lists of topics they wish
• Use cooperative learning especially for material
to study and/or research
new to the students
• Allow students to select their own reading material
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 426
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 427
2. Share responsibility of instruction
not meeting their needs. Also, students from cultural
groups who are experiencing academic success will be
• Initiate cooperative learning groups (Padron,
less inclined to form stereotypes about students from
Waxman, & Rivera, 2002)
other cultures.
• Have students lead discussion groups or reteach
concepts
HOW
3. Create inquiry based/discovery oriented
curriculum
1. Research students’ experiences with learning and
teaching styles
• Create classroom projects that involve the
community
• Ask educators who come from the same cultural
background as the students about effective ways
4. Encourage a community of learners
to teach them
• Form book clubs or literature circles (Daniels,
• Visit the communities of the students to
2002) for reading discussions
find out how they interact and learn in that
• Conduct Student-Directed Sharing Time (Brisk
environment
& Harrington, 2000)
• Ask students about their learning style
• Use cooperative learning strategies such as
preferences
Jigsaw (Brisk & Harrington, 2000)
• Interview parents about how and what students
learn from them
5. Culturally Mediated Instruction
2. Devise and implement different ways for students
Ongoing multicultural activities within the classroom setting
to be successful in achieving developmental
engender a natural awareness of cultural history, values and
contributions.
milestones
—Kathleen Serverian-Wilmeth
• Ensure success by setting realistic, yet rigorous,
goals for individual students
WHAT
• Allow students to set their own goals for a
Instruction is culturally mediated when it incorporates
project
and integrates diverse ways of knowing, understand-
• Allow the use of the student’s first language to
ing, and representing information. Instruction and
enhance learning
learning take place in an environment that encourages
3. Create an environment that encourages and
multicultural viewpoints and allows for inclusion of
embraces culture
knowledge that is relevant to the students. Learning
happens in culturally appropriate social situations; that
• Employ patterns of management familiar to
is, relationships among students and those between
students
teachers and students are congruent with students’
• Allow students ample opportunities to share
cultures.
their cultural knowledge
• Question and challenge students on their beliefs
and actions
WHY
• Teach students to question and challenge their
Students need to understand that there is more than
own beliefs and actions
one way to interpret a statement, event, or action. By
being allowed to learn in different ways or to share
viewpoints and perspectives in a given situation
6. Reshaping the Curriculum
based on their own cultural and social experiences,
[Schools must] take a serious look at their curricu-
students become active participants in their learning
lum, pedagogy, retention and tracking policies, test-
(Nieto, 1996). Hollins (1996) believes that cultur-
ing, hiring practices, and all the other policies and
ally mediated instruction provides the best learning
practices that create a school climate that is either
conditions for all students. It may help decrease
empowering or disempowering for those who work
the number of incidences of unacceptable behavior
and learn there.
from students who are frustrated with instruction
—Sonia Nieto
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 427
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
428
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
WHAT
community-based knowledge to the classroom learning
The curriculum should be integrated, interdisciplinary,
experiences.
meaningful, and student-centered. It should include
issues and topics related to the students’ background
WHY
and culture. It should challenge the students to develop
Ladson-Billings (1995) notes that a key criterion for
higher-order knowledge and skills (Villegas, 1991).
culturally relevant teaching is nurturing and supporting
competence in both home and school cultures. Teach-
WHY
ers should use the students’ home cultural experiences
Integrating the various disciplines of a curriculum facili-
as a foundation upon which to develop knowledge and
tates the acquisition of new knowledge (Hollins, 1996).
skills. Content learned in this way is more significant to
Students’ strengths in one subject area will support new
the students and facilitates the transfer of what is learned
learning in another. Likewise, by using the students’
in school to real-life situations (Padron, Waxman, &
personal experiences to develop new skills and knowl-
Rivera, 2002).
edge, teachers make meaningful connections between
school and real-life situations (Padron, Waxman, &
HOW
Rivera, 2002).
1. Learn about students’ cultures
HOW
• Have students share artifacts from home that
reflect their culture
1. Use resources other than textbooks for study
• Have students write about traditions shared by
• Have students research aspects of a topic within
their families
their community
• Have students research different aspects of their
• Encourage students to interview members of
culture
their community who have knowledge of the
2. Vary teaching approaches to accommodate diverse
topic they are studying
learning styles and language proficiency
• Provide information to the students on alternative
viewpoints or beliefs of a topic
• Initiate cooperative learning groups (Padron,
Waxman, & Rivera, 2002)
2. Develop learning activities that are more reflective
• Have students participate in book clubs or
of students’ backgrounds
literature circles (Daniels, 2002)
• Include cooperative learning strategies
• Use student-directed discussion groups (Brisk
• Allow students the choice of working alone or
& Harrington, 2000)
in groups on certain projects
• Speak in ways that meet the comprehension
and language development needs of ELLs
3. Develop integrated units around universal themes
(Yedlin, 2004)
7. Teacher as Facilitator
3. Utilize various resources in the students’
A caring adult can make a big difference in the edu-
communities
cational outcome of any child that is at risk of experi-
encing educational failure.
• Have members of the community speak to
—Maria Wilson-Portuondo
students on various subjects
• Ask members of the community to teach a
WHAT
lesson or give a demonstration (in their field of
Teachers should develop a learning environment that is
expertise) to the students
relevant to and reflective of their students’ social, cultural,
• Invite parents to the classroom to show students
and linguistic experiences. They act as guides, media-
alternative ways of approaching a problem (e.g.,
tors, consultants, instructors, and advocates for the stu-
in math: various ways of dividing numbers,
dents, helping to effectively connect their culturally- and
naming decimals, etc.)
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 428
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
Diversity and Equity Today Chapter 13 429
References
Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Labora-
tory at Brown University (LAB). (2002). The
Brisk, M. E., & Harrington, M. M. (2000). Literacy
diversity kit: An introductory resource for social change
and bilingualism: A handbook for all teachers. Mahwah,
in education. Providence, RI: Brown University.
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Available: http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/
Daniels, H. (2002). Literature circles: Voice and
diversitykit.shtml
choice in book clubs and reading groups. Portland,
Padron, Y. N., Waxman, H. C., and Rivera, H.
ME: Stenhouse.
H. (2002). Educating Hispanic students: Effec-
Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). The right to learn:
tive instructional practices (Practitioner Brief #5).
A blueprint for creating schools that work. San
Available: http://www.cal.org/crede/Pubs/
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
PracBrief5.htm
Feuerstein, R. (1980). Instrumental enrichment: An
Rist, C. (1971). Student social class and teacher
intervention program for cognitive modifiability.
expectations: The self-fulfilling prophecy in
Baltimore: University Park Press.
ghetto education. Challenging the myth: The
schools, the Blacks, and the poor (Reprint Series
Goldstein, L. (1999). The relational zone: The role of
No. 5). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational
caring relationships in the co-construction of mind.
Review.
American Educational Research Journal, 36(3), 647–673.
Sheets, R. (1999). Relating competence in an urban
Hollins, E. R. (1996). Culture in school learning:
classroom to ethnic identity development. In R.
Revealing the deep meaning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Sheets (Ed.), Racial and ethnic identity in school
Erlbaum Associates.
practices: Aspects of human development. Mahwah,
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers. San
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Villegas, A. M. (1991). Culturally responsive pedagogy
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good
for the 1990’s and beyond. Washington, DC: ERIC
teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy.
Clearinghouse on Teacher Education.
Theory into Practice, 34(3), 159–165.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The devel-
Moll, L. C., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N.
opment of higher psychological processes (M. Cole,
(1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a
V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Eds.
qualitative approach to connect homes and class-
and Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.
rooms. Theory Into Practice, 31(2), 132–141.
Yedlin, J. (2004, January/February). Teacher talk:
Nieto, S. (1996). Affirming diversity: The sociopo-
Enabling ELLs to “grab on” and climb high.
litical context of multicultural education (2nd ed.).
Perspectives. Available: http://www.mec.edu/mascd/
White Plains, NY: Longman.
docs/yedlin.htm.
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 429
21/09/12 4:15 PM
Confi rming Pages
430
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Developing Your
Questions for Discussion
Professional Vocabulary
and Examination
A good understanding of this chapter’s content would
1. Identify two theories of inquality; discuss how in
include an understanding of why each of these terms is
your experience these played out in your personal
important to education.
school experience, and how they play out in popular
culture stereotypes.
antiracist education
ESL instruction
2. Identify “resistance” theories of student behavior.
Black English Vernacular
ethnic diversity
Discuss again from your own experience, how these
appeared in schooling, and in popular culture or
critical theory
gender sensitivity versus
film depictions of schooling.
gender bias
cultural deficit theory
3. Discuss the issues related to a “gender responsive”
genetic deficit theory
cultural subordination
schooling. How might this work?
theory
Head Start project
culturally relevant
multicultural education
pedagogy
Online Resources
pedagogy
culturally responsive
Plato’s myth of the metals
Go to the Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/
pedagogy
tozer7e to take chapter quizzes, practice with key terms,
resistance theory
democratic pluralism
access study resources, and link to related websites. Also
available on the Online Learning Center are PowerWeb
articles and news feeds.
toz24404_ch13_396-431.indd 430
21/09/12 4:15 PM
This page intentionally left blank
Confi rming Pages
Chapter 14
School and Society: Teaching
and Teacher Leadership
in the 21st Century
Chapter Overview
Chapter 14 situates the study of school and society
little to do with goals for students or for society.
in the personal choice that people make to become
For others, it’s all about student learning, with
teachers. The chapter first reminds the reader of
less regard for themselves and little attention to
one of the key messages of the book: that from
issues of social structure or political–economic
the early national period to the common-school
inequality. For others, social issues are para-
era; from the progressive era through the cold
mount, and they see teaching as a political act
war to the post–cold war period of contemporary
that can change society.
school reform; from agrarianism to industrialism
It might be argued that no teacher can be
and urbanization; from urbanization to subur-
motivated purely by just one of these perspec-
banization and the postindustrial computer age;
tives, and that it is always a matter of emphasis.
from classical liberalism to modern liberalism
True enough; but this chapter raises the ques-
to neoliberalism—the story of public schools in
tion of how teachers can think about, and how
the United States has been marked by a tension
they can accomplish, their professional goals,
between the ideals of democratic equality versus
whatever they might be. For thinking well about
practices of unequal schooling that decade after
achieving one’s goals, it is important to under-
decade reward power and privilege with educa-
stand the connection between how one teaches
tional resources far superior to those of the non-
and what kinds of outcomes such teaching is
privileged majority. But this raises the legitimate
most likely to achieve. That is, teachers need to
question: So what? What does this mean for me as
have a “theory of impact,” or a way to see what
a teacher?
their teaching is likely to amount to—for them-
What this means for each teacher is partly
selves, their students, and for society. And for
dependent on why the individual may choose,
teachers who wish to increase their impact, it is
or has chosen, teaching as a profession. Some
argued, collective action and leadership are nec-
people do it for personal reasons having to do
essary. In this connection, some teachers emerge
mostly with their own individual skills, disposi-
as leaders—leaders who are much needed if
tions, and job opportunities, which may have
teachers are to achieve their educational goals.
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 432
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
Chapter Objectives
Among the objectives that Chapter 14 seeks to
to achieve them if they have a clear theory of
achieve are these:
impact—an explanation of how their practices
are likely to lead to the teacher’s goals, whether
1. Students should reflect on whether their reading
those goals are just keeping a job, maximizing
of this book is likely to have any impact on their
student learning, or contributing to a more just
own practice. To assist in such reflection,
society.
students should consider the “theory of impact”
that the authors put forward for the value of
4. Prospective and current teachers should be able
studying social foundations of education: Those
to connect their teaching goals to reflect on
teachers who best understand what this book has
teaching as an “isolated” versus a “collabora-
to offer are in a better position to help improve
tive” profession. That is, some goals may be
student learning because they will understand
obtainable without structured collaboration with
students, schools, and themselves in the social
other teachers, but teachers are increasingly
contexts that affect the meanings and interactions
finding that working strategically with other
among these three components of educational
teachers is essential to achieving the most
processes.
ambitious goals for student learning.
2. Students should reflect on their own personal,
5. Finally, readers should reflect on the changing
professional, and political motivations for
landscape of “teacher leadership” and what
becoming a teacher, realizing that most teachers
that will mean to teaching and learning. The
have a mix of motives and that motives change
chapter urges teachers to become willing and
over time. For example, a person could start by
able to “step up” to responsibility for school
“just looking for a job,” and end up being “all
outcomes outside their own classrooms
about the students.”
because such teacher leadership can have
important consequences for school culture
3. Readers should also recognize that whatever
and student learning.
their motives for teaching, they are more likely
433
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 433
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
434
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Analytic Framework
The Cultural Contexts of Children and Youth
Political Economy
Ideology
Transition to post-Bush era
Neoliberalism
War in Iraq
National discourse on race
Domestic economy falters
National discourse on health care
Schooling
NCLB continues
Continued inequality of outcomes
based on ethnicity and income
Emergence of professional learning
communities
Emergence of teacher leadership
For example, if you assign mathematics homework to
Introduction: So What?
elementary school students, you should have an expla-
The Importance of a Theory
nation for how assigning such homework will be likely
to lead to a specific result—such as learning mathemat-
of Impact
ics, or learning to like mathematics, or learning that a
little practice makes you better at something. In fact,
At this point in a textbook such as this, it is fair to ask:
researchers have tested that theory, and have shown that
What does this all add up to? After thousands of facts
mathematics homework can have a positive impact on
and footnotes, and dozens of competing viewpoints,
student learning.1
what’s the point? Will any of this make a single teacher
A second example is the conviction embodied in most
or school more effective? Will any of it help a single
teacher education programs that if teachers study mate-
third-grader read better, or a would-be high school
rial in the social foundations of education—something
dropout stay in school?
about the social contexts of schooling—they will be
To answer that effectively, we need a theory that
more effective as teachers. One way to express a (con-
would explain how a book like this would lead to some
densed) theory of impact for study in the social founda-
kind of results in schools. That is, we cannot simply
tions of education is this:
assume that a teacher who reads and understands this
1. Teachers are more likely to teach effectively if they
book will be more effective; we must have a plausible,
understand their students well. Understanding
even persuasive explanation that shows how one thing
students well—like understanding a quotation, a
is likely to cause another. Such an explanation is often
book, or a historical event—depends on
called a “theory of action,” or “theory of impact”—an
understanding relevant context.
explanation of how something might cause a result. Ide-
ally, the theory of impact should be testable. We should
2. Studying the social foundations of education is
be able to conduct some kind of investigation to find out
likely to help teachers understand their students
if the theory really works in practice.
well, because who students are is not simply a
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 434
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
School and Society: Teaching and Teacher Leadership in the 21st Century Chapter 14 435
matter of genes; it is also a matter of culture—for
3. When teachers understand their students well as
students as for all of us, culture is our primary
products of culture just as teachers are a product of
context. Students’ language, beliefs about the world,
their cultures—and when they act individually and
values, habits, and countless other things that are
collectively to find ways to bridge the cultural gap
rewarded and punished in schools are shaped by
between the school and the child—low-income
their cultural context. Social foundations study can
and ethnically diverse children can succeed with
therefore help teachers understand, for example, what
challenging academic material. Students who
students mean even if they don’t say it in standard
were not learning become students who learn
English; or that students’ intelligence manifests itself
well. The evidence for such academic success is
in many different ways; that students’ ways of
overwhelming.3
demonstrating intelligence are affected by cultures
that don’t always match the school culture; that
Social Context: Understanding
different students need different kinds of support to
Students, Self, and a Theory of Impact
succeed academically, depending on their home and
community lives; that teachers can effectively partner
While the above three points sketch out a theory of
with parents to help their children succeed in school;
impact for how social foundations study can help teach-
or that when teachers and schools fail to act on
ers better support student learning, there are other
such understandings, decade after decade, schools
dimensions to the theory of impact. For example, social
can become “sorting machines,” in which children
foundations study can help teachers understand not
from different social groups will have predictably
just the students in social context, but themselves and
different success experiences in school—and
their work in social context as well. If schools have been
different life outcomes in society.2 Such social
acting too much as “sorting” institutions in which stu-
foundations understanding is also likely to provide
dents’ socioeconomic status predicts pretty well how
data and support for the beliefs and dispositions that
they will succeed (or not) in schools, then teachers can
many teachers have, that all children really are
examine their own contributions to the sorting func-
capable of academic success, even if they do not
tions of the school as opposed to educational functions.
always show it—and that teachers can commit
Teachers can critically examine their own work to see
themselves individually and collectively to finding
how they can do more than simply be agents of a mass
ways for children to succeed academically, whether or
testing society, for example, and instead become allies of
not the economic, ethnic, or linguistic background of
parents who want their children to succeed against the
the students matches that of their teachers.
historical odds.
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 435
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
436
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
In other words, social context understanding can
and the dispositions to communicate care and commit-
help teachers better understand their own impact, how
ment to students.7
to think about the impact they wish to have, and how
Notice we did not say “such teachers are likely to
to achieve that impact in ways that are not reducible to
have a powerful effect on ending racism, gender bias,
test scores. Social foundations study can help teachers
and economic discrimination in America.” We would
develop their own theories of impact that are consistent
like to see such inequities as these come to an end, of
with the social contexts in which they find themselves as
course, but we don’t think our theory of impact sup-
well as consistent with their own highest aspirations to
ports such a claim. Although this book documents
have a positive influence on the life chances of children
such inequities, it does so not to show that teachers can
and youth. In this connection, you may remember the
transform society, but rather to show that despite such
Ron Edmonds remark from Chapter 13:
social evils, teachers can (and sometimes do) succeed
in helping students realize their full potential as learn-
How many effective schools would you have to see to
be persuaded of the educability of poor children? If your
ers and as persons. That in itself is a significant social
answer is more than one, then I suspect that you have rea-
change. But to do this, teachers have to really know
sons of your own for preferring to believe that basic pupil
what they are doing—and in most instances, they have
performance derives from family background instead of
to know how to do it together.
the school response to family background.4
This position is a disappointment to some people who
view the point of teaching primarily as a lever to change
Edmonds went on to make what seemed in 1979 like a
an inequitable social structure. We do not reject the idea
bold claim:
that teachers can change society, but we think the theory
We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully
of impact for that view is much less clear than the the-
teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We
ory that you as a teacher can teach students effectively
already know more than we need to do that. Whether or
regardless of their socioeconomic background. Decades
not we do it must finally depend on how we feel about the
of statistics tell us that it is hard enough to accomplish
fact that we haven’t so far.5
even that ambitious goal. Teaching to change the world,
Now, 30 years later, Edmonds’s claim is no longer so
as one popular textbook is titled, is harder still; and
surprising. A significant number of schools throughout
more difficult, too, to support with a plausible theory
the nation have shown what low-income and minority
for how a teacher is likely to have such an impact.8 But
kids are capable of achieving, if the right school con-
as we will show, it is not unreasonable to believe that
ditions are provided.6 The social foundations theory
teachers can change themselves, change their students,
of impact outlined earlier has been tested and demon-
and change society. It’s just that a different theory of
strated many times over since Edmonds’s day: If we do
impact—a different explanation of how one thing leads
not limit student learning solely in the child, but rather
to another—is needed for each.
in how the culture of the school responds to the child
and the child’s culture, the child’s chances for academic
success improve dramatically.
You and Your Theory
So the theory of impact for this book is this: Those
teachers who best understand what this book has to offer
of Impact
are in a better position to help improve student learn-
ing because they will understand students, schools, and
So what did the first 13 chapters of this volume tell
themselves in the social contexts that affect the mean-
us about school and society in the United States that
ings and interactions among these three components of
a teacher needs to know? These chapters have shown
educational processes. To frame and execute their pur-
that from the very beginning, the United States has been
poses well (as Dewey said in Experience and Education)
divided about how much we have wanted to support
teachers will likely have to situate their work in the con-
public education, and certainly divided about how much
text of the society as a whole, the specific community in
we believe all children are entitled to equal resources
which they work, and their school as an organization of
for their education. The Constitution made it a state
adults who need to work together if the needs of chil-
responsibility, rather than a national priority. And later,
dren and youth are to be served. They will also need
states commonly made the funding of schooling a local
knowledge of subject matter, techniques for teaching it,
matter, leading to all manner of inequalities. In the early
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 436
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
School and Society: Teaching and Teacher Leadership in the 21st Century Chapter 14 437
1800s, Jefferson couldn’t get the state of Virginia to sup-
on equalizing schools throughout the state. The history of
port universal public education. When Massachusetts
liberalism from classical to neoliberalism helps us under-
led the nation in supporting public schools at a state
stand why people would defend such inequalities as “the
level, the system of private schools continued to serve
American way” by saying that the competitive market
the wealthy. While state-supported schools eventually
should be left to operate, and that it is a violation of free-
took hold in the South, African Americans were pre-
dom to make people use their money for other people’s
vented from attending them prior to the Civil War, and
neighborhoods and children. We might not agree with
from the Civil War until the 1950s were not allowed to
that defense, but we can understand it in the political–
attend “White only” public schools.
economic and ideological context of U.S. history.
And so the book continues. From the early national
And it would be surprising if our current education
period to the common-school era; from the progressive
system did not reflect the history of genocide against
era through the cold war to the post–cold war period of
American Indians, or enslaving African Americans, or
contemporary school reform; from agrarianism to indus-
progressive era schools that consigned working-class kids
trialism and urbanization; from urbanization to subur-
to mind-numbing vocationalism. It would be surprising
banization and the postindustrial computer age; from
because those days were not so long ago. John Dewey,
classical liberalism to modern liberalism to neoliberalism—
for example, one of the founders of modern schooling,
the story of public schools in the United States has been
was alive when the authors of this book were children.
marked by a tension between the ideals of democratic
Yet Dewey was born before the Civil War, only 33 years
equality versus practices of unequal schooling that decade
after Jefferson’s death. Many people today remember
after decade reward power and privilege with educa-
clearly when the last of the ex-slaves died in the 1960s.
tional resources far superior to those of the nonprivileged
So on the one hand, the message of this book is that
majority. (Special note to students: It would not surprise
we can understand where we are today by looking at
the authors if your professor selected that sprawling sen-
our past. But another message is that, if we are to honor
tence as an essay prompt for your final exam. If you can
the best of the work that educators have done before
explain every term and the relationships among them to
us, we have a lot of work to do. If “all men are created
your most tolerant friend or family member, you should
equal” was a sentiment that could fuel the civil rights
be in great shape.) As a consequence, what neighbor-
movement, the women’s equality movement, for exam-
hood you are born into today—the day we are writing,
ple, and the integration of races, cultures, and sexes in
and the day you read this page—is a powerful predictor
today’s schools, it did so only through struggle. People
of not only what kind of schooling you will experience
devoted countless hours to strategizing together, pro-
but where you will end up in the social and economic
testing together, and politicking together to make our
hierarchy of the United States.
social institutions operate consistently with the ideals of
The volume also tells us that it need not be that way.
democracy. Many of them were humiliated or lost their
As Rochester, New York, local AFT president Adam
livelihoods; some were beaten; some were killed.
Urbanski said, “Socioeconomic status is a powerful pre-
Those struggles should remind teachers and admin-
dictor of student achievement in school—in the absence
istrators today that if we wish to see schools serve all
of good instruction.”9 In other words, when schools
kids’ learning needs, and not primarily those fortu-
are organized to provide high-quality instruction to low-
nate enough to be born into economic privilege, then
income youth, high-level learning results. As a number
someone—a lot of someones—will have to work for
of independent researchers have told us over the past 30
change. It may be that the most important changes
years, and as outstanding schools have repeatedly shown
you can bring about are in your own school. And it is
us—we know why kids learn well in some schools and
almost certain that any important changes you bring
not others, and we know how to produce those kinds of
about will be the result of your working collectively
learning environments.
and strategically with others—parents, teachers, staff,
But by and large, we don’t produce them. The discus-
administrators—rather than working alone.
sions of political economy and ideology in this volume
But it’s also possible that this is not at all why you got
help us understand why. They help us see, for example,
into teaching. Your theory of impact may not be about
that some people would prefer to spend their local prop-
issues of democracy and equity: It may be about teach-
erty taxes on their own schools at three times the support
ing English as well as you can. Or it might be about
level that other schools in their state receive, rather than
just getting a job after college. So on the one hand this
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 437
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
438
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
volume shows how our current schools got to be the way
choosing to teach could be “mostly about me” because
they are, and on the other hand it shows that schools,
they have vowed to be the first in their families to earn
like other social institutions, can change to better serve
a college degree and because teaching was what they
the needs of citizens. But that change agenda might not
always wanted to do since they were small children—so
be your agenda.
becoming a teacher is a fulfillment of a dream, rather
than primarily being about helping others fulfill their
dreams or having a social impact. One would hesitate
Why Teach?
to say that such an individual was selfish or morally
suspect. In fact, one could imagine such an individual
There are many different motivations to become a teacher,
becoming a powerful force in kids’ lives.
and to stay in teaching. One is tempted to say that there are
Whether you are making a simple vocational choice
as many different reasons to teach as there are teachers—or
because you have to earn a living, or you just want a
to get really romantic about it—as many different reasons
job that has to do with mathematics because you love
as there are students. People have career motives, eco-
it (both “mostly about me”); or you are driven by the
nomic motives, “summers-off motives,” political motives,
learning needs of low-income kids and want to make a
psychological motives, and so on. But the reason for
difference in their life chances (“mostly about the kids”);
examining this question of “why teach” is not to examine
or you believe, as George Counts wrote, that “schools
human individuality. Rather, it is to theorize a bit about
can build a new social order,” you owe it to yourself to
the realities of impact: what you can actually accomplish
have a clear theory of impact undergirding your work
as a teacher, and how what you can accomplish is deter-
and your goals.10 Without an explanation of how your
mined so greatly by what you want to accomplish.
work is going to result in certain outcomes and not
Why do people go into teaching, and why do they
others, you risk just going through the motions, and
stay there? For the purposes of this analysis, we might
you risk being sorely disappointed in what you actually
say there are three big reasons, and rarely does a teacher
achieve. A theory of impact, quite simply, makes you
hold only one of them. But they differ enough that dif-
smarter about what you do.
ferent people emphasize different ones in their motives
to teach. The many legitimate reasons to be a teacher
might be said to fall into these three categories:
Orientations to Teaching
• It’s mostly about me.
and Theories of Impact
• It’s mostly about the kids.
Given how our teacher preparation programs are set up
• It’s mostly about social change (or democracy, or
in colleges and universities, many teachers make their
social justice).
decision to enter the profession at a very young age—
We need to resist the temptation to impose a moral
some still in their teens—as a vocational decision with-
hierarchy on these motives, as if the first one is purely
out much of a theory of impact at all. They are dealing
selfish and the third one is selfless and saintly. As indi-
with the more immediate realities of choosing a major
vidual cases are examined, such judgments may not be
and choosing a career track when it would be an exag-
valid at all. First of all, people will rarely if ever be moti-
geration to say they have a burning desire to choose any
vated by only one of these considerations—generally
one direction over another. Sometimes it’s just a process
two or more will operate, with one or two receiving the
of elimination (“I’m not going to be a doctor or a law-
greatest emphasis.
yer, but I am going to do something with the degree”).
Second, there may be good and bad reasons to gravi-
In other instances, there are more distinct personal rea-
tate toward any of these three orientations. If someone
sons, such as liking kids, or liking a particular subject
is “mostly about social change,” for example, he or she
matter. It’s often said, rightly or not, that elementary
may be attracted by playing the role of the social change
school teachers like to teach kids, while high school
agent, but not be aware of the real day-to-day work that
teachers like to teach subjects. Sometimes becoming a
this requires. Sometimes people leave the profession pre-
teacher is about finding a professional identity. In the
cisely because their motives don’t match the skillset and
late teens and early 20s, for example, people are about
the opportunities needed to act on them. Some people
deciding who they are going to be in life. Increasingly,
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 438
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
School and Society: Teaching and Teacher Leadership in the 21st Century Chapter 14 439
career-changers are making midcourse corrections in
affecting children’s life chances, as in taking whatever
their own professional identities.
steps are necessary to help a child and child’s family
None of these examples is unusual. Nor can any of
see college as a real possibility, when they had thought
them be said to be a case of a teacher who has clear
otherwise.
goals for having an impact on students, or aspirations
For teachers who measure their own success by
for changing society in some way. These are examples
their impact on children, having a theory of impact
of teachers who go into teaching for more immediate,
becomes particularly important. Social foundations
personal reasons in which “It’s mostly about me.” You
of education becomes especially relevant, because it
could say there’s nothing wrong with that, but at the
helps teachers understand why it is said that “in edu-
same time we would hope that such teachers will come
cation, it’s never too early and it’s never too late.”
to look beyond their own needs to the needs of their
That is, social foundations helps teachers understand
students, and this is usually what happens. However, in
that the ability to learn is not simply determined
50 years combined experience of working with teach-
by genetics (except in relatively rare cases of birth
ers, we have found that not every teacher develops clear
defects of certain kinds) but is greatly influenced by
goals; not all teachers have a clear explanation for how
the learning experiences that people have in their cul-
their work will have consequences for students. Instead
tural contexts. This means that no matter how far
of a theory of impact, such teachers have a hope or
behind grade level one’s students might be, there is
a faith. American historian Henry Adams, born dur-
strong reason to believe they are capable of learning
ing the common-school era and living until well into
difficult academic material. That is, skill level is not
the progressive era, captured this sentiment well: “A
the same as ability to learn—it is more an indicator
teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his
of the kinds of learning experiences that a student
influence stops.”11
has had in the past, and those experiences are deeply
While this may be a comforting thought, and cer-
influenced by race, ethnicity, language, and class.
tainly a famous one, it is not a substitute for a theory
Here, too, teachers are in a good position to reflect
of impact. You might call this the “ripple in the pond”
on how their own cultural experiences are a good “fit”
theory, if it can be called a theory at all: You disturb
with the students’ needs, and whether the school as a
the pond’s surface and the ripples move on their own
whole is sufficiently responsive to the students’ ways
beyond your control. But if you want to do more than
of learning.
reassure yourself that you might be having an impact
Having a strong theory of impact, for such teachers,
of some unknown kind, then it’s a good idea to get
may well mean:
clearer about what your theory of impact is. It’s useful
to get strategic about exactly what impact you are seek-
• becoming clear about having ambitious learning
ing to have on your students’ thinking, valuing, under-
goals for their students,
standing, skills, and life chances—and how you could
• learning about what must be done in their class-
actually achieve those consequences in your classroom
rooms and in the school more generally to help the
and school. Examining teachers for whom “It’s mostly
students achieve those goals, and
about the kids” might be a better place to seek such a
• becoming clear about how they are going to assess
theory of impact.
whether those goals are being reached.
It’s Mostly about the Kids
Having a theory of impact in helping struggling kids
reach new heights of learning might require having a
For many teachers, even those who begin their careers
theory of teacher learning. That is, it may be important
with “It’s mostly about me” as their orientation, the
to pay attention to the literature on professional learn-
focus of their work and worry is their students. For
ing communities as places where teachers learn together
such teachers, “It’s mostly about the kids.” Their pri-
how to meet the needs of their students, because it is
mary orientation is to try to make a difference in the
rare that any single teacher has all the know-how neces-
lives of their students. The difference might be purely
sary to help all kids succeed. But together, teachers can
learning-focused, such as awakening as many chil-
share what they know, influence one another’s thinking,
dren as possible to the love of literature, or the belief
push each other to new professional levels, and so on.
that they really can do algebra. Or it might be about
Teacher educator Peter Murrell wrote recently about
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 439
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
440
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
a particular kind of teacher know-how that we still do
will be calmed. They will champion the causes of life’s
not see often enough in schools:
underdogs, forging a society without class discrimination.
They will supply humanity with music and beauty as it has
The “know how” to which I refer is based upon a deep
never been known. They will endure. Towards these ends I
understanding of what it means to make community. Obvi-
pledge my life’s work. I will supply the children with tools
ously, people make communities—and people living in
and knowledge to overcome the obstacles. I will pass on
community have to work at maintaining it. But, I refer
the wisdom of my years and temper it with patience. I shall
here to community building as thoughtful, intentional,
impact in each child the desire to fulfill his or her dream.
and collaborative professional action.12
I shall teach.13
Note those words: “thoughtful, intentional, and col-
Again we have a viewpoint that sounds appealing, but
laborative professional action.” For teachers who are
that is not very useful as a theory of impact. “I shall
“mostly about the kids,” the research and knowledge
impact in each child the desire to fulfill his or her
base are deep and compelling: Teachers who work
dream,” and “they will save the world,” in part by “forg-
together to frame and execute common goals, and
ing a society without class discrimination.”
assess whether those goals are being achieved, have a
One problem with this sort of high-sounding rheto-
compelling theory of teacher learning, and this theory
ric is that there is little or no evidence to support it. We
of teacher learning is part of a theory of impact. We
don’t have a good theory of impact that would lead us
know a great deal about how kids learn, under what
to believe that teachers can bring about such changes
conditions they learn best, and what teachers can do
because, as Dewey pointed out, schools are controlled
individually and collectively to support them. Teacher
by those who most benefit from the social order as it is.
learning is an enormous part of this. One of the richest
There is no reason to expect anyone in power to support
single sources of theory and data on these matters is the
schools that would overturn that state of affairs, either
work of the Consortium on Chicago School Research
quickly or slowly. A good theory for how the power
(http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/content/index.php). The con-
structure of the modern world will be dramatically
sortium’s work supports the notion of “professional
changed by teachers simply has not been put forward
learning communities” (PLCs). One good way to see
in any compelling way—though schools can certainly
what is meant by that term is to use the following scor-
be shown to have made their contributions to educating
ing rubric on a school you are familiar with. The criteria
students who are less racist and less sexist, once those
are instructive: They not only describe what a profes-
social movements were under way and supported by
sional learning community looks like; they allow you
legislation.
to assess the degree to which a PLC has developed or is
A second problem is that those who become teachers
developing in a given school. (See Exhibit 14.1.)
to make a visible impact on the social order—those who
teach to change the world—can easily be disappointed
when they see how difficult that is. It’s difficult enough to
It’s Mostly about Social Change (or
change the behavior of a high school sophomore, let alone
Democracy, or Social Justice)
Western capitalism as we know it. So teachers who enter
teaching without a realistic appraisal of what can actually
It’s one thing to say that we know a lot about support-
be accomplished in the teacher’s role can be frustrated in
ing student learning, regardless of family background; it’s
their efforts.
another to say we know a lot about how schools can change
At the same time, teachers who are fully commit-
society. In Part 1 we read an article by John Dewey claiming
ted to student learning often have to lead change in
that schools do not lead social change, but educators can
their own schools to achieve it. We do want to encour-
become “allies” of social changes in the making. The idea
age such institutional change for the results that can
that there is a direct link between teaching and social
be achieved—for the outcomes that a good theory of
change is a popular one. Like Henry Adams mentioned
impact can support. A low-performing school CAN
previously, American author Henry James penned a
become a high-performing school, as a great deal of
famous statement about the teacher’s influence:
research shows.14 And teachers should not wait for the
To believe in a child is to believe in the future. Through
revolution for this to happen, because teacher leader-
their aspirations they will save the world. With their com-
ship can help change the culture of a school in powerful
bined knowledge the turbulent seas of hate and injustice
ways. We do not want to deny the spirit of a comment
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 440
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
School and Society: Teaching and Teacher Leadership in the 21st Century Chapter 14 441
Exhibit 14.1 Self-Assessment: Professional Learning Community Continuum
School
Characteristics
Rating
Rating Scale: 1—Nonexistent; 2—Barely underway; 3—Evidence of progress; 4—A school strength; 5—Truly exemplary, ready to demonstrate to other schools
1. Mission: Evidence that learning for all is school’s core purpose. Learning outcomes are clearly articulated to all stakeholders in the school, and each student’s attainment of the outcomes is carefully monitored. Practices, programs, and policies of the school are continually assessed on the basis of their impact on student learning.
2. Shared Vision: Do we know what we are trying to create? Staff members routinely articulate the
major principles of the shared vision and use those principles to guide their day-to-day efforts and decisions.
3. Shared Values: How must we behave to advance our vision? The values of the school are embedded in the school culture. They are evident to new staff and to others outside the school, and they influence all policies and practices in the school.
4. Goals and Priorities: All staff pursue measurable performance goals as part of their routine responsibilities. Goals are clearly linked to the school’s vision. Staff celebrate goal attainment and demonstrate willingness to pursue challenging stretch goals.
5. Collaborative Culture—Teachers: Teachers function as a team (or in teams). They work collaboratively to identify collective goals, develop strategies to achieve those goals, gather relevant data, and learn from one another.
6. Collaborative Culture—Administrator-Teacher Relations: Staff are fully involved in the decision-making processes of the school. Administrators pose questions, delegate authority, create collaborative decision making, and provide staff with the information, training, and parameters they need to make good decisions.
7. Parent Partnerships: The school–parent partnership moves beyond open communication to enabling parents to assist their children in learning. Parents are full partners in the educational decisions that affect their children.
8. Action Research: Topics for action research arise from the shared vision and goals of the school.
Staff members regard action research as an important component of their professional responsibilities.
Teachers frequently try to learn from their colleagues.
9. Continuous Improvement: Everyone in the school participates in an ongoing cycle of systematically gathering and analyzing data to identify the gap between actual and desired results, setting new goals, developing strategies to achieve them, and monitoring results.
10. Focus on Results: Teams of teachers are hungry for information on results. Teachers themselves gather relevant data and use these data to set goals and monitor progress toward them.
11. Overall PLC Development: This principle is deeply embedded in the school’s culture, representing a driving force in the daily work of the school.
Source: Condensed and adapted from R. DuFour, R. DuFour, R. Eaker, and G. Karhanek, Whatever It Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When Kids Don’t Learn (Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2004).
typically attributed to anthropologist Margaret Mead:
in this city and that one, and thousands and even millions
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, commit-
of children are getting the chance to learn who once were
ted people can change the world. Indeed it is the only
not, that’s a different world—and an achievable one. But
thing that ever has.”15 What is at issue for us as educators
change will likely have to start at home, in one’s own
is what it means to “change the world.” If schools can be
school, demonstrating how things can indeed be differ-
changed for the better in this neighborhood and that one,
ent. The scholarship on such schools grows year by year.
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 441
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
442
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
Teacher Leadership and
What is teacher leadership? One way to define it is the
willingness and ability of teachers to take responsibility
Professional Learning
for school outcomes outside their own classrooms. Those
Communities
are the individuals to whom other teachers and admin-
istrators turn to help lead a school in new and better
directions. What kinds of goals can teacher leadership
We conclude with a brief word about teacher leadership, a
make it possible to achieve? We now know that teacher
theme that is visited again in our Primary Source Reading.
leadership can help teachers collaborate to evaluate the
It is a truism that leadership is necessary to any organiza-
effectiveness of their work together, to make decisions
tion achieving its goals, whether the leadership is vested
about how to make it better, and to implement new
in one person or many together. It is also true that your
approaches in ways that improve student learning. When
goals as a teacher are most likely going to be achieved, or
enough teacher leaders are so engaged, that will be a
not, in an organization called “school.” Contemporary
social change of considerable significance. Teacher lead-
research is demonstrating that those schools that most suc-
ership can be part of a compelling theory of impact for
ceed “against the odds” of poverty and racism are those in
how schools can better serve populations of students that
which the principal is not the only leader in the building;
historically have been ill-served by school and society.
teacher leaders are proving to be crucial.
Primary Source Reading
initiated an intensive longitudinal study of the internal
workings and external community conditions that dis-
tinguished improving elementary schools from those
Organizing Schools for
that failed to improve. That unique 15-year database
Improvement
allowed us to develop, test, and validate a framework of
essential supports for school improvement. These data
Research on Chicago school improvement indi-
provided an extraordinary window to examine the com-
cates that improving elementary schools requires
plex interplay of how schools are organized and interact
coherent, orchestrated action across five essential
with the local community to alter dramatically the odds
supports.
for improving student achievement. The lessons learned
Anthony S. Bryk
offer guidance for teachers, parents, principals, super-
intendents, and civic leaders in their efforts to improve
Alexander Elementary School and Hancock Elementary
schools across the country.
School began the 1990s as two of the worst schools in
Chicago in terms of math and reading achievement.
Five Essential Supports for School
Only two miles apart, the schools are in bordering
Improvement
neighborhoods and appear similar in many ways. Both
enrolled nearly 100% minority students from families
Students’ academic learning occurs principally in class-
considered low income.
rooms as students interact with teachers around subject
During the 1990s, both launched an array of initia-
matter. How we organize and operate a school has a
tives aimed at boosting student achievement. Hancock
major effect on the instructional exchanges in its class-
moved impressively forward, while Alexander barely
rooms. Put simply, whether classroom learning pro-
moved the needle on improvement. How did Hancock
ceeds depends in large measure on how the school as
“beat the odds” while Alexander failed to do so?
a social context supports teaching and sustains student
This puzzle led us to undertake a systematic longitu-
engagement. Through our research, we identified five
dinal investigation of hundreds of elementary schools in
organizational features of schools that interact with life
Chicago, just like Alexander and Hancock. Beginning
inside classrooms and are essential to advancing student
in 1990, the Consortium on Chicago School Research
achievement.
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 442
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
School and Society: Teaching and Teacher Leadership in the 21st Century Chapter 14 443
1. Coherent instructional guidance system. Schools
academic and social supports, and the hiring and
in which student learning improves have coherent
development of staff. They establish strategic priori-
instructional guidance systems that articulate the what
ties for using resources and buffer externalities that
and how of instruction. The learning tasks posed
might distract from coherent reform. Working in
for students are key here, as are the assessments that
tandem with this, principals build relationships across
make manifest what students actually need to know
the school community. Improving teaching and learn-
and provide feedback to inform subsequent instruc-
ing places demands on these relationships. In carry-
tion. Coordinated with this are the materials, tools,
ing out their daily activities, school leaders advance
and instructional routines shared across a faculty that
instrumental objectives while also trying to enlist
scaffold instruction. Although individual teachers
teachers in the change effort. In the process, principals
may have substantial discretion in how they use these
cultivate a growing cadre of leaders (teachers, parents,
resources, the efficacy of individual teacher efforts
and community members) who can help expand the
depends on the quality of the supports and the local
reach of this work and share overall responsibility for
community of practice that forms around their use and
improvement.
refinement.
Using extensive survey data collected by the consor-
2. Professional capacity. Schooling is a human
tium from teachers, principals, and students, we were
resource–intensive enterprise. Schools are only as good
able to develop school indicators for each of the five
as the quality of faculty, the professional development
essential supports, chart changes in these indicators over
that supports their learning, and the faculty’s capacity
time, and then relate these organizational conditions to
to work together to improve instruction. This support
subsequent changes in student attendance and learning
directs our attention to a school’s ability to recruit
gains in reading and mathematics. Among our findings:
and retain capable staff, the efficacy of performance
feedback and professional development, and the social
• Schools with strong indicators on most supports
resources within a staff to work together to solve local
were 10 times more likely to improve than schools
problems.
with weak supports.
3. Strong parent-community-school ties. The dis-
• Half of the schools strong on most supports
connect between local school professionals and the
improved substantially in reading.
parents and community that a school is intended to
• Not a single school weak on most supports
serve is a persistent concern in many urban contexts.
improved in mathematics.
The absence of vital ties is a problem; their presence is
a multifaceted resource for improvement. The quality
• A material weakness in any one support, sustained
of these ties links directly to students’ motivation and
over several years, undermined other change efforts,
school participation and can provide a critical resource
and improvement rarely resulted.
for classrooms.
This statistical evidence affords a strong warrant that
4. Student-centered learning climate. All adults
how we organize schools is critical for student achieve-
in a school community forge a climate that enables
ment. Improving schools entails coherent, orchestrated
students to think of themselves as learners. At a mini-
action across all five essential supports. Put simply, there
mum, improving schools establish a safe and orderly
is no one silver bullet.
environment—the most basic prerequisite for learn-
ing. They endorse ambitious academic work coupled
with support for each student. The combination
Dynamics of Improvement
allows students to believe in themselves, to persist,
Schools are complex organizations consisting of mul-
and ultimately to achieve.
tiple interacting subsystems (that is, the five essential
5. Leadership drives change. Principals in improving
organizational supports). Personal and social consider-
schools engage in a dynamic interplay of instructional
ations mix deeply in the day-to-day workings of a school.
and inclusive facilitative leadership. On the instruc-
These interactions are bound by various rules, roles, and
tional side, school leaders influence local activity
prevailing practices that, in combination with techni-
around core instructional programs, supplemental
cal resources, constitute schools as formal organizations.
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 443
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
444
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
In a sense, almost everything interacts with everything
Meaningful parent and community involvement can be
else. That means that a true picture of what enables
a resource for solving problems of safety and order; but,
some schools to improve and others to stagnate requires
in a reciprocal fashion, these ties are likely to be stronger
identifying the critical interconnections among the five
in safe and orderly schools. This reciprocity carries over
essential supports: How do these five essential supports
to leadership as the driver for change. While a princi-
function together to substantially change the odds for
pal commands formal authority to effect changes in the
enhancing student engagement and academic learning?
four other organizational supports, a school with some
Schools that improved student attendance over time
strengths in these four supports is also easier to lead.
strengthened their ties to parents and community and
Arguing for the significance of one individual sup-
used these ties as a core resource for enhancing safety
port over another is tempting, but we ultimately came
and order across the school. This growing sense of rou-
to view the five supports as an organized system of ele-
tine and security further combined with a better-aligned
ments in dynamic interaction with one another. As such,
curriculum that continually exposed students to new
primary value lies in their integration and mutual rein-
tasks and ideas. Engaging pedagogy afforded students
forcement. In this sense, school development is much
active learning roles in the classroom. High-quality
like baking a cake. By analogy, you need an appropriate
professional development aimed to enhance teachers’
mix of flour, sugar, eggs, oil, baking powder, and flavor-
capacity to orchestrate such activity under the trying
ing to produce a light, delicious cake. Without sugar,
circumstances that most confront daily. When this
it will be tasteless. Without eggs or baking powder, the
combination of conditions existed, the basic recipe for
cake will be flat and chewy. Marginal changes in a single
improving student attendance was activated.
ingredient—for example, a bit more flour, large versus
In terms of the organizational mechanisms influ-
extra large eggs—may not have noticeable effects. But, if
encing academic achievement, this can be told in two
one ingredient is absent, it is just not a cake.
contrasting stories. Schools that stagnated—no learning
Similarly, strong local leadership acting on the four
improvement over several years—were characterized by
other organizational elements constitutes the essential
clear weaknesses in their instructional guidance system.
ingredients for spurring school development. Broad-
They had poor curriculum alignment coupled with rela-
based instructional change and improved student
tively little emphasis on active student engagement in
learning entail coordinated action across these various
learning. These instructional weaknesses combined with
domains. Correspondingly, student outcomes are likely
weak faculty commitments to the school, to innovation,
to stagnate if a material weakness persists in any of the
and to working together as a professional community.
supports. The ensemble of supports is what’s essential
Undergirding all of this were anemic school-parent
for improvement. Taken together, they constitute the
community ties.
core organizational ingredients for advancing student
In contrast, schools in which student learning
engagement and achievement.
improved used high-quality professional development
as a key instrument for change. They had maximum
Building Trust
leverage when these opportunities for teachers occurred
in a supportive environment (that is, a school-based
Effecting a coherent improvement plan across the essential
professional community) and when teaching was guided
supports can be a daunting challenge. Embracing a coher-
by a common, coherent, and aligned instructional sys-
ent improvement plan challenges longstanding norms
tem. Undergirding all of this, in turn, was a solid base of
about teacher autonomy in the classroom and a laissez-
parent-community school ties.
faire orientation toward professional development and
There is a logic to reading the five essential organi-
innovative practice. Not surprisingly, cultivating teacher
zational supports from left to right—leadership drives
buy-in and commitment becomes a central concern in
change in the four other organizational supports—but
promoting the deep cultural changes required for such an
the actual execution of improvement is more organic
initiative to be successful. At this juncture, concerns about
and dynamic. Good teachers advance high-quality
building relational trust come forcefully into play.
instruction, but developing good teachers and retaining
Some of the most powerful relationships found in our
them in a particular school depends on supportive school
data are associated with relational trust and how it oper-
leadership and positive work relations with colleagues.
ates as both a lubricant for organizational change and
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 444
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
School and Society: Teaching and Teacher Leadership in the 21st Century Chapter 14 445
a moral resource for sustaining the hard work of local
contexts fade into the background. Some school reform
school improvement. Absent such trust, schools find
advocates believe only instruction and instructional lead-
it nearly impossible to strengthen parent–community
ership matter. This perspective assumes that a school’s
ties, build professional capacity, and enable a student-
social and personal connections with local families and
centered learning climate. The reverse is also true: Low
communities play a small role in reform. Our evidence,
trust is linked to weaker developments across these orga-
however, offers a strong challenge. To be sure, instruc-
nizational supports.
tion matters—a lot. But social context matters too. We
Given the asymmetry of power in urban school com-
have documented that strength across all five essential
munities, principals play a key role in nurturing trust
supports, including parent–school–community ties, is
formation. Principals establish both respect and per-
critical for improvement to occur in all kinds of urban
sonal regard when they acknowledge the vulnerabilities
schools. Unfortunately, we have also learned that this
of others, actively listen to their concerns, and eschew
organizational development is much harder to initiate
arbitrary actions. If principals couple this empathy
and sustain in some community contexts than others.
with a compelling school vision, and if teachers see
As data accumulated in Chicago and school-by-school
their behavior as advancing this vision, their personal
trends in attendance and student learning gains became
integrity is also affirmed. Then, assuming principals are
clear, a complex pattern of results emerged. Improving
competent at managing routine school affairs, an overall
schools could be found in all kinds of neighborhoods
ethos conducive to building trust is likely to emerge.
varying by socioeconomic and racial/ethnic composition.
Such leadership uses power constructively to jump-
Stagnating schools, in contrast, piled up in very poor,
start change. In the initial stages, school leaders cultivate
racially isolated African-American neighborhoods. We
low-risk collaborations among faculty members who are
became haunted by the question, “Why? What made
predisposed to working together. School-based profes-
reform so much more difficult to advance in some school
sional development is designed to advance instructional
communities?”
improvement and enhance a sense of community and
Our analyses led us to two different answers. First,
shared commitments among faculty. Similarly, principals
the social capital of a neighborhood is a significant
engage parents and other community members in activi-
resource for improving its local school. We found that
ties that enable participants to contribute to the school
the latter was much more likely in neighborhoods where
and advance the learning of their own children and thus
residents had a history of working together. In contrast,
experience a sense of efficacy. “Small wins” gradually build
the absence of such collective efficacy in the surround-
a school community’s capacity for the greater challenges
ing community increased the likelihood that a troubled
(and higher-risk social exchanges) that may lie ahead.
school would continue to stagnate. Correspondingly,
On balance, as principals seek to initiate change in a
communities with strong institutions, especially reli-
school, not everyone is necessarily affirmed or afforded
gious institutions, were more supportive contexts for
an equal voice. Relational trust can emerge only if par-
school improvement. These institutions afford a net-
ticipants show their commitment to engage in the hard
work of social ties that can be appropriated for other
work of reform and see others doing the same. Principals
purposes, such as improving schools. They also create
must take the lead and extend themselves by reaching
connections that can bring new outside resources into
out to others. On occasion, they may be called on to
isolated neighborhoods.
demonstrate trust in colleagues who may not fully recip-
So, differences among neighborhoods in their bond-
rocate, at least initially. But in the end, principals also
ing and bridging social capital help explain why the
must be prepared to use their authority to reform the
essential supports were more likely to develop in some
school community through professional norms. Inter-
neighborhoods than others. But this was only a partial
estingly, such authority may rarely be needed once new
answer for a subset of the school communities.
norms are firmly established.
A second mechanism was also at work. We found
that the proportion of children who were living under
extraordinary circumstances—neglect and abuse,
Unrecognized Challenges
homeless, foster care, domestic violence—also created
In many recent discussions about school reform, ideas
a significant barrier to improvement in some schools.
about parent involvement and school community To be clear, these students were learning at about the toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 445
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
446
Part Two Educational Aims in Contemporary Society
same rates as their classmates in whatever school they
Belief and Doubt
were enrolled. So, the learning gains for these particu-
lar students were not depressing the overall results for
Our work has been motivated by a deep belief that
their schools. But the odds of school stagnation soared
schools can and must do much better if we are to revital-
when a concentration of these students appeared in the
ize the American dream of opportunity for every child.
same place. On balance, schools are principally about
A good education is now more important than ever
teaching and learning, not solving all of the social prob-
in creating the pathway to this opportunity. Unfortu-
lems of a community. However, when palpable per-
nately, for far too many, this pathway is now closed, and
sonal and social needs walk through doors every day,
opportunity dies early. Thomas Jefferson’s observation
school staff can’t be expected to ignore those needs.
about America’s noble experiment in democracy—“If a
Our evidence suggests that when the proportion of
nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civi-
these needs remains high and pressing, the capacity of
lization, it expects what never was and never will be”—is
a school staff to sustain attention to developing the five
truer today than ever before.
essential supports falls by the wayside. A few schools
However, a belief in the power of schooling and in our
managed to succeed under these circumstances, but
ability to improve this institution must also coexist with
most did not.
a modicum of doubt—a critical perspective—about the
In sum, a nettlesome problem came into focus on
wisdom of any particular reform effort. Virtually every
improving student learning to truly disadvantaged com-
initiative involves at least some zone of wishful think-
munities where social capital is scarce and human need
ing, and even good designs typically require executing a
sometimes overwhelming. These schools face a “three-
strategy for which there is no established game plan. We
strike” problem. Not only are the schools highly stressed
now know, for example, that some schools, especially in
organizations, but they exist in challenged communities
poorer African-American neighborhoods, were dispro-
and confront an extraordinary density of human needs
portionately left behind. This is a brutal fact that had
every day.
to be told; our role as an agent informing reform meant
Our findings about schooling in truly disadvantaged
bringing it to light. Absent our inquiry, this result could
communities offer a sobering antidote to a heady politi-
easily have remained hidden in a more casual account-
cal rhetoric of “beating the odds” and “no excuses.”
ing of the overall positive test score trends.
To be sure, we believe that all schools can and must
But we must also do more than just tell the facts. We
improve. Such claims represent our highest, most noble
must seek to understand, and we must also ask why. To
aspirations for our children, our schools, and systems
see race and class differences in rates of improvement and
of schools. They are ideas worthy of our beliefs and
to just stop there without probing deeper simply creates
action. But there are also facts, sometimes brutal facts.
more fodder for conflict among critics and apologists of
Not all school communities start out in the same place
the current state of affairs. This dysfunctional discourse
and confront the same problems. Unless we recognize
advances no common understandings and helps no chil-
this, unless we understand more deeply the dynamics
dren and no families. What is really going on in these
of school stagnation, especially in our most neglected
school communities, and why are the important tasks of
communities, we seem bound to repeat the failures of
improving schools so difficult to advance? Asking these
the past.
questions, bringing evidence to bear on them, and in the
Our concluding point is straightforward—it is hard
process advancing public discourse about the improve-
to improve what we do not understand. We need more
ment of public education is a vital role that applied social
attention on how to improve schools in these specific
inquiry can and should fill in a technically complex
contexts. All plausible ideas for educational improve-
and politically diverse democratic society. In the end,
ment deserve serious consideration. Absent systematic
melding strong, independent disciplined inquiry with a
analysis of not only where we succeed but also where
sustained commitment among civic leaders to improve
and why we fail, we will continue to relegate many of
schooling is the only long-term assurance that an educa-
our students and their teachers to a similar fate.
tion of value for all may finally emerge.
toz24404_ch14_432-446.indd 446
07/09/12 2:56 PM
Confi rming Pages
Notes
Chapter 1
12. Russell B. Nye, The Cultural Life of the New Nation (New
York: Harper Torchbooks, 1963), pp. 29–30.
1. S. Tozer, “The Social Foundations of Education: School and
13. Julian P. Boyd, ed., The Papers of Thomas Jefferson (Princeton,
Society in a Century of NSSE,” in Lyn Corno, ed., Education
NJ: Princeton University Press, 1965), vol. 10, pp. 244–45.
across a Century: The Centennial Volume (Chicago: National
14. Patrick Henry, quoted in Nye, The Cultural Life, pp. 38–39.
Society for the Study of Education, 2001).
15.
Isaiah Berlin, Four Essays on Liberty (New York: Oxford
2. The term “hidden curriculum” is generally attributed to cur-
University Press, 1969).
riculum theorist Phillip W. Jackson, Life in Classrooms (New
16. Malone, Jefferson and His Time, vol. 2, pp. 222–23.
York: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston, 1968).
17.
See Ronald Takaki, Iron Cages: Race and Culture in 19th
3.
Abraham Flexner, “The Gates of Excellence,” Journal of
Century America (Oxford: Oxford University Press), pp. 36–65.
Adult Education, January 1932, p. 5.
Also see Adrian Koch, The Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson
4.
The material in this section relies heavily on Antony
(New York: Columbia, University Press, 1943), chap. 1.
Andrews, The Greeks (New York: Norton, 1967).
18.
Boyd, Papers of Jefferson, vol. 2, pp. 545–47.
5. The philosopher Aristotle articulated important purposes for edu-
19. Quoted in Faun M. Brodie, Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate
cation during this period. David Ross, trans., Aristotle: The Nicom-
Biography (New York: Bantam Books, 1974), p. 194.
achean Ethics (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 137.
20. Andrew A. Lipscomb and A. E. Berg, eds., The Writings
6. Thomas L. Pangle, ed., The Laws of Plato (New York: Basic
of Thomas Jefferson (Washington, DC: Thomas Jefferson
Books, 1980).
Memorial Association, 1903), vol. 14, p. 284.
21.
Boyd, Papers of Jefferson, vol. 2, p. 49.
Chapter 2
22. Leonard W. Levy, Jefferson and Civil Liberties: The Darker
Side (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1963),
1.
Annette Gordon-Reed, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings:
chap. 3.
An American Controversy (Paperback, March 22, 1998);
23.
Malone, Jefferson and His Time, vol. 5, p. 388.
Robert F. Turner, The Jefferson-Hemings Controversy: Report
24. Henry A. Washington, ed., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson
of … (Hardcover, 2011)
(New York: Riker and Thorne, 1854), vol. 7, pp. 397–99.
2. Garry Wills, “Negro President,” Jefferson and the Slave Power
25.
Boyd, Papers of Jefferson, vol. 123, p. 441.
(New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2003).
26.
Daniel Boorstein, The Lost World of Thomas Jefferson (Boston:
3. Historical Statistics of U.S. Colonial Times to 1970, Part 1
Beacon Press, 1960), p. 190.
(Washington, DC: Bureau of the Census, 1975), pp. 11–12.
27.
Boyd, Papers of Jefferson, vol. 12, pp. 14–19.
4.
Dumas Malone, Jefferson and His Time (Boston: Little,
28. Letter to William C. Jarvis, September 28, 1820, in Paul L.
Brown, 1948, 1951, 1962, 1963), vol. 2, p. 319.
Ford, ed., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (New York: G. P.
5.
Christopher Hitchens, Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man: A
Putnam Sons, 1899), vol. 10, p. 161.
Biography (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2007).
29. Letter to Edward Everett, March 27, 1824, in Lipscomb and
6.
Henri Pierenne, A History of Europe (Garden City, NY:
Bergh, Writings of Jefferson, vol. 16, p. 22.
Doubleday).
30.
Boyd, Papers of Jefferson, vol. 12, p. 442.
7. Alexander Pope (1730), “Intended for Sir Isaac Newton in
31.
Ibid.
Westminster Abbey,” in Henry W. Boynton, The Complete
32. Notes on the State of Virginia, in Saul K. Padover, ed., The
Poetical Words of Pope (Cambridge, MA: Houghton Mifflin,
Complete Jefferson (New York: Tudor, 1943), p. 687.
1931), p. 135 (emphasis in original).
33.
Ford, Writings of Jefferson, vol. 9, pp. 424–30.
8.
John Chester Miller, The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson
34.
Boyd, Papers of Jefferson, vol. 2, pp. 526–33.
and Slavery (New York: Free Press, 1977), p. 33.
35. Ibid., pp. 535–43.
9. See G. H. Koch, Religion of the American Enlightenment (New
36. Ibid., pp. 544–45.
York: Crowell, 1968); H. M. Morris, Deism in Eighteenth-
37.
Roy Honeywell, The Educational Work of Thomas Jefferson
Century America (New York: Columbia University Press, 1934).
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1931),
10.
Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography and Other Writings, Russell
pp. 233–45.
B. Nye, ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1958), pp. 163–64.
38. Ibid., pp. 245–60.
11.
See, as an example, Nancy Cott, The Bonds of Woman-
39.
Ford, Writings of Jefferson, vol. 9, pp. 427–38.
hood: “Woman’s Sphere” in New England, 1780 –1835 (New
40.
Boyd, Papers of Jefferson, vol. 2, p. 528.
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1977).
41.
Ford, Writings of Jefferson, vol. 3, pp. 254–55.
N–1
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 1
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
N–2 Notes
42. Notes on the State of Virginia, in Ford, Writings of Jefferson,
3.
Stanley K. Schultz, The Culture Factory (New York: Oxford
vol. 3, p. 250.
University Press, 1973), pp. 11, 23.
43.
Ibid.
4.
Carl F. Kaestle, Pillars of the Republic (New York: Hill &
44. “Report of the Commission,” in Honeywell, Educational
Wang, 1983), p. 62; Horace Mann, First Annual Report
Work, pp. 248–60; “Notes” in Ford, vol. 3, pp. 250–55.
(Boston: Dutton & Wentworth, 1838), p. 32; Second Annual
45.
Honeywell, Educational Work, pp. 248–60.
Report (Boston: Dutton & Wentworth, 1839), p. 38.
46.
Ford, Writings of Jefferson, vol. 9, p. 465.
5.
Kaestle, Pillars of the Republic, p. 62.
47. Lipscomb and Bergh, Writings of Jefferson, vol. 15, p. 455.
6. Calculated from Table 1 in Douglass C. North, The Economy
48.
Padover, Notes on the State, p. 1108.
of the United States 1790–1860 (Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
49. It was the case that each of the schools had required courses.
Prentice Hall, 1961), p. 35.
Thus, while students had free election to choose their
7. Freeman Butts and Lawrence Cremin, A History of Education
schools, they did not have free election among the courses.
in American Culture (New York: Henry Holt, 1953),
50.
Honeywell, Educational Work, p. 252.
pp. 157–60.
51.
Boyd, Papers of Jefferson, vol. 2, pp. 544–45.
8.
North, Economy of the United States, pp. 48–49.
52.
Ford, Writings of Jefferson, vol. 10, p. 96.
9. Ibid., pp. 70–71; Kaestle, Pillers of the Republic, p. 63.
53.
Koch, Religion, chap. 9.
10. David Montgomery, “The Working Classes of the Pre-Industrial
54. For a more detailed analysis of Jefferson’s views on slavery see
American City, 1780–1830,” Labor History 9 (Winter 1968),
Miller, The Wolf by the Ears.
pp. 3–22.
55.
Brodie, Thomas Jefferson, pp. 102–104.
11. Paul Faler, “Cultural Aspects of the Industrial Revolution:
56. Adrienne Koch and William Peden, The Life and Selected
Lynn, Massachusetts, Shoemakers and Industrial Morality,”
Writings of Thomas Jefferson (New York: Modern Library,
Labor History 15, no. 3 (Summer 1974), pp. 367–94.
1944), p. 25.
12. E. P. Thompson, “Time, Work, Discipline, and Industrial
57.
Malone, Jefferson and His Time, vol. 1, p. 226, and vol. 6,
Capitalism,” Past and Present, no. 38 (December 1968),
p. 542; Padover, Notes on the State, pp. 661–66; Brodie,
pp. 56–97; Herbert G. Gutman, “Work, Culture, and
Thomas Jefferson, pp. 7, 42–48, 103–105, 195–99.
Society in Industrializing America, 1815–1919,” American
58. Quoted in Miller, Wolf by the Ears, p. 276.
Historical Review 78, no. 3 (June 1973), pp. 531–88.
59.
Brodie, Thomas Jefferson, pp. 102–104.
13. Faler, “Cultural Aspects,” p. 368; Bruce Laurie, “ ‘Nothing
60.
Koch, Religion, p. 130.
on Compulsion’: Life Styles of Philadelphia Artisans,
61.
Malone, Jefferson and His Time, vol. 1, p. 445.
1820–1850,” Labor History 15, no. 3 (Summer 1974),
62.
Takaki, Iron Cages, p. 43–44.
pp. 337–66.
63. Ibid., p. 48.
14.
See Perry Miller, The New England Mind: From Colony
64. Ibid., p. 50. See also Annette Gordon-Reed’s new preface to
to Province (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings: An American Controversy
1953); and The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century
(Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia), 1998).
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1954).
65. Ibid., p. 58.
15. Irving H. Bartlett, The American Mind in the Mid-Nineteenth
66.
Ibid., p. 56. The metaphor Jefferson chose in order to under-
Century (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1967), pp. 6 –18.
score his belief that agriculture was necessary for American
16.
Jonathan Messerli, Horace Mann, A Biography (New York:
democracy while commerce and especially manufacturing
Alfred A. Knopf, 1972). This is the definitive biography and
were detrimental to its health tells us as much about Jefferson’s
our source for biographical data; however, Messerli should
stereotypical mind-set regarding women as it does about his
not be held accountable for our interpretive use of the data
belief in the potential evils of industry. He indicated that
he provides.
Americans must choose between three potential brides:
17. Quoted in ibid., p. 12.
Agriculture—the “pure damsel”; Commerce—the “vixen”;
18.
Quoted in Lawrence Cremin, ed., The Republic and the
and Manufacturing—the “diseased harlot.” (See Malone,
School: Horace Mann on the Education of Free Men (New
Jefferson and His Time, vol. 2, p. 383.)
York: Teachers College Press, 1957), p. 3.
67.
Malone, Jefferson and His Time, vol. 3, chap. 8.
19. Quoted in Messerli, Horace Mann, p. 249.
68. Letter to N. Burwell, in Padover, Notes on the States, p. 1085.
20.
Massachusetts State Board of Education and Secretary
69. Ibid., p. 1086.
Horace Mann, First Annual Report of the Board of Education
Together with the First Annual Report of the Secretary of the
Chapter 3
Board (Boston: Dutton & Wentworth, 1838), pp. 5–6.
1.
Ellwood P. Cubberley, The History of Education (Boston:
Hereafter referred to as First Annual Report.
Houghton Mifflin, 1920).
21. Ibid., p. 21.
2.
Joel Spring, The American School 1642–1993, 3rd ed. (New
22.
Horace Mann, Third Annual Report (Boston: Dutton &
York: McGraw-Hill, 1994), p. 7.
Wentworth, 1840), p. 19.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 2
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
Notes N–3
23. Horace Mann, Sixth Annual Report (Boston: Dutton &
( Boston: Dutton & Wentworth, 1846), pp. 34–35; Mann,
Wentworth, 1843), p. 51.
Eleventh Annual Report, pp. 26–27.
24. Mann, First Annual Report, pp. 8, 26.
50.
Horace Mann, Twelfth Annual Report ( Boston: Dutton &
25. Ibid., p. 73.
Wentworth, 1849), calculated from table on p. 21.
26. Mann, Second Annual Report, pp. 30–31.
51. Ibid., p. 22.
27.
Horace Mann, Fifth Annual Report (Boston: Dutton &
52. D. A. Hollinger and C. Capper, eds., The American Intellec-
Wentworth, 1843), pp. 31–33, 121–35.
tual Tradition, vol. 1, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University
28. Carle Kaestle and Maris A. Vinovskis, Education and Social
Press, 1993), p. 244.
Change in Nineteenth Century Massachusetts (Cambridge,
53. Ibid., p. 245.
MA: Cambridge University Press, 1980), p. 196.
54. Substantial portions of this section were taken from Paul C.
29. For a full discussion see Raymond B. Culver, Horace Mann
Violas, “Reflections on Theories of Human Capital, Skills
and Religion in the Massachusetts Public Schools (New Haven,
Training, and Vocational Education,” Education Theory 31,
CT: Yale University Press, 1929). Also see The Common
no. 2 (Spring 1981), pp. 137–51.
School Controversy (Boston: J. N. Bradley, 1844), and The
55. The ideas had first been articulated in England earlier in
Bible, The Rod, and Religion in Common Schools (Boston:
the 18th century by Robert Owen. Peter Drucker, T. W.
J. M. Whittmore, 1847).
Schwartz, and Burton A. Weisbrod are the 20th-century
30. See Robert Barger, “John Lancaster Spalding: Catholic Edu-
social scientists referred to. See Violas, pp. 137–39.
cation and Social Emissary,” unpublished Ph.D. disserta-
56.
Mann, Fifth Annual Report, p. 81.
tion, University of Illinois at Champaign, 1976, chap. 4,
57. Ibid., p. 83.
pp. 78–100.
58. Ibid., pp. 85–86.
31. Harold J. Lasky, ed., Autobiography of J. S. Mill with an
59. Ibid., pp. 93–95.
Appendix of Hitherto Unpublished Speeches and a Preface by
60.
Mann, Twelfth Annual Report, pp. 53–76.
Harold J. Lasky (London: Oxford University Press, 1924),
61. Ibid., p. 58.
pp. 327–29.
62. Ibid., p. 60.
32.
Messerli, Horace Mann, p. 251.
63.
Ibid.
33.
George Armstrong Kelly, ed., Johann Gottlieb Fichte,
64. Ibid., p. 67.
Addresses to the German Nation (New York: Harper Torch-
65. Ibid., p. 68.
books, 1968).
66. Maris A. Vinovskis, “Horace Mann on the Economic Pro-
34.
Horace Mann, Seventh Annual Report (Boston: Dutton &
ductivity of Education,” The New England Quarterly 43, no.
Wentworth, 1844), p. 23.
4 (December 1970), p. 565.
35. Ibid., p. 133.
67.
Mann, Seventh Annual Report.
36. Kenneth Barkin, “Social Control and the Volkschule in Vor-
68.
Messerli, Horace Mann, pp. 412–21.
marz Prussia,” Central European History 16, no. 1 (March
69.
Orestes Brownson, “Education of the People,” Boston Quarterly
1983), pp. 31–52.
Review, October 1838, p. 403.
37.
Horace Mann, Lectures on Education (Boston: Ide & Dutton,
70. Ibid., p. 406.
1855), p. 304.
71. Ibid., p. 415.
38. Ibid., p. 312.
72. Orestes Brownson, “The School Library,” Boston Quarterly
39. Ibid., pp. 316–17.
Review, April 1840, p. 229.
40. Ibid., p. 308.
73. Brownson, “Education of the People,” p. 412.
41. Ibid., p. 331.
74.
Messerli, Horace Mann, p. 331.
42.
Horace Mann, Eighth Annual Report (Boston: Dutton &
Wentworth, 1845), pp. 94–97.
Chapter 4
43. Ibid., p. 94.
44. Ibid., pp.12, 26, 58–66.
1.
Abraham Flexner and Frank Bachman, The Gary Schools:
45.
Mann, Fourth Annual Report (Boston: Dutton & Went-
A General Account (New York: General Education Board,
worth, 1841), p. 59.
1919).
46.
Mann, First Annual Report, p. 61; Fourth Annual Report,
2.
Ibid., p. 17.
p. 10; Sixth Annual Report, p. 31; Horace Mann, Eleventh
3. Leonard Dinnerstein and David M. Reimers, Ethnic Ameri-
Annual Report (Boston: Dutton & Wentworth, 1848), p. 26.
cans: A History of Immigration, 3rd ed. (New York: Harper
47.
Mann, Sixth Annual Report, pp. 31–33; Eleventh Annual
and Row, 1988), p. 54.
Report, pp. 26–27.
4.
Paul C. Violas, The Training of the Urban Working Class
48.
Horace Mann, Lectures, pp. vii, 72–73.
(Chicago: Rand McNally, 1978), p. 2; for example, see
49.
Mann, Sixth Annual Report, pp. 28–30; Seventh Annual
Lincoln Steffens, The Shame of the Cities (New York: McClure,
Report, pp. 140–42; Horace Mann Ninth Annual Report,
Philips, 1904). Also, for an introductory overview, see Bruce
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 3
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
N–4 Notes
M. Stave, ed., Urban Bosses, Machines, and Progressive
31.
Raybeck, History of American Labor, pp. 167–68.
Reformers (Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath, 1972).
32.
Brecher, Strike!, pp. 55–63.
5.
Barbara Kaye Greenleaf, American Fever: The Story of
33.
Norman Pollack, The Populist Response to Industrial
American Immigration (New York: Four Winds Press, 1970),
America (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1962),
p. 163.
pp. 11–12.
6.
Dinnerstein and Reimers, Ethnic Americans, pp. 64–65.
34. Ibid., p. 18.
7. From the sonnet by Emma Lazarus that appears on the
35. Ibid., pp. 43–44.
Statue of Liberty.
36. Ibid., especially chaps. 5 and 6.
8.
Dinnerstein and Reimers, Ethnic Americans, p. 71.
37.
The material in this section is based largely on James
9.
Ibid., p. 74.
Weinstein, The Decline of Socialism in America (New York:
10. Clarence J. Karier, “Testing for Order and Control in
Monthly Review Press, 1967).
the Corporate Liberal State,” in Clarence J. Karier, Paul
38.
Gabriel Kolko, The Triumph of Conservatism (New York:
C. Violas, and Joel Spring, eds., Roots of Crisis (Chicago:
Free Press, 1963).
Rand McNally, 1973), pp. 112–13. See also in that
39. Ibid., pp. 59ff.
volume, Paul C. Violas, “Progressive Social Philosophy:
40. Edward A. Krug, The Shaping of the American High School:
Charles Horton Cooley and Edward Alsworth Ross,”
1880–1929 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1969),
pp. 40–65.
pp. 266–67; Lawrence A. Cremin, The Transformation of the
11. Dinnerstein and Reimers, Ethnic Americans, p. 76.
School (New York: Vintage Books), p. 127.
12. Ibid., pp. 76–77.
41.
Robert Wiebe, The Search for Order (New York: Hill and
13. Ibid., pp. 50–51; James R. Barrett, Work and Community in
Wang, 1967).
the Jungl e (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987), p. 56;
42. See, for example, Bruce M. Stave, Urban Bosses, Machines,
David Brody, “The American Worker in the Progressive Age,”
and Progressive Reformers (Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath,
in The Worker in Industrial America: Essays on the Twentieth
1972).
Century Struggle (London: Oxford University Press, 1980),
43. Ibid., pp. 11–14.
p. 15.
44. Ibid., p. xvii.
14. Joseph G. Raybeck, A History of American Labor (New York:
45. Quoted in ibid., pp. 127–29.
Free Press, 1966), p. 52.
46. Illinois Stage Journal Register, July 30, 1986, p. 1.
15.
Robert Reich, The Next American Frontier (New York: New
47.
See, for example, David Tyack, The One Best System
York Times Books, 1983), pp. 26–27.
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1974); David
16. Ibid., p. 37.
Tyack, “City Schools: Centralization of Control at the Turn
17.
Brody, “The American Worker in the Progressive Age,”
of the Century,” in Jerome Karabel and A. H. Halsey, eds.,
pp. 11–12.
Power and Ideology in Education (New York: Oxford University
18.
Harry Braverman, Labor and Monopoly Capital (New York:
Press, 1977).
Monthly Review Press, 1974), pp. 113, 118.
48.
John Dewey, Reconstruction in Philosophy (Boston: Beacon
19. Ibid., p. 106.
Press, 1984); William James, The Meaning of Truth
20. Ibid., p. 94.
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975). See
21.
Alice Kessler-Harris, Out of Work: A History of Wage-Earning
also R. J. Wilson, Darwin and the American Intellectual
Women in the United States (New York: Oxford University
(Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press, 1967).
Press, 1982).
49.
John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems (Chicago: Swallow
22.
Ibid.
Press, 1929).
23. Alice Kessler-Harris, “Where Are the Organized Women
50. Paul C. Violas, “Progressive Social Philosophy.”
Workers?” in Linda K. Kerber and Jane De Hart Mathews,
51. Clarence J. Karier, “Psychological Conceptions of Man and
eds., Women’s America: Refocusing the Past (New York:
Society,” in Karier, The Individual, Society, and Education
Oxford University Press, 1982), pp. 230–31.
(Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1986), pp. 150–83.
24.
Ibid.
52. Quoted in ibid., p. 174.
25.
Leon Litwack, The American Labor Movement (New York:
53. Patricia Albjerg Graham, Progressive Education: From Arcady
Simon and Schuster, 1962), p. 10.
to Academe (New York: Teachers College Press, 1967), p. 8.
26.
Brody, “The American Worker in the Progressive Age,”
54. Ibid., p. 2.
pp. 6–7.
55.
David Nasaw, Schooled to Order (Oxford: Oxford University
27.
Reich, The Next American Frontier, p. 64.
Press, 1979).
28. Ibid., p. 67.
56. Charles W. Eliot, “Equality of Educational Opportunity,”
29. Quoted in Jeremy Brecher, Strike! (Boston: South End Press,
in Marvin Lazerson and W. Norton Grubb, eds., American
1977), p. 29.
Education and Vocationalism (New York: Teachers College
30. Ibid., p. 28.
Press, 1974), p. 137. Originally published in 1908 by the
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 4
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
Notes N–5
National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education,
76. Robert S. Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd, Middletown (New
Bulletin no. 5.
York: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, 1929), p. 194.
57.
Dewey, Reconstruction in Philosophy, p. 186. For a more
77.
Course of Study (Lewiston, ID: Board of Education of
recent, comprehensive intellectual biography of Dewey that
Lewiston, 1914), p. 91.
supports this interpretation of his democratic theory, see
78. Yearbook of the Deerfield-Shields High School, 1912–1913
Robert Westbrook, John Dewey and American Democracy,
(Highland Park, IL: Highland Park Board of Education,
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991). For a more crit-
1912), p. 37.
ical treatment of Dewey’s notion of democracy, see Clarence
79. Rena L. Vassar, Social History of American Education, Vol. 2:
J. Karier, “Liberalism and the Quest for Orderly Change,”
1860–Present (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1965), p. 101.
History of Education Quarterly 12 (Spring 1972), pp. 57–80.
80. Bowles and Gintis, Schooling in Capitalist America, p. 191.
58.
John Dewey, The Child and the Curriculum/The School
81. Charles W. Eliot, “Equality of Educational Opportunity,”
and Society (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968).
in Lazerson and Grubb, eds., American Education and
Originally published as separate volumes by the University of
Vocationalism, p. 137.
Chicago Press in 1902 and 1900, respectively.
82. Eliot, “The Function of Education in a Democratic Society.”
59.
John Dewey, Democracy and Education (New York: Macmil-
83.
Cubberley, Public Education in the United States, pp. 148,
lan, 1916), pp. 105–16.
151–52.
60. John Dewey, “Education and Social Change,” The Social
84. Clarence J. Karier, “Testing for Order and Control in the
Frontier 3 , no. 26 (May 1937), pp. 235–38.
Corporate State,” Educational Theory 11 (Spring 1971),
61.
John Dewey, The Child and the Curriculum/The School and
pp. 159–80.
Society.
62.
John Dewey, Experience and Education (New York: Macmillan
Chapter 5
1938), pp. 88–89.
63. Stephen Preskill, “Educating for Democracy: Charles W.
1.
Mary Wollstonecraft, “A Vindication of the Rights of
Eliot and the Differentiated Curriculum,” Educational
Woman,” in Miriam Schneir, ed., Feminism: The Essential
Theory 39, no. 4 (Fall 1989), pp. 353–54.
Historical Writings (New York: Vintage, 1972), pp. 6–7.
64. Ibid., p. 352.
2.
Timothy 2:9–15.
65. Ibid., p. 353.
3.
Elaine Pagels, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent (New York: Ran-
66. Ibid., pp. 354–55.
dom House, 1988), chap. 6.
67. Charles W. Eliot, “The Function of Education in a Demo cratic
4.
Augustine, City of God (New York: Penguin Books, 1984),
Society,” Educational Reform (New York: Century, 1898),
XIV:12, p. 570.
pp. 401–18.
5.
Pagels, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, p. 114.
68.
Violas, The Training of the Urban Working Class, p. 23.
6. It still so informs many contemporary Americans. See, for
69. Ellwood P. Cubberley, Public Education in the United States:
example, treatments of gender inequity in Shirley Brice Heath
A Study and Interpretation of American Educational History
and Milbrey W. McLaughlin, eds., Identity and Inner-City
(New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1919), p. 490.
Youth: Beyond Ethnicity and Gender (New York: Teach-
70. Preskill, “Educating for Democracy,” p. 356.
ers College Press, 1993); and Lois Weis and Michelle Fine,
71.
Ibid.
Beyond Silenced Voices: Class, Race, and Gender in U.S. Schools
72. Quoted in Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, Schooling in
(Buffalo, NY: SUNY Press, 1993).
Capitalist America (New York: Basic Books, 1976), p. 199.
7.
Thomas Woody, A History of Women’s Education in the
73. John L. Rury, “Vocationalism for Home and Work: Women’s
United States (New York: Science Press, 1929), vol. 1, p. 92.
Education in the United States, 1880–1930,” in B. Edward
8.
Ibid., p. 142.
McClellan and William J. Reese, eds., The Social History of
9.
Carl F. Kaestle, Pillars of the Republic: Common Schools and
American Education (Urbana: University of Illinois Press,
American Society 1780–1860 (New York: Hill and Wang,
1988), p. 250. Interestingly, in the 1980s and 1990s, coedu-
1983), p. 28.
cation was questioned again, but for different reasons. It was
10. Ibid., pp. 142–46.
argued by some that girls are disadvantaged in classes with
11. George Martin, “Early Education of Girls in Massachusetts,”
boys, who receive disproportionate attention and who are
Education 20 (1899), p. 326.
socialized to be more confident and aggressive than girls in
12.
Woody, History of Women’s Education, pp. 94, 179, 197,
group settings.
202, 216, 225, 271, 330–33, 339.
74.
Course of Study 1910–1911 (Beaumont, TX: Beaumont
13. John Winthrop, “Journal,” in Perry Miller, ed., The American
Public Schools, 1910), p. 25.
Puritans (Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1956), pp. 44–45.
75. J. F. Bobbitt, The San Antonio Public School System: A Survey
14.
Woody, History of Women’s Education, pp. 106–7, 128–35.
Conducted by J. F. Bobbitt (San Antonio: San Antonio School
15. Ibid., pp. 108–10.
Board, 1915), p. 20.
16. Ibid., pp. 108, 217–19, 230.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 5
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
N–6 Notes
17. Ibid., p. 241.
40. Fowler, “Educational Services of Mrs Emma Willard,” p. 128.
18. Quoted in Martha Maclear, A History of the Education of Girls
41.
Lutz, Emma Willard: Pioneer Educator, p. 29; Fowler, “Edu-
in New York and New England 1800–1870 (Washington,
cational Services of Mrs. Emma Willard,” p. 144.
DC: Howard University Press, 1926), p. 6.
42. Quoted in Goodsell, Pioneers of Women’s Education, p. 54.
19.
Woody, History of Women’s Education, p. 93.
This work includes a reprint of the Plan, pp. 45-81.
20. See, for example, Benjamin Rush, “Thoughts on Female
43. Quoted in ibid., p. 57.
Education,” in Frederick Roudolph, ed., Essays on Education
44. Quoted in ibid., p. 71.
in the Early Republic (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
45. Quoted in ibid., p. 72.
Press, 1965), pp. 25–41.
46. Although Willard retired from the principalship of the Troy
21.
Woody, History of Women’s Education, pp. 97–104.
Female Seminary in 1838, she continued to influence not
22.
Nancy Cott, The Bonds of Womanhood (New Haven, CT:
only the Seminary but American educational thought until
Yale University Press, 1977).
her death in 1870.
23.
Kaestle, Pillars of the Republic, p. 84.
47.
See Goodsell, Pioneers of Women’s Education, p. 85; Lutz,
24. Quoted in Elwood P. Cubberly, The History of Education
Emma Willard: Pioneer Educator, pp. 40, 93, 97, 113.
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920), p. 313.
48. Fowler, “Educational Services of Mrs. Emma Willard,” p. 152.
25.
Kaestle, Pillars of the Republic, p. 28.
49. Lutz, Emma Willard: Pioneer Educator, p. 47.
26.
Maclear, History of the Educaion of Girls, pp. 12–26.
50. Ibid., pp. 47– 48.
27. Quoted in ibid., p. 12.
51. Scott, “The Ever Widening Circle,” p. 17.
28. Ibid., pp. 14–23.
52.
Lutz, Emma Willard: Pioneer Educator, p. 98; Emma Willard,
29.
Rush,
“Thoughts on Female Education,” pp. 29, 39.
“Letter Addressed as a Circular to the Members of the
30. Common School Journal 2 (1838), p. 100.
Willard Association for the Mutual Improvement of Female
31. Quoted in Woody, History of Women’s Education, p. 318.
Teachers,” Troy, 1838.
32. Quoted in ibid., p. 311.
53.
Scott, “The Ever Widening Circle,” p. 5. Although Mrs. Willard
33. Quoted in Maclear, History of the Education, of Girls, p. 18.
relinquished the principalship of the Seminary to her
34. See Miriam Schneir, ed., Feminism: The Essential Historical
daughter-in-law in 1838, she returned to live at the Seminary
Writings (New York: Vintage Books), 1972.
in 1844 and continued to exercise personal influence on the
35. Sarah M. Grimke, “Letter,” in Schneir, Feminism, p. 38.
students until her death in 1870. Lutz, Emma Willard: Pioneer
36.
Gertrude Martin, “The Education of Women and Sex
Educator, pp. 108-10.
Equality,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and
54.
Lutz, Emma Willard: Pioneer Educator, pp. 49, 115–23.
Social Science, November 1914, p. 41.
55. Phillida Bunkle, “Sentimental Womanhood and Domestic
37.
The direct quotes in this section on Beecher come from
Education, 1830–1870,” History of Education Quarterly 14
Catharine Beecher, A Treatise on Domestic Economy (1841) in
(Spring 1974), p. 13.
D. A. Hollinger and C. Capper, eds., The American Intellectual
56. Scott, “The Ever Widening Circle,” p. 8.
Tradition, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford University Press,
57. Unless otherwise noted, data and quotations in this section
1993), pp. 244–59. The general approach to interpreting
are from A. J. Cooper, “Womanhood a Vital Element in the
Beecher reflected here is indebted to J. R. Martin, Reclaiming
Regeneration and Progress of a Race” (1886), in H. L. Gates,
a Conversation: The Ideal of the Educated Woman (New Haven,
Jr., and N. Y. McKay, eds., The Norton Anthology of African
CT: Yale University Press, 1985), pp. 103–38. Both sources
American Literature (New York: Norton), pp. 553–69.
rely in turn on K. K. Sklar, Catharine Beecher: A Study in
58. Quoted in Renea Henry, “W. E. B. DuBois and the Question
American Domesticity (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
of Black Woman Intellectuals,” in S. E. Tozer, ed., Philosophy
1973).
of Education 1998 (Champaign, IL: Philosophy of Education
38.
Martin, Reclaiming a Conversation, p. 137.
Society, 1999), pp. 401–03.
39. See John Lord, Mrs. Emma Willard (New York, 1873); Alma
59. Ibid.
Lutz, Emma Willard: Pioneer Educator of American Women
60. For a fuller description of the academies, see Theodore R.
(Boston, 1964); Mrs. A. W. Fairbanks, ed., Mrs. Emma
Sizer, ed., The Age of the Academies. Classics in Education, no.
Willard and Her Pupils or Fifty Years of the Troy Female
22 (New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University,
Seminary 1822–1872 (New York, 1898); Henry Fowler,
1964).
“Educational Services of Mrs. Emma Willard,” American
61.
Woody, History of Women’s Education, pp. 341-63; Maclear,
Journal of Education, vol. 6, 1859, pp. 123–68; Willystine
History of the Education of Girls, pp. 39-46.
Goodsell, Pioneers of Women’s Education in the United States
62.
Maclear, History of the Education of Girls, p. 40.
(New York, 1931); Anne Firor Scott, “The Ever Widening
63. Ibid., p. 41.
Circle: The Diffusion of Feminist Values from the Troy
64.
Woody, History of Women’s Education, p. 519.
Female Seminary, 1822–1870,” History of Education
65. Ibid., pp. 519–21, 528.
Quarterly 19 (Spring 1979), pp. 3–27.
66. Maclear, History of the Education of Girls, p. 46.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 6
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
Notes N–7
67.
Woody, History of Women’s Education, pp. 519–24; Maclear,
100. Ibid., p. 415.
History of the Education of Girls, pp. 56– 60.
101. Ibid., pp. 417–18.
68. Quoted in Woody, History of Women’s Education, p. 525.
69. Quoted in Kaestle, Pillars of the Republic, p. 86.
Chapter 6
70. Quoted in Woody, History of Women’s Education, pp. 527–28.
71.
Woody, History of Women’s Education, pp. 105– 6.
1. For a thorough treatment of the Reconstruction period, see
72. Ibid., pp. 396, 546.
Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution,
73. Quoted in Maclear, History of the Education of Girls, p. 11.
1863 –1877 (New York: Harper and Row, 1988). See also
74.
Maclear, History of the Education of Girls, p. 69.
Kenneth M. Stampp, The Era of Reconstruction, 1865–1877
75. Ibid., p. 69.
(New York: Vintage Books, 1965).
76. Woody, History of Women’s Education, vol. 2, p. 140.
2.
C. Vann Woodward, “From Origins of the New South, ”
77. Ibid., pp. 140–47.
excerpted in Foner, pp. 241ff.
78. Maclear, History of the Education of Girls, pp. 68–78.
3.
Ibid., pp. 241– 42.
79. Quoted in Maclear, History of the Education of Girls, p. 80.
4.
C. Vann Woodward, The Strange Career of Jim Crow (New
80. Ibid.
York: Oxford University Press, 1955). Woodward notes
81.
Maclear, History of the Education of Girls, pp. 80 –88.
that while the origin of the term “Jim Crow” is lost in
82. Quoted in ibid., p. 82.
obscurity, a song and dance named “Jim Crow,” written by
83. See, for example, Report on Vocational Training (Chicago:
Thomas D. Rice in 1832, apparently is the source of the
City Club of Chicago, 1912), p. 16.
term as applied to White supremacy practices in the South.
84. John D. Philbrick, “City School Systems in the United States,”
By 1890, Woodward notes, the term was being used in its
Bureau of Education, Circulars of Information (Washington,
adjectival form.
DC: Government Printing Office, 1885), p. 89.
5.
Louis R. Harlan, Booker T. Washington: The Wizard of
85. W. N. Hutt, “The Education of Women for Home-making,”
Tuskegee, 1901–1915 (New York: Oxford University Press,
NEA Addresses and Proceedings (Washington, DC: National
1983), p. viii.
Education Association, 1910), p. 513.
6. The Black belt was the geopolitical area in America in
86. New York Annual Report, 1909, p. 531.
which Blacks constituted a majority of the population
87. New York Annual Report, 1910, p. 259.
and the area in which they demonstrated the greatest
88. Henry S. Tibbets, “The Progress and Aims of Domestic
political, economic, and cultural solidarity during the life
Science in the Public Schools of Chicago,” NEA Addresses
and career of Washington. This area embraced a group
and Proceedings (Washington, DC: National Education
of counties in eastern Virginia and North Carolina; a
Association, 1901), p. 259.
belt of counties extending from the South Carolina coast
89. Tibbets, “Progress and Aims of Domestic Science,” p. 258.
through South Carolina, central Georgia, and Alabama;
90. New York Annual Report, 1910, p. 131.
and a detached area embracing a portion of the lower
91.
Both quotations from “Report of the Subcommittee on
Mississippi River Valley. Tuskegee Institute was located in
Industrial and Technical Education in the Secondary
Alabama’s Black belt, which extended from the west-central
Schools,”
to the southeastern portion of the state where Macon
Report of the Committee on the Place of Industries in
County is located. This portion of Alabama’s Black belt
Public Education to the National Council of Education
contained, in 1910, 21 counties, all with majority Black
(Washington, DC: National Education Association,
populations, ranging from a low of 51.7 percent in Pickens
1910), pp. 112, 113.
County to a high of 88.2 percent in Lowndes County.
92. Ibid., p. 11.
Alabama’s and the South’s Black belt populations showed
93. Ibid., p. 18.
remarkably little change from emancipation to the end
94. John L. Rury, “Vocationalism for Home and Work: Women’s
of Washington’s career in 1915. It was in this context
Education in the United States, 1880–1930,” in B. Edward
that Washington emerged as the educational diplomat of
McClellan and W. J. Reese, eds., The Social History of American
Black America and sought to apply the Hampton doctrine
Education (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988).
of economic interdependence, racial separation, and
95. Ibid., p. 245.
industrial education.
96. Ibid., p. 246.
7. Delegates to Alabama’s constitutional convention quoted in
97. Timothy J. Crimmins, “The Crystal Staircase: A Study of the
Horace Mann Bond, Negro Education in Alabama: A Study
Effects of Caste and Class on Secondary Education in Late
in Cotton and Steel (New York: Atheneum, 1939), 1969 ed.,
19th Century Atlanta, Georgia,” Urban Education 8, no. 4
pp. 167–68, 181–82, 192. While the term “freedmen” has
(January 1974), pp. 401–21.
a regrettable masculine bias, it is an important historical
98. Ibid., p. 13.
designation, enshrined by Congress in the Freedmen’s
99. Ibid., p. 416.
Bureau, for ex-slaves.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 7
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
N–8 Notes
8.
Foner, Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, p. 96;
27. Booker T. Washington, quoted in Anderson, Education of
David Tyack, Thomas James, and Aaron Benavot, Law and
Blacks, p. 39.
the Shaping of Public Education, 1785–1954 (Madison:
28.
Harlan, Booker T. Washington: The Making of a Black Leader,
University of Wisconsin Press, 1987), p. 144.
1856–1901, p. 61.
9. Tyack, James, and Benavot, Shaping of Public Education, p. 144.
29.
Anderson, Education of Blacks, pp. 51–52; Booker T. Wash-
10.
Bond, Negro Education in Alabama, pp. 148–49, 156.
ington and W. E. Burghardt Du Bois, The Negro in the South:
11. Robert J. Norrell, Reaping the Whirlwind: The Civil Rights
His Economic Progress in Relation to His Moral and Religious
Movement in Tuskegee (New York: Knopf, 1985), 1986
Development (New York: Citadel Press, 1970; also published
Vintage Books ed., pp. 10–11; Bond, Negro Education in
in 1907 in London by Moring Ltd.), pp. 14, 26, 74.
Alabama, p. 135; and Jonathan M. Wiener, Social Origins of
30.
Anderson, Education of Blacks, pp. 37, 52; Harlan, “Booker
the New South: Alabama, 1860–1885 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana
T. Washington in Biographical Perspective,” p. 1594;
State University Press, 1978), pp. 93–111.
Raymond W. Smock, ed., Booker T. Washington in Perspec-
12.
Bond, Negro Education in Alabama, pp. 148–49, 156.
tive: Essays of Louis R. Harlan (Jackson: University Press of
13. Ibid., pp. 156, 160.
Mississippi, 1988), p. 113.
14. Ibid., p. 161.
31.
Anderson, Education of Blacks, p. 44.
15. Ibid., p. 157; Louis R. Harlan, Pete Daniel, Stuart B.
32.
Ibid.
Kaufman, Raymond W. Smock, and William M. Welty,
33.
Smock, Booker T. Washington in Perspective, p. 104; quoted
The Booker T. Washington Papers (Urbana: University of
in James D. Anderson, Education for Servitude: The Social
Illinois Press, 1972), vol. 2, p. 443; and Benjamin G.
Purpose of Schooling in the Black South, Ph.D. dissertation,
Brawley, A Social History of the American Negro (New
University of Illinois, 1973, p. 175; Washington and Du
York: Macmillan, 1921).
Bois, The Negro in the South, p. 28; quoted in Anderson,
16. Louis R. Harlan, Booker T. Washington: The Making of a
Education of Blacks, p. 44; Harlan et al., The Booker T.
Black Leader, 1856–1901 (New York: Oxford University
Washington Papers, vol. 4, p. 369.
Press, 1972), 1975 paperback ed., in Preface.
34.
Harlan et al., The Booker T. Washington Papers, vol. 4,
17. James D. Anderson, The Education of Blacks in the South,
p. 220; Louis R. Harlan and Raymond W. Smock, eds., The
1860–1935 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Booker T. Washington Papers (Urbana: University of Illinois
Press, 1988), pp. 148–50.
Press, 1976), vol. 5, p. 617.
18.
Bond, Negro Education in Alabama, pp. 224–25.
35.
Harlan et al., The Booker T. Washington Papers, vol. 4,
19. Booker T. Washington, quoted in Anderson, The Education
pp. 197–98, 369–72, 383; Smock, Booker T. Washington in
of Blacks in the South, p. 5.
Perspective, p. 105.
20.
Louis R. Harlan, Booker T. Washington 1856–1901,
36. Harlan, “Booker T. Washington in Biographical Perspective,”
pp. 35–36, 44, 228.
pp. 1593–94.
21. Booker T. Washington, quoted in Bond, Negro Education in
37.
Smock, Booker T. Washington in Perspective, p. 106.
Alabama, p. 218, 220–25; Booker T. Washington, My Larger
38.
Anderson, Education of Blacks, chap. 2.
Education: Being Chapters from My Experience (Garden City,
39.
Ibid.
New York: Doubleday, 1911), p. 305.
40. Ibid., p. 75.
22.
Raymond Wolters, The New Negro on Campus: Black College
41. John Hope Franklin, Three Negro Classics (New York: Avon
Rebellions of the 1920s (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Books, 1965), p. xii. See also the acclaimed biography by
Press, 1975), p. 7.
David L. Lewis, W. E. B. Du Bois 1868–1919: Biography of a
23.
Anderson, Education of Blacks, pp. 178–85; Robert A. Margo,
Race (New York: Holt, 1993).
Disenfranchisement, School Finance, and the Economics of
42. W. E. B. Du Bois, The Autobiography of W. E. B. Du Bois
Segregated Schools in the United States South, 1890–1910
(New York: International, 1968), p. 83.
(New York: Garland, 1985), pp. 6, 16, 24–25, 110–11.
43. Ibid., p. 236.
24. Quoted in Louis R. Harlan, Separate and Unequal: Public
44. Ibid., pp. 237–39; also see selection at the end of this chapter.
School Campaigns and Racism in the Southern Seaboard States
45.
Du Bois, Autobiography, p. 262.
1901–1915 (1958; reprint ed., New York: Atheneum, 1968),
46.
Lewis, W. E. B. Du Bois 1868–1919, p. 2.
and Harlan, Booker T. Washington: The Wizard of Tuskegee,
47. Margaret Danner and Dudley Randall, Poem Counterpoem
1901–1915, pp. 162, 192–93.
(Detroit: Broadside Press, 1966), p. 8.
25. Booker T. Washington, “The Successful Training of the
Negro,” World’s Work 6 (August 1903), pp. 3731–51.
Chapter 7
26. Louis R. Harlan, “Booker T. Washington in Biographical
Perspective ,” American Historical Review, October 1970,
1. For discussion of Forbes on curriculum, see Susan Lobo and
p. 1589; Harlan, Booker T. Washington: The Making of a
Steve Talbot, eds. Native American Voice: A Reader (Boston:
Black Leader, 1856–1901, p. 58.
Addison-Wesley, 1997).
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 8
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
Notes N–9
2. Quoted in Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United
26.
Ibid.
States (New York: Harper and Row, 1980), p. 515.
27. See Laura Thompson, Personality and Government (Mexico
3.
Brian Dippie, The Vanishing American: White Attitudes and
City: Educaciones Del Instituto Indigenista Interamericano,
U.S. Indian Policy (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University
1951), foreword by J. Collier, p. xiii.
Press, 1982). See also Virgil Vogel, ed., This Country Was
28. Laura Thompson and Alice Joseph, The Hopi Way (Chicago:
Ours: A Documentary History of the American Indian (New
University of Chicago Press, 1944), foreword by J. Collier.
York: Harper and Row, 1972); Francis Jennings, The
29. Ibid., p. 9.
Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism and the Cant of
30. Laurence M. Hauptman, The Iroquois and the New Deal
Conquest (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press,
(Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1981); Francis
1975); and Alice B. Kehoe, North American Indians: A
Paul Prucha, The Great Father: The U.S. Government and
Comprehensive Account
(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice
the American Indians (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press,
Hall, 1981), pp. 224–44. Also see Francis P. Prucha, ed.,
1984), vol. 2.
Documents of U.S. Indian Policy (Lincoln: University of
31. Willard W. Beatty, Education for Action: Selected Articles
Nebraska Press, 1975).
from Indian Education 1936–1943 (Washington, DC: U.S.
4.
Dippie, The Vanishing American, p. 181.
Indian Service, 1944), p. 24.
5.
Ibid.
32. Willard W. Beatty, Education for Cultural Change: Selected
6.
Prucha, Documents of U.S. Indian Policy, p. 688.
Articles from Indian Education 1944–51 (Washington, DC:
7. See Lawrence Kelly, “John Collier and the Indian New Deal:
U.S. Indian Service, 1953).
An Assessment,” in Janet Smith and Robert M. Kvasnicka, eds.,
33.
Beatty, Education for Action, p. 147.
Indian-White Relations: A Persistent Paradox (Washington,
34. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, The Navajo Nation: An
DC: Howard University Press, 1976).
American Colony, 1975, p. 41.
8. W. C. Ryan and R. K. Brandt, “Indian Education Today,”
35. Ibid., p. 264.
Progressive Education 9, no. 2 (February 1932), p. 81.
9. See Lawrence C. Kelly, The Assault on Assimilation: John Collier
Chapter 8
and the Origins of Indian Policy Reform (Albuquerque:
University of New Mexico Press, 1983).
1.
James E. McClellan, Toward an Effective Critique of American
10. Ibid., p. 24.
Education (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1968), p. 59.
11. Ibid., p. 36.
2. Bernard Bailyn et al., The Great Republic (Lexington, MA:
12. Ibid., p. 29.
D. C. Heath, 1981), pp. 767–72; William Leuchtenberg,
13. R. Lawrence Moore, “Directions of Thought in Progressive
The Perils of Prosperity, 1914–32 (Chicago: University of
America,” in Lewis L. Gould, ed., The Progressive Era (Syracuse,
Chicago Press, 1958), chap. 10; Frederick Lewis Allen, Only
NY: Syracuse University Press, 1974).
Yesterday (New York: Harper and Row, 1931), chap. 12.
14. Lawrence C. Kelly, The Navajo Indians and Federal Indian
3.
Bailyn et al., Great Republic, pp. 779–83, 798–802; David
Policy, 1900–1935 (Tucson: University of Arizona Press,
Tyack, Robert Lowe, and Elisabeth Hansot, Public Schools
1968). Also see Emily Hahn, Mabel: A Biography of Mabel
in Hard Times (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press),
Dodge Luhan (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977).
pp. 6–27.
15. See John Collier, Indians of the Americas: The Long Hope
4.
Tyack et al., Public Schools in Hard Times, pp. 13–26, 59–76.
(New York: New American Library, 1947).
5. Peter Carroll and David Noble, The Free and the Unfree
16.
Ibid.
(London: Penguin Press, 1977), pp. 348–49.
17. Kenneth R. Philp, John Collier’s Crusade for Indian Reform,
6. Ibid.; William Appleman Williams, The Tragedy of American
1920–1954 (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1977).
Diplomacy (New York: Dell, 1959), pp. 268–76; Stephen
18. Reports of the Secretary of the Interior (Washington, DC:
Ambrose, Rise to Globalism (London: Penguin Books, 1980),
U.S. Government Printing Office, 1925, 1932).
chap. 5.
19.
Ibid. (1932).
7. Harry Truman, quoted in Stephen E. Ambrose, “From
20. See Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., The Coming of the New Deal
Korea to Vietnam: The Failure of a Policy Rooted in
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1959).
Fear,” in Blanche Wiesen Cook, Alice Kessler Harris, and
21. M. K. Sniffen, ed., Indian Truth (Philadelphia: Indian Rights
Ronald Radosh, eds., Past Imperfect: Alternative Essays
Association, May 1933), p. 1.
in American History (New York: Knopf, 1973), vol. 2,
22. Department of the Interior, 1933.
p. 205.
23. Department of the Interior, 1935.
8. McGeorge Bundy, Morton H. Halperin, et al., “Back from
24.
See Thomas Weaver, ed., Indians of Arizona: A Contemporary
the Brink,” Atlantic Monthly, August 1986, pp. 35–41.
Perspective (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1974).
9. Ambrose, “From Korea to Vietnam,” p. 204.
25. Oliver LaFarge, ed., The Changing Indian (Norman: Univer-
10.
Eric Goldman, The Crucial Decade (New York: Vintage
sity of Oklahoma Press, 1942).
Books, 1960), chap. 6.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 9
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
N–10 Notes
11. See Harvard Sitkoff, The Struggle for Black Equality (New
28. Educational Policies Commission and the American Council
York: Hill and Wang, 1981); John Hope Franklin, From
on Education, Education and National Security (December
Slavery to Freedom, 3rd ed. (New York: Vintage Books,
1951), pp. 12, 15, 27–28, 38, 45.
1969), chaps. 30 and 31; Meyer Weinberg, A Chance to
29. James B. Conant, Education and Liberty (Cambridge, MA:
Learn (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press,
Harvard University Press, 1953), p. 62.
1977), chaps. 2 and 3.
30.
Lawrence Cremin, The Transformation of the School (New
12.
Harry Braverman, Labor and Monopoly Capital (New York:
York: Vintage Books, 1961), pp. 334–38; Harold Alberty et
Monthly Review Press, 1974), chaps. 5 and 6; David Noble,
al., Let’s Look at the Attacks on the Schools (Columbus: Ohio
America by Design (New York: Oxford University Press,
State University, 1951), pp. 3–4.
1977), chap. 7; David Riesman, The Lonely Crowd (New
31.
Diane Ravitch, The Troubled Crusade (New York: Basic
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1961), chaps. 6 and 7;
Books, 1983), p. 68.
Joel Spring, The Sorting Machine (New York: Longman,
32.
Mortimer Smith, And Madly Teach (Chicago: Henry Reg nery,
1976), chap. 6; George Santyana, Character and Opinion in
1949), pp. 10, 22–23, 37, 43; Arthur Bestor, Educational
the United States (New York: Norton, 1934), p. 11.
Wastelands (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1953),
13.
Nicholas Lemann, The Big Test: The Secret History of the
pp. 36–37, 79–80; James D. Koerner, ed., The Case for Basic
American Meritocracy (New York: Farrar, Strauss, and
Education, (Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1959), p. v.
Giroux, 1999), chap. 4.
33. Hyman G. Rickover, Education and Freedom (New York:
14. James B. Conant, My Several Lives (New York: Harper and
E. P. Dutton, 1959), p. 38.
Row, 1970), p. 49.
34.
Henry Chauncey, Annual Report of the Educational Testing
15. The Nation, May 24, 1933, p. 571.
Service, 1957–58 (Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service),
16.
Conant, My Several Lives, p. 134.
p. 28. For evidence of how ETS works as a sorting machine, see
17. Examples of the use of the Calvinist metaphor include the
Allan Nairn, The Reign of ETS (Washington, DC: Ralph Nader
following: Conant, Vital Speeches of the Day, July 15, 1936,
Report on the Educational Testing Service, 1980).
p. 638; Feb. 1, 1937, p. 254; Harvard Annual Report, 1936–37,
35.
John Gardner, Annual Report of the Carnegie Corporation of
pp. 14–15.
New York, 1956 (New York: Carnegie Corporation of New
18. Quotations in J. G. Hershberg, James B. Conant: Harvard
York, 1957), p. 25; John Gardner, Excellence (New York:
to Hiroshima and the Making of the Nuclear Age (New York:
Harper and Row, 1961), p. 66.
Knopf, 1993), p. 11–12.
36. James B. Conant, The American High School Today (New
19.
Conant, My Several Lives, pp. 428–32.
York: McGraw-Hill, 1959), p. 15.
20.
Conant, Education for a Classless Society (Cambridge, MA:
37. Ibid., pp. 22, 40; Raymond Callahan, Education and the Cult
Harvard University Press, 1940), pp. 1–18.
of Efficiency (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962),
21. Ibid., pp. 33–35. Also see Thomas Grissom, “Education and
p. viii; Conant Personal Papers, Box 3, Folder 40, Harvard
the Cold War: James B. Conant,” in Clarence Karier, Paul
University Archives.
Vicola s, and Joel Spring, eds., Roots of Crisis (Chicago: Rand
38. “Report on Dissemination Campaign,” March 25, 1959;
McNally, 1973). Later Conant wrote, “From frustrated indi-
Tentative Plan for Dissemination Campaign for the Publica-
viduals with long education and considerable intelligence
tion of The American High School Today, October 28, 1958,
society has much to fear. From such people come the leaders
both in Conant Personal Papers, Box 2, Folder 34, Harvard
of antidemocratic movements.” Conant, Ladies Home Journal,
University Archives.
June 1948, p. 107.
39.
Conant, The American High School Today, pp. 37–38, 40;
22. James B. Conant, Thomas Jefferson and the Development of
James B. Conant, The Child, the Parent, and the State (New
American Public Education (Charlottesville: University of
York: McGraw-Hill, 1959), pp. 36–39, 42.
Virginia Press, 1979), pp. 173–82.
40.
Robert Hampel, The Last Little Citadel (New York: Houghton
23.
See especially J. B. Conant, Public Education and the
Mifflin, 1986), pp. 68–70.
Structure of American Society (New York: Teachers College
41.
Conant, The Child, the Parent, and the State, pp. 32–35,
Press, 1946).
43–44, 191–92.
24.
Lemann, The Big Test, p. 47.
42.
Robert Hampel, The Last Little Citadel (Boston: Houghton
25.
Conant, Public Education and the Structure of American
Mifflin, 1986), p. 69.
Society, pp. 2–41. Also see Conant, “Selection and Guidance
43. Quoted in Hershberg, James B. Conant, p. 713.
in the Secondary School,” Harvard Educational Review,
44. James B. Conant, Slums and Suburbs (New York: McGraw-
Winter 1948, pp. 61–75.
Hill, 1961), pp. 31, 96–98, 115, 131–33; Clarence Karier,
26.
Lemann, The Big Test, p. 47.
Man, Society, and Education (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman,
27.
Conant, Education in a Divided World (Cambridge: Harvard
1967), p. 254.
University Press, 1948), pp. viii–ix, 35–37, 104–5; 233;
45.
Conant, Slums and Suburbs, p. 34.
McClellan, Toward an Effective Critique of American
46.
Henry Perkinson, 200 Years of American Educational Thought
Education, p. 104.
(New York: Longman, 1976), pp. 255–56.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 10
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
Notes N–11
47. James B. Conant, The Comprehensive High School (New York:
14.
John Gaventa, Power and Powerlessness (Urbana: University
McGraw-Hill, 1967), pp. 76–79; Conant, My Several Lives,
of Illinois Press, 1980), p. vi.
pp. 640–46.
15. T. Jackson Lears, “The Concept of Cultural Hegemony:
48. Lemann, p. 348.
Problems and Possibilities,” American Historical Review 90
49. Ibid., p. 350.
(June 1985), pp. 567–93.
50.
David Tyack and Larry Cuban, Tinkering toward 16. Anup Shah, “Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentra-Utopia, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1995,
tion of Ownership,” www.globalissues.org/humanrights/
pp. 136–37.
media/corporations/owners.asp.
51.
J. Dewey, Reconstruction in Philosophy (New American
17.
Robert McChesney, Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Com-
Library Edition, 1950), p. 147.
munications Policy in Dubious Times (Urbana: University of
Illinois Press, 1999), p. xiii.
18. See “Bestriding the World,” Granville Williams of Britain’s
Chapter 9
Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom. Prepared
1.
Jonathan Kozol, Shame of the Nation (New York: Brown,
for New Internationalist magazine, 2002.
2005), p. 69; Nicholas Meier, “Reading First?” Critical
19. International Herald Tribune, November 30, 2000.
Literacy: Theories and Practices 3, no. 2 (2009), pp. 69–83.
20. GE Workers United, www.geworkersunited.org/news/fast_
2.
International Comparisons in Fourth-Grade Reading
facts.asp#defense.
Literacy, International Association for the Evaluation of
21.
See www.ge.com/en/company/news/turn_on_light.htm.
Educational Achievement, Progress in International Reading
22. GE Workers United, www.geworkersunited.org/news/fast_
Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2001.
facts.asp#defense.
3.
Carl F. Kaestle, “The History of Literacy and the History
23. Shah, p. 6.
of Readers,” in E. R. Kintgen, B. M. Kroll, and M. Rose,
24. Josh Silver, in the Huffington Post, April 26, 2012.
eds., Perspectives on Literacy (Carbondale: Southern Illi-
25. See, for example, any of several works by Noam Chomsky,
nois University Press, 1988), p. 103.
including On Power and Ideology: The Managua Lectures
4. Kaestle, “The History of Literacy and the History of Readers,”
(Boston: South End Press, 1987) and The Culture of
p. 109.
Terrorism (Boston: South End Press, 1988). See also Joshua
5.
Richard D. Brown, Knowledge Is Power: The Diffusion of
Cohen and Joel Rogers, Rules of the Game: American Politics
Information in Early America, 1700–1865 (New York:
and the Central America Movement (Boston: South End
Oxford University Press, 1989), p. 12.
Press, 1986). Finally, from a more conservative perspective,
6. Dale Van Every, cited in Howard Zinn, The People’s History
see Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Kwitney, Endless
of the United States (New York: Harper and Row, 1980),
Enemies: The Making of an Unfriendly World (New York:
pp. 135–36.
Penguin Books, 1987).
7.
Kaestle, “The History of Literacy and the History of Readers,”
26.
Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, 3rd ed. (Boston:
p. 109; Stanley Schultz, The Culture Factory: Boston
Beacon Press, 1980), p. 4.
Public School, 1789–1860 (New York: Oxford University
27.
Ibid., pp. 8–9.
Press, 1973), cited in Joel Spring, The American School,
28.
Ibid., pp. 195–96.
1642–1990, 2nd ed. (New York: Longman, 1990),
29. Ibid., p. 203. UNESCO data found in Andrew L. Shapiro,
pp. 60–63.
We’re Number One (New York: Vintage Books, 1992), p. 165.
8. Kaestle, “The History of Literacy and the History of Readers,”
30.
Ben H. Bagdikian, The New Media Monopoly, rev. ed.,
p. 109.
http://benbagdikian.net/index.htm.
9. This section is partially excerpted from Steven Tozer, “Elite
31.
Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, 4th ed. (Boston:
Power and Democratic Ideals,” in Kenneth D. Benne and
Beacon Press, 1990), p. 23.
Steven Tozer, eds., Society as Educator in an Age of Transition,
32. Todd Gitlin, “Television Screens: Hegemony in Transition,”
Eighty-sixth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study
in Michael W. Apple, ed., Cultural and Economic Reproduc-
of Education (Chicago: The Society, 1987), pp. 186–225.
tion in Education (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul,
10.
Robert A. Dahl, Who Governs? (New Haven, CT: Yale
1982), pp. 206–46.
University Press, 1961). President Eisenhower’s address
33.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
is found in Seymour Melman, Pentagon Capitalism: The
Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 1966
Political Economy of War (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970),
(Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics,
pp. 235–39.
1997).
11.
Eisenhower, in Melman, Pentagon Capitalism, pp. 237–38.
34. Ben H. Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, 5th ed. (Boston:
12.
C. Wright Mills, The Power Elite (New York: Oxford
Beacon Press, 1997).
University Press, 1956).
35.
Michael Dertouzos, What Will Be: How the New World of
13. Thomas R. Dye, Who’s Running America? The Bush Restoration,
Information Will Change Our Lives (New York: HarperCollins,
7th ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002), pp. 1–15.
1997), p. 10.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 11
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
N–12 Notes
36.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for
APL study can be potentially misleading. It will help to con-
Educational Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2005,
textualize the statistics in order to have a better grasp of the
Table 137, Percentage of High School Sophomores Who
information. Specifically, as listed the statistics indicate that
Say They Engage in Various Activities, p. 230; Table 416,
all groups are working from a shared baseline of 100. How-
Public Schools and Instructional Rooms with Access to the
ever, more correctly, the percentages should reflect more
Internet, p. 678; Table 420, Student Use of Computers,
true population distributions. For example, at that time
by Level of Enrollment, Age and Student and School Char-
Euro-Americans composed roughly 76 to 78 percent of the
acteristics, p. 685 (Washington, DC: National Center for
population, African Americans 12 percent, and Hispanic
Education Statistics, 2005). For a more detailed discussion
Americans 10 percent. It would be helpful to know the
of the ironic post– Brown v. Board of Education resegregation
exact numbers represented by the percentage equivalents in
and its growth of the digital divide between predominantly
the APL study. The numbers as stated offer a potentially
White and predominantly Black schools, see Raneta Lawson
false perception of the literacy rates of all groups.
Mack, The Digital Divide: Standing at the Intersection of Race
52.
Kirsch et al., Adult Literacy in America, p. xiv.
and Technology (Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press,
53.
Northcutt, Adult Performance Level Project; Kirsch et al.,
2001).
Adult Literacy in America, p. 47.
37. Ronald D. Owston, “The World Wide Web: A Technology
54.
Kozol, Illiterate America (Garden City, NY: Anchor Press,
to Enhance Teaching and Learning?” Educational Researcher
Doubleday, 1985), p. 10.
26, no. 2 (March 1997), p. 33.
55. Colin Lankshear, “Humanizing Functional Literacy: Beyond
38.
Dertouzos, What Will Be, p. 241.
Necessity,” Educational Theory 36 (Fall 1986), pp. 375–87.
39. Ibid., pp. 293–94.
56. Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, “Federal Review of Reading
40.
Jean Anyon, “Ideology and U.S. History Textbooks,”
First Identifies Serious Problems,” Education Week 26, no.
Harvard Educational Review 49 (August 1979), pp. 369–70.
5 (September 22, 2006), www.edweek.org.
41. Michael Apple, “The Political Economy of Textbook Pub-
57. Ibid.
lishing,” Educational Theory 34 (Fall 1984), pp. 307–20.
58.
Stephen Krashen, editorial, Education Week 27, no. 21 (2007),
42. See, for example, Lears, “The Concept of Cultural Hege-
p. 27. See also Elizabeth Jaeger, “Silencing Teachers in an Era of
mony,” p. 569.
Scripted Reading,” Rethinking Schools 20, no. 3 (Spring 2006),
43.
Jacques Ellul, Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes
www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/20_03/sile203.shtml.
(New York: Vintage Books, 1963), p. 11. Chomsky argues a
59. Larry Rohter, “The Scourge of Adult Illiteracy,” The New
similar point in Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements
York Times: Educational Life, April 13, 1986, p. 1.
of Propaganda (New York: Seven Stories Press, 1997).
60. Stanley N. Wellborn, “A Nation of Illiterates?” U.S. News
44.
Peter Bachrach, The Theory of Democratic Elitism: A Critique
and World Report, May 17, 1982, p. 53.
(Boston: Little, Brown, 1967), p. 4.
61.
For example, see Paulo Freire and Donaldo Macedo,
45. U.S. Bureau of the Census, “Literacy: Current Problems and
Literacy: Reading the Word and the World (South Hadley, MA:
Current Research,” in Fifth Report of the National Council on
Bergin and Garvey, 1987). See also Paulo Freire, Pedagogy
Educational Research (Washington, DC: National Institute
of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy and Civic Courage (Lanham,
of Education, 1979). See also U.S. Bureau of the Census,
MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2001).
The Census of the Population, 1980, Vol. 1: The Character-
62.
Henry A. Giroux, Theory and Resistance in Education: A
istics of Population, Chapter C, General, Social and Eco-
Pedagogy for the Opposition (South Hadley, MA: Bergin and
nomic Characteristics, Table 83, Years of School Completed,
Garvey, 1987).
Column Years 1940–1980.
63.
Ibid.
46. Shirley Brice Heath, “The Functions and Uses of Literacy,”
64.
Freire and Macedo, Literacy.
Journal of Communication 30 (1980), pp. 123–33.
65.
Stanley Aronowitz and Henry Giroux, Education under
47. Irwin S. Kirsch, Ann Jungeblut, Lynn Jenkins, and Andrew
Siege: The Conservative, Liberal, and Radical Debate over
Kohlstad, Adult Literacy in America (Washington, DC:
Schooling (South Hadley, MA: Bergin and Garvey, 1985),
Educational Testing Service and National Center for Edu-
p. 132.
cational Statistics, 1993), p. 2.
66.
Giroux, Theory and Resistance.
48. Carmen St. John Hunter and David Harman, Adult Literacy
67. Carmel Borg, Joseph Buttigieg, and Peter Mayo, Gramsci
in the United States: A Report to the Ford Foundation (New
and Education; E. D. Hirsch, (New York: Rowman and
York: McGraw-Hill, 1979).
Littlefield, 2002) The Schools We Need and Why We Don’t
49.
Ibid.
Have Them (New York: Doubleday, 1996).
50.
Ibid.
68. Neil Postman, “The Politics of Reading,” Harvard Educa-
51.
N. Northcutt, Adult Performance Level Project: Adult Func-
tional Review 40, no. 2 (1970), p. 246.
tional Competency—A Report to the Office of Education
69. Suzanne de Castell, Allan Luke, and David MacLennan,
Dissemination Review Panel (Austin: University of Texas,
“On Defining Literacy,” Canadian Journal of Education 6
Division of Extension, 1975). The statistics released by the
(1981), pp. 7–18.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 12
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
Notes N–13
70. E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Cultural Literacy: What Every American
11.
C. Emily Feistritzer, State Policy Trends for Alternative
Needs to Know (New York: Vintage Books, 1988).
Routes to Teacher Certification, Conference on Alternative
71. E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil, The
Certification, Washington, DC, September 2005.
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, 2nd ed. (Boston: Houghton
12.
Quality Counts, “A Decade of Standards-Based Education,”
Mifflin, 1993), p. xiv.
Education Week 25, no. 17 (2006), p. 86.
72. Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., The
13. Martin Haberman, “What Makes a Program ‘Alternative
Dictionary of Global Culture (New York: Knopf, 1997).
Certification’? An Operational Definition,” NAAC Online
73.
Ibid., pp. 3–7.
Journal 1, no. 2 (Spring 2006), pp. 5–6.
74. Hirsch et al., p. xv.
14. Ibid.
75.
Derek Bok, The State of the Nation (Cambridge, MA:
15.
Stockton, Gullat, and Basinger, “Using Comprehensive
Harvard University Press, 1996), pp. 366–73.
Needs Assessment to Improve Student Achievement,”
76.
Freire and Macedo, Literacy.
Essays in Education 9. www.usca.edu/essays/archives.html.
77. See, for example, Cameron McCarthy, “After the Canon:
16. L. Darling-Hammond, B. Berry, and A. Thoreson, “Does
Knowledge and Ideological Representation in the Multicul-
Teacher Certification Matter? Evaluating the Evidence,”
tural Discourse on Curriculum Reform,” in McCarthy and
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 23, no. 1 (Spring
Crichlow, eds., Race, Identity, and Representation in Education
2001), pp. 57–77.
(New York: Routledge, 1993), pp. 289–305.
17. Louise M. Berman, “The Teacher as Decision Maker,” in
78.
Paulo Freire, Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters to Those
Frances S. Bolin and Judith McConnell Falk, eds., Teacher
Who Dare Teach (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2003).
Renewal: Professional Issues, Personal Choices (New York:
See also bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the
Teachers College Press, 1987), p. 202.
Practice of Freedom (London: Routledge, 1994).
18.
Goodlad, Teachers for Our Nation’s Schools, pp. 70–71.
79. Wayne Au, “From Tourist Hawaii to the 20th Anniver-
19.
Ibid., p. 267.
sary,” Rethinking Schools 20, no. 3 (Spring 2006), www.
20.
Dee Ann Spencer, Contemporary Women Teachers: Balanc-
rethinkingschools.org/archive/20_03/hawa203.shtml.
ing School and Home (White Plains, NY: Longman, 1986),
80.
Ronald Takaki, A Different Mirror (Boston: Little, Brown,
p. 5.
1993), p. 227.
21.
Herbst, And Sadly Teach, p. 6.
22.
National Center for Education Statistics 2008–060 Projects
of Education Statistics to 2016, Section 5. Retrieved April
Chapter 10
20, 2008, from http://neds.ed.gov/proams/projections/
1.
Jonathan Kozol, Shame of the Nation (New York: Brown, 2005).
projections2016/sec5b.asp.
2.
Joel Spring, American Education: An Introduction to Social
23. Digest of Educational Statistics (Washington, DC: Depart-
and Political Aspects, 5th ed. (White Plains, NY: Longman,
ment of Education Statistics, 1988), p. 74.
1991), p. 44.
24.
Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Department of
3.
John Goodlad, Teachers for Our Nation’s Schools (San
Labor Bulletin 24000, May 1992, pp. 17, 66, 74, 94, 95,
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990), pp. 71–72.
105. Also, The Condition of Education 1993, p. 150.
4. William R. Johnson, “Teachers and Teacher Training in
25. Digest of Educational Statistics (Washington, DC: National
the Twentieth Century,” in Donald Warren, ed., American
Center for Education Statitics, 2003).
Teachers: History of a Profession at Work (New York:
26.
Geraldine Joncich Clifford, “Man/Woman/Teacher:
Macmillan, 1989), pp. 245–47.
Gender, Family, and Career in American Educational
5.
See Harold Rugg, The Teacher of Teachers (New York:
History,” in Donald Warren, ed., American Teachers:
Harper and Brothers, 1952). Also, Steven Tozer and Stuart
Histories of a Profession at Work (New York: Macmillan,
McAninch, “Social Foundations of Education in Historical
1989), p. 316.
Perspective,” Educational Foundations 1, no. 1 (1986).
27.
Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census
6. Johnson, “Teachers and Teacher Training,” pp. 238–40.
Bureau cited in “Nine to Five: Profile of Working Women,”
7.
Ibid., p. 239.
in Women’s Studies at Parkland College (Champaign, IL:
8.
Jurgen Herbst, And Sadly Teach: Teacher Education and
Summer Newsletter 1989). See also Statistical Abstract of the
Professionalization in American Culture (Madison: Univer-
United States (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
sity of Wisconsin Press, 1989), p. 6.
Office, 1993), p. 426, and U.S. Department of Labor, High-
9. Tomorrow’s Teachers: A Report of the Holmes Group (East
lights of Women’s Earnings, Department of Labor Statistics,
Lansing, MI: Holmes Group, 1986), p. 6.
2003.
10.
Steve Tozer, Phyllis Burstein, and Carole Bishop
28.
Spencer, Contemporary Women Teachers, p. 6, citing Grimm
O’Connell, “Four Perspectives on Alternate Routes to
and Stern, 1974.
Teacher Certification,” Success in High-Need Schools 1, no.
29.
National Center for Education Statistics, Special Analysis:
2 (June 2006). Retrieved December 15, 2006, from www.
Mobility in the Teacher Workforce, retrieved April 20, 2008,
successinhighneedschools.org/journal/issue/2/1/825.
from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2005/analysis/sa01.asp.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 13
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
N–14 Notes
30. Gerda Lerner, “The Lady and the Mill Girl: Change in the
Word Is Costing America’s Economy,” Phi Delta Kappan,
Status of Women in the Age of Teachers,” Journal of American
January 1993; also in Education 94/95, pp. 174–81.
Studies 10, no. 1 (1969), pp. 5–15.
3. David Angus and Jeffrey E. Mirel, The Failed Promise of
31. John Rury, “Who Became Teachers? The Social Charac-
the American High School 1890–1995 (New York: Teachers
teristics of Teachers in American History,” in Warren, ed.,
College Press, 1995).
American Teachers.
4. Ibid., p. 78.
32. Bill Graves, “School Reform by University Mandate,” The
5. Ibid.
School Administrator 49, no. 10 (November 1992), pp. 8–13.
6. Mark Ginsburg, ed., Understanding Educational Reform in
33. Child Welfare Society of Flint v. Kennedy School District, 189
Global Context: Economy, Ideology and the State (New York:
N.W. 1002 (1922).
Garland, 1991).
34. Debra Viadero, “ ‘Medically Fragile’ Students Pose Major
7. Angus and Mirel, The Failed Promise, p. 84.
Dilemma for School Officials,” Education Week, March 11,
8. James Bryant Conant, The American High School Today
1987, pp. 1, 14.
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959).
35. Michael Apple, “Making Knowledge Legitimate: Power,
9. Ibid., p. 52.
Profit and the Textbook,” in A. Molnar, ed., Current
10.
Ibid., pp. 57–60.
Thought on Curriculum (Alexandria, VA: Association for
11.
Arthur G. Wirth, Education and Work for the Year 2000:
Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1985).
Choices We Face (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992), p. 159.
36. Frank C. Nelson, “What Evangelical Parents Expect from
12. Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1993 (Washington,
Public School Administrators,” Educational Leadership
DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993), p. 426.
(May 1988), pp. 40–43.
13.
Martha Farnsworth Riche, “America’s New Workers,”
37.
NEA website, www.nea.org/edstats/.
American Demographics 9, no. 5 (February 1988), p. 38.
38. Karen Seashore Louis, “Social and Community Values and the
14. William Serrin, “A Great American Job Machine?” The
Quality of Teachers’ Work Life,” in Milbrey W. McLaughlin,
Nation, September 18, 1989, p. 270.
Joan E. Talbert, and Nina Bascia, eds., The Contexts of Teaching
15.
Ibid.
in Secondary Schools: Teachers’ Realities (New York: Teachers
16. Statistical Abstract of the United States 1993, p. 426.
College Press, 1990), pp. 17–39.
17. Serrin, “Great American Job Machine?” p. 270.
39. Louis, “Social and Community Values, pp. 18–19.
18. Working Women: A Chartbook, U.S. Dept. of Labor Bulletin
40. Digest of Educational Statistics, 1988, p. 5.
2385, August 1991, p. 21.
19.
This section is adapted from Steven Tozer and Robert
41. U.S. Department of Education, Schools and Staffing in the
Nelson, “Implications of the Holmes Agenda for Emerg-
United States: A Statistical Profile, 1993–94. NCES 96-124
ing Paradigms in Vocational Education,” in Mildred
by Robin R. Henke, Susan P. Choy, Sonya Geis, and
Griggs, ed., Proceedings of the Rupert Evans Symposium on
Stephen P. Broughman (Washington, DC: National Center
Vocational Education: 1988 (Champaign: University of
for Education Statistics, 1996), pp. vi–vii.
Illinois Press, 1989).
42.
Ibid.
20. John Dewey, “Vocational Aspects of Education,” Democracy
43.
Peter Murrell, The Community Teacher (New York: Teachers
and Education (New York: Free Press, 1966), p. 310.
College Press, 2001).
21.
Ibid.
44.
Richard Dufour, Professional Learning Communities at
22.
Ibid.
Work (Ontario: Solution Tree, 1999).
23. Allen Weisberg, “What Research Has to Say about Voca-
45.
Michael Scriven, “Duties of the Teacher,” unpublished
tional Education in High Schools,” Phi Delta Kappan 64,
manuscript, circulated as “Version Date 9/93” with support
no. 5 (January 1983), p. 359.
of U.S. Department of Education.
24.
Dewey, Democracy and Education, p. 162.
46.
John Dewey, Reconstruction in Philosophy (Boston: Beacon
25. W. Norton Grubb, ed., Education through Occupations in
Press, 1984), p. 186.
American High Schools, vol. 1 and 2 (New York: Teachers
College Press, 1995).
26. The material in this section is adapted from a portion of
Chapter 11
Steven Tozer, “The Liberal Education of Teachers: Remarks
1. Edward Krug, The Shaping of the American High School:
on the Holmes Agenda,” Visual Arts Research 14, no. 1
1920–1941 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press,
(Spring 1988), pp. 17–31.
1972), p. 181.
27.
Ernest Barker, ed., The Politics of Aristotle (London: Oxford
2. See, for example, Ray Marshall and Marc Tucker, “Building
University Press, 1980), p. 322.
a Smarter Work Force,” Technology Review, October 1992;
28.
Ibid., pp. 317–23.
also in Education 94/95, 21st ed. (Guilford, CT: Dushkin),
29.
Ibid., p. 323.
pp. 169–73. See also Monika Kosmahl Aring, “What the ‘V’
30.
Ibid., p. 318.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 14
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
Notes N–15
31.
W. H. Woodward, Vittorino DeFeltre and Other Humanist
56. Paul T. Hill, Lawrence C. Pierce, and James W. Guthrie,
Educators (New York: Teachers College Press, 1963), p. 102.
“How Contracting Can Transform America’s Schools,”
32.
Alfred North Whitehead, “The Study of the Past—Its
Education Week 16, no. 33 (May 14, 1997), p. 60.
Uses and Its Dangers,” in Whitehead, Essays in Science and
57. Gerald Tirozzi, “Vouchers: A Questionable Answer to an
Philosophy (New York: Philosophical Library, 1948),
Unasked Question,” Education Week 16, no. 30 (April 23,
p. 112.
1997), p. 64.
33.
Gene V. Glass, Fertilizers, Pills and Magentic Strips: The Fate
58. John F. Witte, “Politics, Markets, or Money? The Political
of Public Education in America (Charlotte, NC: Information
Economy of School Choice.” Presented at American Political
Age, 2008), p. 20.
Science Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, August
34. Ernest L. Boyer, “Elementary and Secondary Education,”
29–September 1, 1996, p. 27.
in D. W. Hornbeck and L. M. Salamon, eds., Human
59.
Melissa Roderick, Researching College Attendance Rates,
Capital and America’s Future (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins
November 15, 2007, Educated Nation website, retrieved at
University Press, 1991), pp. 172–75.
www.educatednation.com/2007/11/15/researching-college-
35.
Ibid., pp. 176–77.
attendance-rates/. See also the Consortium on Chicago School
36.
Ibid., p. 173.
Research website, http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/content/index.php.
37. Mark G. Yudof, “Educational Policy Research and the New
Consensus of the 1980s,” Phi Delta Kappan, March 1984,
Chapter 12
pp. 456–59.
38. Christine M. Shea, “Pentagon vs. Multinational Capital-
1.
R. H. Tawney, Equality, 4th ed. (London: Allen and
ism: The Political Economy of the 1980s School Reform
Unwin, 1952), pp. 49–50.
Movement,” in Christine M. Shea, Ernest Kahane, and
2. See Clarence J. Karier, Paul Violas, and Joel Spring, The
Peter Sola, eds., The New Servants of Power: A Critique of
Roots of Crisis (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1973), esp. chaps.
the 1980s School Reform Movement (New York: Praeger,
3, 5, and 6.
1989), p. 20.
3.
See Paul C. Violas, The Training of the Urban Working-Class
39.
Ibid.
(Chicago: Rand McNally, 1978).
40. William A. Firestone, Susan H. Fuhrman, and Michael W.
4. “Brown et al. v. Board of Education at Topeka et al.” August
Kirst, The Progress of Reform: An Appraisal of State Education
1952, 1953, 1954, 347 US 483(1954). U.S. Supreme
Initiatives (Palo Alto, CA: Center for Policy Research in Edu-
Court decision written by Chief Justice Earl Warren.
cation, 1990), p. 13.
5.
Michael Harrington, The Other America: Poverty in the
41.
David Tyack, “Restructuring in Historical Perspective:
United States (New York: Macmillan, 1962).
Tinkering toward Utopia,” Teachers College Record 92
6.
Hyman Rickover, Education and Freedom (New York:
(Winter 1990), pp. 170–91.
Dutton, 1959).
42.
Ibid., p. 170.
7.
Arthur Bestor, Educational Wastelands: The Retreat from
43.
Ibid., p. 171.
Learning in Our Public Schools (Urbana: University of
44. William Ayers, “Perestroika in Chicago Schools,” Educa-
Illinois Press, 1953).
tional Leadership 48 (May 1991), p. 71.
8.
Nat Hentoff, Our Children Are Dying (New York: Viking
45. Frank Margonis, “What Is the Meaning of Contemporary
Press, 1966).
Educational Nationalism?” in Philosophy of Education 1988
9. Samuel Bowles and Henry Levin, “The Determinants of
(Normal, IL: Philosophy of Education Society), pp. 343–52.
Scholastic Achievement,” Journal of Human Resources 2
46.
Ibid., pp. 349–50.
(Winter 1968), pp. 3–25.
47.
Ibid., p. 351.
10.
Frederick Mosteller and Daniel P. Moynihan, On Equality of
48. Shea, “Pentagon vs. Multinational Capitalism,” pp. 32–33.
Educational Opportunity: Papers Deriving from the Harvard
49. Larry Cuban, “Techno-Reformers and Classroom Teachers,”
University Faculty Seminar on the Coleman Report (New
Education Week 16, no. 6 (October 9, 1996), p. 39.
York: Random House, 1972).
50. David C. Berliner and Bruce J. Biddle, The Manufactured
11. It is not without interest that Daniel Moynihan had five
Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America’s Public
years earlier paved the way for such an argument with his
Schools (White Plains, NY: Longman, 1997), p 26.
work The Negro Family (Cambridge: Harvard University
51. Quoted in Berliner and Biddle, Manufactured Crisis, p. 173.
Press, 1967). In it he argued that a major reason for African
52.
Ibid., p. 179.
American inequality was structural defects in the Black
53.
Bob Chase, “Which Charters Are Smarter?” Education
family. This conclusion was soundly criticized by historians
Week 16, no. 14 (December 14, 1996), p. 52.
Herbert G. Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and
54. Mark Walsh, “Voucher Plan in Cleveland Is Overturned,”
Freedom, 1750–1925 (New York: Pantheon Books, 1976);
Education Week 16, no. 32 (May 7, 1997), p. 1.
and James D. Anderson, “Black Conjugations,” The American
55. Chase, “Which Charters Are Smarter?” p. 52.
Scholar 46, no. 3 (Summer 1977), pp. 384–93.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 15
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
N–16 Notes
12. C. Jencks et al., Inequality: A Reassessment of the Effect of
33. Hacker, Two Nations, pp. 103–4.
Family and Schooling in America (New York: Harper and
34. U.S. Department of Labor.
Row, 1973). A summary of the conclusions of Inequality
35. U.S. Census Bureau. Stark Contrasts Found Among Asian
was published under the title “The Schools and Equal
Americans. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from API%20
Opportunity,” Saturday Review Education 55, no. 38
Heritage%20Month%20May%2007_files.
(October 1972), pp. 37–42.
36. Capital Times online, February 17, 1994, www.hist.umn.
13. Jencks et al. also suggested that since schools could not
edu/,rugglescaptimes.html; and National Center for Chil-
improve economic inequality, the government should insti-
dren in Poverty (NCCP), Columbia University Mailman
tute a guaranteed-income program to ensure everyone an
School of Public Health, www.nccp.org.
income equal to one-half the national average. In assuming
37. Hodgkinson, “Reform versus Reality,” p. 37.
that economic inequality is both natural and functional,
38. The American Almanac, p. 469.
Jencks again showed his modern liberal moorings. The
39. Hodgkinson, “Reform versus Reality,” p. 36.
concern of modern liberal reform has always been simply to
40.
Andrew L. Shapiro, We’re Number One (New York: Vintage
reduce the gap between the extremes of wealth and poverty.
Books, 1992), pp. 17–18.
14. H. M. Levin, “Schooling and Inequality: The Social Science
41. These comparisons are found in Marian Wright Edelman,
Objective Gap,” Saturday Review Education (December
Families in Peril—An Agenda for Social Change (Cambridge,
1972), pp. 49–51.
MA: Harvard University Press, 1987).
15.
Ibid., p. 2.
42. Gary Orfield, “Separate Societies: Have the Kerner Warn-
16. Success and Culture.net. Per Capita Income Around the
ings Come True?” in F. R. Harris and R. W. Wilkins,
World. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from www.success-and-
eds., Quiet Riots—Race and Poverty in the United States
culture.net/articles/percapitaincome.shtml.
(New York: Pantheon, 1988), pp. 106–10; Hacker, Two
17.
M. A. Rebell, “The Need for Comprehensive Educational
Nations, p. 162.
Inquiry,” C. R. Belfield and H. M. Levin, eds., The Price
43.
Marian Wright Edelman, The Measure of Our Success: A
We Pay (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press,
Letter to My Children and Yours (Boston: Beacon Press,
2007), p. 262.
1992), pp. 23, 24.
18:
U.S. Census Bureau News, August 28, 2007. Retrieved April
44. All statistics in this paragraph are from Digest of Education
28, 2008, from www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/
Statistics 1988 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Edu-
archives/income_wealth/010583.html.
cation, Office of Educational Research and Improvement,
19.
Ellis Cashmore, Dictionary of Race and Ethnic Relations, 4th
September 1988).
ed. (London and New York: Routledge, 1996).
45.
The 2008 Statistical Abstract: Education. Educational
20. Paul Salopek, “We Are All the Same,” Chicago Tribune,
Attainment by Race, Hispanic Origin, and Sex: 1960 to
April 27, 1997, p. 1.
2006. Table 218. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from www.
21.
Cornel West, Race Matters (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993).
census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/education.html.
22. Vladimire Herard, “Schools Failing Minorities,” The Chi-
46. U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey
cago Defender (December 4, 1996), p. 1; and The American
Table 7. Retrieved April 25, 2008, from www.census.gov/
Almanac 1996–97: Statistical Abstract of the United States
prod/2007pubs/acs-08.pdf:Table7.MedianEarningsinthe-
(Austin, TX: Hoover’s, 1997), pp. 159, 204, 219.
Past12MonthsofWorkersbySexandWomen’sEarningsasaPe
23. Sheldon Danzinger, “The Poor,” in David W. Hornbeck
rcentageofMen’sEarningsbySelectedCharacteristicsfortheU
and Lester M. Salamon, eds., Human Capital and America’s
nitedStates:2006.
Future (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1991), p. 153.
47.
Ibid.
24.
Andrew Hacker, Two Nations: Separate, Hostile, Unequal
48. 1992 Information Please Almanac, pp. 54, 56; Shapiro, We’re
(New York: Scribner, 1992), p. 94.
Number One, pp. 10–11.
25.
Harold Hodgkinson, “Reform versus Reality,” in Fred
49. U.S. stands apart from other nations on maternity leave. The
Schultz, ed., Education 9394 (Guilford, CT: Dushkin, 1993),
Associated PressUSATODAY.com. (Posted 7/26/2005)
p. 39.
50. Maternity Leave in the United State. Institute for Women’s
26. U.S. Census 2000: Annual Demographic Survey, March
Policy Research #A131. August 2007, p. 1.
supplement.
51. Clarence Karier, “Testing for Order and Control in the
27.
Ibid.
Corporate Liberal State,” Educational Theory 22 (Spring
28. Census 2003, March supplement.
1972), pp. 154–80. Also see Paul Violas, “Progressive Social
29.
Ibid.
Philosophy: Charles Horton Cooley and Edward Alsworth
30.
U.S. Census 2000.
Ross,” in Karier et al., eds., The Roots of Crisis, pp. 40–65.
31.
Ibid.
52. The American Almanac, p. 470.
32.
The 2008 Statistical Abstract: Education. Mean Earnings by
53.
Ibid., p. 153.
Highest Degree Earned. Table 220. Retrieved April 25, 2008,
54. “Who Is the Middle Class?” Now with Bill Moyers, June 25,
from www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/education.html.
2004, www.pbs.org/now/politics/middleclassoverview.html.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 16
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
Notes N–17
55. S. Tozer, “Class,” In David Gabbard, ed., Power, Knowledge,
76.
Angela L. Carrasquillo, Hispanic Children and Youth in the
and the Politics of Educational Meaning (New York: Erlbaum,
U.S. (New York: Garland, 1991), p. 24.
1999), pp. 149–159.
77. Ibid., p. 4.
56. Some figures in this paragraph come from New York Times,
78.
U.S. Census Bureau News. U.S. Hispanic Population Surpasses
September 22, 1988, and the National Center for Educa-
45 Million, Now 15% of Total. Retreived April 23, 2008,
tion Statistics, Announcement 92-129a, October 1992.
from www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/
The 1998 figures are from Manhattan Institute for Policy
population/011910.html.
Research, report written by Senior Fellow Jay P. Greene,
79. U.S. Census Bureau Reveals 16% Immigration Increase in
High School Graduation Rates in the U.S.
5 Years. August 17, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2008, from
57. “The Persisting Racial Gap in College Student Graduation
www.workpermit.com/news/2006_08_17/us/census_data_
Rates,” Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 2004, www.
increase.htm.
jbhe.com/features.
80.
Holli and Jones, Ethnic Chicago, p. 346.
58. R. Wilson and S. C. Melendez, Second Annual Report on the
81. Laura E. Perez, “Opposition and the Education of Chi-
Status of Minorities in Higher Education (Washington, DC:
canaos,” in Cameron McCarthy and Warren Crichlow,
Office of Minority Concerns, American Council on Edu-
eds., Race Identity and Representation in Education (New
cation, 1983). Also, Statistical Abstract of the United States
York: Routledge, 1993), p. 276.
1993, p. 153.
82.
Ibid.
59. Robert Pool, “Who Will Do Science in the 1990s?” News &
83.
Thomas Toch, In the Name of Excellence (New York:
Comment, April 27, 1990, pp. 433–35.
Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 127.
60.
David Owen, None of the Above (Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
84. These conclusions are drawn from a study by Jean Anyon,
1985); Myra Sadker and David Sadker, Failing at Fairness:
“Social Class and School Knowledge,” in Curriculum
How America’s Schools Cheat Girls (New York: Scribner, 1994).
Inquiry 2, no. 1 (1981), pp. 3–42.
61. US School Segregation Rises. BBC News, Wednesday, 18
85.
This issue is explored in a nicely detailed account by
July, 2001, news.bbc.co.uk/default.stm.
Annette Lareau of Southern Illinois University in “Social
62. Profile of Teachers in the U.S. 2005. National Center for
Class Differences in Family-School Relationships: The
Educational Information. Retrieved April 24, 2008, from
Importance of Cultural Capital,” Sociology of Education 60
www.ncei.com/POT05PRESSREL3.htm.
(April 1987), pp. 73–85.
63.
Nation’s Population One-Third Minority. U.S. Census
86. The last conclusion relates to the field of sociolinguistics.
Bureau News, May 10, 2006. Retrieved April 24, 2008,
Exemplars include the works of William Labov, Basil Bern-
from www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/
stein, and Michael Stubbs.
population/006808.html.
87. Judith D. Singer and John A. Butler, “The Education for
64. “Linguistic Diversity in the USA,” USA Today, December
All Handicapped Children Act: Schools as Agents of Social
15, 1993, p. 9A.
Reform,” Harvard Educational Review 57, no. 2 (May
65.
Ronald Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore (New York:
1987), p. 125.
Penguin Books, 1998), p. 475.
88. The American Almanac, p. 166; and National Center for
66.
Ibid., p. 49.
Education Statistics, 2003, Tables 54 and 52.
67.
Ibid.
89.
Toch, In the Name of Excellence, p. 125.
68. Valerie Ooka Pang, “Asian-American Children: A Diverse
90.
Ibid., p. 126.
Population,” Educational Forum 55, no. 1, pp. 49–66.
91.
Ibid., pp. 126–27.
69. Irwin S. Kirsch, Ann Jungeblut, Lynn Jenkins, and Andrew
92.
Ibid., p. 127.
Kolstad, Adult Literacy in America (Washington, DC: Edu-
93.
Ibid.
cational Testing Service, 1993), p. 33.
94.
Peggy Orenstein, School Girls: Young Women, Self Esteem,
70.
Sucheng Chan, Asian Americans: An Interpretive History.
and the Confidence Gap (New York: Doubleday, 1994);
(New York: Twayne, 1991), p. 3.
Myra Sadker and David Sadker, Failing at Fairness:
71.
Ibid., p. 145.
How America’s Schools Cheat Girls (New York: Scribner,
72. The State of Asian Pacific America: Policy Issues of the Year 2020
1994).
(Los Angeles: LEAP Asian Pacific American Public Policy Insti-
95. Barbara Sinclair Deckard, “The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Sex
tute and UCLA Asian American Studies Center, 1993), p. 26.
Role Socialization,” in Barbara Sinclair Deckard, ed., The
73.
Chan, Asian Americans, pp. 187–88.
Women’s Movement: Political, Socioeconomic and Psychological
74.
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. U.S. Census
Issues, 2nd ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1979), p. 29.
Bureau News, May 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2008, from
96.
Ibid., p. 30.
www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/
97.
AAUW report, How Schools Shortchange Girls (Wellesley,
75. Melvin G. Holli and Peter d’ A. Jones (eds.), Ethnic Chicago:
MA: American Association of University Women Educa-
A Multicultural Portrait (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
tional Foundation and National Education Association,
1995), p. 346.
1992), p. 10.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 17
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
N–18 Notes
98. Lawrence Kohlberg, “A Cognitive-Developmental Analysis
111. Ibid., p. 62.
of Children’s Sex-Role Concepts and Attitudes,” quoted in
112. Ibid., p. 63.
Deckard, “The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy,” p. 32.
113. In Lois Weis and Michelle Fine, eds., Beyond Silenced Voices:
99.
Kirsten Amundsen, The Silenced Majority (Englewood
Race, Class, and Gender in United States Schools (Albany:
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1971), pp. 116–17.
State University of New York Press, 1993), pp. 169–90.
100. L. Serbin et al., “A Comparison of Teacher Responses to
114. Ibid., pp. 170–71.
Pre-Academic and Problem Behavior of Boys and Girls,”
115. Ibid., p. 176.
Child Development 44 (1973), pp. 796–804; M. Ebbeck,
116. Ibid., p. 187.
“Equity for Boys and Girls: Some Important Issues,” Early
117. Ibid., pp. 169–70.
Child Development and Care 18 (1984), pp. 119–31.
118. Carl A. Grant and Christine E. Sleeter, “Race, Class and
101.
Myra P. Sadker and David M. Sadker, Sex Equity Handbook
Gender and Abandoned Dreams,” Teachers College Record
for Schools (New York: Longman, 1982), pp. 107–9;
90, no. 1 (Fall 1988), pp. 19–40.
Carol S. Dweck et al., “Sex Differences in Learned Help-
119. Linda K. Christian-Smith, “Voices of Resistance: Young
lessness. II: The Contingencies of Evaluative Feedback
Women Readers of Romance Fiction,” in Weis and Fine,
in the Classroom” and “III: An Experimental Analysis,”
Beyond Silenced Voices, pp. 183–84.
Development Psychology 14, no. 3 (1978), pp. 268–76;
120. AAUW report, p. 12. Because comparable data are not
Judith M. Bardwick, Psychology of Women (New York:
available for boys, it is not clear what portion of the “unhap-
Harper and Row, 1971), p. 113.
piness” is due to adolescence and what portion is due to
102. M. Sadker and D. Sadker, “Sex Equity and Special Educa-
gender and its interaction with adolescence.
tion,” The Pointer 26 (1981), pp. 33–38.
121. Deckard, “The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy,” p. 43.
103. D. Sadker and M. Sadker, “Is the Classroom OK?,” Phi
122. AAUW report, p. 16.
Delta Kappan 55 (1985), pp. 358–67.
123. AAUW report, pp. 48, 67, 70; Sumru Erkit, “Expectancy,
104. Veronica F. Nieva and Barbara A. Gutek, “Sex Effects
Attribution, and Academic Achievement: Exploring Impli-
on Evaluation,” Academy of Management Review 5, no. 2
cations of Sex-Role Orientation,” Working Paper No. 27,
(1980), pp. 267–76.
Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, 1979.
105.
Phillip Goldberg, “Are Women Prejudiced against
124. Ibid., p. 45. This still represents only one-half of the male
Women?” Trans-Action 5 (1968), pp. 28–30.
participation.
106. Angele M. Parker, “Sex Differences in Classroom Intellectual
125. AAUW report, pp. 6–8.
Argumentation,” unpublished master’s thesis, Pennsylvania
126. Ibid., pp. 6, 90–91.
State University, 1973; R. Simmons and D. Blyth, Moving
127. Ibid., p. 7.
into Adolescence: The Impact of Pubertal Change and the School
128. “Wanted: School Supt.: But Women Need Not Apply,”
Context (New York: Aldine de Gruyter Press, 1978), p. 227.
Aggie Daily, Texas A&M University, August 2, 2001.
107. P. Arnow and C. Froschl, “Textbook Analysis,” in F. Howe, ed.,
129. Kathleen D. Lyman and Jeanne J. Spieler, “Advancing in
High School Feminists Studies (Old Westbury, NY: Feminist Press,
School Administration,” Harvard Educational Review 50,
1976); Kathryn P. Scott and Candace Garrett Shau, “Sex Equity
no. 1 (February 1980), p. 25.
and Sex Bias in Instructional Materials,” in S. Klien, ed., Hand-
130. Suzanne E. Estler, “Women as Leaders in Public Education,”
book for Achieving Sex Equity through Education (Baltimore: Johns
Signs 1 (1975), pp. 363–85.
Hopkins Press, 1985), pp. 218–36; G. Britton and M. Lumpkin,
131. Ibid., p. 29.
A Consumer’s Guide to Sex, Race, and Career Bias in Public School
Textbooks (Corvallis, OR: Britton Associates, 1977); M. Hulme,
Chapter 13
“Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Biased Reflections in Textbooks
and Instructional Materials,” in A. Carelli, ed., Sex Equity in Edu-
1. Katharine Q. Seelye, “Group Seeks to Alter S.A.T. to Raise
cation: Readings and Strategies (Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas,
Girls’ Scores,” The New York Times, March 14, 1997, p. A25.
1988), pp. 187–208; Marjorie B. U’Ren, “The Image of Women
2.
Peter Applebome, “Minorities Falling Behind in Student
in Textbooks,” in Vivian Gornick and Barbara K. Morgan, eds.,
Achievement,” The New York Times, December 29, 1996, p. Y9.
Women in Sexist Society (New York: Signet, 1971); L. Weitzman
3. Steven A. Holmes, “For Hispanic Poor, No Silver Lining,”
and D. Russi, Biased Textbooks and Images in Elementary School
The New York Times, October 13, 1996, p. E5.
Textbooks (Washington, DC: Resource Center on Sex Roles in
4.
Cornel West, Race Matters (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993);
Education, 1976).
Michelle Campbell, “Hate Crimes in Illinois: 1.4 per Day,”
108. Dick and Jane as Victims (Princeton, NJ: Women on Words
Chicago Sun Times, November 24, 1996.
and Images, 1972), pp. 6–27.
5.
Jeannie Oakes, Amy Stuart Wells, Makeba Jones, and
109. J. Trecker, “Women in U.S. History High School Text-
Amanda Datnow, “Detracking: the Social Construction of
books,” Social Education 35, no. 3 (1971), pp. 249–60, 338.
Ability, Cultural Politics, and Resistance to Reform,” Teachers
110.
AAUW report, How Schools Shortchange Girls, p. 62.
College Record 98, no. 3 (Spring 1997), pp. 482–510.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 18
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
Notes N–19
6.
The following account and all quotes are taken from
of Education 2000, National Center for Education Statistics,
William Peters, A Class Divided—Then and Now (New
U.S. Department of Education, 2000, p. 9.
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1987).
27.
William Labov, Sociolinguistic Patterns (Philadelphia:
7. Videocassettes and 16-mm print films of this documentary are
University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972); Michael Stubbs,
available from Guidance Associates, The Center for Humanities,
Language Schools and Classrooms, 2nd ed. (London and New
Communications Park, Box 3000, Mount Kisco, NY, 10549.
York: Methuen, 1983); Peter Trudgill, Sociolinguistics (New
The follow-up documentary is available from PBS Video.
York: Penguin Books, 1983); J. B. Pride and J. Holmes
8. In an August 1988 poll taken by Media General-Associated
(eds.), Sociolinguistics: Selected Readings (Harmondsworth,
Press, 53 percent of White Americans and 68 percent of
England: Penguin Modern Linguistics Readings, 1972).
African Americans surveyed said the society is racist.
28.
Ursula Casanova and M. Beatriz Arias, “Contextualizing
9.
Peters, A Class Divided, pp. 37–38.
Bilingual Education,” in Bilingual Education: Politics, Practice,
10. The topic is covered extensively in Henry Giroux, Teachers
and Research, Ninety-second Yearbook of the National Society
as Intellectuals (Granby, MA: Bergin and Garvey, 1988).
for the Study of Education Part II (Chicago: NSSE, 1993),
11.
Lewis M. Terman, Intelligence Tests and School Reorganiza-
p. 13.
tion (New York: World, 1923). We have taken this quote
29.
A Profile of Policies and Practices for Limited English
from Clarence Karier, “Testing for Order and Control in the
Proficient Students: Screening Methods, Program Support, and
Corporate Liberal State,” Educational Theory 22 (Spring
Teacher Training (SASS 1993–94). U.S. Department of
1972), pp. 154–80.
Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement
12. Quoted in Karier, “Testing for Order and Control.”
NCES 97-472 (Washington, DC, January 1977), p. 5.
13. See, for example, Arthur R. Jensen, Bias in Mental Testing
30. Lynn Schnaiberg, “Ebonics Vote Puts Oakland in Maelstrom,”
(New York: Free Press, 1980).
Education Week 16 (January 15, 1997), pp. 1, 32. The story
14. R. Herrnstein and C. Murray, The Bell Curve (New York:
was carried by all major national and big-city news outlets
Free Press, 1994).
as well.
15.
See, for example, William Deutsch (ed.), The Child’s
31. James Baldwin, “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then
Construction of Language Behavioral Development (San
Tell Me What Is?” in The Price of the Ticket: Collected
Diego: Academic Press, 1982); Basil Bernstein, Class Codes
Nonfiction 1948–1985 (New York: St. Martin’s Press,
and Control, 2nd revised ed. (London: Routledge and
1985), p. 652.
Kegan. Paul, 1974).
32. D. Bolinger and D. A. Sears, Aspects of Language (New
16.
Lisa Delpit, Other People’s Children (New York: New Press,
York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981), p. 198.
1995).
33.
Joan G. Fickett, “Tense and Aspect in Black English,”
17.
Longstreet conducted a study of learning style among
Journal of English Linguistics 6 (1972), p. 19. The quote
Navajo children. Mentioned by Karen Swisher, “Styles of
referred to appears in Bolinger and Sears, Aspects of
Learning and Learning of Styles: Educational Conflicts for
Language, p. 198.
American Indian/Alaskan Native Youth,” Multilingual and
34. Most of these examples are taken from Bolinger and Sears,
Multicultural Development 8, no. 4 (1987), p. 348.
Aspects of Language, Table 9–1, p. 199.
18. John U. Ogbu, “Minority Status and Schooling in Plural Soci-
35.
Eleanor Wilson Orr, Twice as Less (New York: Norton,
eties,” Comparative Educational Review 27, no. 2, pp. 168–90.
1987).
19. John U. Ogbu, “Understanding Diversity,” Education and
36. William Labov, “Academic Ignorance and Black Intelli-
Urban Society 22, no. 4 (1990), pp. 425–29.
gence,” The Atlantic 229, no. 6 (June 1972), pp. 59–67.
20. Jean Anyon, “Social Class and School Knowledge,” Cur-
37.
Jane Roland Martin, Reclaiming a Conversation (New
riculum Inquiry 2, no. 1 (1987), pp. 3–42.
Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1985).
21.
Ibid, p. 17.
38. Jane Roland Martin, “Bringing Women into Educational
22. Ibid., p. 26. This was one of the questions found in a text
Thought,” Educational Theory 34, no. 4 (Fall 1984), p. 349.
used by the executive elite school.
39. Gordon L. Berry, “The Multicultural Principle: Missing
23. In recent decades, the competition for elite preschools has
from the Seven Cardinal Principles of 1918 and 1978,” Phi
grown.
Delta Kappan, June 1978, p. 745. For an extended account
24. Ray C. Rist, “Student Social Class and Teacher Expecta-
of one approach to culturally responsive teaching, see C. A.
tions,” Harvard Review 40, no. 3 (August 1970).
Bowers and David J. Flinders, Responsive Teaching (New
25.
John Duffy, “Getting Off Track: The Challenge and
York: Teachers College Press, 1990).
Potential of the Mixed Ability Classroom,” Democracy and
40. Christine Sleeter and Carl A. Grant, Making Choices for
Education, Fall 1988, pp. 11–19. Duffy is citing the 1987
Multicultural Education: Five Approaches to Race, Class, and
research by David and Roger Johnson.
Gender (Columbus, OH: Merrill, 1988).
26.
P.
A. Graham, “Black Teachers: A Drastically Scarce
41.
Ibid., p. 66.
Resource,” Phi Delta Kappan, April 1987. Also, The Condition
42.
Ibid., p. 100.
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 19
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
N–20 Notes
43.
Ibid., p. 131.
2.
J. Spring, The Sorting Machine: National Educational Policy
44.
Ibid., p. 168.
Since 1945 (New York: McKay, 1976).
45.
Ibid., p. 166.
3.
S. C. Carter, No Excuses: Lessons from 21 High Performing,
46.
Ibid., p. 166.
High Poverty Schools (Washington DC: The Heritage Foun-
47.
Ibid., p. 187.
dation, 2000); P. Davenport and G. Anderson, Closing the
48.
Ibid., p. 190.
Achievement Gap: No Excuses (Houston, TX: American Pro-
49.
Cited in Allyn Jackson, “Minorities in Mathematics: A
ductivity and Quality Center); R. DuFour et al., Whatever It
Focus on Excellence, Not Remediation,” American Educator
Takes: How Professional Learning Communities Respond When
(Spring 1989).
Kids Don’t Learn (Bloomington, IN: National Education Ser-
50. Lottie L. Taylor and Joan R. Pinard, “Success Against the
vice, 2004); C. C. Yeakey and R. Henderson, Surmounting All
Odds: Effective Education of Inner-City Youth in a New
Odds (Greenwich CT: Information Age). See also Education
York City Public High School,” Journal of Negro Education
Trust website: www2.edtrust.org/edtrust/.
57, no. 3 (1988), pp. 347–61.
4.
R. Edmonds (1979). Quoted in Committee on Racial
51.
Ibid., p. 351.
Justice, Visions of a Better Way: A Black Appraisal of Public
52.
Ibid., p. 361.
Schooling (Washington, DC: Joint Center for Political Stud-
53.
Sleeter and Grant, Making Choices, pp. 193–94.
ies Press, 1989), p. 1.
54. Quoted in The Committee on Policy for Racial Justice,
5. Ibid.
Visions of a Better Way: A Black Appraisal of Public Schooling
6. See, for example, sources in note 3; also websites for Edu-
(Washington, DC: Joint Center for Political Studies Press,
cation Trust (www2.edtrust.org/edtrust/) and Consortium
1989), p. 1.
on Chicago School Research (ccsr.uchicago.edu/content/
55. Lilian Katz, “All About Me,” American Educator (Summer
index.php).
1993), pp. 18–23.
7.
J. Dewey, Experience and Education (New York: Macmillan,
56. Albert Shanker, “Love Ya!” The New York Times, February
1938, 1959) p. 77; L. S. Shulman, “Those Who Under-
23, 1997, p. E7.
stand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching,” Educational
57. Michael S. Knapp and Associates, Teaching for Meaning
Researcher (February 1986), 4–14.
in High Poverty Classrooms (New York: Teachers College
8. J. Oakes and M. Lipton, Teaching to Save the World (New
Press, 1995), pp. 3, 7–8.
York: McGraw-Hill, 2002).
58. Thomas M. Skrtic, “The Special Education Paradox: Equity
9. A. Urbanski, Presentation on “Improving Results” to Civic
as the Way to Excellence,” Harvard Educational Review 61,
Committee of the Chicago Commercial Club, Chicago, IL,
no. 2 (May 1991), pp. 148–206.
2003.
59. James Banks, “It’s Up to Us,” Teaching Tolerance (Fall
10.
G. Counts, Dare the Schools Build a New Social Order?
1992), p. 21.
(Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1932).
60. Skrtic, “The Special Education Paradox,” p. 177.
11.
H. Adams, The Education of Henry Adams: An Autobiogra-
61. Elizabeth Bondy and Dorene D. Ross, “Confronting Myths
phy (London: Oxford Press, 1907), p. 244.
about Teaching Black Children: A Challenge for Teacher
12.
Peter Murrell, Just Like Stone Soup (Washington, DC:
Educators,” Teacher Education and Special Education 21,
AACTE, 1998), p. 55.
no. 4 (1998), p. 241.
13. H. James, From a letter to Henri Berson, in Letters of Henry
62. Skrtic, “The Special Education Paradox,” p. 177.
James. Retrieved on April 28, 2008, from www.quoteland.
com/author.asp?AUTHOR_ID=1462.
14. Carter, No Excuses.
Chapter 14
15.
Although it is not clear that Margaret Mead wrote this, it is
1. See, for example, H. Cooper, “Synthesis of Research on
widely attributed to her. See discussion in Mary Bowman
Homework,” Educational Leadership 47, no. 3 (November
Kruhm, Margaret Mead: A Biography (Westport, CT:
1989), pp. 85–91.
Greenwood Press, 2003).
toz24404_notes_N1-N20.indd 20
13/09/12 1:07 PM
Confi rming Pages
Glossary
The American High School Today a book published by James B. Conant
Bureau of Ethnology a bureau of social science active during the New
in 1958; popularized the modern conception of the large comprehensive
Deal; used experts to create a greater awareness of tribal cultural and
high school and helped shape policies to make such schools the norm
potential cultural obstacles to administration.
in urban and rural communities.
Bureau of Indian Affairs an agency of the Department of the Interior
antiracist education an educational approach preferred by some people
charged with the administration of American Indian lands and goods.
to multicultural education because it emphasizes the importance of
combating racist ideology through educational processes.
capitalism the “free market” economic system in which money and
assimilation the process in which an individual or group is absorbed
credit are exchanged for goods and services according to the laws of
into a new social context through a process of acculturation that
supply and demand in an attempt not only to make a living but also
results in the individual or group’s original culture being replaced by
to secure financial profits that can be invested to generate further
the new culture.
income and wealth; although known as a “free market” system,
Athenian citizenship in classical Athens the status granted to Athenian-
capitalism can be regulated heavily by governments.
born males not of the slave or the metic class; a status that granted civil
character education the effort to shape young people’s moral and
liberties as well as the right to participate in the governance of Athens.
ethical dimensions; took different forms in different historical periods;
Athenian slavery an institution of bondage and servitude to Athenian
grounded in religious instruction in the 17th and 18th centuries;
citizens that was an important part of the political and economic system
more secular and nonsectarian in the common-school era and
on which Athenian democracy was built.
increasingly secular thereafter.
charter schools an idea popularized in the 1990s to encourage teachers,
parents, and others to develop new approaches to schools and obtain
Beatty, Willard Walcott (1891–1961) president of the Progressive
from the state a “charter,” or a contract permitting a school to depart
Education superintendent of a model school system in Bronxville,
from certain state regulations to create an innovative schooling
NY. Director of Indian Education under John Collier.
environment.
Beecher, Catharine (1800–1878) an advocate of women’s education
who remained prominent through most of the 19th century and who
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia 19th-century Supreme Court case that, argued that women’s education should develop their intellectual capac-with leadership from Justice John Marshall, established the doctrine
ities for better execution of responsibilities in the woman’s sphere.
of Native peoples as “domestic dependent wards” of the federal
government.
Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge a bill for the public
funding of locally controlled schools that Thomas Jefferson twice
civic freedom in Aristotle’s formulation, the aspect of liberty that
tried to push through the Virginia legislature (1779 and 1817) but
emphasizes limitations on the government’s power to interfere with
which failed to pass.
the right of the individual to live as he or she chooses; the basis of the
notion of civil liberties and civil rights today.
Black Codes after Reconstruction, local laws passed throughout the
classical liberal historians’ term for an array of beliefs and values that
South that restricted African Americans’ civil and political rights.
emerged in about the 16th century after the breakdown of feudalism,
Black English Vernacular linguists’ term for the grammatical and
emphasizing individual rights and liberties, social progress, human
phonemic variant of English used today in many African American
reason, and scientific inquiry; “classical” denotes links to classical Athe-
communities; its origins lie in slaves’ success in developing a common lan-
nian roots and differentiates it from the “modern” liberalism of the
guage from an amalgam of different African languages and English.
20th century.
boarding school schools designed to house and teach children away
college education of women historically restricted to males, college-
from their home communities. Especially problematic for Native
level education of women began to be more common in the 19th
American children because boarding schools were used to replace
century as women’s colleges were founded, of which several exist
native culture and language with European culture.
today, though some have merged with historically male colleges; most
bourgeoisie originally, European city dwellers who were members of
women throughout the 20th century were educated in coeducational
the new middle class that emerged after the breakdown of feudalism;
institutions, though for most of the century women’s professional
neither nobility nor serfs nor clergy, they were part of the new classes
options were concentrated in teaching, nursing, social work, and
that formed as a result of capitalism and commerce.
other female-dominated occupations.
Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case of 1954 in which Collier, John (1884–1968) a social reformer who advocated for Native
the Court ruled that racially segregated schools are, by definition,
Americans. Commissioner for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the
unequal in terms of the educational experiences they provide.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, from 1933-1945.
G–1
toz24404_glo_G1-G8.indd 1
07/09/12 2:57 PM
Confi rming Pages
G–2 Glossary
colonial education of women generally available only to middle-class
cultural pluralism a condition in which social and educational values
White girls and women, usually provided at home by parents and
encourage a variety of ethnic and cultural perspectives, languages, and
tutors, and often justified by the need for women to be able to read
values that enrich one another through their harmonious coexistence.
the Bible and teach their sons.
cultural subordination theory an explanation for the learning gap
community college a two-year college developed to provide local
between the haves and the have-nots that emphasizes that the primary
postsecondary education, largely for vocational purposes but also
thing the haves possess is the power to reward their cultural knowledge,
equipping some students to transfer to four-year institutions.
skills, and styles though institutions that favor those factors over other
community control emphasis on community democratic decision
forms of cultural capital.
making in contrast to state or federal government control of social
and educational programs.
Dawes Allotment Act a statute of 1887 that enabled American Indian
containment U.S. foreign policy that used multiple strategies (military,
tribal members to claim private ownership of tribal land.
economic, and political) to keep communism and socialism from power
in foreign nations, former colonies, and the developing world in general.
decentralization in the context of school governance, the shift from
a single authority for all schools in a region or district to more local
conventional literacy an account of literacy that accepts a minimal
forms of authority.
criterion, such as the ability to sign one’s name, as evidence of the
ability to read and write and that results in estimates of literacy rates
democracy usually understood as government by informed popular
in contemporary society from 97 to 99 percent.
consent rather than by a monarch or an elite group; defined more
specifically by Jefferson, Du Bois, and Dewey, among others, who
The Crisis a journal founded and edited by W. E. B. Du Bois shortly emphasize democracy as a mode of government that educates
after the founding of the NAACP in 1910; dedicated to educating
citizens through participation in decision making (see developmental
people about racial discrimination; reached a peak circulation of
democracy).
100,000 in 1918.
democratic ethics in the context of teaching as a profession, the
critical literacy an account of literacy that emphasizes not merely the
commitment to democratic values, including the view that all people
ability to read and write but the ability to use reading and writing as
should be educated toward having an effective voice in the decisions
the basis of higher-order thinking skills that allow a person to analyze
that affect their lives.
and critically evaluate that which is read and written.
democratic localism an emphasis on the value of people making shared
critical theory an educational perspective that focuses on the problem of
decisions in their immediate circumstances as much as possible so that
how power is unequally distributed in contemporary society. This per-
they have genuine influence on the decisions that affect their lives in
spective focuses on the educational consequences of antidemocratic social
local contexts.
arrangements, as well as ways to educate people to live more democratic
lives. This critical perspective analyzes inequalities based on many social
democratic pluralism related to cultural pluralism; values cultural
factors, including class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
differences and seeks to preserve them in processes of
self-governance.
cult of domesticity emphasized in the 18th and 19th centuries; the
general view that a woman’s place is in the home, with the corollary
developmental democracy a political and educational view that val-
view that women should be educated to execute the responsibilities of
ues popular participation in decision making in part because such
home and hearth.
participation educates or develops the capacities of those who par-
ticipate in it.
cultural deficit theory explanations that find that the cultural back-
grounds of different ethnic groups are the source of low-income
Dewey, John (1859–1952) a philosopher of democratic life and demo-
and minority children’s relatively weaker academic performance in
cratic education who founded the University of Chicago Laboratory
schools.
School to test and develop his progressive educational theories.
cultural deprivation studies sociological studies conducted in the 1960s
discipline and a “pedagogy of love” disciplinary approach which
that appeared to prove that the source of low-income and minority
exploits the child’s emotions and need for love and acceptance, to
children’s relative lack of success in public schools was insufficient
effect desired behavior.
cultural and linguistic stimuli at home, dooming to failure efforts to
“divine right” of the nobility a late feudal period justification for the
teach such children in schools.
absolute authority of the monarchy in which it was claimed that the
cultural literacy a conception of literacy that emphasizes not the ability
authority of the monarch derived from God’s will and therefore could
simply to read and write but the ability to make sense of what is
not be questioned.
read through familiarity with a wide range of cultural references and
dominant culture that culture which is most strongly represented in
allusions.
a society’s power structure and institutions such as government and
culturally relevant pedagogy (see culturally responsive pedagogy)
schooling; may be a numerical minority in the culture as a whole but
exerts disproportionate power.
culturally responsive pedagogy approaches to and methods of teaching
that seek to respond to and incorporate the cultural knowledge of
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1868–1963) a scholar and political activist; author
students, with an eye toward building new learning on respect for
of Souls of Black Folk and numerous other books; founded and
what students already know from their own cultural experiences.
edited the Crisis, an early NAACP publication.
toz24404_glo_G1-G8.indd 2
07/09/12 2:57 PM
Confi rming Pages
Glossary G–3
due process protection in schools grounded in the Fourteenth Amend-
faculty psychology a theory of learning, popular in the 18th and 19th
ment to the Constitution; equal protection under the law is granted
centuries, asserting that the mind is a collection of separate faculties
to students and teachers just as it is to citizens in the larger society.
(such as memory, reasoning, and aesthetic taste) that can be developed
through vigorous exercise and that learning in some areas transfers
to increased learning in other areas; at its most extreme, led to the
educational excellence a term popularized in the 1980s when the report
nonscience of phrenology, which measured the human skull to draw
A Nation at Risk drew public attention to the mediocrity of schooling
conclusions about a person’s character and mental faculties.
in the United States.
faith in human reason a prominent element of classical liberal ideology;
Educational Testing Service considerably influenced by James B.
asserts that if individuals and groups are free from government oppres-
Conant; established in 1947 by the College Entrance Examination
sion, their inherent ability to reason will be the most effective author-
Board, the Carnegie Corporation, and the American Council on
ity for their actions, especially if that reason is informed by education.
Education as a nonprofit center for administering the Scholastic
feminization of teaching a change in the profession of teaching that came
Aptitude Examination and other higher education exams.
about in the 19th century; the majority of schoolteachers were male at
Education for All Handicapped Children Act passed by Congress in
the beginning of the 1800s but were female by the end of the Civil War.
1975 as Bill 94-142; required school districts to educate special
feudalism a system of political and economic organization prevailing in
education students in the “least restrictive environment” possible so
Europe from about the 9th to the 15th centuries; based on the holding
that they would be educated as much as possible with the general
of lands by the nobility and clergy, with serfs bound to the land and
population of students, with accommodations made to support the
the landholder by birth and a system of tenant farming and without a
learning of students with special needs.
voice in government.
education through participation (see democracy and democratic
Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution adopted on March 30,
localism) in government, an emphasis on democracy as a system of 1870; reads in part, “The right of citizens of the United States to
government that develops people’s capacity for decision making and
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by
self-rule while engaging them in processes of democratic decision
any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of
making; in education, applies to the philosophy of learning by
servitude.”
doing.
Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution adopted on July
elementary schools a local school for teaching the basics of literacy,
28, 1868; reads in part, “All persons born or naturalized in the
mathematics, and social knowledge and skills, with origins in colonial
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of
America and with a prominent role in Jefferson’s efforts and later
the United States and of the State wherein they reside . . . nor shall
efforts to provide public education in the United States.
any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due
Eliot, Charles (1834–1926) perhaps the most influential educator of
process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal
his era; Harvard University president from 1869 to 1909; represented
protection of such laws.”
many of the social efficiency dimensions of progressive education.
Freedman’s Bureau formed by Congress in 1867 under the first Recon-
equality sameness of treatment or condition, as distinct from equity,
struction act; a U.S. government agency designed to help ex-slaves
which emphasizes fairness of treatment or condition.
exercise new economic, civil, and political rights and freedoms in the
post–Civil War United States.
equity fairness of treatment or condition among two or more parties;
does not entail equality of treatment or condition; sometimes requires
freedom one of the basic components of classical liberal ideology;
differential treatment.
committed to preventing government interference with individuals
and groups in their personal, intellectual, and economic lives.
ESL instruction techniques of teaching English as a second language;
differs from bilingual instruction in that little or no effort is made to
Freire, Paulo (1921–1997) author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1972); teach in the student’s native language; often used when speakers of
a Brazilian educator whose work was translated throughout the world
several languages are instructed at the same time in English.
in the 1970s and 1980s and after his death in the 1990s; seminal
theorist in critical, liberationist pedagogy.
ethnic diversity a condition in which people from two or more different
cultural backgrounds share a common social or institutional space.
functional literacy a conception of literacy that emphasizes the level of
ability to read and write necessary to function well in a particular society.
ethnicity a person’s cultural inheritance, including language, values,
customs, beliefs, and usually cultural identity.
eugenics a view emerging in the latter half of the 19th century that the
gender sensitivity versus gender bias a distinction based on the differ-
human gene pool should be controlled by social policy that discour-
ence between awareness of when differences in gender may contribute
ages reproduction of some populations of people while encouraging
to differences in how life and learning are experienced and the
reproduction among other, more desired groups.
assumption that characteristics in individuals are based on their
expert management an element of modern liberal ideology that seeks to
membership in a sex group.
place institutional decision making as much as possible in the hands
general academic track the “middle” ability group or “track” that
of a few people who have been trained to have specialized knowledge
emerged in 20th-century schools between the academic or college
and skills.
preparatory track and the vocational track.
toz24404_glo_G1-G8.indd 3
07/09/12 2:57 PM
Confi rming Pages
G–4 Glossary
general education broad education across the major domains of math-
homogeneous grouping the practice of placing children with similar
ematics and science, social sciences, and humanities to produce a well-
academic skill levels in the same group for purposes of instruction
educated person in a nonspecialized sense.
(as opposed to heterogeneous grouping).
genetic deficit theory the view that differences in group achievement
humanitarian reform in the context of 19th-century reform movements
among different ethnic groups can be explained by a different genetic
in the United States, refers to various efforts to address social
endowment of intellegence in those groups.
problems such as alcoholism, slavery, prison cruelty, urban poverty,
and discrimination against women.
GI Bill of Rights an act of Congress passed after World War II that
allowed military veterans to attend colleges and universities at
government expense.
ideological hegemony an explanation of social harmony in the presence
glass ceiling for women an invisible barrier in the workplace and
of deep social inequality; emphasizes the domination of public discourse
government above which it is supposedly difficult for women to rise;
by such a limited range of explanations that the disadvantaged lack
explains the very low percentage, for example, of women in CEO positions
access to alternative explanations of the social order that might
in Fortune 500 companies and of women in the U.S. Senate.
mobilize resistance to powerlessness.
Goals 2000: Educate America Act: a congressional act to implement a
ideology as used in this book, the constellation of beliefs, values, and
set of far-reaching goals for public education to be reached by the year
habits of thought shared by people in a large or small social group;
2000; outlined by the first Bush administration as America 2000 and
a society’s explanations of and justifications for the prevailing social
continued in the Clinton administration as Goals 2000.
order or an envisioned ideal order.
grammar schools in Jefferson’s proposal for public schooling in the
information marketplace versus marketplace of ideas a distinction
state of Virginia, the tier of schooling after elementary school;
designed to draw attention to the difference between the Jeffersonian
reserved for those who could afford it and those meriting scholarships;
ideal of an unfettered exchange of ideas in search of the truth and
formal academic work would include the study of Latin, Greek,
contemporary practices that package new ideas as products to be sold
composition, mathematics, and other liberal studies.
to the consumer.
Grimke, Sarah M. (1792–1873) a radical feminist political activist and
intellectual freedom one of the basic components of classical liberal ideol-author who was prominent in the first half of the 19th century.
ogy; emphasizes the right of the individual to believe as he or she chooses,
uncoerced by government power; closely related to religious freedom.
happiness a term Jefferson borrowed from Aristotle to designate the
fundamental importance of the satisfaction of the individual as a
John Birch Society an extreme right-wing group particularly active in
measure of the goodness of the social order, as in “life, liberty, and the
southern and southwestern states in the middle of the 20th century.
pursuit of happiness.”
Head Start project a federal government–funded program that started
labor market the totality of jobs for which people may offer themselves
in the Great Society years of the early 1960s; supported preschool
for employment; the labor market for physicians is typically more
education for low-income children.
limited than the labor market for fast-food workers.
heterogeneous grouping the practice of placing children with different
Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court decision that Chinese-language students academic skill levels in the same group for purposes of instruction (as
were not receiving sufficient support for learning in schools; led to
opposed to homogeneous grouping).
legislation mandating bilingual instruction in public schools when
hidden curriculum a term coined by the educational researcher
non–native English speakers needed bilingual instruction to be able to
Philip Jackson in the 1960s to describe the socializing processes
learn subject-matter material.
of schooling that are not described in the formal or academic
liberal education historically, the education appropriate to a free
curriculum.
person; typically construed today as a broad, general education that
Hispanic versus Latino terms debated among the descendants of
equips a person to think well in a wide range of domains and to know
Spanish-speaking Americans because each of these identity names
at least one discipline in depth.
has its own history and political significance and because different
life-adjustment education an approach to public education popular-
Americans identify more with one of those political histories than
ized by Charles Prosser and others in the 1940s who thought that for
with the other; similarly, some Americans of Mexican descent pre-
students who were not college-bound, an education preparing them
fer the designation Chicano to either Hispanic or Latino.
for their life roles as family members and consumers was appropriate;
historically Black colleges: colleges (some of which have become
criticized as a “soft” curriculum in the 1950s and 1960s.
universities) that were founded for the higher education of African
literacy as a social construction a concept emphasizing that what
Americans after the Civil War.
counts as literate, like how important it is to be literate, varies with
Holmes Report named after the former dean of the Harvard School
the cultural context.
of Education and published by representatives of about a hundred
leading research universities in the United States in 1985; the first
Holmes Report presented a blueprint for the education of the nation’s
Mann, Horace (1796–1859) a prominent Massachusetts legislator and
teachers; later reports focused on reform of schools of education of the
advocate of humanitarian reforms who became executive secretary of
teaching profession.
the Massachusetts Board of Education and took a leadership role in
toz24404_glo_G1-G8.indd 4
07/09/12 2:57 PM
Confi rming Pages
Glossary G–5
establishing a system of public common schools and normal schools
deal of publicity and launched public dialogue on school reform
that would become models for the nation.
lasting almost two decades.
mass media broadcast, electronic, and print media that reach large
natural aristocracy (meritocracy) classical liberal term used by Jefferson
proportions of the population nationally and internationally in the
to indicate the need for a system that granted leadership to those with
contemporary world.
talent and character as opposed to those with inherited wealth and
McCarthy, Senator Joseph (1908–1957) a rabid anticommunist
power, whom Jefferson termed the “false” aristocracy.
congressman during the 1940s and 1950s; his vicious attacks on
natural law one of the basic components of the classical liberal ideology
“communist sympathizers” and “fellow travelers” who were prominent
that emerged in the Enlightenment era; committed to the view that
in entertainment and the arts destroyed many careers and eventually
the universe (nature) operates according to scientific principles or laws
his own.
that are understandable by human reason.
meritocracy a term for the view popularized by Jefferson, Conant, and
negative freedom freedom achieved through a lack of government
others in different times and places that a society’s institutions should
interference .
be led by those who merit it by their talent and character.
new immigration the 19th-century shift in immigration to the United
Merriam Report “The Problem of Indian Administration”; a report that
States from northern and western European immigrants to southern
increased the awareness of social and educational problems on tribal
and eastern European immigrants.
lands during the 1920s.
new psychology a loose constellation of approaches to studying the
Mississippi Plan a system of codes and laws instituted by the state of
psyche and human learning; emerged around the beginning of the 20th
Mississippi to deprive African Americans of their civil and political
century and emphasized nonrational, subconscious, behavioral sources
rights after Reconstruction; the eventual basis for Jim Crow laws
of human actions rather than rational and consciously chosen sources.
throughout the South until the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown
v. Board of Education.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 controversial centerpiece of the
George W. Bush education platform, emphasizing educational
model minority a term wrongly applied to Asian Americans to show
accountability for school systems, high-stakes testing for all students,
that Asian American immigrant groups have adjusted successfully to
and an increased requirement for “highly qualified” teachers.
U.S. mainstream culture.
normal school initiated in the United States by Horace Mann; a post-
monopoly capitalism in contrast to simple capitalism, a 19th-century
secondary or college-level school for the preparation of teachers.
development that consolidated control of the market for particular
goods or services in one or a few companies.
multicultural education an educational reform initiative to improve
On the Origin of Species Charles Darwin’s (1809–1882) revolutionary learning for all children by emphasizing the cultural contexts of
1859 scientific study of how species evolve over time to adapt to their
learning and helping schools respond better to children of different
environment.
ethnic backgrounds by using those differences as a foundation on
which to build new learning.
pedagogy approaches to and methods of teaching.
NAACP the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
pedagogy of love (discipline and a pedagogy of love.) Horace Mann’s
People; an advocacy group formed in 1910 to fight for the legal, civil,
view that teachers could be more effective by developing relationships
and political rights of African Americans.
with their students based on affection rather than relationships based
on authoritarianism and punishment.
NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) an ongoing
longitudinal study of student learning in schools; sometimes referred
Plato’s myth of the metals the “noble lie” or “necessary fiction” that
to as “the nation’s report card” because it is informative about educa-
people are born with gold, silver, or bronze in their systems and thus
tional progress across the United States.
are destined to be in one of three levels of society: at the apex, in the
second leadership tier, or among the broad masses.
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
founded with philanthropic funds as a direct result of the school
political economy according to Webster, “a modern social science
reform movement that began in the 1980s; began assessing teacher
dealing with the relationship of political and economic processes”;
quality by using a portfolio assessment method in the mid-1990s;
more generally, a society’s institutional arrangements and
has assessed thousands of teachers who have applied voluntarily for
processes.
certification.
political freedom a distinction first made by Aristotle, identifying the
nationalism one of the basic components of classical liberal ideology,
freedom to exercise political, as distinct from civil, liberties. Whereas
emerging from and in contrast to feudalism; the emphasis is not on
civil liberties emphasize the right to live as one chooses, political
the tribe, estate, or city-state but on the nation as the basic political
freedom emphasizes the right to participate in government.
unit and source of political identity.
populism a 19th-century movement in the United States that had its
A Nation at Risk a 1983 report by the Presidential Commission on
origins in rural life and advocated “industrial democracy,” or greater
Excellence in Education; declared the United States “at risk” in the
local and popular control of industrial production rather than factory
competitive world marketplace and compared the educational system
production organized and controlled through corporate and govern-
of the nation to an “act of war” by a foreign power; received a great
mental collaboration.
toz24404_glo_G1-G8.indd 5
07/09/12 2:57 PM
Confi rming Pages
G–6 Glossary
profession typically, a “white-collar” occupation characterized by a
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) founded in the early 20th century
specialized body of knowledge, requiring college education or beyond,
to provide a fair predictive tool for college success across secondary
and rewarded with special status and prestige.
schools with different academic standards; has been shown to be
of limited predictive value but remains in wide use in the United
professional autonomy the expectation that the members of a profes-
States.
sion, such as teaching, will be free to exercise independent judgment
based on their expertise.
school choice an educational policy that supports the right of par-
ents to choose whatever public school they want for their children;
professional ethics codes of conduct typically meant to ensure that
justified by the view that students perform better if they attend a
professionals will exercise their expertise in the service of the interests
school chosen for its compatibility with the beliefs and values of the
of their clients.
family.
professionalization versus professionalism a distinction intended to
emphasize the difference between an occupation taking on the
schooling versus education a distinction intended to point out that
external characteristics of a profession and a commitment among its
whatever takes place in schools (schooling) may or may not help
members to professional conduct, expertise, and ethics.
develop the individual’s qualities of mind and body (education).
progress one of the basic components of classical liberal ideology;
school restructuring a general term for any of a number of approaches
emphasizes the inevitability of social improvement through the
to school reform that emphasize changing such organizational features
ability of people to reason about how to achieve their best interests
of schooling as how decisions are made, the length of the school day,
together.
and the allocation of time during the school day.
progressive educational reform various and sometimes conflicting
scientific administration the application of social science research to
policies and practices that changed education in the late 19th and
social policy.
early 20th centuries from traditional, academically oriented studies for
scientific reason one of the basic components of classical liberal ideology; all students to different schooling experiences for different children,
emphasizes the human ability to understand the world through
depending on the perceived needs of the child in the context of the
agreed-on, systematic processes of discovery of truth as opposed to
perceived needs of the social order; changed the governance of
understanding the world through revealed truth or on the authority
schooling from local to more centralized forms of decision making.
of others.
provisional freedom a notion of freedom that is not absolute, but
sectarianism in organized religion, the strong focus on differences
subject to change, even temporary, depending on changing political
among various orders (or sects) of the same religion, even to the point
contexts.
of conflict among them.
Prussian model the educational system of 19th-century Prussia, which
Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 historically important conference
provided free public education, well-educated teachers, and different
on women’s political and civil rights held in Seneca Falls, New York,
school experiences for different positions in the social order.
featuring notable activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the
abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
race a term used to identify supposed biological differences among
service occupations the fastest-growing sector in the late 20th-century
human beings; does not stand up to scientific scrutiny based on biol-
and early 21st-century labor market in terms of the total number of
ogy; based more on social perceptions of human difference and often
jobs; usually refers to relatively low-skill, low-pay jobs providing
used to sustain and justify unequal power relations among cultural
services to others, such as domestic labor and food service.
groups.
sex-role socialization the shaping of beliefs, values, and behaviors
racism the practice of treating people unequally and inequitably because
in accordance with gendered social expectations about differences
of their membership in an ethnic group.
between the sexes.
Reconstruction the period mandated by Congress after the Civil War in
sex versus gender a distinction between the biological differences
which the political, social, and economic structure of the South would
between males and females and the social meanings attached to those
be rebuilt without slavery; lasted from 1865 to 1877.
differences; “gendered” occupations are grounded not in biological
differences between the sexes but in social beliefs about what is
redemption the period after Reconstruction when the South would be
appropriate for men and women to do.
“redeemed” from the federal interference with state autonomy and
White rule.
skilled artisanship in contrast to low-skill factory labor, a mode of
production of goods that emphasized highly skilled labor producing
religious revelation truth revealed through religious texts and author-
and marketing uniquely individual products one piece at a time,
ity rather than through the processes of science or reasoning, which
whether in textiles, leather, wood, or another type of conversion of
could create a basis of opposition to religiously “revealed” truth
natural resources to handcrafted products.
(revelation).
resistance theory an effort to explain the school performance of low-income
Slums and Suburbs written in the early 1960s by James B. Conant after and minority children and youth in terms of their noncompliance with
the success of The American High School Today to address educational
school norms that seem “stacked” against them; noncompliance, or
differences between low-income urban neighborhoods and middle-
resistance expressed in antiacademic and antisocial behaviors, may
income, largely White suburbs.
be seen as an assertion of self in a cultural environment that may not
social efficiency a philosophy of centralized public policy or educational
seem to value each child’s identity equally.
policy formation that places the good of the larger social order ahead
toz24404_glo_G1-G8.indd 6
07/09/12 2:57 PM
Confi rming Pages
Glossary G–7
of a commitment to full participation by all individuals in shaping
tribal self-determination a term that developed during the 1960s
that order.
to describe the desire of Indian tribes and communities for
self-government .
social foundations of education the cultural contexts within which
human learning takes place; the study of those cultural contexts.
Troy Female Seminary founded by Emma Hart Willard in 1821 in
Troy, New York; a school for young women that prepared hundreds
social meliorism the belief that society can be improved slowly over
of schoolteachers for eastern schools before the normal school system
time through organized human effort.
was developed by Horace Mann.
social theory efforts to explain data about humans living together in
Tuskegee Institute founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881; an
groups of various kinds; perspectives on human association used to
institution for the vocational training of African American youth
guide the search for information about social groups as well as to
that later became a major university and is now counted prominently
explain that information.
among the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities.
socioeconomic class term derived from sociology, which describes a
status level in society derived from income, occupation, and family
economic history.
university in the United States today, a higher education institution
Sputnik the Soviet Union’s first human-made vehicle to orbit the earth that typically has undergraduate and graduate degree programs in
in space (1957); preceded a similar effort by the United States and
multiple fields in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities; has its
caused national concern over Soviet technological superiority.
origins in 17th- and 18th-century colleges and academies as well as in
19th-century normal schools, historically Black institutions of higher
standardized achievement testing for accountability a 1990s
education, and the European research university.
emphasis of the contemporary school reform movement, continuing
into the new century, that seeks to hold school districts, schools,
urbanization growth in the size and/or number of cities as a society’s
administrators, teachers, and students accountable for learning
population shifts from rural to urban life.
through frequent and systematic use of achievement tests to measure
student learning.
virtue one of the basic components of classical liberal ideology; empha-
sizes the good character of the individual as demonstrated in good
Taylorization named after the efficiency expert Frederick W. Taylor;
works for others and visible religious devotion or piety.
a process of factory production developed in the late 19th century
vocational education the policy and practice of providing experiences
and early 20th century that broke complex production skills into the
that prepare people for specific occupational futures; historically
simplest component parts so that each worker would repeat a simple
implemented at the expense of a more general or liberal education
activity over and over to achieve increased productivity.
that develops a range of intellectual capacities for a wide variety of
political, personal, and occupational possibilities.
Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution adopted on
December 18, 1865; reads in part, “Neither slavery nor involuntary
voucher system for schools a proposed approach to public schooling
servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall
that would provide government money to the family, not to the school
have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any
system, so that the family could spend that educational allocation
place subject to their jurisdiction.”
(voucher) in any school it chose, public or private, religious or secular.
Title IX a federal act passed in 1972 that prohibits inequitable treatment
of students in schools on the basis of sex, including in extracurricular
Washington, Booker T. (1856–1915) founder of the Tuskegee Institute
and sports activities; has been credited for U.S. women’s successes in
and a high-profile leader of African Americans at the end of the 19th
world athletic competitions since the mid-1990s.
century and the first 15 years of the 20th; the author of Up from
tracking and detracking tracking refers to the practice of “ability
Slavery.
grouping” students by skill differences in schools for the purposes
Willard, Emma Hart (1787–1870) the founder of the Troy Female
of instruction and preparation for different academic and occupa-
Seminary in Troy, New York, and a prominent advocate of women’s
tional futures; detracking is the effort to resist such grouping of
education.
students.
Wollstonecraft, Mary (1759–1797) an 18th-century British feminist
training versus education a distinction intended to point out the
who argued for political and civil rights and equality for women and
difference between being prepared for the reliable performance of
wrote that marriage was an ingenious device for enslaving women;
skills for a particular role (such as in medical training or musical
author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792).
training) and being prepared for a variety of social roles that may
require a wide range of knowledge, skills, and critical perspectives
Worcester v. Georgia a Supreme Court case that strengthened the (such as a liberal education).
federal status of tribes and excluded them from state control.
toz24404_glo_G1-G8.indd 7
07/09/12 2:57 PM
This page intentionally left blank
Confi rming Pages
Photo Credits
Part 1
Chapter 6
Opener: Courtesy of The University of Pittsburgh, Digital
Opener: Courtesy of McGraw-Hill Companies; p. 160: USDA
Research Library
Photograph Archives; p. 166: © Bettman/Corbis; p. 170: Library of
Congress; p. 172: Library of Congress; p. 175: Library of Congress;
p. 179: Library of Congress; p. 180: McGraw-Hill Higher Educa-
Chapter 1
tion wishes to thank the Crisis Publishing Co., Inc., the publisher
Opener: © Look and Learn/The Bridgeman Art Library; p. 8:
of the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement
© Design Pics/Ron Nickel RF; p. 12: © Bettman/Corbis
of Colored People, for the use of the “Crisis” magazine cover first
published in the April 1936 issue of Crisis Magazine
Chapter 2
Chapter 7
Opener: Courtesy of The University of Pittsburgh, Digital
Research Library; p. 26: North Wind Picture Archives; p. 29:
Opener: Courtesy of The University of Pittsburgh, Digital
Library of Congress; p. 31: © Pixtal/age Fotostock RF; p. 33:
Research Library; p. 199: © Hulton Collection/Getty Images;
The Granger Collection, NYC; p. 41: © Stock Montage; p. 42:
p. 201 (left): Culver Pictures; p. 201 (right): Culver Pictures;
© Bettman/Corbis
p. 203: © Bettman/Corbis; p. 207: Culver Pictures; p. 211: ©
Bettman/Corbis
Chapter 3
Chapter 8
Opener: Courtesy of The University of Pittsburgh, Digital
Research Library; p. 53: Culver Pictures; p. 59: © National
Opener: American Book Company; p. 226: © Bettman/Corbis;
Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution/Art Resource, NY;
p. 228: © akg-images/Newscom; p. 230: © Bettman/Corbis;
p. 62: Culver Pictures; p. 63: Culver Pictures; p. 67: Culver
p. 233: © UPI/Bettman/Corbis; p. 236: © Chris Ryan/Getty
Pictures; p. 69: Library of Congress; p. 70: North Wind Picture
Images RF
Archives; p. 72: © National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Insti-
tution/Art Resource, NY
Part 2
Opener: © PhotoAlto/Alamy RF
Chapter 4
Opener: Courtesy of The University of Pittsburgh, Digital
Chapter 9
Research Library; p. 88: © Bettman/Corbis; p. 94: Courtesy
Everett Collection; p. 95: © Carl Linde/AP Photo; p. 99: © AP
Opener: Courtesy of McGraw-Hill School Division; p. 258:
Photo; p. 102: The Granger Collection, NYC; p. 108: Library of
© Digital Vision RF; p. 259: © Mark Edward Atkinson/
Congress; p. 111: © Bettman/Corbis
Blend Images RF; p. 265: © AP Photo; p. 273: © Susan See
Photography RF; p. 280: © Design Pics/Ron Nickel RF
Chapter 5
Chapter 10
Opener: Courtesy of The University of Pittsburgh, Digi-
tal Research Library; p. 127: © UPI/Bettman/Corbis; p. 129:
Opener: Courtesy of McGraw-Hill Companies; p. 296: The
© Bettman/Corbis; p. 131: © Getty Images; p. 133 (top):
Granger Collection, NYC; p. 299: © McGraw-Hill Companies,
© Bettman/Corbis; p. 133 (bottom): © Corbis RF; p. 138:
Inc. Mark Dierker, photographer; p. 305: © Tetra Images/Getty
The Granger Collection, NYC; p. 143: Library of Congress;
Images RF; p. 312: © Digital Vision/Getty Images RF; p. 314:
p. 145: © Bettman/Corbis
© Ruth Dixon/Stock Boston; p. 317: © AP Photo
C–1
toz24404_credits_C1-C2.indd 1
07/09/12 8:11 AM
Confi rming Pages
C–2 Photo
Credits
Chapter 11
Chapter 13
Opener: Courtesy of McGraw-Hill Companies; p. 334: © Life-
Opener: © Jack Kurtz/The Image Works; p. 400: © LWA/
size/Getty Images RF; p. 335: © Zero Creatives/Getty Images
Dann Tardif//Blend Images/Corbis RF; p. 404: © BananaStock/
RF; p. 346: © Yann Layma/Getty Images
PunchStock RF; p. 405: © Elizabeth Crews; p. 411: © Hill Street
Studios/Blend Images RF; p. 414: © Hill Street Studios/Blend
Images RF
Chapter 12
Opener: Courtesy of McGraw-Hill Higher Education; p. 360:
Chapter 14
© AP Photo; p. 370: © Nick White/Getty Images RF; p. 374:
© Fancy Photography/Veer RF; p. 377: © Bob Daemmrich/
Opener: © Hazel Hankin/Stock Boston; p. 435: © Rudi Von
Stock Boston
Briel/PhotoEdit
toz24404_credits_C1-C2.indd 2
07/09/12 8:11 AM
Confi rming Pages
Index
A
Redemption, 159–160
quality of teachers, 68
resistance theory, 409
school discipline/pedagogy
A. Phillip Randolph High School, 420
Washington’s career, 168–171
of love, 66, 67
AACTE, 302
AFT, 301, 312, 316
teachers as exemplars, 68
ABCTE, 302–303
Age Discrimination in Employment
Anthony, Susan B., 134, 143
academic achievement, 386–387
Act of 1967, 315
Antioch College, 60
academies, 141
Akwasasne Notes, 212
Anyon, Jean, 266, 408
Academy (Plato’s school), 12
Algonquians, 197
AOL/Time Warner, 260–261
“Achieving the Promise of Curriculum
All Handicapped Children Act (EHA), 381
APL, 270
Integration” (Grubb), 334
allotment policy, 202
Appiah, Kwame Anthony, 274, 276
ACT Composite Entrance Examination
Alternative Paths to Teaching: A Directory of
Apple, Michael, 266, 278
trends (1963–1980s), 342
Postbaccalaureate Programs, 302
Aristotle
Action for Excellence, 346, 347
Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification
Athenian political economy, 13
Adams, Abigail, 44
(ARTC), 301–303
Athenian schooling, 15
Adams, Henry, 440
Amanti, C., 429
classical educational ideals, 12, 254
Adams, Jane, 98
America 2000, 344
Jefferson, and, 33
Adams, John, 36, 37, 39
American Association of Colleges for Teacher
liberal education, 335–337
Adams, John Quincy, 59, 143
Education (AACTE), 302
philosophy of education, 16
“Address to the Public: Particularly to the
American Board for Certification of Teacher
political vs. civic freedom, 32
Members of the Legislature of New
Excellence (ABCTE), 302–303
Politics, The, 17–20
York, Proposing a Plan for Improving
American Declaration of Independence. See
Armstrong, Samuel Chapman, 172, 174
Female Education, An” (Willard), 137
Declaration of Independence
Army Alpha test, 403
Addresses to the German
American Federation of Labor, 327
Aronowitz, Stanley, 271, 419
Nation (Fichte), 64
American Federation of
ARTC, 301–303
administrative professionalization, 305
Teachers (AFT), 301, 312, 316
artificial aristocracy, 36
adult performance level (APL), 270
American High School Today, The (Conant),
Asian Americans
Advice to a Daughter (Saville), 44
237, 239, 327
bilingual education mandates, 376
African Americans
American Indians. See Native Americans
definition of term, 375
analytic framework, 158
American Lady, The (Butler), 131
education vs. career
Black English Vernacular (BEV), 411–413
American Revolution, 28, 29
achievements, 375
Boston, school attendance
Amundsen, Kirsten, 384
population by ethnicity
(19th century), 257
analytic framework
(1980/1990), 376
Brown v. Board of Education, 360
children/youth, cultural
Asian/Pacific Islanders, 368
cold war era, 227
contexts, 434
assimilation, 416
common schools in the South, 158
cold war era, 224
American Indians, 194–195
Conant’s views, 242
common-school era, 52
Indian children, 212
Du Bois, W. E. B., 179–182.
diversity and equity, 358, 398
vs. pluralism, 195–196
See also Du Bois, W. E. B.
early American period, 24
Association of Black Psychologists, 316
Elliott’s experiment, 399–401
girls/women in U.S., 126
Athens (classical Greece)
family, and, 369
liberty/literacy in U.S., 11
historical timeline, 13
historical context, 177
literacy, 254
ideology, 14–15
housing, 369
professionalization of teaching, 290
liberal education, 338
inferiority ideology, 172–179
progressive era, 84
philosophy of education, 16
Jefferson, and slavery, 42–43
schooling, 326
political economy, 12–14
literacy, historical perspectives, 256
ancient Greece. See Athens (classical Greece);
schooling/culture, 11–12, 15
Mann’s views, 59
classical Greece
slavery, 13
multicultural classrooms, 6
Angus, David, 327
state schools, lack of, 7
Oakland, California School District
Annual Reports (Mann)
“Atlanta Compromise” speech
language policy, 411
economic value of schooling, 70–72
(Washington), 206
philosophy of education, 182–183
feminization of teaching, 69
atomic bomb, 226
poverty rates, 372
opposition to Mann’s reforms, 72
Au, K., 415
Reconstruction, 159–167
Prussian school system, 65
Au, Wayne, 278
I–1
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 1
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Confi rming Pages
I–2 Index
Augustine of Hippo, 7, 127, 128
Boyer, Ernest, 302
early education, 384–385
Austen, Jane, 130
Bradstreet, Anne, 130
infancy, 383–384
authority
Brave New World (Huxley), 7
secondary schools, gender bias, 385
of expert, 293
Brawley, Benjamin, 165
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, 87
pedagogical, 293–295
Brisk, M. E., 429
Chinese immigration, 375
of rules, 293
Brody, David, 91
choice movement, 349–350
of teachers, 290–295
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,
Christian-Smith, Linda K., 385, 386
Autobiography (Du Bois), 179
Kansas, 227, 242, 359, 360
Christianity
autonomous minorities, 407
Brownson, Orestes, 72–73, 74, 77
Mann’s views, 63
Bryce, Lord James, 98
women and female education, 127–128
Bryk, Anthony, 442
church-state separation, 34
B
Bunkle, Phillida, 139
citizenship (Athens), 12, 338
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), 196, 201
civil freedom, 32
Bachman, Frank, 84
Burke, Edmund, 28
Civil Rights Act of 1964, 314
Bachrach, Peter, 266
Bush, Barbara, 271
Claims of the Country on American Females
Bagdikian, Ben H., 262, 263
Bush, George W., 255, 259, 271, 350
(Coxe), 131
Bailey, Ebenezer, 142
Bushnell, Horace, 57
classical Greece, 11–12. See also Athens
Baldwin, James, 411
Butler, John, 381
(classical Greece)
Banks, James, 422
classical liberalism
Banneker, Benjamin, 46–48
basic tenets, 33
Barker, Ernest, 17
C
consolidation of, 57–58
Barlow, Joel, 45
freedom, 32
Barnard, Henry, 141
California, standardized testing, 316
Jefferson, Thomas, 33–34. See also
Beatty, Willard Walcott, 196, 208, 210–212
Callahan, Raymond, 238
Jefferson, Thomas
Beecher, Catharine, 70, 132, 133,
Calvinism
modern liberalism, compared, 103
134–136, 141
Channing’s criticism of, 57
nationalism, 32
Beecher, Henry Ward, 70, 134
corporal punishment, 66
natural law, 30
behaviorism, 105
Packard’s criticism of Mann’s common
progress, 31–32
Bell, Howard, 327
elements, 64
reason, 30
Bell Curve, The (Herrnstein/Murray), 403
capitalism, 30
roots, 29–30
Bender, Wilbur, 231
Carington, Edward, 34
strong central government, 229
Benne, Kenneth D., 294
Carnegie Commission, 302
virtue, 30–31
Bennett, William J., 344
Carnegie Corporation, 238, 239
Clayton Anti-Trust Act, 98
Berlin wall, 226
Carnegie Steel Corporation, 96
Cleveland, Grover, 96, 98
Berry, Gordon, 414
Carr, Nicholas, 281
Clifford, Geraldine, 307
Bestor, Arthur, 236, 237, 297
Carr, Peter, 35
Clinton, DeWitt, 137, 141
BEV, 412
Carson, Robert N., 358
Cobb, James Edward, 162–163
BIA, 196, 201
castelike minorities, 407
cold war era
Big Test, The (Lemann), 245
Catholicism, 54, 63
analytic framework, 224
Bill for Amending the Constitution of the
Cazden, C., 415
Conant, James Bryant, 230–243. See also
College of William and Mary, and
CBE, 237
Conant, James Bryant
Substituting More Certain Revenues
centralization of power/expertise, 99–100
historical context, 241
for Its Support, 36
Century of Dishonor (Jackson), 203
ideology, 225–230
Bill for Establishing a Public
Chan, Sucheng, 375
new liberal ideology, 227–230
Library, 36, 40–41
Channing, William Ellery, 57
philosophy of education, 243–246
Bill for Establishing Religious
charter school, 350
political economy, 225–230
Freedom, 34
Chase, Bob, 349, 350
Soviet communism, fear of, 225–226
Bill for the More General Diffusion of
Chauncey, Henry, 231, 232, 237
Cole, M., 429
Knowledge, 36, 255
Chauncy, Charles, 57
Coleman, James, 361
Bill of Rights, 32
Chemical Warfare Service, 230
Coleman Report, 361, 362, 408
Black belt schooling, 161–167, 169–171
Cherokee, 257
college education, 232–233, 338
Black English Vernacular (BEV), 412
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 200
colleges, 143–144
Blackwell, Elizabeth and Emily, 134
Chicago
Collier, John, 205–210
blood quantum Indian heritage, 202
domestic science training, 145
Beatty, and, 210–211
boarding schools, 130
restructuring, 345
as commissioner of Indian
Bok, Derek, 277
Child, the Parent, and the State (Conant), 240
affairs, 207–210
Bondy, Elizabeth, 422
children
early career, 206–207
Boston Quarterly Review, 72
corporal punishment, 66
foreword to The Hopi Way, 214–216
bourgeoisie, 29
Dewey’s views on nature of child,
new liberal ideology, 196
Bowles, Samuel, 361
108–109
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 2
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Confi rming Pages
Index I–3
colonial era, 128–132
Coon, Charles, 171
democratic society, 5
Columbia University Teachers College, 4
Cooper, Anna Julia, 140–141
Dertouzos, Michael, 263, 264, 265
Combe, George, 137
corporal punishment, 66
deskilling, 91
Comcast, 262
Council for Basic Education (CBE), 237
developmental-democracy
commercial education, 147–148
Council of Five Hundred, 12
progressivism, 106
common elements, 63–64
Counts, George, 438
Dewey, John, 107–116
Common School Journal, 61
Cousin, Victor, 64
business influence in education reform,
common-school reforms era
Crimmins, Timothy, 147
327
discipline/pedagogy of love, 66–67
critical literacy, 271–274, 280
community of shared interests
feminization of teaching, 68–70
critical theory, 404–410
beliefs, 205
historical context, 73
Crozier, Lucy, 206
developmental-democracy
ideology/religion, 56–58
Cuban, Larry, 245, 349
progressivism, 106
lessons learned, 74–75
Cubberley, Ellwood, 52, 112, 113, 115
“Education and Social Change,” 118–122
Mann, Horace, 58–75. See also Mann,
cult of domesticity, 130–132
equal educational opportunity, 114
Horace
cultural deficiency theory, 405–407
liberal education, 335
moral values, 62–64
cultural deficit theory, 403–404
nature of the child, 108–109
New England, 52–53
cultural deprivation studies, 361–362
progressive education,
normal schools, 68
cultural literacy, 279–280
meaning of, 109
political economy, 53–56
Cultural Literacy (Hirsch), 274
vocational education, 326, 333
professionalization of teaching, 296–297
cultural mismatches, 406
dialect, 409
Prussian school system’s influence, 64–66
cultural subordination theory, 407–409
Dick and Jane as Victims: Sex Stereotyping in
school buildings, 61–62
Culturally Responsive Teaching, 424–428
Children’s Readers, 385
success of, 74
culture, 406
Dictionary of Global Culture,
teachers, quality of, 67–68
curriculum
The (Appiah/Gates), 274
communications technologies, 263–264
Athens (classical Greece), 15
discipline, 66–67
communism, 225–227
child-centered, 106
Discrimination Day exercises,
community, 27–28, 205
differentiated, 111, 115
399–401, 409
competence ideology, 202
formal, 7
diversity and equity
computer technology
hidden, 7
AAA statement on “race,” 365–366
literacy, and communications
Jefferson’s educational plans, 38
analytic framework, 358, 398
technology, 263
modern, 105
Coleman Report, 361
school reform, 348–349
traditional classical, 106, 107
cultural deprivation
computer use, 8
varied, 106, 107
studies, 361–362
Conant, James Bryant, 224–225
Culturally Responsive Teaching, 424–428
college education views, 232–233
disabling conditions, 381–382
D
early days, 230–231
Elliott’s experiment, 399–401
education in a divided world, 234–235
gender, 369–371, 382–388
Dahl, Robert, 258
great talent hunt, 237–240
historical context, 379–381
daily newspapers, 262–263
philosophy of education, 243–246
inequity/inequality, 358–398
Daniels, H., 429
postwar era school reform, 235–237
meritocracy, 359–362
Danziger, Sheldon, 367
professionalization of teaching, 297–298
modern American society, 363
Darkness at Noon (Koestler), 234–235
school reform reports/social
multicultural classrooms, 291
Darling-Hammond, L., 429
stratification, 233–234
multicultural education/democratic
Darwin, Charles, 88, 101, 172, 173
schooling, purpose of, 327
pluralism, 416–419
Daughter at School, The (Todd), 131
slums/subversives, 240–243
pedagogical approaches to
Dawes Allotment Act, 202
standardized testing/student
pluralism, 413–415
Debs, Eugene, 97
selection, 231–232
philosophy of education,
“Decentralization: Alternative to Bureaucracy”
teacher education, 298
388–390, 423–424
(Brownson), 77–80
vocational education, 327, 328
political-economic context, 363–373
Deckard, Barbara Sinclair, 383, 384
connectionism, 105
race/ethnicity, 363–369, 373–379
Declaration of Independence, 24, 41
conservative ideology
social inequality theories, 401–413. See also
Declaration of Sentiments and
historical perspective, 28
social inequality theories
Resolutions, 134, 149–151
women and female education, 132–134
socioeconomic class, 371–373, 379–381
democracy
Consortium on Chicago School Research, 440
special education, 421–423
cold war era, 228
containment policy, 226
divine right, 29
ideological hegemony theory, 266
conventional literacy, 268–269
doctrine of first use, 226
Democracy and Education (Dewey),
convict lease programs, 160
Dodge, Mabel, 206
108, 333
Cooley, Charles H., 89, 359
domestic science training, 144–147
democratic localism, 73
Cooley, Dennis, 203
dominant culture, 196
democratic pluralism, 416
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 3
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Confi rming Pages
I–4 Index
dominant ideology, 9, 290–295
Education under Siege
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of
Doster, Frank, 96
(Aronowitz/Giroux), 272
1974, 315
Douglass, Frederick, 133, 149
educational goals, 350–352
Family Medical Leave Act, 371
dropout rates, race/Hispanic origin
educational reform. See school reform
federal legislation, 314
(1972–2005), 343
Educational Testing Service
Federal Reserve Act, 98
Du Bois, W. E. B., 179–182
(ETS), 232, 236
federalism, 32
Cooper’s influence, 140
Educational Wastelands (Bestor), 297
female education. See women and
literacy, 256
EHA, 381
female education
«Of Mr. Booker T. Washington
Eighth Annual Report (Mann), 67
feminist theory, 413
and Others, 184–189
Eisenhower, Dwight, 258
feminization of teaching, 68–70
pluralism vs. assimilation, 195
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Ferguson, Elizabeth, 130
Washington, and, 178
(ESEA), 298, 313, 342
feudalism, 28–29, 37
Washington’s views, compared, 171
elementary school districts
Feuerstein, R., 429
Duffy, John, 408
(Jefferson era), 37–38
Fichte, Johann, 64
DuFour, Rebecca, 441
Eliot, Charles W., 109–116
Fifteenth Amendment, 159
DuFour, Richard, 441
employable skills, 112–114
Fifth Annual Report (Mann), 70, 72
Dukakis, Michael, 346
equal educational opportunity, 114–115
Finley, Peyton, 162
Dunbar Vocational High School
Harvard-Vassar College
First Annual Report (Mann), 61, 68, 69
(Chicago), 242
comparison, 144
first estate, 29
Dye, Thomas, 259
meritocracy, 115–116
Flexner, Abraham, 84
social stability, 112
Forbes, Jack, 194
Elliott, Jane, 399–401, 409
Fourteenth Amendment, 159
E
Emancipation Proclamation, 158
Fourth Annual Report, 68
Emerson, George, 142
Franklin, Benjamin, 9, 31
Eaker, R., 441
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 57
free enterprise system, 9
early American governance, 27–28
Emma Willard Association for the Mutual
free market capitalism, 229
Eastern Iroquois, 208
Improvement of Female Teachers, 139
free press, 34
economic conditions, 340–342
emotionally disturbed students, 382
Free Speech Movement, 317
economic freedom, 32
employment
freedom, 229
Edelman, Marian Wright, 369
education, and, 328–331
classical liberalism, 32
Edmonds, Ron, 420, 421, 436
ethnicity, and, 368
modern liberalism, 102–105
education, 8
gender, and, 370–371
Freire, Paulo, 271, 273, 278
American Indians, 212, 213
Engels, Friedrich, 372
Freud, Sigmund, 104
gender, and, 382–383
English as a second language
Fuller, Margaret, 134
girls/women. See women and female
(ESL), 377, 410
functional literacy, 269–271, 279
education
English language, 410
Jefferson’s views, 32, 36–41
Epstein, Jennifer, 322
liberal, 335–339
G
Equal Access Act of 1984, 315
race/ethnicity, and, 373–378
equal educational opportunity, 114–115
self-education, 40–41
Gardner, John, 237
equity. See diversity and equity
vocational. See vocational education
Garret, Henry, 402
Erickson, F., 415
Education and Liberty (Conant), 235
Gartner, Alan, 382
ESEA, 298, 313, 342
Education and National Security, 235
Gary, Indiana, 84
ESL, 377, 410
“Education and Social Change”
Gary Schools: A General Account, The (Flexner/
ethical responsibility, 316–320
(Dewey), 118–122
Bachman), 84
ethnic diversity
“Education for All” (Van Doren), 246–248
Gates, Henry Louis, 274, 276
progressive era, selected statistics, 89
Education for All American Youth, 233
Gaventa, John, 259
ethnicity. See race and ethnicity
Education for All Handicapped
gender, 369–371. See also women
ETS, 232, 236
Children Act of 1975, 314, 422
and female education
European Americans, 200–201
Education for Cultural
academic achievement, and, 386–387
Excellence (Conant), 238
Change (Beatty), 211
early education, 384–385
experiences, 108
Education in a Divided
education, and, 382–383
expert authority, 293–295
World (Conant), 234
employment, and, 370–371
extralegal influences, 315–316
Education of American Teachers,
income, and, 371
The (Conant), 298
infancy, 383–384
“Education of the Girl, The”
parenting, and, 371
F
(Harkness), 151–154
secondary schools, 385–386
“Education of the People”
Facebook, 264
societal definitions, 383–388
(Brownson), 72
faculty psychology, 41, 104
gender theory, 389, 413–415
Education through Occupations in American
Faler, Paul, 55
General Education in a Free Society, 233
High Schools (Grubb), 334
family, 368–369
General Electric, 261
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 4
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Confi rming Pages
Index I–5
Genesis 3, 127–128
high school, 142
gender, and, 371
GI Bill of Rights, 232–233, 359, 360
high school completion rates
teaching profession, 306–307
girls. See women and female education
(1974–1986), 343
workforce projections, 331–333
Girls’ High School (Atlanta), 147–148
Hirsch, E. D., Jr., 273, 274, 275, 276
Indian Arts and Crafts Board, 207
Giroux, Henry, 271, 272, 273, 401, 419
Hispanics
Indian Defense Association, 207
Gitlin, Todd, 263
diversity/regional differences, 377–378
Indian Education, 210
Glass, Gene, 340
ethnicity, and employment, 368
Indian New Deal, 208
glass ceiling, 370
poverty rates, 369, 372
Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), 195, 196,
Goldman, Emma, 206
History Channel, 261
205, 208
Goldstein, L., 429
Hodgkinson, Harold, 367, 369
Indian reservations, 212
Gonzalez, N., 429
Hollins, E. R., 429
Indian Rights Association, 202
Goodlad, John, 297, 304
Holmes Group, 299–300, 302
Indian Service, 204
Gordon-Reed, Annette, 43
Homestead, Pennsylvania, 96
industrial democracy, 96
government licensure/certification, 296
Honeywell, Roy, 39
industrial management. See scientific
grades, in schooling, 291
Hope, John, 171
management
Graham, Patricia Albjerg, 106
Hopi Way, The (Thompson/Joseph),
industrialization, 90–93
grammar schools, 38–39
214–216
inequality, 358–359. See also diversity and
Gramsci, Antonio, 266, 273
House Bill 504, 165
equity
Grant, Carl A., 386, 416
House Committee on Un-American
Inequality (Jencks et al.), 361, 362
Grant, Madison, 89
Activities, 226
inequity, 358–359. See also diversity
Graves, Karen, 151
housing, 369
and equity
“Great Talent Hunt, The” (Gardner), 238
How Schools Shortchange Girls, 385
infancy, 383–384
Greece (classical era), 11–12
Human Genome Diversity Project, 364
information marketplace, 263–264
Athens. See Athens (classical Greece)
human relations approach, 416
intellectual freedom, 32, 34–35
philosophy of education, 16
humanity, 14
intelligence testing
slavery, 13
Hutchins, Robert, 232
cold war era, 238
Grimke, Sarah M., 134
Hutchinson, Anne, 130
genetic inferiority theory, 402–403
Gross, Neal, 387
Hutt, W. N., 145
meritocracy, 115
group identity, 205
Huxley, Aldous, 7
standardized, 316
Grubb, W. Norton, 334
hyperinformation, 265
Thorndike’s views, 105
Guthrie, G., 415
interests, 108
Gutman, Herbert G., 55–56
Interior Department, 207
I
gymnasium (Prussian school system), 64
International Education Association
(IEA), 301
Ickes, Harold, 207
Interstate Commerce Commission Act, 98
ideals, 294
H
IQ testing. See intelligence testing
ideas, 9
IRA, 195, 196, 205, 208
Haberman, Martin, 301, 302, 303
ideological hegemony theory, 258–261
Irish settlers, 54
Hacker, Andrew, 367, 368
philosophy of education, 280
Iroquois, 197, 198, 208
Hall, G. Stanley, 104
professionalization of teaching, 291
Irving, John T., 142
Hall, Samuel, 141
schooling, and, 276–279
isolation, 264
Hampton Institute, 210
social media rise, 266
Harkness, Mary Leal, 151
ideology, 9–10, 11
Harlan, Louis R., 160, 165, 169, 172
American Indians, 200–201
J
Harrington, Margaret M., 429
cold war era, 225–230
Harrington, Michael, 360
competence, 202
Jackson, Andrew, 54–55
Hart, Samuel, 136
conservatism. See conservative ideology
Jackson, Helen Hunt, 203
Havighurst, Robert, 233
Jeffersonian era, 28–29
James, Henry, 440
Hawthorne effect, 210
liberal. See classical liberalism; liberal
Jamison, Alice, 208
Hayes, Rutherford B., 159
ideology; modern liberalism
Japanese immigration, 375
Hays, Samuel P., 99, 100
IEA, 301
Jefferson, Thomas, 24–25
Haywood, William “Big Bill,” 206
Illiterate America (Kozol), 270
Aristotle, and, 17
Heath, Shirley Brice, 269
immigrants, 53
Banneker correspondence, 46–48
hegemony, 260
immigration
career, 24–25
hegemony theory. See ideological hegemony
changing patterns (1886–1920), 87
classical liberal ideology, 33–34
theory
open vs. restricted, 87–90
daily newspapers, importance of, 262
Hemmings, Sally, 24, 43
progressive era, 86–90
democracy, and, 35–36
Henry, Renea, 140
Immigration Restriction League, 88
developmental-democracy
Hentoff, Nat, 361
income
progressivism, 106
Herbst, Jurgen, 298, 305
class, and power, 372–373
early American governance, 27–28
Herrnstein, Richard, 402, 403
ethnicity, and, 367–368
education, 36–41
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 5
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Confi rming Pages
I–6 Index
equality/inalienable rights, 338
Language, A Foundation
Lovejoy, George M., 174
faith in reason, 30
Tool (Beatty), 211
Lowell, Abbott Lawrence, 230
government, views on, 31–32, 35–36
Lankshear, Colin, 270
Luther, Martin, 131
Hemmings controversy, 24
Larry P. v. Riles, 316
Lyon, Mary, 132, 141
intellectual freedom, 34–35
Lau, Kinney, 376
land ownership views, 26–27
Lau v. Nichols, 376, 410
M
literacy views, 255, 278–279
learning disabled students, 382
Native Americans, views on, 43
learning styles, 406
Macedo, Donaldo, 277
“natural aristocracy,” 36
Lears, T. Jackson, 260
Maclear, Martha, 132
slavery views, 41–43
Lectures on Education (Mann), 66
Madison, James, 35, 199
treaty signature sample, 199
Lee, Chloe, 59
“Making Teaching a Profession” (Epstein),
women, views on, 43–44
Leggett, E., 415
322–323
Jencks, Christopher, 361, 362
legislation, 313–315
Malone, Dumas, 42
Jennings, Jack, 390
Lemann, Nicholas, 230, 234, 245
managed liberalism, 207
Jensen, Arthur, 402
LEP, 377, 378, 410
manifest destiny, 200
Jensen-Herrnstein thesis, 402–403
Lesser, Alexander, 196
Manifesto of the Communist Party (Marx/
Jim Crow laws, 160
Leupp, Francis E., 202, 203
Engels), 372
John Birch Society, 226
Levin, Gerald, 261
Mann, Horace, 58–75
John-Steiner, V., 429
Levin, Henry M., 361, 362
Annual Reports. See Annual Reports
Johnson, Lyndon, 360
liberal education, 335–339
(Mann)
Johnson, William, 132
Liberal Education (Van Doren), 246
Brownson, compared, 74
Johnson, William R., 297, 298
liberal ideology
Brownson’s critique of, 77
Jordan, C., 415
classical. See classical liberalism
Combe’s phrenological theory, 137
Joseph, Alice, 214
historical perspective, 28
discipline/pedagogy of love, 66–67
managed liberalism, 207
early life, 58–59
meritocracy, 359–362
economic value of schooling, 70–72
K
modern. See modern liberalism
equal educational opportunity, 114
Kaestle, Carl, 53
republican liberalism, 32
feminization of teaching, 68–70
Karhanek, G., 441
women and female education, 132–134
lessons learned from Mann’s
Karier, Clarence, 104, 240
licensure/certification of teachers, 296
reforms, 74–75
Katz, Lilian, 421
Limited English Proficiency (LEP),
Massachusetts State Board
Keane, Tom, 302
377, 378, 410
of Education, 60–61
Kennedy, Edward, 255
Lincoln, Abraham, 228
moral values, 62–64
Kett, Joseph F., 274, 275
Lippman, Walter, 206
normal schools, 68
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 360
literacy, 254–256
opposition to Mann’s reforms, 72–74
Knapp, Michael S., 421
analytic framework, 254
political career, 59–60
Knights of Labor, 95
communications technologies, 263–264
professionalization of teaching,
Kober, Nancy, 390
contemporary perspective, 268–269
295–297, 300
Koerner, James D., 298
critical, 271–274
Prussian school system’s influence, 64–66
Koestler, Arthur, 234
cultural, 274–276
school buildings, 61–62
Kohlberg, Lawrence, 384
functional, 269–271
teachers, quality of, 67–68
Kolko, Gabriel, 97
hegemony theory, 276–279
Willard, comparison to, 136
Kozol, Jonathan, 255, 270, 271
historical context, 267–268
women and female education, 132–133
Krug, Edward, 326
historical perspective, 256–257
Margonis, Frank, 346, 347
Ku Klux Klan, 88
ideological hegemony theory, 258–260
Martin, George, 128, 129
mass media, 260–263
Martin, Jane Roland, 136, 414
philosophy of education, 279–281
Marx, Karl, 372
L
power, and, 257–261
mass media, 260–263
labor patterns (1870–1920), 90
schooling, 276–279
Massachusetts
labor unions, 228
social media, 264–268
common-school reforms, 62–63, 75. See
Labov, William, 412
“Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really
also common-school reforms era
ladder system, 132
Reading?” (Rich), 281–285
compulsory school attendance law, 58
Ladson-Billings, G., 415, 429
Locke, John, 33
economic development
Lafayette, marquis de, 33
Locke, Patricia, 217
(19th century), 55–56
laissez-faire
Loeb, Martin, 233
economic success (1980s), 346
classical liberalism consolidation, 58
Logan, Debora, 130
feminization of teaching, 70
modern liberalism, 102
London, Connecticut, 128
Medford, female education, 128
land ownership, 26–27
Louis, Karen Seashore, 316, 317
Old Deluder Satan Law, 52
language, 409–410
Louisiana Purchase, 25, 36
Prussian school system, 66
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 6
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Confi rming Pages
Index I–7
Massachusetts Bay Colony, 52
Montgomery, Isaiah T., 176
progressive reform movement, 202–203
Massachusetts Education
moral values, 62–64
scientific management and educational
Act of 1789, 257
Morrison, John, 93
reform, 203–204
Massachusetts State Board
Morton, Marcus, 72, 73
social education, 202
of Education, 60
Mosteller, Frederick, 361, 362
treaties and “trust relationship,”
material components of a culture, 9
Mott, Lucretia, 149
198–200
Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy
Moynihan, Daniel P., 361, 362
natural aristocracy, 36, 40
(Newton), 30
multicultural classroom, 5, 416–417
natural law, 30, 100–101
McAninch, Stuart, 90, 113
Murray, C., 403
Navajo, 212–214
McCarthy, Cameron, 277
Murrell, Peter, 439
NBC, 261
McCarthy, Joseph, 226
mustard gas, 230
NBC Universal, 262
McChesney, Robert, 261
NCLB. See No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
McClellan, James E., 224, 234
NEA, 112, 312, 316
N
McCreary, Paul, 420
Neff, D., 429
McNickle, D’Arcy, 195
“Negro education,” 242
NAACP, 180
Mead, George H., 205, 383
neoliberalism, 256
NAFTA, 261
Means, Hanna, 130
New Deal
NALS, 269
Medford, Massachusetts, 128
cold war era, 225
Nasaw, David, 106
media, 260–263
Collier, as Commissioner of Indian
Nation at Risk, A, 301, 315,
Media Monopoly, The (Bagdikian), 262
Affairs, 207
339, 344, 345
meliorism, 31
New Deal Writer’s Project, 208
Nation at Risk movement, 255
mentally retarded students, 382
New England, 25, 52. See also
National Adult Literacy
meritocracy, 40, 115, 359–362
common-school reforms era
Survey (NALS), 269
Merriam, Lewis, 203
Calvinism, 57
National Association for the Advancement of
Merriam Report, 204
literacy rates (18th-19th century), 256
Colored People (NAACP), 180
metics, 14
Puritanism, 56–57
National Board for Professional Teaching
middle Atlantic states, 25
new liberal ideology. See modern liberalism
Standards, 301
military, 14
New York City, 26
National Broadcasting Corporation
military-industrial complex,
New York Federation of Labor, 327
(NBC), 261
226, 229, 258
newspapers, 262–263
National Center for Fair & Open Testing, 254
Mill, John Stuart, 63, 64, 75, 107
Newton, Sir Isaac, 30, 31
National Council of Teachers
Miller, John, 30
Nichols, Alan, 376
of English, 312
Mills, C. Wright, 258, 259
Nieto, S., 429
National Council of Teachers
minorities, 407
1984 (Orwell), 7, 265
of Mathematics, 312
Minter, Thomas, 136
No Child Left Behind (NCLB), 342
National Defense Education Act of 1958,
Mirel, Jeffrey, 327
educational goals, 254, 255
237, 313
Miseducation of American Teachers,
professionalization of
National Education Association
The (Koerner), 298
teaching, 298, 302
(NEA), 112, 312, 316
Mississippi Plan, 160
standardized quality indicators, 306
national interest, 244–245
Mitchell, Maria, 144
normal schools
National Labor Relations Act, 303
modern liberalism, 100–105
common-school reforms, 68
National Scholarship Program, 231
classic liberalism, compared, 103
professionalization of teaching, 295
nationalism
cold war era, 227–230
women and female education, 141
classical liberalism, 32
freedom, 102–103
North American Free Trade Agreement
modern liberalism, 102
nationalism, 102
(NAFTA), 261
Native Americans
natural law, 100–101
North Central Regional Educational
analytic framework, 194
new psychology, 104–105
Laboratory, 349
assimilation through scientific
philosophy of education, 116–117
Notes on the State of Virginia
management, 194–196
professionalization of teaching, 300
(Jefferson), 34, 36, 38
Collier’s influence, 205–210. See also
progress, 101–102
nuclear weapons, 226
Collier, John
roots, 30
Nye, Russell, 31
cultural mismatches, 406
scientific rationality, 101
historical context, 209
strong central government, 229
ideological perspectives, 200–201
O
from virtue to rational ethics, 101
Jefferson’s views, 43
modern psychology, 104–105
literacy, 256–257
Oates, William C., 161
modern values, 63
Navajo, 212–214
Obama, Barack, 255
Mohatt, G., 415
philosophy of education, 214
obedience, 67
Moll, L. C., 429
pre-colonial America, 196–197
occupational statistics
Montague, Ashley, 403
progressive education, 204–205
(2002–2012), 332
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 7
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Confi rming Pages
I–8 Index
“Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others”
progressive era, 116–117
progressive education, 105–107
(Du Bois), 184–189
vocational vs. liberal education, 350–352
Progressive Education Association
Ogbu, John, 407
women and female education, 148
(PEA), 105–106
Old Deluder Satan Law, 52
“pig laws,” 160
progressive era
On Equality of Educational Opportunity
Pitofsky, Robert, 261
Deweyan developmental democracy,
(Mosteller/Moynihan), 361
Platero, Dillon, 216
107–116. See also Dewey, John
“On School Punishments” speech (Mann), 66
Plato, 6, 12, 13, 15, 402
historical context, 110
On the Origin of Species (Darwin),
Plessy v. Ferguson, 227, 242
immigration, 86
88, 101, 172
pluralism, 195, 258, 413–421
industrialization, 90–93
Oneida Iroquois, 208
pluralistic democracy, 11
new liberal ideology. See modern
open immigration, 87–90
poison gas research, 230
liberalism
“Organizing Schools for Improvement”
political economy, 9
philosophy of education, 116–117
(Bryk), 442–446
analytic framework, 11
political economy, 86–100
Origins of the New South
cold war era, 225–230
professionalization of teaching, 297
(Woodaward), 159
Jeffersonian era, 25–27
progressive education, 105–107
Orwell, George, 7, 265
progressive era, 86–100
scientific management, 93–100. See also
O’Sullivan, John L., 200
political freedom, 32
scientific management
Other America, The (Harrington), 360
Politics, The (Aristotle), 17–20, 335
“traditional” vs. “progressive” school
Owston, Ronald D., 264
Pollack, Norman, 96
system, 84–85
Pope, Alexander, 30
urbanization, 86
populism, 96–97
progressive Indian education, 204–205
P
Postman, Neil, 271
progressive reform
Power and Powerlessness (Gaventa), 259
movement, 202–203
Packard, Frederick A., 64, 72
power elite, 259
progressive urban reform, 98–99
Padron, Y. N., 429
Power Elite (Mills), 258
progressivism, 97–98
Pagels, Elaine, 128
power relations, 405
Project Head Start, 404
Paine, Thomas, 28, 33, 45
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, 315
Prosser, Charles, 235
Palmer, Solomon, 164, 165
prerevolutionary era, 28, 37
Protestant Reformation, 31
parenting, 371
Preskill, Steve, 111
Protestant Whigs, 55
Park, Robert E., 178
Pride and Prejudice (Austen), 130
Protestantism, 54, 63
Parker, Francis, 106
primitivist psychology, 104
provisional freedom, 229
PASE v. Hannon, 316
private funding, 306–307
Provisional Teaching Certificate, 302
Passing of the Great Race, The (Grant), 89
private good, 75
Prussian school system, 64–66
paternalism, 370
private schools, 130
pseudo-aristocracy, 36
“Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the
professional administrators, 297
psychology
Challenge of Preparing Young
professional satisfaction, 316–320
modern, 104–105
Americans for the 21st Century,”
professionalism, 305
primitivist, 104
352–354
professionalization, 305
social, 104
Patriot Act, 255
professionalization movement
Public Education and the Structure of American
PEA, 105–106
analytic framework, 290
Society lectures (Conant), 234
peasants, 29
common-school reform, 296–297
“Public Education Primer: Basic (and
pedagogical authority, 293–295
Conant era reform, 297–298
Sometimes Surprising) Facts about the
Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire), 271
contemporary school reform, 298–304
U.S. Educational System, A” (Kober/
Perez, Laura E., 378
dominant ideology, 290–295
Usher), 390–393
Perkinson, Henry, 242
extralegal influences, 315–316
public funding, 306–307
Philadelphia
historical context, 317
public good, 75
Jeffersonian era, 26
historical perspective, 296–298
Pueblo people, 206
progressive era, 88
Mann, Horace, 295–296
Puritanism, 56–57
Philbrick, John D., 144
philosophy of education, 320–321
putting-out system, 55
Phillips, Wendell, 134
professional satisfaction/ethics, 316–320
philosophy of education
progressive era reform, 297
African Americans, 182–183
public control vs. professional
Q
cold war era, 243–246
autonomy, 311–316
common-school reforms, 75–76
Quality Counts, 302
statutory control structure, 313–315
diversity and equity, 388–390
teacher’s professional authority, 290–295
educational goals, 15–17, 350–352
teaching as public profession, 304–311
gender/ethnic/racial equality, 44
R
progress, 31–32
literacy, 279–281
cold war era, 228
Native Americans, 214
race and ethnicity, 363–369
modern liberalism, 101–102
professionalization movement, 330–332
AAA statement on “race,” 365–366
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 8
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Confi rming Pages
Index I–9
definition of terms, 364
Roman Empire, 7
schools, 4
education, 373–375
Rome Free Academy, 141
boarding, 130
employment, 368
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 225
control over, 311–316
family, 368–369
Roosevelt, Theodore, 98, 160, 207
grammar, 38–39
Hispanic American diversity, 377–378
Rose, Ernestine, 134
normal, 68, 141, 295
housing, 369
Ross, Dorene D., 422
private, 130
income and wealth, 367–368
Ross, E. A., 89, 359
Schultz, Stanley, 257
model minority, 375–377
Rough Rock Demonstration School, 213
scientific management, 93–100
Race Matters (West), 366
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 107, 254
centralization of power/expertise,
Race to the Top, 255
rules, 293
99–100
racial inequality. See African Americans;
ruling elite, 259
Native American education,
diversity and equity; race and ethnicity
rural environments, 314
194–196, 203–204
racism, 256, 291
Rury, John, 147, 309
populism, 96–97
radical thinking, 134
Rush, Benjamin, 54, 132
progressive urban reform, 98–99
Railway Strike of 1877, 95
Russell, Jonathan, 130
progressivism, 97–98
Randall, Dudley, 182
Ryan, W. Carson, 196, 204, 205, 210
socialism, 97
rational ethics, 101
Taylor, Frederic Winslow, 91–92
Ravitch, Diane, 236
trade unionism, 94–96
S
Raywid, Mary Anne, 349
women, 92–93, 94
reading. See literacy
scientific rationality, 101
SAE, 412
Reading First (RF), 271
Scott, Anne Firor, 139
salary. See income
Reagan, Ronald, 315
Scribner, S., 429
Santayana, George, 229
reason, 30
Scriven, Michael, 320
SAT. See Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
Reconstruction Act, 159
SDEA, 213
Saville, George, 44
Reconstruction in Philosophy
second estate, 29
Scheckter, Danny, 263
(Dewey), 107
Second Treatise of Government
Schneir, Miriam, 149
Reconstruction period, 159–167
(Locke), 33
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
“red baiting,” 225
secondary school system, enrollment statistics,
Educational Testing Service
“Red Scare,” 97
85, 113
establishment, 236
Redemption period, 159–160
Self-Determination and Education Assistance
introduction of, 231
Reed, John, 206
Act of 1975
race/ethnicity, and education, 374
reforms. See school reform
(SDEA), 213
score trends (1963–1980s), 341
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 314
self-education, 40–41
School and Society, The (Dewey), 108
Reich, Robert, 91, 93
Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention of
school buildings, Mann’s common-school
Remarks on the Seventh Annual Report of the
1848, 134, 143, 149
reforms, 61
Hon. Horace Mann, 72
Separate and Unequal (Harlan), 165
school districts (Jefferson era), 37–38
Rentner, Diane Stark, 390
separation of church and state, 34
school reform
Report of the Commission Appointed to
Serrin, William, 331
charters, 349–350
Fix the Site of the University of
SES. See socioeconomic status (SES)
common-school reforms. See
Virginia, 39
Seventh Annual Report (Mann), 72
common-school reforms era
Republic (Plato), 402
sexism, 291
computer technology, 348–349
republican liberalism, 32
SFA, 271
contemporary, 339
republicanism, 30
Shah, Anup, 260
current trends, 348–350
resistance theory, 409–410
Shanker, Albert, 421
political-economic
restricted immigration, 87–90
Shaping of the American High School
origins, 346–348
restructuring, 345
1920–1941, The (Krug), 326
postwar era, 235–237
Rethinking Schools, 278
Shared Vision: Policy Recommendations for
restructuring, 345
Revolution. See American Revolution
Linking Teacher Education to School
school choice, 349–350
RF, 271
Reform, A, 312
social changes, 339–345
Rich, Mokoto, 281
Shea, Christine, 347, 348
voucher movement, 349–350
Rickover, Hyman, 237, 240, 361
Sheets, R., 429
schooling, 7
Rights of Man, The (Paine), 45–46
Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 98
analytic framework, 11, 326
Rist, C., 429
Shockley, William, 402
Athens, classical era, 15
Rivera, H. H., 429
Shor, Ira, 271
economic value of, 70–72
Rockfish Gap Report, 36, 39
Silvestri, G., 329
Indian children, 212
Roderick, Melissa, 350
Singer, Judith, 381
purposes of, 326–328
Roessel, Robert A., Jr., 216
single-group studies, 416
as response to new social/economic
role-playing, 254
Sixth Annual Report (Mann), 61
conditions, 340–342
Roman Catholicism, 54, 63
skill dilution, 91
use of grades, 291
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 9
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Confi rming Pages
I–10 Index
skills, 112–114
standardized intelligence testing, 316
teacher learning, and, 319–320
Skinner, B. F., 105
standardized testing, 231–232, 315
vocational education, 333–335
Skrla, Linda, 387
Standing Bear, Luther, 197
why teach?, 438
Skrtic, Thomas, 422
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady, 134, 143, 149
technocratic rationality, 401
slavery
state-church separation, 34
technology
Athens, 13
state-controlled economies, 229
cold war era, 228
Jefferson’s views, 25, 41–43
state legislation, 313–315
Internet-mediated knowledge
literacy, 256
Statue of Liberty, 88
production, 265
Mann’s views, 59
statutory control structure, 313–315
Sleeter, Christine E., 386, 416
Steffens, Lincoln, 98, 206
Orwell’s views, 265
Slums and Suburbs (Conant), 240–242
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 70, 134
technology gap, 280
Smith, Adam, 32
strikes (trade unions)
Terman, Lewis, 115, 359, 402
Smith, Daniel C., 178
railroad workers (1870s), 95
textbook publishers, 315
Smith, Mortimer, 236
steelworkers (Carnegie Steel
Tharp, R., 415
social bullying, 264
Corporation), 96
theory of impact, 434–438
social changes, 339–345, 440–441
student selection, 231–232
Theory of Resistance in
Social Class in America (Warner), 372
subordination, 407
Education (Giroux), 272
social conditions, 340–342
Success For All (SFA), 271
third estate, 29
social context, 435–436
Sumner, William Graham, 103
Thirteenth Amendment, 158
social Darwinism, 103
Thompson, E. P., 55
social education, 198, 201
Thompson, Laura, 214
social-efficiency progressivism, 107
T
Thompson, Thomas, 217
social foundations of education, 4
Takaki, Ronald, 42, 278, 375
Thoreau, Henry David, 57
social inequality theories, 401–413
Tawney, R. H., 358
Thorndike, Edward L., 88,
bilingual/ESL instruction, 410–411
Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 91–92
105, 116, 359
Black English Vernacular (BEV), 411–413
Taylor, William Monroe, 171
Ticknor, George, 39, 40
critical theory, 404–410
teacher learning, 319–320
Time magazine, 261
cultural deficit theory, 403–404
Time Warner, 260–261
cultural difference theory, 405–407
teacher scholars, 139
Tinkering toward Utopia (Tyack/Cuban),
cultural subordination theory, 407–409
teachers
245–246
genetic inferiority theory, 402–403
democracy, meaning of, 5
Tirozzi, Gerald, 350
resistance theory, 409–410
as exemplars, 68–70
Title IX of the Education Amendments of
social media, 264–266
income/benefits, 331–333
1972, 314, 383, 387
social meliorism, 31
professional authority, 290–295
Toch, Thomas, 382
social mobility, 232
professionalization movement. See
Tomorrow’s Teachers, 299
social psychology, 104
professionalization movement
tools of inquiry
social reconstructionism, 417
quality of, 67–70
education, 8
social stability, 112
social structure, 291
social foundations of education, 4
ideology, 9–10
political economy, 9
social theory, 6–7
Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters to Those
schooling, 7
socialism, 97, 229
Who Dare Teach (Freire), 278
social theory, 6–7
Socialist Labor party, 97
Teachers for Our Nation’s
training, 7–8
Socialist party, 97
Schools (Goodlad), 304
top-down management, 299
socioeconomic class, 371–373,
teaching
trade unionism, 94–96
379–381
compared to other professions, 299–300
traditional school system, 84
socioeconomic status (SES)
current reform activity, 310–311
training, 7–8
ethnicity, and, 367
female dominance, 308–309
Trask, Anne, 387
Warner’s class gradations, 372
feminization of, 68–70
treaties/trust relationship, with American
Socrates, 12
Souberman, E., 429
future jobs, 328–329
Indians, 198–200
Treatise on Domestic Economy,
Souls of Black Folk, The (Du Bois), 179
historical perspective, 309–310
A (Beecher), 134
Soviet communism, 225–227
“isolated” profession, 305
Spanish-American War, 102
Trefil, James, 274, 275
job vs. profession, 305–306
Spanish-speaking students, 410
Treisman, Uri, 419
occupational preparation, 329–331
Sparta, 13
tribal language deterioration, 207
political-economic dimensions, 306–311
special needs students, 381–382, 421–423
tribalism, 208
professionalization movement. See
speech impaired students, 382
Triumph of Conservatism, The (Kolko), 97
professionalization movement
Spencer, Dee Ann, 304
Troy Female Seminary, 138–140
as a public profession, 304–311
Sputnik launch, 340
Trueba, H., 415
Standard American English (SAE), 412
public vs. private funding, 306–307
Truman, Harry S., 226
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 10
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Confi rming Pages
Index I–11
Truman Doctrine, 226
Vogt, L., 415
Will, Madeleine C., 382
trust, 199
Voice from the South by a Black Woman of the
Willard, Emma Hart, 132, 133,
truth, 6
South, A (Cooper), 140
136–140, 141
Truth, Sojourner, 134
“Voices of Resistance: Young Women Readers
Willard, John, 136, 138
Tuskegee, Alabama, 169–170,
of Romance Fiction,” 385
Williams, Mary E., 145
174, 178
volkschule, 64–66
Willis, Arlette I., 252
Tuskegee Institute, 170
voluntary immigrant minorities, 407
Wills, Garry, 25
Twelfth Annual Report (Mann), 71
vorschule, 64, 65
Wilson, Woodrow, 98
Tyack, David, 100, 245, 345
voucher movement, 349–350
Winnetka technique, 210
tyranny of the majority, 75
Vygotsky, L. S., 429
Winthrop, John, 129–130
Wollstonecraft, Mary, 44, 126
women and female education, 126–156. See
U
W
also gender
U.S. Steel, 98
academies, 141
Wade, Richard C., 99
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Stowe), 134
analytic framework, 126
wages. See income
unionism, 94–96, 228
Beecher’s views, 134–136
war-fueled economy, 226
United States
Christianity, ideological
war veterans, 232–233
current demographics, 363
origins, 127–128
Ward, Lester Frank, 206
early national period, 37
colleges, 143–144
Ware, Norman, 95
liberty and literacy, 11
colonial America, 128–132
Warner, W. Lloyd, 233, 372
prerevolutionary period, 37
commercial education, 147–148
Warren, Mercy, 130
Soviet communism, fear
Conant’s views, 240
Washington, Booker T.
of, 225–227
“Atlanta Compromise” speech, 206
Cooper’s views, 140–141
university education, 39–40
Black belt schooling, 169–170
cult of domesticity, 131–132
University of California at
career, 168–171
domestic science training, 144–147
Berkeley, 419–420
Darwinian evolution, 172–173
feminization of teaching, 68–70
University of Virginia, 24, 40
early achievements, 160, 161
high schools, 142–143
Up from Slavery (Washington),
economic reality, perception of, 176
higher education, 141–144
169, 172
Eliot’s views, 111
historical context, 146
urbanization, 86
Hampton Institute, 210
Jefferson’s views, 43–44
Urbanski, Adam, 437
literacy, 256
19th century ideological
USA Patriot Act, 255
Montgomery convention, 165
positions, 132–134
Usher, Alexandra, 390
“Negro education,” 242
normal schools, 141
political power issue, 174
philosophy of education, 148
race neutrality beliefs, 175
Revolution, 130–132
V
race problem solution, 176–179
scientific management, 92–93, 94
vale of tears, 165
vocational education, 326
vocational education, 144–148
values, 62–64
Waxman, H. C., 429
Willard’s views, 136–140
Van Doren, Mark, 245, 246–248,
Women’s Educational Equity Act, 383
Wealth of Nations, The (Smith), 32
326, 327
Webster, Noah, 54
Woodhull, Victoria, 134
Van Hise, Charles, 88
Wells-Barnett, Ida B., 171
Woodward, C. Vann, 159
Vassar, Matthew, 134, 144
Wendover, P. H., 34
Worcester v. Georgia, 200
Vassar College, 144
West, Cornel, 366
workplace trends, 328–331
Vergerius, 338
Western Electric, 210
World War II, 226
veterans of war, 232–233
World War II veterans,
What Matters Most: Teaching for
Vietnam War, 226, 227
232–233
America’s Future, 310
Villegas, A. M., 429
World Wide Web, 263
What Will Be: How the New World of
Vinovskis, Maris A., 72
Wright, Frances, 134
Information Will Change Our Lives
virtue
(Dertouzos), 263
Wright, Susanna, 130
Athenians’ beliefs, 14
Wythe, George, 32
Wheatley, Phillis, 130
classical liberalism, 30–31
Whig party, 55
modern liberalism, 101
Whitehead, Alfred North, 338
Y
vocational education, 144–148
Who Governs? (Dahl), 258
Conant’s views, 327–328
Who Shall Be Educated? (Warner et al.),
Yazzie, Ethelou, 217
Dewey’s views, 333, 334
233, 234
Yedlin, J., 429
philosophy of education, 350–352
Who’s Running America? (Dye), 259
YouTube, 264
as a teaching method, 333–334
Wiebe, Robert, 98
Yudof, Mark G., 344
toz24404_ind_I1-I12.indd 11
07/09/12 8:12 AM
Document Outline Cover Title Copyright Contents Preface Part One: Educational Aims in Historical Perspective
Chapter 1 Introduction: Understanding School and Society Introduction: Conducting Inquiry into School and Society The Place of Social Foundations in Teacher Education
The Meaning of Democracy in Educational Practice Education of Diverse Students
Tools of Inquiry Social Theory Schooling Training Education Political Economy Ideology
Analytic Framework Applying the Terms of Inquiry: An Illustration from History
Schooling and Culture in Classical Greece Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading The Politics of Aristotle Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 2 Liberty and Literacy: The Jeffersonian Ideal Introduction: Why Jefferson? Political Economy of the Jeffersonian Era
Geography, Transportation, and Communication Early American Governance
Ideology of the Jeffersonian Era The Breakdown of Feudalism The Classical Roots of Liberal Ideology Jefferson as Classical Liberal Jefferson and Intellectual Freedom Jefferson, Democracy, and Education Government by a "Natural Aristocracy"
Jefferson's Plan for Popular Education Elementary School Districts Grammar Schools University Education
Self-Education Jefferson's Views on Slavery, Native Americans, and Women
Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading From The Rights of Man Primary Source Reading Exchange between Benjamin Banneker and Thomas Jefferson Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 3 School as a Public Institution: The Common-School Era Introduction: Schooling in New England Political Economy of the Common-School Era
Demographic Changes Political Developments Economic Developments
Ideology and Religion Consolidation of Classical Liberalism
Horace Mann: An Exemplar of Reform Early Life Mann's Political Career
Mann and the Common Schools School Buildings Moral Values Lessons from the Prussian School System School Discipline and the Pedagogy of Love The Quality of Teachers The Economic Value of Schooling Opposition to Mann's Common-School Reforms Accounting for the Success of the Common-School Reforms Lessons from Horace Mann's Common-School Reforms
Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading Decentralization: Alternative to Bureaucracy? Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 4 Social Diversity and Differentiated Schooling: The Progressive Era Introduction: "Traditional" versus "Progressive" Education The Political Economy of the Progressive Era
Urbanization Immigration Industrialization Worker Responses to Industrial Management
New Liberal Ideology Natural Law Scientific Rationality From Virtue to Rational Ethics
Progress Nationalism Freedom
Progressive Education Two Strands of Progressivism: Developmental Democracy and Social Efficiency
Deweyan Developmental Democracy The Nature of the Child A Unique Meaning for Progressive Education Charles W. Eliot and Social Efficiency
Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading Education and Social Change Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 5 Diversity and Equity: Schooling Girls and Women Introduction: Why a Separate Chapter on Females? Ideological Origins in Early Christianity Gender and Education in Colonial America
Private Schools The Revolution and the Cult of Domesticity
Competing Ideological Perspectives in the Nineteenth Century The Conservative and Liberal Positions The Radical Position
Catharine Beecher: The Liberal Education of the Homemaker Ideology and Life: Emma Willard
A New Vision for Women's Education The Troy Female Seminary
Anna Julia Cooper Higher Education for Women
Academies Normal Schools High Schools Colleges
Women and Vocational Education Domestic Science Training Commercial Education
Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions Primary Source Reading The Education of the Girl Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 6 Diversity and Equity: Schooling and African Americans Introduction: Common Schools in the South Political–Economic Dimensions of Reconstruction and Redemption
Redemption Reconstruction, Redemption, and African American Schooling
Schooling in the Black Belt Booker T. Washington's Career
Washington and Schooling in the Black Belt An Ideology of African American Inferiority
A Liberal Justification for Racial Oppression: Darwinian Evolution Avoiding the Issue of Political Power A Liberal Faith: Social Progress through the Marketplace The Washington Solution
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 7 Diversity and Equity: Schooling and American Indians Introduction: Assimilation through Scientific Management
Pluralism versus Assimilationism Political–Economic Foundations of Indian Schooling
A World before Europeans The Ambiguous and Paradoxical Treaties and the "Trust Relationship"
Ideology Traditional Knowledge versus Science and Progress
Schooling the Native American Social Education, from Land Allotment to Boarding Schools The Progressive Reform Movement Scientific Management and Educational Reform "Progressive" Indian Education: Early Years The Influence of John Collier Collier's Early Career Collier as Commissioner of Indian Affairs Willard Walcott Beatty: Progressive Education for Native Americans Schooling and Assimilation of the Indian Child
Afterword: The Case of the Navajo Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading The Hopi Way (1944) Primary Source Reading Statements by Three American Indian Educators Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 8 National School Reform: The Early Cold War Era Introduction: The Best and Brightest . . . Political Economy and Ideology of the Early Cold War Era
U.S. Fear of Soviet Communism New Liberal Ideology in the Cold War Era
James Bryant Conant Standardized Testing and Student Selection Who Merits a College Education? School Reform Reports and Social Stratification Education in a Divided World School Reform in the Postwar Era The Great Talent Hunt Slums and Subversives
Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading Excerpts from "Education for All" Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Part Two: Educational Aims in Contemporary Society Chapter 9 Liberty and Literacy Today: Contemporary Perspectives
Introduction: Revisiting Literacy A Brief Historical Perspective Literacy and Power: Literacy as a Social Construction
Ideological Hegemony Theory: Democracy and the Consolidation of Economic Power Mass Media and Ideological Hegemony
The Paradox of Media Property Rights and Public Information Rights: From NBC to GE to Comcast Communications Technologies: From Jefferson's "Free Marketplace of Ideas" to the "Information Marketplace" The Rise of Social Media Contemporary Perspective on Literacy: Conventional Literacy Functional Literacy
Limitations of the Functional Literacy Perspective Critical Literacy
Critical Literacy Method Cultural Literacy: Arguments for High-Status Curriculum
Cultural Literacy: Whose Interests Are Served? Schooling and Ideological Hegemony Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading The Future of Reading Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 10 Teaching in a Public Institution: The Professionalization Movement Dominant Ideology and the Teacher's Professional Authority
1. Using the Authority of the Rules to Educate 2. The Authority of the Expert
3. Pedagogical Authority: The Authority of Community The Professional Teacher: Remembering Horace Mann Professionalization of Teaching: Historical Perspective
Common-School Reform Progressive Era Reform Conant Era Reform
Professionalism and Contemporary School Reform Comparing Teaching to Other Professions Professionalism versus Neoliberal Market Competition Traditional Criteria for the Professions
Teaching as a Public Profession Teaching "Job" versus Teaching Profession: The Issue of Professional Control Political–Economic Dimensions of Teaching as a Public Profession
Public Control versus Professional Autonomy Who Controls the Schools? Who Should? Statutory Control Structure Who Controls the Schools? Extralegal Influences
Professional Satisfaction and Professional Ethics Teaching and Teacher Learning as Collaborative Activities Democratic Ethics and the Profession of Teaching
Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading Making Teaching a Profession Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 11 Differentiated Schooling, Labor Market Preparation, and Contemporary School Reform: The Post–Cold War Era
Introduction: The Purposes of Schooling The Future of the Workplace
Future Jobs Educating for the Workplace Income and Benefits
Vocational Education as a Teaching Method The Meaning of a Liberal Education
Historical Perspectives Contemporary School Reform Social Changes and School Reform
Schooling as a Response to New Social and Economic Conditions The New Consensus on Excellence in Education Restructuring
Contemporary School Reform: A Critical View The Political–Economic Origins of the Contemporary School Reform Movement School Reform Today: New and Continuing Initiatives School Choice, Vouchers, and Charters
Building a Philosophy of Education
Primary Source Reading Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 12 Diversity and Equity Today: Defining the Challenge Introduction: Inequity and Inequality Liberal Ideology: Meritocracy Reexamined
Social Conditions behind the New Debate The Coleman Report The Cultural Deprivation Studies
The Political–Economic Context The Demographics of Modern American Society Race, Ethnicity, and the Limits of Language Gender Socioeconomic Class
Education: Ethnicity, Gender, and Class Race, Ethnicity, and Education Socioeconomic Class and Education Equity, Education, and Disabling Conditions Gender and Education Societal Definitions of Gender
Building a Philosophy of Education Primary Source Reading A Public Education Primer: Basic (and Sometimes Surprising) Facts about the U.S. Educational System Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 13 Diversity and Equity Today: Meeting the Challenge Introduction: Does Social Inequality Necessarily Determine Educational Outcomes? Jane Elliott's Experiment
An Important Note of Caution Theories of Social Inequality
Genetic Inferiority Theory Cultural Deficit Theory Critical Theory A Useful Digression: Bilingual and ESL Instruction as Bridges to English Proficiency BEV: Language and Cultural Subordination
Pedagogical Approaches to Pluralism Gender Theory: An Illustration of Sensitivity to Differences Multicultural Education and Democratic Pluralism Programs That Work
Diversity, Equity, and Special Education Building a Philosophy of Education
Primary Source Reading Teaching Diverse Learners Developing Your Professional Vocabulary Questions for Discussion and Examination Online Resources
Chapter 14 School and Society: Teaching and Teacher Leadership in the 21st Century Introduction: So What? The Importance of a Theory of Impact
Social Context: Understanding Students, Self, and a Theory of Impact You and Your Theory of Impact Why Teach? Orientations to Teaching and Theories of Impact
It's Mostly about the Kids It's Mostly about Social Change (or Democracy, or Social Justice)
Teacher Leadership and Professional Learning Communities Primary Source Reading Organizing Schools for Improvement
Notes Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T U V W
Photo Credits Index
A B C D E F
G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y
- Preface xiv
- Ideology of the Jeffersonian Era 28
- The Classical Roots of Liberal Ideology 29
- Part One
- Jefferson as Classical Liberal 33
- Jefferson and Intellectual Freedom 34
- Jefferson, Democracy, and Education 35
- Government by a “Natural Aristocracy” 36
- Chapter 1
- Elementary School Districts 37
- Grammar Schools 38
- University Education 39
- Introduction: Conducting Inquiry into School
- Self-Education 40
- Jefferson’s Views on Slavery, Native Americans,
- Building a Philosophy of Education 44
- The Meaning of Democracy in Educational Practice 5
- Primary Source Reading
- Tools of Inquiry 6
- Schooling 7
- Exchange between Benjamin Banneker
- Education 8
- Political Economy 9
- Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 49
- Analytic Framework 10
- Applying the Terms of Inquiry: An Illustration
- Chapter 3
- Building a Philosophy of Education 15
- Introduction: Schooling in New England 52
- The Politics of Aristotle 17
- Political Economy of the Common-School Era 53
- Developing Your Professional Vocabulary 20
- Political Developments 54
- Economic Developments 55
- Ideology and Religion 56
- Chapter 2
- Consolidation of Classical Liberalism 57
- Horace Mann: An Exemplar of Reform 58
- Introduction: Why Jefferson? 24
- Mann’s Political Career 59
- Political Economy of the Jeffersonian Era 25
- Mann and the Common Schools 60
- School Buildings 61
- Early American Governance 27
- Moral Values 62
- Lessons from the Prussian School System 64
- Chapter 5
- School Discipline and the Pedagogy of Love 66
- The Quality of Teachers 67
- The Economic Value of Schooling 70
