Frank Jo Roster # 14

Title: IMPORTANT ISSUES IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN EDUCATION

Religion and Authority in Colonial America

1. Briefly describe the difference of grammar schools and reading-and-writing (petty)

schools.
Nationalism, Moral Reform, and Charity in the New Republic.

The first level of Grammar School was for boys aged 7 to 10. Rather than being taught by
women, their teachers were now junior masters or senior pupils at the school. The boys would
learn the principles of Latin by using a horn book along with a Tudor text-book known as Lily's
Latin Grammar.
Boys aged 5 to 7 attended the most elementary level of schooling at what is known as petty
schools. This is the first form of public education for the children but would not be held at an
institute. Instead, classes would be held in the teacher's home, likely to save money.

Nationalism, Moral Reform, and Charity in the New Republic.

2. What were the two basic philosophies in education during the 1830’s?
Give a brief description of each, Noah Webster/Thomas Jefferson.

Essentialism and Perennialism were the two philosophies in education during the 1830’s
Noah Webster (1758 – 1843), was a lexicographer and a language reformer. He is often called
the Father of American Scholarship and Education. In 1806, Noah Webster published his first
dictionary, A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language.
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer,
architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United
States from 1801 to 1809. He previously served as the second vice president of the United States
from 1797 to 1801.

Organizing the American School: The Nineteenth-Century Schoolmarm

3. Name 3 of the moral lessons used in the McGuffey Reader. How and why were they
used?
(Give examples)

McGuffey Readers helped to standardize English language usage in the United States and not
only reflected the moral values of the country in the 19th century but also shaped them. With
more than 122 million copies reputedly sold by 1925, the McGuffey Readers taught more
Americans to read than any other textbook.
The primary focus of the authors seemed to be stressing life’s values. The carefully chosen
selections of prose and poetry from such masters of literature as John Milton, Daniel Webster
and Lord Byron, as well as others, taught youngsters’ true patriotism, integrity, honesty,
industry, temperance, courage, politeness and other moral and intellectual virtues.”

Education as Deculturalization: Native Americans and Puerto Ricans

4. What were the six methods of deculturalization used by the United States government?
Very briefly describe each.
School and the New Corporate Order

 Geographical segregation: Geographical segregation exists whenever the proportions of

population rates of two or more populations are not homogenous throughout a defined space
 Forbidding education to the dominated group: denying education to the dominated group.
 Forceful replacing of language: Forcing the dominant’s group language to be replaced.
 Superior culture's curriculum in schools: Implementing the dominant’s group culture.
 Instructors are from the dominant group: Teachers are white.
 Avoiding the dominated group's culture in curriculum: not adding the dominated group’s
culture in the curriculum.

School and the new Corporate Order

5. Briefly discuss the following theories/theorists:

-Cooperative Learning-John Dewey
-Positive Reinforcement-Edward Thorndike
-Social Interaction/Cooperative Learning-Colin Scott
-Lesson Planning-Johann Herbart

Cooperative learning is an activity which helps students to work in groups.

Positive reinforcement means giving something to the subject when they perform the desired
action so they associate the action with the reward and do it more often. The reward is
a reinforcing stimulus.

Social Interaction/Cooperative learning has social benefits as well as academic. One of the

essential elements of cooperative learning is the development of social skills. Children learn to
take risks and are praise for their contribution.

A lesson plan is a detailed step-by-step guide that outlines the teacher's objectives for what the
students will accomplish during the course of the lesson and how they will learn it. Creating
a lesson plan involves setting goals, developing activities, and determining the materials that you
will use.

Meritocracy: The Experts Take Charge

6. How did the concept of “Meritocracy” differ from the concept of “Equality of Opportunity”?

Meritocratic Equality of Opportunity builds on Formal Equality of Opportunity’s opposition to

formal and arbitrary discrimination. Meritocracy requires that positions and goods be distributed
solely in accordance with individual merit. This idea is most familiar from the allocation of jobs,
with respect to which most would agree that the applicant who would do best in the job should
be appointed. Since whether someone is the best or most meritorious applicant need not depend
on arbitrary factors, such as race and gender, Meritocratic Equality of Opportunity is opposed to
arbitrary discrimination.

Education and National Policy

7. Tracking was a fundamental issue facing education after the start of the Cold War and during
the war on Poverty. How have the issues surrounding tracking affected education today?

Today, tracking in American public schools is less strict, in most cases, and it is often used just
for certain subjects or classes, not for the entire educational system. Many secondary schools use
the concept of tracking to provide different levels of difficulty for certain courses, dividing
students into basic, honors, and college-preparation groups. When used correctly, tracking
enables the teacher to cater his lessons toward the specific ability level of the students in his
class. Though tracking systems have many potential benefits, there are also some drawbacks to
consider. For example, it is not uncommon for tracking systems to encourage a sort of
segregation within the school system. It has been found that many low-track classes are
comprised of minority and low-income students while the upper tracks tend to be dominated by
students who come from higher socioeconomic standing.

The Great Civil Rights Movement and the New Culture Wars

8. Briefly point out the main point in Plessy vs. Ferguson.

Briefly point out the main point in Brown vs. Board of Education.

The immediate effect of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision was that Segregation in public became
"separate but equal.". This just means that the standards for the segregation law remains and was
not totally eliminated but the decision considered the equal rights of citizen for a humane and
dignified living.

Conservatism and the Culture Wars at the End of the Century.

9. What was the concept of an “Open Classroom”? How affective do you feel it would be in
your personal teaching situation today?
Open classroom model is basically a  concept where the students with wide range of skills and
interest share the same classroom under the supervision by several teachers. Now a day's most of
schools having Open classroom model, this kind of program actively involved students in the
learning process.
I would definitely use the open classroom method if my students like it. It will give them the
freedom to participate and discuss, with the goal of learning whatever I am trying to teach.