School and Society the Evolution

School and Society

The evolution of public schools in the United States traditionally coincides with political and cultural change. As the political goals and climates change and as social and cultural issues evolve so does the public school system, in many facets, from administration and funding to curriculum goals and plans. Probably the most significant changes that occurred within public schooling have surrounded progressive era political and social changes. The progressive era changed the manner in which the public and political figures thought about the purpose and goals of school. Within the selected reading, Chapter 8 "National School Reform" of the book Educational Aims in Historical Perspective, there is a clear linear application of this idea. The most significant function of the chapter is to impart the idea that the progressive ideology clearly led school reform and created a system where the goals of public schools became those forwarded by Conant, to be a place where great minds could be recognized and fostered and average minds could be taught to be better citizens and to be led by the greats and that this recognition and fostering would be possible through a foundational influence of science and technology. (229, 232)

In a sense science and technology have become through progressive ideology an almost spiritual set of standard able to help the U.S. rise to greatness through definitive progress. (232) Conant's belief in the need for the school system, in both higher and lower levels to meet the demands of specialized scientific study and to seek out great minds is significant and is reiterated by his early career as the president of Harvard. Conant, instituted standardized testing for entrance that eliminated traditional exclusions and inclusions based on less scrupulous information, such as race and background. He did this by standardizing entrance to Harvard by utilizing the Scholastic Aptitude Test and creating a national scholarship program. This move eventually became a standard practice at most universities and in a sense contributed to the utilization of standardized testing in public schools as well. (234-235) Standardized IQ tests as well as proficiency exams are now utilized by every school receiving public funds to help with the goal of seeking out the best and the brightest and offering them additional services and support, and identifying those who lag behind and doing the same. Standardized testing is one of the most controversial issues with regard to public education, but until a much better form of identifying excellence, normalcy and abnormality is discovered it will likely continue to drive educational decisions on many levels. (235)

Conant challenged a very old standard with regard to education, as he identified that making decisions about who is given opportunity and who is excluded should be based on merit and ability rather than wealth, privilege and race. (235) His actions and ideals drive the continued utilization of federal student aide, even today, as well as the expansion of scholarship offering, both public and private as his work redefined the determination of who deserves education and who does not. (235-237) in a speech given by Conant he stressed that education in the past had fostered social stratification and in so doing created a potential situation of unrest among those who could not receive it. This Conant warned was the seed of revolution and the only manner in which to change this reality, he warned was through educational opportunity, "the chances of a nonrevolutionary development of our nation in the next fifty years seem to me to be determined largely by our educational system." (237)

This emphasis on leveling the playing field by making sure that more people where given the opportunity to seek quality education, at the secondary and post secondary levels is the product of the idealism of the progressives as well as Conant and his successors. Conant strongly believed that the "meritocratic" system of making sure that people were clearly identified through testing as deserving of higher education, excluding those who were not was the only way to create social reform, in a lasting way. He also believed that if this goal was met, along with two other social goals, the leveling of social status based on trade, and the mass acknowledgement of the need for highly skilled leaders in every field, that the society would transform itself into a full democracy. (238)