Society and schools: educational systems and social impact

Education

The evolution of American public schools as an increasingly formal entity began when Europeans first settled the continent and started "to devise systematic and deliberate forms of education for their children." (Sadovnik 66). These settlers brought with them conceptions of what a school was and how it should function with regard to the rest of society. Early on, these concepts were by no means uniform; in fact, the motives for founding schools varied greatly by region and social class. Additionally, "Religious, utilitarian, and civic motives also emerged over time." (Sadovnik 67). Between 1820 and 1860, as the United States underwent drastic economic changes associated with industrialization, public schools experienced what came to be known as "the age of reform"; standards were set and boards of education founded (Sadovnik 67). A second industrial surge towards the end of the century -- and increasing urbanization -- spurred progressive politicians to push through compulsory education laws (Cremin 12). This progressive trend was carried on well in to the post war era, as greater emphasis was placed upon equal opportunities for all.

Above all, "Public education has been conceived of as a social vehicle for minimizing the importance of class and wealth as a determinant of who shall get ahead." (Sadovnik 346). Accordingly, a successful school should provide its students with the appropriate skills and knowledge to enter the working world and society regardless of any external factors. So, schools should choose a curriculum that simultaneously demonstrates the importance of knowledge and ensures the transmission of that knowledge. To ensure this can be accomplished on a broad scale a number of goals must be attained. Education standards must become institutionalized. Professional standards for teaching must be established by national organizations. Professional networks must be founded. Also, institutional norms must shift in alignment with national goals (Sadovnik 271-272).

As aforementioned, educational policies are largely determined by far-reaching religious and philosophical ideals -- such as, "all men are created equal." Yet since the progressive era reforms, general educational policies, in an effort to achieve this equality, have attempted to reach a more general audience. As such, they are often handed down from the state governments. Essentially, "Schools teach a specific curriculum, one that is mandated by the state education department and implemented in an organized manner within the schools." (Sadovnik 282). Laws also help to determine what policies are deemed appropriate and what are not -- such as compulsory laws requiring schooling under a certain age. Naturally, more specific policies regarding dress and organization, for example, are far less homogeneous across the nation and tend to be dictated by individual schools and communities.

When the United States Constitution was written it failed to grant any explicit authority to the federal government with respect to education. Consequently, "The United States has fifty separate state school systems." (Sadovnik 227). However, these systems are even more localized by the fact that local property taxes tend to pay for the majority of public schools. So, despite the far-reaching goals and premises of the progressive approach to education, the logistics of the educational hierarchy have produced one of the most decentralized national educational systems in the developed world. The federal government has set several very important precedents applying to the nation as a whole; most notably, those concerning students' civil rights.

The past century has, however, seen a general trend towards greater centralization than in the past. "For instance, in the early 1930's, there were approximately 128,000 public school districts in the United States. By the late 1980's, this number had been reduced to slightly less than 16,000." (Sadovnik 228). Much of the most recent educational reforms have been aimed at increasing the quality of teaching. By the measure of credentials, or time spent in schooling, today's teachers are far more qualified than at any other time in American history. Yet, many of the same problems reformers faced at the beginning of the nineteenth century are still faced at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The civil rights movement brought about more equal schooling based upon race, but class distinctions remain just as severe, if not more severe, than in the past. Looming reforms involving school choice and the "no child left behind" programs appear to be increasing the decentralized nature of the U.S. system, while not ensuring the quality of teaching.

The philosophical basis for our public schools can truly be seen within the emerging importance of the metropolitan area both economically and socially in America. During this time, "Intellectually, it [America] had to make its peace with modernism in culture, and particularly with modern science; socially, it had to determine its stance toward industrial capitalism and the class inequities that arose from capitalism." (Cremin 19). In other words, the ideological foundations by which our nation was founded appeared contradictory to the emerging economic trends. As a consequence, the notion of equal opportunity was born; and today's struggles are, in many ways, still descendents of the grossest injustices our early nation generated. Attempts to attain the highest levels of equal opportunity within public schools have spawned the process of change that history exemplifies. However as much progress has been made on one front, other inequalities tend to arise and replace the old.

The apparent contradiction between the expansive ideals that blanket American public schools and the method by which they are implemented places an extremely high level of significance upon the individual teacher. The increased credentials and schooling exhibited by teachers over the past decades fail to necessarily translate into more effective teachers. Certainly, the teachers of today may have a firmer grasp of the curriculum and essential concepts within their subjects. But, these things do not guarantee that these individuals know how to teach, how to organize a curriculum, and perhaps most importantly, desire to teach. The easy answer to finding the most effective teachers is to increase pay; however, there is extreme resistance to this from local communities who are forced to bear the brunt of this pay through taxes. Subsequently, alterations of the public school systems from the federal government down tend to be exceedingly complicated.

Similar reforms targeted from the top down emphasize standardization, particularly when referring to testing. Recently, standardized tests have become criteria by which students are deemed worthy to pass on to the next level of schooling. On the surface this appears to be an excellent start towards greater equality. Yet, "The emphasis on standards has defined educational problems narrowly, looking primarily on the intellectual and skills function of schooling to the exclusion of the social and psychological functions." (Sadovnik 522). The major objection to this form of standardization is that it reduces all aspects of the schooling process to the single aim of passing a test. Doubtlessly, public schools provide more than knowledge and skills for their students -- they also experience a sense of their position in society, they become trained into thinking of themselves as a member of a community, and they learn the essential values that are likely to make them successful workers in America.

The developmental processes that ultimately generate a fully grown human mind are particularly malleable during childhood and adolescence. Therefore, the aspirations and goals of young students greatly reflect the values to which they have been exposed. Students who desire to perform well in school, who see the advantages of such an endeavor, have most likely had these values instilled in them from an early age. The goal for teacher is then, clearly, to reward their students for learning to the point where learning itself becomes a reward. In more general terms, "Schools need to become more humane institutions where students develop as human beings." (Sadovnik 522). It is in this respect that the standardization efforts from the federal government are far too short sighted.