Urban, American Education

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Urban, American Education

• Organizing the Modern School System 1890-1915

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Objectives

• Better understand the economic, economical, and
  political context of the progressive era
• Become familiar with the authors definition
  progressivism
• Understand the difference the authors make
  between Developmental Democracy Social
  Efficiency. Become familiar with some of these
  figures, and their accomplishments
• Understand curricular differentiation, how this
  differed from what had been accomplished in the
  common schools, and what the effects were on
  schooling.

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Economic, Social, and Political context
monopolies, or trusts, dominated the economy
Roosevelt and Wilson attempted to either regulate
or dismantle trusts also, union activity is
occurring -political machines would dominate
political scene, often based on bribes and
connections reform was designed to replace
elected corrupt officials with professional
administrators -influx of immigrants caused many
social reformers to adopt Americanization
programs, thereby training immigrants in American
culture (pp. 196-200)
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Discussion Questions
Consider the progressive education movement and
its role in establishing precedents for the
contemporary model of schooling. What aspects of
progressive era reform do you see represented in
todays schools? What is the relationship
between educational change and political
agendas?
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Progressivism -liberal progressivism
sought social justice by casting off
restrictions of one kind or another -conservativ
e progressivism sought social order through
rational management by trained experts most
reforms of this time were conservative (p. 201)
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Progressive Education-Progressivism in education
was caused by a drastic increase in public
schools. -Centralization of school based on
assumption that schools were rife with political
corruption and unable to educate their students
effectively -Control of schools were
consolidated to the next higher level, often a
district or city-wide school board

Effectively removed
control from teachers, principals, and schools
-Centralization ran
according to the same principles as any large
corporation characterized as a cult of
efficiency (p. 206) those constituting school
board members were professionals, not
educators. -Created the need for specialization
in education and the role of the superintendent
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• -Social Efficiency
• sought restructuring of school administration
• Administrative progressives sought restructuring
  of school administration, often conservative in
  nature. Centralization of school based on
  assumption that schools were rife with political
  corruption and unable to educate their students
  effectively
• Control of schools were consolidated to the next
  higher level, often a district or city-wide
  school board. Effectively removed control from
  teachers, principals, and schools.
• Ellwood Cubberly, a progressive education at
  Stanford, that, Our schools are, in a sense,
  factories in which the raw materials are to be
  shaped and fashioned into products to meet the
  various demand of life. The specifications for
  manufacturing come from the demands of the 20th
  century civilization, and it is the business of
  the school to build its pupils to the
  specifications laid down. Note again that
  social and economic influences are driving
  education.

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Ellwood Cubberley

• We should give up the exceedingly democratic
  idea that all are equal and that our society is
  devoid of classes. The employee tends to remain
  an employee the wage earner tends to remain a
  wage earnerOne bright child may easily be worth
  more to the National Life than thousands of those
  of low mentality.

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Curricular Differentiation -reversed,
rather than built on, what had been accomplished
in the common schools. (p. 208). Rather than a
common curriculum, it was diversified for
specialized roles and were largely uncommon,
based on economical needs for specialized,
differentiated roles -Committee of Ten report
issued that emphasized a common, classical
curriculum for all students, but students could
choose the course of study was the same for
future workers and college studentswas never
accepted
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Curricular Differentiation
-Instead, Vocational education National Society
for the Promotion of Industrial Education
(NSPIE), wanted to link schooling to employment
(p. 211), essentially tracks were developed for
those in higher education, and those in
vocational or labor-based employment -Students
were tracked by way of standardized
tests-Immigration seen as source for poverty
and corruption, a threat to traditional American
values, schools were thus induced to
Americanize immigrant students
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• -Pedagogical Progressives
• -Sought restructuring of education and
  instruction
• Seeks to bring all citizens into the governing
  and decision-making process. As such pedagogical
  progressivism can be characterized by the
  following four tenets
• it rejects the classical curriculum in favor of a
  varied, undetermined curriculum that is based on
  the needs and interests of students learning is
  based on activities rather than rote
• schooling should reflect changing social
  conditions
• the primary aim of education is to help alleviate
  social problems.
• John Dewey is the most vocal, well-known advocate
  of this type of education. His nature of the
  child is similar to Rousseau children are
  naturally constructive, they are active socially,
  creative and curious all of which drives
  education (108).
• 
  

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Ella Flagg Young

• You cannot separate the life of the teacher and
  the life of the student, if you know what you are
  about.

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John Dewey

• Education is a social process education is
  growth education is not a preparation for life
  but is life itself.

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Discussion Question
What were the significant changes that
progressive educators introduced into public
schools?
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Objectives

• Better understand the economic, economical, and
  political context of the progressive era
• Become familiar with the authors definition of
  liberal progressivism conservative
  progressivism.
• Understand the difference the authors make
  between administrative progressives pedagogical
  progressives. Become familiar with some of these
  figures, and their accomplishments
• Understand curricular differentiation, how this
  differed from what had been accomplished in the
  common schools, and what the effects were on
  schooling.