A quote I found interesting was that common schools were created with “the belief that human nature can be formed, shaped, and given direction by training within formally organized institutions” (81). This seems to put an emphasis on the responsibilities that schools have. Not only do educators have to teach children about various subjects, they also have to mold and instill morals into the children. I find that that’s still relevant in the contemporary world. Parents often put the responsibility onto educators to help them raise their children, when in fact, I do not believe that those are a teacher’s requirements. That’s not to say that teachers and educators do not have to discipline children when they do the wrong things, but to go as far as to instilling morals and going the extra mile to do what parents are supposed to do, is not within the job requirements. In my experiences working in a day care, parents often complain about various problems with their children and expect the teachers to solve it. Teachers are not there to pick up after parents and school is not just a facility to leave children while parents go work. I agree that educators have the responsibility to teach children what is right and what is wrong, but they should not be liable for forming and shaping students– it is ultimately the parent’s job.
Another thing that was interesting was the dispute between the Whigs and the Democrats. The Whigs believed that “the government should intervene to maintain social order through a centrally managed school system designed to educate moral and responsible citizens. In contrast, members of the Democratic Party believed that social order would occur naturally, and therefore they believed in minimal government intervention and local control of the schools” (93). In my opinion, I think that the government should have more involvement in schools because it is the only way they can regulate what happens. The reason there are so many school closing down now is because the curriculum is failing and the government did not step in soon enough. Students from developing neighborhoods are falling behind and failing. Instead of trying to figure out what the problem is, the government is deciding to cut the school’s budget and lay off a great amount of teachers. Had the government been more involved, students and teachers would be able to keep their facilities and work towards a creating a better environment for learning. Going back to the fact that the United States is behind in terms of education, there is a clear reason why. When the economy isn’t doing well, our government decides to take slashes at the education system rather than make reforms. The government obviously finds the education system less important than other areas, which is why we are falling behind. So my questions are: how can the government intervene in a way that will help schools and help the U.S develop a better reputation for themselves in terms of testing/reading/writing/math? and whether or not a new curriculum is needed to improve the quality of schools?
