As we continue to read this text we continue to see the subject of teaching morals in the classroom and the influence of the school system. After reading this chapter I found it interested to see how kindergarten actually emerged. Its roll was to compensate for the supposed loss of socialization within the slum family, to protect the young children from negative influences in the street, to provide preparation for entrance into regular elementary schools and also to educate their parents. I find this interested because this school system is going way beyond just teaching these children a subject. This leads to other discussion points in the chapter such as The Play Movement which was similar to the kindergarten which the function was to replace the socializing influence of family life which was supposedly lost. They used the playground to provide physical activities and games which were organized to produce a sense of team spirit, habits of cooperation and a willingness to play by the rules. I thought this was a good way to get the children to interact socially and work on team spirit. But this also reminded me of the video we seen in class which portrayed schools as another method of social control.
I feel the school system should go beyond just teaching a subject and open up their doors a little wider. Do you feel schools acing as social centers is good for society ? And do you feel our school systems today are doing enough to open their doors wider ?
