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Author Archives: Akilah Richards
Posts: 17 (archived below)
Comments: 1
Chapter 10
In this chapter the concepts that really stood out to me were sterilization and the intelligence testing. These concepts would eventually affect the nature of the evolving educational system especially for those “mongolian groups,” also known as the immigrant populations who were perceived as unintelligent. These populations became those subjected to army influenced intelligence testing used to preserve the purity of the Anglo-Protestant culture. It was believed immigration allowed the entrance of unproductive immigrant populations to America who would eventually create crime and increase violence in the population. The concept of sterilization was important to me as well because I did not realize that the concept of integrated Special Education in contemporary times is still a new concept, according to the book from its initiation it’s only about 41 years old. The discrimination exhibited towards the mentally challenged students was horrible in my opinion. These students and people in general were ostracized by the larger Anglo-Protestant population for fear of the growth of mentally challeged people. The society wanted the school out of politics which in my understanding localized power into the socially elite and those termed more intelligent. The concept of meritocracy and people being trained to believe that their societal status was a result of self worth was the epitome of the negative conditioning the American society imposed on foreigners and even those within their own population who seemed different from the norm. The concept of scientific management to create more “structure” in the schools in my opinion gave the local elite the ability to excercise their corrupted power. The problem in my opinion was that they wanted the schools to be run like a business and the plan was to make everyone conform to the expectations of the “experts” who in actuality had no knowledge of the differences between the education/business environments and how they were in no ways related and needed to be ran differently with different approaches.
What do you think of the concept of sterilization and the discrimination of the mentally challenged within both society and schools/ Do you think the elites were justified in some sense of thinking mental retardation like intelligence could be inherited? What could be some benefits to the concepts of scientific management and meritocracy in contemporary times? Has the concept of the university held true to its original values for creation and is there still a sense of meritocracy exhibited in our current higher educational system?
Posted in Uncategorized
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Chapter 9
The creation of vocational schools and different curricula geared towards individual interests was the smartest thing that the educational system could have implemented in my opinion. Though the junior high I attended was more general and did provide me with counselors to help me narrow down my interests, my high school was geared towards Math and Science. I agreed with the concept of making Junior high school a place for socialization in which there were clubs, in-school activities and after school activities. I think extra-curricular activities promote a well rounded individual instead of only heavy emphasis on grades. The promotion of team work and cooperation are important networking tools as simple as they may seem and are very necessary in work settings.
The shift from education to save the “poor” from themselves and “Americanize” immigrant cultures to the creation of an equal education in which students could each chose their own area of study was a positive advancement. The psychological factor presented in “Adolescence” which stated that “adolescent interests be harnessed and directed to some socially useful function,” was an interesting approach. Even presently I think it starts as early as kindergarten where even classroom playtime is geared towards conditioning children to “act-out” their dream careers. The creation of all the social events both on college campuses and at junior/highschools prove the concepts created in this chapter about students forming habits to benefit the greater of society. Creation of the lesson plan as introduced in the chapter I think was a good idea for teachers because I think it lessened the pressure of them having to develop their own curriculum but it was also a way to control teachers and schools, I agree with this view in the chapter. In contemporary times choosing a high school is just as hard as choosing the right college. Schools and the educational system should be geared towards individual interests and should offer a wide range of possibility to students, especially those who know what they want to study from early on in their education.
Similiar to the nature/nurture debate presented in the chapter, in your educational experience which do you think has prevailed the most and why? Do you think that creation of the common lesson plan was a great advancement or not. If not describe a situation where the common lesson plan has deceived students?
Posted in The Classroom and the Workplace (role of education)
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Chapter 8
The notion of the public schools as a institution to replace the lack of family structure and parental involvement in the home is a notion that I think carries though to today in our educational system. School is really a place of structure where students are taught to follow rules and commands implemented by the teacher similiar to how some homes are run. The concept of Kindergarten as being a place to promote the creativity of younger children and ready them for introduction into the higher levels of schooling is one that I think is necessary to promoting order and maturity in younger children. However, the constant argument throughout these chapters has been the use of education/schools as the center for controlling and civilizing the minds of the immigrant cultures and the less Protestant peoples. The concepts created along with the creation of schools were good goals if they would have had positive intentions alongside them. I found it interesting that Richards wanted a movement towards canned-processed food as the creation of the American diet. I wonder what Richards would think today now that alot of canned/processed foods has proven to not be beneficial to people in a whole. Everything in this chapter had to do with the misconception that immigrant cultures were barbaric and any contact with them would cause the Protestant culture to decrease and become contaminated. The Americanization of the immigrant cultures in language, diet, and schooling was a bad way to promote American pride. I think that this process worked againgst America in the sense that every immigrant group learned how to start movements and get things done on their own for their groups social advancement.
Do you think the creation of the school cafeteria food system was a good idea, should children have been subjected to canned and heavily processed foods? Has the original concept of Kindergarten held true in our contemporary Kindergarten level of schooling? Do you think Richards’s involvement in the movement of women from the domestic sphere of “producer” to the industrial sphere of “consumer” really gave women more freedom? How do you feel about schools being social centers, are schools only for learning or do they have a dual role as an outlet for the community to use in whatever matter they choose?
Posted in Welfare Function
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Chapter 7
This chapter was very disappointing to read concerning the ill-treatment of America towards its immigrant populations. Each “Mongolian” group as they were called (Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, African Americans) all went through hell to achieve the “American ” dream, or atleast their version of it. They were discriminated against in education, social advancement and government. The most interesting arguments in my opinion was the justification of segregation through legal documentation that founded America as a nation “indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Yet this justice was a two edged sword as immigrant groups had to denounce their culture to accept the new and “better” culture. Wiping out language and bilingual education in schools was a ridiculous concept, these people were good enough to work the land for dirt cheap labor, but not good enough to speak their language in public for fear of contamination by white-working class families. The Chinese Exclusion Act, and the foolish stipulations required for citizenship just enforced how foolish America really was as a whole. The concepts created in this chapter made me take a look at the changes that have been made to the educational system and the long distance that it still needs to go. Also, it was surprising to me that the Anglo-Protestants were so built on being a “pure” nation that they would implement the Nationalization Act based solely on citizenship for those classified as “white”, of course no other group would ever be white enough. I wonder what these Anglo-Protestant thinkers would feel about our mixed up society today? I thought it was absolutely shameful yet enlightening to read about America’s hypocrisy in all forms of this nation especially in terms of education.
Mexicans have been known by many Americans to “come here and take our jobs” after reading this chapter about the Mexican “American” struggle, do you agree with those who may feel this way? Do you think that each migrant group mentioned in the chapter has earned the term “American” alongside their home identity or do you think that the term “American” should only be for those born and bred in the United States? In terms of our educational standards today from middle school-college what subjects, if any do you feel have been impacted by these migrant group struggles, does it appear that certain topics get more instructional time or is the history an overview and not indepth concerning America’s role in earlier years?
Posted in Immigration and the Challenge of “School for All”
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Chapter 5
Very, very interesting to say the least. Just about every migrant group to America has been horribly discriminated against ironically in a country that preached liberty and “oneness.” Unfortunately, this concept referred only to the Anglo-Protestant culture. I thought it was interesting to see the contradiction of the America’s to preach one thing and then do something completely opposite but the interesting part was the justification of their inhumane actions through religion and education. Initially in the last chapter or so I thought that Jefferson was the lesser of two evils in comparison to the radical nature of Mann and others. However I think Jefferson was just as coniving as Mann and others who preached mono-culturalism as expressed in his actions and devious plans to oppress the Native Americans yet “help” them in a sense. There were those who stood up for what was right but they lacked the backing to endure like Seward who supported the Irish Catholic schools but still fell subject to the terms of the Protestant culture who had the money. The struggle over equal education and education in general was major as these migrant groups (some free-will and others enslaved) realised the importance of education. The Native Americans though oppressed were successful in creating a functional educational system for both their own and those of freed slaves.
Though presently our schools are integrated, is the essence of education as our forefather’s saw it still in existence? How has the Native American, enslaved African and Irish- Catholic view of education as opportunity and advancement changed over time? What do you think caused the shift between the primary rejection of multiculturalism in the US as opposed to America’s “open” contemporary views of multiculturalism? Do you think the Anglo-Protestants saw slavery as an acceptable practice due to their religion?
Posted in Common School and Power, Native American Education
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Chapter 4
In this chapter it was understandable to see how the problems we have today have stemmed from past discussions of the American school system. Mann’s views of education as the end-all-be-all to society problems was an interesting approach I thought to improve society. However, the problems that the workingmen brought up about this utopian mindset actually oppressing the labor class was quite correct in my opinion. Mann’s concepts of trying to avoid crime, poverty, and rebellion by promoting a “common” education and moral standard in society gave rise to the unwanted class division in the first place. I agreed with the workingmen in that if a person is not aware of what type of education they are receiving they will be oppressed inevitably. Not outrightly by those in control of the educational system only but by themselves due to the ignorance on their part of allowing other’s to tell them what to learn and how they should learn it and apply those concepts to their lives inorder to become a “good” citizen.
Are the two meanings of the word “education” as described by both Mann and the Workingmen’s Party still relevant today? Do you think that children are really like wax as Mann suggests or are children either born good or born bad regardless of what they are exposed to in their lives? In relation to Mann’s concept of moral education (religious education) do you think if religion were still taught in schools Columbine and other school killings would ever have occured?
Posted in The Governments’ Role in Education
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Chapter 3
This reading was very interesting, the concepts that most stood out to me were the discussions on charity schools and juvenile delinquent centers and the concepts of conditioning patriotism in the minds of youth. I thought it was very interesting that Webster thought that he could actually influence what these children would think if he brainwashed them in a sense with patriotism concepts. Websters tactics reminded me of Hitler in the sense that he felt that the Anglo-American culture was the best and he wanted to impose his views on the minds of others, I found him to be a little fanatic. The concept of charity schools in my understanding were created as a way for the elite to socially impose their views on the society. In my opinion they seemed to think that only poor people without family structure were criminals and if they gave them a little education they would still be poor in reality but atleast they wouldn’t become criminals, I found that frame of thinking a little disturbing.
Do present institutions like Juve and local detention centers hold true to their roots of “the House of Refuge for Juve Delinquents” or are contemporary practices in these centers birthing criminals themselves? Has the educational system succeeded in its orignal efforts to create perfectly moral human beings? If so how does this concept of education affect the individual being molded? In terms of the concepts of childhood or lack thereof, what do you think has been or could be (if any) a trickle down effect of the broken family structure especially amongst African Americans?/ and is it plausible to say that the A. American family structure hass been cursed due to its history of broken family structure?
Posted in Multiculturalism, Nationalism, and the Role(s) of Education
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