Author Archives: heekyoung lee

This chapter explains about the process of globalization such as the global migration of peoples, industrialization and urban expansion changed the social function of American schools.

I like the role of the early kindergarten movement that children learn morality and discipline in the Kindergarten and they would apply their learning in the home. I suggest that it is necessary to teach the morality and discipline from early childhood such as 4 or 5 years old because the children analyze how they should behave from the adults’ teaching. In my country from early childhood, the parents and in the kindergarten teach the children the respect of the adults, greeting and organizing the toys in a place, etc. For example, they can not start to eat first before their parents eat or they should greet politely to the adults. The children absorb quickly everything that they have learned from their parents and their teachers. So It is very important the teaching of morality or discipline from early childhood, however, their parents can not focus to take care and teach their children 24hrs because many parents should work to nurture their family so it is a great method that kindergarten helps to enhance the morality of the children, indeed, it helps to socialize with other children. I saw a TV program where the role of kindergarten influences the children’s behavior because the children behave to their friends and their family in the house whatever they have learned in the kindergarten. However, the TV program also shows that some children who do not receive much attention and love from their parents act bad behavior in the house and they can not socialize easily with other children in the kindergarten. Therefore I disagree that kindergarten also provides morals to the family base on the children’s behavior because the children’s behavior influence more depend on their parents’ behavior and attention to their children. What is the role of American kindergarten today? What else American educational system should be focused today for the better education of the children?

This chapter mainly focused about the issues of racial segregation and discrimination for Mexican, Asian, Native, African, and Puerto Rican Americans and the failing of the common school ideal. Anglo-Americans justified their racist attitudes toward the immigrants because they believed that only “white” considered as a superior race and its Protestant culture and republican form of government should be dominated the United States. Because of this ideology, many immigrants were abused by Anglo-Americans only because of the different colors skin that they were considered as an “inferior”. Indeed, they were not allowed to get citizenship because of the naturalization Act of 1790 so the immigrants were not treated equal opportunity as White Americans. Also they were paid with lower wages than white workers and a segregated system of schooling that their children did not have equal education as white children and they could not attend the school with white children either.

I believed that the discrimination still exists today in United States because many immigrants like Mexicans or any other South Americans get very low salary compare to Americans or other Asian immigrants because of the illegal status or social standard. My experience that I met a young Korean guy and an Ecuadorian girl who had immigrated in United States when they were five years old so they assimilated more American culture than their own culture. However, they have no opportunity to get a professional job, even though, they have the degree because of illegal status. I emphasize that many immigrants without citizenship have same experience that they received with high education but they do not have the opportunity to get a proper job. It is really sad that they can not use their talent for the development of society. What is the best solution that United States government offers for illegal immigrants who can not get the professional jobs, even though, they received with high degree? Do you think, illegal immigrants should not have the right to get same opportunity as Americans citizens?

Chapter 6 emphasizes the domination of women in the area of professional teaching and the revolution of teaching methods. This chapter mentioned that there is a relationship between the domestic role of women and their role in the public sphere. As women are born with more ability and responsibility to raise and educate their children than men so they worked the major part of time to shape the character of their son as future republicans. So by the nineteenth century, women were favored to hire in the area of education because of their natural child-rearing talents, they were proper to teach the pupils better than men. Therefore, the demand of women for educational teaching increased and the teacher education centered on the education of women. However, women received very low salaries than men, even though, men were not well qualified to teach because of their short experience of teaching that a lot of men tried to find other area of job because of the higher salaries compared being teachers. My question is that does it still exist this kind of discrimination between men and women any area of American education?

This chapter also mentioned about the ideal characteristic of teachers for the common school by the nineteenth century such as high qualification and aptitude for teaching, morality and social conformity because the students learn from the behavior of teachers so it was important to require these qualifications.

This chapter also discusses the development of teaching methods during the nineteenth century. The early method of teaching was memorization and punished failures in assignments but later, Pestalozzi’s concept of maternal instruction in the home became very popular in common school. By the late twentieth century, the bureaucratic organization of the typical American school system was required the disciplinary for the students values for functioning in an industrial society. Which method do we have to apply for the proper education to the students? Or is there any other alternative for the better education in multicultural society as U.S.?

I want to emphasize that we should take consideration also the major importance of schooling system should be formed base on the concepts of maternal love and the morality between the teachers and the students like nineteenth century and not merely focus the class teaching. Because the lock of communication, lock of affection and lock of respect between them, decreases the quality of education and increase more violence and the students’ roving lives. Therefore, the teachers should manage the students as the role of motherhood with love and more attention to listen and to give proper advices for the students’ problems, interest and the activity through the communication. Moreover, development of society, women participate more the social activity than take caring their children so the children live less attention from their parents thus the role of schools is very important for the students’ future. On the other hand, the students must behave with more respect to the teachers that the teachers are not same level to disobey their instruction. Adding more my opinion, the schooling system should be also focus to find out the student’s talent to explore their capacity so the students can find easier their career in the future.

This chapter argues the value of education for American citizens and the distinct features of the common school movement. Common school reformers and Horace Mann stressed that education reduces social class conflict and eliminate crime and providing the equality of economic opportunity through the teaching of common moral and political creed, whereas the workingmen’s parties argues education could give the strength to protect them from political and economic exploitation. So Common school reformers emphasized education as a mechanism of social control, whereas the workingmen’s parties emphasized education as a mechanism for gaining political and economic power. Even though, both groups had distinct opinions about the importance of education, they had same purposes for eliminating the distinct social class and the equal economic opportunity for all American citizens. I agree both opinions because education helps to escape from ignorance to protect against the abuse of other people and through the mass schooling learns the public morality to judge their acts. Moreover, education induces the development of each individual’s life as well as the society that the citizens can explore their ability through the education for their convenience’s life and also they struggle to become the high social standard. Therefore their abilities of exploration help to provide the better technology and the economic stability.

The critical issue is the inadequate school funding was increasing for the benefit of the wealthy because of the lack of the educational structure that the working class received the bad quality of educational conditions and limit curriculum. I emphasize that the educational reforms is always necessary to maximize the quality of education to the citizens so that all citizens have the opportunity to get adequate education to improve their economic lives.

Do you agree that the modern educational system provides to the students the enough benefit and the good quality of environment? What are the reasons the distinct social class still exists and the political conflict and economic problems have increased more, even though, poor citizens have the opportunity for the free education?

This chapter explains the relationship between the nation and the development of the common school system that educating all citizens is the way of common allegiance to the nation and unified them to create a common culture and language, even though, the United States is multicultural society and also the education helps to keep political stability and economic growth. Two American educational leaders explained the different method of political education; Noah Webster emphasized the political value through his method of teaching to create a dominant national culture with the form of patriotism through some activities such as studying national literature and language, honoring the flag and singing nationalistic songs, etc. Otherwise, Thomas Jefferson believed the method of education should provide with the tool of reading and writing and that political value formed through the exercise of reason, therefore, the most important means of political education was the reading of history and newspapers.

In my opinion, I agree the method of Jefferson on education because through the history, we obtain the knowledge of ancestors base on the fact of their lives and experiences, therefore, we can freely analyze the reason what was wrong and right in similar situation to escape same mistakes, otherwise, we can apply and improve the knowledge for the political stability and economic development. Also the history teaches the national value and the importance of all citizens’ unity to become a strong nation and reading newspapers is the way to get the new and large information to follow more rapidly than others. However, I did not completely disagree of Webster’s idea because his legacy such as a standardized American dictionary of the English proved that his effort to standardize the English as the American language helps to find the identity as American citizens to make common and unity. Is the method of Jefferson or Webster completely different application from our modern education in U.S.? Which method should we take more importance for the development of our education system?

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