INSTRUCTOR’S GUIDE To accompany The School in the United States A Documentary History Third Edition
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Table of Contents Letter to the History of Education Instructor
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Instructional Activities for the Thirteen Chapters
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Appendix I—An Undergraduate Course
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Appendix II—A Graduate Course in a History Department
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Appendix III—A Graduate Course in a School of Education 49
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Letter to the History of Education Instructor Dear Colleague I have written this Instructor’s Guide, for the same reason that I wrote The School in the United States: A Documentary History, because I love the history of American education and hope that the field can come alive for our students—in history courses and in education courses. We have all seen classes that worked well and classes that never quite took off. I have become convinced that using primary sources—original documents from different eras and different perspectives—is one powerful way of helping a course “take off.” I hope that will be your experience also. I must also confess a bit of nervousness about writing an Instructor’s Guide. Each one of us will take his or her own approach to a course such as this. Some of us teach undergraduate students and some graduate students. Sometimes this course is offered through a History Department and sometimes through a School of Education. And sometimes the goal is to provide a general education survey course and sometimes the course is offered as part of a professional program for future teachers and school administrators. I have not, therefore, attempted a comprehensive guide. Rather, I have offered some suggestions regarding focus and indicating the way I present this material when I am teaching it. I hope that every instructor who consults these pages will view them as a springboard; a point of departure from which each one of us can plunge into the course the way we want to teach it. I have begun the Instructor’s Guide with some possible suggestions for instructional activities for each of the thirteen chapters of The School in the United States. These are all activities that have worked for me in my experience with the History of Education course. There is nothing magic in these particular approaches, however. I have organized these suggestions around four main points beginning with a discussion of the primary point I want students to remember from each chapter and then moving into specific instructional methods, ways to link this book with Routledge’s American Education: A History by Urban and Wagoner, and concluding with some suggested essay questions. Thus the next several pages will provide detail on the following: •
Major Theme. In selecting particular documents, I usually had one or two major points in mind. It is always humbling for an instructor to see how little students really remember from most readings and most classes. My goal here is to be very clear about the one or two points that I want to be very sure students retain.
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One Way to Organize the Class. Here I am simply offering one possible approach. I hope that all instructors will feel free to borrow, modify, or completely ignore the approach I have offered. This section also reflects my own approach to teaching, which is, to say the least, eclectic. I find it most useful to engage students in a mix of activities. Sometimes I offer fairly traditional lectures. Other times I ask students to work in small groups to discuss a topic. Still other times I arrange a fairly formal debate of a topic. While I love to lecture and find a good lecture to be one effective
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way of delivering important information to students I have also found that students “own” the material much more effectively when they need to explain and defend it themselves. In most courses, there will be times when I will set groups to work and leave the room for a bit. A colleague once said, “You leave the classroom and they still pay you!” But it has been my experience that students who can easily remain dependent on an instructor as long as that person is in the room will take responsibility for a topic in a whole different way once the instructor steps out of the way. Primary documents offer an especially good way for the instructor, and indeed the textbook, to step out of the way, forcing students to make their own interpretations and judgments regarding the historical record. •
Readings from Other Texts. I have specifically structured The School in the United States so that it can be either a primary text or a supplementary text to be used with one of the other excellent textbooks on the history of American education. For each section I have indicated the appropriate interpretative chapters from Wayne J. Urban and Jennings L. Wagoner, Jr., American Education: A History, Fifth Edition (New York: Routledge, 2014) that match the material in the documentary history.
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Potential Essay Questions. For each unit I have proposed two or three possible essay questions. These questions are based on the documents and the class discussion and could be used in building a midterm or a final exam for the course.
At the end of this Instructor’s Guide I have also included three sample syllabi. The first is from Dr. Monica Noraian’s excellent undergraduate course at Illinois State University, “Schooling in American History: Myth vs. Reality / Memory vs. History.” This course provides a very useful and appropriate approach for undergraduate students that uses both The School in the United States and American Education in combination. Professor Noraian has also prepared some engaging assignments for her students that are also included. Following that syllabus are two syllabi from two very different graduate courses in which I have used The School in the United States. The first of these is from a graduate seminar, “American Education in Historical Perspective,” that I taught in the History Department at Northeastern University. The focus in that course was for graduate students in the field of history and for students looking for an appropriate graduate course that might provide an historical foundation for work in other fields. I have also included the syllabus of the graduate course that I now teach in the School of Education at New York University. Unlike the Northeastern course, the NYU course is primarily addressed to graduate students in teacher education, educational administration, or related programs for professional educators. I hope that these different approaches to the topic will be helpful to you as you plan your own course. Please let me know what works for you. I can be reached by email at
[email protected]. I would appreciate suggestions, criticism, notes on what works and what does not work. And I wish you, and your students, all the best. Sincerely,
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James W. Fraser Professor of History and Education Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development New York University
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INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE THIRTEEN CHAPTERS
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Chapter 1: The School in Colonial America, 1620–1770 Contents Virginia Council [London], Instructions to Governor of Virginia, 1636 Virginia Statutes on the Education of Indian children Held Hostage, 1656 South Carolina Statute on Conversion of Slaves to Christianity, 1711 Missionary report on baptism of slaves, 1719 Virginia’s Cure, or An Advisive Narrative Concerning Virginia, 1662 Sir William Berkeley to the Lords’ Commissioners on Foreign Plantations, 1671 Massachusetts’ Old Deluder Satan Law, 1647 Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography, 1714–1718 The New England Primer, 1727
Major Theme I would hope that students come away from their study of colonial education with a sense of the incredible diversity of colonial education—diversity in terms of the participants who were of American Indian, African, and European origin—and diversity in terms of the institutions of education. The institution of the school may have been a European invention, but education was not. And throughout the past four hundred years, schools have been used for many different purposes, by their sponsors and by their students.
One Way to Organize the Class I would begin by dividing the class into three groups. One group would look at the European approach to Indians, a second group would look at their approach to Africans, and the third would look at the European approach to the education of their own children. Each group would be asked to review documents that apply to their group and prepare to report to the class on their response to two major questions: • What is the purpose of the education for your group, as you understand it, based on a close reading of the documents that you have before you? • If you were a parent of one of the children under consideration, what would you think of this kind of education? The American Indian group would then consider: Virginia Council [London], Instructions to Governor of Virginia, 1636 Virginia Statutes on the Education of Indian Children Held Hostage, 1656 The African group would consider: South Carolina Statute on Conversion of Slaves to Christianity, 1711 Missionary report on baptism of slaves, 1719 The European group would consider: Virginia’s Cure, or An Advisive Narrative Concerning Virginia, 1662 Sir William Berkeley to the Lords’ Commissioners on Foreign Plantations, 1671 Massachusetts’ Old Deluder Satan Law, 1647 The New England Primer
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In my experience, groups reviewing documents with this sort of assignment get into quite lively discussions. It may take a bit of effort to get everyone back together. After each group reports, the class could move into a discussion of one of the major themes in the study of American education: To what degree has the school offered an education for liberation and to what degree has it offered an education for subjugation? After this discussion is complete, I would remind the group that you had not included Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography in the discussion for a reason. That selection focuses on a second question: What was the role of the colonial school? This is a relatively short selection. Read it or have students read it aloud. Note the interesting fact that Benjamin Franklin was actually a high school dropout … after only eight months! Then ask, was Franklin a success or a failure? How would he have been regarded by others at the time? Ultimately the instructor may need to make the case that this passage, as clearly as any, points to the fundamental difference between colonial education and the modern school. In the early 1700s, no one thought it odd that young Benjamin would essentially drop out of high school after eight months and then go back to the equivalent of elementary school. His goal was to learn what he wanted to learn, when he wanted to learn it. He, and his father, clearly saw themselves as the people in charge of his education. The school was an institution to be use only when and if useful.
Companion Readings: Wayne Urban and Jennings Wagoner, American Education: A History, Fifth Edition (New York: Routledge, 2014). Read Chapters One and Two in preparation for this session.
Potential Essay Questions • •
Describe the different literacies sought by the colonial governments for the children of Europeans, Africans, and Indians. Why did the government seek different kinds of literacy for different groups of people? Benjamin Franklin dropped out of the Latin School after only a few months. Was his education a success or a failure? Why?
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Chapter 2: The American Revolution and the Schools for the New Republic, 1770–1820 Contents Thomas Jefferson, Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge, 1779 Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, 1783 Benjamin Rush, Thoughts Upon Female Education, 1787 Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America, 1790 Noah Webster, The American Spelling Book, 1783 U.S. Congress, The Northwest Ordinance, 1787 U.S. Congress, Civilization Fund Act, 1819
Major Theme Jefferson, Rush, and Webster were among the great intellectuals of the era of the American Revolution. Early members of Congress clearly saw themselves as nation builders. It is important for students of this era to understand both the grand visions and the almost total failure at implementing school change that was characteristic of the revolutionary generation. More than any other historical era, a discussion of these years allows students to understand the gap between grand plans and specific reality.
One Way to Organize the Class The educational writings of Jefferson, Rush, and Webster can easily seem very distant and, indeed, virtually nonsensical to contemporary students. In part this is the flowery rhetoric that was characteristic of colonial era authors. In part it is because the issues they address were, in some ways, so different from contemporary issues in education. I have had my best success with this material using a two-step process. First I acknowledge how hard these authors are to read. The class can even have some fun noting the differences in the ways a Jefferson or a Rush or Webster would phrase things from those of any modern writer. Once this is done, the next step is for the students to become detectives … taking these documents as a set of clues about the nature of schooling at the end of the colonial era and as windows on to the kind of schooling—and the kind of democracy—that these authors intended. After some preliminary discussion, I would have the class take on the roles of detectives. What clues can they find in the documents that help answer the following questions: • What sort of education was currently available to European-American women and girls at the time these authors wrote and proposed their changes? What was it that Webster and Rush wanted to fix? • Who did get to go to school at the time of the Revolution? What did they study? • All three authors are, in their own ways, trying to create an “American” education as opposed to the “English” education that was previously offered to the students in the English colonies of North America. Specifically what did they want to change? Did these changes make sense in light of the recent revolt against English rule in the colonies?
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How did the authors disagree with each other? What can you guess about the politics and worldview of the three authors in light of these differences about education? You may have your own questions, or a class discussion could elicit other questions. In terms of approach to the questions there are several options. For a more advanced class I might outline and discuss the questions in one session, after the students had done a preliminary reading of the material. They could then be given a specific assignment to write short essays on one or more of the questions and return to class the following week prepared for a focused discussion of the questions. As an alternative, especially in a lower division class, people could be organized into detective teams with a mandate to review the documents, either in class or in out-of-class team meetings. Each team would be asked to come up with as much information as possible to answer their assigned question and that could be reported at the next regular class session. In either case, supplementary readings such as those noted below could be a great help in framing the topic for the students.
Companion Readings from Other Texts: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, Chapter Three
Potential Essay Questions • • •
Compare the educational plans of Jefferson, Rush, and Webster. Note at least one point where all three would have agreed and at least one point of disagreement. Having read the essays of Jefferson, Rush, and Webster, what would you guess to be the condition of women’s education at the time when these three men were writing? Evaluate their proposals from a woman’s perspective. In the two pieces of federal legislation noted in this unit, what did the Congress want to see happen in education, and why did they involve themselves?
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Chapter 3: The Common School Movement, 1820–1860 Contents Horace Mann, Tenth and Twelfth Annual Reports, 1846 and 1848 Catharine Beecher, Essay on the Education of Female Teachers, 1836 The Common School Journal, Plan to Abolish the Board of Education, 1840 Petition of the Catholics of New York for a Portion of the Common School Fund, 1840 Desegregation of the Boston Public Schools, 1846–1855
Major Theme This is usually my favorite class session. My goal here is for students to understand the deep conflicts engendered by the development of the common school—the kind of school that we know today. While some, like Horace Mann and Catharine Beecher, saw only individual and social good in the development of schools, many others found themselves excluded from these institutions. If students can come to terms with these debates they will have gained an important critical perspective on the development of schools that will serve them well for the rest of the course and in their careers.
One Way to Organize the Class I have taught this material in connection with a variety of courses and I confess I do have my favored way of organizing the class activity for this session. I divide the class into five groups. Each group is asked to prepare to be the spokesperson for one of the five readings. This is best done in advance so that students can prepare for their roles, but it also can be done at the beginning of the class. Participants are then given 15 to 20 minutes to prepare for the big debate, which will involve five perspectives on education in the common school era. The five perspectives, of course, are represented by: Horace Mann, Tenth and Twelfth Annual Reports, 1846 and1848 Catharine Beecher, An Essay on the Education of Female Teachers, 1835 The Common School Journal, Plan to Abolish the Board of Education, 1840 Petition of the Catholics of New York for a Portion of the Common School Fund, 1840 Petition of Negro Citizens for Integrated Schools, 1846 After some time for preparation, I welcome the participants to the debate to be held in this classroom in the year 1848. Horace Mann is usually allowed to go first and the others speak in order. After each group has presented its perspective, they are given time to debate with each other. In my experience, students very much get into their roles and want to “win” the debate; something that gives great energy to the class discussion. If the debate goes true to course, several themes will emerge that can then be the topic of a second class discussion. They include: • The degree to which Horace Mann, and to some extent Catharine Beecher, simply cannot comprehend why anyone might oppose them. The next logical question, of course, is: Do public school leaders and advocates fall into the same trap in the twenty-first century?
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The complexity of Catharine Beecher’s appeal for women. Is she an advocate of women’s rights or of second-class status for women? Is the feminization of the teaching profession a good thing—for women, men, children? The mixed values of the “localists,” those opposed to any centralized education authority. On the one hand, they can be the true democrats, allowing all decisions to be made at the local level. On the other hand, “states rights” or “local rights” have often been the rallying cry of local elites who want the freedom to discriminate in their own way. If they were alive today, would the members of the Massachusetts legislature who opposed Horace Mann also oppose a federal role in education, state standards, etc.? Would this be a good or a bad thing? The fundamental justice of the Catholic petitions in 1840 comes through loud and clear. In an era in which public schools were deeply Protestant in nature, the tax support for those schools, and not for Catholic schools, seems—in retrospect—to be deeply unjust. But, what about today? This petition is the 1840s version of vouchers. Is it a good thing? What about Horace Mann’s goal of creating a common culture through schooling? Finally the debate usually focuses two things in the African-American complaint about schooling. First, of course, is the obvious issue that segregation and discrimination were not ended by the 1855 legislation. Why have these issues persisted for so long? A second theme usually emerges. While the African-American representatives try to make their case, the other four groups usually fight with each other but ignore the African-American representatives. Mann, Beecher, and the representatives of the legislature and the Catholic petitioners can all argue as if everyone involved is white. This can get more and more irritating to the representatives of the African-American community; a clear illustration of a continuing theme in American education and society.
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, Chapter Four. Potential Essay Questions • •
Schools had existed in Massachusetts for over two hundred years when Horace Mann came on the scene. What was so unique about his work and his proposals? Assume the position of any one of Mann’s critics. Why do you find his proposals controversial? What would you prefer to see in place of what Mann proposed?
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Chapter 4: Schooling Moves West, 1835–1860 Contents Selections from McGuffey’s Sixth Eclectic Reader, 1836 and subsequent Calvin E. Stowe, Report on Elementary Public Instruction in Europe, 1836 Board of National Popular Education, Correspondence, 1849–1850 Letter from Mary Augusta Roper, Mill Point, Michigan, 1852–1854 Speech of Red Jacket, the Seneca Chief, to a Missionary, 1805
Major Theme While the focus of the first three chapters is the East Coast, it is really in what is now the Midwest that the institution of the modern school fully came to life. In reviewing these documents the student should gain a strong sense of the link between culture and schooling. The publisher of the McGuffey’s Reader and educational leaders like Calvin Stowe and the Board of National Popular Education knew just what culture they wanted to create for the nation.
One Way to Organize the Class The documents and the themes of this unit allow a careful consideration of the functioning of schooling through three important perspectives—textbooks, the words of public school advocates, and the letters of teachers. It is worth taking class time to attend to each. I would actually organize this class around these themes plus a fourth, the dissenters from schooling and western culture represented by Red Jacket. The textbook: McGuffey’s Reader In preparation for this discussion, students should give a careful reading to the selection from the McGuffey’s Reader. They should then be asked to find a modern sixth grade textbook and make some comparisons. Among the questions to be asked would be: • How do the two compare in terms of the age-old goal of schools of preparing patriotic citizens? How much change has there been over the last 150 years? (It may also be useful to have the students look ahead at Chapter Eight and add the mid-twentieth century Scott, Foresman Reader to the conversation.) • How do the different textbooks compare in terms of the image of the United States and its citizens? European-American, African-American, and Native Americans were in the nation in 1836 and 1956 as well as now. Could you tell that? What does that mean about the self-image of the nation, as portrayed in its texts? • How do the texts compare in reading difficulty? The leaders and advocates Compare Calvin Stowe with Horace Mann (there are, in fact, very few differences). To what extent does the common school movement seem to be a national movement with many local leaders and advocates? Was there one leader and many followers or many different people helping to shape these ideas? How do you think a national consensus emerges in this or any era?
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The teachers The two sets of letters provide two somewhat different images of the life of a teacher in the pre-Civil War Midwest. If you were an editor for the National Board would you have included the letters from Mary Augusta Roper in the Annual Reports? Why or why not? Imagine yourself as a young woman at home in New England in the 1840s or 1850s: Would you have volunteered to go west? How do you think you would view the opportunity for adventure? The hardship? The chance to make a difference in the lives of young people? Have the motivations for becoming a teacher really changed over the years? Finally these letters offer the opportunity for an engaging discussion of the transmission of culture. If you were a parent of a child in one of these schools, how would you react to these teachers? If you were Protestant? If you were a Catholic, or of another tradition such as Red Jacket? The dissenters Red Jacket’s rejection of the missionaries sent to the Seneca provides a useful counterpoint to the other material in this chapter. Imagine a class conversation between one of the teachers assigned to Wisconsin or Minnesota by the National Board and Red Jacket. What would they say to each other … about the purpose of schooling? About the culture and social values of the United States? If the same conversation were to take place in the twenty-first century, who would line up with the teachers and who would line up with Red Jacket? Where does that leave you as a future educator? How can a teacher both transmit values and leave room for dissent and alternative perspectives (never an easy question, but terribly important for teachers in a diverse nation)?
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, continue reading in Chapter Four.
Potential Essay Questions • • •
Describe the kind of society that Calvin Stowe or the Board of National Popular Education would have wanted and the role they saw schools playing in producing that society? How similar or how different is that from the goal of modern schooling? It is clear that young women went west to teach for many different reasons. Describe what you think was the most important reason and defend your view. The McGuffey’s Reader has been described as the ideal textbook for the schools of nineteenth-century America. Why would someone say that? Do you agree?
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Chapter Five: Reconstruction, and the Schools of the South, 1820–1903 Contents The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, 1845 The New England Freedmen’s Aid Society—Documents, 1862–1872 The New England Freedmen’s Aid Society—Correspondence, 1865–1874 The Journal of Charlotte Forten, 1862 Booker T. Washington, The Future of the American Negro, 1900 W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk, 1903 Marcus Garvey, Lessons from the School of African Philosophy, 1937
Major Theme Students should come away from these readings, and the subsequent discussion, with three major themes in mind. First they need to know, as W. E. B. DuBois said, that, “Public education for all at public expense was, in the South, a Negro idea.” Slaves and newly freed African Americans were not passive in the face of their forced illiteracy. They actively pursued learning and literacy in slavery and freedom. Second, Charlotte Forten and her many sisters who came south to teach in the aftermath of the Civil War were following in the footsteps of the women who went west in the 1840s and 1850s and were precursors of the Peace Corps and other similar ventures. Teaching has long been a form of democratic service. Third, the Washington–DuBois debate needs to be remembered but also seen as really a three-way debate including the very different perspective of Marcus Garvey. The three-way argument is a key to understanding fundamental divisions about the nature and purpose of education in a democratic society.
One Way to Organize the Class I would organize the discussion of this portion of the course around the three themes noted above. 1. Literacy in Slavery and Freedom. My introduction to this chapter frames the discussion of the commitment to literacy shown by African-Americans before and after emancipation. Students should note carefully the extended quotation from James D. Anderson’s The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860–1935. I usually read Anderson’s description of the situation in at the end of the Civil War: the educational scene at slavery’s end: Blacks emerged from slavery with a strong belief in the desirability of learning to read and write. This belief was expressed in the pride with which they talked of other ex-slaves who learned to read or write in slavery and in the esteem in which they held literate blacks … Booker T. Washington, a part of this movement himself, described most vividly his people’s struggle for education: “Few people who were not right in the midst of the scenes can form any exact idea of the intense desire which the people of my race showed for education. It was a whole race trying to go to school. Few were too young, and none too old, to make the attempt to learn.
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The discussion of “a whole race trying to go to school” changes the focus of energy in the literacy campaign for newly freed blacks from white benevolence to black selfempowerment. This is not to say that the white teachers did not provide an important service. But it is very important, especially for future teachers, to avoid seeing their students as merely passive recipients of their wisdom. In the context of this discussion of post-emancipation education, two documents deserve a fairly close reading. I would begin with Frederick Douglass’s autobiographical record. What was Douglass willing to do to acquire literacy? What do students think of Douglass’s description of the reasons his master did not want him to learn to read? Can literacy have this link to liberation in the twenty-first century? Having discussed the issues in this way, a look at the records of the New England Freedmen’s Aid Society is very interesting. These members of the Yankee elite began their work in 1862 expecting a passive audience. By the 1870s, the records reflect a respect for others on a shared educational mission. For me, this is a wonderful opportunity for shared examination of the documents in class and discussion of these themes. 2. Women in the South. Charlotte Forten’s extended diary, and the shorter letters of the women who wrote to the New England Freedmen’s Aid Society, reflect the mix of emotions of those who went south to teach the newly freed African-Americans. As with those who went west, there is a mix of adventure, devotion to others’ welfare, and a need to face a sometimes difficult daily reality. In the discussion of these issues, I find it useful to have the class compare the material found here with that from the western missionaries found in Chapter Four. What was similar? What was different in the experiences of the two groups? Of course, the discussion of this material allows students who are preparing for careers in teaching to engage in their own discussions of the reasons for entering the teaching profession. After they have compared the letters and diaries of Chapters Four and Five, they should add their own thoughts in a three-way discussion of why one teaches and what one expects to both receive and contribute in the profession. 3. The Washington–DuBois–Garvey Debate. The debate between these educational giants reflects a specific divide among the first generation of African-Americans who were experiencing freedom but it also reflects some of the deepest underlying issues in the continuing debates about the purposes of schools in the United States. It is important for the students to allow the documents to speak for themselves and to be relevant to the current scene. I would divide the time into these two specific themes. First, given my own favorite pedagogical methods, I will use this debate as the occasion for a class debate. Having part of the class defend the Washington perspective, part the DuBois perspective, and part the Garvey perspective and allowing them to do so in a formalized debate, will almost surely guarantee that they read the documents carefully and come to class prepared for the discussion. If you find that this is one debate too many, the alternative is an assignment to read the documents carefully and to come to class prepared to discuss three things: the central thesis of each writer, the author’s strong points, and the author’s weak points.
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Following this discussion of the great debate itself, the second topic that deserves consideration is the relevance of the debate for current educational policy. In preparation for this session, I would assign each student individually to review the files of Education Week (www.edweek.org), or another similar publication, and bring articles to class that reflect the Washington perspective on the need for education to be practical and relevant, the DuBois perspective on the need for education to be uplifting and ennobling, and the Garvey call for a separate and culturally relevant education. Who argues which view today? Where do members of the class ultimately come down? While there has been a tendency among some historians to treat this debate as a battle between an enlightened DuBois and a somewhat benighted Washington, more recent historians, including James Anderson, see considerably more complexity in the issues. It is best for students to understand the complexity and to use this as a mirror in which to reflect on their own views of the meaning and purpose of their chosen professional field (whether they are education students preparing for careers as teachers and administrators or history students preparing to teach in universities, libraries, and museums).
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, Chapter Five Potential Essay Questions • • •
Describe the reasons why Frederick Douglass came to value literacy. Do such reasons make sense in the twenty-first century? From your reading, why did Charlotte Forten go south in 1862? Select one side in the Washington–DuBois–Garvey debate and defend it in response to questions that might be asked by both of the other two.
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Chapter 6: The Emergence of the High School, 1821–1959 Contents National Education Association, Report of the Committee on Secondary School Studies (The Committee of Ten), 1893 G. Stanley Hall, Adolescence, 1904 John Dewey, “A Policy of Industrial Education,” 1914 David Snedden, “Vocational Education,” 1915 John Dewey, “Education vs. Trade-Training—Dr. Dewey’s Reply,” 1915 National Education Association, The Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education, 1918 James B. Conant, The American High School Today, 1959
Major Theme This chapter did not appear in the first edition of this book, but friends asked for it and it seemed very important to add it. For much of the nineteenth century, American public schooling was elementary schooling. While the first high schools appeared on the scene in the 1820s and by the time of the Civil War some of the nation’s largest cities had established a single high school to serve an elite of their students, it was really in the early twentieth century that high schools grew exponentially from institutions that served a tiny minority of students in 1900 to one that served the majority of adolescents by 1950. While high schools grew rapidly, however, there were major debates about just what should be taught in these places. Some, including the authors of the 1893 Committee of Ten report and later John Dewey, wanted essentially the same curriculum for all students. Others including the authors of the 1918 Cardinal Principles report and David Snedden wanted different programs for different students. The unresolved debates persist to the present and students enjoy these earlier versions of them.
One Way to Organize the Class The John Dewey–David Snedden debate provides an excellent entry into the arguments about the curricular purposes of the emerging high schools. One way to organize the class is to begin with a pretty straightforward all-class discussion of those debates asking students questions including: • Can they give examples from current debates they have heard regarding who today might agree with Dewey and who with Snedden? • What might be the obstacles to implanting either man’s vision of the right way to organize high schools, especially vocational high schools, today? • Who do they think “won” the debate in terms of twenty-first-century school organization? • Who do they think “won” the debate in terms of the most persuasive argument? • If the answers to the two above questions are different, how do they explain the difference? It is important to avoid making this a morality play in which either author is seen as the agent of the good but rather a chance to dig deeply into the issues.
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Having had the Dewey–Snedden discussion, it is worthwhile turning to the two National Education Association Reports. Again, this is a session that works in whole-class discussions. Among the questions I ask to prod the discussion are: • How could the same organization issue two such different reports? • What might have been happed in the country or in discussions among educators to explain the change? • What are the strengths and weaknesses of each report? • Which report is more realistic—or do each have realistic and unrealistic elements? • Which report reflects the high school you attended? • Which report reflects your own vision of good education? Finally James Conant’s report becomes a nice way to wrap up this session. Conant wrote long after the other documents other discussion at a time when many more of the nation’s youth attended high school. But he also wrote a long time ago. The first thing for students to consider is the degree to which the high school that Conant described matches their high school. And then the next is the degree to which his description of mid-century high schools helps them decide who “won” the above debates. Nearly all students—graduate as well as undergraduate—have lively memories of their high school experience which can both give significant positive energy to this class session and, if one is not careful, completely divert it from a focus on history and the documents to ahistorical autobiographical reflection.
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, Chapters Six and Seven
Potential Essay Questions • •
Compare the different visions of the American high school described in these documents. What vision of a larger democratic society is represented in each one? Using both Conant’s 1959 report and your own experience in high school, who “won” the debates? Be sure to use specific evidence from other documents to illustrate your points.
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Chapter 7: Growth and Diversity in Schools and Students, 1880–1960 Contents Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, 1884 Mary Antin, The Promised Land, 1912 Lewis Meriam, The Problem of Indian Administration, 1928 The Asian Experience in California, 1919–1920 Beatrice Griffith, America Me, 1948 Teaching Children of Puerto Rican Background in the New York City Schools, 1954
Major Theme While earlier units focus on the educational debates within and among some of the earliest cultural and ethnic groups, this chapter broadens the focus. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, when the United States is again receiving immigrants from around the globe, it is important that the student of educational history understand the extraordinary and changing cultural and racial diversity that has always been found in schools. This chapter is about that diversity.
One Way to Organize the Class Given the focus on diversity found in this chapter, I would organize these class discussions around the issue of multicultural education. It is certainly possible to imagine a schoolroom of a century ago that would include representatives of all of the groups recorded in these documents: • A Roman Catholic child, perhaps Irish or German, Polish or Italian, who had recently arrived in the United States along with her parent and whose family was uncertain about the public schools (in light of the clear directive of the Baltimore document); • A Russian Jewish child, like Mary Antin, who enthusiastically embraced the school as the promise of American life; • A Japanese American child who understandably worried about his welcome in the class given his previous experience in segregated schools in California; • An American Indian child whose last school had been a government boarding school consciously designed to deny her culture; • A Mexican American child who was tired and angry about stereotypes and overt discrimination; • A Puerto Rican child newly arrived in the United States, nostalgic for homeland and uncertain about a new urban society and an English-speaking school. If one were an early believer in multicultural education, what would it mean to teach a class that included this mix of students? What in the documents would give the teacher a hint of the hurts and needs, strengths and unique skills of these students? As indicated, I find it more productive to engage students in thinking about this unit pedagogically than sociologically, although both approaches are ultimately useful. However, an assignment to read these documents and to come to class prepared not only
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to report on these students but with strategies for ensuring their effective education seems most promising. Students will give the documents a closer reading if they are looking for ways to work with the young people whose lives are reflected here than if they are simply gathering facts. The class discussion can then begin with the strategies and turn to the diverse cultures and classrooms of the United States in the late nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries.
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education. Material in this chapter is spread over Chapters Eight, Nine, Ten, and Eleven in Urban and Wagoner. One can either have the students read the chapters as background to the documents or select specific documents from this book to match themes in the four different chapters of the Urban and Wagoner book.
Potential Essay Questions • •
Compare the narrative of Mary Antin with that of the Mexican American students described in America Me. What is similar and what is different in their experience of American schooling? Speculate on some of the reasons for these differences. Select any one of the perspectives offered in the documents from this chapter. If you were a teacher, what would you need to do to help that student succeed in your class?
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Chapter 8: The Progressive Era, 1890–1950 Contents James Jackson Storrow, Son of New England, 1932 Margaret Haley, Why Teachers Should Organize, 1904 Ella Flagg Young, Isolation in the School, 1901 Grace C. Strachan, Equal Pay for Equal Work, 1910 Cora Bigelow, World Democracy and School Democracy, 1918 John Dewey, The School and Society, 1899 Lewis M. Terman, National Intelligence Tests, 1919 George Counts, Dare the School Build a New Social Order, 1932 The Social Frontier, 1934
Major Theme As I argued in the introduction to this chapter, I have become convinced that progressive education came to mean so many different, and contradictory, things that it can be an almost meaningless term unless one gets much more specific. “To lump all of these extraordinary diverse actors under a single banner called progressivism is to misunderstand both their similarities and their differences.” On the other hand, the many different individuals and groups who were active in the progressive era changed American education more profoundly than at any other time. The goal here is for students to understand the complexity and the depth of the progressive education movement so that they will use the term carefully in their future careers as educators and historians.
One Way to Organize the Class Like the class discussion of Chapter Three, this unit lends itself to class debate. In this case, I would create five clear groups: • The administrative progressives who would focus on James Jackson Storrow; • The militant teachers who would focus on Margaret Haley, Grace C. Strachan, and Cora Bigelow; • The child-centered and democratic curriculum reformers who would focus on Ella Flagg Young, and John Dewey; • The advocates of testing and measurement who would focus on Lewis M. Terman; • And the radicals, who would focus on George Counts, and The Social Frontier. In preparation for this debate, it is especially important that students read not only the documents of the group they will be defending but those of the other groups as well—and everyone should pay special attention to the work of Dewey and Young. The defenders of these two would, of course, want to know what the others would say, but the representatives of the administrative progressives, the teachers, the scientists, and the radicals, should all be able to state their case on its own and in relationship to the Dewey/Young perspective.
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In this case, the class debate and the lessons learned from it would be much more meaningful if the students did some careful background reading. At a minimum they should read the appropriate material from Urban-Wagoner or Spring, or another appropriate history of education. Depending on time and the level of the course they might also do some further research and reading. For example, the group focusing on Storrow and the administrative progressives could read David Tyack and Elisabeth Hansot’s wonderful Managers of Virtue. Those focusing on teachers might read Wayne Urban, Why Teachers Organized. This is a session that can absorb as much preparation as possible. Spring gives four chapters to these topics and this is both useful background and a lot of reading. If time permits I would allow more time for this unit than for most others. As noted above, it has certainly been my experience that college students—be they freshmen or upper level graduate students—come alive when they are preparing for a debate. We all like to win. This is a good time to use that human quality.
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, Chapter Seven. Potential Essay Questions • •
Imagine a conversation between James Jackson Storrow, John Dewey, and Lewis M. Terman. What would each say in response to the other two? Where would they agree and disagree? Imagine a conversation between Margaret Haley, Ella Flagg Young, Grace Strachan, and Cora Bigelow. What would each say in response to the others? Where would they agree and disagree?
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Chapter 9: Schools in the Cold War Era, 1950–1970 Contents F. James Rutherford, Sputnik and Science Education, Reflections on 1957 National Defense Education Act, 1958 The Scott, Foresman Readers, 1955 H. G. Rickover, Education for All Children, 1962 Herbert Kohl, Thirty-Six Children, 1967 John Holt, How Children Fail, 1964
Major Theme The documents in this chapter are characterized by a vigorous dissent and critique of the schools. What is interesting, of course, is that the different authors see very different schools to “not like.” This chapter allows students to interrogate the discussion of educational reform—who wants to reform what, and why? At the same time, the nature of mid-twentieth-century school debates should come through loud and clear. Many of the perspectives and debates of the 1950s are being repeated in the twenty-first century.
One Way to Organize the Class More than any other set of documents, these reflect a very wide-ranging critique of the schools. Except for the Scott, Foresman Readers, every one of these documents is about change. I, therefore, make change the focus of this class. I begin by asking the students to read each of these documents asking a simple question, “What is wrong with the schools that the author wants to fix?” The assignment is most effective if the instructor does not give too many hints in advance; although it is worth noting that different authors will probably see different—and even contradictory—issues in need of repair. After students have had some time to read and ponder the documents and the assignment, the class may well come up with a list something along the following lines: • The Congressional authors of the National Defense Education Act of 1958 are clearly worried about the poor quality of science instruction. They want more science, better science, and better support for the most gifted students (who can respond to the Russian satellite Sputnik). • Navy Admiral H. G. Rickover wants to remove the last vestiges of progressive education and the influence of John Dewey. (While reading this document, it is worth looking back at what Dewey himself had to say in Chapter Seven.) Rickover wants classrooms focused on instruction in which the teacher passes on much-needed information to students rather than focused on engagement of student and teacher. • Herbert Kohl wants to end a classroom culture that he sees as mean-spirited and disrespectful of students. If anything, he wants to reintroduce Dewey. (It is worth asking if Kohl and Rickover could possibly have visited the same classrooms. Is it possible to have a class that would fit the critique brought by both men? Could any school please both men?)
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•
John Holt, although much closer to Kohl than Rickover, is especially concerned with the way traditional instruction (of the sort advocated by Rickover) undermines children’s own curiosity and motivation for real learning.
Given this interesting and internally contradictory critique of schooling, I find it most useful to let the class discussion flow fairly freely so that students will arrive at the same conclusion that I have come to—that these different authors seem to be living in different worlds, visiting different classrooms, and certainly wanting to change different and contradictory things. Once the class has reached this conclusion, a subsequent discussion of the meaning of the illusive term school reform can be most engaging. It is something of an American tradition to be unhappy with the schools. But the reasons for being unhappy are widely different. And given the different values about both society and pedagogy, there is no classroom that would make everyone—or even the small band of authors represented in this chapter—happy. Another theme is worthy of further discussion in this unit. The Scott, Foresman Reader gives perhaps a better glimpse of what students in 1950s America actually learned than all of the critics do. What did students learn about the nation from reading the selection from the Reader offered in the text? What was considered acceptable reading for young people in the post-World War II era? Compare these readings with the McGuffey’s Reader of Chapter Four and the New England Primer of Chapter One. Can you see similarities and differences in what Americans of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries valued? In how they defined patriotism and the national culture?
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, Chapter Ten Potential Essay Questions •
•
Imagine a conversation between the authors of the National Defense Education Act, the editors of the Scott-Foresman Readers, and Admiral H. G. Rickover. What would they see as the purposes of education in a democratic society? On what would they agree or disagree? Select either Herb Kohl or John Holt and then defend or critique the statement that they represent the next generation of progressive educators.
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Chapter 10: Civil Rights, Integration, and School Reform, 1954–1980 Contents Septima Clark, Ready From Within, circa 1950 Supreme Court of the United States, Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 Kenneth B. Clark, “How Children Learn About Race,” 1950 Daisy Bates, The Long Shadow of Little Rock, Reflections on 1957 NAACP Boston Branch, Statement to the Boston School Committee, 1963 Jonathan Kozol, Death At An Early Age, 1967
Major Theme In 1954 the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed that, “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” In doing so they radically changed the nation’s educational terrain. However, it is important for students to understand that this decision did not come out of the blue—many things led up to it and many more followed from it.
One Way to Organize the Class There is a great deal to be gained in this session by letting the documents speak for themselves as much as possible. I would do this in three ways. A close reading of Brown v. Board of Education It is worth taking the time to have the students reread the key elements of this decision in class. Certainly this case is one of the most historic ones in all of American education. Many people refer to it. Many fewer have ever read it. After a review of the court’s unanimous opinion, the class should discuss the question, “What did the court actually decide, and why?” What was wrong with American schools that Brown was designed to fix? Having read Brown it is useful to turn to a number of these documents which essentially represent an indictment of segregated education. Some of these were written before Brown, some after, but it should be noted that Brown did not change everything at once (or even after a half-century). So these questions are worth asking: What did these authors see as wrong with the schools? Did the Brown decision address their complaint? With these two questions in mind, the class should take another look at Septima Clark Kenneth Clark Daisy Bates Ruth Batson Jonathan Kozol In each case the questions are the same: What did they want changed? Did Brown change it?
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What is the price of change? Finally, I turn to the Little Rock documents. The Brown decision did not change everything in the United States all at once. What was the price of change and who paid it? Why were these people willing to do what they did? It is a discussion that everyone concerned with the future of education needs to engage.
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, Chapter Eleven. Potential Essay Questions •
•
Why did the United States Supreme Court rule as it did in the Brown v. Board of Education case? Cite specific examples for your reasons. Select Septima Clark, Kenneth Clark, Daisy Bates, Ruth Batson, or Jonathan Kozol and summarize their critique of the schools.
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Chapter 11: Rights and Opportunities in American Education, 1965–1980 Contents Supreme Court of the United States, Engel v. Vitale, 1962 The Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Great Society, 1965 Supreme Court of the United States, Tinker et al. v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969 Title IX, Women’s Educational Equity Act, 1974 Supreme Court of the United States, Lau v. Nichols, 1974 Public Law 94-142, Education of All Handicapped Act, 1975 The Rough Rock Demonstration School, Navajo Nation, 1970
Major Theme The major theme of this unit is the spread of the civil rights movement to all aspects of American education and American society. It is unlikely that Lyndon Johnson would have launched the Great Society programs without the impetus of the civil rights movement. And at the same time many other groups and communities—students, women, people with handicapping conditions, Latinos, Native Americans, among others—began to assert their own rights with a significant impact on schooling.
One Way to Organize the Class While many of us who teach history of education courses remember this era well, we also need to remember that for our students the 1960s and 1970s are ancient history. The key to a thoughtful discussion is, therefore, to have the students enter in to the times and try to understand the context in which these various rights were asserted and these reforms undertaken. The overriding question I pose in preparation for this session is: What needed fixing in American schools and American society that led to each of these documents being written? This question leads to a follow-up question: Has the issue been successfully resolved as we examine the schools of the first decade of the new century? Having posed the general questions, it is useful to take some time in a case-by-case discussion of the documents: • What were the issues in the Engel v. Vitale case and to what degree have they been resolved in subsequent years? • What was Johnson trying to fix in the schools of the United States in 1965? • What rights did the Tinker family assert by their actions? • What did the authors of Title IX seek to change in the schools of the 1970s? • What forms of exclusion did Public Law 94-142 seek to end? • Why did leaders of the Navajo Nation want control of their schools? It is very likely that the discussion of these issues will produce political disagreements within the class. Some may favor a federal role in education, while others oppose it. Some may feel that the focus on rights has “gone too far” while others will say “not far enough.” The continuing impact of Title IX on college sports is very likely to produce
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some class discussion. The trick, of course, is to keep the discussion productive rather than a simple airing of increasingly heated differences. However, a thorough airing of the continuing significance of these debates can be very productive in helping students place these documents in their historical context. Before the class ends, however, it is useful to step back from the debates and remind the students that this is a history class and the focus of the discussion, for the moment, needs to be on why these documents were written at the time they were written … what the authors hoped for and sought to change by engaging in the political battles that surrounded each of these documents. If the class ends on that note, the debate will have been highly productive and will probably be remembered for some time.
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, Chapter Eleven Potential Essay Questions •
•
Describe the reasons President Lyndon Johnson saw school reform as essential to improving the nation. Do you agree or disagree? Select any one of the groups represented in this chapter—the Tinker family, women, children in need of special education, Chicago’s Latino community, or the educational leaders of the Navajo Nation—and describe what they wanted to see changed in schools as reflected in the document you read. Be specific in describing the changes you wish to see.
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Chapter 12: Reform Efforts of the 1980s and 1990s Contents National Commission on Excellence in Education, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, 1983 Ann Bastian et al, Choosing Equality: The Case for Democratic Schools, 1985 Sonya Nieto, Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education, 1992 Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Disuniting of America, 1991/1992 David C. Berliner, Bruce J. Biddle, The Manufactured Crisis, 1995
Major Theme The theme of the last two decades of the twentieth century is “excellence vs. equity.” There are those who would argue that in the pursuit of equity, American educators of the 1960s and 1970s abandoned excellence for a mediocrity that ought to be unacceptable to all. Others have argued that the nation is still so far from educational equity that no other priority should be allowed. And still others argue that either excellence or equity, without the other, is of little value. The documents included here give a range of snapshots on this discussion.
One Way to Organize the Class In some ways the educational debates of the last two decades of the twentieth century can be understood as a reaction to the 1960s and 1970s. Clearly they also provide the foundation for consideration of current educational debates. I divide this class session into four separate, but brief, conversations: • The debate between A Nation At Risk and Choosing Equity: What would the authors of each document have to say to the other? Who is more accurate in their analysis of the state of American education in the late twentieth century? Are there ways to resolve the debate? • The debate between Nieto and Schlesinger: What are their differing visions of the purpose of education and of the kind of society which schools should help to foster? Are there any ways to resolve this debate? • The last two documents are really a matter of summing up. What is the state of the nation’s schools at the turn of the new century? What are the sources of hope (and despair)? • Finally this is a time to look back over the whole course. To what degree do the issues in the A Nation At Risk–Choosing Equality debate and the Nieto–Schlesinger debate reflect the deep divides that go back in the history of education to Dewey–Terman– Haley–Storrow or to Washington–DuBois or to Mann and his many opponents? How much has really changed and how much has remained the same? It is a good question to leave hanging at the end of the class.
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, Chapter Twelve
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Potential Essay Questions • •
Select either the A Nation At Risk perspective or that of the authors of Choosing Equality. What is your critique of the opposing document? Select either the Nieto or the Schlesinger perspective. What is your critique of the other document?
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Chapter 13: The Era of No Child Left Behind, 2001–2013 Contents The U.S. Department of Education, Executive Summary of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 Frederick M. Hess and Chester E. Finn, Jr., Leaving No Child Behind? 2004 Alfie Kohn, NCLB and the Effort to Privatize Public Education, 2004 Linda Darling Hammond, “From ‘Separate but Equal’ to ‘No Child Left Behind’: The Collision of New Standards and Old Inequities,” 2004 Terry M. Moe, “Politics, Control, and the Future of School Accountability,” 2003 Arthur Levine, Digital Students, Industrial-Era Universities, 2010 The Hunt Institute, Common Core State Standards, 2012 Randi Weingarten, “Common Core: Do What It Takes Before High Stakes, 2013 John Eidelson and Sarah Jaffe, “Defending Public Education: An Interview with Karen Lewis of the Chicago Teachers Union,” 2013
Major Theme The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 shaped the education debates of the early twentyfirst century. While the law had many defenders, some cautious and some whole hearted, it also had a huge range of critics across the political spectrum. Even after the Obama administration stopped using the language of No Child Left Behind, the debates continued though in different ways. At the same time, as Arthur Levine’s brief article illustrates, technology was transforming education. And the effort to create a Common Core curriculum in which the fifty states would agree to teach toward the same overarching goals set off its own set of debates.
One Way to Organize the Class This is not an easy class to organize. Teaching recent history always raises the question “Is it history yet?” But in this case nearly all students—and most instructors—come to class with such strong opinions on these issues that anything resembling an objective historical analysis is hard to achieve. The first thing I try to do in the class is to get students to understand that there have been many diverse responses to No Child Left Behind. I ask them, for a moment, to put aside their own opinions and look at a variety of responses including: • Frederick M. Hess and Chester E. Finn, Jr., generally conservative educators who are cautiously positive about the legislation • Linda Darling Hammond, generally known as a liberal educator who is also cautiously positive about No Child Left Behind • Alfie Kohn, known as a person of the left who is deeply hostile to the intent and the implementation of the law, and • Terry M. Moe, a conservative who is also very hostile to the law. By asking the students to spend some time, individually, looking at each point of view I try to create a deeper understanding of the diverse responses. I have done this by having
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them—in class—write a paragraph summarizing each point of view. I have had them divide into groups and present each of the four perspectives. I have had them use post-it notes to describe the point of view of each on a large board with each name on it. Anything that produces some consideration of the various responses seems useful and the fact that there are four—not just two—responses to the law helps the class consider the complexity of the debate. In the end, I also think it is essential to allow time for students to express their own opinions. I also try to ensure that there is time in class to turn to the consideration of the other readings of this chapter: • Arthur Levine’s reminder that all of this debate is happening while technology is fundamentally transforming elementary schools, high schools, and colleges • The Hunt Institute and Randi Weingarten’s views of the Common Core • The renewed activism within teacher unions—which some will support and some will find to be part of the problem.
Companion Readings: Urban and Wagoner, American Education, Chapter Thirteen Potential Essay Questions • •
Select one of the four responses to A Nation At Risk and write a review of at least one other response from that perspective. How do you think either Arthur Levine or Karen Lewis would respond to the Common Core State Standards as described by the Hunt Institute and Randi Weingarten?
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SAMPLE COURSE OUTLINES
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APPENDIX I AND UNDERGRADUATE COURSE History 300 Capstone Seminar – Schooling in American History: Myth vs. Reality / Memory vs. History Illinois State University Illinois State University Department of History History 300 Capstone Seminar – Schooling in American History: Myth vs. Reality / Memory vs. History Spring 2012 Professor: Office: Office Hours:
Dr. Monica Noraian SH 303 Tuesday & Thursday 8:15-11:15 or by appointment
E-Mail: Campus Phone: Class Time - Section 1: Room:
[email protected] 438-3001 M-W 9:00-10:15 SH 211
Course Topic This section of History 300 will focus on the History of American Education (Teaching and Schooling) from multiple sources and perspectives. We will study and challenge our understandings of what “actually happened” and what we are “teaching happened” in other words the myth verses reality or memory verses history surrounding the topics of Education, Teaching and Schooling. The concept of reality and perceived reality will be discussed as it relates to historical memory regarding education, schooling, teaching and American Society. Students will be asked to challenge the myth and realities surrounding topics assigned and of their choosing. What “stories” do we tell about the past and why? How do these “stories” shape our historical mindedness? We will survey the field post holing with key points, eras and narratives. Students will examine particular time periods in greater detail from both a fiction and nonfiction approach. Sources will include traditional historical monographs, survey texts, biography, children’s literature, images, artifacts, film, music, political cartoons, etc.
Course Description This course is required of Illinois State University History and History-Social Sciences Education majors and generally taken during the last full semester on campus. History 300 serves as the department’s capstone course and builds on historical knowledge and
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abilities students acquire during their undergraduate careers – particularly on the methodological and historiographical skills developed by History 200. Focusing on a broad topic, the course involves advanced study of historical methods, sources and arguments. It also requires production of a major research paper. Course Elements • • •
•
Reading seminar with the goal of developing or enhancing students’ knowledge and methodological and historiographical sophistication regarding both the course’s topical focus and history in general. Presentation (involving peer review) of student work. Submitting the final research paper in hard copy and on disk along with a selfevaluation which is: o An approximate length of 2-4 pages o What you hoped to achieve by majoring in history at ISU o What you accomplished or failed to accomplish and why o Which activities, both positive and negative contributed most to your history education o How you developed intellectually while majoring at ISU A research paper with the following characteristics: o Approximate length 20 pages, not including bibliography and footnotes/endnotes o Represent a manageable topic, limited enough in scope that meaningful analysis can be done o It should pose a central question or series of questions (how or why) that the student answers in the context of established historiography o It should recognize how other historians have answered the specified questions involved o In answer to the question or questions, it should include a clear and concise thesis o The paper should draw upon and analyze primary and secondary sources o Engages secondary sources in a historiographical manner o Requires use of Chicago citation style o Assessed based on the writer’s: Knowledge (historical context and accuracy) Research and analysis (appropriate use, interpretation, and citation of primary and secondary sources) Communication (writing skills)
Course Texts • •
Fraser, James, ed. The School in the United States: A Documentary History. New York: Routledge, 2010. Urban, Wayne and Jennings Wagoner, Jr. American Education: A History. New York: Routledge, 2009.
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•
Zimmerman, Jonathan. Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Chicago Style Guide
•
Academic Integrity Students have the obligation, as members of this scholarly community, to uphold academic integrity. Students must submit their own work. Disciplinary action will be taken for dishonesty, plagiarizing, copying or cheating. Attendance and Participation Since participation is an integral part of this class, attendance is required and participation expected. Students in the class have the responsibility to challenge themselves and others by sharing ideas and helping each other grow intellectually. Students are expected to arrive on time and be prepared for class. Course Assignments 15 % Participation / Attendance / Course Engagement / Group Discussions / Field Experience (150 pts) 15 % Primary Document Analysis Paper (150 pts) 15 % American Girl Paper and Presentation: a closer look at myth versus reality (150 pts) 15 % Book Review (Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory) (150 pts) 40 % Independent Research Paper (and all the steps along the way) (400 pts) Grading
100% of the Total Course Grade = 1000 pts. A= 900-1000 pts. B= 800-899 pts. C= 700-799 pts. D= 600-699 pts. F= 599 and below Tentative Schedule of Lectures, Discussions, and Assignments
WEEK
DATE
1
M 1/16 W
ASSIGNMENTS Martin Luther King, JR NO SCHOOL Introductions / A closer look at the topic: Political Cartoons
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2
3
4
1/18 M 1/23
W 1/25 M 1/30 W 2/1 M 2/6
W 2/8
5
M 2/13 W 2/15
6
M 2/20 W 2/22
7
M 2/27 W 2/29
8
M 3/5
Reading: Zimmerman and article A closer look at popular images of Schooling, Teaching and Education as they illustrate both memory and history or myth and reality – examples include: Film, T.V., Art, Music, Advertising, Literature, & Popular Culture Reading: Zimmerman Due: Preliminary research paper ideas / picking a topic Due: Article Summary with 3 questions for discussion Due: Sign up for Zimmerman “Chapter Teams” Milner Library – an introduction to research and sources – room 164D Reading: Zimmerman WORK DAY (work on the Library Scavenger Hunt and Zimmerman Book Assignment) Zimmerman Book Discussion Due: Library Scavenger Hunt Sheet Due: Zimmerman Book Discussion Prep (summary, questions, visuals) Continue class discussion of the Zimmerman Book – Peer Review Drafts
Brainstorm Research Paper Topics Due: American Girl Book Two signup sheet Due: Independent Research Topic Statement Milner Library – a follow up – room 164D Due: Small Wonder Book Review Reading: Book Two of your selected American Girl Historical Character (check out your American Girl Book from the library) WORK DAY (work on American Girl assignment – Myth vs. Reality, your independent research, read Urban/Wagoner and assigned Document Fraser Chapter) WORK DAY (work on American Girl assignment – Myth vs. Reality, your independent research, read Urban/Wagoner and assigned Document Fraser Chapter) WORK DAY (work on American Girl assignment – Myth vs. Reality, your independent research, read Urban/Wagoner and assigned Document Fraser Chapter) Understanding multiple perspectives & sources about schooling over time: “American Girl” – understanding periodization – memory / history An Introduction to The School in the United States: Documentary History American Education: A History Reading: Book Two of your selected American Girl Historical Character Due: Sign up for Document Chapter: The School in the United States Schooling in America Part I– Video Notes – collected Reading: Continue Reading your American Girl Book Two Due: Outline for Research Proposal and working bibliography Schooling in America Part II– Video Notes– collected Reading: Corresponding historical chapters from Urban/Wagoner and Document Reader Schooling in America Part III– Video Notes– collected Reading: Corresponding historical chapters from Urban/Wagoner and © 2014 Taylor & Francis
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W 3/7 9 10
M 3/19 W 3/21
11
M 3/26 T 3/27 W 3/28
12
13
14
15
16
17
M 4/2 W 4/4 M 4/9 W 4/11 M 4/16 W 4/18 M 4/23 W 4/25 M 4/30 W 5/2 M
Document Reader Due: Expanded Outline and expanded bibliography with a Summary of one Primary and one Secondary Source Schooling in America Part IV– Video Notes– collected Reading: Corresponding historical chapters from Urban/Wagoner and Document Reader SPRING BREAK Share Document Analysis Assignment: a discussion of schooling over time Due: Primary Document Analysis Paper Eyestone School – pioneer school simulation – memory / history Peer Review / Share / Discuss Independent Research Due: Individual Research Proposal / Prospectus including historiographical paragraph Meet at the Eyestone School on campus, Continue – Eyestone School – pioneer school simulation – myth / reality NOTE: Different meeting location Diane Ravitch, 7pm Braden Auditorium, Bone Student Center NOTE: This is different time and place from our regularly scheduled class WORK DAY (work on your independent research paper) (write a one page reaction paper to Diane Ravitch’s talk – your reactions, new insights and how does it relate to themes / concepts from this course?) (work on your American Girl Assignment) Present on Schooling in America - American Girl as history series Due: American Girl Assignment Due: One Page Reaction Paper to Diane Ravitch’s talk Present on Schooling in America - American Girl as history series WORK DAY (work on your independent research paper) Rough draft discussion – includes bibliography Due: Rough Draft I – peer review WORK DAY (work on your independent research paper) Mini Research Talk Helpful writing tips – Writing historiography, citing and quoting, etc. WORK DAY (work on your independent research paper) Final thoughts on the Final Project-Final Rough draft discussion Due: Rough Draft II-peer review Presentation of Research Due: Presentation PowerPoint Presentation of Research Due: Presentation PowerPoint NO CLASS - Exam Week – PAPER DUE by NOON – SH 303
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5/7
Due: Final Paper (including all drafts and peer reviews), PowerPoint of Presentation (emailed to the professor), disk with final paper and self evaluation for the department assessment
NOTES:
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History 300 - A look at Schooling and Education in America: Using the Historical American Girl Series as a Window into the Past Dr. Monica Noraian, Department of History, Illinois State University
American Girl Narratives and the History of Schooling in America Develop your thesis based on the American Girl narrative, the theme of schooling in America during the time period and actual historical analysis. Support your arguments with specific examples from the American Girl narrative, the Urban/Wagoner text, the Fraser Document reader, and the Schooling in America video series. Paper must have an introduction, clear thesis/topics, well supported arguments using varied examples, conclusion. Your 3-4 page paper should include at least 5 of the following: • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • •
Give a brief introduction to your historical American Girl character & her time period Research what you can about the author & historical consultant for your “character” Cite scholarly literature/other sources/book reviews/critiques about your historical narrative Summarize how the topics/themes of schooling/teaching/education are addressed and what related information is developed in the historical American girl narrative How is what is shown in the looking back section of the book integrated into the narrative Using the Urban/Wagoner text - summarize American education, teaching, and schooling during the same era. Include evidence where applicable from the Fraser Document reader as well Compare, contrast, and critique the American Girl “history” with regard to its accuracy. Cite examples to support your assertions What is well done with regard to the historical narrative – what is missing As a teacher, how might you use this book with your students –think about both content and pedagogy Suggest supporting documents (primary documents/ student work sheets) for the young reader Discuss course themes with regard to this book/character/time period Strengths, weakness, value of the historical American Girl narrative Is this mass marketing of “history” having a positive or negative impact Appropriateness of the subject for young audiences – when and how should kids learn history Interview teachers, parents or children who have read or experienced the American Girl phenomenon
Your 10-15 minute presentation should include several of the following: • • •
Summary of the “character” and her time period – Book highlights About the author and history consultant Paper highlights – your thesis /findings/elements
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• • • • • •
Overview of education, schooling & teaching during your time period Value of the American Girl series or your particular book/character Historical accuracy of the book Use of visual/activity to engage the class Myth verses Reality of American Education Secondary sources/Critiques of your American Girl Narrative/character
Grading Rubric: Paper a. On time, well written, error free, arguments supported/quotes/examples b. Introduction/your thesis____________(10 points) c. Discussion/Analysis – includes 5 elements from the paper topic list i. Part one____________(10 points) ii. Part two____________(10 points) iii. Part three____________(10 points) iv. Part four____________(10 points) v. Part five____________(10 points) d. In text references using specific examples/quotes from the three sources i. Wagoner/Urban____________(10 points) ii. School Video Series ____________(10 points) iii. American Girl Narrative____________(10 points) e. Conclusion____________(10 points) f. Include at the end the Completed Venn Diagram____________(10 points)
Presentation
g. Presentation ( visuals and several elements from the list)____________(40 points) i. Appropriate length of time ii. Use of visuals/engaging presentation iii. Included several of the elements from the list iv. Clear ability to communicate effectively – content & pedagogy
Total Points__________/150 __________/Percentage __________/Grade Comments: Student Time
Period
Character
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Name
1764 1774 1812 1824 1853 1854 1864 1904 1914 1934 1944 1970s
Native American Colonial America
Kaya
Southwest Frontier
Josephine
Felicity
War of 1812
Caroline
New Orleans and Yellow Fever
Cecile & MarieGrace
Pioneer America
Kirsten
Civil War
Addy
America’s Samantha New Century Immigration The Great Depression World War Two America in Change
Rebecca Kit
Molly Julie
Document Analysis Paper
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Meet Kaya Felicity Learns a Lesson Meet Caroline Josephine Learns a Lesson Meet Cecile & Meet MarieGrace Kirsten Learns a Lesson Addy Learns a Lesson Samantha Learns a Lesson Rebecca and Ana Kit Learns a Lesson Molly Learns a Lesson Julie Tells Her Story
Wagoner Chapter & Fraser Chapter UW:1&2 F: 1 UW: 2 F: 1&2
UW: 3 F: 2 UW: 3 & 4 F: 2&3 UW: 4&5 F: 5 UW:4 F: 4
UW:5 & 6 F:5 UW:6 & 7 F: 6, 7&8
UW:7 & 8 F: 6, 7&8 UW:9 F: 6, 7&8 UW:9&10 F: 6, 7&8
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The School in the United States: A Documentary History by James Fraser History 300: The History of American Education Dr. Monica Noraian, Department of History, Illinois State University Your assignment needs to include the following: 1. Identify the chapter and heading you have selected for your paper. a. Summarize the time period and theme being discussed in the chapter. This is a synthesis of the introduction section in the document reader. 2. Select a First Order Document – Identify a key primary document text from the group selected for the chapter. a. Summarize the primary document. b. Explain why you selected it as a first order document. Discuss how this is the most essential primary source for your particular topic in history. c. What important perspective/information does it offer? 3. Working with students. How would you use it with your students? Develop a primary document worksheet to guide a student’s analysis of the document and its content. This should be included with the paper. 4. Expanding historical understanding – Second Order Documents. a. Supplement the overview of the time period with specifics from the School, the Story of American Public Education video series and the Urban and Wagoner Text. These serve as second order documents. Use quotes and example references to add greater detail and varied perspective to your summary of the time period. What primary documents are included in these texts which challenge or corroborate the central idea of your time period summary and first order document? 5. Third Order Document – Find your own additional primary or secondary source (can be one discussed in the Urban and Wagoner text, School video series or something else you find). Students are asked to bring in their own source that adds to the historical understand of the topic and theme. Include it with the paper. Discuss the source and explain how this source adds new information or perspective to the topic.
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Grading Rubric:
1. Introduction/your thesis/summary of the time period____________(20 points) 2. First Order Document /synopsis/explain – why & how/perspective____________(20 points) 3. Working with students / primary documents____________(20 points) Guide__________(20 points) 4. Second Order Document/supplement your overview of the period with specifics from both the School video and Urban Wagoner Text – use examples/primary documents____________(20 points) 5. Third Order Document/your own additional source/include and discuss new information & perspective it provides____________(20 points) Copy of source included____________(20 points) 6. Conclusion____________(10 points) Total Points__________/150 __________/Percentage __________/Grade
Document Analysis Discussion Notes The School in the United States: A Documentary History by James Fraser
History 300: The History of American Education - Dr. Noraian, Department of History, ISU Your Chapter /Document Analysis Presentation should include the following sections: a. Summary/Overview – time period & theme b. First Order Document –summary & significance c. Working with Students & Documents–guide sheet discussion d. Second Order Documents–broadening our story with additional secondary sources e. Third Order Documents–new outside sources to enrich our understanding f. What surprised or impressed you Chapter 1: The School in Colonial America, 1620–1770 Chapter 2: The American Revolution and Schools for the New Republic, 1770–1820 Chapter 3: The Common School Movement, 1820–1860 Chapter 4: Schooling Moves West, 1835–1860
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Chapter 5: Reconstruction, and the Schools of the South, 1820–1937 Chapter 6: The Emergence of the High School, 1821–1959 Chapter 7: Growth and Diversity in Schools and Students, 1880–1960 Chapter 8: The Progressive Era, 1890–1950 Chapter 9: Schools in the Cold War Era, 1950–1970 Chapter 10: Civil Rights, Integration, and School Reform, 1954–1980 Chapter 11: Rights and Opportunities in American Education, 1965–1980 Chapter 12: Reform Efforts of the 1980s and 1990s Chapter 13: The Era of No Child Left Behind, 2001–2013
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APPENDIX II A HISTORY DEPARTMENT GRADUATE COURSE
Northeastern University History Department Graduate Seminar in the History of Education HST 3436 American Education in Historical Perspective
Instructor: James W. Fraser 50 Nightingale Hall 373-4179
[email protected]
Wednesdays, 7:00--9:00 p.m. History Department Conference Room
Course Description HST 3436 will include three basic approaches to the topic: an examination of some of the major themes in the history of schooling in the United States from colonial times to the present, an historiographical discussion of the ways different historians have interpreted these themes, and an opportunity to work on individual projects based on the specific interests of the participants in the seminar. We will engage in an overview examination of the history of education in the United States, from colonial times, through the common school movement of the early nineteenth century, to the progressive era, and the modern era of rapid expansion and bureaucracy, and of the impact of the Civil Rights movement on schooling. As part of this overview we will also consider some of the major debates among historians of education about the field and especially how to define education. Finally it will be each participant’s responsibility to select one topic within the history of education and develop a specific research project in that field. Class sessions will be used to share works in progress and ultimately to report on the results of the research. Participants will be strongly encouraged to select a topic, which links the work of this course with other courses or with a master’s degree project. Students who are currently teaching or who are thinking of careers as history teachers may want to focus on issues related to the teaching of history in school. Reading Assignments American Education in Historical Perspective will be organized around three books: • James W. Fraser, The School in the United States: A Documentary History (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000) • Joel Spring, The American School, 1642-1996 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996) • Wayne Urban and Jennings Wagoner American Education: A History (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996)
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These three works have been selected to foster a class dialogue about the different perspectives they offer on the same material. My own book is a documentary history and I have made every effort to let the documents speak for themselves. However, I would never claim that my history simply represents “the facts.” For every document that I selected, two, three, or four others had to be rejected. What I consider important, the issues on which I chose to focus, and individuals that I think best speak for their times all represent an interpretation of history. In turning to the Spring and Urban-Wagoner books, the interpretation becomes much more obvious. Both of these volumes tell the same overall story—the evolving patterns and institutions of education in the United States. But the similarities stop there. These two volumes differ on nearly all of the details about what is important and how to judge the various actors in the drama. I have selected both books so that the class can focus on a discussion of historical interpretation—of historiography—while we also consider the story line itself. It will be very important for all participants in this seminar to read the assignments from all three volumes in preparation for the class sessions. Written Assignments and Grading This is a graduate seminar. Full and active participation in all elements of the course is expected. In addition, there are three written assignments for the seminar. 1. The first assignment involves a critical review of an appropriate book from the history of education. (You may select from the bibliography of any of the three texts or elsewhere.) This review will involve an oral presentation of the review, which will be an integral part of the class session at which the book is relevant, and a written review. All book reviews are due in written form one week after the oral presentation. The review should include an overview of the book and the writer’s perspective and critical judgments regarding the book. Book reviews must be no more than 500 words long and should be prepared in accordance with the expectations of reviews published in the Journal of American History. 2. In addition, each participant in the seminar should select one topic and write a comparative paper on the ways in which Spring and Urban-Wagoner approach the issue. The topic can be that of one class session, or a more overarching topic such as the role of schools in imposing European culture on diverse peoples, the treatment of women in the two books, or the perspective the two volumes offer on contemporary schooling at the beginning of the twenty-first century. These papers should note similarities and differences and be very clear in their description of the approach to the issue taken by Spring, by Urban-Wagoner, and finally by the paper’s author. Papers are due in class on the last class session. 3. Finally, the major project of the course will involve a research project in the participant's field of choice. This final term paper will represent approximately 40% of the course work and grade. Term projects are due at the end of the reading and exam period. While each participant in the course will have maximum flexibility in defining the major course project, it is expected that they will fall into two primary categories: • For students with a primary professional interest in research, an in-depth study of a particular topic in American education will be appropriate. This project may be part of a thesis or other degree project or the beginning of a published work of historical research.
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•
For students with a primary professional interest in teaching, the project may focus on an examination of the different ways history has been taught (the history curriculum), or the development of current curriculum materials for a history class. Course Outline
First Class Session: Introductions and Overview What interests do each of us bring to this course? Review (and revision) of the course outline and text What do each (students and instructor) of us want to accomplish this quarter? Overview lecture/discussion: The History of Schooling in the United States Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Preface and Chapter One Spring, Chapters One, Two, and Three Urban-Wagoner, Chapters One and Two Second Class Session: Discussion of the Approach of the Three Books and Major Issues in Colonial Education Continuation of overview lecture/discussion on the History of Schooling Selection of course projects and scheduling Introduction to the debates in the history of American education What informs the different perspectives? Major issues in seventeenth and eighteenth century education Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Chapter Two Spring, Chapter Four Urban-Wagoner, Chapter Three Third Class Session: The American Revolutionary Era: Visualizing an American School Discussion of Jefferson’s, Rush’s, and Webster’s View of the Good Society and the Good School—What Did They Want to Fix in Colonial Education? Creating an “American” culture Final assignment of book review topics Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Chapter Three Spring, Chapters Five and Six Urban-Wagoner, Chapter Four Come to class prepared to debate various perspectives on the common school movement
Fourth Class Session: The Common School Movement What did Horace Mann want anyway? Discussion of the Common School agenda Mann’s diverse critics
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Debate Discussion: Does this shed light on contemporary school debates such as vouchers and state and local autonomy in education? Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Chapter Four Spring, Chapter Seven Urban-Wagoner, review relevant material from Chapter Four Companion text for further information: Polly Welts Kaufman, Women Teachers on the Frontier. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1984. Fifth Class Session: Schooling Moves West, 1835–1860 The Textbook: Analysis of McGuffey Reader The Leaders: Comparisons of Calvin Stowe, Horace Mann, and others The Teachers: Discussion of teacher letters and teacher experiences Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Chapter Five Spring, Chapter Nine Urban-Wagoner, Chapter Five Companion text for further information: James D. Anderson, The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860–1935. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1988. Sixth Class Session: African-American Schooling in Slavery, Reconstruction, and the Late Nineteenth Century Secret schooling and slave literacy The Reconstruction experience The Washington-DuBois debate Also due by this class session: A one-paragraph description of your final course project plus tentative bibliography Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Chapter Six Spring, Chapter Eight, also review relevant material from Chapter Nine Urban-Wagoner, Chapter Six Companion text for further information: Depending on your primary interest, select any one of the books from the Fraser bibliography.
Seventh Class Session: Prelude to Multiculturalism, Growth and Diversity in the Last Century Who was in school in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century? Where did they come from and why were they here? How were they greeted by the dominant culture? What would a multicultural approach to schooling have meant in 1900? In 1950?
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Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Chapter Seven Spring, Chapters Ten through Fourteen Urban-Wagoner, Chapters Seven through Nine Companion text for review: By the time you finish Spring and Urban, you have reviewed enough! Come to class prepared for a debate among James Jackson Storrow, Margaret Haley, John Dewey, Lewis M. Terman, and George Counts Eighth Class Session: The Many Faces of Progressive Education Discussion of the many movements called progressive Class debate among the movements Discussion of Spring and Urban-Wagoner perspective on these groups Moving beyond “good guys and bad guys” to a more complex perspective Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Chapter Eight Spring, Chapter Fifteen Urban-Wagoner, Chapter Ten Companion text for further information: Larry Cuban, How Teachers Taught: Constancy and Change in American Classrooms, 1890–1990, second edition, New York: Teachers College Press, 1993. Ninth Class Session: The Middle of the Twentieth Century and the Cold War The Cold War and the Schools: Discussion of Sputnik, Rickover, and NDEA The Scott, Foresman Reader, a mid-twentieth century McGuffey? New Voices of Protest and Reform, Kohl and Holt, a new progressivism? The religious factor, Prayer, Bible Reading, and the Supreme Court—what would Horace Mann have to say? Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Chapter Nine Spring, Chapter Sixteen Urban-Wagoner, Chapter review Chapter Ten and read Chapter Eleven Companion text for further information: Clayborne Carson, David J. Garrow, Gerald Gill, Vincent Harding, Darlene Clark Hine, The Eyes on the Prize Reader: Documents, Speeches, and Firsthand Accounts from the Black Freedom Struggle, 1954-1990. New York: Penguin Books, 1991 Tenth Class Session: The Civil Rights Movement and the Schools “Close reading” of Brown v. Board of Education decision What was schooling like in the United States in 1954? What was the psychology behind the decision? Would we agree? What were the politics of the decision? What happened in light of the decision—attention to Little Rock and Boston
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Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Chapter Ten Spring, Chapter Sixteen Urban-Wagoner, Chapter Eleven Eleventh Class Session: Rights and Opportunities in American Education Who benefited from Brown and the subsequent cultural and political changes? What happened in the United States—and the schools of the United States—from the 1950s to the 1970s? Excellence and equity—the same or different? Assignment: For next week, please read: Fraser, Chapter Eleven Spring, Chapter Seventeen Urban-Wagoner, Chapter Twelve Twelfth Class Session: Reaction, Reform, and Continuing Change Discussion of the Reagan revolution and its impact on the culture and the school The Multicultural education debate, Nieto, Schlesinger, et al. Is the current “crisis” manufactured? Discussion of current school issues Continuity and change in 200 years plus Wrap up and evaluation of the course Papers comparing Spring’s and Urban-Wagoner’s approaches to an issue are due at this class session. Final Course Papers are Due the Last Day of Final Exam Week.
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APPENDIX III A GRADUATE COURSE IN A SCHOOL OF EDUCATION NEW YORK UNIVERSITY STEINHARDT SCHOOL OF CULTURE, EDUCATION, AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
E 55.2400 Foundations of Education: History of Education in the United States SYLLABUS Monday, 4:55-6:35 p.m. -- Room GCASL 261 James W. Fraser 635 East Building 239 Greene Street Telephone: 212-998-5413 Email:
[email protected] Office Hours: Monday at 4:00 p.m. and—preferably—by appointment Course Description This course in the History of Education in the United States is designed to give current and future professionals working in a wide range of education-related fields a good overview of the history of schooling, primarily K-12 schooling, as schools have developed, changed, been subjected to reform, and often resisted those reforms over the past three hundred years of U.S. history. We will also examine many debates among educators and among historians trying to understand this history. This is a history course and it is assumed that the study of history is engaging and worthwhile in its own right. It is also a course for professionals and every effort will be made to shape the course so that it will provide the strongest possible foundation for current and future professional practice. Finally the course will be designed so that participants with differing interests can shape the course—and their participation in it—to maximize the value of the course to their own intellectual interests and professional goals. Readings There are five primary texts needed for this course. All are available at the NYU Bookstore. Additional reading assignments will be handed out in class or online. • • • • •
James W. Fraser, The School in the United States: A Documentary History (New York: Routledge, 2010) Carl Kaestle, Pillars of the Republic (Hill & Wang, 1983) James D. Anderson, The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860–1935 (University of North Carolina Press, 1988) Tracy L. Steffes, School, Society, & State: A New Education to Govern Modern America, 1890-1940 (University of Chicago Press, 2012) Jonna Perrillo, Uncivil Rights: Teachers, Unions, and Race in the Battle for School Equality (University of Chicago Press, 2012)
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Course Outline January 28: Introductions and Overview: Schooling in the United States What interests do each of us bring to this course? What do each of us (students and instructor) hope to accomplish this semester? Review (and revision) of the course outline and semester assignments Overview lecture/discussion: A Quick Look at the History of Schooling in the United States, 1607–2013 Who was being educated? By whom? For what purposes?
February 4: The History of Colonial Schooling in the lands that would be the United States—The American Revolution and the Revolution in Schooling Overview lecture and discussion of colonial education—in many colonies Major issues in seventeenth and eighteenth century education Introduction to the debates among educational historians Discussion of Jefferson, Rush, Webster Views of education and the citizen to be created—Who was in and who was out? Laying the foundation for the Common School Era Major Question: As you read the two Jefferson readings, ask yourself: What exactly did Jefferson want American education to accomplish? To what extent is education in the United States today what Jefferson imagined? To what extent is it not? Assignment: Read Fraser, Chapter One and Chapter Two Please pay special attention to the Jefferson readings Begin work on local school history (see assignments) Also please come to class ready to make a final commitment to one of the four book groups (see assignments) February 11: The Great Debate—Mann and his Critics Focused discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of the common school ideal A debate between Horace Mann and his critics Lecture: Just who was Horace Mann and why is he such a big deal in education? Why and how did teaching become women’s work? Major Question: In preparation for class you will be asked to take the part of either Horace Mann or one of his many critics. Try hard to get inside the part you have been assigned. Why would you argue what you will argue? How would Mann respond? Who plays these different roles today? Assignment: Read Fraser, Chapter Three and Four Please pay special attention to Chapter Three and come to class prepared to debate the Mann vision and that of his critics. February 18: President’s Day, NYU Holiday. No Class.
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February 25: Schooling and the American Nation in the West, South, and Southwest/ Teaching Becomes Woman’s Work Discussion of the growth of the common school ideal, North, West, and South Presentation by the group reviewing Carl Kaestle’s Pillars of the Republic Major Question: To be provided by Kaestle group on February 11 Assignment: Everyone should come to class having finished Kaestle’s Pillars of the Republic and also review Fraser, Chapter Four. (Today’s class will be much more valuable for all participants, presenters and nonpresenters alike, if everyone has read Kaestle prior to class.) March 4: Understanding Change and Continuity in Educational History and in research on the History of American Education Comparing the local and national stories Case studies as examples and contradictions of themes What do historians say about all of this? Looking ahead: Our own research projects in the history of education Looking ahead at Reconstruction as an educational venture and postreconstruction educational debates within the African-American community. Major Question: As you look at the school whose history you have studied, what elements of Jefferson’s vision do you find? Mann’s vision? Beecher’s vision? Washington’s vision? Du Bois’ vision? The vision of any of their many critics? Assignment: Please finish your local school history (maximum 4 pages long, see assignments) and bring four hard copies to class for our use in these discussions and please read Fraser Chapter Five with special attention to the Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois readings. March 11: Reconstruction and the Rise of Segregated Education—Exclusion and Community Building Discussion of the current debates about segregated schools Presentation by the group reviewing James D. Anderson, The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860–1935 Major Question: To be provided by Anderson group on February 25 Assignment: Everyone should come to class having finished The Education of Blacks in the South and also review Fraser, Chapter Five. (Today’s class will be much more valuable for all participants, presenters and non-presenters alike, if everyone has read Anderson prior to class.) March 18—NYU Spring Break—No Class March 25: The Melting Pot … Or Not—The Goals and Costs of Inclusion and Expansion of Education Discussion of the European immigrant experience and schooling Discussion of the Asian immigrant experience and schooling Growing and continuing diversity—ethnic, linguistic, etc. Why did high schools suddenly become much more popular at the end of the 19th century?
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The schools of New York City as a case study The Indian boarding school as a case study The education of newly conquered peoples—Puerto Rico, The Philippians, Hawaii Major Questions: Prior to class please read Chapter Six and Seven ponder the topic from the perspective of one of the various immigrant groups. Please also ask yourself—How are the demographic changes of these years reflected in the specific school whose history I studied (whether or not the school existed at that time)? How are these schools responding to today’s immigrants? Assignment: Read Fraser, Chapter Six and Seven April 1: The Progressive Era, Part I Overview of the many faces of progressivism Who was a progressive? Were there any non-progressives? The growing number of critics—and their agendas Discussion of the debates and continuities within progressivism Major Question: As you read the various progressive voices in Chapter Seven, ask yourself—what did Storrow, Haley, Young, Strachan, Bigelow, Dewey, Terman, and Counts have in common that all are called progressives? Who are today’s Progressives? Who are today’s anti-progressives? Please come to class with at least one common belief and one clear difference among the turn-of-thetwentieth-century progressives in mind. Assignment: Read Fraser, Chapter Eight Begin reading of Tracy L. Steffes, School, Society, & State. April 8: Whatever happened to Progressive Education? The classroom reality vs. the national discourse The growing number of critics—and their agendas Comparison of 1950s and contemporary debates Presentation by the group reviewing Steffes, School, Society, & State. Major Question: To be provided by the Steffes group on March 25 Assignment: Everyone should come to class having finished Steffes’ School, Society, & State (Today’s class will be much more valuable for all participants, presenters and non-presenters alike, if everyone has read Steffes prior to class.) April 15: Multiple Voices—Cold War Schooling, School Integration, School Reform The Cold War and the Schools in Eisenhower’s America The many links of the Civil Rights Movement and the schools Brown v. Board of Education and school desegregation Continuing impact of all of these voices in contemporary schooling We will also take time tonight to focus on individual research projects, asking: • Where do you want to focus? • Where are you in your research?
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Major Question: What is going on in the United States that would produce, at almost the same time, voices as different as the Scott, Foresman Reader, Admiral Rickover, Herb Kohl, John Holt, Septima Clark, Kenneth Clark, and the majority of the U.S. Supreme Court? Assignment: Read Fraser, Chapters Nine and Ten. Also, Please submit a two-page proposal for your term paper/project by this date. April 22: The Transformation of the Student Body The Continuing Impact of the Civil Rights Movement on Schools Changing understandings of the importance of schooling Changing understandings of student rights Boys and Girls in school Bilingual Students Disabled Students Case Study: Federal responses to Civil Rights, The War on Poverty, the Elementary and Secondary Education Acts, and Public Law 94-142 Major Question: Try to imagine the school on which you focused your case study without the reforms of the 1960s including Title IX, regulations about bilingual education, and special education. How are the different voices discussed last week and this week reflected in the school whose history you studied? Assignment: Read Fraser, Chapter Eleven April 29: Civil Rights, Community Control, and Urban School Reform A look at the impact of the modern civil rights movement on education and the sometimes tense relationship between civil rights activists and teacher unions using the Oceanhill-Brownsville strike in New York City as a case study. Presentation by the group reviewing Jonna Perrillo, Uncivil Rights: Teachers, Unions, and Race in the Battle for School Equality (University of Chicago Press, 2012) Major Question: To be provided by Perrillo group on April 22 Assignment: Everyone should come to class having finished Teachers, Unions, and Race in the Battle for School Equity (Today’s class will be much more valuable for all participants, presenters and non-presenters alike, if everyone has read Perrillo prior to class.) May 6: From A Nation At Risk to No Child Left Behind The Standards movement and the critique of schooling Multiculturalism—friends, foes, and others Major Question: There are major debates in this week’s readings. Please look carefully at Bastian’s critique of A Nation at Risk, and Schlesinger’s critique of multicultural education, including Nieto. Where do you come down on each of these issues? Is there common ground or do these divides represent fundamental differences regarding the purposes of schooling in a democratic society. Finally, what do you make of the many different perspectives on No Child Left Behind Assignment: Read Fraser, Chapter Twelve and Thirteen
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May 13: Where Do We Go From Here—Educational Debates of the Twenty-First Century, Final Course Work, Wrap Up, and Evaluation Picking up on the No Child Left Behind Debate we will discuss the various interpretations of the 2001 legislation and ask—what comes next in terms of federal and state education policy and day to day life in schools. Using the lens described by Larry Cuban we will consider classroom practice and school-level administration in the era of the Common Core standards. Assignment: Re-read Fraser Chapter Thirteen and Perrillo, Conclusion
Final Exam or Term Paper—is due to
[email protected] electronically by 7:00 p.m. Monday, May 20. Any work not in by that deadline will result an in INC grade for the semester. Assignments and Grading This is a graduate seminar. Full and active participation in all aspects of the course is expected and taken very seriously including arriving on time and having done the readings so that the group deliberations can be most useful. (20% of the grade) Each participant will be asked to do a brief history of a specific school. This may be a school which you attended, where you are currently working, where your children attend, or simply one that seems interesting. It is essential that the school be reasonably accessible so that the historical study can be done quickly. The purpose of this history is to locate some of the larger trends in a specific institution. A final (not more than four page) version of the local school history is due in class on March 4 (20% of the grade). Please note—while the school histories are due on March 4 we will refer to them at subsequent points in the semester. Please bring them, and your documentary history, to class each week. Please read all of the assigned books by the dates indicated. Each book will be presented to the class by a working group of seminar participants. Each person in the class should select one of the four groups. You will then join the appropriate group and be responsible for leading the class (a 45 minute presentation) on the relevant day with a review of the book, the historical context to which it refers, and the major issues raised by the author. There will be modest planning time in class for these presentations but outside of class gatherings (perhaps by email) will be essential. (Class presentation 25% of the grade.) A written book review of each of the three books that you are not presenting is due by the next class meeting after the book is discussed. The book review must include a summary of the book and also your own opinion, positive, negative, or mixed, regarding the book. Book reviews should be informed by the class discussion but must, in the end, represent your own opinion of the work. Additional information about the reviews will be distributed in class. Maximum length for the reviews is 500 words (about two typed pages) and they must meet all of the criteria to be
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published in the Journal of American History. (The written reviews will count as 20% of the course grade.) At the end of the course you may elect to submit a term paper or other equivalent final course project. For those who want to use the course as a general survey, a final exam will be an option. We will discuss this assignment in detail during the first weeks of the course. You must decide a topic and the nature of your project by April 15 and should submit a two-page proposal in class on that date. (The final project will count as 40% of the final grade.) Please note: All of the above adds up to approximately 125%. This is intentional. It offers a general guide to the weight given to various elements of the course but also allows some considerable flexibility so that you can be evaluated based on your strongest work.
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