The History of Curriculum in America, Part II (B)

Greene, K. (2009, Apr. 4). The History of Curriculum in America, Part II (B) [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6qAzQ95hGQ

Chole' Tiscornia

12/5/12

 

(1940’s - 1970’s) In this third video in the series of four, Greene starts us off in the 1940’s. This is also the time of WWII. There were a lot of school drop-outs; the depression was still in full swing, too. More women started to move into more advanced coursework. Additionally, the GI Bill allowed for even more people to go on to college. This meant more teachers! Soon after, we experienced a post-war baby-boom. Even more teachers were needed, as well as materials. Education started to cost more as a result. Also along this time people were developing shared languages as TV brought more people together. Next came the Red Scare and that meant that teachers had to be very careful what they said in class, and strict standards were once again enforced to balance on the tightrope. Questioning was not encouraged. Also in 1957, SPUTNIK was launched and Americans became worried they were falling behind so a return to the basics was implemented so we could develop more rocket scientists.

The 60’s brought more of the same as the Space Race was in full swing. However, JFK became President and along with him and his wife, they brought Arts into society and schools followed. Art started to become cool again. It was okay to explore, invent, be different, and question. Dick and Jane finally got a black friend. Also in the 60’s came the Cuban Missile Crisis and Cuban families began migrating to Miami. Laws were signed by LBJ such as The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as a way to fight a war on poverty which was growing faster. This act meant to bring teachers to low-income schools. Another act, The Higher Education Act of 1965 increased federal funding to higher education, provided scholarships, and student loans. It also established a National Teachers Corps.

The 70’s brought unintentional segregation that was met with mandatory bussing to better integrate children in schools. This started the White Flight – when many whites moved out to the suburbs where busing was not an issue, and if they did stay in the cities – into private schools.

For a while, teachers were teaching the metric system, but it did not work as our culture does not use it, and even teachers didn’t understand it. In 1977 a report came out showing that the nation had declining SAT Scores. This led the curricula back to the basics once again. The metric system went out the door and an emphasis was increased once again on the survival subject, the three R’s.

Evaluation:

This third video lecture in the series started to make the history of curriculum in American schools make more sense. I’ve always wondered why I learned some subjects, while my children have been taught others. I have a better sense of why this happens – reports – studies – economic worries – national security concerns – etc. Not enough of the impetus in changes to our system is about the system itself. It’s like being a math major in college and people want you to have excellent writing skills. It is not a problem with the schools or the intelligence of the student; it is just what they have concentrated on. When people use the phrase, our schools are failing our children, I feel these statements are based on selective samplings and not a true indication of how far a child might have come in their learning process – which should be celebrated, not denigrated.

History of Curriculum in America, Part II (B)