History of Curriculum in America, Part II (A)

Greene, K. (2010, July 21). History of Curriculum in America, Part II_Movie A [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN63cUkeLzQ&feature=relmfu.

Chole’ Tiscornia 12/05/12

Summary:

(1919-1930's) Picking up from where Greene leaves off in History of Curriculum, Part I, (see my previous post), Greene reminds us that when soldiers came home from WWI they had a new sense of being an American and had stories to share. New interest groups like Irish Americans, Italian Americans, and others wanted a place in history, too. Also about this time, high school counselors started talking kids out of finishing high school since it was really for college bound students. They were encouraged to look at other alternatives because the schools had too many students who were not performing well.

The 1920’s brought us the Scopes Monkey Trials where evolutionary theory was ejected from school classrooms and creationism, which is true to the Puritan mantra, would still be taught. In 1926, the first SAT was initiated. It was used initially as a means to give out scholarships, but was quickly picked up to make predictions about students’ abilities to succeed in college. In 1928, Dewy became an international face of education. He was and is considered the Father of Pragmatism, but really he was working off the work of William James. Pragmatism relates to the mind as being an instrument for realizing purpose. Ideas are plastic and adaptable conceptual tools of one’s mind. Dewey believed in exploring, problem solving, and involvement with purpose. Ideas like thinking rather than memorizing, and learning by doing were part of his theories. School is not separate from the world, but part of it. He also was anti-authoritarian, where knowledge was delivered, rather than understood. Other terms like experiential education, outcomes based education, and education as a purpose for each individual regardless of their college intentions are linked to Dewey.

 

The 1930’s brought the Great Depression and the population became even more mobile as they headed West and other places looking for jobs. The WPA brought artists and storytellers into schools. An important student of what was then considered our failing schools was something called The 8 Year Study, where the first charter schools were started and evaluated. At this time, the Dick and Jane Basal Readers emerged. Whole word reading, and standards meant to keep the country cohesive were beginning to emerge.

 

Evaluation:

My thoughts on this part are similar to my previous evaluation on the first video of the series. It was interesting to learn just when and why certain ideas emerged and what prompted changes in curricula. Understanding what is going on in the country help me to better understand where we are at today.

 

History of Curriculum, Part II (A)