Reflecting on Part I of School: The History of American Public Education
The main takeaway that I received was that the development of public education took several centuries, but provides residents and citizens with the right to education to reach their fullest potential as educated humans. This process was shaped by prominent figures like Thomas Jefferson, Horace Mann, and Catharine Beecher. Public education during its early years in the United States was always changing sparked by conversations regarding, gender, race, and religion. American public education still is an ever-changing system, not entirely regarding gender, race, and religion like it once was, but is still in discussion on a deeper level surrounding the modern world today.
American Public Education: A Unifying & Dividing Institution
In the United States, the institution of public education both unifies and divides the nation. (Articles used for research are provided in parentheses)
Ways in which it unifies us:
- Civic Education: The origin of the public school was created to maintain a strong democracy as Thomas Jefferson said, "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never will be." By creating an American public schooling system, students could be taught about what it means to be an American citizen (or resident), learn about American history, and understand their civic responsibilities facilitating a sense of national identity. (Civic Education, Rightly Understood)
- Diversity & Exposure: The main purpose of American public education today is to allow all children access to a strong educational foundation. Horace Mann was very clear about this when fighting for public education in its early days. This means that it brings students together from diverse backgrounds, exposing them to different cultures and ways of life. This not only creates an equitable learning environment, but one that promotes understanding and empathy. (Benefits of Diversity in Schools)
- Common Curriculum: With public schools primarily being controlled by the state and local government, it sets a state-wide standard for curriculum in which all students are exposed. This educational framework allows for a general amount of shared knowledge over a large area.
Ways in which it divides us:
- Varying Resources: Although there may be a common curriculum state-wide, there is not a national-level unified curriculum. Several states have adopted Common Core, an initiative from 2010 that set a standard of education for grades K-12. But, since public schools are both state and locally-run, the access to education resources will vary from state to state and even from district to district. Schools and districts located in more affluent areas will potentially have access to better teacher quality, extracurricular activities, and infrastructure compared to a low-income district or school. (Unequal Opportunities Surrounding Resources)
- Political & Ideological Differences: When pooling kids together of all different backgrounds, schools will see differences regarding political views and ideologies. This leads to strong divides as personal beliefs vary on curriculum content, teaching methods, and educational policies, typically around sensitive topics such as race, religion, gender, and sexuality. (Partisan divides over K-12 education in 8 charts)
- Standardized Testing: Accountability measures such as standardized testing while intended to promote educational excellence, can exacerbate inequalities by disproportionately affecting marginalized students and schools. With the focus centered around a standardized test, the curriculum is narrowed and thus facilitates the culture of teaching for the test and not the absorption of knowledge. The result of this standardized test then only answers the question: who is a better test taker? Regardless of the purpose of the test and its effect, it still leads to a categorization of a person. (Standardized Testing Divides Us, Let's Unite)
How School Has Shaped My Life
All of how American public education divides us is what makes each one of our education experiences different and therefore shapes our lives. Education plays a big role in how each one of us approaches and exists in the modern-day world around us. For me, I experienced several different forms of education. For elementary I went to a Catholic school, in which religion and education were combined. For middle school, I went to a large public school, in which I learned that the educational standards set in my private school where I spent six years of my early education were way higher than public schools. For high school, I was entirely online, balancing a pre-professional dance training program during the day and cramming almost seven hours of work into the few hours left in my day. Currently for college, I am also continuing my education online while balancing a professional dancing job. All of these personal experiences have formed a unique journey with education for me. Looking back now, I recognize my strong elementary education set a personal standard for how I experience the world, leading me directly to the successes I have had.
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