How does politics influence the establishment of educational (in)equity and the priorities of teaching and learning throughout the history of schooling in the United States?
conservative economics
"The Sarah Scaife Foundation, a wing of Richard Mellon Scaife's Conservative empire, and the Earhart Foundation, a longtime funder of conservative economics thinkers as well as college anti-affirmative action campaigns, supported university programs and research in 2003 to the tune of $2.5 million." (McLaren, 122)
Conservative think-tanks have historically influenced college campuses with their ideals by requesting certain topics are discussed in courses or conferences, in scholarship essays, and the type of research that can be conducted. However, we live in a growing media and technology based society. This plays an impact because there are so many ways to access 'quick news' or 'quick information' on opposing facts and details from conservative think-tanks, theres more quick opposition. Therefore, not as heavy of an influence as it was before.
"If you are a Boston College student and have attended any of the public lectures presented by BC's institute for the Study of Politics and Religion, did you know that those words you heard were paid for by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, one of the handful of conservative powerhouses..." (McLaren, 122)
The Gen Z generation is more prone to taking action on conservative politics affecting their campuses. Through social media, there has been a greater sense of unity across college/university campuses. For example, Israli-Palestinian Conflict has caused hundreds of protests across college campuses. This has caused universities across the nation to protest and camp out and demand their institutions certain requests such as removing faculty, removing funding from Israel and such. University students across the nation provide each other support by video conferencing and exchanging ideas, joining in, or simply reposting and providing information on the issue through social media.
classism
"Class as a social relation sets the condition of possibility for many other social antagonisms, such as racism and sexism, although it cannot be reduced to them." (McLaren, 125)
1635 - Latin Grammar Schools
Americanization/Assimilation
1879 - First Indian Boarding schools for Indian children
forced to speak English, wear Anglo-American clothing, and act according to U.S. values and culture -> forced to assimilate to mainstream culture
mission to "kill the Indian" and "save the man"
assimilation of American/mainstream culture
This was a school only designed for the sons of elite social classes who were destine for leadership positions in church, state, or the courts, therefore needed to learn the skills in this schools to be able to continue their higher education at Harvard.
The first Latin Grammar School shows how classism has played a role in our accessibility to education. Only those born into wealth were destined to high quality education, where they were prepared and set up to continue their educational journey at Harvard. This aligns more with the theme of power & privilege, but when thinking about wealthy students who go to college and have an abundance of connections through their families, to essentially get any job they want through the power of connections without going through the 'normal' job search process
Reserved for elite/wealthy boys who needed to learn Greek and Latin to gain admission into Harvard College
Irish Catholic Immigrants
Many poor Irish immigrants, who were catholic, were coming to New York seeking an education
Education in the United States was free and open to all, however, it was protestant education which used King James Bible
"Class society continually generates gender, racial, ethnic oppressions and the like, which take on a life of their own, as well as profoundly affecting the concrete relations of class itself." (McLaren, 125)
"...schools do not provide opportunities in the broad Western humanist tradition for self and social empowerment" (McLaren, 126)
power & privilege
"These scholars believe that the schools serve the interests of the wealthy and powerful while disconfirming the values and abilities of those students who are most disempowered in our society already: minorities, the poor, those with disabilities, and women." (McLaren, 126)
"Why, they ask, are schools funded on the basis of property taxes, which ensures that the children of the wealthy and privileged will inherit better schools in terms of resources, teacher salaries, clean buildings, and so forth?" (McLaren, 127)
"Choice schemes need to improve the conditions of low-performing schools, or else state funding will shrink because of declining enrollments, and students and teachers will transfer to other schools." (McLaren 128)
1690 - The New England Primer
1836 - McGuffey Readers widely used textbook in the nineteenth century. This textbook encouraged an allegiance to the country and taught the U.S. morals and values
1778/1779 Jefferson authors Bill 79: Every child was entitle to three years of free, public education, and education beyond that must have seemed private education. The advancement of education was only for those that came from affluent families.
Massachusetts Law of 1647 - the church played a heavy influenced on what was taught in schools; deep fear of Satan
1849 - Roberts v City of Boston. African Americans were paying taxes to fund public education, yet they were excluded from the educational system. They had to seek private education or go to the one school that they had access to attend, that was not accessible nor the same quality as the rest of the public schools
1829 - New England Asylum for the Blind. Made for people who were blind, they were taught to read, write, do math, and use their senses to get through the world. They did not have the privilege to get the same curriculum as other students who were not blind as the people running these institutions did not think they were capable of learning things like arithmetic because they were blind
National history was built upon the founding fathers so there was a sense of unification across the nation
The Black history that was taught in schools portrayed Black people in a very negative lense. Black people in textbooks all came from Africa and were people who were "ignorant from books and learning"
In the 1800s, the separation of schools by color deprived Black folks from their citizenship rights. The country only valued education for white people.
Early schools in the 1600s-1700s favored educational opportunities for elite men. They prioritized their education in reading, writing, and arithmetic advancement. The elite continued to be in the elite, as they would gain leadership roles as they get older.
1690 - The New England Primer is a perfect example of conservative economics, what was taught in schools was heavily influenced by the protestant church. There was a heavy belief that if you did not study the bible, you will be subject to punishment by Satan
The Massachusetts Law of 1647
1848 Experimental School for Teaching and Graining Idiotic Children
included people with mental disabilities, did not believe they were worthy for an equal education as other children
not given an education, instead used for 'research' purposes
Mann's vision of the 'great equalizer' was based on the unequal conditions of schools he visited.
no equal access to textbooks
teacher training widely varied from school to school, along with access to curriculum
school conditions widely varied. Some conditions had had chairs, not enough desks, poor roofs, etc.
Even though church and state are now separated, there are still private educational systems, mostly Catholic schools that still have an influence on education today (mostly for the wealthy)
anyone who was not a white-abled boy or girl, was not worthy of education
the church and state were intertwined
the church had a big influence on what was being taught in schools
Bible study was compulsory
. The book combined compulsory study of alphabet, with Bible reading
. There was a high emphases on the punishment of God, if this was not followed through.
sold over 5 million copies
Anyone who did not follow the protestant religion, did not truly have an option at accessing another form of education. The only education that was free and accessible included studying the protestant religion, that was strongly Anti-Catholic.
The Indian Boarding Schools are a perfect example of Americanization/Assimilation. The U.S. did not want Native Americans nor immigrants to bring their culture and their values, to what they believed to be the perfect 'American citizen' They did not want any other 'cultural influence'
This is similar to today's society, if you do not come from a wealthy family you must seek scholarship & grants for free/reduced cost of higher education and if you are middle class, it tends to be more challenging, although supports for middle-class families have started to increase for higher accessibility of higher education
Today, this continues to be the case, a child's zip code determines the quality of education they will get. Those that live in less affluent communities are in schools that are typically overcrowded, underfunded, high teacher turnover rates than those of more affluent kids
Today, there are a number of Historically Black Universities that have great academics and professors, but oftentimes are not credited with the same prestige as Ivy League Colleges