Daisy Bates was the president of the NAACP Arkansas chapter in 1957 and was also the editor of a newspaper in Little Rock, Arkansas. In her book The Long Shadow of Little Rock, she describes the events from her point of view of the Little Rock 9 entering the previously all white Central High School (Fraser 284). She explains how dazed she was as she realized integration of schools would not be as simple as she had original thought. Once she found out that Governor Faubus had ordered the National Guard to prevent the black children from entering the school, she called the parents of the children, police, and even ministers to do everything in their power to protect the children as they walked into the school. Bates also shares Elizabeth Eckford’s story, the African American girl who was mobbed after not being notified on where to meet the others (including Bates). I believe Bates shares this story in her book, because it demonstrates the cruelty of most of the white people in Arkansas, who screamed things like “Lynch her” at a young black girl who just wanted to go to school. In addition to the hate the children received outside of school, they endured continual harassment by the white children enrolled at the school. When other white children felt sympathy towards the 9 black children, they were also bullied and harassed (Urban 272). Eventually, one of the 9 students had to withdrawal because the intimidation and harassment had become too intense. By sharing these children’s stories, Bates was able to illustrate the hatred of some southerners and in addition, the need for federal intervention. Daisy Bates was ultimately focused on the integration of schools and their refusal to do such in an acceptable manner, and in describing the process was able to show the difficulties and hardships that came along with such integration.
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In John Holt's “How Children Fail”, he talks about his personal experience as a teacher and how teachers impact education. His description of why children fail, or should really be why schools fail children, discusses changes that need to be made in the American education system. Kohl talked about how it was ultimately the adults or educators that can hinder a child's education in the classroom. I believe that Holt represents this generation as his thoughts and beliefs are almost spot on to what current teachers and educators think and believe today. In the early 1900's, Holt talked about how "we", or the adults, are just not honest with the children. School was not the happy place that the adults made it out to be. "We require them to take part in the fiction that school is a wonderful place and that they love every minute of it" (Fraser 266). This was not truthfully the case because not every child enjoyed attending school, as relates to today. The main point Holt was trying to get across is that if the adults are not honest with children, they won't be honest with them either. He states, "The law says you have to go to school; it does not say you have to like it, and it doesn't say you have to like me either" (Fraser 266). By treating school for how it is will actually make school more bearable for many children. Being serious about it lets students know that there is a time and a place, school means work. Multiple of schools during the time had the idea that "it is the duty of schools, to get as much of this essential knowledge as possible into the minds of the children" (Fraser 266). These ideas, however, are ridiculous because this will make the child uninterested and he or she will throw this information away in the future. Holt states, "This is why children quickly forget. If it is no use or interest to them; they do not want it, or expect to remember it. The only difference between bad and good students in this respect is the bad students forget right away, while the good students are careful to wait until after the exam"). (Urban 224) Schools should be a place where children learn what they want to learn the most, instead of being the adults deciding what they should ought to know. In my high school we had a lot of vocational classes, and last year I got to teach in a first grade classroom! As there are so many other options for welding, agriculture, CNA courses, culinary, and even a firefighting course! Now, I do think that those regular classes are necessary; they challenge you and teach you basics that anyone looking to college will need, but they are definitely not enjoyable for some.
James Jackson Storrow made many changes to the school system in the twentieth century. he believed that "schools could benefit from a dose of business sense" (Fraser 207). Because of this, Storrow hired chief executive officers for each school which almost made the schools more into a business with a dominant leader. If Storrow was to speak with Lewis Terman and John Dewey, he would be sure to emphasize how important it is that politics be removed from the school system. I believe that Dewey and Storrow would agree more with each other because they both want to make sure school is student-based and that each child gets the most out of it. Storrow and Terman would highly disagree with each other because Terman's entire education system is based off of standardized tests through the government. Lewis M. Terman was a big advocate for the testing of children in a standardized form. He believed that "educational testing is the key to understanding students and improving their education" (Fraser 227). Terman brought forward standardized test that included ACT, SAT, and Stanford-Binet-intelligence tests. Because these tests have to go through the government Storrow and Terman would disagree about the way that the educational system is run, and that this gives power. I also believe that Terman and Dewey would disagree with one another because Dewey wants a child-centered learning system and having standardized tests puts that idea right out the window. They said that John Dewey was "a voice for educational improvement through a teaching force empowered by unionism" (Urban 200). Dewey was a large advocate for learning specific fields of studies because he wanted the students to be getting the most out of their education and make sure they become better, more rounded members of society. He believe children should find what they want to pursue in society and be educated mostly in that so they are able to pursue it, sometimes even in vocational school settings.
I really enjoyed reading about Mary Antin, the your Russian Jewish immigrant. I found it fascinating how they just started her and the rest of the "green" students in the youngest classroom with toddlers until they were sufficient enough to move up. I thought it was amazing how their teachers, especially Mrs. Nixon, were so patient and understanding and encouraging. That's exactly how I would want to react as a teacher. I' sure it must have been difficult learning a whole new language as an immigrant in a brand new education system, but Mary seemed to do it with ease. The only thing that she struggled with was the pronunciation of some sounds and understanding the meaning of mathematical terms. (Fraser 145-149) The public was pretty negative on immigrants coming to schools. The author, Cubberley, said that immigrants were unmotivated and lacked in initiative. He also said that there was too many of them. However, those who were placed in elementary schools of age made similar progress to those who were non immigrants. There were differences from city to city, as different groups of people settled in different places, so it was hard to make a judgement as a whole. Immigrants definitely were outsiders, but had an easier time than most other minorities. (Urban, 181-182) I would accept these students with open arms, of course. I would have to make a lot of adjustments to my lesson plans, and really break down everything being taught. I may even have to take a step bac to explain things in detail, so that they could get the full understanding. I would need to work one-on-one with these students to catch them up to where their non-immigrant classmates were at.
High schools were different depending on the location in which they developed. For instance, Boston developed the first high school for boys who would be merchants and craftsmen, it was not intended for them to advance to college. (Urban 157) In fact, as a whole, high schools were not made for the purpose of sending children to college. They were good for economy, as families who could, would keep their children in school. (Fraser 114) Cities definitely developed high schools first and they spread rapidly during pre-civil war times. A high school was then developed in Philadelphia that had a two year course for craftsmen and a course for those who were college bound. These were unique because the courses would prepare children for whatever they wanted to do prior. (Urban 159) They soon did realize however, that there was a huge advantage to having an educational standard, and more workers were coming out of school prepared to handle the workforce more than ever before. Schooling became normalized, and even required. Attendance at a school soon became mandatory, and America began to advance quicker than ever (Fraser 116,117) Girls also attended high school for the academic stimulation, and it prepared them to be teachers. Most were happy with the opportunity and for the men, this didn't upset the hierarchy of the workforce. However, the battle for women's rights was coming as more and more women were educated. This raised their standards for society and themselves. (Urban 160) In my opinion, David Snedden won the debate for me. I think that job preparation no matter your field is so important, and everyone can always learn more. I think that all workers should be prepared for the hazards, emergency situations, basic and special tasks, and the ever changing cycle of every job. (Fraser 162)
There were many draws for young women to move westward. The adventure of being on your own and the purpose that teaching gave women was a major draw that was attractive to many young, single girls. All of these new teachers were so dedicated and willing to take on the fear of the unknown. Letters that teachers sent spoke of their triumphs as well as the hardships that they faced, many talked about how passionate they were in seeing students succeed, and that after a while, their new placements felt like home. (Fraser, pg 69-70) States created their own trainings and requirements for schools, along with a set of rules. They didn't want the woman to be married as they thought it would be a distraction and it was best they be at home. This didn't disinterest the women involved however, and more kept coming. People were excited for the first bit of independence offered. Because of this, schools popped up everywhere, and the Americanization of places westward became a reality. (Urban, 94) I think the most important reason that women moved west was the feeling of purpose. This was a huge first step to take for women's rights, and this meant that more women would be educated. I think the fact that the people who took it on were so dedicated and excited has even carried into today, and I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. The McGuffey reader was the book of choice because it challenged the reader with every new volume that it shown. They were taught pronunciation and various ways letters can be shown. I think it was really good for the time, but now you would want the children to understand why, and I don't think that educators did that. There's so much more to english and grammar than just memorization and copying.
Frederick Douglass came to really value literacy over time. After living with Mr. and Mrs. Auld, and recognizing how white men thought that the power to read would make black men too capable and not easy to control, he craved the knowledge. (Fraser, pg 79) Then, once he figured out what being an abolitionist meant, he realized how much power that reading and writing would give him and he pushed himself even harder to learn. (Fraser, pg 82) Freed men realized that their true freedom and emancipation would come when everyone was educated . When educated people could work together, that would be when people could really hold their destiny in their hands.(Urban pg 124). I think that this makes sense even for now, there have been studies where if people are not taught language and how to read, it makes it so difficult to participate in society, especially now when everything in the media is talked about and published to read.
There were many draws for young women to move westward. The adventure of being on your own and the purpose that teaching gave women was a major draw. All of these new teachers were so dedicated and willing to take on the fear of the unknown.
Horace Mann had a lot of new proposals through his work that he did. Mann was one of the biggest advocators for the common school. These were not meant to be schools that were for common people, but schools that were common for all. He also was in agreement that there should be a statewide regulation of rules, not just school districts governing themselves. The group of people against him were the localists, and they disagreed with giving the state too much power. (Fraser 35, 36) Also, they did not want their taxes to go towards the funding of other children, especially when they were more than capable of providing for their own children. These were usually the people with a lot of property. However Mann saw property as not something to be hoarded, but that was for the benefit of all. Essentially, if people could afford a lot of land, they could afford to give back to the community as well. He wanted to create a working system that benefitted the children. (Urban 91) He was a good businessman, and he knew how to talk to people, it actually took him a long time before he knew much about education of all. But he convinced the wealthy people and the Catholics on his plan within time. People were upset that he didn't want a huge emphasis on religion. I think it was really cool that he actually wanted the schools to be the uniting factor for children. (Fraser 51) Mann wanted education, the same education, for everyone. Thats why he wanted one governing body, with similar structure for school, with the same general ideas being taught, and inclusion for all.
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AuthorI am a current student at Bradley University. Archives
November 2020
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