Education in the 20th Century

Here's where the fun begins! For each decade, there is a link for you to follow and answer a series of questions. You may work with a partner or you may work alone.

Bonus points if you can find out the name of the actress in the photo above! She sang in Big Bands in the 1940's and became an extremely popular actress in the '50's and '60's. The photo above is from a film she starred in with an actor who became famous in another movie with the line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!"

#1:  Late 1800's-Early 1900's

~ Education at the beginning of the century was based on the idea of "Progressivism". Use this link to answer the following questions:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awlhtml/awlscho.html

a. What is a Progressive education?
b. What influenced American education at the turn of the century?
c. If your computer allows it, click on any of the pictures to watch a video of students at this time. What do you notice? What stands out to you?

~ The Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act impacted the development of higher education.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morrill_Land-Grant_Colleges_Act

d. What is the Morrill Act?
e. What determined how a state got the land?
f. How did this act help the south and the black community?
g. Follow the links and determine how many historically black colleges/universities there are today

~The McGuffey Reader was the textbook that succeeded the New England Primer.

http://www.mcguffeyreaders.com/1836_original.htm

h. How many books are in the McGuffey series?
i. How many copies were sold between by 1920?
j. Since 1961, what is the rate of sale for the McGuffey Reader?
k. Scroll down to the bottom of this page and click on any of the links titled "Lesson" to read a page from a McGuffey reader. What do you notice?

~ John Dewey is probably one of the most influential figures in modern education. His theories and ideas about education are still in use today.

http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/dewey/educ.html

l. How did Dewey view schools at the turn of the century?
m. What did he want schools to do for students?
n. In addition to believing students should participate in their learning, what did he believe in for teachers?


#2: The 1930's and the Great Depression

~ The reforms and improvements made in American education through the 1920's suddenly came to a halt with the Great Depression.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/549487/education_during_the_great_depression.html?cat=37

a. Explain some of the reasons students dropped out of school at this time.
b. How many students were out of school in 1933?
c. What was it like to be a teacher at this time?
d. What is a "progressive classroom"?
e. How was school at this time no different from school in the 1700 or 1800's?

~"Dick and Jane" readers were an innovative approach to teaching children to read. They differed from the McGuffey Reader by using pictures to reinforce understanding of the words.

http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/archive/dickandjane.html

f. Approximately how many children learned to read with Dick and Jane?
g. When did these readers first appear?
h. By the 1950's, what percentage of first-graders were learning to read with these readers?
i. What method do these books use to teach reading?

http://faculty.valpo.edu/bflak/dickjane/index.html

j. Click on "Early Dick and Jane". How did the Dick and Jane readers of the 1930's present an ideal life for children?
k. Look through the readers from the various decades. What kinds of things do you notice as time goes on?

#3: The 1940's & 50's:

~ When veterans returned from serving in World War II, they found a changed society. Returning servicemen could have caused a drain on the nation's economy, flooding the economy with millions of workers and not enough jobs for everyone. The GI Bill helped many of them achieve the "American Dream". 

http://www.loti.com/fifties_history/The_GI_Bill.html

a.  What are the two main provisions of the GI Bill?
b. When was the bill signed and who signed it?
c. How did the GI Bill help the housing shortage?
d. How did the GI Bill help eliminate socioeconomic divisions?

~ While life in the 1950's was a prosperous and happy time for most, it was still difficult for Black-Americans. You are familiar with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka which elminiated segregation in schools and made "separate, but equal" illegal and unconstitutional. This link takes you to reprints of articles that Topeka Capital-Journal newspaper published between 1951 and 1956 on the topic of segragation.

http://cjonline.com/indepth/brown/archives/

e. Read "Editorial: Emancipation Proclamation". What does the general attitude toward integration seem to be like in Topeka at this time?
f. Read "South Quick to Protest School Ruling". Summarize the article -- what is the general attitude of the southern states? What do they think will happen to public schools?

~ The 1950's also saw the advent of the Cold War. The United States worried that the Soviet Union would launch nuclear weapons against them and vice versa. Both sides worked hard to prove they were superior in every way. The launch of Sputnik in 1957 shattered the United State's belief that we were winning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Education_Act

g. What is "Sputnik"?
h. Why did the launch of Sputnik alarm the U.S.?
i. What did the National Defense Education Act do?
j. Why was it controversial?
k. Why did some universities refuse to accept funds under this act?

~The Cold War also lead to some interesting lessons in surviving a nuclear attack. Watch the "Duck and Cover" video and write a reaction. This is a real video shown to children in the early 1950's!

http://www.archive.org/details/gov.ntis.ava11109vnb1

#4: The 1960's-70's

~ The 60's saw major upheavals in society -- from the assassination of John F. Kennedy to the Civil Right Movement leading to the 80's and beyond.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5388062_history-head-start-programs.html

a. Why did Lyndon B. Johnson create Head Start?
b. What was the purpose of Head Start?
c. What favorite children's show came from the Head Start?

~The Civil Rights Movement that ushered out the 60's lead to women demanding equal rights as well. The landmark law in this area is Title IX.

http://www.titleix.info/History/History-Overview.aspx

d. What does Title IX guarantee?
e. What 10 areas does Title IX cover?
f. What is Title IX most used for?

~ The 1970's also saw greater protection of the rights of children with disabilities. You should remember the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

http://public.findlaw.com/bookshelf-disability-rights-laws/anchor65310.html

g. When was IDEA passed?
h. What does IDEA guarantee?


#5: The 1980's-2000's

~The 1980's saw less national emphasis on education. Presidents Reagan and Bush believed that the federal government should have a reduced role in education. Consumerism and spending were also at an all-time high. The gap between the rich and the poor got wider and wider. A report called, "A Nation at Risk" believed American education was deteriorating we were falling behind the rest of the world.

http://www.edweek.org/rc/issues/a-nation-at-risk/

a. What is the most famous line in "A Nation at Risk"?
b. This report recommended students have a foundation in the "five new basics". What are these five basics?
c. What were some of the recommendations for teachers? (Name at least 3)
d. In the 27 years since the report, has academic achievement improved significantly?

~Christa McAuliffe was probably one of the best known teachers in the country in the early 1980's.

http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_christa_mcauliffe.htm

e. Why?
f. What was Christa supposed to do for NASA?
g. What happened to the space shuttle Challenger?

Watch the disaster here: http://www.archive.org/details/ChallengerDisaster


~ Because of "A Nation at Risk", many people wanted the education system to adopt a "back to basics movement." Scroll down to "Curriculum Reform in the 1980's and 1990's":

http://college.cengage.com/education/ryan_cooper/twct/10e/students/articles/ch04.html

h. What did proponents of "back-to-basics" want more emphasis on?
i. In addition to content, what did they want schools to teach? Why?
j. What did they want from teachers?


~ In the mid-90's, schools were creating computer labs and wiring schools for the Internet. Having the internet was a big deal to schools.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetDay

k. What is Net Day?
l. When was the first official Net Day?
m. Why is YV significant to Net Day?



~ In the mid-90's, further legislation was passed to help students do better academically. "Goals 2000" is one such law.

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/stw/sw0goals.htm

n. What does Goals 2000 establish?
o. Why is it called "Goals 2000"?
p. How many goals are included in this law?
q. Name 2 of them.

~ "No Child Left Behind" is considered one of the most comprehensive education laws in decades.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/nochild/nclb.html

r. Who signed this law and when?
s. What is law a revision of?
t. Unlike President Reagan and Bush's belief about the federal government's role in education, how does this change this role?
u. What three areas is there increased emphasis?