Blog Assignment Part 2 - February 18

 

America has created an educational system that has helped its society and nation. Throughout Part Two of, School: The Story of American Education, we are introduced to an educated standard of schooling in America. The author of this section, Diane Ravitch, discusses the importance of education to immigrant communities and how they seized educational opportunities to benefit their futures. There was an understanding between all people in America that education was the future of the nation. Although this was an established mindset, there were countless difficulties keeping this mentality. Educating all types of children was a task easier spoken than exercised, which created fluctuations in the educational system. Education in America was a benefit and loss to different types of students by reason of their circumstances and opportunities. 

All types of students in the American nation had an accessed version of schooling in their community. Regardless of what type of version they had access to, they learned how to integrate themselves into their education. Different types of students learned to adjust to their surroundings, which included the type of education they received. On a positive note, Ravitch discusses how in the 20th century, nearly all children attended elementary school. In the mid 20th century, 80% of teenagers were also enrolled in high school (Ravitch, 2002). With a surplus of students in the educational system, countless other problems arose. Such as, underpaid teachers and a newly created division of selected teaching to students. This division of learning was aimed towards students that had problems with their schooling. According to Ravitch, “When children were unable to keep with their schooling, different methods of teachings were exercised for them if they were expected to become industrial and commercial workers.” In other words, if some students were not intellectual, they were held to a limited and lower-class education.  

After World War I, group intelligence pummeled. To establish a concise teaching foundation, IQ tests were integrated into schools. With this new testing system, Ravitch mentions how it was a new tool used for detecting a student’s intelligence. These tests helped educated officials curate a system that would divide student learning in schools. It isolated intellectual students from those that were not as structured in their studies. Intelligence tests “helped” schools create this division that was ruled efficient until officials realized how irrational a system it really is. Critics of the tests, William Chandler Bagley and Walter Lippmann alluded that the test would limit a student’s current and future educational opportunities (Ravitch, 2002). Unfortunately, the test became a staple to the educational system. This caused other issues to arise, much like student limitation caused by their circumstances. 

 

School benefited the students that were deemed intellectual in their studies. For less fortunate students, they received limited education based on their academic understanding. Ravitch explains that private schools were created to experiment with tests that tested a student’s intelligence. Based on a test score, your future in education was stamped by school “officials”. Personally, I believe this system is one of the worst concepts the educational system has implemented. It discourages student growth in their schooling for a better future. Negative results began to continue since creating a barrier for student learning discouraged those students that struggled with their learning. Based on a prior group meeting, my group and I discussed that IQ tests caused an early onset destruction of learning that created missed opportunities for struggling students (that believed they could not have a strong future based on their test scores). 

Students with different futures and learning styles adapted to their educational learning environment. Depending on what student you were, you had different styles of learning curated for you. Especially after a standardized form of learning was generated like the intelligence test. This testing created a division amongst students in their schooling. Ravitch iterated how this system of schooling was not ideal and I can also agree with this. Unfortunately, in America schools benefited those that were deemed “intellectual” from the test. For struggling students, they received a different version of learning that limited their future opportunities. 

 

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