Chapter 4 Book Study

Page 52
Quote: "Taxpayers were reluctant to pay for education, and towns frequently reaffirmed parents' responsibility for educating their children. Yet, once schools were established, parents were quite willing to send their children to these schools, rather than teaching them at home."

I found this quote true. I see this in every day life. Parents love to send their children to school so they can either work or have the day to themselves. However, parents are also very touchy about the money they pay for teachers to spend a whole day with their child. With all of the politics going on about education, and teacher's losing their support from parents and the government, parents seem very willing to give up on education, but if they love sending their kids to school so much, then they need to be okay with the fact that without teachers, their child will spend the whole day with them instead. Their child's education will be up to them, regardless if the parents are working 40+ hour weeks. Some parents are great with homeschooling, but for a family where both parents work, there has to be a school available. Online schools and homeschooling aren't going to cut it and prepare the child for his or her successful future if the parents can't teach and a school isn't available. We need to invest in our schools.


Page 55
Quote: "This signals the shift that occurred in education, from a family responsibility to a state responsibility."

I found this quote meaningful because the shift did occur, from the family's responsibility for their children's education to the state/government. However, whether it was a beneficial shift is sketchy. There are several events that occurred because the government cared about education, such as education of women, of people of different races, and common standards. Unfortunately, there is a shift happening now where the government is trying to change up education so we can keep up with China's and Japan's education. Instead of helping education, however, this "help" to fix education in the United States is hurting teachers instead. There seems to be the idea that teachers don't work enough, and the idea that teachers are babysitters as well as the teachers. Before anything can be fixed in education, I think the state and government need to show the nation the importance of education and of teachers.


Page 56
Quote: "But as the system became more rigid, it ceased to evolve as the society around it continued to evolve, and so in recent years, it has become more and more out of sync with the demands of a continually evolving society."

This quote is completely true! We spent several decades perfecting schooling, making it more structured for the students, teachers, and parents. However, we seemed to forget that we were a growing nation, financially, technologically, and with our population/diversity. We never stopped growing, so it amazes me that the leaders of our great nation forgot to include this into education. We put so much emphasis on making sure everyone knew the importance of having an education, yet we didn't apply what was happening in the nation to our schools. It took several decades for African-Americans to be allowed into schools and to be integrated into our society, but there had been numerous racial issues dating way before the 1860s! It is like education is completely separate from the nation, yet such a big part of our nation at the same time. Even today, schools are just incorporating iPads into the classroom, but nationally, the Chromebook and Tablets such as the Nexus 7 are beginning to give the iPad a run for its money. Microsoft is still not available in some schools, but already, Microsoft is changing to keep up with the times! Education is a slower version of what happens in our society, kind of like the technology that is currently being used: slower versions of what was yesterday's new technology.