Courtney Doussett Tinkering Toward Utopia How Schools Change Reforms Ways reforms can be judged 1 fidelity to the original design 2 effectiveness in meeting outcomes 3 longevity John Dewey ID: 603227
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Bev Bricker" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Bev BrickerCourtney Doussett
Tinkering Toward
UtopiaSlide2
How Schools Change Reforms
Ways reforms can be judged
1. fidelity to the original design
2. effectiveness in meeting outcomes3. longevitySlide3
John Dewey
……thought concepts should be evaluated on the basis of practical effects. Whether those effects are positive or
negative,
adjustments can and should be made to continue to improve. Aims and practices should have continuous interaction. Slide4
The Unintended Consequences….. Reforms gone bad
Home
Ec
was supposed to stop divorce…Girls did learn how to make white sauce….and tuna casseroleThe
Good High School
reform pushed larger schools.
Alienated, anonymous students and isolated staff
NCLB and previous attempts at testing students has resulted in teaching to the test, no higher order thinking skills taughtSlide5
When educators are faced with reforms created by elite policymakers they respond in several ways:
1. adapt innovations to the local circumstance
2. comply - often in minimal ways
3. sabotage the movement
If the reform is vague or unattainable, educators make it concrete and into what they know how to do. Slide6
Reforms Defined
Usually
reforms are
not clearly mandated policies but rather concepts to be evaluated on the basis of their practical effectsSlide7
Seeing a need……
Elizabeth Peabody thought there should be a place where children could be spontaneous, curious, and active. Slide8
1848 Kindergarten Introduced
Teachers were child gardeners
Preventative Charity (
child saving)Provided food, hygiene, parenting skills and moral development to underprivileged children. Teachers visited homes to support families
Hoped to solve the race problem
Tame the unruly children of the cities.Slide9
Kindergarten Assimilated into the Mainstream
Kindergarten evolved to be a part of the first-third grade continuum.
The mission became to redeem society through compensatory socialization of the misfits.
5 year-olds were prepared for first grade in a scientifically developmental way.Slide10
One Room School Houses
Inefficient
Unprofessional
Meager in curriculum offeringsMade the teacher be subordinate to community members as they were in control.Slide11
School Structure – 1858
Most schools in cities could have a student teacher ratio 200:1 with one or two assistants. Students recited their learning.Slide12
Graded School Reform
Specific classrooms
Promotion
RetentionAlienated studentsSlide13
1860 Graded Schools Introduced
By 1870 the idea spread to practically all cities.
More efficient
Easily reproduced method of educating large populations. Resulted in sorting of students from 'normal' and 'retarded'. Good for the students whose culture matched the requirements, but failed the minority students. Slide14
Differing Views on Educational Purpose
Traditional educators saw high school as a college preparatory institution.
Others believed the high school
should serve more as a people's school, offering a range of practical courses. Slide15
NEA - The Committee of Ten - 1892
recommended eight years of elementary education
four years of secondary education
It defined four different curricula for high school. The first two followed a classical trend: classical and Latin-scientific. The second two were more contemporary: modern language and English.
Courses that are now considered basic like foreign languages, mathematics, science, English and history were included in each curriculum.
The goal of high school was to prepare all students to do well in life, contributing to their own well-being and society's good, and to prepare some students for college. Slide16
1906
Carnegie Unit Introduced to standardize High School.
Meant to improve preparation for college, it instead created departments, test driven content, 50-55 min periods.
Eliot (Harvard) Wilson (Princeton) Hadley (Yale) Jordan (Stanford)Slide17
Timing of Reforms – Jr High School
1920 – 1930
Child labor laws enacted
Social promotion encouraged
Vocational Education funding money went to schools (Smith Hughes Act)
Laws requiring school attendance adopted
The Great Depression – adults needed work and took jobs from childrenSlide18
1916 Junior High Schools Introduced
Concerns over graduation rates:
K-5 100%
6-8 50% 9-10 10% This was proof that something was wrong with the middle grade instruction.Moved from developmental (elementary) to social, vocational, ethical and health needs of older students. Slide19
Jr. High School
Lingering Influence on the System
Team teaching
Guidance for studentsSpecialist teachers were moved to elementary upper gradesPathways for Studies were developed. Slide20
An empty shell of what it should have been
In 1922 Thomas Briggs proclaimed Jr. High schools nothing more than Potemkin villagesSlide21
Dalton Plan – 1920s
Rose as a counter to the Graded School Reform
Eliminated:
self-contained classroomsRecitations 50-55 minutes periods
Promotion
Retention. Slide22
The Dalton Plan
aiming to achieve a balance between each child's talents and the needs of the community
Ideas taken from Montessori and Dewey
Encouraged freedoms, responsibility, cooperation, time budgetingKept curriculum and textbooks Students worked on contracts
paced themselves in academic subjects
able to take art, music and P.E.Slide23
The Dalton Plan
1930 - 8600 secondary schools (2%) were Dalton Plan schools
By 1949 only 1 school was still practicing this philosophy – The school run by
Parkhurst herselfSlide24
1930 Social Promotion introduced
By 1940 it is mainstream practice
Graded schools had made it painfully obvious who was successful and who was not.
In order to move students through the system, it was simpler to move them with others
manufactured on the same date
. Slide25
Timing of Reforms – 8 Year Plan
Colleges had room as low college enrollment due to the Depression was threatening their livelihood.
There were no jobs so staying in school made more sense.
Democratic Administration (FDR) 1933-1945 allowing for less rigid educational reform ideas. Slide26
Eight Year Plan 1933-1941
An agreement to admit students to college who did not meet "normal" requirements was given.
Students were able to complete community service, artistic productions, create publications, participate in decision making.Slide27
Eight Year Plan 1933-1941
Integrated work program with student generated questions students drove the inquiry.
More individualization, student centered education.
They performed better in college academically and were more involved in social, artistic and political events than the traditionally educated students.The war and the depression ended and colleges no longer needed a boost to their enrollment.The program faded away……..Slide28
1970s
Vietnam War Ending
Scramble to keep federal funds
Conservative Tone to the CountryThe high school dropout rate declined steadily in the years prior to 1973.Average SAT scores in USA have declined since 1967
Backlash from the 1960s…..
Teach the basics……Raise Student Scores
Business Reformers
New management systems
Schools as a marketplace
Planning, budgeting, competition, incentives Slide29
Corporations Become Educators
The Office of Economic Development under Pres. Nixon provided federal dollars to 31 companies to raise student achievement.
No pay if students did not achieve.
Behavioral Learning Centers - Dorsett Educational SystemBehavioral Research Labs Slide30
1980-1990s
A Nation At Risk
Promoted excellence
‘lazy students’
‘incompetent teachers’
Excellence Cannot Be Coerced
Restructuring to mirror the business world
“Assume the schools we have inherited so not exist. Do not be content with incremental change.”
-
New American School Development Corporation (NASDC) Slide31
The Constants in Education
Students
and
TeachersSlide32
Challenges to the Teaching Profession
Single salary schedule
1920 Unions fought to create them
Intrinsic equality of all good teachingMerit PayFought to defeat this in 1950, 1960, 1980
Previous support also came form other unions (UAW)
If enacted could curtail collaboration as competition moves in
Career Ladders
To continue to provide opportunities for educators who do not wan tot go into administrationSlide33
The Influence of a Teacher
Challenging students
Making subjects exciting
Listening when you need someone to talk toWhat motivates teachers?……………seeing their students grow intellectually and mature as persons. Slide34
Structuring Reforms for Educator Acceptance
Reforms should make encounters between students and teachers more common.
The aim of reform is to improve learning – rich intellectual, civic and social development.
Teachers embrace reforms they saw as useful, interesting incorporating them into their daily routines – there must be adaptability to local circumstance.