Discuss how the concept of education is evolving in response to changing social needs and demands
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More than a century ago, Emile Durkheim rejected the idea that education could be the force to transform society and resolve social ills. Instead, Durkheim concluded that education “can be reformed only if society itself is reformed.” He argued that education “is only the image and reflection of society. It imitates and reproduces the latter…it does not create it” (Durkheim, 1897/1951: 372-373).
1.2 Most mainstream proposals for improving education in the United States assume that our society is fundamentally sound, but that for some reason, our schools are failing. Different critics target different villains: poor quality teachers, pampered, disruptive or ill-prepared students, the culture of their families, unions, bureaucrats, university schools of education, tests that are too easy, or inadequate curriculum. But if Durkheim was correct, a society has the school system it deserves. Denouncing the poor quality of education is like blaming a mirror because you do not like your reflection.
1.3 The first step in improving education is to recognize that the problems plaguing our schools are rooted in the way our society is organized. We live in a competitive economy where businesses and individuals continually seek advantage and higher profits, and where people on the bottom rung of the economic ladder are stigmatized as failures and blamed for their condition. Our culture glorifiesviolence in sports, movies, video games, and on evening news broadcasts that celebrate the death of others through hygienic strategic bombings. It is a society where no one feels obligated to pay taxes for the broader social good and where welfare “reform” means denying benefits to children if their parents cannot find work; a society that promotes the need for instant gratification and uses youthful alienation to sell products; a society where those who do not fit in are shunned (Bowles & Gintis, 1976).
1.4 Under the circumstances, it is not surprising that our school system is designed to sort children out and leave many uneducated. To legitimize the way our society is organized, its schools teach competitive behavior and social inequality as if they were fundamental law of nature. Just as with the economy, some are rewarded in school, others are punished, and both groups are taught that rewards and punishment are the result of their own efforts (Kohn, 1999).
1.5 As a teacher educator and a public high school social studies teacher, we try to avoid being overwhelmed by pessimism during debates over school reform. Even though we believe that education will not be changed in isolation, we recognize that efforts to improve schools can be part of a long term struggle to create a more equitable society in the United States. We also believe that students, especially high school students, must be part of this struggle and that an important part of our job as teachers is to help prepare them to participate as active citizens in a democratic society.
1.6 Should teachers encourage high school students to work for social change? Thomas Jefferson believed that, in a democratic society, teachers do not really have a choice. According to Jefferson, freedom and republican government rest on two basic principles: “the diffusion of knowledge among the people” and the idea that “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” Jefferson supported the right to rebel because he recognized that the world was constantly changing. The crucial question was not whether it would change, but the direction of change. Education was essential so that ordinary citizens could participate in this process, defending and enhancing their liberties.
1.7 In the United States, there has frequently been a close connection between advocacy for mass public education and demands for expanding democracy, social equity, and political reform. For example, in the mid-19th century, Horace Mann championed public education because he believed that the success of the country depended on “intelligence and virtue in the masses of the people.” He argued that, “If we do not prepare children to become good citizen...then our republic must go down to destruction” (The New York Times, 1953).
1.2 Most mainstream proposals for improving education in the United States assume that our society is fundamentally sound, but that for some reason, our schools are failing. Different critics target different villains: poor quality teachers, pampered, disruptive or ill-prepared students, the culture of their families, unions, bureaucrats, university schools of education, tests that are too easy, or inadequate curriculum. But if Durkheim was correct, a society has the school system it deserves. Denouncing the poor quality of education is like blaming a mirror because you do not like your reflection.
1.3 The first step in improving education is to recognize that the problems plaguing our schools are rooted in the way our society is organized. We live in a competitive economy where businesses and individuals continually seek advantage and higher profits, and where people on the bottom rung of the economic ladder are stigmatized as failures and blamed for their condition. Our culture glorifiesviolence in sports, movies, video games, and on evening news broadcasts that celebrate the death of others through hygienic strategic bombings. It is a society where no one feels obligated to pay taxes for the broader social good and where welfare “reform” means denying benefits to children if their parents cannot find work; a society that promotes the need for instant gratification and uses youthful alienation to sell products; a society where those who do not fit in are shunned (Bowles & Gintis, 1976).
1.4 Under the circumstances, it is not surprising that our school system is designed to sort children out and leave many uneducated. To legitimize the way our society is organized, its schools teach competitive behavior and social inequality as if they were fundamental law of nature. Just as with the economy, some are rewarded in school, others are punished, and both groups are taught that rewards and punishment are the result of their own efforts (Kohn, 1999).
1.5 As a teacher educator and a public high school social studies teacher, we try to avoid being overwhelmed by pessimism during debates over school reform. Even though we believe that education will not be changed in isolation, we recognize that efforts to improve schools can be part of a long term struggle to create a more equitable society in the United States. We also believe that students, especially high school students, must be part of this struggle and that an important part of our job as teachers is to help prepare them to participate as active citizens in a democratic society.
1.6 Should teachers encourage high school students to work for social change? Thomas Jefferson believed that, in a democratic society, teachers do not really have a choice. According to Jefferson, freedom and republican government rest on two basic principles: “the diffusion of knowledge among the people” and the idea that “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” Jefferson supported the right to rebel because he recognized that the world was constantly changing. The crucial question was not whether it would change, but the direction of change. Education was essential so that ordinary citizens could participate in this process, defending and enhancing their liberties.
1.7 In the United States, there has frequently been a close connection between advocacy for mass public education and demands for expanding democracy, social equity, and political reform. For example, in the mid-19th century, Horace Mann championed public education because he believed that the success of the country depended on “intelligence and virtue in the masses of the people.” He argued that, “If we do not prepare children to become good citizen...then our republic must go down to destruction” (The New York Times, 1953).
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