CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Today Americans assume that a free and universal education is a “right,” but that has not always been the case. If you had been a participant in the various debates of the past three centuries, why would you have argued for, or against, the state establishing common schools? How would you have argued about citizens being taxed to pay for public schools for all children? What is the relationship of these issues to debates today about vouchers to attend private schools, charter schools, and decreases in state support of public education?
2. You have probably decided that you want to teach students of a specific age. How long have schools for this group of students existed and what makes students of this age different from students at a different level? Why have you chosen to work with children of this age, and how will you learn the age-appropriate strategies for these students?
3. The Industrial Revolution, progressiveness, and Sputnik I are among societal changes that have impacted the school curriculum over the past 200 years. What remnants of these events and the early emphasis on religion and nationalism are reflected in today’s schools?
4. Historically, not all children have had access to the same quality of education, sometimes legally not being allowed to either attend school or attend school with white students. What factors led to the changes in equal educational opportunity that occurred in the 1960s and 1970s? How has education changed for students of color since the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court?
5. The education level of today’s teachers is much higher than in the past. In what other ways have the conditions of teaching changed over the past two centuries? What conditions appear to remain little changed from the past?
KEY TERMS