Part 4

 The last part of School: The Story of American Public Education leaves readers wondering what future improvements can be made to the public school system. The urgency to find innovative ways to educate children was pushed by President Raegan. President Raegan’s decisions were economically driven because other countries surpassed the U.S. in the race to space or auto manufacturing. More academically advanced children will later lead to better doctors, scientists, mechanics, etc which would better the country's economy. Raegan constructed a report named “A Nation At Risk” to ignite some fire in the public school system that would push administrators and teachers to brainstorm new techniques. The report claimed that the failing education system posed a threat to national security.

The efforts of administrators and teachers led to more standardized testing, higher standards, and magnet/ progressive schools. School choice gave students more individualism in the education system. It provided parents a chance to choose their children’s education plans to fit their children’s academic needs regardless of the school district they live in. As mentioned in the book, money has always had a huge effect on the education system in place. At the beginning of the book money was the leading cause for people opposing the idea of free education for U.S. citizens. People did not want their taxes going towards educating children that weren’t theirs, from a different background, or did not include their religious beliefs. Now that the economy is being affected by the education system and not the other way around, it’s been given the recognition it deserves. The public education system deserves to be put on a pedestal because as the book stated, Thomas Jefferson once said that education is the key to keeping democracy alive.

Raegan’s report claimed that the declining academic posted a threat to national security because education is a weapon. Education provides people with strategic plans for their endeavors and moving wise can take you farther than anything else. Education is beyond powerful and can take people far; this power should be available to everyone. Everyone deserves a chance to move up in society and be able to live a sustainable life without having to depend on others to do things for them because they are uneducated. If the education system had a better way to receive funding or funds were more available and focused on the education system, there would be a lot more mobility in society.

If education was more available we’d probably have fewer shortages of healthcare workers. The education system has moved mountains for the citizens of the U.S. and it can continue working wonders but people have to recognize its significance. The country also has to recognize the flaws with the system in place. Higher property taxes in certain areas allow schools in that area to receive more funding creating a huge educational gap between children based on their family background/income. It creates yet another setback that children face when born into a low-income family and another privilege for privileged kids. There are so many intelligent students out there that can’t prosper because their environment doesn’t allow it; imagine if they were given the chance to overcome their obstacles and flourish academically.

Equal Education

 Equal education means that everyone will receive the same education. There is no such thing as separate but equal. Having segregated schools will only widen the division between diverse groups of people. Segregated schools will only encourage people in power to act upon their stereotypes or implicit biases. I do not believe separate but equal schools have a place in our society.

Our society has long moved on from that period of our country’s history, there would be no benefit in moving backward. Being around a diverse environment leads to a broader range of education. Children benefit from being around various groups of people by learning more people/ communication skills and learning about different cultures, disabilities, histories, etc. Children also learn to be more accepting by being around people who are different from them. Even in today’s world, there is still separation among kids in the school system due to social class.

Parents who are able to afford to give their children a better education put their children in private schools whereas parents who can’t afford the tuition have to send their children to public schools. It might sound fair to some but it’s not. A more academically advanced child may not be academically situated enough in a public school but won’t be able to pursue furthering their education because their parents can’t afford it. There could be a child out there that has the ability to find cures for diseases but won’t because they don’t have the same opportunities as other children do. Even within the public school systems, there is a division among social classes.

Funding for schools gets determined by the property taxes placed on the area. People who are able to live in places where high taxes are imposed get to send their child to a public school that receives more funding than schools in less expensive areas. More funding means a better education because the schools are able to afford higher qualified teachers/ instructors, after-school tutors, more books, more equipment, more academic programs, a better athletics program, more field trips, etc. However, public schools are meant to be equal to one another but in reality, a change in zip code can make all the difference. I believe that the new form of a separate but equal concept that has taken place in our country isn’t something that should continue.

Children are being held back from pursuing their academic abilities because of the schools they attend. There needs to be a better way to provide equal education for all students because the difference in education leads to less mobility among the social classes. Less mobility among the social classes also means less representation among unrepresentative groups of people. Education is the key to a functional society and as Thomas Jefferson said, education is needed to keep democracy alive. There should be no reason for separate but equal in the U.S. It does not create unity and encourages biases. It leads to fewer opportunities and less mobility in society. Separate but equal is not real, if it was equal it wouldn’t be separate. 

Part II

 The American education system tries to educate children universally instead of individualizing a plan for each student. Everyone is taught in the same language and taught the same methods in classrooms that are typically aimed at students around the same level. They’re given tests on subjects the system deems as useful information and if they don’t test well enough they are held back by grade levels. Foreign children are often singled out because they get penalized for not speaking English and aren’t knowledgeable about subjects that the education system teaches. The reading also recounts stories of immigrants being told they couldn’t speak their home language at school. American children are usually raised speaking English as a main language or second language; they’re also familiar with the history, the measuring system, customs, etc. School: The Story of American Public Education also explains how foreign students were given tests in the English language (a foreign language to them) and were defined by these tests.

Rich children are given more one on one time because they can afford small private schools that have smaller classroom sizes. Private schools also typically have more funding and are able to afford new equipment, higher qualified teachers, specialists, materials, and hands-on activities like field trips. Rich children also receive extra help and opportunities like tutoring or exam prep classes. Everyone learns differently and individualized learning and private schools put rich children at an advantage over poor children in America. People born outside of American culture may have been taught different things that aren’t on the system's curriculum. People who have knowledge outside of the things being taught in schools are also smart and don’t deserve to be tested and categorized as having low intelligence. I believe the school system favors American-born children who speak English and have money.

 I also feel that the system can favor children who learn the way it's being presented and have good test-taking skills. Not everyone is good at taking tests; they often get so anxious and fail exams on subjects that they know. Everyone learns in a different way, some people learn through demonstration/visuals, some are hands-on, and some learn by reading steps and lessons. Children can also be very active at times and not be able to sit for long hours at a desk listening to lectures all day. Some children are better at athletics than academics and sports can be a motivating factor to sit down and figure out a plan to better their academics. Some schools can’t afford a sports program while rich schools never have to sacrifice one program over another. 

For example, the public high school I attended put its funds towards vocational programs that allow students to branch more toward their career interests. They also provided students with Chromebooks to use for their academics. However, my high school did not have a sports program because of the lack of funds. My high school was public but also had a strict enrollment process. Students who excelled academically or had connections to the school's administration had an advantage. I believe the American school system can do better at providing equal education for all but it needs more flexibility for the diverse group of students it’s supposed to serve. 

School: The story of American Public Education Part 1

         The first part of School: The story of American public education recounts the early history of the first conversations about the possibility of creating a functioning public school system. The book informs readers of the first attempt made by the colonizers to create schools for town children, which were called “common schools.” These early attempts unified communities because they all shared the goal of creating a space to educate their children. They would all scrap up anything they could together to hire a teacher. Though the settlers didn’t have much, they still came together as a community to do anything they could to hire a teacher.

                            

        The book then narrates the early efforts of people like Thomas Jefferson's work to push forward a public school system for the states. This early attempt divided the United states people because of the proposition to collect taxes to fund public schools. Funding for public schools causes a huge controversy over who deserves the taxpayers’ money. For example, in the early 1700s, schools were only available for white female children up to three years despite being much longer for white male children. Opinions on who deserves education also led to the conversation of what should be taught in these schools. For example, white female children’s education was mainly focused on housewife duties while the boys were taught more academic lessons. A divide between higher class and lower class people of the United States developed because those with more money could pay for longer or more education without depending on taxpayers’ money. 

        Later throughout the years in the book, the United States continues to divide itself within these conversations when other religions are brought into the conversation. The early settlers of the United States preached Protestant practices and this heavily influenced the public school education that they offered. Religion comes into conversation when immigrants with different religious backgrounds start to settle in the U.S. and don’t want their children being taught things that don’t fit their religion at home. As others begin to speak out about the unfairness in the public school system accommodating the majority more than other Americans, the conversation of schooling for African American and Native American children surfaces. The U.S. underfunded separate but “equal” schools for people of color. As more leaders of these under-represented groups began to emerge and speak out for them, it influenced the unity that exists today to pursue what’s known as the “American Dream.” 

                        

        Access to free public education is the reason the United States differs from other countries, especially back then in the earlier times of the newly recognized country. As Thomas Jefferson once stated, education is the key to preserving democracy. The country was founded as a way for citizens to obtain freedom away from a dictatorship or a monarchy. In order for democracy to live, education is necessary to push forward against any obstacles made by those who have the upper hand in society. Education is a weapon; it’s been utilized by every marginalized group in history, and it’s available to the average American citizen whereas, in other countries, that right has been stripped from its people. 

        Like many others that have come before me, I have planned to use education as my way out of unfortunate situations. My grandmother has pushed my education forward with the constant reminder that she wasn’t as fortunate as me; now, she has to depend on others to read and interpret important documents of everyday life. My hard work towards my education has awarded me free college and what’s considered “high-earning” jobs for a person as young as I am. My education has been my shield of protection from everything I’ve been through, and I couldn’t be thankful enough for this opportunity as a woman of color in today’s society. 

Literacy History Blog

 My name is Brianna Ocasio. I am a psychology major with a minor in sociology and am currently in my junior year of college. My interests include reading, journaling, traveling, listening to music, etc. I took this class not only to fulfill a general education requirement but to also help enhance my writing skills and public education knowledge. I plan on attending graduate school and in the future taking part in research. I want to become a child counseling psychologist and as we all know college and my future profession requires a lot of writing. 

    Coming from a Hispanic household where my grandmother raised me and only spoke Spanish, my first language became Spanish. My grandmother never received any formal education in Puerto Rico, and this caused her to always encourage me to take my education very seriously and put it above most things. She enrolled me in Pre-K3 in order for me to get a head start in my education. My mother also bought me many learning books and programs to teach me how to read, spell, count, etc. My grandmother's home has always been the center of my family so all my bilingual family members would constantly be around interacting with me and eventually I learned English. 

    I would like to thank my 1st-8th grade teachers, school, and curriculum for my reading, comprehension, and writing skills. My teachers always made it a focus to give us as much one-on-one help as they could provide. They shaped me into the scholar I am today. Things like "The 100 Book Challenge" which required us to read every day furthered my knowledge of literacy. Through the years I also became very fond of reading books. From an early age, I fell in love with books and began reading series like The Dork Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, The Hunger Games, Divergent, etc. Any chance I had I spent it reading, watching book reviews, trading books with others, reading analytical essays on books, and discussing them. I even went on to receive a reading award in the 8th grade. 

    My reading and comprehension skills flourished but I struggled a lot with my writing. It frustrated me a lot due to my ability to succeed in everything else, but it fueled my determination to do better. l eventually learned how to properly structure my thoughts into my writing, and analyze and extend my vocabulary in middle and high school. I learned how to construct my thoughts into the classic five-paragraph theme. Right now, I have slowed down a lot on my recreational reading because I’m always busy with schoolwork, but I take any chance I get to indulge in a good book. My writing has significantly improved but sometimes I still am insecure when it comes to it. I wish to continue to advance my skills because I share a dream of writing a book on the psychology of children one day. My goals continue to motivate my drive to improve my skills and literacy growth, I know college is the perfect environment for these skills to flourish.