t

m
1$

164

cHAPTER4'

EDUCATIoN

$r

Iil

two for addressing them' Cite at least and propose recommendations your response' ,orrri., irom the Conversation in

li

A Talk
In James Baldwin,s ,A

i.l

3.

the interacof experiential.education' described John Dewey, the father as follows: tion of education and democracy in its maintenance upon the use is peculiariy dependent for
Democratic society which are broadly forming a course of 't"ay of t'itt'iu in serecting subject not flourish where th]i.f ,rrflo.rr.., human' Democracy can-

Ta

schools and describes how the pi later. some of the problems BaLdr
a talk to teachers today, i would typical school such as class level.

mxt]

yf instruction

areutilitariant"a"t*'o*iyconceivedlorthemasses'and'forthehighereducaclass. The notion that the

tion of the few, the

of a specialized cultivated mechanically treated' is educati'on are the three Rs tlt-';;;;; "essentials" of democratic "f essentials needed for realization based upon ignorance of the

,r"inr"",

Advanced piacement classes defil class. Also, spofts are often domi

predominantiy one race. Last,

soc

In my school
classes enrolled

link

can b

ideals....Acurriculumwhichacknowiedgesthesocialresponsibilitiesofeduca-

tionmustPresentsituationswhereproblemsarerelevanttotheproblemsoflirinformation are calculated to develop

ing together,

*;;;;;"'uutio'-t and interest' social insight

""d

and

in. Often in Ap ar In regular classes, the students al

and Education,lgl6

that high extent to which you believe Write an essay explaining the vision' Draw or' citizens to achieve Dewey's schools today are preparing and cite at least three of the sources your experie"tt u"i oU'er"vation' your argument' from the Conversation to develop

-Democracy

trend reflects the experiences BaL encounters the "whiter'. parts of I part of the city that he grew up ir

meant for him. Baldwin writes, ,,y is for you. You know this before yr shunned from this part of park Av feel today towards advanced_ievel

4.

that emphasizes to attend either a high school Suppose you could choose skills and required vocational

.a"tutiot' itJuding training in spec:ifit'

"' ''"n'iin'"ftooithut rn partlcipate would better prepare you to

internships'

t*phuii'"'
a

the liberal arts' Which

1ob

students in upper-level classes car brings up. Minority students beliei advanced-level classes. Although e
can push himsetf.

global economy? Explain whv

if students

belie.

not attempt to try them. African

their expectations. Therefore, wher

not for them.

already denying any chance for suc

nces as Evidence
prompt' student's response to the following The following essay is one AP .A Talk to Teachers" to a group of educators in Ne. Iames Baldwin delivered and prejudices he d:' ;ver forty years ago' Do the problems York City in rso:
his viewpoint' the student explains and supports As you read, consider how history? cussed still exist, or are they

Another probiem in high sc member of two varsity sports at my sports" and the "biack sports.,, part (swimming and lacrosse) has show:r

classes. In the sports that I play, in essentiai for success. Swimming req membership to pools, while lacrosse

football. It is much harder for black of the lack of opportunities. Baldwi: opportunity to succeed in life. Baldr
almost all the doors of opportunity
can do about

it." African

American

sports such as swimming and lacross

l*

ilffiffirffisw.*-

-.:=:ials to be rvorked up in: i suppose it to be the un

"91
,

\-ictims of miser\- arou "- :a3

High stlg' Focus on the I\merican :..."..."''''."""'"

high school' on the American texts presents a viewpoint Each of the following

sources
i.
Horace

^ t Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education Mann' Fron

Lel Teen'agersrry

t"""ut,ttein,

Ad!hh?::
Age

"

Todd Gitlin, Th'

Li;;';f;'t'

in on

of

'Info-Glut
io

;*iTii,',#:i:y:l:lt:',1':.iiiii!:ternationatsurvevorMa'rhskitts ffiip"l"t' o1 n a" *t n (p aintrng) o. N or*u" no trt*"ll'

"tgg"'i"J

-,=:.: of benevolence u'ith th, r:dorring private fortune: -:::iness of the people in 'r ::- : leudalism of a nerv kinci -: -re middle ages. The feud; :-;rr retainers in a more abit . -:;ign manufacturers and i ::3sent day. The means eml ,::'jiing. What force did thel ::d no spot of earth on rvhi --. lord. The operative or la
---:refore no bread, uniess th

conversation pieces' enter the and synthesized these studied' After you have tead' topitt on pp' 163-164' of th" with one

,*:lter but such as his masi : .glish operatives or farm-

l.Freirnfteltt:"rt*-itlitii-!\/:iL:':t'tti:y't,ti:)t:i'l'stss{etdofEdwcatiott
HontceMaNN by Horoce officiql policy document is tqken from on public educotion The following selection il: k;"*" "' th";;h* oi Amu'i'on Monn (17e6-t 8;;i' ';
,.

-:erefore they must accept .;ribed his own terms to his :rust submit or perish. The I ,"'ages he will give to his rvc :ietext he pleases; and the,v, t

-:

some respects, indeed, the

:ran that ofthe correspondi :atriarchal relation did spri

:r

ir"',i.

..:,i.r:ii i,'

l':i.a':,iTl

{}Vii} g POVef

ty'

l:T#;;"'*.'"*i*:T::I::::'fi
what thev earn'
est

:ii:'ff

j#Jff:i'i,?;J""ff :'l
j"'men'ior

:?lltl*:,'"['J":;."fi xli:]:l^i::'1:"il:"'-il::'*-"1 to the grossol tlnJition; the former' .o The

'"iil;t;;;
"ft"ii'v

:arsh relations subsisting be :ition of children, some rel: :ecrepitude of age. But onlr .rnoothed the rugged reiatio iren of the work-people art lrivations they suffer, and t} -,-et been able to secure then trated by sickness, or eYentu
has all along been his destine

of adhering inequalities" ' ' in^some respects' instead banetui not true that Massachusetts' * But is it theorv' is lengthof more and *o" tetween tnti*o t"t'""1es 1"'tl:tv examples of Europe?

'lo"lv';;;;;"*' t;:;#;

ffi;#l-.l1:^''l'he

Now, surely nothing but :o the domination of capita

',vealth and the education, r'

*: r;,1;:1,1":t':x'"ffiifi'ffi
,'n" men .ilitit i" outuin them' makes

'J}ti.'n ';ililTh'I";'ilinil",,!!'ji'1:5y,5l*i,::Till;i',,?i.'J,l:J:;i; wolnsr

150

trtffi

tf*

matters not by what name tl tact and in truth, will be the

In a feudal society, a serfwho ha

CONVERSATION

I5I

al1

succor, but only crude the victims of misery around it, not objects for pity and naterials to be worked up into more money'

Isupposeittobetheuniversalsentimentofallthosewhomingleanyingreand overlient of benevolence with their notions on political economy' that vast which the private fortunes are among the greatest dangers to 'hadowing would cre.uppln.rJoithe people in a republic can be subjected' Such fortunes one more oppressive and unrelenting than that ate a feudalis- oi u new kind, but never held oi the middle ages. The feudal lords in England and on the continent than the great majority of :heir retainers in a more abject condition of servitude laborers at the rcreign manufacturers and capitalists hold their operatives and in results is ,r.r."n, day. The means employed are different; but the sin-rilarity middle ages of the striking. what force did then, money does now. The villeinl he could live, unless one were granted to him by had no"spot of earth on which and ris lord. The operative or laborer of the present day has no employment' will accept his services. The vassal had no :herefore no bread, unless the capitalist in five thousand of .helter but such as his master provided for him' Not one build or own even a hovel; and :nglish operatives or farm-laborers is able to them. The baron pre:helrefore they must accept such shelter as capital offers

peremptory, and the serf .cribed his own terms to his retainers: those terms were the rate of nust submit or perish. The British manufacturer or farmer prescritres ',rages he will give to his work-people; he reduces these wages under whatever starvation' pleales; and they, too, have no aiternative but submission or

:.."te"t

he

ce

)-

-nro-"respects,indeed,theconditionofthemoderndependentismoreforlorn Some attributes of the :han that of the corresponding serf class in former times. lord and his lieges to soften the :atriarchal relation dii spri"! up between the of the coniurrh ,.lutlons subsisting between them' Hence came some oversight and support in the :ition of children, some" relief in sickness, some protection Secrepitudeofage.Butonlyininstancescomparativelyfewhlvgkindlyoffices

Ito
.

all

The chilthe rugged relation between British capital and British labor' jren of the work-people are abandoned to their fate; and notwithstanding the in the realm has :rivations they suifer, and the dangers they threaten' no power

,-oih"d
tof
]SS.

ring eiul
grhr the
'1TO'r5

.''etbeenabletoSecurethemaneducation;andwhentheadultlaborerisprosthe poorhouse' which :rated by sickness' or eventually worn out by toil and age' ras all aiong been his destination' becomes his destiny' ' ' ' this tendency Now, sirely nothing but universai education can counterwork possesses all the :o the domination of cipital and servility of labor. If one class ..ieaith and the education, while the residue of society is ignorant and poor, it in what name the relation between them may be called: the latter'
:ratters not by of the former' But, iact and in truth, will be the servile dependants and subjects

if

nan-

hout es, in

In

feudal societn a serfwho has the right to own property'

152

cHAPTER4'

EDUCATIoN

educationbeequablydiffused,itwilldrawpropertyafteritbythestrongestofal' ttupp""' and never can happen' as that an attractions, for such itti"g never did " be permanently poor' Property and intelligent u.rd pru.tl.uli"?/"r -"1 'ttooia antagonisiic; but property and labor in the labor in different classes are essentially ihe peopl" of Massachusetts have' in some same class are essentially fraternaf unexampled prosperity of the State - its degree, appreciated the iruth, that the is attributable to and virtue comfort, it, .o-p"t.,t.t, i" gt"tt"f intelligence received: but are ther lt";n;*tt' which ull itt people have the education, more "t it is to this same education that of a fact .q"dl;;;;rtant; namely' that
sensible

two-thirdsofthepeopleu"i"dtbt"dfornotbeingtodaythevassalsofasseverea t;;il, ;t the lower classes of Europe are bound to in the tyranny, in the form "; form of bru te force? Education'then,beyondallotherdevicesofhumanorigin,isthegreatequal. dc I
izer of the conditions of

- -.,U. \Iann's snle rn i

*.n,

notheremeanthatit,o.l.*t.,themoralnatureastomakemendisdainanc to another of it'

the balance-wheel of the social machinery'

- :;t
-:LT\

Teenagers Trt
BOTSTEIN

This idea pertains abhor the oppression of tftti' fellow-men' means b''' it gives each man the independence and the attributes. But I mean that to disarm th' men. It does better than which he can resist the selfish"ness of other

--e lollowing opinicn : -ericon

l:

ege ond outhor

Culture

pooroftheirhostilitytowardstherich:itpreventsbeingpoor.Agrarianismisth; revengeofpovertyug.,t,twealth'Thewantondestructionofthepropertyc: the demolition of machiner'' the Uurnl,ti oittuy-ricks and corn-ricks' others - it supersedei handilabor, the sprinkiing of vitriol on rich dresses - r. because both the revenge and the maconly agrarianism run mad' Education prevents ness.ontheotherhand,afellow-feelingforone'sclassorcasteisthecommor. family. The sunk in selish regards for person or.for instinct of hearts open a wide: "";;h"lly class or caste, will spread of education, uy ."ilrgr"g the,cultivated expand; and, if this education should b. r..iir.is will area over which the #il things else to obliterate factrand complete, it woulJdo more than all universal tious distinctions in society' ' ' ' existence of a wealthy peopl. For the creation oJ wealth, then, - for the andawealthynation,-i"ttttigt"ceisthegrandcondition'Th,enumberofim- I: if I may call it, increases. provers will increase as the intJllectual constituency, ma:,

9a

-":
.-

..riional outpourrn:

shootings has -.c:.. - .:-re: the America- : month fafter the =._ - :.:d rvith stories abou: '-iers and outsider:. -,,'---:ions of good looks ar - -r3 team sports oi l:::

- --,

loyaltytothe

lri:

...-:,-; ieams succeed. Hte: roaches, and thl ;; .

even at the present day, not one former times, and in most parts of the world of mind as made it possible for hin in a million has ever had such a development Let this development precede, anc to become a contributor to art o, ,.i"r...

- :. - r\'. The result is th.: - - ' in the school. lnd:'. r:.rt the rules of hieh .:

-:r

' 'l outsider become. :i

- ::culinity and femin-.

contributionr,nr,-b"tlt's,andofinestimablevalue'willbesuretofollow'Tha: labor, suppi-'

about capital and political economy) therefore, which busies itself

anddemand,interestandrents,favorableandunfavorablebalancesoftrade,bu: leavesoutofu..orrrrtth"elementofawidespreadmentaldevelopment'isnough: arts in political economy is to chang. but stupendo", f"lly. ih. greatest of all the next greatesi is to increase the producer ' a consumer into u iroau."..; ,nd the
by increasing his intelligenct producing power, -.' un .nd to be directly aitained little better than a swine' whom he sc For mere delving, u" ig";tu"t man is but in his powers of mischief' much resembl., in hi,"uppetites, and surpasses

of popularity in hi,_- .. or old is confinec :l ' : :i individuals of the :: : .-::. not even in colieges .. :: -:.lology.

*-.

'riven the poor quaiin. ro wonder that the cu; ' r'.'oYer young people. \\-:

CONVERSATION

I53

i ail ian
and r the ome - its rle to
theY
r

G$estioExs 1, V\4ay does Horace Mann begin with a description of the

..feudal

lords in England

and on the Continent" (Para. 3)? classes are essentially 2. What does Mann mean by "Property and labor in different essentially fraternal" antagonistic; but property and labor in the same class are

that
the
5

Mann use to describe education in a democracy? Is it effective? ability or developed -1. When Mann uses the term intelligence,does he mean innate

(para.4)?

3. \vhat metaphor
skili?

does

;ere a
ii'r

S.DescribeMann'sstyleinthisexcerpt.Inwhatwaysisitappropriateforhisaudience?

:qualr-.

I do

l,

l-et fEs*ag( ';

LnoN BorsrEm

'

n and

of its
ans bY

rm the r is the

president of Bord The following opinion piece wos written by Leon Botstein, the Promise of College oni outhor oi J"ff"rron's Children: Education ond
Am eri cq n
C ultu

re l1 997lr.

erty of
:i-rinery

lhe national outpouring

es--is
e mad)i]1mon ilv. The
a rvider ould be re facti-

after the Littleton fColumbine High School in colwe have suspected for a _-rado,] shootings has foiced us to confront something is obsolete and should be abolished. In ."ng iir,'., the Imerican high school ..1 . . month Iafter the shoJtings] high school students present and past Icame] and the artificial intensity of a world defined . rr},ard with stories about cliques sway because of superliciai :.,, insiclers and outsiders, in wiich the insiders hold

::hnitions of good looks and attractiveness, popularity and sports prowess'

, peoPle :i of im:ases. In
one man : for him :ede, and
,oiv. That rr, suPPlY

culture. A comThe team sports of high school dominate more than student to which ,:;nity,s loyalty to the hilh schooi system is often based on the extent administrators and faculty members are often .:s1ty teams succeed. Hig'h school in a separate, untouchable _:mer coaches, and the c"oaches themselves are placed elite is not contested by the _:iegory. The result is that the cuiture of the inside . -.[. in the school' Individuality and dissent are discouraged' 1ife" often the high But the rules of high school turn out not to be the rules of ,:_ool outsid.r b.coJ., the more successful and admired adult. The definitions through sufficient transformation to make the - rasculinity and femininity go in high t.tt"oot an embarrassment' No other group of adults

:,:re of popularity

:iade,

but

rs nought ;o change ,ioducer's

much like a gang in . -,r-tg o, old is confined to an age-segregated environment' define each other's world. In no work=,.1i irrdiuid.rals of the uu-. u!. group by even in colleges o. .rniu.tiities, is there such a narrow segmer"rtation
-.-e, not
.._rno1ogy.

teliigence' rom he so

:i.

school teachers' Given the poor quality of recruitment and training for high hold so little . ro wonder that the curricuium and the enterprise of learning :' oYer young people' When puberq/ meets education and learning in modern

154

cHAPTER4'

EDUCATIoN
,rtm,

as popular. culture and the America, the victory of puberty masquerading values meet little resistance' tyranny of peer groups bu'"d ott ludicrous : high school go on to college and realize By the time those *ftt gtJ""te from too many opportunities have been what really is at stake n UJt"-i"g an adult'

finm;=- :o r,rhich adolesc,

wlllh :"r:,-etsioraa-Is in

r; -:. lrolfl-q -{meri;at

&

thox

t!u@mnrmc';-i ara,i i.nrerest:

Wtts
rmurm
rxrri

-*Plnd rr*lere ther

age

lostandtoomuchtimehasbeenw-asted.Mostthoughtfulyourrgpeoplesufferthe

highschool"n',riron,,,""tinsilenceandintheirjuniorandsenioryearsmark killers, above and beyond the psytime waiting fo, .ott"g"io legin. 1.he Littleton of to violence, felt trapped in the artificiality
chological demons

woups and rruflr[Ed utopian about t

:ner

th";;"r;;;hem

@[

runmqrss.-rafion is long or, Jr.]urua:F the lift ot a fla

thehighschoolworldandbelievedittobereal.Theyengineeredtheirmomentof in the absence of any confidence that life undivided attention ""Ji-p"r"nce
usedhighschooltoisolatethepubescentandhormonallyactiveadolescentaway

meaning' after high school could have a different that they have fu." itr. iult tnut they don t like adolescents and Adults should

fomdlnons

",

Lm

:c:rst

paragraph. l"e

l-e a:d shLould be abolisi

fromboththepicture-bookidealizedinnocenceofchildhoodandthemore t the primary reason high school doesn accountable world of adulthood' But workanymore,ifiteverdid'isthatyoungpeoplematuresubstantiallyearlierin th; high school was invented' For the late 20th century tf,*'tttty did when
example, the age of

l.
i:,

,ri{hji'Er;oa;

Bot5teil rnea]

rr.ure"
rmrtlS6g;

para- -1 I

Botsteil's ploF\o:

has.dropped at least two years since the tttt o1191 of sexual activity has beginning of this century, and not surprisingly' for children in transition now ar3pp"al" proportion' An institution intended developmental point for which high holds young uaoft, Uutft *"U U"yotta the school was originallY designed' presumption of adulthood among Furthermore, *h;;;;;; constraints to the Information hutt existed decades ago have now fallen awa}'

n"i-t"ttruation

.{L u-tlff3 ioes Botsteln a,i; *1ffi;ient detail to be per'

:- '*'l';- pars of
i.ry.w="

Bolsteu

yo.rtg p"opt. -uy

and images, as well u,

iht

adulthood,arenowaccessibletoeveryl5-and16-year-old.
frigh school.

'"ul

associate and virtual freedom of movement we

with

tr"

Tke Liberal Arts

T-.CIo
m

Elementary school should begin at Secondary -ust be reihought. "a.r.uiior, sixth grade. we should entirely abandon the concept age 4 or S and end witi the Beginning with the seventh grade,

Gms

of the middl.

that we may call high school' there should be four;;;;J;ir.."r,iury "do.ution than 18' Young people should graduate at 16 rather the world of work or national service' They could then lnter the real world'

,.r,ooiurrJl""i",

lollowing setecf{r tlcr. sr;dying the iioe"o

nrc|o-

te

inwhichtheywouldtakeaplaceofresponsibilityalongsid.eolderadultsinmixed go attend junior college' or they could company. They could**t; no-9 u1$ po, Jt the faults of college, at least the adults who dominate the away to college. excep-

ilhc gr.:: of images is. in nru murm :or education anci til jn "nfls lrasence, tbr more ih

*oria of .od.g"r,

they were the faculty, were selected precisely because the often cavalier popular. Despite tional and different, not because they were physics, mathecollege, at least physicists know their attitude toward t.Ji;; in and music is taught by musicians' maticians f.ro* ura-ioi.itr"lr riutn"mdtics,

mr rsen up irith rrork a-n Jt[ i:fJid that. duri-ile --:

ldEms--,Jr-o

runes

in to

sL\

notbygraduatesor.a,'.utio,'schools'wherethedisciplinesaresubordinatedto
the study of classroom management' do any of the above' we might For those 16-year-olds *ho do not want to

rqflmrr:ie:r hour-lo n g d-rr nru .uumr:i ierices, manr- rigu' wl*r::rls of cable subs-ril rl$er *:r?.

!-rr. simplicin-'s salie. a

mur:i

chamels

constructrr.*kind,ofinstitutions'eachdedicatedtooneactiviryfromscience

sa.!,-,4,11

CONVERSATION

I55

to dance, to which adolescents couid devote their energies whiie working together rvith professionals in those fields. At i6, yo.rrrg Americans are prepared to be taken seriously and to develop the motivations and interests that will serve them well in adult life' They need to enter a world where they are not in a lunchroom with only their peers, estranged tlom other age groups and cut off from the game of life as it is really played' There and its is nothing ,rtopiutt about this idea; it is immensely practical and efficient, r-pi"rn.itution is long overdue. We need to face biological and cuitural facts and

noi p.olong the life of

flawed institution that is out of date'

-,.lr:;rilrt

L. In the first paragraph, Leon Botstein states, "[T]he American high school is obsolete and should be abolished." why? what specific reasons does he provide? l, What does Botstein mean by "the rules of high school turn out not to be the rules

oflife" (para.3)?
\\4rat is Botstein's proposed solution? +. \Vhere does Botstein address a counterargument? Does he refute (or concede) in sufficient detail to be Persuasive? strongest? the weakest? -:, Which parts of Botstein's reasoning do you find the Explain.

i.

;t

, '-ti,,e

I':tCa','Ji; '|.:,;:)

l:.',1,

li:l::

(
":,1i

':

-'':tt.

"

Toop GIrrnl

ln the following selection, outhor ond university professor Todd Gitlin orgues thoi studying t[e liberol orts is even more irnportont now in this oge of moss medio.

it he glut of images is, in many respects, unprecedented' and so is the challenge On average' Americans watch television, or are ror., fo, education and the arts. waking hours that are -n its presence, for more than four hours a duy - half the then). For the sake of argument, let 11ot taken up with work (and sometimes even
-

that, during those hours of watching television, the representative \nerican tunes in to iix fictional programs. Those might include half-hour :omedies, hour-long dramas, and two-hour movies. (Actually, thanks to remote:ontrol devices, many viewers see more than one program at a time. More than ivo-thircls of cable subscribers surf channels, and the younger they are, the more .ley surf.) For simplicity's sake, assume 16 minutes of commerciais per hour on com-rs suppose

:tercial

channels

say, 40

distinct commercials per hour. That gives us roughly

156

cHAPTER4' EDUcATIoN

news shows, throw in, as a conservative qttzzes' Add sporting events' Juf e,aa trailers for upcoming shows and trivia highway, on street.corners, on buses. Add videocassettes. Adi iittuou'ra, along the video and computer eJJ n.*rpuper and m,agazine stories a=nd advertisements, the photo-studded displays of .rp".iufiy Hghtweight fiction. Add book,
games,

per day. For viewers who watch r60 more short units of mass-mediated message estimate' 30 separate news items every

:acuifv members in the ',itlr*- rformation glut, we \\?l lm :,: rrhat you wiil see.,{mi rsc i Jane Austen on ps\-c rr,luir*:ze. Here is Dostore.i-sll l*sr.a-r655 rvith slavery. Here ir
x(s-r..-:;e, Beethoven's

wiggling, potentially

flood into

to thousands of mass-produced Notice mel click on me! All told, we are exposed

"*"'"itigf"f millions or rrorrrJt otds and

u"nits-ofinformation and disinformation that offices through the Internet. Read me!

longing.

iL\:

- re point is not simpir- t

:-r Frelp new generations

storiesamonth,not*ontlngthorrrundr-orefreestandingimagesandlabels
that flash into the corners of our consciousness' track-the vast quantities of Note, too, tfrut tfrl,^irnug""upt has a sound effects' tapes' and other ;dito;y stimuli' including songs',sound p*for-.d

-:xrr*ron run of humanin-. C

hr*:-::" beauty and ugliness pe 'mri our American

-usic compactdisks,voice-mailfiller-allthecurrentsandejaculationsoforganized

our lives' ,oorrd that have become the background of held no one but impressionable psychotics could be Now it is true that we find in of the minuscule dramas and depictions in thrall for long Uy popular culture' W"

lin:r:{s that we must shape i tr,'t ratil1- need continuities tr ffin:=eh careers and cultural ci
itiirr.i.::-r

-l'rout

re

of most of the messages minim-ally' as 'sensations for ""pJ"*e ii ne-arly alw1rs clamoring the moment. But some part of the imagescape the comedy writer Larry Gelbart has .,o,' hairs of wliat attention. Caught ln deeply' who we are? "weapons of mass distractionj' how shall we know' called

-o't

:::.allv, rve need to cultir at tbr the sake of pien b m.l[ . ]-ut to pry us out of paro, uru :lL us that human beings I

ti.

Howshallwefindstillpointsinaturningworld?Howshallwelearntogovern
ourselves?

help our studenr of nE Jm:E:rsj it rvill challenge or bc

illnr.rr--ag a common core

*r-----l itill

n.rrre

-ranaged, well and badh-.,

What does

it

to be giateful and mean, this information for which we are

a

upgradeourfacilities?Whenaneo-NazicreatesaWorld.WideWebsitethat as much
maintains that Auschwitz was not

licTr: -: anv case, help them und 'ltrsi ;{f,m.} agrees with them.

..information" to the gross informational product as when someone posts an gaibage sloshing around. When people analysis of global *";i;;. Curbug. in, phoenix or paris, they are circulating information, .,chat,, about the weather in their sensib-ilities or improving but this does not -"* th"y are either deepening

death camp, he is, technically, adding

--;eardless of one's vierr-s or

'rl.;uu;:r could teach them abou

lfunLir-'; cOrTUnOn CurriCUlUm

* ;; -:.ge rr-ith shallow and sca pe*:; br budget pressures an(

of
1900.

uTr: . hteilectually serious car

Long before Hollyr'vood or comtheir democr utirrapa,ityto gover" themselves' "What is gende Tocqueville wrote of America: f,rt.rr, the French otr""'"' A]"xis is easy pleasure and information erally sought in ttre- froductions of mind of our consumer-oriented marwithout labor." to*u.i that very end' the genius and the the Walkman' the remote-control device' has been to ketplace f,odt"" comPuter mouse. When information piles up higgledy-piggledy

What oreriap "rurau :allast. Surely the acaden lrJrrmtrrulfl ground in the quest t
rurugr.u"

,rllh -rat

lr

;rtizenly, and smart.

the noise of our ..rltur" - the l.nuff detectors.,'.They need some- orientation to philosurgent. students ,r""a arts that have lasted more than ophy, history, language, literature' music,' and liberal arts have to say, "Take your 15 minutes. fn u nlff;-"Jocity culture, the ,.Tiends are fine, but you need to learn about They have to'tell students,
time.,, what endures"'

.r..a to teaih the lessons of the liberal arts is

when information becomes

@ilresgio'ns

,. ,,u\: does Todd Gitlin erplai:

*":lcicans? Holv does this irit-c -:'^ ioes the sflle of parasrag -..-:::t? Par.special aftention r

CONVERSATION 157

Faculty members in the liberal arts need to say: "We don't want to add to -',lr information glut, we want to offer some ground from which to perceive the ' ::t of what you will see. Amid the weightless fluff of a culture of obsolescence, '..:e is Jane Austen on psychological complication, Balzac on the pecuniary - jeeze. Here is Dostoyevsky wrestling with God, Melville rvith nothingness, - rglass with slavery. Here is Rembrandt's religious inwardness, Mozart's exu:r.rnce, Beethoven's longing. In a culture of chafl here is wheat." The point is not simply to help us find our deepest individual beings. It is , to help new generations discover that they are not that different from the r--mon run of humanity. Common concerns about life and death, right and :e, beauty and ugliness persist throughout the vicissitudes of individual life, ' -rghout our American restlessness, global instabilities, the multiple live-'ds that we must shape in an age of retraining, downsizing, and resizing. , :ad1y need continuities to counteract vertigo as we shift identities, careen ' '-rgh careers and cultural changes. not nec- inally, we need to cultivate the liberal arts in a democratic spirit , '.,r' for the sake of piety before the past (though that spirit is hardly ruled rut to pry us out of parochialism. In preparation for citizenship, the liberal ' ,:ll us that human beings have faced troubles before; they te1l us how people . ,ranaged, well and badly. Access to a common, fuii-blooded humanities cur-.n rvill help our students cross social boundaries in their imaginations. -,. ng a common core of learning will help orient them to common tasks as ,. s; it will challenge or bolster make them think through - their views I any case, help them understand why not everyone in the world (or in their

, :om) agrees with them.

..-Eardless of one's views of the curricular conflicts of our time, surely no one , intellectually serious can heip but notice how students of all stripes arrive

L0

, .: bvbudget

.ge rvith shallow and scattered educations, ill-prepared to learn. They are pressures and shortsighted overseers. A strong liberal-arts cur. ::r could teach them about their history, their social condition, themselves. anymore than 1950's ) .ommon curriculum would not be that of 1950 ',.r of 1900. What overlap it would have with the past would generate cul..ilast. Sureiy the academic 1eft and right (and center) might find some r ground in the quest to offer a higher education that is democratically :-tizenly, and smart.

:
'

:oes Todd Gitlin explain in detail the television-watching habits of most ..1ils? How does this information 1ay the foundation for his argument?
.-res the style of paragraph 2, which begins "For simplicity's sake," reflect its
--:: Pav special

attention to the sentence structure.

158

cHAPTER4

EDUCATIoN

3. What effect

4. 5. 6.

does Gitlin's use of such emotional terms and references as "impressionable psychotics" and "neo-Nazi" have on his audience? Why does he quote nineteenth-century critic Alexis de Tocqueville (para. 5)? Gitlin offers several reasons for the importance of the liberal arts. What are they? Why does he present them in the order that he does? This selection is from a longer article about the need for a common core curriculum in colleges. Do you think that its argument is relevant to high schools
as well?

;{-e,
rr*':-_n

t:r,ue rfho graduate lack the need remedial classe: .

l:-E our of high school, borr

f,teir concern [was]

pr<

.:rllsngs of

The Gateway experimeni tew credits, Iow grade_p,

a

tough.u..i.ul

4. A Model for High Schools

Dnvlo
S.

BnooEn

n_:,,jenb.
:_i_sses,

r-;dents to keep up their rvJr ,.They

are real suppo
onJr_

rii:-nication. Bonding during

"m:eusire focus on basic skillr

:l!een- of perronul .ounr.li.rg Each new cohort of

201

ln the following orticle, Pulitzer Prize-winning iournolist Dovid S. Broder, q politicol correspondent for the Washington Post, discusses olternqiive high
schools.

-{fter one term, the

ItYg

with the goal not

rtuj.,

The assigned readings for Aurora del Val's students . . . were sections of the writings of Greek philosopher Plato and black nationalist Malcolm X. For 90 minutes her 14 young scholars wrestled verbally with twin paradoxes: Plato's insistence that prisoners in a cave might find the shadows on the wall more real than the

outside world, and Malcolm's declaration that his intellectual freedom began
when he entered prison. Prodded by their teacher's questions, the students grappled with the issues of appearance. The oddity is that these teenagers were all high school dropouts, kids who had walked out or been tossed out of their previous schools, kids with atti-

out of lI toward their diplomas The Gates Foundation rr_as .urn grant [in 2}}4],enabling
+n_.rking

The program has beJn judg mendance in the first term art p,eled it. dmost nine

up enough college crec

G :Tlnpuses to 17, including orr. i,

But the most important

5el::, &u, r ne teachers

trr*"j

changed. Kathy Krau

te

tude problems, behavioral problems, drug or alcohol problems, kids whose

teachers and families had often marked them offas hopeless losers. And here they were in a voluntary program, run by the Portland Community College [in Oregon], where a single breach of discipline-an unexcused absence, an unfinished assignment, a blown test would mean automatic expulsion, but where the curriculum was stiff enough to challenge an undergraduate at any of Portland's elite private colleges. The Gateway to College program. . . is one of eight "early-college high school" programs supported in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four other charities. They represent diverse approaches to a problem drawing

that."

here have en

;ared and I wasn't modvated.. /e m,is and most of the teachers

13e

Scott Weidlich said he was bt

di<

increasing attention from the Bush administration and governors of both parties: how to make high school education more rigorous and ease the transition from high school to college or the workplace. [In 2005] in Washington there [was] an "education summit" sponsored b.rthe National Governors Association and Achieve Inc., a business-backed school reform group trying to stiffen high-school graduation requirements and impro.rr the quality of the workforce.

"roWd." Chris Marks said, ..My high s :: i:ere, I feel a real ,arrr" of r"r oo md r-our life, and you either mak, Jtr t0 you." Del Val, who almost abandont menvorked,, her friends
rn

nrdlnts respond in this environm, It is clear that even hlgh mst of them are being askedscic to dord to waste their talents.

npical high schools in

*"r", ,i. CaiifoJ

CONVERSATION

I59

Their concern [was] prompted by the fact that too many students are dropping out of high school, bored or dissatisfied with what it offers, and too many of those who graduate iack the skiltrs needed for well-paying jobs or, if they go on to college, need remedial ciasses in English and math. teenagers The Gateway experiment suggests that even for the hardest cases the of personal problems with few credits, low grade-point averages and a host classes and challenge of a tough curriculum, backed by skiiiful teaching in small
plenty ofpersonal counseling, can be a path to success' Each new cohort of 20 or fewer students spends a semester together, with intensive focus on basic skills, including study techniques and classroom communication. Bonding during this term buiids mutuai support and helps motivate students to keep up their work. "They've become like family," del Val said of her students. "They are real supportive of each other." After one term, the students move into the regular community-college adult classes, with the goal not only of compieting their 12th-grade requirements but picking up enough college credits to qualifr for an associate (two-year) degree. The program has been judged a success. Among the first 600 students enrolled, attendance in the first term averaged 92 percent, andTl percent successfully completed it. Almost nine out of 10 continued in regular community-coilege classes, working toward their diplomas and two-year degrees. The Gates Foundation was impressed enough to double the original $5 million grant Iin 2004], enabling Gateway to expand its national network from eight campuses to 17, including one in Maryland's Montgomery County. But the most important testimonials come from the students whose lives have been changed. Kathy Kraus, dressed all in black and wearing a bowler hat' said, "The teachers here have encouraged me to write poems and essays. I never had that." Scott Weidlich said he was being home-schooled but his parents "never really cared and I wasn't motivated." ]essica Smidt said, "My old ciasses were so full of kids and most of the teachers didn't want to be there. Here, you don't get iost in
the crowd." and so was I' Chris Marks said, "My high school \,vas swamped with drugs Here, I feel a reai sense of responsibility. You're not being watched. It's your ass, and your life, and you either make the most of this opportunity or you don't. It's up to you." DelVal, who almost abandoned teaching after seeing how"overwhelmed and overworked" her friends were, shuffling students through five large ciasses a day in typical high schools in California, said it is enormously satisfying to see the way students respond in this environment. It is clear that even high school dropouts are capable of much more than

15

iDY
rool
ro\:e

nost of them are being asked to do. The question is whether the country can :fford to waste their talents.

160

cHAPTER4

EDUCATIoN

Questions
1.

Fvzry on f,lqr
Qesuhs

How do the first two paragraphs serve David Broder's purpose of writing about

of inlernoliono

alternative high schools? 2. What does Broder do to emphasize the academic rigor of the Gateway to College program? 3. How does he dispel or at least challenge the image of these students as "hopeless losers" (para.2)? 4. According to Broder, why is it important to the community, even on a national
level, to keep
5.

show the skills of teen, :creign counterports.

rercentoge

::

'rfre

of sfudents boffom two;

(MliKlPU(E
{lJ Hong
(2)

students from dropping out ofhigh

school?

In paragraph 10, Broder claims that the program he is describing "has been judged a success." How does he support this claim?

Kong

Fin/ond I

[3) Sourh

Koreo I

5.

U.S. Students Fare Badly of Math Skills

Frovn Nonrus

inlnternational Survey

ln the following orticle, Floyd Norris reports on o study comporing the moth
skills of Americon students with those from different countries.

I I (6)Jopon I (Z)Conodo I 2gl Uniled Stores I

i5J

i4) Nerherlonds

Liechtensrein

:
_i:,_-:e Orgon,zci;o- -:i"e \e-w y91ft fipg5.

High school students in Hong Kong, Finland and South Korea do best in mathematics among those in 40 surveyed countries while students in the United States finished in the bottom half, according to a new international comparison of
mathematical skills shown by l5-year-olds. The United States was also cited as having the poorest outcomes per dollar spent on education. It ranked 28th of 40 countries in math and 1Sth in reading. The study, released [December 7,2004) by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group based in Paris representing 30 nations, used tests given to students in 2003 and was intended to assess relative performance and to try to determine reasons for it. "The gap between the best and worst performing countries has widened," said Andreas Schleicher, the official who directed the study and wrote the report. The study compared student performance in 29 of the 30 countries in the organization, which includes all major industrialized nations, and in 11 other countries that chose to participate. Because of insufficient participation in the study, figures for Britain were not reported. The study devoted less attention to reading than did a previous one in 2000, but it provided rankings that showed relatively little change. Over all in reading, the top countries were Finland, South Korea, Canada and Australia. The United States finished 18th, higher than nations like Denmark, Germany and Hungary, all of which had students who performed better in math than American students did.

!::..:

studr-looked not on ::a;tl- from each coufit ilhr-= =.trups. ranging from "rr ; ----;nal ler.el oi comF.et utrir.' i .ategon- that inc]udo
trrmrr
u4lrrJ.

lle

---.-lsla*e
_

L-nited Stares. 10 r

$n[urs.,ess than ha]l a. rnal mrms L-ng, rrfuch had 3Cr.. p -::-arrd had the smallert

li:
.urunnr

nrry:r.:r:: inem, and to dea.i rir Lu'rrn _*r:cher said that studen
r|luillit;urTr,tr{ lfdllfrltue'"-:i

:a recognize ithat matl

er-ajuation asked qua

:eilded not to do as I
mathematics.

.-rl

I-_: =lnev also questione ilErllrfl :rfl: Irork, and fbund tha

CONVERSATION

I6I

Fvzzy on Mqth
of internotionol testing on the molhemotic skills of 15-yeor-olds show the skills of teenogers in the United Stotes troiling those of their foreign counterports.
Results

Percentoge of students whose scores fell into the top two scoring groups or the bottom two:
(RAliK)
PTACE

TOP
:

BOITOM
:

ral

(r) Hong Kong

led (2) Finlond
(3) South Koreo

i,:!,i:i:i:i:S:F !.itliii;:,i:it,'!

so.z'l.

l0'40/o
6.8o/o 9.60/o

ix+-.tl:1'l:'!!::i z s.l Yo ii::r:i:l:r liil 1-::!!

24.s"/'

l4l Netherlqnds
(5) Liechtenstein

..,1.-.,

"- ..,lZS.Soto
z

llo/o
12,3o/o 13.3olo I 0.1 25.7o/o
I

li
.
:

.!r;-ri.{:'fj

s'ov.

(6)lopon
{Z) Conodo

.::i. ,"':.
:-jj

24.3o/o

--i20.3olo

o/o

(28) United Stotes

.rroth

i,,r,:c tOvt

0
atheStates rrO Of
the New York limes.

tll

20%

40%

607"

80%

tl

100%

source: orgonlzotion for Economic Cooperotion ond Developmeni. Reprinted by permission of

dollar

iing.
1lomic

ltions,
r

The study looked not only at the average performance of students' but also at how many from each country were top performers. It separated students into seven groups, ranging from Level 6, the best, to Level 1, which the authors viewed ., a minimal level of competence. The remaining students were below the first ievel, a category that inciuded more than half the students in BtazrI, indonesia
and Tirnisia.

erfor-

lened," i eport. , in the

In the United States, 10 percent of the students were in one of the top two sroups, less than half as many as in Canada and a third the total of the leader'
,{ong Kong, which had 30.7 percent of its students in the top two categories. Fitrland had the smaliest percentage of underperforming students, with 6.8 fercent. The evaluation asked questions that were intended to test the abiiity of stu;ents to recognize what mathematical caiculations were needed, and then to r.rform them, and to deal with questions that they would confront as citizens' \Ir. Schleicher said that students in countries that emphasized theorems and rote -earning tended not to do as well as those that emphasized the more practical
tspects of mathernatics.
10

other

r in the
in 2000'
irda and
3nmark,

in math

The survey aiso questioned students abor.rt their own views of themselves ,nd their work, and found that while good students were more likely to think

162

cHAPTER4

EDUCATToN

they were good, countries that did well often had alarge number of students who did not feel they were doing well. In the United States, 36 percent of the students agreed with the statement, "I am just not good at mathematics," while in Hong Kong, 57 percent agreed. In South Korea the figure was 62 percent. Of the United States students,T2 percent said they got good grades in mathematics, more than in any other country. In Hong Kong, only 25 percent of the students said they got good marks, the lowest of any country. The study said that while girls typically did only a little worse than boys on the test, "they consistently report much lower interest in and enjoyment of mathematics" and "much higher levels of helplessness and stress in mathematics
classes."

-/

Regarding spending, the study concluded that "while spending on educational institutions is a necessary prerequisite for the provision of high-quality education, spending alone is not sufficient to achieve high levels of outcomes." It noted that while the Czech Republic spent only one third as much per student as the United States did, it was one of the top 10 performing nations in the study, while the United States performed below the average of the nations surveyed.

ta

Questions
1. Summarize the major findings of the study reported in Floyd Norris's article.
Identi$' who was assessed, how, and by whom.

2. What were the major findings in this study regarding both the performance and
attitude of U.S. students?

3. According to this study, how did money spent per student correlate with student
performance?

6.

The Spirit of Education (painting)

NomreN Rocrwnrr
Following is o Normon Rockwell pointing, The Spirit of Educotion. thot wos feqtured on the cover of The Soturday Evening Post in 1934. A populor ond prolific ortist in his own fime, Rockwell wos known for his depiction of positive Americon volues.

,l{lil.

rs:-_--: :_o,i:, _: =_-::e --:::i Sii:df -4.ns ;,:rii::::: =t.: _-,J: :_ :::__i
mha_-

fir

si,{".

6nr,imrg fhe Cqrversotio

Questions
1. Examine the props carefully. What are the "tools" of education, according to Norman Rockwell's image?
,ii4l-rr ----___ a_ :\_.

rr ::e
- --<

-a-:c:a-.=
.=_:.

i-I:_a__-_:i arga jcoo

2. On the basis of the visual depiction alone, who

of education?

is excluded from Rockwell's vision

*-

.*= ;-_

_: a:r: ,-s-lr-:= :

*. _: L._-_::3::

CONVERSATION

I63

@ E

:: tssumptions about education does Rockwell make in this illustration?

:,.-i. the United States was in the midst of the Great Depression. How does this . -: encollrage an optimistic outiook on the future?

:: --.rDd to the following prompts, support your argument with references ,: ..lree of the sources in Conversation: Focus on the American High

: :elp using sources,

see

ChaPter 3.

an essay explaining whether you agree with Leon Botstein's critique -\merican high school (p. 153).

the texts in Conversation: Focus on the American High School, as vour olvn insights into high school, identify two serious problems,