Part Two

I found part two of the book very interesting. Part two dives into the history of the United States in the late 1800’s through the mid 1900’s. During this time, public education was in full swing. The importance of public education had been proven and was being adopted in several different ways across the country. The United States recognized the importance of having a well-educated society. A well-educated society is a productive society that can work together to accomplish anything and everything that happens in society. Public education played a massive part in making immigrants fully incorporate into American society. Schools taught immigrant children how to thrive in the United States. On page 70, the author writes “Not only did the public school transform the immigrants; the immigrants eventually helped transform America, making landmark contributions in every walk of life, as artists, scientists, intellectuals, journalists, business leaders, professionals, and ordinary citizens.” As a new wave of immigrants came to the United States from new regions like Russia, Poland, and Italy many prominent figures, the “old immigrants,” who came from regions like Britain and Germany detested the new immigrants. A sense of superiority of the older immigrants over the newer immigrants raised concerns that the new immigrants were not as intelligent and did not deserve the same opportunities in education. Thankfully a large group of progressives challenged that narrative and gave equal opportunities to the newer immigrants. Progressives identified that the new immigrants deserved the same opportunities as the old immigrants, because people are people. This new wave of thinking sparked what we know today as the “American Dream.” America is the land of opportunity, and many immigrants chose to come to America in hopes of their children getting a better education than what they would in their native countries. This hope for a better education directly led to better and more prosperous lives for their children. These new immigrants hoped for a better all-around life in America, and it was possible through education.

Progressives also had high expectation for schools by ensuring that the American way of life was preserved. While immigrants were able to keep their own identities in America, a uniform public-school education ensured that all immigrants and citizens from all walks of life were educated in the same way to the same standards. This can be described as a melting pot, like the way that the United States is as a whole. By teaching everyone in the same way and with the same lessons, the identify of the United States was maintained because everyone was welcome. By educating everyone to the same standards everyone felt a sense of belonging and community upon graduation. The chapter title “You Are an American” describes this perfectly.

David Tyack noted on page 115, “If you have ever spent the entire day sitting-as students do- in a math class, and an English class, and a history class, and then go to the shop class or go to the art class or go to the music class, you realize how this kind of variety enhances school and enhances the kinds of skills and knowledge and relationships that students need to take away from school.” By re-engineering the way school was taught, students were given as many opportunities as possible to find their career path in life. No longer were I.Q. tests the determining factor in what path a student’s life would take them. Students now had the ability to try different things and find what they liked to do the best. These opportunities prevented students, particularly immigrants, from being pigeonholed into what the school system determined was best for the student. Students pursued a career based off what they wanted to pursue, which led to better happier people in society.