Chapter Summary

	Teachers, Schools, and Society by Sadker & Sadker
	Online Learning Center
	Return to Main Book Page

Chapter 5: Schools and Beyond

Chapter Summary

Since their inception, public schools have tried to meet many divergent needs. Parents, teachers, and students alike expect schools to meet academic, vocational, social, civic, and personal goals. The particulars of these goals are debated constantly, often resulting in bitter disputes. Perhaps nowhere else in our country do personal and societal values conflict so much as when communities examine their schools.
People have a myriad of goals and expectations for schools. These include, among others, protecting the national economy and defense, unifying a multicultural society, preparing students for the world of work, improving academic competence, encouraging tolerance for diversity, and providing social and economic mobility.
Two fundamental, often-opposing, purposes of schools are to transmit society's knowledge and values, passing on the cultural baton, and to reconstruct society, empowering students to engineer social change as adults-and, sometimes, as students.
The 1983 report A Nation at Risk triggered a renewed interest in the quality of public schooling. In response to declining test scores and poor student achievement, measured by worldwide standards, the report called for many back-to-basics measures. A deluge of reports and recommendations ensued, mostly supporting tighter regulation of schools. These "top down" reports-the "first wave"-emphasized using schools as tools to transmit rather than reconstruct the culture.
A second wave of reports, by Sizer, Goodlad, Boyer, and others, focused on strategies to strengthen the teaching profession and restructure education. These reports and books sprang from lengthy observations and research, and they stressed empowering educators at the school level, a bottom-up change.
The third wave of reform reports viewed the school as a comprehensive institution providing social, medical, and other services to children. Education would be linked to a broader array of student needs, and the child would be the focus of reform.
America 2000 and Goals 2000 are presidential plans to enhance the quality of instruction and the performance of U.S. students. The ambitiousness of the goals, budget-cutting, and a lack of commitment within many states have contributed to the nation's inability to attain these aims. Such efforts as goal setting serve as catalysts for other state and local school reforms.
Some critics believe that true reform can occur only at the local, school-district level. Such thinking has fueled the choice movement, represented by such innovations as open enrollment, voucher plans, and magnet and charter schools. Some educators and parents have reservations about these innovations as well and doubt that they will, in the long run, change schools for the better.
Charter schools, although only a decade old, are now operating in most states. Although they have sparked debates, charter schools have also attracted many supporters: enthusiasts who prefer private over public education, reformers who intend to expand and improve public school options, and entrepreneurs, who see charter schools as a vehicle for combining business and educational goals.
In the past few years, Educational Maintenance Organizations (EMOs) have become increasingly involved in public education as they view schools for their profit potential. The Edison Project, Tesseract, Sylvan Learning Systems, and Advantage Schools are several of the better-known "for-profit" education businesses. While the long-term viability of this privatization is far from certain, EMOs are shaking up the educational landscape.
While home schooling is far from being a new phenomenon, the number of parents educating their children at home has grown dramatically in recent years. Home-schooling parents include the religiously motivated, as well as reform-minded parents who use experiential and individualized learning activities. Technological advances, including the use of the Internet, have opened the possibility of converting education into a "cottage enterprise."

Begin a search: Catalog | Site | Campus Rep

Copyright ©2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of The McGraw-Hill Companies.
For further information about this site contact cara_harvey@mcgraw-hill.com.