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It is clear that changes in society, whether they are political or economical, always make a difference in the way education is viewed and taught. Chapter 6 talks about how the goals of education are linked to the questions of who controls American education and who decides what knowledge is of most value to teach to students. The first sections talks about should knowledge being taught be left up to federal government, state government, local school boards or parents.
It all comes down to control. We exercise control over public schools in many ways like voting representatives to the local school boards and the parents having the power to select the school their children go to. This chapter ties in with the purpose of schooling. It talked about how political principles are passed down through the school in order to help the future generations understand how the political system works at that point in time.
It instills in them the political values that are important and helps the nation raise up improved and brighter students that can continue the legacy of their country. Something new that I learned was that the purpose of schooling was very much concerned with instilling national principles in the youth. I knew this before, but it became much more apparent in almost every aspect of the common school as well as schools today. It was neat to see that the goals of Horace Mann are still being met in many ways at public schools today.
One question that was raised in my mind was me wondering how many students and their families did not agree with the principles taught in schools. In today’s society, I see that happening. But I guess that’s why parents have school choice but sometimes that choice is also a sacrifice. A better school could be the different between a free public school and a highly priced private school. This chapter was very interesting, and I saw how schools in the US have changed since the formation of the common school.