The Story of School, episode #2

I found this video very interesting and revealing. Throughout all my educational experience in history classes I have never learned about the educational system (from the beginning) in much depth. It is interesting to see what has changed, and what sadly is still the same in some ways. Start in 1900, the video covered the transformation from 'toe the line' schooling to student centered schooling. Gary's 'work-study-play' method of education seemed very beneficial. With the combination of the three, student's were able to learn actively with hands on activities, instead of the usual sit in at a desk for 4-5 hours a day. This plan also introduced health and hygene practices into schooling. For example, swimming pools were more like baths for many students. As they incorporated the Gary Plan into New York City schools, many immigrant families disliked the plan because of the 'work' part. They thought it was just a way for the schools to train their children how to work in mills the rest of their lives. Due to protests they went back to the old manner of schooling, although at this point, 1920's, they had at least split the classes by ages.

A big topic that was talked about during the video was the IQ tests. The testers were 'idealists' looking for 'future leaders'. The IQ tests were highly subjective; if you were not from typical American household you would not do as well on the test. They were very culturally bias. I think a lot of educational processes today are still like that. Different cultures value and believe in different things; kids are brought up differently depending on their family background. Today we still expect every student to learn one way, which cators to the middle white class, and this is not right. Using standardized testing today is the same as it was back then: culturally bias! Expecting everyone to show their knowledge using multiple choice questions is basically ridiculus. We have come so far in the advances in our education system. We need to keep pushing though to make sure everyone gets an equal opportunity to learn.