What I found most interesting about this section of readings was the connection between middle schools and big business corportations. At the very beginning on page 152 the author says, "As the opening quotes indicate this section also addresses the role of corporate interestgs in a changing economy and the institutionalized goals of public education." We all know that schools are a social institution but I never realized how influencial corporations are in public education. Businesses reflect the current economy and schools are meant to train students for the business world so the indirect tie would be the economy shapes what is taught in schools.
Along these same lines, Chapter 10 was an executive summary from the Carnegie Corporation's Turning Point report of 1989. Carnegie was one of the first steel monopolies of America and was famous for building towns around his factories. He wanted every day life to be lived in the shadow of and for the benefit of the company. Clearly here, the corporation wanted schools to be for the benefit on the company and the economy.
This is true that schools should teach students the skills required to be productive in the economy they will be entering, but should they teach more than that? Should the focus be more on 'real world' skills or abstract thought and arts?
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It's interesting that you ask that, today we can send our children to Montessori school's and have them choose there lesson plan that best suites them. This directs their education, but then again when the children are in such an early period of their life, should they have a directed focus in school? I personally think this is the greatest idea, but then again I don't know too much on the topic.
ReplyDeleteWe should probably point out that Andrew Carnegie was also famous for the huge number of public libraries that he funded. Based on his own experience as a poor immigrant coming to America, he wanted other Americans to have the same opportunity that he did (to become successful based on one's own hard work). It wasn't strictly self-serving, although I know that doesn't answer the question of whether arts and philosophy are more important than "productive" skills.
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