Education has been politicized since it was recognized that he who influences the young shapes the future. If you want that future to include your views and your agenda, you can build a generation of people who agree by injecting your views into education. Therefore, from local to national attention, politics have shaped every facet of the experiences of our children in public and private schools. Although many would argue that private schools offer a way for people to escape the political influences within public schools, they are intimately connected in ways that most people don't recognize.
Moreover, education in the United States, by design, was created to support the politic being created by the founders. In order to have a nation ruled by an electorate, first there needed to be an educated populace that could skillfully select those to govern. As that government took shape, it was also clear that through education, a nation's relevance in the larger international politic could be increased by its ability to create intellectual capital and property that rivals other nations.
Through the years, the public schools have been a battle ground of competing influences. As a result school policy has become a patchwork of both local and federal influences from both liberal and conservative administrations. From the design and structure of school buildings, the type and frequency of testing, the curriculum to be taught, the selection of teachers, and the behavior of employees in the workplace has all been to a large degree legislated. Further, the courts have established specific mandates due to challenges to existing laws and the freedoms afforded by the constitution.
Stay Tuned for Part 2: Who are we talking about?
No comments:
Post a Comment