Reflections

Sarah Brainard

  1. I have always been interested in education, but did not know anything about the history of education, or the anything that really effected it currently.
  2. The history of compulsory education, and the fact that it is a matter of controversy among people. I always figured that everyone agreed that compulsory attendance laws were good, and that they were not a matter of discussion. It was also really surprising how long it took to actually begin to gain traction with compulsory education, and beginning to enforce the compulsory education laws.
  3. It really made me realize that not a lot has changed about education since the past. Education has generally remained stagnant in growth. Before this project, I was under the impression that our education system is significantly better than it was in the past, but I do not know if I still believe that.
  4. That education is one of the most important aspects of society, and has been used throughout history as a tool to disenfranchise people of all races and sexes. We need to begin to look at education as the key to the progression of society, and we should begin to put more thought and effort into it.
  5. I think people would realize how important education is, and how messed up the history of education is. There is so much power in knowledge, and school is a place where children learn, but also figure out life, and how to act. When we make some children feel more superior than others in schools, we create adults who feel superior. If more people understood this, I believe that education would be taken more seriously.
  6. Education has always been an important topic to me. I have always had a passion for learning, but also a passion for school. I believe that some of the people at my school made the biggest impacts on my life, and are the reason why I am who I am today. I want to take the information that I learned and use it to make positive change in education.

Clifton Braddy

  1. I knew very little about the history of American Education before we started this project.
  2. The most surprising thing to me was researching Title 9 and how much changed in a matter of 50 years.
  3. How much segregation went on throughout American Education.
  4. That it isn’t and hasn’t ever been completely equal.
  5. I don’t think they’d be different at all, politics are politics and there is nothing that can be changed about that.
  6. I know the only thing I can do is tell people about it and raise awareness about it. Maybe one day my influence will cause a change.

Lauren Chapple

  1. When I started researching this topic I did not know alot about this topic. However, as we started researching this topic more in depth I discovered that I was surrounded by a lot of these problems during my time at school. For example, the achievement gap, curriculum, Title IX, school choice, and school funding were all issues I was surrounded by as a student I just was not aware of. I think this is partly because I am white and have not been required to think about these issues. I think a lot of these issues are surrounded by inequality and racial discrimination; I have not had to look at this issue through a critical lens until this project.
  2. The most surprising thing I learned during the course of this project is the amount of inequality in our school system and how so much of the inequality is based on socioeconomic status. Learning about the tax based school funding system opened my eyes to how many people experience barriers to education.  I am also surprised that many of these issues are not black and white; they are complex and a lot of components go into the topic.
  3. This project changed my understanding of U.S history because it allowed me to make connections about things we had learned in class to education in the U.S. The wealth gap we had learned about the last week of class had parallels with the achievement gap in the education system. I was able to think critically about U.S history and make it more meaningful to me by examining school. School has been the majority of my life for the past 20 years so it clicked.
  4. The most important thing Americans should understand about the history of education is hat is interconnected with other parts of our history, and many of the issues in society greatly impact education. I think Americans should take away that our education system is unequal and needs to be progressive to create a more equal and just society.
  5. If more Americans understood the history of this topic than I think more people would care that the education system is complex and the system treats people differently in different ways depending on where you are from.I think people would stay updated in the issue of education.  People would be able to have dialogues about solutions to change and progress the system so it is more effective and fair.
  6. After doing this research I hope to be more aware and sensitive to people’s situation and relationship with education. From a political view I think we need to be more progressive in education and gather ideas from other countries to better our system . I will also listen to all sides and perspective of educational issues to understand where all people are coming from and a solution can be made. I think after learning this information my relationship with school will change; I think I will be more appreciative I have had an advantage with education and I will be more sensitive to others who have not had the same advantages I have had. After learning that our school system is unequal and unjust I want to create an environment around my peers where the environment is fair and I think the best way to do that is to be aware that everyone comes from different backgrounds and has different relationships with school. I have become a more critical thinker by exploring this subject and I would like to learn more about others with in the U.S.