The Good, the Bad, and the Defective
Argument: Not much has changed between 19th century Education vs. now in the sense of defining students as good or bad.
How to Break Free of Our 19th-Century Factory-Model Education System
Today our collective vision for education is broader, our nation is more complex and diverse, and our technical capabilities are more powerful. But we continue to assume the factory-model classroom and its rigid bell schedules, credit requirements, age-based grade levels, and physical specifications when we talk about school reform. However, the assumptions of the factory-model classrooms are still maintained because of the certain purpose of wanting to shape and mold students in a certain direction. Holding expectancy …show more content…
Students may be considered good after they meet the many expectations of the educational system, such as sustained focus, worthy attendance, perfect obedience, and consistent punctuality. In Slate and Black Board, the subtlety declared expectations often included good behavior, proper etiquette, obedience, religious interest and so forth. Should these expectations be considered to be valued in society as well? These such achievements of sustained focus, perfect obedience, proper etiquette, god behavior, and so forth are the behaviors that warranted a reward of merit in 19th-century classrooms, not being too different from what modern teachers value. However, on the other spectrum when students were unable to meet expectation, in the 19th century, they were labeled as defective but had been looked at with hope of being fixed. 19th century schoolbooks with the expected audience of beginning learners and/or readers often incorporated expectations “society” had for students, such as what makes them a “good pupil” or “defective pupil.” Modernly, do we consider bad students a loss cause after endless hours of …show more content…
According the 1994 book Rewards of Merit by Patricia Fenn and Alfred P. Malpa, some 19th-century teachers seemed to instinctively understand that giving rewards was more productive. Others looked to more experienced teachers, observing their success with rewards for desired behavior. Some rewards of merit explicitly state what behavior would not be celebrated—tardiness, absence, or "misdemeanors." For example, on page 17, the author wrote, "What they make is of comparatively little consequence, provided they attend, each to his own business, and do not interfere with that of others" (Slate & Black Board). The book is implying that children going to school should be taught to mind their "own business" and to not bother anyone around them. This is teaching manners of focusing on yourself and to not disrupt anyone else's learning. Furthermore, the author never stated the pupils must attend to their own behavior; he said “provided” that they do. Basically, the author is making a suggestion, but is also stating, without words, that these suggestions should be followed if you want a proper educational system and the product being
Argument: Not much has changed between 19th century Education vs. now in the sense of defining students as good or bad.
How to Break Free of Our 19th-Century Factory-Model Education System
Today our collective vision for education is broader, our nation is more complex and diverse, and our technical capabilities are more powerful. But we continue to assume the factory-model classroom and its rigid bell schedules, credit requirements, age-based grade levels, and physical specifications when we talk about school reform. However, the assumptions of the factory-model classrooms are still maintained because of the certain purpose of wanting to shape and mold students in a certain direction. Holding expectancy …show more content…
Students may be considered good after they meet the many expectations of the educational system, such as sustained focus, worthy attendance, perfect obedience, and consistent punctuality. In Slate and Black Board, the subtlety declared expectations often included good behavior, proper etiquette, obedience, religious interest and so forth. Should these expectations be considered to be valued in society as well? These such achievements of sustained focus, perfect obedience, proper etiquette, god behavior, and so forth are the behaviors that warranted a reward of merit in 19th-century classrooms, not being too different from what modern teachers value. However, on the other spectrum when students were unable to meet expectation, in the 19th century, they were labeled as defective but had been looked at with hope of being fixed. 19th century schoolbooks with the expected audience of beginning learners and/or readers often incorporated expectations “society” had for students, such as what makes them a “good pupil” or “defective pupil.” Modernly, do we consider bad students a loss cause after endless hours of …show more content…
According the 1994 book Rewards of Merit by Patricia Fenn and Alfred P. Malpa, some 19th-century teachers seemed to instinctively understand that giving rewards was more productive. Others looked to more experienced teachers, observing their success with rewards for desired behavior. Some rewards of merit explicitly state what behavior would not be celebrated—tardiness, absence, or "misdemeanors." For example, on page 17, the author wrote, "What they make is of comparatively little consequence, provided they attend, each to his own business, and do not interfere with that of others" (Slate & Black Board). The book is implying that children going to school should be taught to mind their "own business" and to not bother anyone around them. This is teaching manners of focusing on yourself and to not disrupt anyone else's learning. Furthermore, the author never stated the pupils must attend to their own behavior; he said “provided” that they do. Basically, the author is making a suggestion, but is also stating, without words, that these suggestions should be followed if you want a proper educational system and the product being