1900-1950-As American as Public School.

In our reading of Chapter 2: 1900-1950-As American as Public School, it was the beginning of the different type of controversial issues such as nationalism, segregation, and standardized testing for many children attending public schools nationwide. Too many times we fall into the idea that the only way to completely be accepted into the public-school sector is to give up ones’ identity. History teaches us that having an extreme ideology as Nationalism and Patriotism can easily lead to Fascism. 

It also created segregation in different parts of the country making it harder for Black children and all people of color to enroll into public-school. Also, we must remember is that young adults as well were also excluded from attending public school all the way up to the university because of segregation.

Ruby Bridges being escorted out of school
 by federal marshalls

    This country was built on the back of slavery and immigrants physical hard work with hardly any pay at all. And because of this, many schools were created by these unfortunate individuals who really did not have any choice but to continue to struggle and fight to get a proper education.
    With the first wave of immigrants that came in the United States like the Germans, British and Scandinavia in the early 1900’s, these group of immigrants were (In the eyes of white Anglo-Saxons) the superior race. As decades past and more immigrants came to the states, the second wave of immigrants that came to the states was from Russians, Poles, Jews, and Italians. These new waves of immigrants Many White Anglo-Saxons thought of them as inferior because they were illiterate, criminals, and mentally challenged. In other words, they were incapable of becoming to be true Americans and cannot assimilate to civilization. This is an unfortunate situation that still plagues our society today in the 21st century.

"Square peg in a round hole" is an idiomatic expression which describes the unusual individualist who could
not fit into a niche of their society.

    

To be accepted to a good school, children had to take IQ tests to meet certain academic requirements. This test was found to be bias and discriminatory against immigrants that can hardly speak or read the language. This same test was soon to be the model of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). This practice is still a highly controversial issue, and, in my opinion, they should just remove it completely as it creates division within our students and community. 

American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey believed that we should not only focus on the traditional academic studies but to have children achieve their goals within their social lifestyle. John Dewey also believes that hands-on experience is how you will learn in any field of study.  This is how he achieved his fame for his philosophy of “learning by doing”

    In 1920 $1 billion dollars was spent on public schools nationwide and the percentage of teenager’s graduation was significantly high. Unfortunately, in the year 2018, there has been an enormous cut of educational programs, Pell grants, and the teacher’s salary. It seems the country is going backward, and now there are talks of budget cuts of over $200 Billion dollars. Instead of investing heavily in our education, WAR seems to be high in priority. Of course, this is a completely different topic that must be discussed some other day 😊