Daily Dig 2010 high school drop out rates in America: White students: 5.1% African American students: 8% Hispanic students: 15.1% Asian/Pacific Islander students: 4.2% Native American students: 12.4%.

What is the purpose of education? (What should we be preparing students for, and how should we go about doing this?) Is education a basic right that everyone should have access to? How can the government ensure quality of public education?

Before the 1820s schools were mostly private or religious Reformer Horace Mann advocated for common schools - free, open to all (white) children, and non-sectarian Common schools were the precursors to today’s public schools

Public school enrollment increased from 7.6 million to 12.7 million in the 1870s After the Civil War African Americans began enrolling in schools; although they and Native American students faced discrimination and exclusion 1896: Plessy v. Ferguson establishes “Separate but equal” doctrine Despite persisting hardships, the black literacy rate soared from 5% to 70% by 1900

By the turn of the century, immigration to the U.S. was drastically increasing Schools became a place of “Americanization” where the children of immigrants learned English and were instilled with “American customs” Schools were expected to bring order to society and preserve social norms; Girls had a “household arts” curriculum, and boys were put into an “industrial education program”

Progressivism argues that students learn best by doing/experiencing, and that students should direct their own learning and education John Dewey: Progressive educator who argued that democracy should prevail in the classroom “Education is not preparation for life but is life itself!”

1954: Brown v. Board of Education, overturned “separate but equal” doctrine that was established in 1896 Schools began process of desegregation, although it was a slow process 1990s: schools were no longer “required” to integrate; re- segregation begins in some places b/c cities were still residentially segregated 1970s: integration increases due to busing and other attempts to desegregate schools

1980s: School Choice starts to become more common through voucher systems, the introduction of charter schools, and systems similar to Chicago’s selective enrollment schools 1992: The first charter school – a privately operated public school – opened in Minnesota. 2001: No Child Left Behind, increases accountability for student performance; mandates that schools must make “adequate yearly progress” each year in order to continue to receive funding; also sets the goal of 100% English proficiency by the year : The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education of Alien Minors) is first proposed in Congress; it has been debated for several years but still has not passed 2009: Race to the Top introduced, which provides financial incentives to schools that demonstrate improvement in teacher performance, student performance on standardized tests, and other areas of educational proficiency

Function & Mission Statement: ★W★W hat is the purpose of your school? ★W★W hat principles and beliefs will guide how it is run? School Population: ★W★W hat will be the race, gender, socioeconomic status of your students? ★W★W ill it be an integrated or segregated environment - and how will you enforce this? Funding: ★W★W hat type of school will this be (charter, private, public), and where will the funding come from? ★H★H ow will resources be allocated? Curriculum: ★W★W hat will students learn at your school - and how will they learn it?

Honors Sociology Homework Due Thursday, Sept. 6 Choose TWO of the following aspects of your dream school and find sources that relates to each aspect: ★ Function & Mission Statement ★ School Population (type of school/admission process) ★ Funding ★ Curriculum