T & C Ch 1

I found the reading on the progress/regress of American school systems very informative. My own personal experience with American school systems (k-12) is highly limited, I have neither taught in nor attended k-12 schools here. I thought as I read that the factors that actually affected the implementation of the many reforms must have been very widely varied. It came as no surprise to me close to the end of the chapter when the book spoke of some of the disparity across different groups in the perception of the state of the school system, and the different interest groups that continued to swing the pendulum of school reform to and fro. I believe that the individuality and uniqueness of each institution and unique mix of circumstances surrounding each child makes legislature to ensure progress very difficult, solving one problem basically leads to the creation of another.

All through my reading however I keep seeing the paradox referred to in H & S's American Dream. We are working in a society with a distinct focus on competition and capitalism and then attempting to create a 'utopia' still within this society in which these fundamental principles no longer exist. I do not see how opportunity can be equal when some of the poorer families' handicaps affect the definition and very nature of that opportunity to start with. We must realize that a person's experience, in this case a student's education, is more about what is going on inside of them than what is being delivered or constructed outside them. I agree with the allusions in this chapter that to a certain extent educators are being held accountable for factors that are much larger than any efforts they could possibly put forth.

The statement of "the American Creed" (pg 25) hailing the commitment to "liberty equality, justice, and fair opportunity for everybody" confuses me in this context. I have always found it confusing that we add equality in this mix because a competitive society grows and builds on inequality. We uphold these principles and need the inequality to produce and function on the levels we do. I think that school policy has been effective once these differences can be recognized and respected such that there is not 'unfair' treatment of underprivileged students or families, but the results, funding, and economic success rates of groups who have been disadvantaged to start with may still remain generally lower. I do not see this as a failing in the school system but a mirror pointed at society in or out of the school system. If we think it works in other aspects of society then we cannot be quite so incensed about it in education. In other areas; nutrition, leisure time, health etc, we believe that families with more resources will do much better than their poorer counterparts yet we do not consider this unfair or a failing of the society as a whole towards the less fortunate.

I'm not sure how accurate it is, (My exposure is limited to these two texts) but it appeared to me as though a lot of the efforts described attempted to fix something that has to be fixed somewhere outside of the educational system.