PBS Video - Episode 2

Episode 2 talks about the American school system from the years between 1900-1950. During this time, nearly three million immigrant children came to America. There's no wonder that there were problems in education, because schools weren't prepared to take on so many new students at one time. A big part of why families immigrated to the United States was to give their children a good education, and children were eager to learn. A major problem was that classrooms were too crowded and there weren't enough materials for everyone. This was when they invented the Gary Schools, where the motto was "Work, study, play." When I first heard that they actually made students do physical labor in order to get their education I was shocked. I couldn't believe that students had to cook lunch for other students, clean the school, and do all these other things because the school didn't want to spend the money to hire other people. But then the video showed the students happy! They were smiling, laughing, and running around because they were happy to at least be in school. Even though they weren't getting a full education because they only were in class half they time, they didn't care because at least they were in school. There were some good things about these new schools though. The Gary Schools separated students by age groups where previously they were just all in one classroom. They taught to the different languages that the children spoke. They also taught children about hygiene and manners, even if their "bath" was to go swimming in the pool. I feel like the only bad thing about these schools was that they forced children to work. Other then that, I felt like they had a good thing going and at least the children were having fun and learning.

But then it just went all down hill. I'm not sure who but someone decided that they needed a way of deciding what kids belong in what classes. And instead of taking the time to get to know the children and learning about what subjects they like and what areas they excel in, they just decided to give all children the same test - an IQ test. And before you know it, they start testing every single child no matter how old they are, or what language they spoke. Children were given tests in English, when they couldn't even read English! It was absurd and I can't believe it went on for so long. IQ tests were culturally bias so all the children who were from a different culture were being put into shop classes or home economic classes so they could be prepared for the blue collar job they'd get. But even the kids who did good on the tests, it just meant that they understood patterns, synonyms, antonyms, and analogies - it didn't mean that they were smarter then the other kids. It was no wonder that so many students dropped out before they graduated! I would have. If children are told again and again that they're stupid and are only ever going to have a blue collar job, then why would they stay? I feel bad for the people who went to school during this time period, but obviously the education system hasn't learned from it's mistakes or there wouldn't be tracking today.