David C. Paris, KJ 216, 4615.
Office hours: R 1:30-4, and by appointment.
Syllabus: http://academics.hamilton.edu/government/dparis/govt375/spring99/syllabus/
"The answer for all our national problems - the answer for all the problems of the world - comes to a single word. That word is education."
"When All Is Said and Done, More Is Said Than Done "
Description and Goals
Texts and
Requirements
Schedule
Possible Site
Topics and Suggested Resources
Course Description and Goals:
In 1983 the National Commission on Excellence in Education issued a report, A Nation at Risk. That report claimed that a "rising tide of mediocrity" was engulfing America's schools. The poor performance of the schools, it argued, threatened our national well-being, especially our international economic competitiveness. Since the publication of that report, almost every aspect of public education has been examined and discussed. Every state has adopted at least one piece of reform legislation, and there have been numerous policy initiatives concerning, among other things, the organization of schools, the training of teachers, and the structure of curriculum and testing.
Dissatisfied with the progress of reform efforts, President Bush and the Governors met in 1991 and set six national education goals for the year 2000 (America 2000). Three years later the Clinton Administration added two more goals, and Congress ratified these in the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. However, in the spring of 1996 a "summit" of Governors convened by IBM Chairman Louis Gerstner rejected the idea of national goals and claimed that states would take responsibility for setting goals and developing standards. President Clinton responded in his State of the Union Address in February 1997 by declaring education to be a priority for his second term. He proposed the development of national tests of reading and mathematics as a way of assuring that all students meet basic standards. Opposition in the Congress has forced a delay in implementing national tests, even as Clinton reiterated his commitment to them in his 1998 State of the Union Address as part of his ten point program of education reform. The summit and the debate over tests are recent major episodes in a continuing discussion and debate about education reform.
In this course we will look at the history of public education in America and examine some contemporary issues of educational policy. We will be especially interested in how current efforts at reform reflect some perennial problems confronting public education. We will address both ideological issues concerning the proper aims and role of public education and political questions about who controls the schools and who gains and loses through education policy.
More specifically, by the end of the course you should (1) have a working knowledge of the history of public education in America and current educational problems; (2) be able to describe past and current educational problems in terms of group conflict and differing ideological views on the role of public education; (3) become an expert on a current policy problem in public education; (4) be able to discuss and critically evaluate major competing positions on the proper role and goals of public education.