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19th Century thoughts on Education and the Connection to Now

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American Repair Kit

 Source: American Educational Review XXXI, 1910, Vol 7

Today, it feels like the educational institution is under attack (understatement, right? “It’s just a Flesh Wound”). So I wanted to read some journals from the late 1800’s/early 1900’s and see what those scholars felt about education in general. If I’m going to talk about writing assessment in my dissertation, I need to a comprehensive picture. I have to say I am quite humbled and shocked at some of the things I have been reading.

Perspectives in Early 1900’s: In a way, the attitudes of the “working man” toward education remind me of “Downton Abbey” – They looked down on those who had white-collar (or any) jobs. In 1910, scholars were already worrying about what would happen if everyone became educated. They wondered who would do the “rough work” (4).

So let’s define “rough work”. Hmm. that would be any job that requires home maintenance, clean-up, fixing, replacing, building, etc. In essence, “rough work” has always been a valued and necessary part of culture. People would own shops for just one aspect of the “rough work”. And yet, today our students look on any kind of technical or manual job as below them. But what if they are naturally good with their hands? I just don’t want to discourage a generation of students from trying to build, to invent, to DO because they think it is beneath them.

Back then when college was a relatively new thing for the middle classes, parents would send their kids to college if they were perceived as being lazy – at least they’d get an education. This is so different from where we are now, but I can see the ramifications of this attitude. A hundred years later, who is going to do the “work”? Also, those who do the manual labor (especially for their own business) seem to make a decent salary today.

Today, students and parents are absolutely obsessed with what college they (students) will attend. College and education is everything; however, don’t you think the label of “college degree” is changing a bit? Now, we have to go further. Some say that the undergraduate degree doesn’t even matter in the scope of career. The only benefit of the undergrad degree is to show employers that you can get through college and to get into the expected graduate school.

And yet, to get a corporate job you need business experience. This means that education can only get you so far. So I am wondering just how much value the corporate world places on education. Do they just want results? I have to believe that the best combination is results PLUS education for prestige and ethos.

So how important is education today, in 2013? In my school, many of the “tech” classes have been removed – Auto Mechanics, Horticulture, etc – classes that were the saving grace for some kids who felt that English literature was a Hell on earth. These classes have been eliminated from our school program and instead there is an emphasis on AP classes and “college-readiness” courses. It seems that the powers that be feel that everyone is “college ready”. But you know what? I’ve had several of my top Advanced Placement students tell me that they wish they could just take a couple of years off after high school, work, save money, figure life out a little bit, and then go to college. But that’s unacceptable for most parents. People are afraid that if students are “off the market” for a while they will lose their chance at a good career. This makes me sad. Our teens under 18 are already in the rat race and they can’t even vote or have a beer yet.

 I remember a few years back when one student loved his horticulture class. He’d bring me plants; in fact, I still have the Dusty Millers he gave me in my front yard. My husband planted them and I can’t look at them without thinking about our now defunct horticulture program.

I have these in my front yard

I have these in my front yard

So here is where I am divided. I teach AP Language! I am all for the AP class. I want my students to be successful.

BUT….

I want to be able to call someone to fix my AC, to change the tires on my car, to shingle the roof. These are honorable jobs. When did that change? And, as a wife of a small business owner who walks through buildings and does air testing, asbestos testing, and lead-paint testing, I respect people who live in the trenches to do their jobs. We need those people. How would we exist without them?

In a way, education had a “bad rep” because people thought that it was just about bombastic words, etc. But this author is saying that it is up to educators to dispel that myth. Interesting. So even in 1910, education itself was often looked at as a Lazy man’s job. Of course that would all change.

Kind of.

How about the people today who say “those who can’t do, teach”? This is the same misconception that I am hoping will someday die out. Those who CAN do teach. They can also do something else: they can put into words how to do what they can do. That’s hard.

Today, education is so crucial to success. Completing college shows future employers that you can stick it out, even through the tough patches.


Filed under: Research Realizations, The Dissertation Tagged: Advanced Placement, Auto mechanic, Business, Colleges and Universities, dissertation, Downton Abbey, Education, expectation, Higher education, plumbers, research, United States, writing

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