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, B.M.E.MA, MSC, MBAPHDOne of the fundamental parts of the American “Melting Pot or “Americanization” is itseducation. According to the ideas of the creators of American Constitution the education of theircountry should reflect the nation’s basic values and ideals. Equality of opportunities fordeveloping the nation’s greatest potential has become the most important aspect of Americansystem of education. As many historians believe a great deal of economic, political, scientific,and cultural progress America has made in its relatively short history is due to its commitment tothe ideal of equal opportunity.
This is the ideal of educating as many Americans as possible, tothe best of their abilities.Millions of immigrants coming to America often tied their hopes for a better life to agood education for themselves and, most importantly, for their children. They view theEducation as a way of “bettering oneself”, of “rising in the world”, as a fundamental part of theAmerican Dream.In the whole American society there has always been held the belief, that the moreschooling a person has, the more material success he or she will achieve in the future.
Thecolonists of Northern and Western states showed a great concern for education. In these statesthere were many literate people at a time, when education was still uncommon in many countriesof Europe.Already in the 17 th century they required all towns with more than 50 families toPPprovide a schoolmaster at public expense. Other colonies also made provisions for free publicschools. In the course of the 17 th century, for instance, free schools had been established in aPPnumber of places such as New Haven, Hartford, New London, and Fairfield.
In 1636 more than ahundred years before American independence several Cambridge graduates founded in theMassachusetts Bay Colony the first college, called after the name of Harvard who left it hislibrary and half of his property.Before the revolution nine colleges of higher learning had been opened in NorthAmerica: among them the college of William and many in Williamsburg, Virginia, established in1693, and Yale, founded in 1701.These colonial colleges, which later became universities, werefounded to train men for service in the church and civil state.
Special emphasis was laid onclassical education and only those who knew Latin and Greek were considered educated.American colleges in those days tried to duplicate the English ones, but unlike old Englishuniversities they were not self-governing bodies.The American Revolution brought a lot of changes. The independence of the statesraised new questions about what American education should be.The first state universities were founded, though their flowering did not come until afterthe Civil War, a century later. Rapid development of industry, agriculture and transportationbrought about great changes. The technological needs of agriculture and business stimulated thecreation of agricultural and engineering colleges and caused the improvement of the earlynineteen-century universities. The mid-nineteenth century saw the foundation of private schoolknown as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (1861).Gradually universities, private or public, became the dominant and most influentialstructure of higher education, a position they still hold.
Many of the oldest and best-knownliberal arts colleges, such as Yale, Columbia and Harvard, became universities during thisperiod. By the same time state-supported colleges and universities had been established in manystates, including recently settled states such as Florida. Jota and Wisconsin and Michigan.In 1862, Congress passed a law, which provided states with public (federal) lands to beused for higher education, especially for the establishment of agricultural so-called “cow” andmechanical-arts colleges.
Many “land-grant colleges” were established. These new statesupported institutions joined the large number of older, well-established, and well-to-do privatelyfunded universities. They were important in the democratization of higher education in theUnited States.By 1900, there were almost a thousand institutions of higher education in the U.S.Among them were law and medical “schools” and hundreds of small, four-year liberal artscolleges.
One of the latter, Oberlin College in Ohio, was the first to admit women on an equalbasis with men, in 1837. There were many other institutions of higher learning, whichemphasized everything from the training of teachers to the pulling of teeth.The United States have never had a national system of education although there is aFederal Department of Education, which in some ways corresponds to the Russian ministry ofEducation, its function is merely to gather information, to advise, and to help finance certaineducational programs. Education, Americans say, is “a national concern, a state responsibility,and a local function”.
Since the Constitution does not state that education is a responsibility ofthe federal government, all education matters are left to the individual states.In turn, however, state constitutions give the actual administrative control of the schools tothe local communities. In 1986, an average of 50 percent of the funds for elementary andsecondary education came from state sources, 43 percent from local funds, and only about 6percent the federal government. There are some 16, 000 school districts within the 50 states.School boards made up of individual citizens elected from each community oversee the schoolsin each district.
They, not the state, set school policy and actually decide what is to be taught.The major result of this situation is that there is an enormous amount of variety andflexibility in elementary, secondary, and higher (university) education throughout the nation.Elementary and Secondary Education.Because of the great variety of schools and the many differences among them, noone institution can be singled out as typical or even representative.There exist private and public schools. Since separation of church and state is aprinciple of American democracy and therefore religion cannot be taught in state-supportedschools, there are also many parochial schools, which are supported by the church. These areoften Catholic, but there are Protestant and Jewish schools as well.Because of the inequalities inherent in society as a whole, however, the goal of equalopportunity in education remains an ideal rather than a reality.
As the tuition fees are rather highin private schools they are attended primarily by upper-class children. The reason why parentssend their children to these schools is that they often believe they will receive a better educationin them and/or they will associate with other children of their own background. However, theseprivate schools are few in number, and they do not by any means displace the public schools,which are truly the central educational institution in the United States.Today there are 6 million pupils in private schools and 43 million pupils and students inpublic schools at the elementary and secondary levels throughout the country. In other words 88percent of American children attend public schools and only 12 percent go to private schools.The divisions or stages a child passes in his school educational ladder areelementary, junior high school or middle school, and high school.
American children beginto attend school by the age of five or six. There are also pre-school classes calledkindergarten. Before this they may attend nursery school or a day care center.Schooling is divided into twelve academic levels or grades, each of which lasts oneyear. Elementary school usually covers grades one through six or seven. Middle school orjunior high school is from grades seven to nine or seven to eight. The concluding three or fourgrades form high school.There are more or less definite demands at each level. In some areas and at moreadvanced levels, students can choose some subject.
Students take classes in major subjects suchas English, Math, History and Science. They must also take classes in physical education and aforeign language. Then they can usually choose an elective in subjects like art or music. At theend of term students get a grade of A, B, C, D, or F (fail) foe each subject. Grades are based ontest scores, class participation, and class and homework assignments. As they finish each class ina subject students get a credit. When they have enough pf these, they can go further.The apostle of American school education is considered to be John Dewey. Thisphilosopher and educator believed that conveying factual information to students is secondaryto teaching them thinking processes and skills, which they will use in the future.
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