The Information Revolution Has Created a Digital Divide

The Information Revolution Has Created a Digital Divide
This article explains that our countries advances with technology had provided great chances for students that can access computers but for students that don’t have those opportunities; it has created a large gap. Because most middle class public schools have become so greatly dependent on computers it teaches those students many important skills that will be surrounding their future. Students that aren’t able to have computers are then trapped within the past ways of education, and are almost stuck in the past. They are limited in what they would like to study or advance to because not having a computer places a strong handicap on students. The people that have been split by to digital divide are now one of the country’s largest issues. The divide has cause “Minorities, low-income persons, he less educated, and children of single- parent households, particularly when they reside in rural areas or central cities…” (Larry Irving), to be separated from the rest of the world that is constantly being pushed by the advances in technology. Although people are working to end this problem it is still apparent in many parts of the country. The people that are raised without a computer are shown a completely different way of life.
It is surprising to read that there are people that have never used a computer. I often use a computer at least two times a day. Our school works seems to revolve around technology in every class. A school that doesn’t have multiple computer labs, or offer laptops that you can use when ever needed in the library, doesn’t seem normal. The things that I have taken advantage of for my whole education are now being shown in an angry article. I think it is important to see that others are very limited in their schooling in hopes that it will encourage schools like ours to give back, while also teaching students to be great full for what they are given.


The Information Revolution Has Created a Digital Divide." Opposing Viewpoints: The Information Revolution. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 8 Feb. 2010
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Local School Boards Should Have More Control over Education Spending

Local School Boards Should Have More Control over Education Spending
This article explains how as schools are growing the gap between public middle class schools and public inner city schools are growing as well. This gap has been shown through the No Child Left Behind Act. At this point there is the “tradition of local control has been shaken to its core, beset by a rash of state and federal mandates, battles over consolidation and choice, and the growth of well-funded national organizations that have placed schools at the center of the political and culture wars.” (Glenn Cook). The changes that are starting to take place are coming fast and rash. There are so many different ideas on how to make improvements to the system that it is being over done and overwhelming the old system. It is important to fully develop an idea before rushing into that could put a child’s future at risk. IN the end it seems to be a fight for control. Parents want their best for their child and most feel that the only way to achieve this is by having the control in their own hands. While the school board feels that they could effectively make changes and plans if they were aloud the opportunity to have more control and power. The scale for these public schooling issue doesn’t stop there it is spread throughout the country as a whole.
It was pointed out that we have increased our spending on education, but some feel that we aren’t putting the money into the right spots. They feel that they are wasting the money instead of making it a growing investment. It is a difficult time to be dealing with money, being in a recession everything dealing with money has even more attention drawn to it. The idea of shifting money becomes very controversial. It raises question such as, who should be deciding where this money is going? How do you prioritize what really is a necessity when it comes to a child’s education? It was an interesting article that I would like to look more into and find more information about.

Journal update on educatoin

When I started blogging I felt very uncomfortable. Every night it would be difficult to bring myself to get myself on the blog. I have now become more used to blogging but it’s still a little odd for me. I am doing education for my topic. At first I felt trapped because I assumed that the largest issue would most likely be segregated schools, and we had already covered that in class. I decided to go in a different direction though. I am now looking at the creation of public education. I have gone back to the 1800’s and am researching people like Horace Mann and Henry Barnard. It is interesting how controversial public education was while being created. To educate all people not just the ones with money seemed contour productive to most people. I am planning on moving forward to the first public schools and how they were run and looking into the McGuffey’s First Eclectic Reader which a major part of the education program.

Horace Mann, 1842 Journal

The Pecuniary Value of educatoin by Horace Mann, 1842.
Horace Mann had been giving speeches in gain support for public education. This was his Fifth Annual Report and it was used to support the poor. He used this to show people that public education would benefit the population as a whole.
He understands that it is not a common goal of the population to have public education but it is a necessity none the less. It is important for people to demand public education. He is well aware of “Thousands who are now indifferent about the education of their offspring because they foresee no reimbursement in kind, no return in money, or in money’s worth, for money expended.” (Horace Mann) but that doesn’t mean that the reasons are not there. It goes deeper then a short term money loss. Horace Mann works to explain to the people that their money that is being used now will give them an opportunity for their children to make more, it will provide them with a more informed population, and a better government over all. Education isn’t an item you buy that will at some point lose its value, education is an investment in a child’s future. The people of the country have to see that this is goal is not for one person or one social class, this should be a common goal of all people. A child with out an education “would have been condemned to perpetual inferiority of condition and subjected to all the evils of want and poverty…” (Horace Mann) There is no hope for an American for success without an education. What is an American with no hope? Are they still considered an American at all? America is supposed to be the land of opportunity. America is the land that disregarded the British class system, and fought for a land that would allow to attempt to work for what they wanted. Without public education this was not the same America that was fought for. It is a mockery to use the same title. The United States may not assign the classes but it locks them in place by not offering a basic tool to improve future generation’s ways of life. These schools would bring a light of hope to every citizen in the country because not only would they be eliminating the permanent classes, but they would also be living in the real Untied States that were fought for.
Horace Mann was a very powerful speaker. He used powerful ideas that connected to the people on a deeper level. Horace Mann had truth behind his words. I believe that his speeches were so moving because he had heart behind everything that he said. He dared to go against the popular idea. He was facing what could seem to be an impossible task but handled gracefully. He doesn’t show anger but rather sadness that a public education system has been non excitant in the country. He shows hope for a brighter day and delivers an amazing speech.

Henry Barnard Journal

Henry Barnard Journal

Henry Barnard worked with Horace Mann in the movement for foundation of public education. He had grown up on the highlighted path to success. He had gone to the academy before attending Yale College and going into law. Although he could have chosen to live above the other Americans as a high class lawyer he decided to see the world open minded. Henry Barnard was not only a lawyer but help a position in the legislature as well. He gave up those things though so that he could become a secretary of education. He noticed that the schools were suffering in a large way. Barnard seemed to be a highly respectable person, he put others completely before himself and truly valued the greater good over his personal gain. His ability to see the flaws within a society that he didn’t have to be surrounded around is very impressive. He saw the schools were failing and that something needed to be done. When he was in office Barnard worked to make real improvements to the schooling system. It is more often than not, that public leaders make promises of improvement for the greater good that never seem to come. Barnard had a plan of action that he quickly put into to motion. His solution was to “addressed public meetings, set up schools for teachers…” (Henry Barnard) and to create and run a paper called the Connecticut Common School Journal. A large part of Barnard’s plan was to have the teachers educated. It was the first step necessary step to take because schools are useless if there is no one to teach in them. He wanted prepared educators that would offer a student a productive practice. He wanted to plan to be pursued by the public. These goals that Barnard created were for the benefit of the public and he knew that he couldn’t do it without the people backing him. Barnard worked hard to place these plans into action that the work that he was able to accomplish is highly respectable. After all of the work he had put in he was then voted out of office, which was a tragic loss of the state.
The next movement Barnard decided to make was in Rhode Island. He worked as a principal and a superintended. His actions are a great reflection on his character. He speaks of people being able to have an equal opportunity for education and he is giving everything he has to provide it for the world. He gave up his high paying, important jobs to work for and with the people. He was a selfless man that accomplished great things in his life. Throughout his life he was a motivational speaker, which spoke to people encouraging them to push for public education. He devoted his life to wanting more for the next generation. It is empowering that although Henry Barnard was born on the guided path to wealth he rejected it to fight for the public good. He was a devoted man that inspired many people and was a major piece of developing public schooling in the Untied States.

"Henry Barnard." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. .

Journal Horace Mann: Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education (1848)

Journal Horace Mann: Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education (1848)
Horace Mann gave a speech to the state legislature on the board’s activities. He explained that there are two different types of theories for the ways of life. The European theory is that men are not equal. Men should be divided into social classes and rated as human. It is bold of him to point out that in Europe it was expected that some people would never be able to succeed in life, they worked and labored for nothing while “others to seize and enjoy” (Horace Mann). The class separation in Europe was discouraging and expected throughout Europe. It is scary to look back at the country that we stem from and find such a dark history. The class system that we escarped should have been extreme motivation to present a completely different social class system.
Horace Mann is placing the British theory against the Massachusetts theory. In the Massachusetts theory he explains that it represents equality. The Massachusetts theory shows that “all are to have an equal chance for earning, and equal security in the enjoyment of what they earn” ( Horace Mann). The Massachusetts theory on classes allows for people to move up in the class system. There are no locked in classes like the ones that are set for generation in the British system. It then explains to reach the goal of the Massachusetts system of maintaining a republic it would require the people to have the potential to be equal. The people of the republic should all be able to have a free education, and the possibilities to have a brighter future. To attempt to run the Massachusetts theory without public education “is the most rash and foolhardy experiment ever tried by man…” (Horace Mann). He was applaud to find that people didn’t see the massive problems in that plan. Horace Mann becomes emotional when reaching the republic portion of his speech. He explains his plan for the future. To create the America we claim to have we must have an education system that “… knows no distinction of rich and poor…”(Horace Mann), so that all students have the possibility to succeed. Horace Mann shows great emotion and passion in his speech when explaining the system of educations ideas. He wants America to be all of the equal things that it wishes to represents.

"Horace Mann: Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education (1848)." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com.

Journal Common Schools

This article explained the process of developing public schools. It started with the “common school reform movement” which was anything but over night. A basic education consisted of fundamental literacy skills from a mom or local woman. Any education that they had was almost valueless. The upper class was using tutors while the lower class was settling with no real education system at all.
The change was finally brought during the American Revolution when people started to notice the importance of an educated population. It is disturbing to know that in the land of free the classes were segregated rated so strongly in schooling. Because the students were limited in their schooling it prevented them from ever improving classes in life. As schools began to be created Dr. Benjamin Rush established a school for woman. To advocate education for woman at this time was rare and very impressive of Dr. Rush. As the article continued though it shared that his reasoning was not as heroic as his actions lead to believe. The reason he had created the school was because he felt that it was important that the girls that would one day become the mother of the country’s leaders should be able to offer them a the best moral education possible. Even in through their education they were trapped into an assigned future. Education is supposed to be the key to a brighter future, so to have schools to lock them in the life of motherhood is ironic.
Horace Mann worked with others to reach new goals. They wanted more school terms, smaller classes with age limits and separations, more students that would be taught by highly educated teachers, and text book shat were American rather than British. Horace Mann’s seemed to be crazy to people for fighting for these school requirements that are necessary for students to learn. It is hard to comprehend that people were working hard to prevent wonderful ideas from happening in the public school system. A basic education is one of the most important things in the country currently; an America with different values doesn’t feel like the same country at all. The opposing opinions on public education was that there should be no tax funding for these schools because it was wrong to pay “what they considered local issues,”(Common Schools). How could the education of the population be a local issue? How would the values of a democratic country that is supposed to give everyone an equal opportunity to work for a better life be shown in a country with no public schools? Those issues cause no change in the schooling system.
When the world began to quickly develop and the cities were blooming the job market started to change. The work world was looking offering job that required an education, such as an accountant. These jobs acted as proof to people that schools were needed. Although the proof was evident in the country change didn’t come over night. The changes in school took a long time to progress.
The big change came with McGuffey’s First Eclectic Reader (1836). McGuffey’s book was a schooling program that contained lesions and story that connected with the people reading them. It started with basic vocabulary and grammar and then worked its way up to harder leaves throughout the book. It is fascinating that even in the 1800’s they used a quick fix system to improve their lifestyle. We have followed that pattern even to this day. This program that was just simple teaching books was a large piece in the public school movement. It is fascinating to know that one book could make such a difference in America’s history.

"common schools." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. .

Start of Educatoin Journal

The article American History: Education seemed to be a detailed timeline in paragraph form. The article contains a positive perspective on our countries educational history. It explains that before long the American colonists had created schools and this ear was also creditable for the system of public schools. It is fascinating to know that the education program. It explained the details of what education has started from to what it has become today. Home schooling was the first form of education. It was up to the family’s parents to teach their children what they felt was important; there was an optimistic outlook that the parents would be good teachers. Because parents were the only source of education the next generation was restricted to the career their parent worked in and massed on. These limiting qualities are what made it necessary for public education. The public education was mostly used for the poor and the orphaned children that would have no other possibilities of gaining a future. This was one step our country took for the common good of the people. The public schools were the best gift our ancestors could have possibly given us, not only were they showing a charitable gift for the next generation of their people but they were also opening up our country to endless possibilities. The orphan that would have never learned how to read could now grow up and change the world.
The article then passed through time explaining when the first text book appeared, secondary schools, middle schools, and universities as well. All of things appeared rapidly throughout one hundred years. The speed that these different pieces of our current education system were put together is amazing. These were no small task, to start not only a new school but a completely new type of school, where different ages and material were being taught is something unimaginably hard.
The progress in education wasn’t always open to all though. Outside of public education different private schools were being created for people of different religions. It is stimulating that America has not changed the divided system of having both public and then private for all different purposes. The article introduces the separations of the schools at the time in a slightly negative light. It shares that while the private schools were used for the upper class “free public education centered on the poor.” The separation was in clear existence during this schooling period. Comparing what they had done then to what is done now; I didn’t see much of an improvement. Although Obama had addressed in his speech even yesterday that education for everyone should be one of the countries number one priorities it has yet to become equal. Schools are separated by the quality of the towns, while some public schools are having almost all students go on to college others have a slight few that progress. It is weird to think that one of the same problems that they seemed to have then is still a problem to this day.
"education." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2010. http://www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com/.