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The History of American Education System Has Seen The Gradual Slide of Standards in Basic Skills Such as Reading And Writing.

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Education has been integral to American history, beginning with the settlers from England poured their religious views on colonies in New England.

The history of American education system shows education in the 17th century assured people understood the principles of religion and the laws of the commonwealth.

However, it did aim to teach students how to read and write and prepare children for higher education.

You would imagine that America has moved on since that century that started with the first settlers and ended with the Salem witch trials.

Of course it has to a point as knowledge, invention, infrastructure, population and technology has moved the world forward.

However, the history of American education system takes a downward turn in the 20th century, in part as a result of technology.

The education system today is too wrapped up in social teaching, and is shying away from the basics of giving students knowledge on subjects such as English, Maths, History, Science and others.

While on paper the literacy rate in the United States is pretty high at 99 percent, this ranks it only joint 17th in the U.N tables just ahead of Tonga in 41st place.

For a country that prides itself on being a world leader in practically everything, this seems to be a pretty poor outcome.

John Dewey was an education reformer whose ideas were highly influential in the United States in the early part of the 20th century.

His view was that the authoritarian, strict, pre-ordained knowledge approach of modern traditional education was too concerned with delivering knowledge, and not enough with understanding students’ actual experiences.

This began a slippery slope in the history of American education system as Dewey’s ideas gained recognition, leading to models such as Project Based Learning.

Some good and bad events happened during the 20th century that influenced education in the United States to this day.

The G.I. Bill of 1944 encouraged veterans of war to take to higher education, which led to an increase in higher education interest by the population at large.

In the 1950s the views on human behaviour of B.F Skinner were published, which had an influence on aspects of modern education in the United States.

We also then have the lifelong education concept, which UNESCO championed as far back as the 1970s, aims to bring an existing national school system into line with life-long learning.

The United States took this concept on board, in spite of its withdrawal from UNESCO in 1984 by the then President Ronald Reagan.

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Life-Long Learning

In the period of the United States absence from UNESCO, the idea received US tax dollars through federal laws that funded different aspects of the principle.

Charlotte Iserbyt, who worked in the Reagan administration, describes the policy the United Nations lifelong learning/brainwashing concept.

Lifelong education’s aim is to replace developing the mind with an emphasis on attitudes, values, habits, and social behaviors.

Iserbyt warns that the education will be used as the main vehicle for implementing social, political and economic change.

The traditional concepts of education are already being diluted.

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Technology

Iserbyt blew the whistle on what really was happening in the history of American education system.

In 1981 she was informed by a senior player in the Department of Education that the future of education will take place in the home using computers.

The school buildings will always be there for “socialization”.

Technology will only serve to hinder the development of student minds, and not advance heir core knowledge.

Today American schools are focusing on non-academic standards.

They call these life skills, but these skills are not enabling the children to take their country forward.

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Education isn’t Working

The lessons in the history of American education system have not been learned.

The standard of education is undoubtedly falling behind that of its international competitors.

Statistics show the United States rankings in OECD Programme for International Student Assessment as not very good reading, for those of us that can read.

In 2006, U.S. 15 year olds ranked 35th of 57 in mathematics and. 29th in science.

This is all a result of dumbing down in education. It is very wrong to argue that it is an issue of lack of funding, because Government funding has soared over the last 20 years.

The problem is the funding is being wasted on everything but education.

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