Lynette Williams

Educ: 355

Professor: Dr R. Diaz

02-09-2012

            The School in American Culture: Margaret Mead

The theme of this reading understands the purpose of education in a global perspective. Mead talks about the perspective of education in American Schools in the early stages. She discusses many physical aspects of these schools also the systems regarding the types of schools. There were three different types of schools that were identified in the reading, the Little Red House, the Academy, and the City Schools.

            The Little Red House School System is indeed a cozy little room, where the children are taught in the simplest way possible. The one room school acts as a single classroom which should raise eye brows; this would seem that there was no room for a variety of learning experiences for the different levels for learning to take place. The red House did not cater for individuals; instead the school had all age group of students which left them no room to improve the levels of learning.

            The Academy’s schooling system was way better than that of the Red House. Reason being, it offered a higher level of learning. This is so because it only catered to high class people. The Academy’s teaching aimed towards their students being Eurocentric, that their students would have a chance to learn different languages such as, Latin, art and other activities.

            Mead also analyzed theCitySchool, these schools were for immigrants that came to theUnited States, and that is how it now in the Public Schools inAmerica. The schools were being run by business owners and politicians. The curriculum was set out in a way where students were trained to workers for companies of high class people. Students were not allowed to do much in schools because the officials were scared of the competition that they would have with the higher classes of people.

            These school systems explained by Mead did what they were supposed to do. The Red house catered the lower class, and stemmed around religion, hence, students were taught what they should know because of the area in which they live. For instance, if students lived in an area where that was dealing with farming, the focus on their teaching was on agriculture. This system was doing an injustice to the young people. This clearly showed that these children were working for the economy, and did not give them a chance to do better.

            Even though, The City Schools were exposed to a system that catered to the needs that provided education to the new comers in America, the business owners however, remained in power , and ensure that they would at all times be dependent on the higher class for survival. The system did not cater much to the lower class so as to allow them to make a contribution to the society and the economy as a whole.

            The Academy made a contribution to the other two systems, thus allowing them higher levels of achievement to be leaders in society. However, the other schools prepared their students to be followers and leaders in the society.

Works Cited

Mead, Margaret. The School in American Culture.HarvardUniversity Press, 1997.CambridgeMA Print.