Deck 10: What Is the History of Americans Struggle for Educational Opportunity

Question 1

What is the best description of private venture schools?

A) Schools formed so different ethnic groups could be instilled with American democratic values and learn reading, writing, and arithmetic
B) Schools designed to provide an elementary education for children within the tenets of their faith
C) Schools that prepared young men to enter commerce and trade
D) Small, community-run and financed schools designed to teach reading, writing, vocational skills, and religion

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following ideas was the basis for the establishment of common schools?

A) Equal educational access for upper-class men and women
B) The need for a literate citizenry to maintain a democracy
C) The need for strong instruction in religion and morals for U.S. youth
D) The importance of vocational training for those who could not afford further schooling

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Education in New England, the Middle Colonies, and the South took three different forms. Each form of education reflected the beliefs and the social organization of the area in which it predominated. Describe the differences among the predominant forms of education in each of these three areas. Explain the features of community life that seemed to influence how education developed in each area.

Answer 3

Suggested answer: New England: Settled by Puritans who lived in compact communities and believed that everyone should be able to read and interpret the Bible. The Puritans first had town schools, one in each town of fifty families or more, then moving schools, which went to remote farmlands. District schools were finally established in each township. Schools were funded by the town treasury and included moral instruction according to Puritan ideas since religiously the population was fairly homogeneous. Middle Colonies: Settled by a variety of religious and ethnic groups, each of which valued separate education. Promoted private venture schools licensed by civil government but funded by parents rather than taxes. Religious training was offered, but differed among schools, according to the religion of those sponsoring each school. South: Settled by Anglican Englishmen of the upper class, who established large plantations and settlements quite distant from each other. They did not believe in a religious imperative to learn to read. Southerners hired tutors to educate children. Schools might be established by government authority, but run by a corporation that collected tuition and administered the school.

Question 4

In what way is being perceived as the "model minority" a disadvantage for Asian Americans?

A) No agencies are willing to assist in housing or education because they believe that Asian Americans can succeed or their own.
B) It minimizes the needs Asian Americans have for English language instruction and multicultural education.
C) It may become more difficult for them to blend in with other groups.
D) They may assimilate too quickly into the mainstream culture, quickly losing their cultural identity.

Question 5

What change did the Northwest Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 effect?

A) The federal government required townships to hire a teacher for the children.
B) The federal government taxed households to support and sustain public high schools within their district.
C) The federal government required each township to set aside land for the maintenance of public schools.
D) The federal government instituted public elementary/secondary schools and agricultural colleges on parcels of tax-supported public land.

Question 6

Since colonial times in this country, formal education of some kind has almost always been available to

A) middle-class and upper-class white males.
B) immigrants from various countries.
C) immigrants from England.
D) white males and females of any class.

Question 7

How were "dame schools" organized?

A) An unmarried woman would travel from village to village conducting lessons in reading, writing, and religion.
B) A housewife would teach children basic literacy and household skills in her home.
C) Several women joined to form a cooperative school that taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.
D) Female teachers taught young women in a boarding school domestic arts, French, music, and art to prepare them for marriage.

Question 8

Why did Massachusetts's colonists pass the Old Deluder Satan Act?

A) They wanted to eradicate all signs of satanic influence from the colony.
B) They wanted to ensure that religion would be taught in all schools so that children would not be tempted into doing the devil's work.
C) They wanted to guarantee the religious education of non-Christians so they would convert to Puritanism.
D) They wanted to ensure that all children would learn how to read and be able to understand the teachings of the Bible.

Question 9

Which of the following is not typically characteristic of Asian American community involvement in education?

A) Industriousness
B) A sense of honor for students' work
C) Attention at home to the academic work of the child
D) The assertive, visible participation of the parents in the child's school

Question 10

Explain the difference between universal education and comprehensive education in the history of American education.

Question 11

Which of the following were the predominant forms of elementary schooling in New England during the colonial period?

A) Private venture schools, dame schools, and religious schools
B) Private academies, individual tutors, and Quaker schools
C) Latin schools, dame schools, and individual tutors
D) Town schools, moving schools, and district schools

Question 12

One obstacle for establishing common schools was economic. Which of the following best exemplifies the economic argument against common schools?

A) The number of teachers needed for the establishment of common schools would cost too much for residents to support.
B) There appeared to be no feasible, economically viable way to build and maintain the necessary school buildings.
C) People should be held responsible for paying only for their own children's education, not for the children of others.
D) Paying for instructional materials and teachers' salaries would unduly burden taxpayers.

Question 13

For parents who enrolled their child in a private venture school, what is the most likely reason they would be opposed to common schools?

A) The numbers of students would prevent individual attention for their child.
B) Their child would be required to follow the common academic curriculum given to all students.
C) Common schools would not provide their child with the necessary background to succeed in a trade.
D) Their child would not be instructed in the tenets of his or her faith or about his or her own ethnic heritage.

Question 14

In the beginning of the chapter, the authors identified seven major forces in American educational history: local control, universal education, public education, comprehensive education, secular education, the changing ideas of the basics, and expanded definition of educational access and equality. Many of the contemporary educational problems or issues emanate from these forces. Select two contemporary education issues or problems, and briefly explain them. Then describe how each one is associated with one of the major forces of American education.

Question 15

The 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. The effects of the Brown decision were far-reaching, though much work remains to be done in establishing equality of educational opportunity. Explain the basic nature of each decision, and tell how the Brown decision affected U.S. education.

Question 16

A child has been born to a Southern plantation family during colonial times. How would he most likely be educated?

A) At home with traveling scholars or local ministers
B) Through a tax-supported community school
C) Through a small local school run by the Anglican Church
D) In a boarding school in a large Southern town

Question 17

For what educational innovation is German educator Friedrich Froebelbest known?

A) Developing the kindergarten
B) Designing a system by which to teach blind children
C) Instituting grade levels for students
D) Writing the curriculum that became the standard high school curriculum

Question 18

During the colonial period, which type of formal education was most typical in New England?

A) Secular public schools attended in large part by one ethnic type
B) Individual tutors hired to work with one or two families in a home
C) Private religious schools supported by tuition
D) Public schools with a religious orientation

Question 19

Identify and explain two of the characteristics of middle schools. Why are these particular characteristics considered important in middle school education?