Deck 12: Public Education: What Is Its Purpose in a Democratic Society

Question 1

According to John Dewey, the essence of democracy is

A) voting.
B) active citizen participation.
C) understanding the issues of the day.
D) recognizing the significance of issues.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

According to those now writing about the need for schools to "teach democracy," teaching democracy includes:

A) Lectures about the importance of democracy
B) Creating a classroom culture of debate and mutual respect
C) A new high stakes test on democracy
D) Requiring students to join a political party while in school.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The journal Rethinking Schools has become an important voice in the educational community to promote the schools' role in

A) improving society.
B) promoting excellence.
C) teaching accountability.
D) reviving American competitiveness.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

One of John Dewey's distinctive contributions to the notion of schools as essential to democracy was his insistence that

A) schools needed to model the goals of a democratic society.
B) students should have a role in choosing administrators.
C) students should be represented on school boards.
D) every high school should elect class officers.

Question 5

Of the following, the most important effect of substandard black education in the segregated South was that many people

A) lost some of their rights as citizens.
B) remained in low-paying farm jobs.
C) could not go to college.
D) left the United States altogether

Question 6

A group of free black citizens in Boston, Massachusetts, petitioned for an end to racial segregation in schools in

A) 1800
B) the 1840s
C) the 1890s
D) the 1920s

Question 7

Combining all of a community's children in the same schools was part of Horace Mann's vision of

A) most efficiently identifying future leaders.
B) segregating children by natural processes.
C) unifying all classes of people.
D) eliminating private schools.

Question 8

Thomas Jefferson's vision for education encompassed

A) all children.
B) free white males.
C) all white children.
D) all native-born children.

Question 9

What does the Constitution of the United States say about one's right to an education?

A) It doesn't mention a right to education.
B) It recognizes only basic-skills training.
C) Only an eighth-grade education is guaranteed.
D) It recognizes education rights but not the need for equality.

Question 10

Primary responsibility for providing civic knowledge to students is the job of

A) parents.
B) all teachers.
C) social studies teachers.
D) leaders of teams and clubs