Chapter 5: The History of Schools in the United States

Chapter five in the Joy of Teaching by Hall, Quinn, and Gollnick addresses the history of schools in the United States. It is an interesting read because it brings up things like classroom evolution, curriculum, student body, and teaching standards. This is as important as it is interesting for future teachers, we can learn from the past and see that single room school houses are ineffective compared to the multiple grade schools we now have, learning the past prepares us for the future. It seems absurd these days that it would be effective to teach one-hundred students with one teacher in a large hall, but if it had not been tried how would we know. It is apparent to teachers to leave there religious belief's to themselves but there was a time that christian beliefs were taught in school as if they were facts. It is our duty as future educators to learn from the past, it will help us prepare to enter the field as competent up to date teachers

There have always been debates in public schooling and this chapter highlights this fact. one dispute brought up in the book is that of inclusion. It was common practice to segregate and schools were no exception groups such as Native Americans, African Americans, and individuals with disabilities to be outed from the public education system. This practice was not frowned upon, it was a normal aspect of society and rarely questioned. Another pertinent debate in schools has been religion, our country promises us freedom of choice, but many old schools read biblical text and studied christian beliefs. These types of issues are no longer in our schools but it is important to know our past so we can be ready for the future.