Chapter 9 Education in the United States
Americans regard education as the means by which the inequalities among individuals are to be erased and by which every desirable end is to be achieved.
George S. Counts
Before You Read
1. What do you know about the system of education in the United States? How many years do students go to school before entering college?
2. What are the differences between public and private schools in the United States?
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3. What do American universities look for when admitting students? What qualities do they want the students to have?
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攻略4. What role do you think individual freedom, self-reliance, and equality of opportunity play in the educational system of the United States?The Establishment of Public Schools in America:de Tocqueville's Observations
A S might be expected, educational institutions in the United States reflect the nation’s basic values, especially the ideal of equality of opportunity. From elementary school through college, Americans believe that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to get a good education.
From the beginning, when Americans established their basic system of public schools in 1825, they reaffirmed the principle of equality by (1) making schools open to all classes of Americans, and (2) financing the schools with tax money collected from all citizens. Those who favored these public schools believed that these institutions would help reduce social class distinctions in the United States by educating children of all social classes in the same "mon schools," as they were known at the time.
When Alexis de Tocqueville arrived in the United States in 1831, he found a great deal of enthusiasm about the new and growing public elementary schools. The mayor of New York City
gave a special dinner for de Tocqueville, during which a toast was offered in honor of "Education—the extension of our public schools—a national blessing."
Because he was a French aristocrat, de Tocqueville at first shared the fears of some wealthy Americans who believed that universal education would be a danger rather than a national blessing.
He eventually decided, however, that the tendency of public education to encourage people to seek a higher status in life was in harmony with, not in conflict with, the customs of American society. The ideal of equal opportunity for all regardless of family background was much stronger in the United States than in France.
De Tocqueville also noted that American public education had a strong practical content that included the teaching of vocational skills and the duties of citizenship. Thus, public education not only gave Americans the desire to better themselves, but it also gave them the practical tools to do so. Moreover, the material abundance of the United States provided material rewards for those who took full advantage of the opportunity for a public education.
During the next century and a half, public schools in the United States were expanded to include secondary or high schools (grades 9-12) and colleges and universities, with both undergraduate and graduate studies.
The Educational Ladder
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打折Americans view their public school system as an educational ladder, rising from elementary school to high school and finally college undergraduate and graduate programs. Most children start school
at age five, by attendingkindergarten, or even at age three or four by attending pre-school programs. Then there are six years of elementary school and usually two years of middle school (or junior high school), and four years of high school. Not all school systems have kindergarten, but all do have twelve years of elementary, middle school, and senior high school. School systems may divide the twelve years up differently—grouping sixth, seventh, and eighth graders into middle school, for example. After high school, the majority of students go on to college. Undergraduate studies lead to a bachelor's degree, which is generally
what Americans mean when they speak of a "college (The word college is used in several different ways. It is generally used instead of university to refer to the education after high school, as in the expressions "go to college," and "get a college education." It is also used to refer to the school, as in "Where do you go to college?" Often people use the word college to refer to a small school that does not offer graduate degrees, and university for large schools that offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Universities often call the divisions within them colleges, as in "the College of Arts and Sciences" of Georgetown University.) diploma." The bachelor's degree can be followed by professional studies, which lead to degrees in such professions as law and medicine, and graduate studies, which lead to master's and doctoral degrees. American public schools are tree and open to
all at the elementary and secondary level (high school), but public universities charge tuition and have petitive entrance requirements.
本溪大峡谷门票The educational ladder concept is an almost perfect reflection of the American idea of individual success based on equality of opportunity and on "working your way to the top." In the United States there are no separate educational systems with a higher level of education for the wealthy and a lowerlevel of education for the masses. Rather, there is one system that is open to all. Individuals may climb as high on the ladder as they can.The abilities of the individuals, rather than their social class background, are expected to determine how high eachperson will go.
Although the great majority of children attend the free public elementary and high schools, some choose to attend private schools. There are a number of private religious schools, for example, that are associated with particular churches and receive financial support from them, though parents must also pay tuition. The primary purpose of these schools is usually to give religious instruction to children, which cannot be done in public schools. The most numerous of these, the Catholic schools, have students whose social class backgrounds are similar to the majority of students in public schools.
There are also some elite精英private schools, which serve mainly upper-class children.
Students must pay such high tuition costs that only wealthier families can afford them. Parents often send their children to these schools so that they will associate with other upper-class children and maintain the upper-class position held by their parents, in addition to getting a good education.
Unlike private religious schools, elitist private schools do conflict with the American ideal of equality of opportunity. These schools often give an extra educational and social advantage to the young people whose families have the money to allow them to attend. However, because these schools are relatively few in number, they do not displace the public school as the central educational institution in the United States. Nor does the best private school education protect young people from petition with public school graduates for admission to the best universities in the nation.
There is another area of inequality in the American education system. Because of the way that schools are funded, the quality of education that American students receive in public schools varies greatly. More than 90 percent of the money for schools es from the local level (cities and counties), primarily from property taxes财产税. School districts that have middle class or wealthy families have more tax money to spend on education. Therefore, wealthier school districts have beautiful school buildings with puters and the latest science equipment, and poorer school districts have older buildings with less modern equipment. The amount of money spent on education may vary from $7,0
00 per child in a wealthy suburb to only $ 1,200 per child attending an inner-city市中心school, or one in a poor rural area. Although the amount of money spent per child is not always the best indicator of the quality of education the child receives, it certainly is an important factor.
Attending an American University
Money is also increasingly a factor in a college education. All university students must pay tuition expenses in the United States. Because tuition is much lower at public universities than at private ones, wealthy students have more choices. There are a number of financial aid广州市番禺区天气
programs in the form of loans and scholarships available at both public and private schools. However, the expenses of buying books and living away from home make it increasingly difficult for many students to attend even the less expensive public universities.
Ironically, it may be the middle-class family that suffers the most from the rising tuition costs. The family ine may be too high to qualify for financial aid, but not high enough to afford the $15,000 to $35,000 per year (or more) needed for a private college education. At present, 80 percent of all college students attend public universities, where expenses are usually closer to $10,000 a year. Many students must work during their college years to help meet even these costs. A number of stud
ents who cannot afford to go away to college attend munity college programs for two years in their hometowns. These two-year programs often feed into the state university systems and offer educational opportunities to large numbers of students who ordinarily would not be able to attend a university.
Despite its costs, the percentage of Americans seeking a college education continues to grow. In 1900, less than 10 percent of college-age Americans entered college. Today, over 60 percent of Americans ages 25 to 39 have taken some college courses, and over 20 percent of all Americans have attended four years or more. There are about 15 million students attending college now, about six times more than 50 years ago, and there are roughly 3,000 different colleges and universities to choose from. Today, many parents who were not able to attend college when they were young have the satisfaction of seeing their sons and daughters attend.
Even the formerly elitist private universities have yielded a great deal to public pressure for greater equality of opportunity in education. Harvard, a private university considered by many to be one of the nation s most prestigious, provides a good example. Before World War II, the majority of Harvard studentscame from elite private preparatory schools. Now, the majority of them e from public high schools. As equality of opportunity came to Harvard, the petition that acpanies it also increased dram
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atically. Before World War II, Harvard admitted about 90 percent of those who applied. Now, Harvard admits only about 16 or 17 percent of its applicants.
