Chapter 8

Growth of the Welfare Function of Schools:

School Showers, Kindergarten, Playgrounds, Home Economics,

Social Centers, and Cultural Conflict

Spring Theme #1:

Conflicts Over Cultural Domination

· Late 1800s: Fear that immigrants “would destroy traditional American values and create a strong following for radical economic and political ideas.” (p. 206) The public school system is seen as the ideal setting to eliminate this “threat”.

· Eastern Europeans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and African Americans all seen as threats to American culture.

· Ethnic students actually had their names “Americanized”; Jose became Joseph, Miguel became Michael, etc. (p. 224) School children were encouraged to abandon the “failing traditions” of their culture, right down to their diets and languages.

· Texas in 1918: Legislation passed making it a criminal offense to speak anything but English when conducting any kind of school business. (p. 230) This was considered vital to the assimilation of immigrant children. Finally, in 1934, the Padin Reform limited this law to high school with the backing of Franklin D. Roosevelt.

· California in the 1930s: School districts were 85% segregated. (p. 229) It was believed that immigrant children needed to be reconditioned before they were to interact with Anglo-American children.

Spring Theme #2:

Schools Managing the Distribution of Ideas in Society

· Home economics leaders believed they could unite students from different social classes through the school cafeteria and public school courses (p. 218)

· Playgrounds (with directed activities) and community centers were integrated into schools as a means for further cultural disintegration of immigrants by supplementing the social influence of family. (p. 220)

· Summer Schools were introduced in the late 1800s. Parents saw these as a means to get their kids ahead in education, while educators saw it as a way to implement more ideological management.

· League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) forms in 1929 to combat the stigmas against Mexican Americans.

· Texas in 1921: Only 30.7% of Mexican American children attended school. (p. 229) This was largely due to the portrayal of Mexican history, particularly the Mexican-American War.

· Food becomes approached as a science instead of an art. Sanitary, pre-packaged foods with predictable flavors are encouraged.

Spring Theme #3:

Racism in Schools

· Fear of immigrants taking American jobs (p. 224) leads to a simultaneous desire to “deculturize” immigrants and fit them into niche industries.

· School showers were introduced because immigrants were seen as having an unclean living style

· Japanese Americans started their own schools, ultimately having to take a case to the Supreme Court in 1927 in order to maintain their right to do so.

· Bias teaching of Mexican history leads many children to drop out. Laws requiring mandatory school are not enforced on Mexican Americans.

· From 1913 to 1928, the Anna T. Jeanes Fund raised nearly $5 million to help African American schools cover the costs of education that the American government was not paying.

· It took over half a century for the NAACP to desegregate schools.

· Though minorities and immigrants paid local and state taxes, the funds from these were put primarily into white schools.

Spring Theme #4

Economic Issues in Schools

· Playgrounds and sandlots introduced in an effort to simultaneously assimilate children and lower crime rates in low income areas.

· School lunch programs and showers further endorse the school as a welfare facility.

· Immigrant children were often forced to work instead of attending school. Once more, laws for mandatory schooling were ignored in the cases of immigrant children.

· Native American boarding schools in the 1920s literally forced children into hard labor under terribly unsanitary conditions.

Spring Theme #5

Consumerism and Environmental Education

· Home economics encouraged homemakers to consume instead of produce, particularly in the areas of instant/processed foods.

· School lunches were used to encourage students to change their diets at home, forcing parents to adopt American meal plans and instant foods.

· Advancements in home economics spurred the creation of fast food chains.