Shopping mall high school: Difference between revisions
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As high school enrollment increased and diversified over the 20th century, research suggests that standards became lower. In their book, ''The Failed Promise of the American High School 1890-1995'', authors David Angus and Jeffrey E. Mirel report that by the 1950s, education aimed at the lowest common denominator become the norm in America's high schools.<ref>Angus, David L., and Jeffrey E. Mirel. The Failed Promise of the American High School: 1890-1995. New York: Teachers College, 1999.</ref> |
As high school enrollment increased and diversified over the 20th century, research suggests that standards became lower. In their book, ''The Failed Promise of the American High School 1890-1995'', authors David Angus and Jeffrey E. Mirel report that by the 1950s, education aimed at the lowest common denominator become the norm in America's high schools.<ref>Angus, David L., and Jeffrey E. Mirel. The Failed Promise of the American High School: 1890-1995. New York: Teachers College, 1999.</ref> |
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Two main factors are said to have resulted in the dumbing-down of high school and college curricula. There was a major effort in the late 1940s to focus attention in the schools on the "disadvantaged student" in the guise of teaching what was called "real-life experience" with a correlative de-emphasis on fundamental intellectual skills, such as reading and writing. This approach was linked to progressive educational theories that soon spawned the "self-esteem movement" that is prevalent today and that has turned attention away from curriculum to the students themselves.<ref>http://www.mmisi.org/ma/48_04/curtler.pdf</ref> |
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http://www.nc4ea.org/files/preparation_matters-04-01-09.pdf |
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http://www.mmisi.org/ma/48_04/curtler.pdf |
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== Shopping Mall High Schools Today == |
== Shopping Mall High Schools Today == |
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Revision as of 19:02, 7 April 2010
Shopping Mall High School is a term used in reference to consumer-oriented educational institutions offering an overabundance of student choice within its program including choice of classes, subject matter, and extra-curricular activities (sports and hobbies). Schools dubbed shopping mall high schools are those making numerous and different accommodations for students to achieve the result everyone desires. High schools such as these include the various curricula in order to maximize holding power, graduation percentages, and customer satisfaction.[1]
History
The concept of a shopping mall high school was introduced in the best-selling 1985 book, The Shopping Mall High School : Winners and Losers in the Educational Marketplace by authors Arthur G. Powell, Eleanor Farrar, and David K. Cohen. In The Shopping Mall High School, Powell, Farrar, and Cohen argue that high schools have come to resemble shopping malls in terms of variety, choice and neutrality. The book, often required reading for education majors in the 1980s, exposed the realities of the comprehensive high school and set off a debate that would incorporate themes about school vouchers and the marketplace.[2]
As high school enrollment increased and diversified over the 20th century, research suggests that standards became lower. In their book, The Failed Promise of the American High School 1890-1995, authors David Angus and Jeffrey E. Mirel report that by the 1950s, education aimed at the lowest common denominator become the norm in America's high schools.[3]
Two main factors are said to have resulted in the dumbing-down of high school and college curricula. There was a major effort in the late 1940s to focus attention in the schools on the "disadvantaged student" in the guise of teaching what was called "real-life experience" with a correlative de-emphasis on fundamental intellectual skills, such as reading and writing. This approach was linked to progressive educational theories that soon spawned the "self-esteem movement" that is prevalent today and that has turned attention away from curriculum to the students themselves.[4]
Shopping Mall High Schools Today
In the 1980s, The Shopping Mall High School and similar books documented the lack of challenging content in many high school courses. Evidence from recent reports indicates that the problem persists.[5] In many cases this problem results from the lack of clear state and local standards for what students are expected to learn. The failure of schools, school systems and states to define appropriate standards for hogh school courses has been a major influence in the move to Advanced Placement and IB courses. [6]
Criticisms of Shopping Mall High Schools
Hirsch writes...
What High Schools Are Like.Full Text Available By: Arnstine, Donald. Educational Studies, Spring87, Vol. 18 Issue 1, p1, 12p;
References
- ^ Arthur G. Powell, Eleanor Farrar, and David K. Cohen. The Shopping Mall High School : Winners and Losers in the Educational Marketplace. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1985
- ^ STUDENTS AS COMMODITIES. By: Lewis, Anne C., Phi Delta Kappan, 00317217, Apr2003, Vol. 84, Issue 8
- ^ Angus, David L., and Jeffrey E. Mirel. The Failed Promise of the American High School: 1890-1995. New York: Teachers College, 1999.
- ^ http://www.mmisi.org/ma/48_04/curtler.pdf
- ^ http://www.nc4ea.org/files/orange_juice_or_orange_drink_02-13-06.pdf
- ^ http://www.nc4ea.org/files/preparation_matters-04-01-09.pdf
Hirsch, E.D., Jr. Cultural Literacy What Every American Needs to Know. New York: Vintage, 1988.
Arthur G. Powell, Eleanor Farrar, and David K. Cohen. The Shopping Mall High School : Winners and Losers in the Educational Marketplace. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
See Also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_education_in_the_United_States:_Bibliography http://www.amazon.com/Shopping-Mall-High-School-Educational/dp/0395379040