-School+Structure+Background

= School Structure Background =

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 * The purposes of curriculum in American education that have influenced philosophical and political discourse about teaching and learning.
 * The approach we take to education and how schools are run developed over a century ago, in 1892, by The Committee of Ten. The National Education Association created this committee to address the influx of students attending school during the dawn of the industrial revolution and the decline of the agricultural movement. The Committee of Ten is responsible for shaping the structure we use today; eight year of elementary school (Kindergarten through eighth grade) and four years of high school.
 * Furthermore the National Education Association and The Committee of Ten influenced curriculum in the educational system by deciding that all students, college bound or workforce students, should receive the same education. However, the committee did not address curriculum at a developmental level, they based their decision around which subjects would prepare students for high school curriculum. Not everyone agreed with this approach, but it was the approach that was adopted and still implemented today.
 * In 1892, just as it is now, there are political debates about what curriculum should be taught and how it should be taught. Therefore, not much has seemed to change, as far as the configuration of our educational system in over a hundred year. I believe that we as educators need to start developing a recipe for change. As the book, //__Curriculum 21 Essential Education for a Changing World__// states, //the concept of what a school is does not need reform-it needs new forms.//
 * Let me know what your thoughts are about the structure of our current school system or the philosophical and political discourse that has influenced it. Head the discussion page and voice your opinion.