Contrast Essay

Contrast Essay

How has education changed since the 1900s? It depends on how you look at this question. If you consider education meaning children having the opportunity to learn and plan for their future as education, then no, it has not changed much, but if you consider the changes in the styles of teaching for a child's education, then yes, it has changed. For example, attending school was not mandatory. Now, all students must attend school. The two main contrasts between the early 1900s classroom and the modern classrooms are methods of punishment and technology used.
First, the methods of punishment used in the 1900s were significantly different than they are in today’s time. When students got out of line (were not doing their work, were distracting the class, passing notes, whispering, being disrespectful, etc.), a teacher would punish them as she saw fit. Some teacher’s preferred the “hickory stick” and gave the disobedient student a swift spanking. Sometimes the teacher used a ruler to rap the child on the knuckles or spank them. Other times the teacher made the child wear a Dunce Cap: A tall, conical hat worn, stand in the corner facing the wall, hold a heavy book, or stand on one leg for as long as she felt was necessary. Many parents did not complain that their children were punished. They were usually angry with their children for misbehaving, not at the teacher for punishing. The parents looked at it as the teachers were helping keep their children in line, and that the teachers had the right to discipline as they saw fit. Basically, parents thought highly of teachers and respected their decisions for punishment.
Second, technology in the 1900s was vastly different than it is in today’s world. The radio was introduced to schools in New York City, in1923. Soon after, school districts in other major cities established radio instruction on subjects such as penmanship, accounting, arithmetic, and history. Slates and slate pencils were also very useful in one-room schools. Children were able to do their work on slates and show the teacher, and then correct the mistakes without using any paper. In the early 1900s paper was expensive. Either children did not have any or tried not to use the little they had. The stereoscope was introduced in the 1870s. It was first used as parlor entertainment, the hand-held viewing instrument created three dimensional images of landscapes, plants and animals. The abacus was also used in schools in the nineteenth century. This was an early calculator made of a wood frame with parallel wire rods, each with wooden disks that glided on the rods. There was very little technology in the 1900s classroom, and what technology they did have was limited.
In contrast, methods of modern school punishment are very different than what was accepted back in the 1900s. I would put more emphasis on the parents to send better behaved children to school. If children do not receive any kind of discipline/punishment before they go to school, then the teacher/school is in trouble. You cannot learn without orderly conduct and a quiet classroom. If it’s chaotic, you can’t learn. Due to so many different laws and regulations and with the way things are in today’s time school punishment has gone from being strict and physical to uninvolved. Children get so many chances when they get into trouble, whereas in the 1900s they were punished for whatever they did right then and there. Today a student starts off with silent lunch, and if that doesn’t work then they get in school suspension, and possibly a call home. Then if a student does something really bad they receive OSS (out of school suspension), which is like a vacation to the student. Teachers in today’s world have so many students they really cannot take the time to discipline. But even if teachers were to take the time to discipline and show they care, the student would probably get a lawyer and find a way to sue.
In addition, modern technology in the classroom has come a long way since the early 1900s and is much more advanced. Instead of slates and slate pencils, a student today uses pencil and paper. Something more closely related to a slate that we use today are the personal “mini” dry erase boards, which makes it easy to erase the work and move on to another lesson without wasting any paper. Instead of using an abacus, a student today uses a digital calculator, you can type in any number and it will automatically give you the answer. Also, instead of having only one abacus per classroom almost everyone has their own personal digital calculator. In the early 1900s the radio was just being introduced to schools and classrooms, these days most classrooms have access to the radio along with TV’s and cd players. There is no doubt that technology has come a long way since the early 1900s.
In summary, there are several differences between the early 1900s classroom and the modern classroom. The two main differences are the methods of punishment used in the classroom, and the technology made available to the students in the classroom. As far as punishment goes, teachers have basically lost the ability, students are sent to administrators who handle the punishment which is far from a physical one. In addition, technology has changed a significant amount throughout the years especially in classrooms. Modern students have the help of computers and digital devices, whereas a student in the 1900s used wooden tools and slates to help complete their work. Contrasting the differences in methods of punishment and technology from the 1900s to now really put it into perspective just how much things have changed the past one hundred years. It makes you wonder how different things will be in another one hundred years.