The Crow

COMMON SCHOOL MOVEMENT CONTEMPORARY SCHOOLING What were the key aims of common school reformers? What is your evidence? What are the key aims of schools and how similar or different are the examples from one another? What is your evidence? • Emphasized and encouraged urban school expansion as this system hit on the major aspects of common school reformers.
• Responsible for the limited growth of charity schools that isolated the poor from others.
• Encouraged the urban school system to move to the Midwest as the industrial movement came about. High quality school systems greatly influence market and population growth, as well as an enhanced transportation never seen before in the Midwest.
• Strong in efforts to combine small school systems into larger towns.
• Pushed for a non-sectarian religious school system in which a more generalized Protestant view would be taken.
• Forced local and state governments to be heavily involved with the funding and supervision of school systems.
• Provide a property tax supported school system that would provide all citizens “free school”.
• Influenced some counties to enact a teacher licensing program; as a result, the quality of these teachers and the subsequent education increased.
• Looked for longer school year sessions.
• Sought a higher grade of professional development programs in schools around the country.

• The contemporary public school system aims to provide all with a fair and equal education throughout a given local area.
• Property tax supported system permits varying degrees of education quality between different school systems (the higher the property values in a given area, the higher the taxes and the more money that will flow in to the schools).
• Provide a basic education as well as professional teachings to place young minds on the right track for future success.
• Foster a learning community that not only encourages kids to learn in a safe environment but also socialize with their peers in a healthy way.
• Teach young minds to become responsible of their actions as they move forward in life.
• Provide basic understandings for young students that with the right mindset, can go to college/university and a seemingly more professional career.

SIMILARITIES
Both schooling systems aimed to provide students with a learning environment that prepared them for the future in terms of practical professional teachings as well as literacy and basic mathematics. Both are also supported by property taxes and are overseen by local and state governments. Each removes religious views out of the core teachings of what the given school system stands for. Finally, each provides teaching programs that increase the quality of education for students across the board.

DIFFERENCES
While contemporary school systems are typically 8-9 months in length each year, the common school movement was constantly aiming to lengthen their schools year from the base point of 12 weeks. The common school movement also focused more on directly preparing students for the job world as many went into the working world right after secondary schooling. Contemporary schools prepare many high school students for college as many go on to attend.