Video PBS - Episode 2 – “The Story of Schools” 1900-1950

Though there were some things in this video that seemed outright foolish to most educators today, what struck me was that many of the issues that were trying to be addressed in the video are the same issues that our school systems struggle to deal with today. For example, though we do not instantly place students who come from different ethnic backgrounds into classes where they are seen as only fit to learn certain trade skills we do still have questions over to the degree of vocational programs in schools and though less blatant, racism is still present in our school. As the book Teach With Your Heart shows us, prejudice is still a major factor in the schools we have today. One of the biggest concerns in the video that is also a huge concern for us today is the issue of what language to speak in school. The video showed a progression towards having more school systems teaching entirely in English, but in today's school systems there is an increase in ESL (English as a Second Language) programs. With our school systems becoming saturated with students who don't speak English, or have limited proficiency, we are turning towards assisting these students with the language barrier to help give more students a good chance at a successful education.