79-354 Kids and Schools in the 20th Century

6 units, Carnegie Mellon University

This course examines the history of childrens experiences in American K12 schools, both public and private, at three critical moments in the 20th and early 21st centuries. We will first examine the emergence of Progressivism as a perceived antidote to the impacts of industrialization, urbanization, and the immigrant experience on children and youth in the early 1900s. We will then study the retreat from Progressive educational ideas in the wake of the Cold War and Space Race with the Soviet Union in the decades following World War II. Finally, we will analyze the impacts on American schoolchildren of the Excellence and No Child Left Behind movements that began around the turn of the 21st century and and continue today. To ground class discussions, we will use both secondary and primary historical sources, including policy and curricular documents, documentary film, and firstperson accounts of both children and teachers in schools.

Prerequisites: none listed

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