Changing     Roles     of     Public Education

One of the  most important social developments that helped to  make

possible a shift  in thinking about the role of   public education was the

effect of the baby boom of the 1950's and

1960's on the schools. In the 1920's, but  especially in the Depression

conditions of the 1930's, the United States experienced a declining birth

rate --         every thousand women aged fifteen to forty-four gave birth to about

118 live children in 1920，89.2 in 1930，75.8          in 1936, and 80 in

1940. With the growing prosperity brought on by the Second World War and

the economic boom that         followed  it young people married  and established 

households earlier and began  to raise larger families than had    their 

predecessors during  the Depression. Birth rates rose  to 102 per thousand

in 1946, 106.2 in 1950, and 118 in 1955. Although economics was probably

the most important determinant,  it  is not the only explanation for the

baby  boom. The increased value placed on the idea of the family also helps

to explain this rise in birth rates. The baby boomers began streaming into

the first grade by the mid 1940's and became a flood by 1950. The public

school system suddenly found itself overtaxed. While the number of

schoolchildren rose because of wartime and postwar conditions, these same

conditions made the schools even less prepared to cope with the flood. The

wartime economy meant that  few new schools were built between 1940 and 

1945. Moreover, during the war and in  the  boom times that followed,      large

numbers of teachers left their profession for better-paying jobs elsewhere

in the economy.

Therefore in the 1950's and 1960's, the baby boom hit an antiquated and

inadequate school system. Consequently, the "custodial rhetoric"of the

1930's and early 1940's no longer made sense that is, keeping youths aged

sixteen and older out of the labor market by keeping them in school could

no  longer  be a  high priority for  an  institution        unable  to find space

and staff  to teach younger children aged five to sixteen. With the baby

boom, the focus of        educators and of laymen interested  in  education 

inevitably turned toward  the lower grades and back to  basic   academic

skills and discipline. The system no longer had much interest in offering

nontraditional, new, and extra    services to older youths.

公共教育的角色變化 一項重要的、有可能促使人們對公共教育的角色的看法發(fā)生轉(zhuǎn)變的社會發(fā)展是本世紀(jì)五

六十年代的生育高峰對學(xué)校的影響。  在 20 年代，尤其是在 30 年代后的大蕭條中，美國經(jīng) 歷了一次出生率的下降--1920 年每千名年齡在 15

歲至 45 歲的婦女生下大約 118 個存活嬰兒，

1930 年 89.2 個，1936 年 75.8 個，1940 年 80 個。  隨著二戰(zhàn)帶來的持續(xù)繁榮以及隨之而來

的經(jīng)濟(jì)增長，年輕人比大蕭條中的同齡人更早地結(jié)婚成家，而且比前輩養(yǎng)育更大的家庭。

1946 年出生率上升到 102%，1950 年達(dá) 106%，1955 年達(dá) 118%。  對于生育高峰，經(jīng)濟(jì)有可

能是最重要的決定因素，但它并不是唯一的解釋。  不斷受到重視的家庭觀念也有助于解釋 出生率的上升。 到 40

年代中期為止，這些生育高峰出生的孩子們開始源源不斷地進(jìn)入小學(xué) 一年級。  到了 1950 年，就形成了一股洪流。  公共教育系統(tǒng)突然感到不堪重負(fù)了。

由于戰(zhàn) 時和戰(zhàn)后的狀況，使得學(xué)齡兒童人數(shù)增加，這些狀況使得學(xué)校面對這股洪流更加措手不及。 戰(zhàn)時經(jīng)濟(jì)意味著在 1940 年到 1950

年間幾乎沒有建立新學(xué)校。  而且，在戰(zhàn)時和隨后的經(jīng)濟(jì) 增長時期，大量的教師離開崗位去別處從事報酬更為優(yōu)厚的工作。  因此，在五六十年代，

生育高峰沖擊著陳舊而不完備的學(xué)校體系。  這樣一來，30 年代以及 40 年代早期，"監(jiān)護(hù)理 論"就不再有意義了。  也就是說，通過使 16

歲以上的年輕人留在學(xué)校不進(jìn)入勞動力市場的 做法再也不是教育機(jī)構(gòu)的優(yōu)先考慮了。  因為教育機(jī)構(gòu)不再能找到場地和教師來教育那些更 小的 5-16

歲的孩子。  隨著生育高峰，教育者和圈外人士對教育的興趣和焦點，不可避免地 轉(zhuǎn)向了更低的年級和基礎(chǔ)的學(xué)術(shù)技能和學(xué)科上。

這個系統(tǒng)不再有濃厚的興趣給較年長的年 輕人提供非傳統(tǒng)的新式的和額外的服務(wù)。

譯路通武漢漢口翻譯公司整理

2012.6.12