Melting Pot

Carl Kaestle’s Pillars of the Republic focuses on the history of schooling. Kaestle writes about the common school movement in England, the Midwest, the South, and the American Northwest. Kaestle argues that common school systems, the tuition-based elementary school that served all children in the area, were continued and accepted due to the Americans’ commitment to the republican government, the assertiveness of native Protestant culture, and through the development of capitalism (1983, p. X).

Educational policies researcher Joel Spring (1996) discussed many arguments and historical background about various education topics found in the United States. For example, Spring tells us about the historical development of the Common Schools movement and the underlying groups—such as workingmen and political parties—that influenced the movement. In addition, Spring points out some of the implications the movement had on religious, ethnic, and multicultural groups. One particular idea that caught my attention was from the chapter entitled, “The Ideology and Politics of the Common School.” Indeed, my entire conceptual understanding of K-12 education had been predicated on the idea that high schools were part of the original conception of public

America is the "great Melting Pot". From an early age every "American" is taught that America contains a mixture of the world 's cultures in a perfectly blended mixture. We honor and respect all cultures and invite them to bring their customs here to the United States. But do we really? Take for instance, the Hmong refugees who involuntarily moved to America. Cultural Assimilation seemed to be forced down the refugees throats. Keeping their native customs was looked on with horror and disgust.

There was a time when America was segregated; Caucasians and African Americans were forced to attend different restrooms, restaurants, and water fountains. However, the era of segregation has been terminated; now America embraces and appreciates the various cultures and ethnicities that create this melting pot several people call home. Likewise, it is this melting pot, or mosaic, of races that multitudes of individuals have identified themselves with. Thus, race and ethnicity does matter for it portrays vital and crucial roles in the contemporary American society. Furthermore, ethnicity and race brings communities together in unity, determines which traditions and ideals individuals may choose to value, and imposes an impediment for it categorizes humans unjustly.

Prior to the first and second Industrial Revolutions, education opportunities in the 13 colonies during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries varied considerably depending on one’s location, race, gender, and social class. Basic education in literacy and numeracy was widely available, especially to white males residing in the northern and middle colonies, and the literacy rate was relatively high among these people. Educational opportunities were much sparser in the rural South. Education in the United States had long been a local affair, with schools governed by locally elected school boards. Public education was common in New England, although it was often class-based with the working class receiving few benefits. Instruction and curriculum were all locally determined, and teachers were expected to meet rigorous demands of strict moral behavior. Schools taught religious values and applied Calvinist philosophies of discipline, which included corporal punishment and public humiliation.

The concept of a ‘Melting pot” is an idea that America is known for and accustomed to for years and years to come. Unfortunately, that analogy leads people to get rid of their culture for the American culture. Leading the public to the point where they strive to prove their differences just to stand out and make a name. One demographic, African Americans, have been trying to reconnect to their native heritage after being stripped from their identity years ago. From their traditions, how they cook food, and the way they do their hair. African Americans have become more determined to be in touch with their inner self as the years go by. Because they were ripped from their homeland African Americans may never know to the full extent of

The United States of America, otherwise known as the “melting pot”, is just that, a country that has

America was widely known as a “melting pot” of sorts for many generations. The country earned its title by accepting immigrants of various cultures and molding, or melting, them into the American lifestyle. However, the “melting pot” idea of America is starting to dissipate. According to a Newsweek Poll on the public, “only 20 percent still think America is a melting pot” (Morganthau and Wolfberg, par.4). As more Americans push away immigrants and create stereotypes against said immigrants, America continues to lose its title as a “melting pot.” There is ethnic friction in America and people have begun to have a hard time assimilating (Morganthau and Wolfberg, par.18). .America is beginning to place a negative outlook on its

Despite the opposition of many Americans, immigrants have supported the US economy tremendously by obtaining low-paying and unwanted jobs, and have spread their diverse cultures and languages into public schools and communities. On the other hand, whites were still arguably the dominant race in the United States to which led to the ‘melting pot’ of American society. Many immigrants, commonly at Ellis Island, faced bribery from political party members by offering shelter, food, and employment in exchange for a vote for their certain party. Although these bribes shortly became highly complicated due to government voting regulations, the actions by the political parties strongly supported the process of assimilation of the immigrants into American culture and society. Moreover, massive waves of immigration had also led to growth in cities and in agricultural areas that in which eventually gave in to industrial economies in order to profit from the abundance of unemployed

While many different types of schools and educational movements have influenced the American education system that we have today, two primary influences are the American common school movement and the Latin grammar school movement. Common schools were first started in the 1830’s and 1840’s and consisted of a universal curriculum with multiple types of schools. They were also provided by the government. The Latin grammar schools came into being around the 1870’s to 1900’s and were used as secondary education to prepare young men for college. While both schools have different characteristics that contribute to the differences of them, they also have similarities such as their curriculum that make them alike.

As Immigrants would come through Ellis Island and other places with a gleaming amount of hope, they would experience something totally different on the other side. Inside the US was this feeling of Anglo-Saxon superiority and therefore immigration was frowned upon in may areas. An immigration officer from this time period cited “early economic opportunity came to an end” as one of the major things that affected immigrant life. They [immigrants] were left to find day jobs working at the first opportunity that presented itself and then return to the tenement. Out of this pattern grew an extreme feeling of isolation. Immigrants lived in their own communities, socialized with their own, and slept with their own. Nativist feelings from the american-born community were real and present and ultimately the belief was to sleep, eat, and work for someone else and be content.

America has always been labelled as a melting pot due to the diversity in our population. People from all over the world have traveled here to have a chance at the “American Dream”. Many people have varied reasons for coming to our country but some must leave their home country to find work, or because they have such awful living conditions. In recent years, it has become an impossible feat to obtain full citizenship in our nation, which can be good and very discouraging to immigrants trying to better their lives. There are roughly forty-three million immigrants, legal or illegal, in our nation and that makes up almost 13.5% of our total population. About eleven million of those immigrants are undocumented. Citizens of this country have

The United States is commonly know as a melting pot of nations, in which people from around the world have emigrated to form a homogeneous yet varied culture. Although we come from different ethnic groups, we are usually bound together through our common English language. This becomes an issue, however, when immigrants are not familiar with English and American culture, and instead attempt to keep their own heritage alive. They are often torn between identities through language, the one they speak at home which they are familiar with, and the one they must adhere to in public. This often leads to struggle and conflict on both sides, dealing with different cultures and how people react when assimilation occurs. Because of this, living in the United States often requires us to completely accept only one identity, even though hints of the other may spill over at times.

Since the establishment of America’s first schools, the American people have disagreed not only about what the purpose of school is, but also about what schools should teach. Initially schools were supposed to “prepare men to vote intelligently and prepare women to train their sons properly. Moral training based on the Protestant Bible would produce virtuous, well-behaved citizens [who knew not only] the three R’s but [also] the general principles of law, commerce, money, and government” (Kaestle, 1983, p. 5). During the 1780’s educational theorists began calling for reform and in 1785 Massachusetts law

The “melting pot” culture refers to people from various cultures coming together to create a new unique culture. (Lorenzo, 2000) In other words, these cultures have ‘melted’ together in a ‘pot’. For example, Chinese, Koreans, Germans and more cultures blended in together to create a whole new American culture. They are not Chinese-Americans, Korean-Americans or German-Americans anymore but just Americans. On the other hand, “salad bowl” culture refers to immigrants who do not lose the aspects of their cultures. . (Lorenzo, 2000) To put it in another way, you can still clearly see the different ‘ingredients’ in a ‘salad bowl’. As a contrast to the melting pot theory’s example, Chinese-Americans, Korean-Americans and German-Americans will still keep the unique traits of their cultures while living together in the country. America has been traditionally referred to as a ‘melting pot’, but recently; there are people who argue that ‘salad bowl’ will be a better description of America’s society today.