解放军文职招聘考试Changing Roles of Public Education

 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.

公共教育的角色变化 一项重要的、有可能促使人们对公共教育的角色的看法发生转变的社会发展是本世纪五

六十年代的生育高峰对学校的影响。  在 20 年代，尤其是在 30 年代后的大萧条中，美国经 历了一次出生率的下降--1920 年每千名年龄在 15

岁至 45 岁的妇女生下大约 118 个存活婴儿，

1930 年 89.2 个，1936 年 75.8 个，1940 年 80 个。  随着二战带来的持续繁荣以及随之而来

的经济增长，年轻人比大萧条中的同龄人更早地结婚成家，而且比前辈养育更大的家庭。

1946 年出生率上升到 102%，1950 年达 106%，1955 年达 118%。  对于生育高峰，经济有可

能是最重要的决定因素，但它并不是唯一的解释。  不断受到重视的家庭观念也有助于解释 出生率的上升。 到 40

年代中期为止，这些生育高峰出生的孩子们开始源源不断地进入小学 一年级。  到了 1950 年，就形成了一股洪流。  公共教育系统突然感到不堪重负了。 

由于战 时和战后的状况，使得学龄儿童人数增加，这些状况使得学校面对这股洪流更加措手不及。 战时经济意味着在 1940 年到 1950

年间几乎没有建立新学校。  而且，在战时和随后的经济 增长时期，大量的教师离开岗位去别处从事报酬更为优厚的工作。  因此，在五六十年代，

生育高峰冲击着陈旧而不完备的学校体系。  这样一来，30 年代以及 40 年代早期，"监护理 论"就不再有意义了。  也就是说，通过使 16

岁以上的年轻人留在学校不进入劳动力市场的 做法再也不是教育机构的优先考虑了。  因为教育机构不再能找到场地和教师来教育那些更 小的 5-16

岁的孩子。  随着生育高峰，教育者和圈外人士对教育的兴趣和焦点，不可避免地 转向了更低的年级和基础的学术技能和学科上。 

这个系统不再有浓厚的兴趣给较年长的年 轻人提供非传统的新式的和额外的服务。