The Second Half of the 20th Century: Post-World War II and Beyond

Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue; it makes it a requirement for survival. -Rene Dubos, Celebrations of Life, 1981

Following World War II, the population of the United States increased dramatically with a post-war baby boom. Higher education also experienced a boom as the Congress passed the GI Bill in 1944 that provided subsidies for returning veterans to attend colleges and universities. Over ten million veterans took advantage of this opportunity dramatically increasing the number of people who completed college.

As the numbers of school children grew, the demand for facilities and teachers also increased. As the need for teachers increased, teacher certification requirements were lowered and in some cases almost eliminated to the point where little or no professional training was needed to teach. However, this trend later reversed itself as the teacher shortage became in actuality a teacher surplus in the late 1960's to early 1970's and teacher certification requirements were once again raised.

More schools had to built to contain the large numbers of school age children and small school districts joined together with other districts to from larger ones which could better bear the burden of increased capital costs and administration. The one room schoolhouse where one teacher taught all grades (usually grades 1-8) that had been a staple of life in rural America almost disappeared because it was cheaper to build bigger schools and bus children to central locations.

During the 1950's the major political concern for the United States was the Cold War. Following World War II, the Soviets had moved into Eastern Europe and asserted control over the governments of many of these countries. The United States believed its mission was to prevent the further spread of Communism and dominate the Soviets in every aspect. In 1957 the Soviet Union, set off a shock wave in the United States with the first successful launch of an artificial satellite called Sputnik. Almost immediately politicians blamed this failing on the American educational system claiming it wasn't rigorous enough and that more attention needed to be paid to mathematics and science education. Subsequently, the federal government appropriated millions of dollars for educational reform.

The 1950's were also the beginning of the end of school segregation. In 1954, the Supreme Court heard the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka. This case looked at the issue of segregation and this time ruled that it was illegal to deny entry to a facility based on the race. However, this ruling did not immediately end segregation. Strong opposition arose in many school districts throughout the country and schools were often the scene of violent confrontations when integration was first initiated.

In the 1960's, the political emphasis changed from an external or global focus such as the Cold War to the consideration of internal affairs such as civil rights and the President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural speech in 1961, asked the American public to consider "…not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," ushering in a new era of consciousness about the real meaning of equal opportunity and alleviating conditions associated with poverty.

Both Kennedy and Johnson allocated massive amounts of dollars to breaking the cycle of poverty and education was one of the areas receiving some of these funds. Programs such as Head Start, Job Corps, subsidized school lunches, and Title One began during this time.

The reform movement in education was also characterized by a new curricular emphasis. Teachers were encouraged to experiment and use their creativity to make education more interesting and involving for their students. Rather than textbook oriented stay in your seat type of learning that had characterized teaching instruction in the 1950's, students were allowed choices, given flexible scheduling, individualized instruction and non-graded schools.

However, the curriculum reform movement of the sixties did not have the hoped for results in improving educational outcomes. Test scores dropped, enrollments fell and public confidence in teachers was eroded. There was a strong back to the basics curriculum movement emphasizing reading, writing and arithmetic computation along with teacher accountability.

The seventies can probably be characterized as a time of economic concerns with the 1973 OPEC oil crisis, double-digit inflation, high interest rates, and high unemployment. Schools also suffered as a result of this economic pressure as funding was cut for public education.

In 1975 Congress passed PL 94-142 requiring a free appropriate education for all handicapped children. This law required that handicapped children be educated to the best of their ability and that they have an individualized educational plan written to suit their specific needs. In this same year, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act took effect requiring that access to programs (in particular sports programs) not be denied on the basis of gender. Prior to the implementation of this law, females had only limited opportunities to participate in school sports because the funding (if it was provided at all) was not provided at the same level as it was for male sports programs.

The eighties probably saw an escalation of the criticisms aimed at public education and teachers. In 1983 the national report A Nation at Risk was published detailing how the public school system had failed miserably in educating America's children. As a result of this report, school reform movements gained momentum and a number of states passed laws requiring higher standards and expectations for students.