Education has progressed positively since the 1930s. Some would argue education was better in the 1930s because we did not have all the technology that ‘fries our brains’ and the students could leave for harvesting time. However, I believe education is at its best now because there is no physical abuse and attendance is required.
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird the teacher Miss Caroline tried her best. She did not have the right ideas for education though. Miss Caroline scolded Scout for knowing how to read and write. In education now, we encourage children to learn to read and write before school starts. Another problem with the schooling in To Kill A Mockingbird is that they judge the children on social status, not academics. I am not saying that no one ever thinks that poor kids get nowhere and rich kids have it all, but we base judgement more on character than social status now. For example in To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout speaks up about the Cunningham’s financial issues. In Scout’s hometown they pay a lot of attention to wealth and how the people live (Lee). Today, wealth is still a fixation, but people get in trouble for making fun of others wealth.
The 1930s was a bad time for public schooling, because with the Great Depression occurring at the same time, most kids could not afford the necessary clothes, shoes, textbooks, or supplies (American Cultural History). For example in To Kill a Mockingbird, Walter Cunningham’s family was so poor they had to pay with goods rather than actual money and because of that I bet they did not have proper school supplies. In today’s society, the school systems make sure kids can get what they need, through fee waivers or charities giving out supplies. Another example of the hard times i...
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...ave the education they need to thrive in society. Modern education is an essential part of society and without it society would fall to shambles.
Works Cited
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The public school system changed drastically during the Great Depression. Society started to notice the changes during the years of 1930 and 1931, when conditions were at their worst. Many students did not have the right clothing, supplies, and textbooks because parents could not afford the costs. The price of school supplies ran from $1.00 for a pen to $3.85 for a pair of shoes (Editors of Time-Life 29). In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout’s teacher, Miss Caroline, asked one of her students where his lunch was. He then explained that he did not have a lunch because his parents could not afford it. “He didn’t forget his lunch, he didn’t have any. He had none today nor would he have any tomorrow or the next day. He had probably never seen three quarters together at the same time in his life” (Lee 20).
During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the depression, many Americans spoke their minds through pen and paper. Many criticized Hoover’s policies of the early Depression and praised the Roosevelts’ efforts. Each opinion about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression are based upon economic, racial and social standing in America.
One of the largest, and most crippling events of the 1930s was the Great Depression. Preceded by a decade of wealth and a carefree attitude, the crash of the economy came as a shock to everyone involved. In the article, “Standards Focus: Historical Context, The Great Depression”, the author points out that “People’s life savings suddenly disappeared, and as a result, people could not afford to pay their house payments or buy food, clothing, or other necessities.” (Secondary Solutions). This shows how helpless families were, and that it was impossible to stand up to corrupt ideas.
Epstein, Dan. 20th Century Pop Culture: The Early Years to 1949. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2001. Print.
After the stock market crashing in 1929 America went into “The Great Depression” era. People were challenged in everyday life and acquired a great number of struggles (loss of income, unemployment, starvation, and homelessness etc). During this hard time, some of the many Americans who struggled were families who starved and became homeless. Young children even had jobs to support their needy families. This wasn’t the only struggle of many, in western United States there also was a drastic drought known as the “Dust Bowl”. Although the 1930s were a rough time to go through, the people struggling still made the best out of their situations and still looked to things that made them happy like listening to comedy radio broadcasts and going out to the movies. Money was definitely tight back then but simple activities helped to make people less miserable and seemed to help them temporarily forget or push aside the hardships most Americans were going
Effective Conventions Made : Research shows that children are more susceptible to commit crimes, develop depression and ___ psychological disorders from the effects of bad parenting. In fact, many people grow up treating others just like how their parents treated them with reference to their parents’ values, behaviours and attitudes. Harper Lee, an American author expressed her childhood experiences in Alabama through writing the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. This book makes a reference to how society views in the Great Depression (1930s) changed to be noticeably racist impacting the life of a widowed father and lawyer named Atticus and his children Jem and Scout. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys that Atticus Finch is a great
The 1930’s were a decade plagued by the colossus economic downturn known as the Great Depression. With unemployment levels surpassing 20%, people did anything to earn money. This included riding the rail lines in order to look for work in other cities. In the American South, the problems of economic downturn and the problems of racial tension met in 1931 during the court case of the Scottsboro Boys.
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The 1930s was a time of not only political turmoil abroad, but of economic chaos on the home-front as well. After President Herbert C. Hoover's Presidency took the blame for launching the ...
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Despite all of his efforts, Mr. Finch lost- the jury members deemed Robinson guilty. Mr. Finch put in his best effort to defend what he viewed as just, despite knowing that he’d lose from the very beginning. After all, a white man’s word is always stronger than a black man’s word.
“Image and Lifestyle.” Clash of Cultures in the 1910s and 1920s. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
With a loud, resounding crash the roar of the 1920’s resulted in a period of desperation, hardship, and survival in the 1930’s. It began with the plummeting of the Stock Market in the Fall of 1929. Americans who had experienced great wealth and prosperity lost most of their life savings as a result of this economic collapse. This ripple spiralled out of control for the American people. Many lost their
Gunderson, G. (1971). The National School Lunch Program [Background and Development]. In Food and Nutrition Service. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from United States Department of Agriculture website: http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/NSLP-Program%20History.pdf
Education is a vital part of society. It serves the beneficial purpose of educating our children and getting them ready to be productive adults in today's society. But, the social institution of education is not without its problems. Continual efforts to modify and improve the system need to be made, if we are to reap the highest benefits that education has to offer to our children and our society as a whole.