Pursuit of Education

Society today views education as a tool that promotes and establishes concepts growth such as

democracy, freedom, and liberty thus ensuring that citizens can learn how to be secure and

responsible as a nation for the coming generations. Education is associated mostly with the

activities that impart skills or knowledge through teaching, training and giving instructions.

United States educational system is a huge network of unique social, political and cultural

influences. Therefore, education has been considered to be the classic form of opportunity an

American can make to better his or her life through acquiring knowledge.

In as much as America’s formal education was rooted in the belief system of the Europeans, the

influences that were brought about by the indigenous Native American population on the

development of formal education were minimal. This is because the early settlers practiced it in

a very unorganized and rudimentary way. A great amount of formal education was as a result of

European immigrants to Colonial America as most tribes had not developed a formal educational

practice. Colonial America education was formulated based on the English model since the New

World predominant settlers were the English. Although it was developed originally in such a

way that lower classes were just taught basics that is to read and write, while those on upper

classes pursued beyond basics. The education system in the United States has continued to

evolve into massive schools and tertiary institutions networks educating millions of students

every year. Education in American Culture has been influenced by the key themes over its

history that has greatly impacted the system. These themes help us in understanding all the

changes that America has witnessed over the years. They include:

Religion: in the United States, the educational system was greatly impacted by religion in that

early European immigrants believed that education was necessary to help the natives read the
bible. Schools were therefore used to promote traditions, culture as well as a European religion.

Therefore religion had a strong influence on educational developments as well as the

establishment of schools which is continued to be experienced.

Gender: In American culture when it comes to gender, as compared to male counterparts

females received little or even no formal education as most were taught at home as they rarely

attended schools. This happened mostly during the 17th and 18th centuries whereby formal

education was only taught to male especially in secondary and colleges level whereas females

were neglected. To date in the educations system, males are always linked to technical courses,

unlike females despite numerous efforts to encourage girls, still male dominate.

Socio-economic classes and racial discrimination: Society back then was structured according

to socioeconomic classes in that the rich plantation owner's sons were prepared for further

education. Whereas, households that were poorly received minimal or no education as most were

from Africa who were only taught to obey their masters. The trend is still seen today in

American culture where the rich attend high ends schools unlike the poor.

The topic of education concerning American culture is of significant importance personally and

to society, as it gives a clear understanding of what education has achieved. Therefore, in

conclusion, education is the most valuable resource which comes with opportunities that can help

a person succeed, and thrive. This is through imparting knowledge on tackling situations and

becoming more innovative. Not only in America is education a beacon of enlightenment and

hope but throughout the world, as it enables people to reach any goal that they can imagine.
References

Attick, D. (2006). John Dewey and the Decline of American Education (review). Education and

Culture, 22(2), 87-91. DOI:10.1353/eac.2007.0000

Cremin, L. A. (1970). American education: The colonial experience 1607-1783. New York:

Wiley.

 Johnson, J. A., Dupuis, V. L, Musial, D., Hall, G. E., & Gollnick, D. M. (1996). Introduction to

the foundations of American education (10th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Spring, J. (2015). American Education. Routledge.