1970's+Education

**1970's Education**

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__** Efforts made in 1970's **__
There were a lot of efforts made to give a higher education to minoritiy students, African American, immigrants, the disabled, and women, so that they could succeed. Nonnative students received bilingual lessons, the disabled had new access to public schools, and women broke down employment barriers to get a higher education. There was also the first Earth Day celebration hosted by 2,000 college campuses and over 10,000 elementary and high schools participated.



__**Segregation in 1970's**__
In the 1970's, American schools had the same economic, social, and racial problems as the country did. During that time, the African American neighborhoods expanded and most schools were trying to desegregate schools by mixing together whites and blacks. A report showed that the South had the most intergrated schools, while the Northeast had more segregated schools. Also, the attempt for busing was abandoned due to the riots that had started up because of it.

**__Government Involvement__**
The government was a major influence in education, like it is today. They donated millions of dollars to help improve the condition and increase the amount of supplies needed to run a successful school. In the 1970's, $59 billion were designated for construction of schools. Also, $2 million fedrally funded grants, loans, and interests reached out to 1 out of 4 college students.

__** Curriculum in Schools **__
During the 1970's, people began to argue about how students should be taught. There were the "traditionalists" and the "progressives." Traditionalists believed that students learned best when given a specific standard and had to memorize key facts/concepts. On the other hand, Progressives believed that students need time and freedom to pursue topics that interests them. Schools soon took the progressive approach, but the students started to get lower and lower test scores.

__** Decline of Enrollments in 1970's **__
During the 1960's, America's education went through a continuous growth with lots of people crowding into schools. There were lots of funding coming in from federal sources, student were very optimistic, and the demand for students with doctorates were unparalled.Teachers were in great demand to catch up the the overgrowing number of students in colleges of education. But all of that ended in the 1970's when the optimistic attitudes turned into pessimism complaints, although there was a huge surplus of teachers, especially English, French, and Social Studies teachers.

**__Protests__**
In the 1970's, there were a lot of protests against the [|Vietnam War], and some of them happened in college campuses. One of those protests was the Kent State Protest. During the protest, police officers showed up, trying to disperse the crowd. However, the event resulted in bullets firing. 4 people were killed and 9 wounded in that fight. Another protest was the Jackson State Protest in Mississippi. The crowd consisted of black students throwing pebbles at white motorists driving down the road near the campus. The tension grew when a non-Jackson State student set a dump truck on fire. The police then got involved, and 2 students were killed, while 12 were wounded.

**__Citations__**

 * Victor Bondi, "American Decades: 1970-1979", January 13th
 * "The May 4 shooting at Kent State University: The Search for historical accuracy, Jerry M. Lewis and Thomas R. Hensley, January 13th
 * "The 1970s: Education: Overview." //American Decades//. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 8: 1970-1979. Detroit: Gale, 2001. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 13 Jan. 2012.
 * "The 1970s Education: Overview." //UXL American Decades//. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, et al. Vol. 8: 1970-1979. Detroit: UXL, 2003. 50-51. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 13 Jan. 2012.