When we were observing the main quad for class, there were a lot of observations that I made. Some of the observations were assumptions based on what I saw. For example, there was someone that looked like they were doing homework, which was an assumption. That someone could have been doing something else. This will help me out in answering my iquiry project because when I observe I learn more about my surroundings and what is going on. Even though I make assumptions, the assumptions help me know what students and teachers might be thinking. You should collect as much information as you can. Getting a lot of information helps you describe the surrounding of a classroom. For example, you want to write down how the students face the teacher, how the desks are set up in the classroom, are there any posters hanging up on the walls of the classroom, and so on. You also want to write down conversations among students and students with their teachers. Writing down information of how the students dress is also good because you see the difference between students who dress differently.

Walter Parker Reading

Walter Parker feels that there are to many citizens that have idiocy. He feels that the public schools should educate students not to become idiots. People do not want someone who is an idiot and uncapable to run their government in their country. We need to teach democracy in our classrooms and educate our students to the fullest extent. There are three ways that we can accomplish this, Parker states.
1. We need to increase the variety and frequency of interaction between students who are culturally, linguistically, and racially different from one another.
2. Organize contacts to foster knowledgeable public talk about common problems.
3. Clarify the distinction between consideration and nonsense and between open and closed reflection. We should expect, teach, use words, and model competent.

What role do the states and the feds have in shaping public education?

The state and federal government both have important roles in shaping public education. The state funds the schools while the federal government decides the students that can attend public schools to get an education. Even though both forms of government shape public education, the state government has more to do with shaping public education.
The state government teaches their citizens intellectual instruction and moral discipline. The state needs to enlighten the minds of their citizens, purify their hearts, and teach them their rights and obligations. The state needs to do this because the state wants educated citizens and not idiot citizens who are uneducated. The state government supports public schools and wants the students to get a good education. In addition, the state government made a law in the 1880s and 1890s that demanded that only English should be used in the classroom. However, this caused a huge controversy within the states especially in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The Germans pressed for bilingual schools in some of the cities, and in other cities, they simply wanted the study of the language as a special subject. For instance, the state laws in Wisconsin said that class was to be taught in English. However, a county superintendent said in his annual report that it was better to look the other way when he found out that some public school classes were taught in German.
The federal government shaped public education in many ways. “From the start, Congress used the national domain to support common schools. The Ordinance of 1785 declared that ‘there shall be reserved the lot No. 16, of every township, for the maintenance of public schools, within the said township.’”[1] The federal government shaped public education by reserving land so that schools could be built to educate the citizens of the United States. The federal government helped give the common school a continental reach. In addition, during the 1920s, a federal law passed that said English must used in the classrooms and not any other language. Later on, the federal government required patriotic exercises in the classroom such as the Pledge of Allegiance. The federal government wanted students to become democratic and have respect for the country that the students live in. They also passed and enforced strong essential attendance laws.
In conclusion, the state and federal government shaped schools into what the schools are today. Both the state and federal government are involved with the school system today. However, the federal government is still trying to shape the schools by becoming more involved with public schools since they are less involved. While the state is constantly being involved with the public school system, because the state wants to shape the school system so that every student gets a good education.
[1] Tyak, D. (2003). Seeking Common Ground: Public Schools in a Diverse Society. Cambridge: Harvard.