Reflection 12

Sputnik was launched in 1957 by the Soviets. The launching of Sputnik affected the U. S. education because it led to a reform in education. This reform was brought on because of the large ego of the United States. The Soviet Union and the United States were basically racing each other to see who could get into space first. With the launch of Sputnik this proved the failure of the U. S. beating the Soviets into outer space. In this reform, schools were instructed to create a more rigorous curriculum especially in the areas of math and science. They were trying to prepare students to think like both scientists and mathematicians. In doing so, the federal government passed acts like the National Defense Education Act (more commonly known as the NDEA). This act was one to support more training for teachers and among other things, to fund scholarships of college students who were majoring in an area that would benefit national defense. At this point, it is realized that with the launch of Sputnik, the United States felt threatened and was basically placed on guard and was determined to train the young people to become scientists and engineers. The NDEA was one that truly surprised many being that according to the Constitution, the federal government was to have no dealings with education seeing as how it was a state responsibility yet they were able to not only pass this act but in other ways to have their hand in education. It used to be feared by many Americans to not have a central body governing all things, education included. Before the launch of Sputnik, the curriculum wasn’t seen as rigorous as some people would have loved. The launch of Sputnik cause the debate on progressive education to cease and the people who were against this type of education had won the argument after all. With the Soviet’s launch into outer space, the United States turned to a more educational approach for education. This approach wasn’t the best simply because it concentrated on those who were more prone to succeed in the areas of mathematics and science. This approach also left behind those children who were at a disadvantage in those areas. In modern day society with the No Child Left Behind proposal, this reform in the curriculum of schools would not have lasted for too many years as it did not when it was first established.
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