Early Public Education within Canada - Term Paper Example

? Section/# Early Public Education within Canada: An Analysis of Key Trends, Conflicts, and Realities It is without question that the rise of public education is perhaps one of the most important aspects to discuss with regards to understanding and appreciating the way in which modern nations have developed over the past several decades. As a function of this level of analysis, the following essay will utilize the case of Canada during the 19th century and the means through which its public education system came to be designed, formulated, and ultimately represented to the general population. As such, a focus upon some of the key issues that were first represented and controversial with regards to public education, a focus upon the differential that existed between urban and rural public education, a discussion and analysis of the court and resources that were leveraged within early Canadian public education, and a focus upon the feminize nation of the teaching profession will be engaged within the course of this brief analysis. Whereas it is true that Canada was but one of many modern states that engaged with the concept of public education during the course of the 19th century, the level and extent to which this occurred and the unique concerns and mechanisms by which it was engaged helped to allow this process to be unique and separate to Canada.1 As such, it is the hope of this author that the reader will gain a more informed understanding of the way in which early Canadian public education came to be formulated, the means through which it is differentiated from many other public education institutions throughout the world, and the residual impacts of this formulation that can continue to be felt within the current era. As with any dynamic shift, a level of pushback existed with regards to a general societal acceptance of a public education system. Accordingly, one of the first of these complicating factors with regards to a general acceptance of public education can be determined as a result of the fact that local and regional stakeholders felt that a domestic education program would necessarily weaken the approach and dynamics that they sought to instill within their respective pupils.2 Although it is true that the local and regional partners had been ineffective in providing compulsory education for all stakeholders, these individuals nonetheless believed that their model was. Due to the fact that a level of local an individual control existed with regards to what material would be represented the student and how engagement in the learning process would take place.3 This is not particularly surprising due to the fact that it continues to be evidenced within the current era. Any time a federal system seeks to implement a broad level of overarching regulations and norms for the system, individuals within society oftentimes push for a degree of extended autonomy through which they can continue to leverage their own power in lieu of accepting the norms that are specified by the federal government. Evidence of this is continually seen within the United States and has increasingly been noted within the economy and social dynamics of Canada throughout the past several decades. As something of a corollary to the issue that is previously been referenced, it must also be understood that distinct ethnic communities within Canada felt that a normalization of education within a public system would necessarily decrease the level of shared history and cultural integration that these respective communities had formulated over the decades. As even a cursory level of analysis reveals, the different provinces of Canada represent distinct racial and ethnic compositions; especially within the early years of Canadian society. Says one author, “Due to the fact that the sheer geographic mass of Canada was so large, it was difficult if not impossible for stakeholders within the government to immediately allocate fair levels of funding to achieve the goals they had set out to effect”. 4 As a direct result of this racial composition and cultural understanding of history, many stakeholders within society were highly fearful of the public education system that might very well reduce the cultural appreciation that existed within these communities. As such, individuals who promoted Canadian public education faces an uphill struggle of convincing stakeholders that even though public education would be managed and funded by the central government, dynamics and levels of appreciation for local culture must continue to be instilled and appreciated as a means of social cohesion. A secondary level of contention can of course be felt with respect to the way in which Protestants and Catholics felt disenfranchised with regards to a federal level of education within the system. As can be expected, education within early Canadian society was delineated based upon religious lines. Whereas it is not the intent of this particular analysis to differentiate whether a Protestant or Catholic education was somehow better, it should be understood categorically that these two entities, due to generations and centuries of conflict, neither trust in one another nor believe that the educational merits of their counterpart could effectively speak to the needs of the religious and educational requirements that the students might have. As a direct result of this interreligious conflict, both sides felt the retaining education within their own communities, and via religious lines, would be the most effective means of engendering an increased level of benefit to their respective stakeholders. Yet, even though both Catholic and Protestant individuals felt that their counterpart was going to be ineffective in speaking to the religious and educational needs of students around the country, they were in a level of agreement with respect to the fact that they did not want to lose control of a lucrative and powerful mechanism through which they were able to provide individuals within the community a level of education. It should not be understood that either the Protestant or Catholic communities within Canada operated as a single entity.5 Further, it should not be understood that a level of tacit and innate conflict exists between these communities at all times and with regards to all situations. Much like the United States, early Canadian history was formulated by a blending and building of many individuals from various cultures and religions. As such, the conflict between Catholic and Protestant was not nearly as strongly felt within Canada as it might have been within other regions of the globe. This fact notwithstanding, it must be realized that a fear of losing influence and a conflict over the way in which a secular entity would seek to manage the education of what these individuals viewed as the most precious resource of Canada, the youth, was an issue of much conflict and debate within the early years of public education within Canada. Although this was evidenced within the early Canadian public education system, it must be stated that it is not and was not a unique friend. By very nature of the way in which society and humans integrate and interact with one another, rural areas are by very definition removed and remote from their urban counterparts.6 As a direct result of this removal and remote location, the degree and extent to which resources can be applied to these rural areas, as compared to their urban counterparts, is necessarily limited. As such, within the early Canadian education system, a key differential between the resources One of the key differentials that soon presented itself was with respect to the way in which rural and urban education differentiated. Ultimately, the level of resources that the urban areas had as compared to the resources and expertise that the rural areas noted was quite dissimilar. As a direct result of this dissimilarity, two distinct systems came to develop within the Canadian public education system. Many stakeholders within the rural education environment found that they were required to make do with far less and accomplish the same level of tasks and skills as compared to their urban counterparts. Furthermore, finding individual teachers that were willing and able to relocate to rural areas and dedicate large blocks of their time in poorly equipped and relatively poorly funded public education institutions was also a hurdle that needed to be overcome. However, even though this particular issue provided a level of difficulty with regards to the way in which early Canadian public education existed, it was not something that strangled the effectiveness of early Canadian public education.7 Rather, it merely highlighted the fact that the need for a more equitable distribution of resources and a focus upon the unique dynamics of rural versus urban settings needed to be affected. As these differentials came to be realized, stakeholders within the public education system came to note the fact that in order to promote education within the rural areas, incentives and a further consideration of funding allocations must be given with regards to promoting qualified teachers to move to these areas and represent the needs of the individual students; rather than merely relying upon the expertise that might be evidenced within a particular world community. The rationale behind this was of course the fact that the expertise that might be represented in a particular rural community may very well be quite limited and not be indicative of the means that the public education system sought to engage. By nature of the culture and norms of the era, it can definitively be said that women during this period of time were at a distinct disadvantage with regards to the overall level of rights that they could exercise within society. As with many other cultures during this period of time, women were not allowed to vote and discouraged from seeking a professional career outside the home. This is chauvinistic and patriarchal interpretation of the way in which a woman’s position in society should be defined, did not leave many opportunities for women to step outside the bounds of this strict cultural norm.8 However, with that being said, it must be understood that there were at least two professions within the 19th century that allowed women to integrate with them; while at the same time minimizing the negative stigma that a woman in the workplace might necessarily engendered. Not surprisingly, these professions can be considered as a nurse or as a teacher. In such a manner, a woman that wish to integrate with a professional career and promote this and herself as a means of providing a way for herself and accruing salary, it was necessary to integrate with one of these two careers. As such, many individuals who look back on the era of early Canadian education are in something of a quandary with regards to why the teaching profession came to be so heavily “feminized”. However, within the particular interpretation that is thus far been put forward, the reader can come the understanding that the rationale behind women engaging with the teaching profession to such a great degree can ultimately be clearly determined. As the years war on, the teaching profession, within Canada and elsewhere throughout the Western world, came to be one that was almost an expectation that a woman would engage with this particular task. Another reason why women were promoted to engage in the teaching profession, as compared to any other, was the fact that the pervasive sexism of the era denoted the fact that women were necessarily war suited towards engaging with children and promoting their development. Whereas in the subsequent years since this time, society has come to the understanding that both male and female can integrate with the educational and development of the children, the period of the 19th century was not as enlightened as one might expect it to be.9 Says one analyst concerning this trend, “Women were assumed to be far better stewards of childhood and the inputs of nurture that education could provide as compared to their male counterparts”.10 As such, a woman’s job was seen as developmental and fostering with regards to the way in which the development of children would take place. Accordingly, it came as a comfortable segue that women would be most suited to provide for the developmental and educational needs of these stakeholders within society. Even though it has been reference that the current era is not as sexist and does not have many of the social or cultural norms that were exhibited during the 19th century, this particular trend can still be evidenced to this day. This is not to say that societal pressure continues to push women towards teaching; rather, entrenched cultural and societal norms have effective a situation in which being a teacher is an expectation of the fact that the individual will be a female.11 As a function of formulating the original curriculum by which individuals will be instructed within the early public school system of Canada, it is not surprising that reading, writing, arithmetic, and language were the primary instrument through which the public school system sought to integrate with the educational needs of the stakeholders. This particular curriculum was not established at random. Rather, it was derived from the European education system which in turn was derived from the Roman education system which in turn was ultimately derived from the ancient Greeks. As such, in seeking to continue this line a progression and developing an individual based upon his/her ability to understand these core requirements was deemed as the most actionable and effective path forward. It should also be noted that even though religious education was in and of itself not Incorporated within the new public education system of Canada, a formulation of the curriculum, based upon what these religious entities had formerly focused upon, with the exception of religious texts themselves, was necessarily engaged as a function of delineating and defining the way in which the Canadian education system itself would be represented.12 From the information that has thus far been provided, it can be broadly understood that the educational system within Canada developed out of abject need. Whereas the evolution of the Canadian public education system within necessarily been quite easy if Canada was a small and relatively urbanized culture and society, the geographic constraints and cultural differentiation that exists within the nation necessarily confuse the process and made it somewhat more difficult than it would have been in any other situation. However, even though a focus and discussion has thus far been engaged with regards to the early problems and conflicts that existed with respect to centralizing the education system within Canada, it must be understood that these conflicts were relatively small as compared to the level in which individuals broadly came to accept public education as a net benefit for each and every aspect of society. Clearly, even though the focus has thus far been upon the means through which conflict and frustration existed with respect to early Canadian public education, no such system would have been able to formulate within a free and open society unless individuals categorically came to support such an institution. Moreover, the pervasive gender norms of the era of early Canadian education continue to be represented within the current era and continue to define the way in which societal stakeholders create stereotypes based upon what gender is most aptly suited to teaching and how the process itself should take place. Finally, whereas key aspects of the curriculum have necessarily changed since the inception of early public education within Canada, it must not be understood that the curriculum is much different today as compared to the 19th century. Bibliography Clark, Anna. 2009. 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