Angela Henry's ERA 1960's

Angela Henry has commented on Kyndra's and Ray's in Group 2.

EDAC 631

History of Adult Education/Community Education

Ball State University

Angela Henry

February 8, 2015

Introduction

So that I may have a better understanding of the foundational knowledge of Adult Education, I chose the era of 1960. Reading about the 1960’s, I have read that this era was considered the dawn of the Golden Age. In 1961, John F. Kennedy became the president. He was a charismatic and charming president. However, it has documented in history that at the time at the end of the 60’s the world seemed to be falling apart. Historian’s state that the country did not end up being that Golden Age that was predicted. After John F. Kennedy was assassinated President Lyndon Johnson became President and he was the one who developed programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. President Johnson had and expansive program of reforms. Another significant thing that happened in the 1960’s was the war of Vietnam. Unfortunately this is the war that divided the nation. People protested the war and others left and went to Canada to avoid being drafted. One of the most important things to me that happened in the 1960’s is the Civil Rights Movement. It all started because of the four black men who sat at an all-white counter in North Carolina. Because of this it started protests among hundreds and then later thousands of blacks and whites all around the country to start having sit-ins. In 1964 President Johnson was able to get the Civil Rights Act pushed that eliminated discrimination in public places. It is amazing when you think about the Civil Rights act in 1964 and to think it really wasn’t that long ago. After the Civil Rights Act was established, then the Voting Rights Act was established which eliminated blacks from voting. The 1960’s was also an era of radical movement. There were a lot of groups that were formed during this time and some of them were militant groups. Protests began on college campuses and also people became anti-war. Women were frustrated with slow reform so they began to educate themselves on women’s rights, only to realize that there were not getting the same benefits as men. This was the beginning of the age of the hippies. Hippies were free love, no political ties, long hair and free spirit (The 1960’s 2015).

 During the 1960s a lot of important events happened in N.A.S.A. All of those important things such as, Apollo 11, Apollo 10 and Apollo 13, had to do with the space race. The space race was a race to the moon between the Soviets and the United States. The U.S. had to make it there first in order for John F. Kennedy to keep his promise to the whole country. If the U.S. didn’t get there before the Soviets they would be embarrassed once again (“American Space Programs of the 1960s”, 2015).

On July 16, 1969 the Apollo 10 mission launched into Earth's atmosphere. The astronauts on this mission were very experienced. The lunar module reached 11,107 miles per hour which was a NASA record. During the mission the astronauts got ready to celebrate as they got within 14 kilometers of the moon, but it wasn’t enough, the Americans couldn’t celebrate yet. This mission never touched down on the moon's surface (“American Space Programs of the 1960s”, 2015).

Highlights/Influential Factors

The Federal government has been involved in adult education for well over 200 years. The nature and extent of Federal attention to the needs of adult learners has varied over this period, but, from its earliest days, the government provided funds to establish, encourage, and expand programs to assist adults in overcoming educational deficiencies which would hinder productive and responsible participation in the life and growth of the nation (“History of the Adult Education”, 2015).

At the state level, evening schools for adults, part-time education, citizenship/Americanization classes for the foreign-born and the Chautauqua experience were fore runners of the State/Federal adult education movement. State histories give evidence of organized adult education as early as the 18th century (“History of the Adult Education”, 2015).

However, it was not until the early 1960’s, in the Kennedy administration that poverty and adult literacy became a concern. Building on Kennedy’s efforts, President Lyndon Johnson and a sympathetic Congress launched a series of programs to end poverty and increase the role of the Federal government toward the improvement of education. With the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act (August 20, 1964), Title II B of Public Law 88-452 created the first Adult Basic Education program as a state grant. The 1964 Federal legislation established a state and Federal partnership to focus on the most basic of educational skills for adults who had not completed secondary education. Funding for states that first year was $18.6 million. In 1965, 37,991 adults enrolled nationally in what was known as ABE (Adult Basic Education). At times, Federal efforts have been disjointed; sometimes they overlapped with other similar programs. But, throughout the past thirty four years, there have been continuous programs focused on increasing an adult literacy skills through the Adult Education Act (“History of the Adult Education”, 2015).

Another trend in the 1960s regarding adult education happened in the rural communities. In rural communities, much more than in urban ones, schools serve at least two constituencies schools serve students and teach them survival skills, and schools serve the community as a whole. A school system is the central institution of a rural community. The school is often the largest employer, it claims the largest share of local taxes and may be the only place where events are held that are community wide and open to the public (“Education in Rural America during the 1950s and 60s” 2015).

But despite the importance of schools as an institution, educational attainment in mid-20th century America was the exception rather than the rule. According to the Economic Research Service of the USDA, in 1960 over well over half of all students never finished high school. Almost 57 percent of urban students and over 66 percent of rural students did not receive a high school diploma. The stereotype of a farmer's son or daughter leaving school after 8th grade was all too common (“Education in Rural America during the 1950s and 60s”, 2015).

Those numbers gradually came down. By the year 2000, only 18.7 percent of "metro" students did not complete high school. Their "nonmetro" counterparts still lagged behind in educational attainment – 23.2 percent of rural students did not complete high school. (“Education in Rural America during the 1950s and 60s”, 2015).

If we look at the other end of the educational spectrum – the percentage of students who got their college degree – rural students were less likely to get their degrees. In 1960, only 8.5 percent of metro students and 5.1 percent of nonmetro students received college degrees. The trend in the last half of the 20th century was upwards, but rose faster for urban students than rural. By 2000, a quarter (26.6 percent) of urban students graduated with a bachelor's degree while only 15.5 percent of rural students finished college (“Education in Rural America during the 1950s and 60s”, 2015).

In the 1950s and 60s, rural schools came under pressure. Some of the pressures were the same as those felt by urban schools but had unique forms in rural areas and some of the pressures were imposed by the continuing exodus of people from rural areas to urban America (“Education in Rural America during the 1950s and 60s”, 2015).

Implications

            I believe the 1960s proved to be a very influential era. During this era so many laws were introduced and it was a time of change. Because of the civil rights movement everyone is allowed to receive a quality education. I think we can all agree that education has dramatically changed. The world we live in today is full of technology and the way we communicate. President Johnson was very influential in making significant changes, due to his belief in ending poverty and improving education.

When I did my research it was interesting to read all of the implications of adult education over the years. In the 1960s you had a teacher stand in front of classroom, now you have classes online, you have teacher’s and peer teachers and sometimes videos that teach children. Technology has created a different environment for all students. One which has made some us lazy and some of us efficient.

Areas	Summary
Social Background	John F. Kennedy President Lyndon Johnson President Martin Luther King as Civil Rights Activist Vietnam War
Highlights	Education Act Economic Opportunity Act Adult Basic Education
Influential Factors	Legislative Acts were being passed Adult Education happened in the rural communities
Implications	Adult education is a growing education Adult education needs continued support by legislative laws Adult education is ever changing and evolving

The 1960s. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2015, from http://www.history.com/topics/1960s

American Space Programs of the 1960s for Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2015, from            http://www.pocanticohills.org/amprogress/American_Space_Programs.htm

History of the Adult Education Act. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://www.naepdc.org/issues/AEAHistort.htm

Education in Rural America during the 1950s and 60s. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe50s/life_12.html