The United States education system would look quite different without the ideas brought to America by the German immigrants. Germany’s influence can be traced back to the beginning of our country. Their impact goes back to the first German settlement in 1608 at Jamestown, Pennsylvania. German immigrants to Colonial America brought with them their culture, traditions, and philosophy about education. Much of the formal education system currently in place in the United States has their roots in Germany. The German immigrants are responsible for the first kindergarten in America, introducing both physical and vocational education, and establishing a universal education for all students. They also had a strong impact on the beginning of universities in our country. The German people were deeply religious. These religious beliefs carried over into our new schools as our nation was formed. As far back as the 1700’s, the school was an avenue to establish superiority over other nationalities. This paper will investigate the influence that German immigrants have had on American education during the time when America was being colonized and onto later years . This paper will also examine how our modern education system has roots from the early German schools. It is my thesis that our modern education system has been strongly influenced by the German people that immigrated to America.
German immigrants were deeply religious people. In fact many immigrants came to America to escape religious persecution in Germany. The immigrants, however, splintered into many different religious groups. Some of the most common German religions were Lutheran, Catholic, and Free thinkers. (# 3 pg. 45) Many of the new German Americans exerted great energ...
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...immigrants lived their lives were in hopes of raising children to carry on their German traditions.
# 1The German eleme million million or n % of or nt in the % United States with special reference to its political, moral, social, and educational influence
By Albert Bernhardt Faust\1909
Boston and New York - Houghton Mifflin Co.
#2 The American school 1642-2000 Joel Spring McGraw Hill 2001
#3 The Germans Jacquelyn Landis Green haven Press 2006
#4 The German-American Heritage Irene M. Franck 1989 New York - Oxford Facts on File
# 5 The German-Americans La Vern J. Rippley 1984 University Press of America, Inc.
the culture of the German communities was designed to build and maintain the German heritage in the new country
Works Cited
The American School 1642 - 2000 Joel Spring
The Germans Jacquelyn Landis
The German-American Heritage Irene M. Franch
Most high school students can 't wait for their school year to be over because they feel exhausted by the seven long periods of classes and not to mention boredom. John Taylor Gatto, a former New York State Teacher of the Year wrote an article called "Against School." Gatto criticizes the school system for their inability to meet the students’ expectations and for putting limits on their ability to learn. The children feel neglected, and the teachers feel helpless because they have to work with students who are not interested in the materials they are given. Gatto mentions how US high schools have become affected by adapting to the Prussian education system. According to Gatto, the purpose of high school is to manipulate the student 's mind
Many Americans can link their heritage to German origins. However, the German’s values, norms and beliefs have shifted when combined with American culture. Within Germany’s culture, there are common themes of organization, compartmentalization, and formality. The interaction between these themes of values, norms and beliefs influences the German culture, structured society, and worldview. While there are similarities between German and American culture, these two countries have difference views on human psychie.
By 1763, although some colonies still maintained established churches, other colonies had accomplished a virtual revolution for religious toleration and separation of church and state. The Anglican Church was the only established denomination in England. In contrast, the colonies supported a great variety of churches. The largest were the Congregationalist, Anglican, and German churches, but many smaller denominations could be found through the colonies. In addition to this, a high percentage of Americans didn’t belong to any church. These differences could be attributed to the fact that many of the Europeans who immigrated to America didn’t fit in to or agree with the churches in their homelands.
Germany in the eighteenth century wasn 't really Germany like we see today. Instead Germany at this time was divided in many different states, where each state was ruled by a prince who decided the countries religion. People who did not accept the religion; and were caught, were often persecuted. During this time period people in Germany fled Germany in search of a better place with more freedom. People wanted the liberty to have their own religion, land, and basically a better life than the one they were offered in Germany. Many migrated to Austria-Hungary and The Russian Empire, but some migrated to America. Johannes Hanner a German immigrant that migrated to America for a better life wrote a letter to his family about how America has given
Samuel C. Heilman, Portrait of American Jews, The Last half of the 20th Century (Seattle & London: University of Washington Press, 1998), 4.
The phrase "a lesson to be learned and a tragedy to behold" has been indelibly attached to the Holocaust that to think of it in any other way is thought to insult all those of the Jewish community who lost their lives to the attempted genocide of their race by the Nazi regime. Despite such brevity attached to learning lessons from the Holocaust one must wonder whether the lesson has actually been learned or if people will continue to repeat the mistakes of the past. Angela Merkel, the current German Chancellor, has stated that the German experiment towards multi-culturalism has failed, those who wish to migrate into the country must learn the German way whether it is the language they speak, the culture they have or the very religion they hold dear . Such sentiments seem to echo those of the former Third Reich which held the German way, the Aryan way, as the only path to which people should attempt to pursue. While this paper is not trying to vilify the current German government nor is it trying to compare it to the Third Reich, the fact remains that the steps their government is taking fall uneasily close to that of their vilified predecessor. The fact is though, the German government is merely following through with the popular sentiment of its citizenry who believe immigrants coming into the country disrupts the German way of life and all attempts to live side by side in peace have failed. Despite being a predominantly Christian nation who supposedly follow the way of Christ, to hear them say that makes one wonder whether their claims truly reflects their deeds. It is from this situation that the essay of Eckardt and its view that the Holocaust is a "Christian Problem" becomes relevant to what is happening in the world today.
The German people felt that with the Nazis in control they could overcome the problems caused by the Treaty of Versailles. Nazi militarism would restore the armed forces to their greatest capability. Nazi mobilization would create employment and new economic opportunities. Nazi expansionism would claim new territories for the German people to inhabit. Nazi racism would rid German society of those elements that weakened it. Nazi ultra-nationalism would restore a sense of identity and pride in a greater German nation. After great suffering as a result of the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, a majority of Germans felt at the time that Nazi rule would bring them the most cherished thing of all, hope.
Throughout the 1930s, Germany went under the control of the anti-Semitic Nazi Party and its leader, Adolf Hitler. “I could see the danger, being so close to Hitler and the Nazi's in Munich. Many of my school friends, former school friends, were becoming big Nazi's.” (Lowen) Most Germans did not agree with this form of ideology and could see the danger that would come of it so, in strong opposition to the system, they left the country. The Germans who opposed to the changes or the country but didn’t leave were either, forced to leave, held in concentration camps, or put to death. The transition for Germans from Nazi Germany to America--in obligation to the fact that they were German-- was fairly easy, even with the lowering exception of immigrants. In America, Germans, particularly scientists, musicians, and novelists were offered good jobs which allowed them and their families to blend in communities and strive. The immigration of Germans during this period was believed to be a benefit to the American culture which, at the time, was going through a Great Depression.
In the article, “The Germans as a Chosen People: Old Testament Themes in German Nationalism,” Hartmut Lehmann attempts to show to what extent the Protestant denominations of Germany contributed to the rise of German nationalism. He focuses on religion, theology, and how various Protestant groups developed the idea that major events in Germany were directly influenced by god. This idea of divine intervention among Protestants eventually transformed into the notion that Germans had developed a special connection with God, and that they were the “chosen people.”
...immigrants made sacrifices. Not only were the parents affected but children were also affected. By looking at situations from a Immigrants point of view and how they express things the way they do, you will be able to see that they are more than grateful for the opportunities given to them.
Fulbrook, Mary. A Concise History of Germany. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print.
The dominant theme in this essay appears to be this: post war social changes such as offering increased university admission promote the view of egalitarianism in education. The author’s main issue with “secondary” education is the sheer numbers of our population that the United States as a whole educates.
Berghahn Books. 2000 Germany and the Germans. After the Unification of the. New Revised Edition. John Ardagh.
Today, in most cases, people don’t spend very much time thinking about why the society we live in presently, is the way it is. Most people would actually be surprised about all that has happened throughout America’s history. Many factors have influenced America and it’s society today, but one of the most profound ways was the way the “Old Immigrants” and “New Immigrants” came to America in the early to mid 1800s. The “Old Immigrants were categorized as the ones who came before 1860 and the “New Immigrants” being the ones who came between 1865 and 1920. The immigrants came to the United States, not only seeking freedom, but also education. Many immigrants also wanted to practice their religion without hindrance. What happened after the immigrants
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. Kitchen, Martin. A History of Modern Germany: 1800-2000. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. Sprout, Otto.