When the final video product became available, the scope of the supplementary exhibit was reconsidered. It was decided that teachers would need more background information to provide context for each video time period. The development of the public school system would become an important addition, and it also seemed appropriate to highlight some of the issues raised in the recent education reform debate and to look at historical antecedents.
The exhibit produced,"Tradition and Reform: Four Centuries of Education in Massachusetts" covers a long period of time and a complex subject. Choices were made on what to include. We looked at educational laws and issues within a framework of centuries. The basic exhibit was supplemented with three artifact cases on textbooks, the district school, and teacher aids as well as bulletin boards on Schools Today, Teachers Today and The Education Reform Bill. A separate area featured the video and pictures of the period sites. The exhibit was on display at the Commonwealth Museum from May-November 1993, and a scaled down version become available for travel throughout Massachusetts in 1994.
This teacher booklet, prepared in draft form for the exhibit and video, can be used with the video now available for loan by schools and other educational groups. This guide provides specific information on each video segment, but it also has information that can be used in many other ways by the resourceful teacher. It follows the basic exhibit framework of centuries. However, curriculum usually relates to specific periods and events, so that teachers will need to adapt the material to their own subjects and timeframes. We hope you will also add local information to make the laws and issues more relevant to the student's perspective. Because of the broad subject and education's numerous interrelationships, a bibliography and resource listing will be helpful for those needing more assistance and ideas. We welcome your feedback on content, and suggestions for additions and corrections.
The Commonwealth Museum feels that it is important for students to understand their own role in getting the education they need to function at their optimum and to have a choice in determining their own future. We hope that this booklet helps teachers to stimulate their student's thinking about the importance of education.
December 1993
1995 Note: The complete booklet, Tradition and Reform : Four Centuries of Education in Massachusetts is available in hard copy from the Commonwealth Museum at the address on the cover page. The video is still available for loan. Selected chapters or portions that stand alone are included in this Mass Studies version. For up-to-date information on the Reform Bill, professional development and curriculum frameworks, contact the Department of Education, Robert V. Antonucci, Commissioner, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA02148, (617) 388-3300. This information is also available online through:
WWW URL:http://meol.mass.edu:70/0/home
Gopher: meol.mass.edu