The Cold War & Education

Laura Capps, Renee Swank, Brooke Riecke, Kinsea Hanni, Lauren Wagoner, Becca Stinn, Amanda Walker

INTRODUCTION

WHO ARE WE?

WHAT IS OUR TOPIC?

WHY DID WE PICK IT?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. WHAT WAS THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY AND OUR SOCIETY DURING THE COLD WAR?

2. WHAT WERE THE EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE COLD WAR ON THE SUBJECTS OF MATH & SCIENCE?

3. HOW DID THE CONSTANT FEAR AFFECT EDUCATION?

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE COLD WAR

● 1945-1991● Primarily fought between the United States

& the Soviet Union○ Capitalism vs. Communism

● “Arms Race”● “The Great Space Race”

POLITICAL STATE OF AMERICAPolitical figures

Allen Dulles: He was the director of CIA when Eisenhower was president, he supported covert operations during war.

John Foster Dulles: He was the Secretary of state during Eisenhower’s term. Helped with the New Look foreign policy.

Dwight D. Eisenhower: President during part of the Cold War. Was for the nuclear weapons.

John F. Kennedy President during the Cold War before he was assassinated. Cuban missile crisis was when he was president.

Douglas MacArthur: Helped establish a democratic government in Japan after WW2. Fought in Cold War too and wanted

President Truman to bomb North Korea and China.

Joseph McCarthy: Wisconsin Republican Senator during this time. Accused hundreds of people of being communist this is known

as “McCarthyism”.

Richard M. Nixon: California congressman that was a republican. Prosecuted Alger Hiss for being a communist.

Harry S Truman: President for remainder of Cold War. Helped Western Europe rebuild and fired Douglas MacArthur for his

misbehavior.

POLITICAL STATE OF AMERICADifferent political groups

Communism, Republican, Democrats, Liberals and McCarthyism

CULTURAL STATE OF AMERICA•Music•Rock ‘n’ Roll

– Woodstock –The Rolling Stones

–Bob Dylan – The Beatles

•Movies•Color T.V–60 Minutes Debuted on CBS (1968)

–Sesame Street Debuted (1969)

–The Graduate (1967)

–Psycho (1960)•Alfred Hitchcock

•“Slasher” horror film

CULTURAL STATE OF AMERICA

•Civil rights– Marches

– Riots

•Vietnam War

– The draft

EDUCATION: PRE-COLD WAR

Stats about education prior to the Cold War(1940):● Urban residents averaged 8.7 yrs of

schooling● Rural residents averaged 7.7 yrs of

schooling

Effects of the Great Depression on Education

● Drop out rate ● Lunches● Book and transportation ● Cutbacks on Classes ● Movement to urban areas

Effects of the New Deal

● The 3 Rs -- relief, recovery, and reform ● Between 1933-1938 domestic programs set

in place● CCC -- Civilian Conservation Corps

○ unemployed-- unskilled manual labor ○ found that candidates were severely uneducated ○ set up classrooms ○ By 1940--90% of employees were enrolled in a class

EDUCATION: DURING COLD WAR

● EMOTIONAL STATE OF STUDENTS○ Anxiety: “a state of apprehension, tension, or

uneasiness that occurs in anticipation of internal or external danger”

○ Fear: “the emotional state that exists when a source of threat is precise and well-known

EDUCATION: DURING COLD WAR

● IMPACT ON DAILY LEARNING○ Fear → focus of life → inability to concentrate on

anything other than source of fear & fear itself○ Unable to engage cognitively○ Learning impeded greatly○ Hidden curriculum

■ Teacher fear & Censorship● BOMB DRILLS

○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q899D06W53k

EDUCATION: POST-COLD WAR● Nuclear arms and space race changed the needs in

education ○ 3 R’s to science, math, technology

● A result of this new direction students were taught getting a good education “was their patriotic duty to help win the war against communism.”○ All public education was free to support this

● Late 1950’s and early 1960’s-high point in American education

EDUCATION: POST-COLD WAR

● 1970’s○ Education became less of a priority

● Became a period of low government spending on education

● The quality of education started to decline without the cold war demands

IMPACT ON TODAY’S SCHOOLS

1950s & 1960s● Gov. knew receiving an education would help fight

communism ○ Public Edu.- free from elementary-community college○ Gov. grants for Cold War related subjects (politics,

aerospace technology, etc.)○ Idea of scholarships/grants stuck

● Emphasis on technology and sciences○ We needed to be technologically supreme to stay ahead

of Soviets- emphasis has stayed relevant

IMPACT ON TODAY’S SCHOOLS (CONT.)

1970s and Beyond● Need for teachers

earlier had created surplus○ led to decrease in

teacher salary- controversy we still see today

SUMMARY

A lot going on during this time (Civil Rights Movements, Arms Race, etc.)● Education was focused on surviving● Curriculum to help fight communismImpacted today’s schools ● STEM emphasis● Teacher salary controversy

RESOURCESBledsoe, T.S. & Baskin, J.J. (2014).

Recognizing student fear: The elephant in the classroom. College Teaching, 62(1), 32-41.

Webb, L.D. (2014). The History of American Education: A

Great American Experiment. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Cold War History. (2009). Retrieved December 2, 2014

from:http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-war-history

The 100 Greatest Artists of the 1960's. (2014). Retrieved from

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/dd23beatlesfan1/the_100_greatest_artists_of_the_1960s/2/

Dirks, T. Film History of the 1960s. Retrieved from http://www.filmsite.org/60sintro.html

The 1960s. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/1960s

Walker, G. (2003). Duck and cover. Trinity Atomic Web Site. Retrieved from http://www.abomb1.org/civildef/duckncvr.html

History Snitch » Blog Archive McCarthy Was Right » History Snitch. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://historysnitch.com/mccarthy-

was-right/

RESOURCESSparkNotes: The Cold War (1945–1963): Key People & Terms. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/coldwar/terms.htm

Totten, M. (2013). The Effects of the Cold War on US Education. Retrieved from

http://www.educationspace360.com/index.php/the-effects-of-the-cold-war-

on-us-education-39/Roosevelt Institute. (2009, December). Retrieved from http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/new-roosevelt/new-deal-s-unintended-impact-education

Reinhardt, C., & Ganzell, B. (2001). Rural Education during the 1940s. Retrieved from http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/life_19.html

Going to School During the Great Depression. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.tn4me.org/images/upload/File/Going_to_school_then_and_now_answer_key.pdf

Davis, A. P. (2010). Public Schools in the Great Depression. Retrieved from http://ncpedia.org/public-schools-great-depression