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Booker T. Washington, an educator and the most prominent black leader of his day, grew up as a slave in Franklin County, Virginia. He was born to a white slave-holding father and a slave mother. He became the most prominent black leader of the late 19 th and early 20 th century, who counseled them to focus on modest economic goals and to accept temporary social discrimination.
During the time between 1877 and 1915, black Americans experienced many social and economic and political difficulties. In the 1870 s, the principle of segregation by race extended into every area of Southern life, from railroads to restaurants, hotels, hospitals and schools. Custom and practice segregated any area of life that was not segregated by law. Many African Americans supported the program of Booker T. Washington.
Washington believed that blacks could advance themselves faster through hard work than by demands for equal rights. For the time period, Booker T. Washington was a very realistic man. He suggested that the Southern Blacks should stay in the South. He believed that Southern Blacks would not succeed financially and would always remain in poverty in the North. By staying in the South, Southern Blacks has a better opportunity to climb up the economic ladder by owning farming property.
According to Washington, he was not concern with the social equality but he was concern with encouraging African Americans to uplift themselves educationally and financially so that they can eventually earn the respect from the White people (p. 108). Booker T. Washington best conveyed these values in his school, Tuskegee Institute, in which he was a teacher during the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War. He focused on improving himself in order to improve the lives of his fellow members of his race. This concept is known as collective improvement. Washington based his education mainly on personal transformation, which was similar to boot camp.
He believed that minorities should be motivated through experience, motivated through discipline and high expectation, Booker t. Washington wanted the Cherokees Indians to give up their cultural identity. He wanted the Indians to cut their long hair and get rid of their tribal clothing. He believed that by doing this, Indians could conform to the American popular culture, which was Northern White Middle Class. More importantly, Booker T.
Washington wanted to enforce industrial values. He encouraged his students to be hard working. Washington wanted to teach that work was not something to be avoided but something to be incorporated into ones life because it was a positive aspect. He felt the need to change the local peoples (Black and White) attitude about work, which was that work is degrading and done on by slaves. Booker T. Washingtons overall goal was to transform Southern Blacks into Black middle-class people in order to uplift themselves economically and intellectually.
Booker T. Washington was to be a role model for the Black local students. He begins to transform the Black students attitude about life and their lifestyles. He does this by making them clean their teeth, clothing and taking care of their bodies.
He also makes them create bricks and chop wood in order to build the school. This would give them a sense of responsibility and dedication. Washington encouraged them to grow their own food, which was something they already knew how to do. He wanted them to be self-reliant. This would help the Black students in accepting self worth and having pride ones oneself.
Booker T. Washington believed that of could transform these students into educational, well disciplined people that they could begin to change the White attitude of prejudices that Black people are dumb, dirty, useless and ignorant. Booker T. Washington had a top-down method of teaching.
He was the all-knowing authority figure and the students are his ignorant apprentices. His work ethics were pretty much the same. He wanted the Black students to train in practical jobs such as a bus driver, carpenter or other manual labor. Basically, Washington was being realistic because he worked with what was available and he worked with the current dilemma of poverty and ignorance. He knew that the only way to uplift the black race was to focus on economic growth and this could be done if Black students learned a trade or owned a business. Booker T.
Washington believed that teaching this generation a trade would enable the future generation to have a more knowledge and more options about what they want in life. For example, if a parent could become a bus driver, then they could earn enough money to buy clothes, to buy food and to get shelter. Basically, this would satisfy the necessities in life within the first generation. When the basic necessities are met, and then their children could have the opportunity to go to school to learn other professions that does not involve manual and menial work.
Booker T. Washington charged tuition in order to encourage students to have value n their education. The tuition fees would reinforce the students motivation. The fees would also enforce discipline. The students were forced to wake up at 5: 00 a. m.
they worked every morning and they went to church. Washingtons school was more like a military regimen because the students had to follow his rules. He enforces all of these factors in order to instill a sense of value and he also wanted to spread the Industrial Educational Model. Washington believed that this would be the only way to get Black Southerners out of poverty and ignorance.
Jane Adams came from a somewhat middle class home. Her father worked in a miller and was a self made man. She learned certain qualities from her father such as hard work, honesty, a strong will, highly moralistic and compassion. At a very young age, Adams felt empathy for the poor immigrants. When she became older, she felt a sense of obligation for those less fortunate. She was also a string supporter of right of children.
She felt that all children should have freedom to play and to explore like she was accustomed to doing in her country. Although Jane Adams background was different than Booker T. Washington, they held the similar values. They both wanted to improve the lifestyle of the less fortunate. However, Jane Adams went about helping people in different ways and she conveyed this in her model of education in the Hull House. Adams encouraged the staff and students to help society and the community.
Furthermore, Middle-class, White, American, Protestants became medic missionaries and religious missionaries in order to help people from other countries. Moreover, the ethos of Rockford Seminary was to educate women (female students) to become teachers for both elementary and secondary levels. Adams felt that women had the ability to learn and utilize it to help others. She considered this a better position for women rather than being a housewife. Jane Adams created the Hull House and it contained a kindergarten for children who had parents that worked long hours in factories. She provided a safe and clean environment.
It was also a shelter for all immigrant women who came from Central and South Europe. Furthermore, the Hull House provided basic educational classes for the illiterate female immigrants. Social workers in the Hull House, helped by respecting the differences in all cultures. They encouraged immigrant to spend their money in amore useful way. For example, many Italian immigrants spent their money on buying export goods such as cheese and pasta.
Jane Adams believed that immigrants had to change certain traditional behaviors in order to succeed. Immigrants were encouraged to have their baby in the hospital. Traditionally, the immigrants had their babies at home. Jane believed that having babies in a clean, well-supplied hospital room would decrease child morality. Thus, Adams had to encourage immigrants to let go of their cultural traditions such as, having a lot of children and buying provision goods, in order to live a better, safer life in the city. Jane Adams wanted to instill a civic virtue or in other words, she wanted to teach immigrants to be good citizens.
As a result, Jane Adams' Hull House served as a place where immigrants could be guarded from the cruelties and injustices present in Chicago even is the United States is suppose to be a democracy. Although many critics felt that Jane Adams was a socialists, in reality she not believe that socialism was the answer to the problems immigrants were having. Adams was part of the Progress Movement. She felt that culture could be connected to civic virtue. Musically, many immigrants were encouraged to play classical music such as the violin and piano. The result of this is that people learned to work in large groups and to be more refined.
Other benefits of teaching classical music was a way getting children and teenagers from the streets in order to prevent them from doing immortal and illegal activities. Furthermore, Jane Adams wanted plays that were dialectic or showed civic virtues or a sense of morality and collective good. She also realized that by displaying the different crafts, sewing, and pottery this was a way for children of immigrants to feel pride for their culture instead of being ashamed of it or rejecting it. This was done in order to conform them to the acceptable American lifestyles.
Adams believed that creating a sense of unity between the different immigrants, which would prevent radicalism or rebellion. Adams and Washington have a few things in common. First of all they, both tried to develop institutions that would help the less fortunate and they both promoted education. Adams and Washington both felt that in order to succeed and in order to be accepted, Blacks and Immigrants must sway away from their cultural traditions and conform to those more American. However, I believe that the comparisons end there. Washington wanted to promote education in order to uplift one specific ethic group, Blacks.
He encouraged Blacks to become educated and to work in industry and agricultural. He also encouraged them to accept their second class status in the American society. Washington wanted Blacks to be submissiveness until the right time came along. He also believed that Blacks in America needed pride in themselves in order to rise in a White dominated society. Adams promoted civic help to those in needs, especially immigrants.
Adams encouraged assimilation and she encouraged the immigrants to take pride in the cultural traditions. She wanted immigrants to remember their music, their art, museums and basically their culture. Adams didnt want immigrants to give up their identity. She more or less wanted their acceptance into society.
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