1917-1944

1917-1944







Economic, Political and Social Debates:
The time between 1917 and 1944, saw the end of WW1, the stock market crash of 1929, the great depression and the beginning of WW2; it goes without saying it was a time of unrest. This was a time of great national sorrow but also a time that saw a nation come into its own. Americans had little to no money, due to the stock market crash, and then the great depression and dust bowl. WW2 helped pull us out of this economical hole, by giving many Americans jobs. The jobs were not only for white males, America was in a crisis and she needed all her people to work together. Be it the men who went to fight over seas, the women who took the jobs the men had left behind or the elderly who got back to work and did anything they could to help. This was also a time of change, it had to be there was no other way, the women had to work because the men were overseas, and the African Americans were also called upon to either work or join the armed forces. Social prejudices were beginning to be knocked down, granted it took many years afterwards, but it was a beginning. But what really got America out of the depression were all the factories that opened up to manufacture planes, guns and other military equipment, which poured money back into the country.


Changes in Methods, Curriculum, and Students:
During this time of unrest and change, it is no surprise the American school system acted in much the same way. The teachers organized courses with patriotic themes and then focused more on the individual and creative potential of the student. The classroom was beginning to be a place, where students could start to “unlock” the creative forces, “providing a free uninhibited environment.” There were to schools of thought on how to teach English, one stated that English was an art and could be learned by all, and that the teacher’s job was to create en environment where this could happen. The other school said writing was more of a “…preparation for the more efficient uses of language.” But on the whole it is safe to sat, that in this time period creative writing really had a huge emergence. The main arguments for the teaching of writing in more of a creative context were: It would enhance the students’ enjoyment of literature; it would improve the mechanical elements of writing, and would enhance students’ pleasure in writing. In response to the freedom in the English room, came standardized testing, the argument being, “whatever exists, exists in some quantity and so could be measured.” The testing is students in English led to tracking. These tests were culturally biased and were put into place to test students but to also reinforce class, race and gender relations. Through these tests came the question of comparison and so national-normed models of “…varying degrees of excellence” were created.
In this time writing became more of a creative and social activity but also one that in its educational form expressed the prejudices and problems of the time.