Introduction

Abstract

Introduction Jacqueline Ellis and Ellen Gruber Garvey In recent years, government policy in the United States has increasingly defined education's purpose as preparing students for the workplace. In 2014, President Barack Obama typified this line of thinking in remarks that questioned the value of studying disciplines that do not align with specific careers: [A] lot of young people no longer see the trades and skilled manufacturing as a viable career. But I promise you, folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree. Now, nothing wrong with an art history degree—I love art history. So I don't want to get a bunch of emails from everybody. I'm just saying you can make a really good living and have a great career without getting a four-year college education as long as you get the skills and the training that you need. (Jaschik, "Obama") Obama's comments were criticized for their dismissive attitude toward the liberal arts—a perspective more commonly associated with Republican politicians—and for his reinforcement of policies that have led to corporatized, routinized, test score–oriented approaches to education that require elementary school children to be "college and career ready." At the same time, Obama's words suggest that the liberal arts—the study of literature, history, art, and philosophy—are unnecessary for young people who might be better suited to traditionally working-class occupations. His point implies that education that does not funnel students into a specific career should be accessible only to a privileged few. As schools narrow their purpose, they increase educational inequality. Public schools in poorer areas increasingly focus only on subjects that are assessed in standardized tests. In one example, in 2015, Frankie Adao, the father of an eighth grader in a public school in Newark, New Jersey, posted his son's schedule on social media. The schedule showed only three class periods in a week [End Page 1] that were not dedicated to math, STEM, or English language arts. Parents from suburban school districts and private schools posted their children's schedules in response, showing a stark disparity, as middle-class, majority-white school districts offered classes in civics, media and public speaking, creative writing, music, and even Google hacks. As Adao noted: I know in suburban and better off communities the resources differ from district to district. Hell, Newark, is fighting to keep schools open! Never mind having courses like Ceramics and Google Hacks. Ceramics, by the way is a course I did have in 8th grade at the very same school my son attends but no longer is available. The stark differences a child [receives] in education from district to district is an amazing and stark reality of how different and uneven the educational playing field is for our children. (Strauss) This same narrowing and division is occurring in higher education, as enrollments in history and literature courses decline (Flaherty; Jaschik, "Shrinking") and students feel pressed by their student loans to take only courses that they believe will feed directly into a career. Instructors and students have turned to one another and to their many communities to keep the challenging and questioning spirit of education alive. The contributions included in this second issue of "Teaching Community" explore this question of education's purpose and suggest a much broader scope than is prescribed by education policy. Several of the authors, for example, examine various forms of service learning. Others explore the connections between universities and their surrounding communities and suggest ways to build collaborative partnerships. Emese Toth's photo-essay, "Teaching Contested University Histories through Campus Tours," critiques the public identity of a college by offering an "alternative campus tour," whereas guest editors Erica Meiners and Therese Quinn's Teachers Talk, "Dissenting Images: Engaging the Pedagogy of Protest," explores the pedagogical possibilities of public protest in reflections on the Women's March in January 2017. Overall, this issue proposes a model of education that emphasizes inclusivity and a commitment to teaching and learning that is critically engaged and socially transformative. The students discussed in both Anne Valk and Holly Ewald's essay, "Turning Toward...