One Size DOES NOT Fit All
Hannah Woodworth
The first page of my comic reflects the students who were not allowed into schools prior to the Common School Movement. This included girls, African Americans, immigrants, the poor and children with disabilities. I chose to represent the students being blocked out with barbed wire.
The second page represents the reasons for the Common School Movement. One major reason being the large increase of immigrants and the need to “Americanize” the youth. In the second image, the “Common School Movement” machine is pumping out Americanized children.
The third page represents the Ungraded Classrooms and Intermediate Schools that were a result of too many students in the Common Schools. Teachers began to abuse their power to remove immigrants, students with disabilities and unruly students from their classrooms.
The fourth page shows that The Common School Movement was the path that led to inclusion, differentiation and special education. While it was unfair for students to be removed from the Common Schools, their exclusion led to the development of special education.
When drawing my comic, I focused a lot on symbolism as well as the sizing of my frames. The symbolism included the four-leaf clover to represent the Irish immigrants, the cane to represent students with disabilities, torn clothes to represent the poor, the American flag to represent the social control schools had over the students and the “Common School Movement” pathway that leads to the development of special education.
I chose to create the button with the slogan “One Size DOES NOT Fit All”, which was also the title of my comic, because I believe that this represents the outcome of the Common School Movement but is also still important in today’s society. The Common School Movement tried to fit all different types of students into one classroom together and teachers became overwhelmed. Even today, each student learns differently and it is important to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of each child and use this knowledge to help them learn.
Hi Hannah,
I thought your comic was great and rich in symbolism! I especially liked how you drew all of the excluded children together. To me, this unified the individuals who were excluded in the education system. That was a powerful image. I think that your theme of “one size does not fit all” still applies today, as teachers are trying to create more inclusive classroom settings through differentiation and lessons geared toward all learning styles. Your button also reminds me of the symbol for Autism because of the puzzle pieces. For students in special education who have learning differences, one size does not fit all and these students deserve a differentiated education to help them succeed, just as you showed in your comic. It’s great that you made your comic about such an important topic!
Hi Hannah
I think you did a really amazing job with your comic! Its a topic that is difficult to represent but I think you did a great job with your representation! I think your analysis on the issues of Americanizing students is really succinct and is a nice complement to the premise of the class. Your criticisms of the Common School Movement can definitely be applied to the modern classroom and a need to reflect and compare the two eras of American public education is needed, particularly with current influx of immigrants from South and Central America. The concepts of “equal education” are still not always defined or appreciated in the classroom but your attention to this really fundamental issue in the public school system is appreciated (especially since Special Education is my passion).
I really enjoyed working with you this semester and hope you have a great summer!
Mary Claire