Education Reform in Vincent’s Writing

The 1960s and “change”

In New Leadership in Education, Vincent argues that outside influence on elementary curriculum grew during the 1950s and 1960s. He points specifically to the rise of New Math, changes in school administration, the middle school concept, and reading programs that minimized phonics.

That argument is closely connected to the opening chapters of The Silent Voice in Education, including The 1960s and “Change”, A Two-Tiered System, Local Leadership, and Classroom Teachers React to the Times.

New Math as a case study

Vincent’s two mathematics essays use New Math as a concrete example of the larger theme of the book. He describes what he saw as a classroom teacher, the ways teachers supplemented official programs with traditional number facts, and why he believes that experience should have carried more weight in curriculum decisions.

The larger book argument

Across the book, Vincent returns to local leadership, teacher-initiated change, classroom management, evaluation, special education, and individual instruction. His focus is the role of the teacher closest to the student and what happens when that voice becomes quieter in the systems that shape education.

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