Even though the launching of the Sputnik took place in the Soviet Union in 1957, this event had a big impact in American education because there were several philosophies in education at that time, but specially one was positively influenced by the launching of the Sputnik. This philosophy is Essentialism which encourages students to learn the principal academic subjects, develop a patriot character, and improve their moral character. This is the traditional way that most of American students learn, and it supports the use of the reason and the sharing of a common American culture in schools. Before the Sputnik, there was a big debate concerning another philosophy in education called Progressivism which supported that knowledge is not the cumulative gathering of information by memorization and should be acquired by the use of experiences to help solving present problems. Passive listening to the teacher is not the appropriate method to learn according to progressivists who suggested using students' interests to solve current issues. I think that Progressivism was quite different from Essentialism, the prevailing philosophy in the United States. Some people who were against Progressivism argued that this philosophy was undermining American traditional education system because this method differed from what Essentialism proposed for schools. Essentialism is a teacher-centered philosophy while Progressivism is student-centered. With the launching of the Sputnik, the United States felt threatened, and the Soviet Union became a potential menace in the scientific field. Because the United States could not stay behind, it started a race to form scientists and mathematicians to compete with the Russian country. So, Essentialism, also called back-to-basics, became stronger in schools because of the need to create students better prepared and reinforce the national identity and union within the country going back to the deeper roots of American history. The launching of the Sputnik allowed Essentialism to arise definitely as the prevailing philosophy in education in the United States and stopped the big debate between this philosophy and Progressivism. The launching of the Sputnik started an educational revolution because it boosted the attention in improving students' preparation. Harder tests for teachers and students, more requirements to graduate, and higher standards emerged as a consequence of this revolutionary transformation in American education also called neoessentialism. With the launching of the Sputnik high to the space in 1957, the Soviets also launched the willing of Americans to improve their academic level, stay upfront, and achieve higher patriotic standards.
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