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Education in the Colonial Period
In the Colonial period, only boys from upper class families received private home tutors and then sent to college, occasionally abroad. Boys from middle classes attended dame schools and very few attended college. Lower class boys were sometimes offered apprenticeships, and slaves had no education. 1610s-1760s about. https://www.landofthebrave.info/colonial-education.htm -
The Impact of Jefferson, Rush, & Webster
*Most important
The opinions of Jefferson(1743), Rush (1746), and Webster (1758) differed greatly, but they all agreed that education in America needed change. Jefferson wanted to advance bright children regardless of their ability to afford it. Rush believed women should be educated. Webster believed English should be taught how it's used in America, and not to learn dead languages like Greek and Latin. http://nruthe.weebly.com/blog/education-plans-of-jefferson-rush-and-webster -
Northwest Land Ordinance
This Land Ordinance prompted an organized expansion after the Revolution since the economy was suffering. Congress auctioned off squares of land requiring that one chunk of land must be left for the purpose of public education. Jefferson succeeded in ensuring public funding of education believing that could be used to further unite the young nation and spread democratic ideals. http://moglen.law.columbia.edu/twiki/bin/view/AmLegalHist/PublicEducationInLandGrantsSGrenbaum -
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Common Schools
In the 19th century, the common schools were public schools and typically taught "the three Rs" (reading, writing, arithmetic), history, geography, and math. It's intention was to equip every child with moral instruction and "equalize the conditions of men" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_school -
The Impact of Horace Mann
*Most important Horace Mann led the Common School Movement, which helped frame our funded education system. He wanted to improve the training of teachers, so he established Normal Schools to prepare them with pedagogical norms and standards. Better teachers means better learning. He did this to improve the well-being of the citizenry by providing a tax-funded, high-quality public education. http://study.com/academy/lesson/horace-mann-education-reform-contributions-philosophy-quiz.html -
Common Schools
In the 19th century, the common schools were public schools and typically taught "the three Rs" (reading, writing, arithmetic), history, geography, and math. It's intention was to equip every child with moral instruction and "equalize the conditions of men" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_school -
Committee of Ten
The Committee of Ten was a working group of educators that, in 1892, recommended the standardization of American high school curriculum. -
Secondary School Movement
*Most important
The era from 1910 to 1940, secondary schools were created across the US to help students acquire skills for life and for college. Many youth entered high schools at a rapid rate (19% enrolled). There was an emergence of graded schools, self-contained classrooms in larger schools, state-adopted textbooks, and teachers began to go to formal university preparation. http://faculty.atu.edu/swomack/stu/TheSecondarySchoolMovement06_files/frame.htm -
The Progressive Reform Movement
*Most important The Progressive Era reformed schools at a local level. After 1910 the smaller cities began building high schools. The result was the rapid growth of the educated middle class. During the Progressive Era, many states began passing compulsory schooling laws. An emphasis on hygiene and health was made in education, with physical and health education becoming more important and widespread. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Era#Education -
Brown vs. Board of Education
*Most important.
Blacks were supposed to be allowed to attend any public school. Mr. Brown took a brave step and tried to enroll his daughter along with 5 others in the state. All of them being rejected, took it to court and the verdict was "Separate is not equal" This influenced education where the idea came in that anyone and everyone could choose where they go to school to have an equal opportunity at education.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html -
A Nation at Risk Report, 1983
Ronald Reagan sent out this report thinking that our education system would be an act of war if another country tried to impose this on us since it was so bad. Other countries were progressing a lot faster apparently. -
No Child Left Behind
Before a child could move to the next grade, they had to meet a common goal. Every child has to reach a certain bar to move on. Although it was with good intentions, it ended up backfiring. It's hard to expect each individual child to reach a certain par. -
ESSA
The most current law we have is The Every Student Succeeds Act, signed by Obama. It reauthorizes the "50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students." http://www.ed.gov/essa
