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Harvard College
The first college in the Colonies was approved and established in the Massachusetts Bay. It was named after John Harvard, a graduate of Cambridge University, who willed 400 books and half of his estate to the University.
http://www.harvard.edu/about-harvard/harvard-glance/history/historical-facts -
Old Deluder Satan Law
The Old Deluder Satan Law states that any town with at least 50 householders was required to have a member of the township teach writing and reading and their wages paid for by the inhabitants. The intent of this law was to teach children to read and write scripture so they would not be tempted by the ways of the devil.
http://www.mass.gov/courts/docs/lawlib/docs/deludersatan.pdf -
John Locke
John Locke wrote an education manual titled "Some Thoughts Concerning Education." In his writings it was Locke's philosophy that one should focus on good morals and good manners even if that meant shifting away from traditional curriculum. Education should develop a gentleman that was rational, dependable and socially capable. http://playpen.meraka.csir.co.za/~acdc/education/Dr_Anvind_Gupa/Learners_Library_7_March_2007/Resources/books/John%20Locke.pdf -
Sisters of the Order of Saint Ursula founded Ursuline Academy in New Orleans
The Ursuline Academy in New Orleans was founded in 1727 and is the oldest continuously operating school for girls and the oldest Catholic School in the United States. From the time of its conception it offered the first classes for Native American girls.
https://www.uanola.org/page/about/ursuline-heritage -
Benjamin Franklin
In Franklin's pamphlet "Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pennsylvania" Franklin presses for a school of higher learning that will focus on preparing students to be career ready as well as focus on scientific subjects and utilitarian skills. Later the school becomes the University of Pennsylvania. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-03-02-0166 -
A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge
Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in the writing and passing of Bill 79 "A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge." This Bill called for all free boys and girls to attend school tuition free for up three years and learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-02-02-0132-0004-0079 -
Northwest Land Ordinance
The Northwest Land Ordinance of 1785 directed that land in the northwest territories be surveyed and divided into townships that were six square miles each. They further divided the townships into thirty-six sections and section sixteen was designated in each township for the support of education.
http://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Land_Ordinance_of_1785?rec=1472 -
Young Ladies Academy Opened
In Colonial America only males received a formal education. Adventure schools and abbreviated summer schools allowed females a brief opportunity for an education. However, in 1787 the first all female school opened in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. It was called the Young Ladies Academy. Male teachers taught reading, spelling, writing, math and geography. Within the first year the school had approximately 100 students. https://www.nwhm.org/html/exhibits/education/1700s_3.htm -
Female Seminary Movement
The Female Seminary Movement was a push by primarily three women Catherine Beecher, Mary Lyon, and Emma Willard, to form schools that would offer women an education equal to that of men. Small schools first evolved but teachers found it difficult to be knowledgeable in all subjects. From donations small female schools hired more teachers to specialize in content areas.
https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/education/1800s_1.htm -
Troy Female Seminary Established
The Troy Female Seminary was established in Troy, NY by Emma Willard, an advocate for women's higher education. Willard created a teacher education program at Troy Female Seminary designed to provide lectures about a specific subject, questions and discussions about those lectures, and cooperative learning amongst students to discuss their interpretations about the subjects.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Troy-Female-Seminary -
Louis Braille
Louis Braille, a Frenchman, lost his site as a result of a childhood accident. Braille developed a raised dot code that enabled blind people to read and write. In 1829, Louis Braille published Method of Writing Words, Music, and Plain Songs by Means of Dots for Use by the Blind and Arranged for Them.
https://www.biography.com/people/louis-braille-9224001 -
Horace Mann
In 1837 Horace Mann supported the establishment of the Massachusetts Board of Education and was appointed the first secretary. Mann believed in six main principles for "normal schools" one of which was the belief that schools should be nonsectarian. Furthermore, he supported tax dollars being used for education.
https://www.biography.com/people/horace-mann-9397522 -
Friedrich Froebel Establishes First Kindergarten
In 1837, Frederich Froebel returned to Germany and opened a school in he called his Play and Activity Institute. In 1840 Froebel renamed it the Universal German Kindergarten (the children's garden). Froebel believed Kindergarten had three essential parts: creative play, singing and dancing for healthy activity, and observing and nurturing plants in a garden for stimulating awareness of the natural world.
http://froebelweb.org/ -
On the Origin of Species
Published in 1859, On the Origin of Species was a work of scientific literature by Charles Darwin that proposed the theory that populations evolve over time through a process of natural selection.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species -
The Morrill Act
The Morrill Act, proposed by Justin Smith Morrill and passed by Congress in 1862, was an act that granted each state 30,000 public acres for each senator and representative it had in congress. The income from the land was to support at least one college in the applied fields of agriculture and engineering. Texas A&M is an example of a land-grant university which is why it is considered the first university in Texas.
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=33 -
Kalamazoo Case of 1874
The Kalamazoo Board of Education levied taxes to support one of their high schools and was sued by three tax paying citizens. The Michigan Supreme Court upheld the power of the Kalamazoo Board of Education thus opening the way to taxpayer-financed public education at the secondary level.
http://www.kpl.gov/local-history/education/kalamazoo-school-case.aspx -
Dewey Decimal System
The Dewey Decimal System is a library classification system first published by Melvin Dewey in the United States in 1876. This classification system assigns a classification number to a book that allows the volume to be located relative to other books in the library based on its subject. The Dewey Decimal System is still used today, but competes with another one called the Library of Congress Classification System.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey_Decimal_Classification -
Committee of Ten Established
The National Education Association (NEA) established the Committee of Ten which was composed of ten scholarly members who were charged with researching and reporting back on 11 questions regarding important curricular knowledge within specific content areas.
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ365372
https://archive.org/details/cu31924030593580 -
College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) Administers First Test
In 1901 the College Examination Board (CEEB), which was founded at Columbia University in 1822, administers its first college entrance exam. Exams consisted of essays in specific subject areas.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/where/1901.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/where/timeline.html -
The General Education Board
In 1903 John D. Rockefeller, Jr. encouraged his father John D. Rockefeller, Sr. to establish The General Education Board one of their many endeavors that fell under their philanthropic umbrella. The GED with an endowment of 150 million dollars was the most powerful education foundation of its time. The GED was designed to support education regardless of sex, race, or creed.
https://rockfound.rockarch.org/ -
William C. Bagley
While serving as the Director of the Teacher Practice School at Montana State Normal School, William C. Bagley wrote The Educative Process. His book was one of the first attempts to writing about the "science of education." Furthermore, Bagley designed a teacher education program in Montana with four major components and received accolades for integrating subject matter with methods of instruction.
http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1780/Bagley-William-C-1874-1946.html -
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1906 and enacted by Congress in 1906. It is an independent policy and research center that is responsible for the founding of ETS, publication of the Flexner Report, creation of the Carnegie Unit, support for scholarships and financial aid for low and middle income students, and several other initiatives.
https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/who-we-are/foundation-history/ -
Intercollegiate Athletic Association United States (IAAUS)
The IAAUS was officially established in 1906 after 62 higher education institutions came together to become charter members and establish the association. In 1910 it was renamed NCAA. In 1921 the first National Championship in was conducted for the sport track and field. Gradually more rules committees formed and more championships in other sports were conducted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Association
http://www.ncaa.com/ -
The First Montessori School Opens
In 1910 Maria Montessori trained Anne E. George as the first American Montessori directress. Gutek (2013) reports in 1913 George opened the first Montessori school in the U. S. in Tarrytown, NY. The American Montessori Society reports the first Montessori school in the U.S. was established in 1911 in Scarborough, NY. By 1916 more than 100 schools were operating in 22 states.
http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/History-of-Montessori-Education/Early-History-of-Montessori/ -
American Federation of Teachers
Margaret Haley was a prominent woman that believed in better working conditions for female educators. In 1901 she resigned as a teacher and focused her efforts to establish the American Federation of Teachers. The AFT was established in Chicago in 1916.
https://www.nwhm.org/online-exhibits/education/1900s_1.htm -
Commission on Reorganization of Secondary Education (CRSE)
In 1918 the National Education Association (NEA) established the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education (CRSE) which was responsible for reexamining the high school's purpose, scope, and function.
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED153896
http://ngcsumiddlegrades.pbworks.com/w/page/40799979/The%20Commission%20on%20the%20Reorganization%20of%20Secondary%20Education -
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
In 1926 the NAEYC was established and dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children and focusing on the quality of educational and developmental services offered to children from birth to age eight.
http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc -
The GI Bill
Signed into effect in 1944 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the GI Bill was designed to provide education to soldiers returning from World War II. Tuition for advanced education or technical school was covered up to $500.00 per school year and the soldier was paid a housing allowance. FDR believed that soldiers should be honored and rewarded when returning from war and providing these benefits would be an investment in humankind. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-signs-gi-bill -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Five court cases consolidated under one court case called Brown vs. Board of Education was a landmark case that declared segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Once the case was decided the Supreme Court Justices asked the Attorney Generals of states that allowed segregation to submit plans for how they were going to desegregate schools.
http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment -
National Council on Accreditation for Teacher Education (NCATE)
Founded in 1954, NCATE is a non-governmental agency that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a professional accrediting body for colleges and universities that prepares teachers and other professionals for work in elementary and secondary classrooms. The NCATE dual mission is accountability and improvement in teacher education programs and they hold university programs accountable for meeting these standards. http://ncate.org/Public/AboutNCATE/QuickFacts/tabid/343/Default.aspx -
Women Admitted to Texas A&M
With the strong encouragement of the 16th President of Texas A&M University, Major General James Earl Rudder, the Board of Directors conceded to allowing women into the University to pursue undergraduate degrees.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Texas_A%26M_University -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act is signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson and enacted by Congress in 1964 stating that institutions receiving federal funding may not discriminate on the basis of race.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/07/02/the-civil-rights-act-was-a-victory-against-racism-but-racists-also-won/?utm_term=.7ec322ed62c0 -
National Head Start Association
Head Start was founded through the Department of Health and Human Services with the intent of servicing low-income students over the summer prior to entering Kindergarten. Over the years Head Start has transformed into a respected program whose motto is "Every child, regardless of circumstances at birth, has the ability to reach their full potential." The four major components of the program include education, health, parental involvement, and social services.
http://www.nhsa.org/ -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
ESEA provides federal funding for primary and secondary school education. In 1965 when the ESEA became law, there was a large achievement gap due to race and poverty. Title I through VII were enacted under this act. The current reauthorization of this bill was No Child Left Behind which was signed into law in 2001.
http://education.laws.com/elementary-and-secondary-education-act -
Title IX of the Education Amendments
Congress passes legislation known as Title IX that barred federal funding to any educational institutions that discriminated against sex.
https://www.justice.gov/crt/overview-title-ix-education-amendments-1972-20-usc-1681-et-seq -
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
FERPA, also known as the Buckley Amendment, is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA also grants rights for parents to access their children's records, an opportunity to have the records amended, and some control over the privacy of the records.
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html -
Rosalyn Summers Yalow
Rosalyn Yalow received the Nobel Peace Prize in physiology and medicine for her development of the radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique. This technique measured substances in the human body that made possible the screening of the blood of donors for various types of hepatitis.
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1977/yalow-bio.html -
A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform
A Nation at Risk was a report published in 1983 during Ronald Reagan's term in office. The commission, consisting of 18 members, was chartered to assess the U. S. Education System and in particular the quality of teaching and learning at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. In the report the commission made 38 recommendations divided across five major categories.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nation_at_Risk -
Astronaut Christa McAuliffe
Christa McAuliffe was selected as the primary candidate for the NASA teacher in space project on July 19,1985. During the launch on January 28, 1986 the spacecraft exploded after launch.
https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/mcauliffe.html -
George W. Bush Presidential Library
The George W. Bush Presidential Library was established in 1997 on 90 acres of land donated by Texas A&M University on the west end of campus. The library is home to exhibits, offers professional development, embraces field trips, offers a 911 resource guide, includes a "situational room," and many more educational opportunities.
http://www.georgewbushlibrary.smu.edu/
