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John Amos Comenius
John Amos Comenius (March 28, 1592- November 14, 1670) was a religious Czech educational reformer. He is mainly remembered for his innovations of multiple teaching methods. For example, he believed that there were more sufficient ways to teach Latin. He created his own technique to teach that later benefit a large amount of students. 1641 is when the height of his career started. -
Massachusetts Law of 1647
In 1647, Massachusetts passed the first education law in the New World (later known as America) that stated the children needed to be taught how to read and write. This law required all towns must establish and maintain at least one public school. -
American Academy
Benjamin Franklin founded the American Academy, an educational institution. Lessons included history, geography, and languages. This institution later became the University of Pennsylvania. -
Tenth Amendment
in 1791, the tenth was passed and said that powers not given to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited, are given to the States. This amendment therefore gave the states the power to rule public education. So, every state gained the right to determine what public education should be like. -
James Pillans
James Pillans was the headmaster and geography teacher in a high school in 1801. After having to deal with highly insufficient slates of wood for the students and himself to write on, Pillans hung a large piece of blackboard on his wall. James Pillans is credited for the invention of the blackboard. His invention is still used today and has helped an enormous amount of teachers run their classrooms more effectively. -
Ella Flagg Young (1845-1918)
Young was the first women to achieve the status of Superintendent in a major school system. Young was the Superintendent of the Chicago's Public Schools. Afterwards, she became the women to be the President of the National Educational Association. -
Dewey Decimal System
In 1873, Melvil Dewey created a general knowledge organization system. This system is the world's most widely used classification system in the world. Almost all libraries in the world, including schools, use the Dewey Decimal System on a daily biases. -
John Holt (1923-1985)
John Holt was an American critic of public education but a strong advocate for homeschooling. Holt was a teacher but left teaching in 1968. It was in the 1970s, when Holt became more radical on his approach of homeschooling. Holt's final years were spent advocating for the education of students, through the home. -
SAT
The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) was first given in 1926. The College Board owns and develops yearly SAT tests. This test was created to asses student's readiness for college. -
Brown Vs. Board of Education
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to segregate students in public school. This was one of the cornerstone moments of the Civil Rights Movement. This court case set the precedent of "separate but equal." -
First Computers Used in School
In 1959, computers were first used in a New York elementary school to teach arithmetic. This would just be the beginning of using technology within schools. -
Tinker Vs. Des Moines
In 1969, students in Des Moines wore black arm bands to protest the Vietnam War. The school district prohibited these bands but the students fought back saying that banning the arm bands infringed on the students' First Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled the ban did infringe on the students' First Amendment, more specifically the Freedom of Expression. -
Equal Educational Opportunities Act (EEOA) of 1974
This Act requires state educational agencies and school districts to take action to overcome language barriers that harm English Language Learner (ELL) students from participating equally in state and district educational programs. -
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 1990
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, was created in 1990. This law says that special needs students must receive appropriate free public education in the least restrictive environment necessary to meet those students’ needs. It helps disable students receive the same activities as children without special needs whenever possible. -
Higher Education Act
In 1998, the Higher Education Act was amended and required institutions and states to produce report cards about teacher education performance. This was an attempt to unify the American educational experience. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act was approved by Congress and signed into act by President George W. Bush in 2002. This law mandates student testing and leaves students' in charge of their achievement levels. While punishing the schools that do not meet correct standards. -
Common Core
The Common Core Standards Initiative was launched in 2009. The purpose of these initiatives were to create consistent expectations across the country about the knowledge students' need to known to prepare them for the future. Currently, 41 states have adopted the Common Core Standards.
