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Benjamin Franklins affordable schooling
Benjamin Franklin established a college that focused on his belief that students of all backgrounds should be able to enroll in colleges, as long as they qualify. He was openly supportive of education for African Americans. He made it known what his views were: that it was unfair to judge others on their education. -
Horace Mann's instatement as Massachusetts secretary of education
He believed that all children should have equal access to education, and advocated for the free public education system which would be non-partisan, as well as democratic. His development of the common school is the base of the education system we have today. He is referred to as the "Father of Education." -
Margarethe Schurz's kindergarten
She started the concept of kindergarten by teaching her daughter, as well as some of the kids from her neighborhood. By including games, songs, and dances she got the children to focus, and prepared them for school. Rather that focusing on reading and writing, she developed social-emotional skills with the children. Because of her, Kindergarten is an accepted institution of school in the US. -
Brown v. Board of Education
US Supreme Court rules that separate is not equal, and schools begin to desegregate. This allows for students to leave traditionally underfunded schools, and gives them more opportunities in education. With newfound resources and opportunities, these students are able to have a more even level of education. -
No Child Left Behind Act
In an effort to incentivize schools to educate ALL of their students, this act makes funding that a school receives correlate directly with the scores their students are receiving on standardized tests. This is an important event in the history of US education because it has shifted the focus of school from getting your students to learn, to having them test well.
