-
First Public Kindergarten Opens
The public K-12 system was forever changed when William T. Harris opened the first Public Kindergarten in St. Louis. Prior to this, there was uncertainty surrounding the issue of "preschool" education (Morgan, 1999) Teachers used and still use play-based learning to prepare children for first grade. Now grounded in considerable research, kindergarten is widely seen as a crucial, developmental segue into primary school, with 43 states offering either half-day or full-day kindergartens. -
The Industrial Revolution
This event transformed public education as we know it by introducing a regimented structure into school culture to ready children for factory work. Schools began separating kids by age, teaching children to be obedient, punctual and efficient while requiring specific subject instruction. The current system mirrors this model, complete with the school bells which signal the beginning and end of the school day, similar to how factories would alert workers to begin or end their shift. -
Immigration Boom of Early Twentieth Century
Immigration is significant in the history of education as it spurred the need for compulsory education as well as created a system of forced assimilation for immigrants who saw education as the key to a better life. Schools pushed habits, manners and patriotic sentiment. (C.Stratton 2016), using English only instruction. This persists today in the form of our standardized tests which can show cultural bias, as well as patriotic elements such as the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance. -
The Space Race
Education was forever changed by the launch of Sputnik and the ensuing Space Race. At the time, Americans perceived this to be a result of a failed education system and in the coming decades, schooling in America became a consistent source of focus for the federal government. Ultimately, this event spawned educational reform which took shape in the form of No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The ESEA fundamentally changed American education, calling for states' accountability in education through higher academic standards and improving teacher quality through standardized testing. Originally intended to improve the quality of education for economically disadvantaged students (Thomas and Brady, 2005), the act has been repackaged and renamed over decades but its legacy is its in tact as it mandated schools' accountability for student achievement through annual testing.
