Historical Timeline

Plato (428-348 BC)

348 BCE

Plato believed that education would help us with our everyday lives and that we continue learning throughout the rest of our lives. He also believed that each person should do what they are the most capable of doing.

Quintilian (AD 35-95)

35

Quintilian was a big believer on the fact that you can only learn through proper education, and one should be thorough when choosing teachers and tutors for their children.

Martin Luther (1483-1546)

1483

Martin Luther supported universal education so that everyone could learn and read about the bible on their own instead of relying on verbal retellings of it (which can lead to misinformation).

John Amos Comenius (1592-1670)

1592

Comenius was well known as the Father of modern education and believed that we were all born with the urge to learn knowledge. He also was an advocate for universal education.

John Locke (1632-1704)

1632

Locke's theory stated that play is just as important in the classroom as learning is. He also is well known for believing in nurture over nature. Both of these we have carried over into the new modern way of childhood education.

First Free school in VA opens

1635

The Syms school was the first free school founded in Hampton, Virginia that was established in 1635.

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1700)

1700

Pestalozzi said that actively engaging in play with children is important for the development of their senses while exploring the environment that they are in.

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

1712

Rousseau believed that children who weren't pushed to focus on any one particular thing would be able to discover their own fullest potential without any influence from the society and culture around them.

Friedrich Frobel (1782-1852)

1782

Frobel is credited for the founding of kindergarten after he theorized that play-based learning is critical to childhood development at that age.

Horace Mann (1796)

1796

AKA the father of american education, he has been credited with being a big part of the unification of school systems.

Infant school movement

1825

Robert Owen brought infant school movement to America; Started first infant school in New Harmony, Indiana

First Kindergarten in Wisconsin

1856

Margarethe Schurz started first Kindergarten in Watertown, Wisconsin - classes were conducted in German

John Dewy (1859-1952)

1859

John Dewey came up with the theory that all curriculums should be relevant to what we as a society need to know. Not everyone agreed with this theory because they thought students might be losing out on important skills and knowledge.

First English-speaking U.S. kindergarten in Boston, Massachusetts

1860

Elizabeth Peabody was an educator who opened the first English-speaking kindergarten in the united states. Before this, she believed that each child should get the chance at an education based on their own capabilities.

Patty Smith Hill

1868

Patty Smith Hill created her own kindergarten where she encouraged children's play as a way to learn

Maria Montessori (1870-1952)

1870

Maria created the Montessori method which believes that children learn best in an environment that has been carefully set up for them. They do self-directed activities, hands on learning, and learn how to be creative with other students in the classroom. This is supposed to help them have a more creative learning outlook.

First public school kindergarten

1873

Started in St. Louis founded by Susan Blow, this was the first free public school in Missouri. Susan ran the school for 11 years.

American psychologist studies young children

1880

G. Stanley Hall was the first American psychologist that studied young children systematically. His research helped provide support of the need of education for young children.

Arnold Gessel

1880

Gessel theorized that all children go through the same sequences throughout their life, but each person will do it at their own pace.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

1896

Piaget's theory of cognitive development teaches adults how children learn growing up and how to understand what abilities a child is capable of at their age.

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)

1896

Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory states that social interaction plays a critical role in childhood development. This is why teachers have to offer many forms of play in the classroom throughout the day.

Erik Erikson (1902-1994)

1902

Erik Erikson's theory of Psychosocial development helps educators understand what social problems kids struggle with during each stage of their life.

NAEYC is founded

1926

The National Association for the Education of Young Children is a non-profit association that focuses on higher quality education for early childhood education up until 8 years old.

Head Start is funded

1964

Head Start was funded by the economic opportunities act in 1964 after being signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Head Start is the national child development program for children from birth to 5 years old.

The Preschool for All initiative

2013

The preschool for all initiative was passed by President Obama in 2013. This initiative promised higher quality and easier access for all preschool aged children in low and moderate income.