-
Puritans and Old Deluder Satan Law
During the Colonial Era, many people who came to the colonies were very religious. There were not any schools during this time that children could attend. Puritans began to believe that Satan was going to take advantage of their children’s biblical illiteracy and lead them away from Puritanism (Gaither, 2011). To avoid such a thing, Massachusetts passed the first law that required towns of 50 or more families find someone to teach their children to read. Other colonies soon followed. -
Illiterate Blacks and Carolina's Law
This law concerns the black people who were brought the colonies against their will to work as slaves. These people were illiterate and were not taught anything from the white people, but simple instruction on manual trades (Gaither, 2011). Whites began to fear that black would rebel, so South Carolina passed the first law that prohibited any teaching of reading to color people. -
The Perkins School
The Perkins School was an institute for the blind. The idea of this school came from Samuel Gridley Howe when he was encouraged by a doctor friend to go to Paris and learn about methods to teach the blind (Gaither, 2011). He returned and began to teach blind students out of his own home. This school began to expand tremendously when a visually impaired successful business man named Thomas Perkins gave him a mansion. Braille was one of the methods used in the Perkins School. -
Period: to
Increase in Immigration
A growth in the amount of immigrants was a huge factor contributing to the development of public schools mid-nineteenth century. According to Gaither (2011), during this decade there was a 240% increase in immigration population. Many believe that these new immigrants needed to be taught the American ways in their values and habits. This would be done through public schooling. -
Graded Schools
The system of graded schools was created by John D. Philbrick, the principal of the Quincy Grammar School in Boston (Gaither, 2011). This graded school system reconstructed to old ways of teaching. The first change Philbrick made was with the textbooks and other materials used, in which he broke down the material into segments to be taught a little at a time. The other part of Philbrick’s new method was to change who taught what; there was a teacher that specialized in a specific level of teachi -
St. Mary's School
The idea of catholic schooling was attempted by British Catholics, but many did not allow it. Eventually there began to be some allowance of catholic schooling. According to Gaither (2011) the first successful parochial school in the colonies was St. Mary’s School in Philadelphia. Soon there were other such schools developed. -
Carlisle Indian School
The efforts of Indian boarding schools were to teach Indians how to become more of a white man. The Carlisle Indian School was an off-reservation school that was founded by Richard Henry Pratt (Gaither, 2011). The students were taught many different aspects on how to become more of a White man. As soon as the Indians entered the school they were forced to change their names to more of an American name, change the way they dressed, and also their hairstyles. -
Attendance Laws
During this era school was not a requirement, but rather a choice from the students or parents. Many did not think such laws should be enforced since school was already free and many were overcrowded. Eventually there was a law passed that parents were required to send their children to school. If parents failed to send their children, truancy officers were to find a prosecute children’s parents. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This was a United States Supreme Court case that led to the decision of “separate but equal” accommodations for whites and colored people. The case declared that it was in deed constitutional for there to be segregation between people of color and whites as long as they were both equal. -
John Dewey
According to Gaither (2011) John Dewey believed that our thoughts were the tools that help us survive he also thought of education as a “continuous process of growth.” Dewey had a strong belief in educating children through hands-on experiences. This method of teaching would do a better job at teaching children than plain recitation. Dewey’s method of manual training would be practiced through all subjects such as science, history, and geography. -
Gifted Students
Gifted Students were considered to be the students who received high scores on an aptitude test. These tests were like IQ tests that were able to evaluate a student’s innate ability. Aptitude tests help educators understand which students need to be in special education programs. Students who score high on these tests are considered gifted and also placed in special education programs. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was the U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled segregation as unconstitutional. Separate facilities and accommodations were not equal as Plessy v. Ferguson had assumed it would be. Since, the “separate but equal” clause was out ruled by the Brown v. Board of Education case integration of colored people slowly began. -
PL 94-142
This is the year that the Public Law 94-142 passed. This law was passed to help states provide better special education programs for students with disabilities. The government never made it over 10% point, so states were required to pay for the special education programs, which made this law an example of an unfunded mandate. This law was also called the “Education of All Handicapped Children Act” (Gaither, 2011). Over the years it has been revised. -
Islamic Society of North America
Since there was an increase in the population of Islamic immigrants, the Islamic Society of North America was developed. According to Gaither (2011), the Islamic Society of North America or ISNA school departments have “worked hard to promote Islamic day schools, produce curricula, train teachers, and raise funds for independent Islamic schooling (Layman, 1993).” -
Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
The title for PL 94-124, Education of All Handicapped Children Act changed to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Gaither, 2011). This was one of the revisions of the Public Law 94-142. It not only changed the name of the law, but also included some revisions. The name change was significant since it did not stress the disability like the previous title, but instead the individual (Gaither, 2011).
