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The Impact of Jefferson, Rush, and Webster
Noah Webster is credited with eliminating British books from American schools and is referred to as the schoolmaster of America. In 1783 he published the Blue Back Speller which American schools used to teach spelling and pronunciation. Thomas Jefferson was of the opinion that democracy depended on educating all Americans. He drafted a proposal (which was later rejected) that would guarantee three years of public school for all children with opportunities for advancement for a select few. Benjam -
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The Impact of Horace Mann
Horace Mann served in the Massachusetts State Legislature, as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education, and was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He promoted public schools. He visited and reviewed the actual school facilities, and wanted to make schools better so that everyone would want to come. He was influential in the development of common schools. -
Common Schools
Common schools taught a common body of knowledge which would give each child and equal chance in life. There was no distinction between rich and poor in the common schools, and they worked under the idea that education is an equalizer. All aspects of the common school were standardized. Horace Mann And The Creation Of The Common School -
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The Impact of John Dewey
In 1899 wrote a book called The School and Society which attacked the traditional rigid manner in which schools were taught. He is considered the Father of Progressive Education. He proposed teaching to the “whole child”. He believed in teaching to the social, intellectual, physical, and emotional aspect of the child. Schools would be hospitable. He desired to "make every working man a scholar, and every scholar a working man." -
Progressive Reform Movement
The progressive reform movement is characterized by learning by doing. During this time, exercising bodies as well as minds was taught. Teaching to the whole child spread everywhere, especially in Gary IN, one of the most progressive schools in America at the time. There was a movement of children from class to class instead of sitting bored for four or five hours. Progressive Era -
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Committee of Ten
The Committee of Ten consisted of educators who recommended the standardization of American curriculum. There were many academic philosophies, some supporting rote memorization, some critical thinking, and others, which the Committee of Ten aimed to resolve. They recommended twelve years of education, with every subject taught in secondary school to be taught in the same way and to the same extent to eveto every pupil. -
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The Measurement Movement
World War I played a major factor in the Measurement Movement. Psychologists such as Lewis M. Terman and Edward L. Thorndike were involved in its development. French psychologists Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon developed an instrument based on an intelligence scale that allowed comparison of individual intelligence to a norm. This was also the time of the development of the Intelligence Quotient test, or IQ test. -
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The Impact of WWII
WWII had a heavy impact on schools. Many teachers had to leave the classroom to serve, and enrollment dropped significantly as the youth chose either not to return to school or to go to work. One third of the teachers employed in 1940-1941 left teaching and nearly half of college students left school. Financial support for education was also low as much of it went toward the war effort. -
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Sputnik and NDEA
With the launcing of Sputnik in 1957, the United States had a growing fear that it was losing the Cold War. This prompted the Natioinal Defense Education Act (NDEA) which directed federal funding to specific curricular areas such as math, science, and forein languages. It was remarkable, too, that the federal government attempted to influence the curriculum in general elementary and secondary ecucation for the first time. -
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The Civil Rights Movement and the War on Poverty
An equal chance at education meant an equal chance at life. The Civil Rights Movement included federal programs such as Head Start, and offered low cost college loans. Education would be a focus of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It denied discrimination, particularly in public schools. The carrot and the stick method was used to enforce this act. Funding would be either allocated or withdrawn. Because of this, it was now possible to police public school systems. -
Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act
Provided due process protections for handicapped children and their families and free, appropriate education for all children with disabilities in their least restrictive environment. This brought decent and equal citizenship to adults and children. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative ServicesCelebrates 35 Years of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) -
A Nation at Risk Report
This report claimed that “the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people.” The National Commission on Excellence in Education recommended improving teacher quality, classroom time devoted to the new basics, increasing academic rigor, and raising standards for college admission.
A Nation at Risk -
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The Growth of Standardized Testing
After the Nation at Risk report and new standards were recommended, it became desirable to have a way to measure progress. This led to the growth of standardized testing. It is interesting to note, however, that by implementing standardized testing, we are now devoting classroom time to test taking, which decreases actual content knowledge, the quantity which the test was designed to measure in the first place. -
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School of Choice Movement
The School of Choice movement refers to the public's ability to choose which school in which to enroll their students. This is significant because this now allowed for competition between educational institutions, which meant that in order to obtain business, it was necessary for institutions of learning to improve. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
In this case which went to supereme court, sixty years of legalized segregation had come to end. The court unanimously decided that separate facilities for education are inherently unequal. It was ruled that segregation has no place in society. As an unintended result, over 30000 black teachers were displaced. The Supreme Court: Brown vs. Board of Education
