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Noah Webster
MOST IMPORTANT
Was famous for creating the first speller in the United States that changed the way students learned to read and spell. Would later go on to create the dictionary that we still use today. He was really the person that got education in America off the ground and inspired others to think of new ideas for education.
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Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson had many ideas for education before and during his presidency. Many of his ideas were rejected. His goal was to teach each child in America reading, writing and arithmetic. He believed that the country and government will not improve if nobody has proper schooling. -
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Catharine Beecher
Catharine Beecher was the driving force for women teachers. Men were starting to leave education and pursuing jobs in business, and Beecher realized the impact that educated women would have in the schools. They were cheap, gentler for the students, and many believed that teaching was a woman's moral calling. -
Horace Mann
MOST IMPORTANT:
Was appointed first ever Secretary of Education. He would ride from district to district to review each school facility-he visited over 1,000 schools in six years. Worked to make public schools better. Improved many things about public school that are still used today and implemented things such as trained teachers, blackboards, more comfortable chairs, sanitary and safe school buildings.
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Benjamin Roberts v. City of Boston
MOST IMPORTANT
Roberts sued the city and took his problems to the Massachusetts Supreme Court because his daughter was rejected at every white school she applied. He tried to get them to desegregate Boston schools. He lost the case, so he took to the State Legislator. In 1855 they passed a law abolishing segregation in Massachusetts public schools.
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War on Poverty
The United States was having a hard economic decade. Many people could not afford to go to school. President Johnson passed many laws that gave funds to allow early childhood opportunities for many students. -
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Westward Movement and Education
Many families were starting to move out to the western states. There was more land and opportunity, and there weren't as many immigrants. Western towns used schools as competition-they would build the best schools they could so that settlers would go there and not other neighboring towns. -
John Dewey
John Dewey was the driving force for education during the Progressive Movement. He believed that a school should run like a community. Students should be learning things that they can apply to their lives, and things that they were interested in. -
Committee of Ten
Set the stage for the standard school curriculum. They recommended eight years of elementary and four years of high school education -
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Secondary School Movement
Secondary Schools sprouted during these years. There was a higher demand for jobs in the business industry, and students who had just gone to school until the age of 14 were not qualified to have those jobs. The opportunity for higher paying jobs created an intense competition in school age Americans. -
Brown vs Board of Education
MOST IMPORTANT
Unanimous decision made by the Supreme Court stating that separating black and white children in the school systems is unconstitutional. This overturned Plessy v. Ferguson case stating public facilities must remain separate but equal. During the Brown v Board case, it was declared that separate facilities were unequal. The decision sparked the American civil rights movement.
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Sputnik and NDEA
Russia had given the United States a reason to panic when they launched Sputnik. Until then, the US felt good about how advanced their technology was compared to others. The passing of the NDEA gave a lot more federal funding for higher education and gave the option for low-income students to receive student loans . -
Individuals with Disabilities Act
MOST IMPORTANT
It was against the law to even allow students to get an education in a regular public schools. They were thrown into state institutions and most of them did not ever receive an education. This law gave them the same opportunity to receive an education as anybody else. This was an important bill because it got rid of the separation between 'normal' students and those with disabilities.
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The Standards Movement
Called for clear and measurable standards for each student. Instead of ranking each standard to the average, it ranks them to the standard. -
No Child Left Behind
This act had good intentions. It was a way for teachers to be aware of their students progress and to help those who were struggling. However, lack of funds, time, and higher teacher requirements made for more of a downfall than a surge upward.
