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Education in the Colonial Period
1600's-1700's. Education is available, but costs money and was mostly for white males. -
Period: to
History of Education
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The Impact of Webster
1758-1843. Noah Webster revolutionized curriculum by writing patriotic American texts for children to learn from. The Blue-Back Speller was one such book. -
Secondary School Movement
Throughout the 1820's-1830's high schools began to be established. In the last quarter of the 19th century public secondary schools became an established part of the education system. -
Common Schools
[MOST IMPORTANT:1830-1865 is the age of the Common School Movement. It was a major attempt to unify and equalize learning in the United States. This is the beginning of our modern school systems. It emphasized that students, no matter where they lived should be learning the same things. Publicly supported schools that all children could attend became an accepted practice](http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/us-history/common-school-movement) -
Population Growth and Immigration in the 19th century
1830-1860. 4 million immigrants from all over Europe came to the U.S. They saw common schools as an opportunity to educate their children, while businessmen saw them as a way to produce literate and trained workers. -
The Impact of Horace Mann
[MOST IMPORTANT: Mann gave up his political career for the Board of Education. Known as the Father of American Education, Mann traveled to schools to assess their state and what was being taught. His influence and work appropriated increased funds for education, and provided better equipment and textbooks. This also led to more professional teacher training. Advocated that every child had a right to education, which we now have.](http://www.biography.com/people/horace-mann-9397522) -
The Progressive Reform Movement
1890-1919. A movement to make schools more sanitary, lower pupil-teacher ratios, curricular reforms, and operational efficiency in schools. -
The Impact of John Dewey
In 1896 Dewey established his own laboratory school at the U of Chicago. He was a major advocate for progressivist education. -
The Impact of WW2
1939-1945. Because of the war large numbers of teachers left to the battlefield. Significant numbers of students stopped enrolling choosing to simply not go back or go to work -
Brown vs. Board of Education, 1954
[MOST IMPORTANT: Brown vs. Board ruled that "separate but equal" was not constitutional. Blacks have the right to attend any school, just as whites do. This was a big moment in education. Schools now had to allow integration of students, which is reflected in our schools today. It also brought a huge change in the number of black teachers which has lasted until today as well.](http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html) -
Sputnik and NDEA, 1957-58
With the launching of Sputnik came a curriculum reform. Math, science and foreign languages were funded and encouraged over other subjects. -
The Civil Rights Movement & The War on Poverty
1960's. Schools were desegregated, bilingual education was allowed, and education was seen as a way to help children rise out of poverty. -
Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, 1975
[MOST IMPORTANT: This Act made it so that all children with any sort of disability could have a free and appropriate education. This was a huge change in education. Previously (and still today in some countries) children with disabilities are denied any education. Now this is an integral part of our culture, and any class can and does have students with some form of a disability.](https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/idea35/index.html) -
A Nation at Risk Report, 1983
A federal report outlining a rise in "mediocrity" in education. This was the start of the Educational Reform Movement of the 1980's. -
The Standards Movement
The 1990's brought about a big push for standardized schooling. Federal law called for national education goals and school standards and accountability. -
No Child Left Behind, 2001
[MOST IMPORTANT: Required every state to establish standards of what every child should know in math and reading. Students must be tested annually to ensure standards are being met. This is what has really shaped the education system as we know it today. Standards and standardized testing are at the core of curriculum. Everything teachers and schools do comes back to standards.](http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/no-child-left-behind-overview-definition-summary.html)
