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Jan 1, 1400
First Nations teach their children
First Nation families and communities educated their children in their languages and cultures. This is traditionally how families and communities transmitted knowledge to their members. It is a wholesome and warm environment that gives children a solid sense of their place in society. This is a great example of how we as teachers can help students feel settled. -
Massachussetts Bay Colony madates education
The Massachussetts Bay Colony mandates that parents teach their children the pricipal laws of the commonwealth and the religion of their company. This later became reinforced with a penalty of five pounds sterling for children who were not taught to read and write or a useful skill. Along the same lines as traditional education prior to this time, parents trained their children at home or in groups with neighbor children. The divergence from the past is in its mandate. It was now REQUIRED. -
Horace Mann- common schools
After years of lobbying and persuasion, Horace Mann convinced school districts in New England that schools common to all would be a prudent investment for the community at large. This led to access to free and open schools regardless of status or wealth. Now, education was for the masses, and many more children needed many more teachers with skills to educate them. -
Catherine Beecher founds the Hartfor Female Seminary
Catherine Beecher created a female seminary to teach beyond rudimentary reading and arithmetic. She was interested in educating wealthy women who would go on to insist that education for girls and women be continued. The seminary also prepared women to be teachers to supply the great need created by an influx of many immigrants. -
Margaret Haley co-founds the Chicago Teachers' Federation
This organization made the teachers in the Chicago, Illinois area a force for political change. Most of the teachers were women. They had no vote at this time, and they were paid very poorly for their work. Organizing into a union gave these women some political clout, and they put more energy behind the suffrage movement for women. Teachers now had a voice, and their concerns were harder to ignore. -
Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
This landmark case signalled the end of de jure segregation. It was a refutation to the argument the separate but equal was acceptable in the education of American students of color. Students from various ethnicities now have the legal right to instruction alongside white children. Unfortunately, de facto segregation made this victory a moot point in many districts. -
Womens' Educational Equity Act
This act provided federal funding to programs aimed at creating a level playing field for women in academia. The funding was provided for model programs, training and research. -
Indian Self Determination and Education Act
This act of congress finally recognized the rights of First Nation persons to run their own affairs, including schools and tribal colleges. It also recognized the right to teach the First Nation cultures, languages, and history. Teachers in these schools have an opportunity to revive the cultures and pride in them that was forcibly almost extinguished.
