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Colonial Period
At that time, people are educated to read the newspaper. Only upper class children get educated. Paper and textbooks were scarce so boys and girls recited their lessons until they memorized them. The three most commonly used books were the Bible, a primer, and a hornbook. -
First Education Laws
The first education Law of 1642, Massachusetts ordered the selectmen of each town to make sure whether parents and masters were providing for the education of their children. The selectmen were also to determine what the child was being taught. The law shows how important education was to the colonials. -
Thomas Jefferson
He made a great impact on American education. By proposing a bill in Virginia that would have established free schools every five to six square miles, Jefferson revealed his idea that all children of the state need to learn reading, writing, and common arithmetic. Jefferson viewed this basic education as instrumental to securing “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” for Americans. -
Noah Webster
Webster believed that the purpose of education is included the culture. So, to build up a truly American education, they need to get rid of European influence. Webster prepared a number of spelling, grammar, and reading books to replace the English texts. Because of these contributions, Webster has been called the "Schoolmaster of the Republic." -
The Northwest Ordinance
The Ordinance of 1785 provided for the scientific surveying of the territories lands and for a systematic subdivision of them. Land was to be subdivided according to a rectangular grid system. The basic unit of land grant was the township, which was a square area measuring six miles on each side. A township could then be subdivided into a number of rectangular parcels of individually owned land. -
Benjamin Rush
Together with Benjamin Franklin, Rush organized the first abolition society in Philadelphia, the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage. Rush proposed that in every town of 100 or more families a free school be established where children would be taught to read and write English and German as well as arithmetic. -
Monitorial Schools
Monitorial schools were brought to America by Joseph Lancaster. In the Lancasterian monitorial system, a teacher instructed hundreds of pupils through the use of monitors, who were chosen for their academic abilities. Monitorial education was concerned with teaching only the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic and was success in that period. The first monitor school in the United States was opened in New York City. -
Infant school
The infant school was originated in England by Robert Owen, who also established one of the first infant schools in the United States at his would-be Utopia, a collective at New Harmony, Indiana. These schools were taught by women and were designed for children ages 4 to 7. -
Charity Schools
Charity schools are free for the children of the poor in urban areas. In some instances, they received public support. Overall they were not a major factor in the history of education; nonetheless, for a period they did provide the only education some children received. -
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Secondary School Movement
Boston inaugurated the high school movement in 1821 with the opening of the English Classical School. In 1831, the first American comprehensive high school, offering both English and classical courses of study, was opened in Lowell, Massachusetts. In 1838 Philadelphia opened a coeducational high school with three tracks: a 4-year classical curriculum, a 4-year modern language curriculum, and a 2-year English curriculum. -
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Common Schools
During this period, American educational system began to established. State control as well as direct taxation for the support of the common schools-publicly supported schools attended in common by all children-became accepted practices The common school movement was the product of a variety of economic, social, and political factors. -
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Population Growth and Immigration in the 19th century
Between 1830 and 1860, 1,220,178 square miles of territory were added to the United States. During the same period, the population exploded from 13 million to 32 million. The growth in the cities was a result of the growth in industrialization. These changing economic and social patterns gave rise to an increasing urban population, which induced concentrations of children who needed schooling, a more industrialized economy that required a trained workforce. -
Horace Mann
He is the father of American education. In 1837, he became the board's first secretary and the chief state school officer. He served in this position for 12 years and used it as a platform for proclaiming the ideology of the common school movement, as well as other educational ideals. -
Frederick Douglas
Frederick Douglass is the most influential African American of 19 century. He believed that all people are created equal. But he also believed that we weren't just born free: we have to make ourselves into who we are. So education and self-improvement are incredibly important to him. The worst thing about slavery, to his mind, is that it prevents people from improving themselves through education. -
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The Progressive Reform Movement
During this period, the philosophical, pedagogical, and administrative underpinnings of what is, in the early twenty-first century, associated with modern schooling, coalesced and transformed the outline of twentieth-century American education. -
Committee of Ten
In 1892, in an effort to standardize the curriculum, the National Education Association established the Committee of Ten. The committee was chaired by Charles Eliot, the president of Harvard University, and was largely composed of representatives of higher education. -
The Measurement Movement
The movement started in 1905 by Alfred Binet. The measurement movement was originally found to discover if a human had a retardation. Later, it transformed into measuring the intelligence of each person's brain. They focused on not looking at the child's past or future, but only its mental state at that particular time. They used a number of different methods to find the child's IQ. -
The Gary Plan
Gary Plan, an educational system instituted in 1907 in Gary, Indiana. It was part of the larger scientific management movement in the early part of the 20th century that tried to increase efficiency in manufacturing through increased separation of worker roles and duties as well as through incentivized wages . The Gary Plan was one example of the educational practices that were strongly influenced by that business-driven movement. -
John Dewey
Through his many writings and articulation of his philosophy, Dewey provided the intellectual foundation for progressive education. In fact, Dewey was said to be "the real spokesman for intellectual America in the Progressive Era".
http://dewey.pragmatism.org/ -
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World War 2
The war had a heavy impact on the schools. Not only did large numbers of teachers leave the classroom for the battlefield, but enrollment also dropped significantly as youth choose not to return to school or to go to work. By the end of the war, more than one-third of the teachers employed in 1940-41 had left teaching. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Because of this, U.S. Supreme Court ruled that segregated educational facilities have no place in public education and generate a feeling of inferiority that affects the child's motivation to learn. Instead of being the climax of the struggle for racial equality in education, Brown marked the beginning of the Civil Rights revolution. -
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Civil Rights Movement
The main aim of the Civil Rights Movement included ensuring that the rights of all people were and are equally protected by the law. These include but are not limited to the rights of African Americans, minorities, women's rights, and LGBT rights. The passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 became one of the most significant pieces of social legislation in the United States in the 20th century. -
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Sputnik and NDEA
Fearing about the growing power of the Soviet Union, the federal government passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA). By directing significant federal funding to specific curricular areas, particularly mathematics, science, and modern foreign languages, the federal government tries to influence the curriculum in general elementary and secondary education.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Defense-Education-Act -
War on Poverty
Education was viewed as a major factor in the elimination of poverty. Poor children as well as those of certain minority groups, it was noted, consistently failed to achieve. In the optimistic view of many politicians, social scientists, and educators, the "cultural deprivation" of the poor was attributable to a lack of education, and if the poor were provided the skills and education for employment, they could achieve middle-class economic and social status and break the "cycle of poverty". -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was established in 1965.The ESEA provided more than $1 billion in federal funds to education, included five major sections or titles.The largest, receiving about 80% of the funds which provided assistance to local school districts for the education of children from low-income families. It also provides Library resources, textbook. -
Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act
In 1975, the landmark Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) established the right of all children with disabilities to a free and appropriate education.The EHA not only guaranteed the educational rights of children with disabilities, but it also defined and expanded the rights of all children. Each of these topics is covered in greater detail in later chapters.
https://www.education.com/reference/article/individuals-disabilities-education-act/ -
A Nation at Risk Report
President Reagan appointed the National Commission on Excellence in Education. In his report, it's said that the nation is at risk and a "rising tide of mediocrity" was eroding the educational foundations of society and he declared that it would have been seen as "an act of war" if any unfriendly power had imposed our educational system on us.
https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html -
Charter Schools
Charter schools are publicly supported schools established upon the issuance of a charter from the state, local school board, or other designated entity, so the parents could have more choices. In 1997 President Clinton lent support to the movement by pledging $100 million to help create 3,000 more charter schools by 2000. According to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, there were 5,997 charter schools in the 2012-2013 school year, making up 6.3 percent of all U.S. public schools. -
Growth of Standardized Testing
Standardized testing is the most commonly used and well known
method of testing. It is used to determine student achievement, growth, and progress. In 2001, when the No Child Left
Behind Act was created, there was such a great emphasis placed on standardized testing that it is now crucial to the success of American students to critically examine the testing system and correct any flaws that may be present. -
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Common Core
The Common Core State Standards have drawn both support and criticism from politicians, analysts, and commentators. Teams of academics and educators from around the United States led the development of the standards, and additional validation teams approved the final standards. The teams drew on public feedback that was solicited throughout the process and that feedback was incorporated into the standards.
http://www.corestandards.org/ -
The Standards Movement
The push for standards was accompanied by the enactment in almost every state that using tests to determine who would be promoted and who would graduate from high school. Lost in the focus on standards and improving performance was the question of whether the standards movement would lead to school improvement for many marginalized students. -
No Child Left Behind
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)Act of 2001 was embodied in George W Bush's education plan. It is designed to improve student’s achievement and change the culture of America’s schools. It is the most sweeping education reform legislation since the ESEA of 1965. It has caused several major changes within public schools regarding funding, testing, and the reporting of test results.
https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml -
Every Student Succeeds Act
It was signed by President Obama and reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It's the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students. ESSA includes provisions that will help to ensure success for students and schools.
https://www.ed.gov/esea
