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Period: Feb 4, 1500 to
Colonization of America
Thousands of immigrants from Europe came to the American continent seeking freedoms and new ways of life. Education wasn't as important as survival, but education was available through dame schools and private institutions in the city. However, most children still didn't have access to education. -
****Northwest Land Ordinance*****
Our nation was expanding at a rapid pace as Manifest Destiny gripped the nation. With this expansion, the leader of this nation decided to survey the new territories and set aside lands for schools to be built. This land has been used for schools today, but also has been sold to provide funds for school districts.
[http://www.earnst.net/ssreview/us_jan__04.htm] -
Period: to
Horace Mann
Horace Mann was elected in 1837 to be Secretary on the newly formed Massachusetts' Board of Education. He took his job very seriously and traveled to all the school houses in this state, making notes of improvements. He was the first person to really think about standardized education. -
***Large Immigration to the United States***
America had a new message, "The American Dream", and the world was listening. Floods of immigrants were rushing into America, mostly from eastern Europe and with them came new cultures and ideals as well as lots of children. Our schools were needing to change their purpose, schools used to be about educating students religiously, now they had to change how they educated students to be workers and good citizens of the United States.
[http://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/ellis-island-history] -
The Measurement Movement
Education took a turn and started to focus on numbers instead of students. The idea that everything could be quantified sunk into our school systems and such practices such as classifying students based on IQ became a norm. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown Vs. Board of Education was the case set forth to help desegregate schools. The case took place in Topeka, Kansas and actually involved many families, but only the Brown's are remembered in history. -
Sputnik
Russia had beaten us into space and the nation was in an uproar. Efforts in math and science were redoubled and the focus was on the stars. -
The Civil Rights Movement
With the fight for equality came a fight for equal educational opportunities. A lot of big movements in the civil rights movement happened at schools. The school systems had now become the battlefield for every equality issue. It allowed for schools to become places not only of knowledge but moral education. -
***Elementary and Secondary Education Act***
Lyndon B. Johnson signed this act sitting next to his elementary school teacher. This act gave money to those schools that were struggling for books and other needs. This act was one of the largest subsidies for education up to that point and set a precedence for the government involvement in education that continues to today. [http://education.laws.com/elementary-and-secondary-education-act] -
***Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act***
Up to this point in history, students with disabilities both mental or physical were either uneducated or educated in separate institutions that did little to prepare their students for the real world. IDEA brought these students with disabilities into schools and also into society's eyes. I think IDEA combated a lot of ignorance when if came to disabilities.[https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/your-childs-rights/basics-about-childs-rights/how-idea-protects-you-and-your-child] -
A Nation at Risk
A Nation at Risk was a report about United States school systems, and basically stated that we were far behind the rest of the world. On top of saying that the US school system was failing, it also stated that the economic crash was because of the U.S. school systems. A Nation at Risk changed how citizens in America viewed their school systems. They now started to see it as a failing system. -
Vouchers
The concept of vouchers or parents' choice has been around for a long time, but it has made a come back in recent history. The main purpose of a voucher program is to tie the money to the student, not the school which allows students to go to private schools and have the state pay part of the tuition. -
The Standards Movement
The Standards Movement is still in effect today in our schools. The Standard Movement is a shift from norm-based testing to testing students' knowledge against preset standards. The move towards Standards is a large part of the reason Common Core and WIDA standards are in place and I believe more standards will be created. -
***No Child Left Behind***
No Child Left Behind has, in my opinion, been one of the most radical changes in modern education. It shifted the responsibility to educate future generations from the students themselves to the schools and teachers. It has been over 15 years since this law was signed, but we are still feeling the impact of some of its more radical policies and I don't think we will every stop feeling them. [https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml] -
Every Student Succeeds Act
This is the act put in by President Obama that helped to fix some of the larger problems in No Child Left Behind. This is the government's newest law dealing with education and we haven't really seen the effects of it yet in our school systems.
