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Horace Mann
Establishes The Common School Journal outlining 6 principles of education:
1. Citizens may not obtain both ignorance and freedom
2. The public should pay for, control, and maintain education
3. Children of different financial ladders get the same schooling
4. The education that is taught is nonreligious
5. The education taught has to use tenets of a free society
6. This education should be taught by professionally trained teachers -
Horace Mann
Often called the father of American schools. Why should those with no children pay for the schooling of others? Mann believed that public schools increased the wealth of the community and therefore, even people without children benefited economically from schools. -
Theodore Shultz
He argued that people invested in themselves through education to improve their job opportunities. -
Perry Preschool Project
Began with 123 at risk African American children from low income families. After several years, studies showed that investment in preschool yields high social and economic benefits that far outweigh the cost. -
Gary Becker
Wrote the book Human Capital. He believed investments in education could improve human capital which would contribute to economic growth. -
The War on Poverty
Poor-quality education is one element in a series of social factors that tends to reinforce other social conditions. The War on Poverty brought about Head Start, Sesame Street, and compensatory school programs in an effort to eliminate poverty. -
Head Start
Head Start programs begin in order to promote readiness for children from birth to age 5 in low income households giving them the chance to compete on equal terms with other children -
A Nation at Risk
A Federal Government report that blamed the allegedly poor academic quality of American public schools for causing lower rates of productivity and for reducing the lead of the United States in technological development. -
David Berliner and Bruce Biddle
Authors of The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud and the Attack on America's Public Schools. These men felt the "A Nation at Risk" report was based on false data and assumptions and was almost impossible to prove. -
Robert Reich
Former Labor Secretary and architect of educational policies. Author of The Work of Nations. He saw a direct relationship between the type of education provided by schools and the placement of the worker in the labor market. "There should not be a barrier between education and work." -
President Bill Clinton
Ran on the Democratic platform that was based on the idea that a competitive American economy requires the global markets best educated, best trained, and most flexible workforce. "Education is the key to opportunity!" -
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Seen as the most important federal legislation of the 21st century. This scaled up the federal role in holding schools accountable for student outcomes. -
An Action Agenda for Improving America's High Schools
Proposes a core high school curriculum of 4 years of English and 4 years of Math. This proposal was prompted by discussion at the 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools. -
Pedro Carneiro and James J. Heckman
Authors of Inequality in America: What Role for Human Capital Policies? They express the success of people with high cognitive abilities is dependent on their non-cognitive abilities which are earned at an early age.
