Important Changes In Education

First Free Schools Opened in Virgina

Jan 1, 1635

1635 - The first "free school" in Virginia opens. However, education in the Southern colonies is more typically provided at home by parents or tutors.

First Latin Grammer School

Apr 23, 1635

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1635 - The first Latin Grammar School (Boston Latin School) is established. Latin Grammar Schools are designed for sons of certain social classes who are destined for leadership positions in church, state, or the courts.

The Massachusetts Law of 1647,

Jun 4, 1647

1647 - The Massachusetts Law of 1647, also known as the Old Deluder Satan Act, is passed. It decrees that every town of at least 50 families hire a schoolmaster who would teach the town's children to read and write and that all towns of at least 100 families should have a Latin grammar school master who will prepare students to attend Harvard College.

Some Thoughts Concerning Education

Mar 6, 1693

1693 - John Locke's Some Thoughts Concerning Education is published, describing his views on educating upper class boys to be moral, rationally-thinking, and reflective "young gentlemen." His ideas regarding educating the masses are conveyed in On Working Schools, published in 1697, which focused on the importance of developing a work ethic.

First English Academy

Jan 3, 1751

1751 - Benjamin Franklin helps to establish the first "English Academy" in Philadelphia with a curriculum that is both classical and modern, including such courses as history, geography, navigation, surveying, and modern as well as classical languages. The academy ultimately becomes the University of Pennsylvania.

Thomas Jefferson's Proposal

Jan 1, 1779

1779 – Thomas Jefferson proposes a two-track educational system, with different tracks for "the laboring and the learned."

The Young Ladies Acadamy

Jul 28, 1787

1787 - The Young Ladies Academy opens in Philadelphia and becomes the first academy for girls in America.

High school Towns

Jun 6, 1827

1827 - The state of Massachusetts passes a law requiring towns of more than 500 families to have a public high school open to all students.

Mandatory Attendance

Jun 6, 1852

1852 - Massachusetts enacts the first mandatory attendance law. By 1885, 16 states have compulsory-attendance laws, but most of those laws are sporadically enforced at best. All states have them by 1918.

Kindergarten

Jun 6, 1856

1856 - The first kindergarten in the U.S. is started in Watertown, Wisconsin, founded by Margarethe Schurz. Four years later, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody opens the first "formal" kindergarten in Boston, MA.