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Johann Amos Comenius
Comenius was one of the first to recognize the importance of educating very young children. He wrote a text for mothers entitled The School of Infancy, which was intended to guide them in exposing their young children at home to subjects they would encounter later in school. -
John Locke
He was an English philosopher and political theorist. He is recognized as the founder of British empiricism and the author of the first systematic exposition and defense of political liberalism. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rousseau claimed that everyone was born free and equal, but societies imposed a sense of ownership over resources and divisions of labor, which caused conflict and social injustice. He held that inequality was artificial. -
Johann Henrich Pestalozzi
Pestalozzi's theory of education is based on the importance of a pedagogical method that corresponds to the natural order of individual development and of concrete experiences. To Pestalozzi the individuality of each child is paramount; it is something that has to be cultivated actively through education. -
Robert Owen
Owen's agitation for social change, along with the work of the Owenites and his children, helped to bring lasting social reforms in women's and workers' rights, establish free public libraries and museums, childcare and public, co-educational schools, and pre-Marxian communism, and develop the Co-operative and trade. -
Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel
At the heart of the Froebel approach is the belief that play is the natural way through which children explore and make sense of the world. Play is not seen as entertainment, but as a meaningful and purposeful activity that allows children to develop their creativity, problem-solving skills, and social interactions. -
Social Reform
Refers to the process of addressing social issues that affect marginalized groups by using statistical profiles to highlight and advocate for change. -
Media and Technology
The newspaper was the perfect medium for the increasingly urbanized Americans who could no longer get their local news merely through gossip and word of mouth. Media helped them negotiate the rapidly changing world.
The purpose of technology is to meet a human need or solve a human problem. Technology can help meet many types of human needs, like needs of shelter, food, clothing, and communication. -
Kindergarten
Margarethe Schurz opened the first kindergarten in Watertown, Wisconsin, in 1856 for her immigrant German community. -
Rudolf Steiner
Steiner was the founder of anthroposophy, which he also called 'spiritual science'. Rudolf Steiner's theory of child development proposes that children are active agents of their own learning and are driven by their innate curiosity and drive to grow and evolve. -
A. S Neill
Was a British educator and author who founded the Summerhill School and championed free self-development in the education of children. -
Nursery Schools
McMillan invented the term nursery school so that children would be nurtured via a daily inspection, outdoor learning, play, and healthy, balanced nutrition. She wanted to establish a method for educating young children that combined all these elements with well-trained teachers. -
Maria Montessori
Italian physician, educator, and innovator, acclaimed for her educational method that builds on the way children learn naturally. She opened the first Montessori school—the Casa dei Bambini, or Children's House -
Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched the earth's first artificial satellite, Sputnik-1. The successful launch came as a shock to experts and citizens in the United States, who had hoped that the United States would accomplish this scientific advancement first. -
DAP
The dap and the black power handshake, which evolved from the dap, were important symbols of black consciousness, identity, and cultural unity throughout black America. -
Head Start
Was designed to help break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive program to meet their emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs. -
High Scope
Independent, non-profit organization founded by Dr. David P. Weikart, whose purpose is to promote the learning and development of young people from infancy through adolescence, with emphasis on early childhood education. -
Standards
State Board of Education (SBE) adopted standards for what every student should learn in every grade in English–language arts (ELA) and mathematics. State law passed requiring that instructional materials be aligned with standards. -
No Child Left Behind
It updated the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The law applied to all K–12 public schools in the United States. Before NCLB, many schools didn't focus on the progress of disadvantaged students. Created to expand opportunities for American children of all backgrounds and provide all children with the quality education they deserve while preserving local control.