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American Public Education
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Pilgrims and Puritans start arriving in New England
Some of the first permanent European settlements in America were settled by people fleeing religious persecution. These groups of people wanted to educate their children with a very religious focus, so the minimal amount of schooling children in these colonies got was dedicated to preparing students to become good christian citizens. This is the starting point for American Education, and it is important to understand what a significant role religion played. -
The Separation of Church and State
After the United States won independence from Great Britain, a new nation was born which required new rules to be followed. The Constitution prohibited any state-sponsored religion. The founders believed the citizens of this new democracy needed to be properly educated in order for the democracy to survive. A transformation started to take place in Public Education. A religious purpose turned into an intention of preparing enlightened citizens to be able to participate in their civic duties. -
Horace Mann help's get Universal Public Schooling from a Dream to a Reality
Horace Mann became the first ever secretary of education in the first ever State Board of Education in Massachusetts. He helped convince the American People that education should be universal, nonsectarian and free. These were ideas many of the founding fathers had had about education, but Mann dedicated his life to making these ideals reality in American schools. Under his leadership an unorganized set of community school systems became a unified state school system. -
Brown v. Board of Education
People of color were not given equal opportunity to an education, just as with every aspect of life throughout American history. Even after the abolition of slavery, little was changed for colored people in terms of available education. No real progress came until 1954 when "separate but equal" was deemed unequal and therefore unconstitutional. Schools could no longer legally be segregated. Although this helped greatly, unfortunately even to this day not all children are given equal education. -
Public Law 94-142
PL 94-142 finally granted all children with disabilities of all kinds, the right to a free public education with special education services and an individualized education program. Having the right and actually receiving that equal education are two different things however. There is much work to be done before we truly see an equal education for all American children. This law has only been on the books for 43 years. Public Education has come very far, but it is still a work in progress.
