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The Education Law of 1647!
Mass Moments, 1647 Education LawThe Education Law of 1647 determined that every township of 50 households should provide a teacher for reading and writing. These laws show that the Puritans establishing the basis of New England education cared a lot about education for future citizens. This law establihsed the first movement of education for all that defines what American is still today. -
Thomas Jefferson Education Charter
Thomas Jefferson created a charter that required 3 years of education for all children in order to (1) give a universal education for all to learn democracy and (2) find those “geniuses” that could carry on with scholarships and search their country as he had done. Obviously, girls were given only 3 years and were not expected to go on, and African Americans were not included at all. Jefferson believed that public education was essential for democracy. -
Northwest Land Ordinance, 1785
The Northwest Land Ordinance enabled funding for public schooling in the United States. This initiated the government's responsibility toward a free, public education for all Americans. -
Webster's "Blue Speller"
Webster’s “Blue Speller” became extremely popular and has sold over 100 million copies. He regulated American English, spelling, pronounciation and grammar rules. Generations of Americans learned to read and write with his book. -
Secondary School Movement
In the last quarter of the 19th century, secondary schools began to be established effectively in the same states that had lead the common school movement. The success of these schools made the movement spread. By 1831, the first American comprehensive and coeducational high school was opened in Massachusetts. Philadelphia and other cities opened schools as well. -
Disestablishment of Protestantism-Religion in Public Schooling
Sage Law Separation of Church and School American public schools was free but largely Protestant. Because of the large impulse of immigration, Irish Catholics and other religions refused to be a part of a system largely biased against themselves. 1833 was the beginning of the separation between church and state in public schooling. -
Common Schools
Horace Mann was appointed the Massachusetts Board of Education Secretary. He travellMann wanted to produce a good, equal public schooling system. He called these “Common Schools.” This was the place that all came together: elite and poor. ed from school to school, reporting the state of each school. -
The Committee of Ten
This committee was established by the National Education Association in 1892 to establish a standardized curriculum. This system recommended early education of basic subjects with few electives. This was geared toward terminal students but mostly for college bound students. Students met five times weekly for a year and then received a Carnegie unit. -
The Measurement Movement
Edward Thorndike and the theory of Measurement Edward Thorndike began working on his theory surrounding measurment of human education. Thorndike and his students at Columbia developed scales for measuring achievement in arithmetic, spelling, reading, language, and other areas. This marked the beginning of the standards movement which has been continually implemented in public schooling. -
Gary, Indiana Progressive Schooling
Gary, Indiana was a central place for reformed, progressive schools. This is where students moved from class to class for each hour. Children would be busy all the time, and engaged in all sorts of kinds of classes: art, nature, masonry, etc. Progressive education quickly spread with its success. However, the system was eventually shut down as parents lobbied for a more academic school system. -
Brown vs Board of Education
Brown vs Board of Education mandated that schools should be desegregated. While this change impacted life for many African Americans, such as the Little Rock 9, many schools remained segregated because the government failed to provide enforcement for this new law. -
Sputnik and the NDEA
The National Defense Education Act in 1958 directly significant funding to areas such as math, science and foreign languages. This was the first time the federal government attempted to influence the curriculum in general elementary and secondary education. Teachers were trained on the new math, science, grammar, etc. The NDEA set the stage for spiral curriculum. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
National Archives: Civil Rights Act After Brown vs Board of Education in 1954, desegregation was required by law, but not enforced. Many African Americans were segregated and discriminated against within the school. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was passed with much effort by Civil Rights activists, enabled desegregation to be enforced by lining up funding with desegregation. -
IDEA: Education for All Handicapped Children Act
IDEA President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handiapped Children Act which enabled disabled children and free, public schooling. This act, now called the IDEA or Individuals with Disabilites Act has given millions of disabled children a way to learn, grow and succeed. This act is important because it shows that we have created schooling for ALL Americans, which shows how far we've come. -
A Nation At Risk
This concluded that students could engage in passive learning and advance with minimal effort. Five basics were recommended: 4 English classes, 3 math, 3 science, 3 social studies, and ½ in computer science. In addition, the report proposed an increase in teacher quality. Statistics show in actuality, that education is steadily increasing for students. -
NCLB: No Child Left Behind
Required that all states must have developed standards for math and reading and that all students in grades 3-8 be tested annually and once in 10-12 to monitor their progress in meeting the standards.
