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Period: Jan 1, 1300 to
Renaissance
Contact with Asia and Africa reintroduced Greek and Roman literature and science to Europe and inspired a flowering of creativity with a greater interest in education among the nobility and newly formed merchant class. -
Oct 12, 1492
European languages arrive in the Americas.
"School" as we know it requires the transmission of written language. Cultures that transmit information orally have less formal methods of child education. -
Period: Oct 12, 1492 to
Colonial Era
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Oct 31, 1517
Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther sends "The Ninety-Five Theses" to Albert of Mainze protesting the sale of indulgences and other percieved wrongs being committed by the Catholic Church. This sparked the Protestant Reformation with its emphasis on literacy so that the faithful could, for themselves, read the Bible. -
Jan 1, 1536
John Calvin
Calvin publishes his Institutes of the Christian Religion which inspires the "Calvinist" religious movement in Europe. -
Jan 1, 1539
The Society of Jesus
Ignatius of Loyola forms the Jesuit order of Catholic monks whose mission it is to establish places of learning in order to spread the word of God. -
Nov 11, 1558
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I ascends to the throne of England firmly securing her father's Church of England as the official religion of England and her colonies. -
Plymouth Colony
The Pilgrims bring their Puritan/Calvinist values of biblical study, obedience, hard-work and diligence to the New World. -
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The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment or Age of Reason represented the beginnings of Secular Humanism, the idea that wisdom can come from scientific observation and experimentation rather than strictly from Divine Revelation. -
The Great Ejection
Puritan ministers were asked to either abide by the Acts of Conformity with the English book of Common Prayer or leave the Church of England. -
The New England Primer
Benjamin Harris began publishing the most popular schoolbook in the Northern Colonies in Boston, Massachusettes. -
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The Romantic Era
In response to the over-rationalization of the Enlightenment artists responded by rhapsodizing about a natural world deemed threatened by Industrialization. -
Declaration of Independance
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The Revolutionary War
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Jefferson's Campaign for Public Education
Thomas Education introduced legislation to provide federally funded education to the public in order to foster an educated citizenry three times. Three times it was defeated. -
The Blue-Back Speller
Noah Webster introduced his speller to promote a uniquely American way of spelling and pronouncing English words. It was followed in 1784 by a grammar book and in 1785 by a reader. He wanted to create an American culture by educating American school children in American folklore and ways. -
Treaty of Paris
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Westward Expansion
The aquisition of territory by the United States and its subsequent settlement created the need for education of settler children in settler towns. -
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Industrial Revolution
Steam power and later the internal combustion engine saw a broad mechanization of textiles and later other industries. This changed the make-up of economics, the family and the relationship between governments and business. -
Catherine Beecher
Catherine Beecher promoted education for women as teachers in order to create a profession especially for women although she originally promoted her teacher education program by claiming that women, by nature, were particularly fitted for the field. -
McGuffey's Readers
William Holmes McGuffey published his first Reader intended to educate students in the American West. -
The Common School Journal
Horace Mann published the Common School Journal to address problems in the public school system in Massachusettes. He began the "normal school" reform movement to address inequalities in public education. -
Religiosity of Schools Challenged
Bishop "Dagger John" Hughes protested the anti-Catholic/anti-Irish propaganda disseminated in the heavily Protestant public school system. -
Philadelphia Bible Riots
The city of Philadelphia rioted in response to immigration pressures and sectarian differences in public education. -
Segregation Ablished in Massachusettes
After a 10 year court battle Massachusettes Supreme Court rules segregated schools unlawful. -
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The American Civil War
The Civil War redefines who is a citizen of the United States of America. -
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Reconstruction
The redefinition and industrialization of Southern American culture and economy posed interesting questions about the education and incorporation of former slaves and their children into the citizenry. -
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Progressive Era
This time period in American history is marked by a massive influx of immigrants from Europe, philanthropic societies and reform in labor and education laws. -
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
John Dewey, working with the University of Chicago, opened schools to help develop his concept of Progressive Schooling in which "Every working man is a scholar and every scholar a working man." -
World's Fair in Paris
American Progressive Schools are the toast of the Parisian Fair. -
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World War I
Conflict with European powers led to an increase in Nationalism in American schools ending up with the disappearance of foriegn languages and customs in fovor of a greater "American" identity. -
Stanford-Binet IQ Test
Lewis Terman adapted a French intelligence test to the United States during his work at Stanford University. The subsequent test was used heavily in the military to route soldiers. -
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World War II
Intelligence testing and differentiated curriculum reinforced social prejudice in an aparthied and heavily gengered society. -
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1950's
The majority of "teenagers" in America were given "Life Adjustment Education" to fit them for their place in the workforce and as consumers while reinforcing gender and racial stereotyping. -
Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, KS
Seperate but Equal not okay. End of legal Apartheid in the United States. -
Little Rock Nine
Nine African Americans were escorted into the Little Rock, AR Central High School by troops from the 101st Airborn in defiance of Arkansas' Governor Gruening and the Arkansas National Gaurd. -
Sputnik
The U.S.S.R. launches Sputnik causing a panic in the United States which inspires a massive push in STEM education. -
National Defense Education Act
Eisenhower signs the Act in order to fund more STEM education in schools. -
Civil Rights Act
LBJ signs act to end discrimination on the the basis of race, creed and national origin. -
Crystal City Walk-out
Chicano students protest unfair treatment in Texas schools. -
Title IX
Part of a larger body of Education Acts this specifically required equal funding for girls' extra-curricular activities. (The image is that of my freind, Tela O'Donnel, a woman wrestler from Homer, Alaska competing in the Olympics.) -
Lau v Nichols
Enforced bilingual education services for ESL students. -
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The Reagan Revolution
The era of privitization of government services. -
Voucher System
The public funding for private education system is introduced in Milwakee. -
No Child Left Behind
George Jr. takes the public education and sets it firmly into a privatized model of testing and competition.