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In the South, public schools were not common during the 1600s and the early 1700s. Affluent families paid private tutors to educate their children.
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The first schools in the 13 colonies opened in the 17th century
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Common Schools emerged in the 18th century. These schools educated students of all ages in one room with one teacher. Students did not attend these schools for free.
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"Early public schools in the United States did not focus on academics like math or reading. Instead they taught the virtues of family, religion, and community."
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Girls were usually taught how to read but not how to write in early America
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Public Schooling in the South was not widespread until the Reconstruction Era after the American Civil War.
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The idea of a progressive education, educating the child to reach his full potential and actively promoting and participating in a democratic society, began in the late 1800s and became widespread by the 1930s. John Dewey was the founder of this movement
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By 1900, 31 states had compulsory school attendance for students from ages 8-14. By 1918, every state required students to complete elementary school.
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By the mid-19th century, academics became the sole responsibility of public schools.
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through the 1960s, the United States had a racially segregated system of schools. This was despite the 1954 Brown vs. Board Supreme Court ruling. By the late 1970s segregated schooling in the United States was eliminated.
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In 2001, the United States entered its current era of education accountability/reform with the institution of the No Child Left Behind law. *Update: The Every Student Succeeds Act has replaced No Child Left Behind.