-
428 BCE
Plato
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
A leading Greek philosopher who believed all children were born with a defined amount of knowledge, and that education helped them to remember this knowledge of the world, and use it in their everyday lives. -
35
Quintilian (35-95 AD)
An educator in the new Roman empire, an advocate for play, and encouraged parents to choose their children's tutors and nurses with care, he thought it was best for children to learn through imitation, not intimidation. -
1483
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
An advocate of universal education, and believed boys and girls should both be taught to read so they could have access to the bible. He believed that school's role was to educate the intellectual, religious, physical, emotional, and social aspects of children. -
John Locke (1632-1704)
Developed a theory that children come into the world with an empty mind, and that they learn through experience and converted to understanding through reasoning. He believed in "nurture" over "nature". -
John Amos Comenius (1592-1670)
Known as the father of modern education and published what many believe to be the first picture book. He was the first to introduce different grade levels based on child's age. -
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
He proposed the idea of early schooling that enabled children to direct their own activities, free from constraints put on them by "society". He believed that education should begin at birth and continue into adulthood. -
Johann Pestalozzi
Established what is considered to be the first school to teach preschool age children. -
Friedrich Froebel (1782 – 1852)
He started the Children's Garden (kindergarten) in Germany. He suggested that children progress through different age related phases. -
Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
Maria Montessori was concerned with the welfare of young, poor children in urban Italy. She established her "Children's Houses" in Rome in 1907. She implemented an early education curriculum that was founded on a developmental theory and introduced developmentally appropriate materials designed to facilitate sensory and cognitive skills. -
Bank Street Approach -Learning by Doing
John Dewey (1859-1952) and his theory of 'learning by doing' influenced this approach. The focus of Bank Street preschools is on a child's mental, social, emotional, and physical growth. In these programs, the child is an active learner and learns about the world through experience. -
The Montessori Method -Self Directed Learning
In a Montessori classroom, the main interaction is between the child and the materials instead of the child and the teacher. Children learn by experience, by observing and doing. They practice life skills, enabling them to care for themselves and their environment. The Montessori theory was created by Maria Montessori (1870-1952). -
National Association for the Education of Young Children
National Association for the Education of Young Children is founded. They work to promote high quality early learning for all young children. -
Head Start is Funded by the Economic Opportunities Act
The National Head Start Association is a nonprofit organization that is committed to the belief that every child has the ability to succeed in life. The NHSA works towards policy changes that ensure that at-risk children have access to the Head Start model of support. -
Child Care and Development Block Grant is Enacted
The Child Care and Development Block Grant is the primary source of the US federal funding for child care grants for low income families and funds to improve the quality of child care. -
The No Child Left Behind Act Bill is Passed
The goal of the No Child Left behind Act is to provide equal educational opportunities for disadvantaged children. It holds schools accountable for how they learn and achieve. -
Operation Military Child Care
Operation Military Child Care is started to support child care needs of parents who are activated and deployed. -
Preschool for All Initiative
President Obama called on Congress to expand access to high quality preschool to every child in the United States, it's called the Preschool for All initiative.