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Horace Mann/Common Schools
Believing good schools are good business and the future of a Democracy depended on a common education, Horace Mann pushed for the Common Schools System. Besides improving the general education of the American populace, Mann's creation opened the door for the establishment of Normal Schools to prepare teachers. Women were welcomed as teachers during this period of US educational history. -
Mandatory School Attendance Laws
In 1852, Massachusetts passed a state law that established minimum/maximum ages wherein school attendance was required by students and established penalties for non-compliance rules for exception. Other states followed suit, the last being Mississippi in 1917. These laws assured that an American child received the opportunity for at least a rudimentary education. -
Sputnik launch by USSR
Russian success with the world's first satellite--about the size of a beachball--inspired the USA to pour over $1 billion dollars into public schools, esp. for Math and Science, leading to the first landing on the moon in 1969. The increased focus on these subjects continued after the "space race," later allowing America to compete with Japan and other countries during technological advances of the transistor and microchip in the computer industry. -
Civil Rights Act
This US Congressional action was the culmination of the forces begun with the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that outlawed segregation. Normally controlled solely by states, the federal ruling united education with the US Constitution for the first time in guaranteeing Equal Protection for all people under the 14th Amendment, including Black students seeking to enroll at previously whites-only schools. -
IDEA Act
While it declared the right of all individuals with a disability to free public education, this legal action also dictated learning environments must be of a Least Restrictive nature and accessible to all people with disabilities. With this ruling, it became physically easier for individuals with strong minds but disabled bodies to also become optimal contributors to society.
