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History of American Education
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American Education and Religion: Massachusetts Bay
The Massachusetts Bay colony was the first colony to pass a law to enforce schooling for children. “Selectmen” were created to make sure children were being taught the principles of religion and the laws of the country. Religion was the primary focus of education. This led to the making of the Old Deluder Satan Law. Following this law came the priorities of teaching core subjects such as math, science, and English. Pictured is Reverand John Cotton who was a teacher in the first colony -
American Education and Religion 1647: Old Deluder Satan Law
This law was based off the fact that the Christian people believed that Satan used ignorance and illiteracy to prevent people from reading the bible. In order to prevent this, towns began to pay a selected person to teach children how to read Latin. If there were more than 100 families in the town, then Latin Grammar schools were created. Pictured is a typical classroom in the 1600's where children were taught to read and write as part of the way to not be illiterate as Satan would have wanted. -
American Education & Curriculum: First American Spelling Book
Noah Webster made the first American spelling book. The creation of this book gave way for American English instead of the British writing that first came over with the first settlers thus the spelling book gave way for the national language. This Blue-backed spelling book was then taught throughout the schools. Pictured is a page from the original blue-backed speller -
American Education and the Legal System: Land Ordinance
When towns were created in the northwest territories, land was allotted for certain things. The federal government could not tax the citizens during that time so a part of the land (that was located generally in the middle of the township) was sold and the money was to be used to begin building public schools (since taxes were normally what funded the public education system). Pictured are the northwest territories that were part of the Land Ordinance -
American Education and Technology 1815-1846: Technology of Transportation
With the development of transportation, to include roadways that led from the country to inner city, more means of transporting and trading goods was made. This led to increased revenue, which then lead to towns being able to fund the resources needed to build and staff more public schools. Transportation made it possible for people to become wealthier. Farmers began growing more crops to not only feed his family but to sell to other citizens. -
American Education and Students with Special Needs: Manualism
Thomas H. Gallaudet did not like oral methods of teaching the deaf. He started the first institute for the deaf and dumb in Connecticut. At this institute he used the method of sign language, also known as manualism, to teach to the students that went there. It was another form of language that made use of our hands by making signs and movements to represent words, letters, and numbers. Pictured is the sign language alphabet -
American Education in a Global/International Context: Braille
Braille was another type of language created by Louis Braille in France. Braille is the form of raised bumps (indentations) on paper in a certain pattern. Each pattern signified a letter, number, or word, such like the use of sign language. Pictured is what braille looks like -
American Education and Students with Special Needs: Samuel G. Howe
Samuel G. Howe learned the method of Braille on his visit to France and upon his return to America he began the New England Asylum for the Blind. This was another type of institute that housed those who were blind and taught them how to read braille. -
American Education and Ethnic and Linguistic Minorities: Mount Holyoke
Mount Holyoke was a Seminary college for women. Most women were being denied college education because colleges were mainly for males. Mount Holyoke was founded in Massachusetts and offered college level education. -
American Education and the Legal System: Horace Mann
Contrary to manualism methods with the deaf, Horace Mann and a few others were able to land a bill that lead to the creation of the first school in the United States that taught Alexander G. Bell’s Oralistic method of teaching the deaf. Alexander Bell did not want sign language taught and instead believed and tried to enforce the method of having those who were deaf learn how to lip-read and speak orally instead of using sign language. Pictured is Horace Mann -
American Education in a Global/International Context: Henry H. Goddard
Henry H. Goddard translated the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test into English and made it accessible to people all over the nation. He was skeptical that the human race was going to get weak. He believed this because those who were mentally disabled were allowed to reproduce. He also believed that the IQ test could “help the nation identify and deny entrance to defectives among the immigrants that were entering the country” (Gaither, 2011). -
American Education and Technology: Electronics
(1920's and upward) Electronics had a slow start and are now a leading tool that helps with education today. It began with radios, then film, followed by television in the 1950’s, and into today’s day with computers and Internet. This has allowed students to further learn and have more accessibility to research, and ways of improving their education with newly developed programs that offer practice and assistance in various subjects. -
American Education and Funding 1934: Indian Reorganization Act
The revision of the Indian Reorganization Act made it so that the lands that were taken from the Indians were given back to those tribes. With this meant that Native American children went back to school on their reservations. This also led to the attempt of less funding to the reservations. -
American Education and Funding: House Concurrent Resolution 108
With the movement back to tribal lands, the United States government tried to stop the Native American dependence on government funds. They did this by cutting off any special funding which included federal education money. This resulted in a decline of quality education for the Native American children. -
American Education and Ethnic and Linguistic Minorities: Integration
In the trial of Brown Vs. The Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas, the court was in favor of forcing integration in the public schools. It was deemed that segregation did not help with making an equalization of quality education because it was still thought of that African-Americans were still inferior to Whites. By integrating the schools, minorities were now being shown that they were too equal with others. -
American Education in a Global/International Context: SPUTNIK
The satellite launch of SPUTNIK from the Soviet Union, many Americans began to believe that their students were not getting a high enough education because they saw this launch as something that America should have done first. With this kind of hype, more people began to push for better education and advocates used this opportunity to rally for more funding to support higher levels of teaching in big subjects such as math and science. -
American Education and Students with Special Needs: Kennedy
President John F. Kennedy was a huge help and promoter towards those with special needs. He created the Presidents Panel on Mental Retardation. This panel then included recommendations for more federal aid to the states to further support the research, care, and education to those with a disability. -
American Education and the Legal System: Head Start
Head start is the longest running program created for low-income families. It was deemed that low-income families could not provide enough parenting and health for their children and Head Start was created to help make up that difference for preschool age children. This was first created as part of the “War on Poverty” (UM, 2005). -
American Education and the Legal System: Public Law 94-142
Public Law 94-142 was revised a few times. Its main purpose was to make sure that all handicapped children had a right of education. This was also revised so that all of the children with disabilities and their parents were protected and assured that the programs set out for them were to be effective. -
American Education and Curriculum: No Child Left Behind Act
This act was signed in my former president George W. Bush. It created standardized testing to see where students were falling in their education and if the education given to them was satisfactory. The act started to see a major decline in popularity but a revision from the President Obama administration is bringing it around. States have to make sure that all their students are academically proficient. Waivers are granted to some states so long as they promise and show an academic plan for thei
