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Charity Schools and Moral Reformation
Charity schools were promoted in colonial times by Benjamin Franklin. He believed it was a way of preserving the English language and anglicizing new comers to the land. These were directed by churches, volunteer benevolent societies, or town counsels. Charity schools represented the American tendency to call on education to call on problems with crime and poverty. -
Colonial Education
Colonial Education was a little bit confusing because with the birth of a nation came a desire for a new kind of history. Americans didn't want their country to teach British Education so they tried to create a new system. However, the average American was not offered opportunity to attend school. School was for the wealthy. There were dame schools that sprung up, but these were not much more than glorified day cares. -
Thomas Jefferson's Impact
In this year, Thomas Jefferson drafted a proposal guaranteeing three years of education to all Americans. This idea was incredibly revolutionary. Though today we might assume everyone immediately jumped on board, the bill came up to a vote 3 times between 1779 and 1817 and each time was defeated. -
Noah Webster and his texbook
Noah Webster beleived the first step to an American education was to eliminate all British textbooks. So he did. In 1783 he presented his own textbook titled The Blue Back Speller. It was designed to teach students about the United States with new spellings of British words to create a new wholly American language. -
The Common Schools
The common school was the first form of an education movement in early America. It was a free, universal, non-sectarian, and public institution. This schooling sought to create the virtuous citizens that Thomas Jefferson believed were essential to a continuing democracy. Educated Americans were required in order to sustain a vibrant economy and political insittutions. -
Horace Mann
Horace Mann was a great advocate of the common schools. In 1837, he began his travels to over 1000 schools across America. It took him six years. What he found, was not what he had hoped for. Although schools were in a state of inequity, varying by town and the amount of wealth in the area, he left each one a little better than he found it. He believed in the education of all Americans and he worked tirelessly for that belief. -
John Dewey
"Democracy ad the one, ultimate, ethical ideal of humanity are to my mind synonymous." (Dewey). He was a big advocate of democracy and well known for it. He believed schools and civil society were major topics needing attention and reconstruction. He attended the University of Chicago but disagreements with the administration caused him to resign and relocated to the East Coast where he was elected president of the American Psychological Association. He is one of the founders of The New School. -
The Progressive Reform Movement
The term "progressive education" describes ideas and practices that aim to make education a place for an effective democratic society to bloom. The focus was on active participation by citizens. The education system would help develop critical and socially engaged intelligence. The progressive education movement has been called "child-centered" specifically by John Dewey. -
Secondary School Movement
The United States led other nations in the funding of secondary education schools. The amount of Americans with a high school diploma rapidly increased from 1910 to 1940. Students began learning skills for life, not just for college. The program was characterized as open to all, forgiving, lacking universal standards, and academic as opposed to the European system which was just the opposite. -
Standardized Testing
Alred Binet started the US on the path of standardized testing over 50 years ago. In 1936, the first automatic test scanner was developed. The SAT was founded in 1926 followed by the ACTin 1959. By the end of World War 2 the SAT was accepted by enough universities that it became a standard rite of passage for college bound high school seniors. -
Education and the Second World War
The population also increased dramatically with the post war baby boom. Higher education also experienced a boom as the Congress passed the GI Bill in 1944 that provided subsidies for returning veterans to attend colleges and universities. Over 10 million veterans took advantage of the opportunity. With the number of students increasing, a demand for facilities and teachers also increased. -
Brown vs Board of Education
The Court unanimously ruled that "separate but equal" in public schools was not in fact equal. This changed education forever because schools were no longer segregated. African American students were finally offered the same level of education as white Americans. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
This act was signed into law by Lyndon Baines Johnson. He believed that "full educational opportunity" should be "our first national goal". This act offered new grants to districts with low income students, federal grants for textbooks. It also created special education centers as well as scholarships for low income college students. -
IDEA
This is the Idividuals with Disabilities Education Act. This act ensures that individuals with disabilities are offered opportunities in education. This was originally enacted by Congress in 1975. Additionally, the act ensures the education that these individuals receive is tailored to their individual needs. -
No Child Left Behind
The United States Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which included Title I. The government's flagship aid program for disadvantaged students. This act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills. In order to receive the federal funding, states must give the assesments to all students at select grade levels.
