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Thomas Jefferson wrote the NW Land Ordinance of 1785, was founder of the University of Virginia, and believed that all citizens should receive a public education in order to create a successful new society.
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Ordinance in which new land was divided up into a grid that would form a town, and a portion of land in each town was set aside for a school.
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As new immigrants arrived in the USA each day, communication became difficult. It was in the schools that immigrant children, and even adults, would learn to speak English, which led to a common tongue and a more unified country.
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Horace Mann was the first great American advocate of public education, who believed that, in a democratic society, education should be free and universal, non-sectarian, democratic in method, and reliant on well-trained, professional teachers.
He was the first secretary of the board of education.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Horace-Mann
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He was considered the ”father of progressive education.”
His approach focused on educating the “whole child.” -
During a time of political unrest, reformers changed the role of schools to better prepare American citizens to play an active role in a democratic society.
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Schools budgets were cut to fund the war. Enrollment rates plummeted as male teachers and students enlisted. Education opportunities for women increased.
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Court declared state laws establishing separate schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. Judge ruled that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”
Ordered all schools in America to desegregate.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education -
NDEA was among many science initiatives implemented by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 to increase the technological sophistication and power of the United States.
Response to Sputnik. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed as a cornerstone of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” It was an extensive statute that funded primary and secondary education, emphasizing high standards and accountability.
http://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/education/elementary-and-secondary-education-act-of-1965/
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Public Law 94-142 guaranteed a free, appropriate public education to each child with a disability in every state and locality across the country. IDEA improved how children with disabilities were identified and educated, evaluated the success of these efforts, and provided due process protections for children and families.
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.html
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Called for educational reform, blamed schools for society’s shortcomings. Increased graduation standards.
Famous quote: ”If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war...We have, in effect, been committing an act of unthinking, unilateral educational disarmament.”
https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html
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After NAR, graduation standards increased. Focus was placed on STEM subjects.
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NCLB shamed the schools and set unrealistic expectations, such as having every student reading at grade level within 10 years.
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Adopted ideals from ESEA, utilized common core standards created by education experts but turned it political.
