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Most Important Thomas Jefferson
https://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/excursions/thomas-jefferson-public-education-part-1
Thomas Jefferson understood that for the new America to be a free and self governing society it must be educated. The idea that education of all men would be the great equalizer of the new America and was important enough that the government would pay for it. “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be,” Jeffers -
Horace Mann
Horace Mann was the founding father of public education as we know it today. He took on the role Massachusetts Education Sectary in 1837 and took on the task of standardizing education from the text books to what each school house should have in it. -
Fredrick Douglas
He took the first of many steps in the pursuit of freedom and equality for African Americans in public schools as a feed slave he lead the abolitionists movement and supported many other rights issues of his time. -
Civil War and Education Growth
Slaves were now free to become educated, young and old went to school to learn to read. -
Most Important Progressive Reform Movement
https://www.uvm.edu/~dewey/articles/proged.html
The progressive reform brought the idea that children needed more in schools that just academic education. School could be a safe place for them with health care and information on personal hygiene. This movement created a more student centered environment where students were encouraged to move and socialize, and learn by doing. -
John Dewey
Dewey felt that education should be meaningful and should recreate the larger society with in schools by incorporating civility, art, history and critical thinking skills. He introduced the importance of student centered teaching and whole child ideas. -
The Gary Plan
Progressive schooling in Gary Indiana was considered the most progressive in the country. The Gary plan was soon implemented across the country. There were classes from home economics to auto repair and animal husbandry. Students were in mixed age classes and went on learning field trips and enjoyed going to school it was as much of a social experience as it was a place to learn. -
Brown vs Board of Education
Tension had been mounting as more and more African American students were being forced to schools miles away from their home in run down facilities with out of date text books. This event was the ruling of the supreme court that said separate schools for African Americans were unconstitutional. -
The War On Poverty LBJ
This policy set into motion many programs aimed to help people in poverty achieve, including the Head Start program in schools to help disadvantaged students with extra resources -
Most Important Civil Rights Movement
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement
While segregation had been ruled unconstitutional almost 10 years earlier in 1954 most Southern stated did not comply with the law of integration. Once the Civil Rights Act was passed it forced the integration of these schools by removing public funding to all schools who did not comply with the laws set forth by the government. -
Most Important The Elementary and Secondary Act
https://www.ed.gov/esea
Mandated equal access to equal education and implemented standards in hopes to close the achievement gap. This is the same act that we have seen as the No Child Left behind and Every Student Succeeds Act. This is the one event that I see as still important today in our education system. -
Most Important IDEA
https://sites.ed.gov/idea/
This act set the stage for all students with disabilities to enter into mainstream public education regardless of their disability. There are many programs that have greatly benefited disabled children and their families including early intervention programs and adult transitional services. -
A Nation At Risk
This report scared Americans into thinking that our education system was failing when looking at the actual test scores they would show the opposite. This Report started more standardized testings in schools and the inclusion of high school technology classes and language and college prep classes. -
School Choice Movement
This allows for parents to have greater choices in where their child can attend public school for free Charter schools and vouchers work to allow public funds for students to go directly to a non government run school that still has the same obligations as public schools to meet standards and government regulations. This is a hot topic still and I feel have a place in our schooling system for more choices for students to receive the best education they possibly can. -
No Child Left Behind
This re-instated the ideas of ESEA and set the stage for more standardized testing at state levels no national standards were a part of this act.
