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Puritan Schools (Most Important)
At this time schools consisted mainly of "Dame" schools and "Charity" or "pauper" schools. Dame schools were held in the kitchen or living room of a woman in the neighborhood. The teacher was usually a widow and had minimal education herself. Charity schools. Schools in this time period were heavily influenced by religious views including the hornbooks given to children which included prayers. -
The College of William and Mary
The only institute of higher education in the South prior to the Revolutionary War. It was established in 1683 mainly to train ministers for the Church of England and to teach train them to Christianity to Native Americans. It was the first college to offer an elective system. It was also the first college in the country to emphasize Politics and Law. -
Benjamin Franklin (Most Important)
In 1751, Benjamin Franklin founded the Philadelphia Academy. It was a school designed to make English the language of scholars rather than Latin. It offered a much more practical edcuation to train craftsmen, businessmen, and farmers needed by the colonies. As time went on, it began to resemble the traditional Latin Grammar schools and Franklin considered it a failure. -
Thomas Jefferson (Most Important)
Thomas Jefferson propsed to give all American chidren 3 years of guaranteed public education. This also included avdanced education for a select few. Blacks and other races would not benefit from this proposal because slavery was still being practiced. His proposal was rejected a number of times for years. -
Noah Webster Publishes Blue Back Speller
Noah Webster, a teacher from Connecticut, wanted to eliminate British textbooks from American classrooms. He felt America should have its own identity and its schools should teach its children that way. In 1783 he published a speller that included many new pronounciations and words to aid in the teaching of an American english language rather than the British english. This speller was the forerunner of the Webster dictionary. -
Monitorial Schools
Monitorial Schools were a system of schools that incorporated one paid teacher aided by a number of monitors or student teachers. The system emabled large numbers of students to be taught at once. The system began in England and was brought to American by Joseph Lancaster. The first one opened in New York City in 1806. -
Common School Movement (Most Important)
A movement that began in the 1830's and continued through the civil war. Children of all ages began to attend school together.
States gained more control and direct taxation for the support of the common school became a more common practice. Horace Mann was a major advocate of this movement. -
The Common School Journal
Horace Mann began to try and reform the schools of his day. He founded and edited the Common School Journal to help with this goal. He believed the public should no longer be ignorant. He wanted schools that were non-sectarian and were supported, controlled, and paid for by the public. -
Secondary School Movement
During this movement a focus on improving high school education became prevalent. This included increasing the number of high schools. Also, a push for high schools for girls became more intense. This movement began in the 1820's and slowly continued through the rest of the century. -
Commitee of Ten
At the end of the 1800's the National Education Association established the commitee of ten to examine the current curriculum and improve it. -
John Dewey
John Dewey was known as the father of progressive education. -
Brown vs Board of Education (Most Important)
Brown The supreme court rules that "separate, but equal" is not equal or constitutional. The decision is met with mixed reactions. Many people felt that the decision was right but were hesitant to actually integrate white and black schools. Many others refused to accept integration and protested. -
Civil Rights Act
This act officially ended segregation in schools. All schools must now allow students of all races to attend. -
Disabilites Act
An act that allowed children with disabilites to receive accommodations for education so that they could have the same opportunities as everyone else. -
No Child Left Behind
This act focused on setting standards for education to ensure that all children gain the skills needed for higher education and careers. If schools fail to meet the set standards they must submit a plan for improvement. -
Present Day
