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Education in the Colonial Period
Education in the Colonial Period was very different from education today. Most children who were minorites or of the poorer class, were taught in apprenticeships that lasted three to seven years. They were sometimes abusive and harsh. The upperclass children were taught in a whole different way by tutors or in small groups by a hired teacher. -
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Education in Colonial America
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The Impact of Jefferson, Rush, & Webster
Jefferson, Rush, and Webster, all felt an urgency to make education systematic in the country. Jefferson had a plan that would offer basic education to the masses of the population. Rush believed that though free education for the masses would raise taxes, it would save taxes in the future by educating the population so that there would be less of a need for prisons, etc. Webster believed that free education was the "most important business of civil society". -
Northwest Land Ordinance, 1785
The Northwest Land Ordinance was a plan that would number the sections of a township. The ordinance made sure that a section of town was set aside for schools to be placed. In the grid of the townships, it was put in section 16. -
The Common School Movement
The Common School Movement was the push for public funded education for all children in the country. The purpose of the common school was to have a somewhat uniform standard of education across the board, to help create a stronger people to build our nation. -
Horace Mann, the Father of the Common School
In 1837, Horace Mann became the secretary to the brand new state board of education. He believed that the common school should be available to every child regardless or religion, gender, or race. He said that Providence had decreed that it was the right of every person ever born to be educated. -
The impact of John Dewey
John Dewey believe in child centered, hands on education. He thought that it was important for the teacher and the child to learn and progress together from experiences. I think that John Deweys' influence in education has definitely made education better. His way of teaching seems to resemble what we are now being taught is the most effective way to teach kids. -
The Progressive Reform Movement
The Progressive Reform Movement started around the 1890's. It was lead by John Dewey, who saw the decline in community life, and the lack of interest in democratic participation. He believed that education would need to make up for this loss. In the 1950's, interest in Progressive education was lost, but has gained interest again in the late 20th century. -
The Committee of Ten
All over the country, there were different ideas about how high schools students should be taught. The American National Education Association formed the Committee of Ten to resolve these issues. The COT was a group of higher educators that wanted to standarize the curriculum for American high schools. -
Brown vs. Board of Education, 1954
Brown vs. Board of education
Brown vs. the Board of Education legally ended segregation in public schools. There was still a lot of changes that needed to be made following this lawsuit, but this was the beginning of the changes to come. -
Sputnik and NDEA
Sputnik is a satellite that the Soviets launched into space on Oct 4, 1957. People in the US were fearful that the USSR was ahead of the US in mathematics and scientific education. There were a shortage of mathmaticians at the time, so the National Defense Education Act was established to influence more math and science education in the United States. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 1965
ESEA was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson, as part of the "war on poverty". ESEA provided funding to both elementary and secondary education to make exeptional education accessible to both rich and poor alike, by giving them equal opportunities. -
Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, 1975
IDEA IDEA was originally enacted by Congress in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities have the opportunity to receive a free appropriate public education, just like other children. This act affects me personally, because I have children that are considered disabled. For that reason, I believe that this is one of the most important acts in our educational history. -
A Nation at Risk
"A Nation at Risk" is a strongly worded report created by President Regans' Commission for Excellence in Education. This publication reported that our educational system was being "eroded" by "mediocrity". The commission made 38 recommendations, very few of which were ever executed. -
The Standards Movement
After the publicaton of "A Nation at Risk", there has been a push for reform. By 2000, education standards had been developed in 3 areas: Academic Standards (describing what students should be able to do at the end of each grade level), Content Standards (a basic agreement about the body of education knowledge all students should know), and Performance Standards (levels describing advanced, proficient, or below level). -
No Child Left Behind, 2001
No Child Left Behind, or NCLB, was a reauthorization of The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. It supported standard based education reform, and used standardized testing to measure its' success. It offered title 1 funding to schools with high poverty rates, to help educate low income students.
