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The American Colonial Period
During this period education was mainly for those who were more privileged. A lot of education was done at home and when schools were established they were only built in largely populated areas. The main use for school was to allow children to learn about religion and about farming. [https://www.landofthebrave.info/colonial-education.htm] -
Horace Mann
Horace Mann served as the first secretary of the state board of education in Massachusetts. He worked to establish a free, public education for everyone in Massachusetts. He tried to improve and standardize schools. He advocated for free libraries and he increased state funding for public schools. Common schools were for people from different levels of society. Normal schools were teacher-training schools. -
Morrill Act
The Morrill Act ( the land-grant act) gave federal land to establish colleges in every state. It made higher education available to Americans nationwide. -
First Kindergarten
Friedrich Froebel, a German educator, developed the idea of kindergarten. The intention of the first kindergarten in America was to help the poor children succeed in school. Before this, young children did not attend school until they were about seven years old. -
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The Great Depression
School had begun to grow and prosper during the 1920s, so when the economy plummeted and schools were no longer being properly funded the school years were cut shorter and it wasn’t uncommon for teachers to get a pay cut or to lose their job completely. The lack of funding also negatively affected the classroom environment for those students who could even afford to attend school. -
Brown vs the Board of Education
The court ruled that segregating the schools went against the constitution because segregated schools were by nature, unequal. This led to public schools being ordered to desegregate. -
Back to the Basics
The back to the basics movement was prompted by the United States falling behind other countries in test scores and in subjects like business, science, and technology. Schools emphasized reading, writing, and math as the basics. -
Project Head Start
The purpose of this program was to help preschool-aged children from low-income families be provided with the necessary skills to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Students who began with a head start were less likely to experience academic problems later. The program is still in existence today because now it coordinates with other programs to provide services such as all-day daycare has expanded to helping hundreds of thousands of children a year. -
No Child Left Behind
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a US law passed in December 2015 that governs the United States K–12 public education policy. The law replaced its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and modified but did not eliminate provisions relating to the periodic standardized tests given to students.
[https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/no-child-left-behind-overview-definition-summary.html] -
Equal Opportunity in Education
It sought to improve the schools most in need. Federal education dollars were given to school districts based on the number of poor children enrolled. This was a major boost to struggling schools and helped equalize educational opportunities. It prohibited discrimination based on gender in all programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. One impact of this act was opening sports, even those formerly designated for boys only, to girls.
