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First Education Laws (MOST IMPORTANT)
Without a start in education, it would be hard to be where we are today in education. These first education laws in Massachusetts allowed students to learn how to read. There was a small fee to pay to have your children attend these dame schools, so not every child could attend, but it was a start.
https://www3.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/masslaws.html -
Noah Webster's Blue-Backed Speller
The Blue-Backed Speller taught many generations how to spell and read. It was also a different English than the British English. -
Horace Mann
He was the "Great Crusader" who was able to get help from the government. His first tries were objected, however, he was able to get free tax for education. This helped allow poorer students an education as well. -
Sarah Roberts
Sarah Roberts wasn't allowed into some schools because of her race, so her father was able to get the case to the Massachusetts Supreme Court. 6 years later, a law passed for integration in schools. -
Education after the Civil War (MOST IMPORTANT)
Education grew enormously after the Civil War. States were required to offer free education to all. There were now over 4,000,000 black people who were able to attend school.
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2600 -
John Dewey
John Dewey was the father of progression education. Children would learn by doing. He wanted schools to be more invested in the children. -
The Gary Plan
With the Gary Plan, there was a change from sitting in class all day to changing classrooms throughout the day and doing a lot of hands on things similiar to things in the workforce. There was also a focus on hygiene; school was also a place where students could get cleaned up. -
John Hylan opposed the Gary Plan
John Hylan didn't agree with the Gary Plan and riots broke out in New York. Hylan became the mayor of New York City and changed some things, but many part of the Gary Plan are still seen in schools today. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
A black child wasn’t allowed into a white school so the case was taken to the Supreme Court. Brown won and segregation was banned in public schools. -
Growth of Standardized Testing
Now there are more school days, more hours each school day, and more homework. The testing was changed to a higher stakes testing. -
The Civil Rights Movement (MOST IMPORTANT)
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination. Not only did it help black people, but there discrimination was no longer allowed based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Now schools had to integrate everyone or they wouldn't receive federal funding.
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement -
Lyndon B. Johnson (The War on Poverty)
President Johnson believed an equal chance at education is an equal chance at life. He helped create equality in anything federally funded, which includes public education. -
Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act
Free education for children with disabilities. Those children were no longer isolated and hidden. -
A Nation at Risk (MOST IMPORTANT)
It was said that "students could pass with minimum effort, mediocrity was installed"; there was passive learning. Standards and certain number of courses needed to pass were installed in order to graduate and/or enter college. There was a need for students to reach a common understanding of important issues.
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html -
No Child Left Behind (MOST IMPORTANT)
Federally funded schools now have to give an anual statewide standardized test to all students. It is to show if schools are performing at a high level and if they are improving or getting worse. There are now standards and objectives to follow and students must show that they can do those standards and objectives.
http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/no-child-left-behind/
