-
The General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony voted to found Harvard University. It was named John Harvard, who donated half of his estate and over 400 books to aid the school. The University still stands today, successful, historic, and prestigious.
Timeline of Harvard History -
St. Augustine is the very first European established schoolhouse in the United States. Juan Genopoly, one of the Spanish settlers, gathered children from the Minorcan Quarter to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic in his own home. It cost young students only 12 1/2 cents to attend per week. Older students paid 25 cents for parchment, ink, and quills to work on writing.
Tour of the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse -
Horace Mann was a state lawmaker and later, secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. Mann did not get equal opportunities in education as a child because he was not wealthy. He knew that he wanted all children--of any race, gender, or class--to be able to attend school. Mann envisioned universal or "common" schools as benefitting the country the most. He had strong preferences for everyone to learn English to increase communication. -
The first public kindergarten opened in the Des Peres School in St. Louis. The kindergarten movement was directed heavily by teacher Susan Blow. She implemented methods used by Fredrich Froebel, the man who opened the first kindergarten ever in Germany. Blow wanted to bring hands-on, play learning to young children of the U.S., and she also worked to train more teachers, especially women, including African Americans. Over 9,000 children in St. Louis attended kindergarten by 1880. -
In the Brown v. Board of Education case, the United States Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation is not acceptable in schools. All nine justices decided to overthrow the previous Plessy v. Ferguson "separate but equal" case because white schools and black schools were not providing the same education.
Brown v. Board Video -
The ESEA funds primary and secondary education. President Lyndon B. Johnson introduced this act as part of the "War on Poverty" with the goal of making a quality education possible regardless of wealth. Money was put aside for professional development. educational program materials, and instruction resources. The ESEA was to be carried out for five years, being reauthorized for another five continually if the government wished. The ESEA was replaced by the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. -
Title IX is an amendment that says that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Title IX has had a lasting impact on gender equality in schools. It tremendously changed women's collegiate sports to ensure that both men and women have equal opportunity in athletics. -
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures a free public education for students with disabilities. The law promises special education services for disabled people.
IDEA Video -
The No Child Left Behind Act was endorsed by President George W. Bush. America realized other countries were outscoring the U.S. and introduced stricter standardized testing requirements that affected students, teachers, and even principals. This law is still debated to this day and argued over whether it helped or hurt public education.
NCLB Pros and Cons -
When the COVID-19 virus caused the U.S. to go into quarantine measures, the 2019-2020 school year stopped abruptly. This hit students hard and left them lagging behind with the months they missed. Harvard (2003) stated, "The average U.S. public school student in grades 3-8 lost the equivalent of a half year of learning in math and a quarter of a year in reading." The effects of missing months of school are still observed in students today, struggling in school and with social skills.