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Important Educational Dates
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Education in the Colonial Period
The first English settlement in North America was at Jamestown (Virginia) in 1607. Many of the colonists who came to the New World were filled with a sense of religious commitment, largely Protestant, which shaped their views on life and education. By 1700 the New England colonies could boast of literacy rates that were often superior to those in England -
Education Law of 1647
Ordered every township of 50 households to provide a teacher to teach reading and writing, and all townships of 100 or more households to establish a grammar school. Although there was no uniform compliance or administration of these laws, they show how important education was to the Puritans and demonstrate their belief in the necessity of a literate citizenry for the functioning of political society. -
The Massachusetts Law of 1765
Also known as the New Banquet Logic Law (after the law's first sentence) and the Mandate Howering Law of 1680. These laws are commonly regarded as the historical first step toward compulsory government-directed public education in the United States of America. Shortly after they passed, similar laws were enacted in the other New England colonies. -
MOST IMPORTANT EVENT: Noah Webster
Creator of the Blue Black Speller taught five generations of American children how to spell and read, secularizing their education. Has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education." Webster's name has become synonymous with "dictionary" in the United States,
The Blue Black Speller -
The Northwest Ordinance
In hopes of raising revenue from the sale of western land, Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785. It provided for the division of the Northwest Territory into townships, each of which would be subdivided into lots a mile square, or 640 acres. -
The first monitorial school
The Monitorial System was an education method that became popular on a global scale during the early 19th century. This method was also known as "mutual instruction" or the "Bell-Lancaster method" after the British educators Dr Andrew Bell and Joseph Lancaster who both independently developed it. -
MOST IMPORTANT EVENT: Horace Mann
Horace MannSecertary of the board of Education. He would ride on horse back from one district to the next. He spearheaded the Common School Movement, ensuring that every child could receive a basic education funded by local taxes. His influence soon spread beyond Massachusetts as more states took up the idea of universal schooling. -
Creation of Common Schools
Common schools typically taught "the three Rs" (reading, [w]riting, and [a]rithmetic), history, geography, and math. There was wide variation in regard to grading (from 0-100 grading to no grades at all), but end-of-the-year recitations were a common way that parents were informed about what their children were learning. -
Sarah Roberts barred from white school in Boston
Sarah Roberts barred from white school in Boston. Her father, Benjamin Roberts, filed the first school integration suit on her behalf. -
Bishop John Hughes
Hughes also campaigned actively on behalf of Irish immigrants, and attempted to secure state support for parochial schools. He protested against the standard use of the King James Bible in public schools by the Public School Society, a private organization which operated the schools of New York City. -
Committee of Ten
The Committee of Ten was a working group of educators that, in 1892, recommended the standardization of American high school curriculum. -
MOST IMPORTANT EVENT: The Gary Plan
An educational system instituted in 1907 in Gary, Indiana. It was part of the larger scientific management movement in the early part of the 20th century that tried to increase efficiency in manufacturing through increased separation of worker roles and duties as well as through incentivized wages. William Wirt, who became superintendent of Gary’s schools in 1907.
The Gary Plan -
MOST IMPORTANT: Brown vs. Board of Education
Acknowledged as one of the greatest Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century, unanimously held that the racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Although the decision did not succeed in fully desegregating public education in the United States, it put the Constitution on the side of racial equality.
Brown Vs. Board of Education -
The War on Poverty
The War on Poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent. -
MOST IMPORTANT EVENT: No Child Left Behind
An act of Congress which reauthorized the Elmentary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title 1 provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing mearsurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education. It did not assert a national achievement standard. No Child Left Behind
