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First Public School Opens
In 1635, the first public school, or "free school", in Virginia opens. However, education in the Southern colonies was more typically provided at home by parents or tutors at this time. This is importnat since this was the beginning of a long history of public schools. This was the first time that schools were tax-supported which allowed for families with low incomes to be able to send their children to school. This was important to me since I attended public schools my whole life. -
Massachusetts Ruling for Elementary Schools
On this date, the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony decided that every town of fifty families should have an elementary school and that every town of 100 families should have a Latin school. This was to ensure that Puritan children learned to read the Bible and receive basic information about their religion. This is important to note since schools focused on religion at this time, which is not part of the public school system. -
First Public University in the US
On this date, the University of North Carolina became the first public university in the United States. It was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly. It was also the only unversity to graduate students in the eighteenth century. The first class was admitted in Chapel Hill in 1795. This was important in public education history since there were now public universities that students could attend for a lower cost than private universities. I also attended a public university, OSU. -
The First Catholic University in the US
On this date, Georgetown University became the first permanent Catholic institution in America. It was on this day that instruction at the school began. I feel that this is an important date in my educational history since I am not attending a Catholic university for graduate school and it was also founded by John Carroll, who John Carroll University was named after. My religion is also Catholic so I am happy to have gotten to attend one Catholic school in my lifetime. -
New York Public School Society
In 1805, the New York Public School Society set up schools that had a school master to teach the older children, who would then teach the younger children. This was also set up in concern for the education of poor children, as were the public schools for poor children in Pennsylvania in 1790. This system of teaching is important to notice in the history of public schools. If this system remained, I would've been responsible for completely educating my younger siblings. -
First Public High School in the US
On this date, Boston English High School, opened in Boston, Massachusetts. It was one of the first free public schools in the United States. Free schooling began as an idea in the early 1700’s and was mainly for poor children whose parents could not afford to pay for them to attend private school. This is important in my educational timeline since I attended a public high school and the experience had many influences on my education views. -
First College to Accept Women and African Americans
In 1833, Oberlin College was founded, making it the first university in the nation to accept women and African Americans as students. This is important because Oberlin allowing women and African Americans led to other colleges accepting minorities. This event is important in my life since I attended college and would not have been able to if women were still unable to attend college. -
First Women's Rights Convention
In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention was held in New York to gain support for education and suffrage [and was the first women's rights convention], but it had little immediate impact because at that time women were still considered the property of men rather than individuals in society. This was an important step towards women's rights and wiithout women's rights I would never have been able to receive the education that I have. -
First Public School Kindergarten
On this date in 1873, the first public school kindergarten was opened in the United States in St. Louis, Missouri. It was opened for the purpose of dealing with urban poverty. The superintendent, William Torey Harris played a part in the opening of this school since he recommended the establishment of kindergartens as a permanent part of the school system. This was another important event in public school history since younger children could now receive an education in public schools. -
Plessy Vs. Ferguson Court Case
This court case upheld the legality of segregation. This was an important event in history since African Americans were unable to attend schools with whites at this time. This court case was a major impact on the segregation between African Americans and whites. It is an important date to include in my timeline since it is important to be aware of the harsh treatment that we as whites once used towards the African Americans that lived in our country. -
First College Entrance Exams
On this date in 1900, the College Entrance Exam Board developed a series of written exams that would test a potential student's knowledge of math, science, literature and Latin. This exam was graded by professors and determined if you could be admitted into certain colleges. This is important in the history of standardized tests since it was one of the very first ways of testing students based on certain standards. This related to my history of education because I took college entrance tests -
First School for Gifted Children
On this date in Worcester, Massachusetts, the first special school for gifted children was opened. I believe that this is important in my educational history since I had always qualified for gifted programs when I was younger. I was invited to attend the gifted elementary school in my community but my parents had to deny it due to transportation issues and changing schools. -
The start of the SAT
On thsi day in 1926, colleges began using the SAT, a multiple-choice exam. This was important at the time since it made grading easy, and it made exams faster. This exam is still used today for students planning to attend college. I had bad experiences with this exam when I was going into college. I felt that it was much too hard and did not do nearly as well as I should have on it. I was really stressed about colleges judging me based on this score. -
First Automatic Test Scanner
In 1936, the first automatic test scanner, a rudimentary computer called the IBM 805, was invented. It used electrical current to detect marks made by special pencils on tests, giving rise to the bubbling-in of answers. This was a very important event in the development of the standardized test. Most standardized tests today use this feature. I remember being annoyed by bubbling in my answers through my education because you had to do it so perfectly or it would be counted as incorrect. -
Brown Vs. Board of Education
On this date in 1954, public schools became open to people of all races with the court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. This is important in my historical timeline since this event allowed me to attend schools with people of all races and diverse backgrounds. I had friends that I would never have met if this court ruling had never been made. -
Prayer Unconstitutional in Public Schools
On this date in 1962, the Engel v. Vitale court case took place. The results of this case determined that it is unconsitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage it to be recited in public schools. This was an important event for public schools since it separated them even more from private schools by not allowing any prayer to occur. -
Bible Reading Becomes Unconstitutional in Public Schools
On this date in 1963, the court case of Abington School District v. Schempp took place. This court case was related to the Engel v. Vitale case in 1962, but furthered the ruling by adding that school-sponsored Bible reading in public schools in the United States is unconstitutional. This was another major event in public school history since it again distanced public schools from private schools. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
On this date, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed. This act emphasized qual access to education and established high standards and accountability. This was a major impact on the standardized tests that children are required to take in public schools today. This relates to my education since I had to take many standardized tests and these were a negative experience in my educational history. -
Mean Kindergarten Teacher
In kindergarten, I was skeptical about going to school all day and had trouble with the idea of leaving my parents. I was very shy and would sometimes cry to my teacher. This teacher was very tough and unsympathetic, not what you would expect from a kindergarten teacher. She made me dislike going to school even more. Eventually, I was ok with school but I never liked the teacher the rest of the year. This showed me that I can have a major influence on a student- whether it is good or bad. -
Invited to Gifted School in Community
In 2nd grade, I was invited to change schools to the elementary school that had the gifted program. It was at this time that my parents realized just how advanced I was compared to the other students in my grade. My parents made the decision to decline the offer so that I would not have to change school and figure out transportation every day when each of them worked. However, this did encourage them to talk with my teacher about giving me extra work or work that would push me more. -
Change Elementary Schools
Between third and fourth grade my family moved to a new house. It was in the same city but I had to switch to a different elementary school where I did not know anyone. I was very nervous and did not want to leave all of my friends. This experience was very important because until I had moved I was always shy, but when we moved I made myself become more outgoing in order to make new friends. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act was created on January 8, 2001. This act is important in my educational history because it was part of the reason for many standardized tests. These tests were often negative experiences for me as a student and I always felt as if they did not truly show my intelligence. -
6th Grade Teacher
My 6th grade teacher , Mrs. K., was very influential on me and made school very enjoyable for me as a child. She always made fun activities to go along with all of the lessons. I remember that around this time, I first began to think that I would enjoy being a teacher. When I think back about my decision on which grades I wanted to teach, I believe that I chose the upper elementary grades because of her. -
Math Teacher- 8th Grade
In 8th grade, I had a female math teacher who I really learned a lot from. She was very friendly and taught math in a fun and exciting way, which I did not think was possible. In middle and high school I mainly had male math teachers, so I was really inspired by Mr.s B in 8th grade for being a female math teacher and making class enjoyable for all of us students. When I think about my future math teaching career, I always think about Mrs. B and how I would like to be like her as a teacher. -
The first OGT was Given
The first official OGT was given in March 2005. It replaced the ninth grade proficiency test as a graduation requirement for the class of 2007. This test had a major influence on my opinions of standardized testing. I remember being extremely pressured to do well on these all year by my teachers. It was necessary to pass all 5 subjects, math, science, social studies, reading, and writing, or you would not be able to go to the next grade. I was so stressed when I actually took them. -
Began Taking College Courses in High School
I took classes at Cuyahoga Community College during high school to receive college credit and high school credit at the same time. This was important for me since I was able to take these classes for free and they saved me a lot of money in college. I had to work a great deal in high school to save up for college so it was helpful to get some of my classes out of the way with no cost. It was also beneficial to learn college study skills while still in high school. -
Parent's Divorce
My parent's divorced during my senior year of high school. This event relates somewhat to my education but more so because it was a major life change for me to have to adjust to. My mother ended up moving to Colorado, so at this time I became almost as a mother to my two younger siblings. I believe that I got a lot of teaching experience during this time since I had to step in and help them with their homework and projects since my dad had to work a a lot of nights. -
Changed Major from Nursing to Education
I changed my major from nursing to teaching in my sophomore year of college. This was very important since I would most likely have switched to teaching eventually anyways since it was always in the back of my mind, but it saved me a lot of time to have realized this before becoming a nurse. -
Graduate From The Ohio State University
I graduated from OSU with a Bachelor's of Science in Middle Childhood Education. My parents, siblings, and grandparents were all there to support me on my achievement which was very important to me. This event had to be included in my educational timeline since it was a major step in my teaching career. I also learned so much about teaching and my content areas while studying at Ohio State. -
Began School Based Program at John Carroll
I began my graduate courses on this day. This was a major step in my career as a teacher since I would soon begin my first student teaching experience that would prepare me to manage my own classroom. I was very nervous and excited to begin this program but am now very satisfied of my decision.