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Pestalozzi's School
Pestalozzi's school was innovative in that he focused on the poor and economically disadvantaged. The general method and the special method were techniques developed by Pestalozzi. Gutek states that the general method, "required that schools be psychologically secure learning spaces...and that the special method stress sensory learning through object lessons." Pestalozzi's methods were influential in American education in the 19th century. -
American Institute of Instruction
Founded by Samuel Read Hall the AII was one of the first institutes in the United States focused on teacher education and preparation. Gutek emphasizes the unique aspects of what the AII did. -
Froebel's Kindergarten
Influenced by Pestalozzi, Friedrich Froebel emphasized the emotional security of children as well as using object lessons to incorporate meanings. In the kindergarten, Froebel used materials called gifts and occupations. According to Gutek, "gifts were objects that conveyed important symbolic meanings. Occupations were materials children could use in drawing and building activities to express their ideas." Immigrants from Germany brought the kindergarten concept to the United States. -
New York Legislature Authorizes Normal Schools
Looking to establish teacher preparatory schools, the New York State Normal School in Albany, New York emphasized the development of teachers in common schools. Precedent was set by New York and soon other normal schools were established across the United States. Gutek describes the popularity of the normal schools in that enrollments steady climbed during the 19th and 20 centuries. -
American Normal School Association
Later renamed the Department of Normal Schools of the National Teachers Association the ANSA helped set standards for teacher certification. According to Gutek the ANSA recommended that, "states recognize the normal school diploma as a life certificate to teach, normal schools maintain teacher education as their paramount focus and normal schools work cooperatively to develop a philosophy of education and set standards for admission and preparation of teacher." -
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Education during Reconstruction
Racial relations during Reconstruction helped to springboard education advocates like Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. Though these two men approached education differently both advocated for the education of African Americans. -
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Herbart's Ideas Come to the United States
Philosopher and pedagogical pioneer, Johann Herbart founded a school focused on teaching pedagogy and wrote extensively on the subject. In the late 19th century, in the United States, Herbart's methods gained popularity and his textbooks were used in teachers preparation schools. Although he was influential in the United States, his ideas were soon supplanted by those of John Dewey and other progressive educators. -
Tuskegee Institute
Founded by Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee University trained teachers at a traditionally Black university. This normal school for "colored" teachers was instrumental in educating an otherwise underrepresented group of potential educators. The Institute also focused on training African Americans in other high-needs areas. -
The Laboratory School
This was John Dewey's experimental setting in which he tested his methods. Gutek states that, "Dewey referred to the school as a "miniature society" and as an "embryonic community" in which children learned collaboratively by working together to solve problems." Dewey was influential in employing the scientific method in his research. This experimentalism distinguished Dewey from other progressive educators. -
Plessy vs Ferguson
A landmark judicial decision that upheld the "separate but equal" ideal in education. This decision would stand for over 50 years until it was overturned by Brown vs Board of Education. One has to wonder how the racial divide might have been bridged earlier had Plessy vs Ferguson been ruled differently or been overturned prior to 1954. -
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Immigration to the United States
Not until the period between 1991 - 2000 was there a greater period of immigration in the United States. During the Progressive Movement, 8,795,386 entered the United States. This created a need for changes in education that would be able to service the growing population of those needing schooling. -
National Child Labor Committee
The mission of the NCLC has been to "promote "the rights, awareness, dignity, well-being and education of children and youth as they relate to work and working. The Committtee exposed major problems as children were increasingly used as labor sources - particularly as industrialization in the United States gained momentum. The NCLC was instrumental in ensuring children their right to education as opposed to simply serving as a function of manual laborer. -
Casa dei Bambini - The Children's House
Maria Montessori's first school, Casa dei Bambini was established in Rome. A Doctor of Medicine, Montessori blazed new ground as the only female student at the Medical School at the University of Rome. Casa dei Bambini, according to Gutek, "followed her principle that children experience "sensitive periods" during their development." The Montessori Methods was pioneered here as continued to develop as her school (and others like it) served students. -
NAACP Founded
The NAACP was instrumental in promoting equal opportunity for Blacks. It's early mission statement was to, "Promote equality of rights and to eradicate caste or race prejudice among the citizens of the United States; to advance the interest of colored citizens; to secure for them impartial suffrage; and to increase their opportunities for securing justice in the courts, education for the children, employment according to their ability and complete equality before law." -
Keating-Owen Child Labor Act
One of the first attempts to restrict child labor for children based on age and occupation. The Act also had provisions for the amount of hours that could be worked. Regulating child labor was important as more and more children, under the age of fourteen were employed as wage-earners in low income families. The Act helped emphazise the importance of schooling as opposed to simply using children as workers. -
Progressive Education Association
As educational planning and curriculum gained importance, efforts were made to bring educators together. Together, educators could collaborate, share and debate about educational concerns. Gutek states that a variety of educators like Dewey, Kilpatrick, Counts and others participated in the organization. -
Mendez vs Westminster School District
This landmark case was the first in the United States to rule in favor of desecrating schools. Interestingly, the court, in part, ruled in favor of desegregation because Mexican Americans were deemed "white." -
Brown vs Board of Education
The monumental piece of judicial action overturned Plessy vs Ferguson and ended desegratation in public school in the United States. The Court decision was unanimous and expressed the power of the federal government over individual state governments. -
The Bilingual Education Act
The BEA was instrumental in providing students, whose first language wasn't English, with appropriate instruction in order to learn English while also maintaining steady progress in school. School were incentivized to develop programs for limited English speaking students. The Act also recognized the fact that immigrants were an undeniable part of United States education. -
Swann vs Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education
An affirmation of racial integration, this case affirmed the Brown vs Board decision and offered suggestions for implementation. Clearly a difficulty, Gutek states, "The Swann decision ruled that busing was an acceptable means of achieving school desegregation and ruled that future school construction must not be used to perpetuate or reestablish segregated schools."
