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1772 - Late 18th Century
From colonial times and into the early decades of the 19th century, most teachers were men. Especially in smaller schools, the people who stood in front of the classroom might well be farmers, surveyors, and innkeepers. -
1820 - 1830
Reformers like Horace Mann had to make schools more democratic, universal, and non-sectarian. -
1840 - Feminization Begins
The reformers argued that women were by nature nurturing and maternal, as well as high moral character -
1850 - 1880: Women experience in the classrooms
With as many as 60 children in one rural schoolhouse, women were excited to have the opportunity to teach in the classrooms even though it was such little pay for them. -
1857 - Unions
The NEA was founded in 1857 as a policy-making organization, one that hoped to influence the national debate about schools and schooling -
1962 - Port Royal Experience
The Port Royal Experiment was an early attempt to prepare newly freed slaves for full democratic participation -
1968 - Hampton Institute
Hampton Institute in Virginia began as an agricultural college and Normal school for newly freed slaves -
1890 - Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Many observers, including the teacher Elaine Goodale Eastman, were convinced that the Sioux had no intention to wage war -
1890 - 1910: Women Teacher's rebellion
By the 20th century, nearly 75% of America's teachers were women -
1910 - 1930: Progressivism
Though it took time, Women teachers were largely successful. They gained better pay, pensions and tenure. They became principals of grammar schools and superintendents in smaller districts -
1930 - 1960: Relative Calm
After 1930, teachers went about their work with less public agitation -
1954 - Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
The 1954 Brown suit, brought by parents in Topeka, Kansas, argued that segregated schools were unequal -
1960 - 1980: Teachers, Social Equality, and Professionalism
There were many upheavals in which schools across the country were directly involved. Teachers became more militant, battling for civil rights, community control of schools anti-poverty programs etc -
1971 - Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg County Board of Education
The Supreme Court stated that all schools within a given district didn't have to reflect the district's racial make-up -
1990 - Present
Teachers are discouraged by the public perception of schools but they remain inspired and challenged by their students, which is what makes staying in the classroom worthwhile