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John Amos Comenius
One of the first contributors to early childhood education. Wrote the first children's picture book; he believed that children were shaped in their early years and they need to be educated through the senses. -
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John Locke
John Locke was an English philosopher and physician who believed in Tabula Rasa, or, the mind is a blank slate. He contributed several published essays and letters through the later part of his life; these works have inspired the ideals for education through out history and even still, in present day. -
Orbis Pictus Published
John Comenius publishes the first children's picture book. John Amos Comenius, an Czech educator wrote the first children's picture book, titled "Orbis Sensualium Pictus. This early literary work is essentially an encyclopedia, which is illustrated and written in a manner that strives to reach children's level of understanding. The first edition to be translated to english was published in 1659. A multitude of translations and editions were published until the 1780's. -
The Essay Concerning Human Understanding
A publication written by John Locke which suggests a theory, that humans learn and develop through sensory experiences. Through those experiences we, as individuals, are shaped and gain an identity. This theory led into the basis of a universal education system for children ages 3 and 4; education in the formative years lays a foundation for the rest of a child's life. -
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Johann Pestalozzi
Johann Pestalozzi was a Swiss educational reformer who believed that kids (and people in general) should be taught based off of what they already know. His method of expanding on our basic building blocks is widely accepted, especially in elementary education. He embraced object learning in order to teach counting, measuring and other skills. Another facet he encouraged was children as individuals and made appropriaitons based on abilities and interests. -
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Friedrich Froebel
Froebel was the founder of the first Kindergarten. In Kindergarten, it was identified that children need an early education, with an organized curriculum. The tools and processes created by Froebel have shaped much of what Kindergarten and Preschool is today. -
Publication of "How Gertrude Teaches Her Children"
Johann Pestalozzi can be given credit for this publication, a series of letters which contain information on his pedagogy, or, theories and practices pertaining to education. These theories, ranging from academic education to physical and religeous educations, were broken down into a psychology, which when read, could teach anyone how to help develop children. This was especially important to parents; essentially it was the first recognized self-help book for raising your kids. -
First Kindergarten Established
Friedrich Froebel founded the first Kindergarten, or garden of children, in 1817, but it became the more organized entity, that we recognize today, in 1837. Froebel indentified that fact that women, namely mothers, are the most natural "teachers of humanity". Due to this realization, women suddenly had a career option, besides their place in the home. In addition to an organized curriculum, "gifts" or objects that encouraged activity, occupation and learning were utilized in the classroom. -
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Maria Montessori
Montessori was the first woman in Italy to recieve her medical degree, which gave her a unique perspective on early education. After being surrounded by medicine and doctors, she developed the belief that physical and mental handicaps could be addressed through education, and not just medicine. She founded a school based off of her unique approaches to curriculum and circumstance. -
Establishment of Casa dei Bambini
Maria Montessori created the Casa dei Bambini, or Children's House, to accomplish her passion of teaching those who were physically or mentally handicapped. Despite her predecessors beliefs that children should be embraced as individuals, Maria was really among the first special education teachers. The values of her school were widely accepted and now Montessori schools are in over 110 countries with thousands of locations. -
The National Association of Education for Young Children
The NAEYC was created to benefit childcare as a profession and establish standards and ethics pertaining to such. Today, the NAEYC is still at the forefront of early education standards and is continuously reworking its views, ideals and principals to best serve children, parents, families and faculty. -
National Defense Education Act
The NDEA was signed by President Eisenhower in response to the Sputnik launch of 1957. With this global race to space, American began to focus on the idea that "the best defense is a good (educational) offense". This set an educational standard for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as foreign language. There is great federal funding for STEM programs, as these subjects are considered valuable to the future of America. -
The Equal Education Opportunity Act
The EEOA was an expansion on the ideas brought about by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act essentially states that all people shall recieve an unbiased education free of discrimination; namely, descrimination of gender, race, color or nationality. In addition to students, this refers to faculty and staff as well. -
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
This act (IDEA) was signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990. The act was renamed and reauthorized from its originator, the Education of all Handicapped Children Act. It's ideals are some of the most important in the educational field, on the basis that regardless of mental or physical handicap, a child will still recieve an equal education. Since its renaming in 1990, it's be reauthorized in 1997, 2004 and is still in effect today.
