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Northwest Land Ordinance
The Land Ordinance of 1785 was created to encourage the movement west of U.S. citizens and by it's very wording encouraged education: "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." -
The Impact of Jefferson, Rush, & Webster (Most Important #1)
Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Rush sought for increase in public education, and Noah Webster wrote a primer for schools. These three men sought to encourage the public into becoming educated, feeling that an education was the key to success not just personally but as a Nation. This set the tone for U.S. views on public education to this day.
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Common School
Beginning in New England as community funded education for the community's children. In the mid to late 1800s efforts were made to standardize not just education for students but for teachers as well. These schools were made from the efforts of Horace Mann and Henry Barnard. -
Horace Mann (Most Important #2)
Horace Mann was the first Secretary of the Board of Education of Massachusetts. This was a new position and the first of its kind in the U.S. Horace Mann's position and what he did with it (helping to establish Common Schools) setting off a trend for state involvement in education and making education universal and free, something we still have today. Link -
The Committee of Ten
The Committee of Ten was formed to iron out a standard of education for the country to follow, their recommendation was twelve years of education were recommended, with eight years of elementary education followed by four years of high school. The committee was explicitly asked to address tracking, or course differentiation based upon post secondary pursuit. -
Population Growth and Immigration in the 19th century
The great influx of Immigrants in the 1800's fractured the educational landscape as the wide swath of languages caused the immigrants to teach their children together in their native tongues and based upon their cultural values. This came into conflict in the early 1900s when standardization started to be established and English and American values enforced. -
John Dewey & the Gary Model
Dewey believed that students should interact with their environment and schooling to get hands on experience. In Gary, IN his model was used to success. -
The Progressive Reform Movement
A movement in the early 1900s to reform schools and education. It saw an expansion in the number of schools and student attendance and by 1940, 50% of young adults had earned a high school diploma. -
World War II and the G.I. Bill (Most Important #3)
The G.I. bill was created as compensation for returning veterans of World War II and included such things as low-cost mortgages, low-interest loans to start a business, cash payments of tuition and living expenses to attend university, high school or vocational education, as well as one year of unemployment compensation. Many returning veterans attended college and received a degree, altering forever the educational landscape of the U.S. Link -
Brown vs. Board of Education (Most Important #4)
This Supreme Court Ruling made segregation illegal nationwide (it had already been illegal in a number of states). This ruling helped to get the Civil Rights Movement momentum and helped to get racial minorities equal access to an education and equalizing our society through today. Link -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 1965
This Act gave the Brown vs. the Board of Education ruling teeth by threatening to defund the schools unless they complied. The schools in the Southern States were forced to comply and the South was finally integrated. This also set up a precedent of making such threats to force change (as we've seen in the recent debate over the use of locker room and bathroom use by transgenders). -
Title IX
An Educational Act stating that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." Controversial in it's implementation through today. -
Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act
An act designed to make schools more accessible for those with both physical and mental disabilities. Originally named the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA), it was retitled the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1990. -
A Nation at Risk Report (Most Important #5)
A report commissioned by President Reagan's National Commission on Excellence in Education, this report altered the view of American schools through today. Public opinion on schools, viewed in the early decades of the 1900's as the pride of the U.S., were forever changed; now viewed as being in a constant state of decline (despite steady test scores). The report kicked off a series of reforms and issues that still rages on to this day. Link -
School Choice Movement
Starting in the mid-80's as an outgrowth of the educational reforms taking place, the idea that what was needed to get schools to improve was, effectively, a business model or competition. This began the school choice movement. The idea was that if public schools weren't performing up to the parents expectations they'd have the option to send their child to a different school (such as a magnet, or charter school).
