History of Education

The Blue Back Primer [MOST IMPORTANT]

1783

Noah Webster created America's first dictionary in the Blue Back Primer, a school children's guide to American language. In this book he broke down words by rhymes and syllables so they were easy for children and illiterate Americans to pronounce and learn. This primer made him the first rich author of American and is widely the reason many people in that time period learned to read.

Horace Mann

1837

Horace Mann was the first secretary of education in Colonial America. He rode his horse around every district and took copious notes on the condition of each school. After his investigation, he proposed a complete renovation of the school system. Schools needed better maintenance and supplies and better funding. Mann's accounts of school conditions helped to bring about school reform for the first time in American history.

Common Schools

1838

The idea to create a school where all children, regardless of social stature, could learn together, was proposed by Horace Mann, the first Secretary of Education. Mann suggested that school should be funded by the government rather than the wealthy families so that all children could have an opportunity to learn. This new idea would eliminate the class system, and was immediately opposed by the wealthy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Mann

Immigration

1840

By 1840 nearly half of New York residents were immigrants. This influx of new religions brought about educational turmoil and eventually reform. Since most schools in America at the time were Protestant, children were taught hatred towards other religions, especially the Irish Catholics who were immigrants. Not wanting to be treated in such dehumanizing ways, the Catholics started their own schools and eventually created the Catholic school system that still exists today!

Sarah Roberts [MOST IMPORTANT]

1849

African Americans were segregated into separate schools, meaning they often had to travel far from home to get an education. The African American schools were also poorly funded and lacked materials and often had issues with safety. Sarah Roberts was just 5 years old when her father petitioned for her to be able to attend a local "white" school that would offer a better all-around education.. The petition was not granted, but in 1855 segregation was outlawed in Massachusetts.

Rise of female teachers [MOST IMPORTANT]

1852

Catharine Beecher was an integral part in bringing female teachers to the forefront of American education. She saw teaching as a calling for women, who she claimed were more nurturing and apt to provide the gentle guidance a child needed. Men hired women as teachers because they were cheaper to hire. In any case, women became educated as teachers and swept across the nation in search of jobs and the opportunity to change society.
http://www.azquotes.com/author/1129-Catharine_Beecher

Post Civil War Education

1870

The end to slavery meant that African Americans could now seek an education, and they did! No matter what age, African American families filled their school houses and read everything they could get their hands on!
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/reconstruction/section2/section2_school.html

John Dewey [MOST IMPORTANT]

1899

John Dewey, a philosopher, wrote "The School and Society", a book that changed the way that Americans thought about teaching. Rather than a lecture based classroom where children memorized and recited lines and words, Dewey proposed that children learned better by work, study and play. By teaching in this way, the focus was on the development of the child. This way of thinking began to radically change everything from the set up of the classroom to the segregation of children of differing ages.

Emerson school and "The Gary Plan"

1909

Adopting the idea of "work, study and play" proposed by Dewey, Gary Indiana opened a school catering to the interests of the children. The school features a gym, pool and even a zoo! Children learned through hands-on activities, field trips and exercises. The motto "Make every working man a scholar, and every scholar a working man" motivated education that was based around home economics. Students learned to sew and cook and take care of animals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerson_High_School

The Progressive Reform Movement

1910

By 1910 more than 2 million children were part of the working class, and only 50% attended school, and of those that attended the average amount of time spent in school was only five years. The progressive reform movement brought about child labor laws, and a surge of children going back to school.

Civil Rights

1964

The civil rights movement was led by educated African Americans who understood the value of instilling their children with the idea that they could be anything they wanted to be. African American teachers were more trained and more qualified than white teachers, and saw the "big picture" of education in America; to help students learn what they CAN do instead of focusing on what they can't.
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement

End of segregation [MOST IMPORTANT]

1964

In 1954, fueled by the civil rights movement, 13 African American families attempted to enroll their children in all-white schools. When their enrollment was denied, the families sued the city and took their case all the way to the supreme court. In the historic case "Brown vs. Board of Education", desegregation was won, and on May 17th 1964, every school in America became open to all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_v._Board_of_Education

Lyndon B. Johnson

1964

Lyndon B. Johnson, a former school teacher himself, knew the struggles of rural American children in getting a good education. As president he instigated the Headstart Program, created a student loan program for college students, and outsmarted the racist south by gathering more funding for schools that complied with desegregation. Johnson attacked poverty head on, created jobs and the community action program for underprivileged citizens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson

Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act [MOST IMPORTANT]

1975

Prior to 1975, only about 5% of children with disabilities received any sort of education at all. With the passing of the disabilities act, all students were grated equal access to education, and a focus on accessibility. Schools began to focus on better training for teachers, and provide protection through the law to parents and children with disabilities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuals_with_Disabilities_Education_Act

Standardized Testing

1980

After the release of "A Nation at Risk", schools began to implements longer hours, more homework, and regular standardized tests. The motivation was the raise academic achievement, but standardized tests don't measure a students potential for learning and is therefore NOT an effective way to measure intelligence.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/Why-Standardized-Tests-Don't-Measure-Educational-Quality.aspx