Johnsen 1

Tina Johnsen

EDU202

Professor Christensen

October 9, 2016

1600s

Education in the 1600s was based mainly on religion; school was meant to save souls.

All education, including reading, writing and moral development was based on the Bible.

Early colonial education began in the home, taught by parents and grandparents.

Eventually, some women began to devote their time to specialized teaching and Dame Schools

were established. Apprenticeships followed, the girls typically learned homemaking skills,

whereas the boys learned a skilled craft. The less desirable apprenticeships were left to the poor

and the boys that afford education would go on to grammar school.

*1635 - The first Latin Grammar School opened in Boston.

*1636 Harvard College opened to prepare ministers to teach at Latin Grammar Schools

Wealth was key to education, if a family was poor, they could publically admit it by

signing a Paupers Oath. By announcing their poverty, the community would make basic

education available to them. In colonial times, not only the poor were denied education; black,

Native Americans and even girls were denied equal educational opportunities.

As the years passed, the home tutoring, dame schools, and miscellaneous apprenticeships

made for a patchwork of varied education. To ensure that students were being taught properly

(and basically be able to read scriptures), The Massachusetts Law of 1647 was passed. It required

towns of a certain size to provide education to its children.

*1647 - The Massachusetts Law of 1647, also known as the Old Deluder Satan Law, was passed.
 Johnsen 2

*1690 - The New England Primer was first published, becoming the only text used through the

next century.

1700s

In the early 1700s, the education in the Northern and Southern colonies varied. The

Southern colonies fell behind and began to establish a system responsive to the plantation

society. Wealthy plantation owners started to use tutors to teach proper entertaining and even

slave management. In fact, many states passed laws prohibiting the education of slaves.

*1740 South Carolina denies education to blacks.

As the eighteenth century continued, education began to change. With leaders like

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, American education was reconstructed to meet

broader, nonsectarian goals.

*1749 Benjamin Franklin wrote Proposals Relating to the Youth of Pennsylvania.

No matter the North or South, public opinion wanted education free of religious

influence. The Latin Grammar School was replaced with the academy. White students, girls or

boys, who could afford tuition, were offered instruction in practical subjects. Their ability to

choose courses and replacement of the New England Primer lead the way for the new skills

needed in the New World.

*1751 The Franklin Academy was opened, eventually to be the University of Pennsylvania.

*1783 Noah Websters American Spelling Book replaced the New England Primer as the most

common textbook.

The governments involvement in educating American children continued to show with

the encouragement of establishing schools and the means for education.

*1785, 1787 Land Ordinance Act and Northwest Ordinance were passed.
 Johnsen 3

1800s

The nineteenth century saw the American approach to education emerge. As more

common people, including immigrants, farmers, and laborers, became more involved in the

democratic process, the commitment to educating all (white) Americans, rich or poor, took

shape.

Horace Mann became a leading advocate for schools being open to all. Common schools

(public elementary schools) as well as secondary schools (public high schools) became available

to all social classes. The importance of the secondary school was to fill in the gaps of education

between grammar school and university.

*1821 First public high school opens in Boston.

*1827 Massachusetts requires public high schools.

*1837 Horace Mann becomes secretary of board of education in Massachusetts.

With most public schools being paid for by taxes and overseen by a board, Mann fought

to better the schools. Building improvements were made, new and better schools were built and

effective teacher training became a priority. Normal Schools were established, these were

schools to prepare teachers in the best ways to teach children.

*1839 First public normal school opens in Massachusetts.

*1855 First kindergarten in United States

Government involvement continued in the 1800s with the Morrill Land Grant College

Act. Again encouraging the importance of secondary education with the use of public land for

colleges. Several court cases continued the influence that the government had on education, the

legalization of tax dollars for public high schools and specifically the Plessy v. Ferguson decision

that supported racially segregated schools.

 Johnsen 4

*1862 Morrill Land Grant College Act

*1874 Kalamazoo case, legalizing taxes for high schools

*1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision

1900s

Schools in the early 1900s tried to balance the needs of a more sophisticated and

industrialized society, while instilling moral values. Educational Reform became a theme for

much of the twentieth century.

*1919 Progressive education movement began, as promoted by John Dewey.

*1932 New Deal education programming

Although the constitution left education to the states, the government continued to find

ways to influence education. With targeted funding, the federal government was able to create

new colleges, promote specific industry research and programming, and provide schooling to

minority groups. Throughout the 1900s, minority groups fought for equal educational rights.

Many changes, rulings, and laws were put in place in regards to the many ethnic groups that

made up our diverse school community.

*1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision outlawed racial segregation in schools.

*1957,1958 Sputnik and National Defense Education Act increase federal education funds for

science, math, and foreign language programs.

Not only did the government attempt to make sure that all racial groups, as well as

women, be educated equally, they also made strides in other needed areas. Funding for low-

income districts, school and job readiness programs, and equality in education opportunities

regardless of disability.

*1964, 1965 Job Corps and Head Start programs are funded.
 Johnsen 5

*1972 Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in schools.

*1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act is passed.

The biggest change the 20th century saw was the broad reach of the federal government to

control schools through specific funding and eventually accountability.

*1979 Department of Education is established at cabinet-level.

*1990 Government begins promoting educational goals, standards, and testing.

2000s

As the twenty-first century begins, the schools, students, and parents are feeling the

federal governments hold. With an increased demand for accountability, testing and standards

have become a central focus.

*2001 No Child Left Behind Act was passed.

Due to the unbalanced results and repercussions of many of these standards, there has

been a new surge of charter schools, open enrollment and other reorganization within many

districts and states.

With the modification of No Child Left Behind Act and diminished legal pressures

regarding race, the states have regained some control over their schools. Whether returning the

power to the states is good or bad, our education system has already overcome many hurdles in

making a meaningful education available to all.

*2011 Federal government modifies No Child Left Behind, allowing individual states greater

freedom in student and teacher evaluations.

 Johnsen 6

References

Sadker, David Miller, and Karen Zittleman. Teachers, Schools, and Society. New York: McGraw-

Hill Education, 2016. Print.