History of American Schooling and Reform

Kamila BohacovaGoddard College Fall 2013

Timeline of American Schooling

Colonial Period 1620-1780

Early Republic Era 1780-1820

Common School Era 1820-1870

Industrial Era 1870-1940

Progressive Era- 1890-1920

Post World War II Era 1945-1980

Multicultural/Pluralistic Era 1970-present

Educational Reforms1950-present

Colonial Period1620-1780

Primary education of upper class children included reading, writing, simple math, poems and prayers.

Teachers were primarily white, middle class and educated as well as being of high moral character

The three most common books were the Bible, New England Primer and a hornbook

The “Dame” School- preschool

An early form of education in the American colonies was apprenticeship

The 1st School

Boston Latin School was founded in 1635

First public school

Education consisted of traditional English methods of family, church, community and apprenticeship

Girls were not considered for these schools

Purpose of school was to help boys get into Harvard College(est. 1636)

Early National Era1780-1840

Benjamin Franklin believed that science could solve the problems of human life

English Grammar School had a curriculum that illustrated scientific and practical skills

Education was now controlled by the state as opposed to the government

Thomas Jefferson believed that only through education can a democratic society emerge

Noah Webster- America’s greatest lexicographer, with mastery of twenty languages, developed a speller “Blue-backed Speller”

The Common School Era

1820-1870Meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions

Schools were free and open to all white children

Funded by local taxes and overseen by elected local school board

Taught by one teacher in a one room schoolhouse

Children learned reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography

Horace Mann “Father of the Common School Movement” (1796-1859) – first secretary of Massachusetts state board of education

McGuffey reader was the most common text book

Established only in the North(Puritan) States, the South(Anglican) States did not have a tradition of public education

Industrial Era1870-1950

Creation of larger schools

More urbanization

New teaching methods brought upon by the interest in psychology

Age-graded classrooms

Industrialization

Standardized curriculum

o Teacher Centered Classroom

o Learning theories based on John Locke’s philosophy

o John Dewey- challenged current thinking on how children learn

Progressive Era 1890-1920

Reform and modernize the school at the local level

Passing compulsory schooling laws

Integration of community service and service learning projects into the daily curriculum

Jane Addams and the Founding of Hull House

Development of manual training

“child centered”, “social reconstructionist”

Importance of emotional, artistic and creative aspects of human development

John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Pestalozzi, John Dewey, Maria Montessori

Post World War II Era1945-1980

Higher education experienced a boom as Congress passed the GI Bill providing subsidies for returning veterans to attend college (over 10 million veterans took advantage of this opportunity)

Bigger schools were built to accommodate the growing number of school-age children

1950’s marked the beginning of the end of school segregation- Brown vs. Board of Education

Programs such as Head Start, Job Corps, subsidized school lunches and Title One appeared

Multicultural Education 1970’s

• Emerged as part of the nation’s growing concern for racism and civil rights

• To help students know and value the diverse traditions that enrich and dignify the nation’s heritage

• To engage students in learning and maintaining their own heritage and language

• Two-way bilingual programs• Multicultural education seeks to create equal educational

opportunities for all students, including those from different racial, ethnic, and social-class groups

• Cooperative teaching rather than competitive teaching• Value and support cross-racial interactions

What is Educational Reform?

A demand with the goal of improving education

Education reform is tied with the spread of Compulsory Education

Economic growth and the spread of democracy have increased the importance of all children and adults having equal access to high quality and effective education

Major Reform Efforts

o A Nation At Risk 1983

o Goals 2000

o No Child Left Behind Act 2001

Recovery Act-2010

Race to the Top-2010

Educate to Innovate-2010

Reform arising from the Civil Rights Era 1950-

1970Ending racial segregation

Desegregation

Affirmative action

Banning of school prayer

The launch of Russian’s Sputnik satellite in 1957 generated significant federal funding directed toward increased science and mathematics curricula in schools

Reform efforts in the 1980’s

A Nation at Risk by President Ronald Reagan put a spotlight on federal and state government pushing for higher standards and more impressive academic results

The alternatives included: charter schools, progressive schools, Montessori schools, Waldorf schools, or homeschool.

E. D. Hirsch- advocated for “cultural literacy” – the facts, phrases and text that were essential to every American

Goals 2000- an effort by the federal government to set standards for American education to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population

No Child Left Behind Act 2001

Requires all public schools receiving federal funding to administer a state wide standardized test annually to all students

Attempt to reduce the minority-majority achievement gap

Requires states to provide highly qualified teachers

Increased accountability for schools and teachers

Reduces instruction time in subjects such as art, music, history & language to provide more time for mathematics and English

Quote

“The No Child Left Behind Act sets a clear objective for American Education. Every child in every school must be performing at grade level in the basic subjects that are the key to all learning, reading and math. This ambitious goal is the most fundamental duty of every school, and it must, and it will be fulfilled”

-President George W. Bush, June 10, 2002

Recovery Act 2010President Obama and the administration provided a total of $100 billion toward education:

$53.6 billion in aid to local school districts to prevent layoffs & cutbacks

$15.6 billion to increase Pell Grants

$13 billion for low-income public schoolchildren

$12.2 billion for special education

$2.1 billion for Head Start

$2 billion for childcare services

$650 million for educational technology

$300 million for increased teacher salaries

$250 million for states to analyze student performance

$200 million to support working college students

$70 million for the education of homeless children

Race to the Top 2010Introduced by President Obama, drawn up by the Bill & Melinda Gates, Walton Family, Boeing and other foundations

Prompted 48 states to adopt the Common Core Standards

Federally funded

Consists of four federally mandated “solutions”- school transformations, school turnarounds, school restarts, and school closures.

Educate to Innovate 2010

Promote excellence in science, technology, engineering, and math education aka “STEM” education

“Reaffirming and strengthening America’s role as the world’s engine of scientific discovery and technological innovation is essential to meeting the challenges of this century”- President Obama

My Thoughts On Reform

Educational reform is inevitable as we continue to diversify and grow. The new reform I am hoping to seeing in the twenty-first century is a shift toward a more democratic, multicultural and pluralistic society which is integrated into the school.

Technology is becoming a major vehicle in educational reform as it allows access to virtually any inquiry in an instant.

The implementation of the Common Core Standards were necessary in order to guide teachers in content, but I disagree with the high degree

of accountability the teacher is responsible for when students are not performing up to the standards.

The No Child Left Behind Act had great intentions but has demoralized many teachers. Instead of teaching what they are passionate about,

they are teaching test-taking strategies. Another problem with NCLP is that the children tested come from a wide variety of abilities and backgrounds yet still take the same test. This gives a disadvantage to non native born and speaking children as well as those with disabilities.

Works Cited

Oakes, J., & Lipton, M. (2007). Teaching To Change The World. New York: McGraw- Hill

Cuban, L. (2003). Why Is It So Hard To Get Good Schools? New York: Teachers College, Columbia University

Kohn, A. (1999). The Schools Our Children Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional Classrooms and ‘Tougher Standards’. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.