-
Jane Addams and the Hull House
Founded Hull House in Chicago’s poor, industrial west side, the first settlement house in the United States. The goal was for educated women to share all kinds of knowledge, from basic skills to arts and literature with poorer people in the neighborhood. She was instrumental in successfully lobbying for the establishment of a juvenile court system, better urban sanitation and factory laws, protective labor legislation for women, and more playgrounds and kindergartens throughout Chicago. -
The Social Meliorists
The work of Lester Frank Ward, led to the creation of the fourth reform-minded movement, the Social Meliorists. While the group did not have the influence of the Social Efficiency or Developmentalist movements, the view that schools can be a major force of social change and can raise generations ready and able to deal with social ills has taken root, especially during the civil rights movement. -
A Need for Change
As we moved into the 20th century, education in America was dominated by the mental disciplinarians, a group who advocated that the mind is a muscle and if we worked it through drill, practice, discipline, and recitation, it would go stronger. The content, Greek, Latin, and mathematics. As school enrollment rose dramatically and new technologically advanced jobs demanded a better prepared worker, education needed to change -
Period: to
John Dewey's School
John Dewey, the preeminent educational philosopher of the 20th century, opens his school with the idea that we lead children from their present interests to intellectual command of the modern world through a broad curriculum where skills are learned in the context that man learned and used them in. He felt that much was lost when subjects are taught in absence of this context, unfortunately this is where we still are today. -
The Developmentalists
G. Stanley Hall was the key figure among the Developmentalists, who believe that the natural order of development in a child should be the basis in determining what should be taught. In 1904, he disagrees with the findings of the Committee of Ten on 3 major points—1) Not all students should be taught alike, 2) College prep education is not for everyone, and 3) Not all subjects are equally valuable. This sets the stage in the future for differentiation, even though Hall wanted to sort students -
The Douglas Commission
The Douglas Commission of Massachusetts saw the need for better education in vocations due in part to the decline of the apprenticeship system. Here we see the beginnings of vocational education, a very successful and needed option of our educational system -
Change in Social Studies
With the push for more utilitarian courses in school, Thomas Jesse Jones, working at the Hampton Institute, changes social studies instruction to address socially desirable habits and ideas. While we have returned to more of a history centered social studies curriculum, the focus on creating citizens who will be able to succeed in today’s world is still in most school mission statements and is usually addressed through the social studies curriculum. -
Founding of NAACP
The NAACP or National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was established in 1909 and is America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. It was formed in New York City by white and black activists, partially in response to the ongoing violence against African Americans around the country. -
First Junior High School
n order to improve high school graduation rates, the Columbus Ohio School Board authorizes the creation of junior high schools. Indianola Junior High School opens that fall and becomes the first junior high school in the U.S. -
Creation of Junior High
Creation of the Junior High in Berkley, CA. The idea behind this came from the blending of Social Efficiency and Developmentalist ideas. From the developmentalists we see the need to keep pre-adolescents away from post-adolescents due to the differences in their development. From the Social Efficiency school, the idea that young men and women use this time to determine their future course in high school -
The Social Efficiency Movement
Joseph Mayer Rice, a leader of the Social Efficiency movement, proposes that educational reform will begin with clearly defined goals and the ability to create a measurement tool to determine if we have met this goal. Again, we see influence that we still feel today. Clear standards and the ability to clearly define and measure them are a hallmark of modern American Education. -
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
The American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students, their families and our communities. We are committed to advancing these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work our members do -
Federal Funding
With the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act, vocational education became a federally funded initiative. A big victory for Social Efficiency, it was the most success movement of the 20th century and is still a major piece of education in America today. With the arrival of federal funding, the door is open for the government to champion their own causes through available funds -
WWI and Education
As the U.S. enters W.W.I the army has no means of screening the intellectual ability of its recruits. Robert Yerkes, then President of the American Psychological Association and an army officer, becomes Chairman of the Committee on Psychological Examination of Recruits. He and his team of psychologists design the Army Alpha and Beta tests. Though these tests have little impact on the war, they lay the groundwork for future standardized tests. -
Progressive Education Association
The Progressive Education Association is founded with the goal of reforming American education.The Progressive Education Association was a group dedicated to the spread of progressive education in American public schools from 1919 to 1955. The group focused on pedagogy in elementary schools through the twenties -
Bobbit and Curriculum Making
John Franklin Bobbitt another leader of the Social Efficiency group, writes that the first step in curriculum making is determining the desired results. None of the other 3 reform movements thought to take this step, which we may take for granted today and consider it obvious -
Period: to
Statewide Adoption of Curriculm
Curriculum adoption on a statewide scale. Whether or not you agree with such large scale adoption, this movement influences curriculum to this day -
Virginia Curriculum Program
The Virginia Curriculum Program invited the states teachers to come and work on curriculum revisions, most came. The outcome was what closely resembles modern core curriculum and incorporated the scope and sequence chart. -
Public Schools in Great Depression
The effects of the Great Depression on schools began in 1932, prompting budget cutbacks that led to reductions in school hours, increased class sizes, lower teacher salaries, and school closings. Schools and districts had to be creative in saving funds; some got rid of cafeterias, cut courses like music, foreign language, and sports programs, or stopped providing school supplies to students. -
Period: to
Core Curriculum
The term ‘Core’ curriculum comes into common use. While the incarnation of the 40’s does not resemble what we think of today, (it was still heavily influenced by the Social Efficiency and Developmentalists), the organizational piece is still with us -
WWII
The U.S. enters World War II after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor on December 7. During the next four years, much of the country's resources go to the war effort. Education is put on the back burner as many young men quit school to enlist; schools are faced with personnel problems as teachers and other employees enlist, are drafted, or leave to work in defense plants; school construction is put on hold. -
Sputnik
The Launch of Sputnik. This single event brought an end to the deliberation of the last 50 years. We were now in a technological struggle with the enemy and schools were needed to do their part. Academics were all important again to the joy of the Humanists, especially science and math -
National Defense Education Act
After the passage of the National Defense Education Act, the federal government takes a larger role in what is being taught in American schools, not through direct decree, but through funding. Through the funding the purpose was to improve American schools and to promote post-secondary education.
