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Massachusetts Law of 1642
This law ordered selectmen to determine whether parents and masters were providing a good education for their children. Any child that failed to meet his/her obligation could be apprenticed to a new master. -
Jefferson's Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge
Thomas Jefferson drafted a proposal to guarantee three years of free public education for white boys/girls. There was no education for slaves nor higher education for women. -
Webster's Blue Back Speller
Webster's dictionary gave way to the basis of education. -
Horace Mann
Horace Mann was the first secretary of the Board of Education. He visited 1,000 schools over six years. He found that schools were based on inequity. He was a crusader for public education. He established common schools in 1838. -
MOST IMPORTANT Bible Riots of 1843
Bishop John Hughes championed the cause of the separation of church and state. The Irish were persecuted for their beliefs in school textbooks. His goal was to make a system that included many religions. These riots ended up leaving 13 dead and the Catholic church burnt to the ground. This is important today because Bishop Hughes helped start the forward movement of free belief without persecution. [https://www.city-journal.org/html/how-dagger-john-saved-new-york%E2%80%99s-irish-11934.html] -
Roberts vs. Boston
All black schools were underfunded and worse than white schools at the time. Sarah Roberts' school was far from her home in Boston. Her father tried enrolling her in closer white-only schools. When none of these schools would accept her because of her race, her father wrote to the state legislature. The supreme court eventually heard her case. Chief Justice, Lemuel Shaw, ruled against their case. Five years later, a law was passed abolishing segregation in schools in Massachusetts. -
The West Developing
There were lots of children out west on the frontier that needed education. Katherine Beecher championed the cause for women to become teachers and that teaching was a woman's moral calling. By 1890, there was more schooling to children than any country on earth. -
School Bells
Henry Ford's assembly lines incorporated bells to keep things in a timely fashion. This lead to school bells in 1903 in NYC. -
Progressive Education Association
The Progressive Education Association (PEA) gave an organized voice to the Progressive Reform Movement. They published a journal titled "Progressive Education" which was devoted to the concept of creative self-expression. -
MOST IMPORTANT Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka
The case of Brown vs. the Board of Education fought for the rights of all children, no matter their race, to have equal education. Thurgood Marshall and other members of the NAACP fought to end segregation. Supreme Court justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. Because of this extremely critical case, we have integrated schools today.
[https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka] -
MOST IMPORTANT Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned discrimination in all federally funded programs, notably public schools. State-run schools could lose their funding if they refused to desegregate their schools. This law was first proposed by JFK, but officially signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This act affected the entire country. It made a huge impact on education. This is the real reason why we don't have segregation today. [https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-act] -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
This act provided $4 billion to aid disadvantaged students in its first four years. -
MOST IMPORTANT Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act
Before 1975, 1 in 5 kids with disabilities were schooled. When they were, accommodations weren't even made. The All Handicapped Children Act later renamed IDEA, helped provide free public education in the least restrictive environment. Because of this act, accommodations are made for every student who needs them. [https://sites.ed.gov/idea/] -
A Nation at Risk
This report, from President Ronald Reagan, basically said that we weren't preparing our youth for adulthood and American education was being undermined by mediocrity. -
MOST IMPORTANT No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act "supported standards-based education reform based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals could improve individual outcomes in education" [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act]. Students were assessed in basic skills at set school levels. This act still applies today because it helped lead to the Every Student Succeeds Act. It's important to make sure that kids are on their proper learning level.
