American education

History of Education Interactive Timeline

  • Education in the Colonial Period

    Education in the Colonial Period
    Schooling during this time period was focused mainly on religion and preparing students for future roles in society. The most important learning tool used during this time period were the horn books.
  • Jefferson's Bill for Public Education

    Jefferson's Bill for Public Education
    Most Important
    Jefferson writes up and introduces his plan for public education. He thought that if the people in America were educated even a little bit, they would make more informed decisions about his government. This is still impacting today because Jefferson got started the idea of education that was the seed for what education is today.
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  • The Blue Back Speller

    The Blue Back Speller
    Most Important
    Noah Webster created the book so that teachers would have a common school book to teach from. Webster changed the spelling to a form that is closer to what we use now and spelling words more phonetically then that British. This was important event because it changed the way we spoke and taught and used the idea to have material increase in difficulty as the child learned.
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  • Common Schools

    Common Schools
    Horace Mann is appointed to be the secretary of education and pushes for education to be funded by the government.
  • First Legal Case of Integration and Sarah Roberts

    First Legal Case of Integration and Sarah Roberts
    Sarah's father tried to enroll her in to a white school in their community and was rejected by multiple schools. He sued the schools but lost the case. This case was used in the Brown vs Board of Education.
  • Catharine Beecher

    Catharine Beecher
    Most Important
    Catharine Beecher pushed for women to become teachers and many colleges for women were founded and prepared women to teach in the west. This is important because Harriet Beecher proclaimed that teaching was a women's job and is part of the reason that the teaching industry consists mainly of women.
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  • John Dewey

    John Dewey
    Most Important
    John Dewey wrote the book School and Society and his main focus was that in education there are three themes: individualism, readiness, and pragmatism. Many of his themes and ideas are still used today in education and are mainly based that children should look with ideas, not for ideas. It's most important because we still use his ideas of education today.
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  • The Gary Plan

    The Gary Plan
    A school in Gary Indiana that was a big building that included all grades. Students moved from class to class and students were able to do many hands on and involved learning classes. Many classes were focused on industrial work and after the new mayor was elected, the school was shut down.
  • The Impact of the Civil Rights Movement

    The Impact of the Civil Rights Movement
    Civil Rights act banned all segregation acts. Government threatened schools that they would lose funding for not integrating their schools.
  • Brown vs. Board of Education

    Brown vs. Board of Education
    Most Important
    This was the case that ended segregation in schools. Oliver Brown tried to enroll his daughter in the school that was closest to their home and they directed him to a school much further for black children. The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was not equal and this is important because it completely ended segregation in schools legally.
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  • The Impact of the War on Poverty

    The Impact of the War on Poverty
    Lindon B. Johnson signed this act because he believed that an equal chance for education was an equal chance on life. L. B. Johnson had been a teacher before becoming president.
  • Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act

    Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act
    Provided a free, appropriate, public education for students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment.
  • A Nation at Risk Report

    A Nation at Risk Report
    Ronald Regan declares that American's students are preforming at a mediocre level and that we must do better as a nation to teach our students. Suggest to make school more of a competition to motivate students to do better.
  • The Standards Movement

    The Standards Movement
    State governors decided to let teachers have more flexibility when it came to teaching but the teachers would have to be more accountable for the results, which were the standardized tests. Schools began to have longer schools days and raising their standards so improve student success.
  • No Child Left Behind

    No Child Left Behind
    President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act that represents his education reform plan. The act contains the President's four basic education reform principles: stronger accountability for results, increased flexibility and local control, expanded options for parents, and an emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work.