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A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge
Thomas Jefferson was a huge proponenet of educating everyone. He introduced this bill as a means of educating everyone freely for the first 3 years of their education. After that they would be able to continue with their education if their parents could provide for it. He specifically didn't make education mandatory as he believed parents should have the final say in how their children were educated. -
Northwest Land Ordinance
Northwest Land Ordinance InfoMost Important
This ordinance, among other things provided area in each new township for schools. Up unti this point there hadn't been laws about the specific places schools would be, but this law provided that every new city or township would have a place for a school, specifically section 16 of the town. Many schools today are still in section 16 of cities and towns. -
Common Schools
Designed by Horace Mann, these schools focused on teaching the 3 R's: Reading, Writing, and aRtihmatic, as well as history and geography. These schools were open to the masses and were for the education of everyone. -
Committee of 10
This group recommended the standardization of American high school curriculum. National Education Association formed this group to help with the nonstandardization of high schools in America. They also proposed that veteran teachers practice and exemplify great teaching practices. -
Progressive Era - Most Important
Education ReformAt the beginning of the 1900s there was a great wave of immigrants into the US. Students would enroll in schools by the hundreds. New schools were formed at the rate of 1 per day. New school departments were created as schools got more complicated, hiring specialized teacher. Because of these changes, we have much of our modern k-12 school system. -
School Bells
New York Schools began use of the school bell to signify when it was time to switch classes. This helped standardize class times and keep classes more to a strict time schedule. -
John Dewey and The New School
Dewey's concept of education put a premium on meaningful activity in learning and participation in classroom democracy. He helped found The New School which was created to use the progressive philosophy of teaching. Later it was used as a refuge for professors fleeing Nazi German and Fascist Italy. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
History of Brown v. BoardMost Important.
This decision ended legal segregation in schools. It was the culmination of several years of fighting for equal rights and equal education for students of all races. Because of this decision, students everywhere in the US are able to go to school with students of different races and are not discriminated against because of their race. -
Sputnik
Eduweek Article on SputnikMost Important.
Sputnik was a the first man made satellite to orbit earth. It was Russian and spurred a huge science and math reform in American schools because we should have been first and because we wanted to be able to protect ourselves in space should the need arrive. -
National Defense Education Act
Also called NDEA was passed because of Sputnik. This act provided funding to all education institutions at all levels. It was also partly passed because of a shortage of mathematicians. It helped to fund colleges who would be shortly recieving a large increase of students. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 1965
This was passed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as part of his war on poverty. It emphasizes equal access for education and high standards and accountability. -
Individuals with Disabilites Act
Government IDEA Website
This is Most Important. Also known as IDEA, this Act was created to ensure that all students recieved a free, appropriate, public education. It was mostly designed with children with disabilites in mind to ensure that they would get the education they need. -
A Nation at Risk
This report focused on how American shcools were failing and began a rush to reform the entire American education system. This was published during President Ronal Reagan's presidency. -
Americans with Disabilites Act
ADA Government Website
Most Important. ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. It helped to make everything more accessible to those with disabilites. This is important because there are so many people who need this in order to have an equal education opportunity. -
No Child Left Behind Act
This Act proposed and signed into law by President George W. Bush was created to ensure that all students recieved proper education. It put into place standardized testing to which a school recieving federal funds must score a certain amount on or higher. If the school didn't score high enough, certain steps would be taken to ensure they improved. If no improvement was forthcoming for 5 years in a row, the entire school would be restructured including replacing all of the staff.
