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The Pilgrims Land in America
Thanks to the Pilgrims, and later the Puritans, the idea of education in America began. When the Pilgrims landed in America, they were a people who wanted to keep their religious and cultural identities. The original schools heavily reflected those identities. When theas the purpose of education during this time was to transmit intellectual traditions as well as prepare the youth to uphold the Puritan's cultural ideal. Early schools were very secular and available to young males only. -
The "Latin School" in Boston
Latin grammar schools were created for boys ages seven and eight years of age who were children of upper class families. The first of these schools to be created was the "Latin School" in Boston, Massachusetts. Female children were excluded, and males that lived in a family that was considered anything lower upper class had only the option of town schools. The school in Boston still stands today as the nations oldest functioning school. -
Educating Native Americans
As early as the year 1650, Native American children were sharing classrooms with white children in Massachusetts town schools. This was done in an attempt to convert the young Native Americans to Christianity. However, these teachings did not hold, for the Native American elders would wash away the assimilation attempts with cultural aspects from the Native American culture. -
The Creation of Universal and Non-Secular American Education
After the colonies gained their independence from Great Britain, American leaders wanted a universal education system, to ensure that everyone in the newly liberated country would be learning the same thing. This universal curriculum shifted from being very secular and religiously based to more of the common core subjects that are present in American schools today. -
Brown v. Board of Educaiton
Taking place right in the heart of the Civil Rights era, the case of Brown v. Board of Education took place. The case ruled that American schools for blacks and whites were in fact separate, but they sure were not equal. Schools were supposed to desegregate, but schools serving white children were still closing their doors to children of black heritage.
