HISTORICAL EDUCATION TIMELINE 1

Historical Education Timeline

Arian Ruby May Smith

College of Southern Nevada

Dr. Ce Isbell

Monday, March 27, 2017

EDU 201 – Intro to Elementary Education

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1600s

Parochial Schools (1600s) – Based on religious belief; small farmers did not receive education.

Main purpose was to promote religion and to prepare their children to attend colleges and

universities in Europe

Dame Schools (1620s)– Usually held in kitchens – children learned the very basics of reading,

writing, and arithmetic. Females (only one that could go to) were taught sewing and basic

homemaking skills as well.

Horn Book (1600s) – Was a copy of the alphabet covered by sheet made out of a cow’s horn.

Reading and Writing Schools (1620s)– Only boys received an education beyond that of their

parents and dame schools. Based on the bible.

Latin Grammar School (1636) – Based on classical schools of Europe; boys ages 7-8 began to

prepare to enter Harvard College. Greek and Latin were principal studies within these schools.

Massachusetts Act of 1642 – Prior to this act, parents could decide if their children would be

educated or not. The Massachusetts act of 1642 took this decision out of the parents hands and

into the states.

Massachusetts Act of 1647 – Often referred to as Old Deluder Satan Act. This act required that

a town of 50 households or more were to appoint a person to teach children. The act also

required that towns with over 100 households had to establish a Latin grammar schools. If a

town did not meet this; they were fined five pounds.

Primer (1690) – Reading lessons at reading and writing schools were based on the bible, various

religious catechisms, and the New England Primer; introduced children to letters with the use of

wood cuts and couplets.

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1700s

Academies (1700s) – Early secondary schools with a more practical curriculum than grammar

schools from the 1600s – for example Benjamin Franklin’s Academy/ Philadelphia Academy

(1751). The schools focused on English language rather than Latin and were funded by the

public therefore they were public schools.

Sarah Pierce’s Female Academy (1700s) – a school specifically for woman to learn practical

knowledge and skills rather than the classics. These schools made way for female seminaries

later which focused on training women for higher education.

Education for African and Native Americans (1770)– Anthony Benezet founded the best-

known schools for African Americans in Philadelphia. Before these schools, African Americans,

Native Americans, and Mexican Americans received education/training from missionaries or

none at all.

Noah Webster’s Speller (1783)– created the first books focused on students learning the

rudiments of language, religion, morals, and domestic economy. These were fashioned for

younger students.

1800s

Common Schools (1821)– common schools are stated supported schools not privately funded.

Horace Mann was the most effective spokespersons for common schools.

Normal School (1839) – Mann put forth a proposal that teachers needed more than a high school

education to teach. Thus, normal schools opened which the curriculum consisted of general

knowledge courses plus courses in pedagogy (or teaching) and practice teaching in a model

school affiliated with the normal school.

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McGuffey Readers (1836-1860)– Stories by Reverend William Holmes McGuffey ranged from

first grade to sixth grade and emphasized virtues such as hard work, honesty, truth, charity, and

obedience.

Kindergarten (1837) – “Garden where children should grow.” Kindergartens stressed motor

development and self-activity of children before they began formal education at elementary

level.

Morrill Land-Grant Act (1862)– provided federal land for states either to sell or to rent in order

to raise funds for the establishment of colleges of agriculture and mechanical arts.

Freedmen’s Bureau (1869)– Congress established the freedmen bureau to provide the

foundations for education to former slaves.

Committee of Ten (1892-1893) – The directors of National Education Association appropriated

$2,500 for a committee of ten to hold nine conferences that focused on these subjects in the high

school curriculum: Latin, Greek, English, other modern languages, mathematics,

physics/astronomy/chemistry, natural history (biology, botany, and zoology), history/civil

government/political science, and geography (physical geography, geology, and meteorology).

Committee of Fifteen (1893-1895) – Created to examine the elementary curriculum; the

curriculum was to be organized around grammar, literature, arithmetic, geography, and history

1900s

Scientific management (1856-1915) – Undertook reforms based on management principles and

techniques from businesses. So, they used top-down management techniques within schools and

factories.
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Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education (1913) – Called for high school

curriculum to accommodate individual’s differences in scholastic ability. Focus on health,

command of fundamental processes, worthy home membership, vocation, citizenship, worthy

use of leisure time, and ethical character.

Montessori method (1915) – Montessori teachers use prescribed sets of materials and physical

exercis3e to develop students’ knowledge and skills. Created by Maria Montessori.

Progressive movement (1919) – The progressive movement was intent on social reform to

improve the quality of American life.

Progressivism (1920s) – philosophical orientation based on the belief that life is evolving in a

positive direction; education should be focused on the children’s interests and practical needs.

Lanham Act (1941)– Provided funding for the training of workers in war plants and the

construction of schools in areas where military personnel and workers on federal projected

resided, and the provision of child care for the children of working parents.

G.I. Bill of Rights (1944) – Provided millions of veterans with payments for tuition, room, and

board at colleges and universities and at special schools.

National Defense Education Act of 1958 - The government appropriated millions of dollars

over the next decade for educational reforms. The U.S. Office of Education sponsored research

and innovation in science, mathematics, modern foreign languages, and guidance.

Desegregation (1954)– Supreme Court rejected the “separate but equal” doctrine which saw the

beginning of school desegregation’s

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, (1954) – Supreme court rejected the separate but

equal doctrine which saw that desegregation started; a year after the court case the court ordered

that desegregation proceed with all deliberate speed.

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Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965) – This allocated federal funds on the basis

of the number of poor children in school districts

Accountability (1970s)– Parents during this time (1970s) believed they could teach their

children better than what was taught at school; so, children who stayed in public school

demanded that teachers to be responsible – this meant that teachers had limited instructional

flexibility and extended paperwork.

Back-to-basics (1970s) – A movement that begun in the mid-1970s to establish the basic skills

of reading, writing, speaking, and computation as the core of the school curriculum.

Title IX (1975) – Took effect in 1975 which stated that “No person in the United States shall, on

the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to

discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142) (1975)– This act extended

greater educational opportunities to children with disabilities. It is often referred to as the

mainstreaming law.

Educational reform movement (1980s)– A comprehensive effort made during the 1980-1990s

to improve schools and the preparation of teachers.

Paideia Proposal (1982) – Mortimer Adler (1982) called for a perennialist core curriculum

based on the Great Books.

High School: A Report on Secondary Education in America (1983) – Written by Ernest

Boyer, suggested strengthening the academic core curriculum in high schools which was widely

adopted.

2000- present
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No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 – President George W. Bush signed this act into law;

mandates state wide testing in reading and mathematics each year for grades 3-8 and holds

schools accountable.

No Child Left Behind (2010) – President Barack Obama proposed changes to the No Child Left

Behind act in 2010.

Race to the Top (2010)– President Obama implemented the race to the top program which

provides funding to states that have developed innovative reforms to increase student

achievement, close achievement gaps, improve high school graduation rates, and to ensure that

students are prepared for success in college and careers.

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Court Cases

 Ohman v. Board of Education, 1950 (230) – Teacher, whose class is usually in good

behavior, should not be expected to know her students will injury others when teacher is

out of room momentarily.

 West v. Board of Education of City of New York, 1959 (229) – Teacher could not have

anticipated that paper bag student was asked to pick up would contain glass and injure

student.

 Engel v. Vitale, 1962 (249) -Recitation of prayer said in the presence of a teacher at the

beginning of each school day was unconstitutional and violated the First Amendment.

 School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, 1963 (249) – Ruled bible reading and

reciting the Lord’s Prayer in school was unconstitutional.

 Alvin Independent School District v. Cooper, 1966 (244) – Students who are married,

pregnant, or parents may be provided separate classes or alternative schools. However,

the district may not require students to attend these.

 Epperson v. Arkansas, 1968 (250) – Court overturned the state’s anti-evolution statutes

because a state may not deny students access to scientific information because of

religious convictions.

 Morrison v. State Board of Education, 1969 (220) – Court decided that the teacher’s

homosexual conduct was not an impairment to the teacher’s performance.

 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 1969 (237) – Wore black

armbands to protest the Vietnam War – freedom of expression

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 Sullivan v. Houston Independent School district, 1969 (237) – Allowed students to

publish literature that 3was critical of teachers, administrators, and other school

personnel.

 Zucker v. Panitz, 1969 (237) – The right of high school students to place in the school

newspaper an advertisement against the war of Vietnam.

 Scoville v. Board of Education of Joliet Township High School District 204, 1970-1971

(237) – Upheld the right of students to publish literature that was critical of teachers,

administrators, and other school personnel.

 Lemon v. Kurtzman, 1971 (249) – Determine whether a state has violated the separation

of church and state principles; the lemon test.

 Mailloux v. Kiley, 1971 (226) – Academic freedom; teacher wrote taboo word but due to

academic freedom was not fired by school.

 Fagen v. Summers, 1972 (229) – Teacher cannot be negligence; where the time between

an act of student and injury to a fellow student is so short that the teacher couldn’t

prevent injury.

 Wisconsin v. Yoder, 1972 (250) -Court decision exempted Amish children from

mandatory school attendance beyond the eighth grade if the Amish provided a structed

vocational training program for their children.

 Holt v. Sheldon, 1972 (244) - Ruled that students who are married, pregnant, or parents

(and a divorced student) could participate in extracurricular activities.

 Davis v. Meek, 1972 (244) - Ruled that students who are married, pregnant, or parents

(and a divorced student) could participate in extracurricular activities.

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 Shanley v. Northeast Independent School District, 1972 (237) – Students right to

distribute information on birth control and on laws regarding marijuana.

 Moran v. School District No.7, 1972 (244) - Ruled that students who are married,

pregnant, or parents (and a divorced student) could participate in extracurricular

activities.

 Romans v. Crenshaw, 1972 (244) - Ruled that students who are married, pregnant, or

parents (and a divorced student) could participate in extracurricular activities.

 Karr v. Schmidt, 1972 (238) – Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black did not believe;

“The federal Constitution imposed on the United States Courts the burden of supervising

the length of hair that public school students should wear.”

 Station v. Travelers Insurance Co., 1974 (228) – Court ruled that the teacher did not

provide adequate supervision while the students were exposed to dangerous conditions.

 Burton v. Cascade School District Union High School No.5, 1975 (223) – Teacher was

unfairly dismissed due to him being homosexual

 Goss v. Lopez, 1975 (240) – Court ruled that the students had a legal right to an

education, and that this “property right” could be removed only through the application of

procedural due process.

 Peter Doe v. San Francisco Unified School District, 1976 (230) - Court ruled that the

school was not responsible for Peter’s lack of achievement and made it clear that to do so

would be to set a precedent with potentially drastic consequences; educational

malpractice.

 Hortonville Joint School District No.1 v. Hortonville Education Association, 1976 (224)
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 Gaylord v. Tacoma School District No. 10, 1977 (223) – Upheld a dismissal of a teacher

whose sexual orientation was the target of parents’ complaints and students’ comments.

 Doe v. Renfrow, 1980, 1981 (242) – Court found that strip searches of the students were

unreasonable – use of dogs and holding students in homerooms were acceptable.

 Simonetti v. School District of Philadelphia, 1982 (230)

 Marcus v. Rowley, 1983 (233) – “Use the copyrighted material in a reasonable manner

without [the copyright holder’s] consent.”

 Mueller v. Allen, 1983 (250) - Court upheld Minnesota’s tax deductions for expenses

incurred while sending children to secular elementary or secondary schools.

 New Jersey v. T.L.O, 1985 (240) – Court ruled that the search was reasonable. Developed

the two-pronged test of reasonableness for searches.

 Wallace v. Jaffree, 1985 (250) -Court invalidated Alabama’s school-sponsored moment of

silence in Mobile, Alabama.

 Unified School District No. 241 v. Swanson, 1986 (222) – When school authorities have

assigned teachers to additional duties not reasonably related to their teaching.

 Edwards v. Aguillard, 1987 (225) – Ruled that “balanced treatment” laws were

unconstitutional; balancing creationism and evolution.

 Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile Country, 1987 (226) – 44 history,

social studies, and home economic texts used in public schools encouraged immortality,

underminded parental authority, and imbued with the humanist faith.

 Patchogue-Medford Congress of Teachers v. Board of Education of Patchogue-Medford

Union Free School District, 1987 (243) – Drug testing of teachers violates the Fourth

Amendment;s prohibition of unreasonable searches.

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 Mozert v. Hawkins Country Board of Education, 1987-1988 (226) – A group of

Tennessee parents objected to “secular humanist” materials used by their children’s

teachers.

 Burch v. Barker, 1987-1988 (238) – Court ruled that Bad Astra was not “within the

purview of school’s exercise of reasonable editorial control.”

 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhmeier, 1988 (237) – Gave public school officials

considerable authority to censor school-sponsored student publications.

 Krizek v. Cicero-Stickney Township High School District No.201, 1989 (226)

 Schaill v. Tippecanoe School Corp, 1988 (242) – Students were randomly selected for a

drug test (athletes) – students who were positive were suspended from sports; no

disciplinary or academic penalties.

 Ray v. School District of DeSoto County, 1987 (244) – Judge prevented a Florida school

district from requiring that three hemophiliac brothers who were exposed to HIV/AIDS

through transfusions be restricted to homebound instruction.

 Stone v. Graham, 1990 (250) -Court ruled that a kentucky law mandating the posting of

the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms was designed to advance a

particular faith, thus violating the First Amendment’s establishment of religion clause.

 Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens, 1990 (250) – Court

upheld the legality of the Equal Access Act (1984), which allowed student religious

groups to meet in public secondary schools during non-instructional time.

 Franklin v. Gwinnett Country Public Schools, 1992 (246) – Found school district liable

because district administrators knew that a teacher had repeatedly sexually abused a

student and took no steps to stop the harassment.

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 Null v. Board of Education, 1993 (251) – Making children ineligible for homeschooling

if their standardized test scores fell below the 40th percentile.

 Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District, 1993 (250) – Court ruled that parochial

school sign-language interpreters paid with public funds did not violate the First

Amendment.

 State v. Rivera, 1993 (251) – Mandatory homeschooling reports to the state;

homeschoolers in that state must submit courses outlines and weekly lesson plans etc.

 Alfonso v. Fernandez, 1993 (244) – Court ruled that the program was a “health issues”

and that the district could not dispense condoms without prior parental approval.

 Jeglin v. San Jacinto Unified School District, 1993 (239) – A school’s dress code

prohibiting the wearing of clothing with writing, pictures, or insignias. College athletic

teams was challenged on the grounds that it violated student’s freedom of expression.

 Dubuclet v. Home Insurance Company, 1995 (222) – Court maintained that he had

commited the act and the expunging the record did not erase the teachers conduct.

 Acton v. Vernonia School District, 1995 (242) – Stated that a school district’s desire to

reduce drug use justified the degree of intrusion required by random tests of student

athletes’ urine.

 Picarella v. Terrizzi, 1995 (232) – Required teachers and administrators to determine if

there was a “reason to believe” that a student had been abused.

 Curtis v. School Committee of Falmouth, 1995 (249) – “Parents have no right to tailor

public school programs to meet their individual religious or moral preferences”

 Curtis v. School Committee of Falmouth, 1995-1996 (244) – Court declined to review a

high court ruling that upheld a school board’s decision to place condom machines in high
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school restrooms and allow junior/senior students to request condoms from the school

nurse.

 Murray v. Pittsburgh Board of Public Education, 1996 (225) – Upheld the school board

policy against Learnball; teacher cited academic freedom as to why it should be in the

classroom.

 Brown v. Hot, Sexy and Safer Productions, Inc., 1996 (249) Ruling in support of a

schoolwide assembly on hiv/aids “do not encompass a broad-based right to restrict the

flow of information in public schools.”

 Battles v. Anne Arundel County Board of Education, 1996 (251) – State monitoring of

homeschooling was upheld despite a parent’s claim that the state’s curriculum promoted

atheism, paganism, and evolution.

 Agostini v. Felton, 1997 (250) -Decision overturned the Aguilar v. Felton ruling that

prohibited public school employees from providing remedial instruction in sectarian’s

institutions.

 Brunelle v. Lynn Public Schools, 1998 (251) -Court ruled that home visits by a local

superintendent were not a valid requirement for approval by school officials of a

homeschooling program.

 Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 1998 (247) -Ruled that school district

was not liable for damages resulting from teacher-to-student harassment unless a school

has evidence.

 Swanson v. Guthrie Independent School District No. 1, 1998 (251) – Courts show that

they have not been sympathetic to homeschoolers who would like to have their children

participate in extracurricular activities or other after school activities.

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 Lipsman v. New York City Board of Education, 1999 (239) – Ruled against a parent who

challenged New York City’s school uniform policy for pre-K through eighth-grade

students.

 Falvo v. Owasso Independent School District, 2000 (243) – Ruled that the practice of

peer grading viplated students’ privacy because grades are entered into teachers’

gradebooks and thus fit the definition of educational records.

 Mitchell v. Helms, 2000 (250) – Court allowed the use of government funds to provide

instructional materials to religious schools.

 Santa Fe Independent School District v. Jane Doe, 2000 (250) – Court ruled that a Texas

school district’s policy of allowing voluntary student-initiated and -led invocations before

football games violated the establishment clause of the first amendment.

 Good News Club v. Milford Central School, 2001 (250) – Court ruled that a public

school could not deny a Christian group from meeting in the school after hours; if a

district allows community groups to use the school it cannot deny use to religious groups

 Owasso Independent School District v. Falvo, 2002 (243) -Ruled 9-0 that the privacy law

was not intended to protect grades on a day-to-day classroom assignments and that

students could grade one another’s work.

 Flores v. Morgan Hill Unified School District, 2003 (246) – Many students claimed their

school did not respond adequately to a seven-year period of anti-homosexual harassment

they endured.

 Yap v. Oceanside Union Free School District, 2004 (246) – A student was verbally

harassed due to ancestry and race. – not liable.

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 Harry A. v. Duncan, 2005 (246) – Student aides videotaped the girls’ locker room and

bathrooms over a two year period. – not liable.

 Mohammed exrel. Mohammed v. School District of Philadelphia, 2005 (246) – A student

received a punch intended for another student. – not liable.

 Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, 2005 (249) -Struck down a attempt by Dover,

Pennsylvania School Board to insert the teaching of intelligent design in the classroom.

 J.C. v. Beverly Hills Unified School District, 2009 (247) – J.C was suspended as he

uploaded a video of several students disparaging C.C. Ruled freedom of expression.