Chapter 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0PRB4YsXn4

Freedom Writer: desegregation

Education in the United States

Its Historical Roots
Try to change the world, and the world changes you; change
yourself, and the world around you changes.
Chapter Objectives
 How European roots influenced American
education
 Issues involved in the role of religion in
American education
 Historical roots of free public education for
all students
 How schools historically responded to
different minority groups
 The role of the federal government in
education
 The 13 Colonies
The roots of the American Educational System
Differences ……in the Colonies
 In the Middle Colonies
 Since religious freedom was the
major reason for coming to
America, religion played a central
role in their daily lives.
 In the Southern Colonies:
 Hire a tutor
 Plantation Owners

 Miles between plantation

Puritan Ideals of the New England
 Religion influenced curriculum
and instruction

 Education helped people

follow God’s commandments
and resist the devil’s
temptations.

 Play is idleness: “Idle minds

are the Devil’s workshop”
Old Deluder Satan Act
 It required every town of 50 or
more households to hire a
teacher of reading and writing.
 (townschool- Twin Falls School District)
 Landscape issue
 Men as teachers
 Citizen s who understood the Bible

 Scripture literate Citizens who

would thwart Satan’s trickery.
The Colonial Legacy
 The colonial period shaped American
education in at least three ways.
 First, poor Whites, females, and minorities such
as Native Americans and African Americans
were excluded from schools.

 Second, seeds were planted for the public

support (taxes) for education (the Old Deluder
Satan Act) and local control (town) of
schools during this period.

 Third, The Colonial period helps us understand

why religion continues to be an important
factor in education.
 Separation of Church and State

√ Should prayer be allowed in schools?

√ Should federal money be used to provide
instruction in religious schools?
√ What role should religion play in character and
sex education?

Current Religious
Controversies from the
Colonial Period
The Colonial Legacy
 Should prayer be allowed in schools?
 More recently the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled that student-led prayers at Texas
football games were unconstitutional,
violating the principle of separation of
church and state.
 Should Federal Dollars provide
instruction in religious schools?
 Federal funding => laws & national goals
 NCLB: accountability for basic skills
The Colonial Legacy
 What role should religion play in
character education?
 Character education ?

 In colonial times, religion and

character education were
synonymous.
1. How to Listen
2. How to apologize
3. Asking for help
4. Asking a question
The Early National Period (1775-1820)
 The U.S. shaped its future
through the Constitution and Bill
of Rights.
 1) Separate Church and State
was established
 2) Gave control to the states
(Idaho)…public ed.
 3) Land Ordinance of 1785…
not the federal government
Redefining American Education:
Religion and the Schools
Because of the religious diversity that
existed in the colonies,
the framers of the Constitution
refused to create a national
religion,
such as existed in England, the country
they defeated in the Revolutionary War
Prohibiting government from establishing,
financing, or regulating religion.
 National System of Education
NCLB Act
 The Tenth Amendment
 said that areas not assigned to the
federal government would be the
responsibility of each state.
 First, it implicitly removed the

federal government from a central

role in running and operating
schools, and
 Second, it passed this

responsibility on to the individual

states.
 NATIONAL TESTING

**
Land Ordinance of 1785
 This ordinance laid out the
land in 6-mile square
townships of 36 sections
each and reserved one of
these sections for the
support of public
education…….taxes
 This legacy remains today.
 T.F. District: separated by
boundaries: …..(Perrine school)
A Summary of Historical Periods in
American Education
Age of The Common (Man) School Movement
(1820-1865) Rise of state support for Public School
 Horace Mann: lawyer; educator; key
figure movement.

 Improving the quality of life for all

people by allowing all to be
educated…ladies! Minorities!

 “public education,” in the form of

tax-supported elementary schools
(common schools), should be a right
of all citizens.
“Public” and local control
 State education departments
were created and state
superintendents of instruction
were appointed.

 Schools were organized by grade

level, and the curriculum was
standardized.

 Teacher preparation was improved.

Normal Schools
 Prepare prospective teachers
 Targeted women
 Content and pedagogical
training
 School quality also improved with
graded levels
 eliminating congested conditions
 overlapping curricula often found
in one-room schools
 Group children by age
 The Legacy of Common School
funding inequality
 Avg. per-pupil expenditures
 $4,769 in Utah to
 10,725 in New York.
 Whereas inequitably exist:
 (ex) Poorest districts in Illinois
spent $4,330 per pupil.
 Wealthiest spent $7,249.

 State, Local, & Federal

The Legacy (tax supported)
A) funding inequalities are a major
concern
B) Teacher quality is a second
contentious issue.
 The question of what constitutes
a well-educated and qualified
teacher remains controversial.

 State, Local, & Federally funded

 Quiz: Participation Points
1. What is a “Normal” school as referred to in your
textbook?
2. How has the Constitution and Bill of Rights contributed
to our school philosophy?
3. What does the “Age of the Common Man” refer to?

4. Discuss one fact from The Colonial Period

5. Discuss one fact from The Early National Period

6. Discuss one fact from The Common School Movement

A Summary of Historical Periods in
American Education
Period Significant Features Issues That Remain Today

The Colonial Period •**Education reserved for wealthy •Whether or not prayer should be
1607-1775 males. allowed in schools.
•**Seeds planted for public support of •Tax support for religious schools.
education. •The relationship between
•**Religion at the core of education. religion and character education.

The Early National •The principle of separation of church and •The role of the federal
Period state established. government in education.
•Control of education removed from the
1775-1820 •National testing of all
federal government and given to the states.
•Education viewed as crucial for furthering
students.
the national interest. •A national curriculum.

The Common School •Access to tax-supported education for all •***Inequities in funding
Movement established. among school districts.
1820-1865 •Grade levels introduced in elementary •****Teacher quality and
schools. alternative routes to teacher
•Normal schools created for the certification.
preparation of teachers.
©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc.
 Redefining High School
Comprehensive

Driver’s training, nutrition & cooking, wood working

 The Evolution of the American High
School
1635 1751 1821 1892
1913
Latin Grammar Franklin’s English Classical Committee of Ten Commission on the
School Academy School Reorganization of
Secondary Education

Prepared men for Eliminated Focused on needs Created

Created Cardinal
ministry and law religion, focused of boys not standards and
methods for high Principles of
on practical attending college Education,
needs: math, school including applied
science, goals
navigation in health, civic
education, and
others

©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Early Historical Roots
1)The Latin Grammar School
 Colonial, American high school
 college preparatory: ministry & law
2) Benjamin Franklin Academy
eliminated religion
focused on the practical needs;
both girls and boys;
menu of courses;
partially public supported.
Early Historical Roots
3) English Classical School (1821)
 free secondary school
 to meet the needs of boys not planning to attend college.
 Practical: English, Math, Sc., History, Geography
 Changed name to…..

4) English High School (1824)

 curriculum included:
 English, math, history, science, geography,
 bookkeeping, and surveying.
 Similar to Ben Franklin’s Academy
 Taxpayers did not want to pay
 Majority took college prep
Redefining the High School Dilemma
1) Faculty psychology, a view of learning
suggesting that mental discipline and
exercising powers of the mind are
important.
2) Large numbers of non-English-speaking
immigrants and a growing lower class
threatened to create division in American
society.
3) Goals; Comprehensive; Tracks for
diversity
4) Junior High and High School Division
based on subjects not age

Problems with intellectual and cultural diversity

 The Progressive Era
Improve Instruction in Math & Science
 Critics:
 Stated curriculum was watered down,
 devoid of content and intellectual rigor
 amplified by the Russian launching of the
satellite Sputnik in 1957

 Two important educational questions remain

unanswered:
 What content is most valuable, and
 How should that content be taught?
 NCLB Act supported girls in math & Science
 The Education of Cultural
Minorities -Assimilation
 Educational Movement:
 “The first thing to do was to clean them [Native
Americans] thoroughly and to dress them in
their new [military] attire…[then] everything
except swallowing, walking, and sleeping had
to be taught.”
 Native American education:
 Assimilation
 attempted to bring different minorities into
the mainstream of American life
 by teaching the three R’s and instilling
White, middle-class values and morals.
The Education of Minorities
 Plessy v. Ferguson Law:
 “Separate is equal”, which resulted in
 separate schools with
 different curricula,
 teaching methods,
 teachers, and
 resources, …”but educated”

 Adopted, particularly for African American

students.
Hispanic American Education
 Largest & Fastest growing group
 17 % of the migrant work force
 school attendance suffered because of work
 which lead to transience
 Dropouts

 Effective strategies for teaching include

multicultural education
 Language differences
 National and Social Change
Cold War
 Russian launching of the satellite Sputnik in
1957
 we were losing the technology war
 Improve the security of the nation
 by improving instruction in math, science, and
foreign language.
 National Defense Act
 Provided funds for teacher training, new
equipment, and the establishment of centers for
research and dissemination of new teaching
methods.
 Called education “our first line of defense.”
 “War on Poverty”
Federal Compensatory Education
 Increase federal funds:

 Support Exceptionalities
 Head Start: (1964)
 3- and 4- year-old disadvantaged students
enter school ready to learn.
 Title I: (Programs & Schools)
 is a program targeting low-income students in
elementary and secondary schools.
 TEACH GRANTS
 The Civil Rights Movement
“Separate but Equal”
 Brown v. the Board of Edu. of Topeka
 “…separate educational facilities are
inherently unequal and that
 racially segregated schools generated “a
feeling of inferiority.”
 Desegregation and integration:
 Seating charts, access, cultural learning
 Magnet Schools
 Federal Governments Role in
Equity for Women
 Gender equity Title IX in 1972
 The purpose of this federal legislation
was to eliminate gender bias in the
schools.

 “No person in the U.S. shall, on the

basis of sex, be excluded from
participation in, be denied benefits of,
or be subjected to discrimination under
any education program or activity
receiving federal financial assistance.”
 Major Provisions of the Goals 2000
Act before NCLB Act
-All children in America will start school ready to learn.

-The high school graduation rate will increase to 90 percent.

-Students will master challenging subject matter in all disciplines.

-The nation’s teaching force will have access to high-quality professional

development.

-American students will be first in the world in math and science.

-All adult Americans will possess the skills to compete in a global economy.

-Schools will be safe places to learn.

-Parental participation will increase.

©2005 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Today: NCLB Accountability
 http://www.ed.gov/nclb/accountability/results/t
rends/index.html
 Achievement
 Gap
 Graduation
 College Readiness
 College Completion
 Cooperative groups of four
discuss:
1) Progressive Era
2) Plessy vs Ferguson
3) The impact of Sputnik
4) Brown vs Board of Education
5) Federal Compensatory Programs
6) Title IX Discrimination
 “Everyone writes” prep for test.
Quiz
1. What was the Plessy vs Ferguson Law about?
2. What was the Brown Board of Education case all
about?
3. What is head start designed for?
4. Explain Title 1?
5. Explain Title IX?