Brief History of Education in America
The history of American education starts in the Colonial Period, when the vast majority of children were taught by their parents and family members the rudimentary skills needed to survive and take care of their families. By 1642 colonies were beginning to make proper education a priority and began setting up schools. Only boys were permitted to go to school, however, for it was believed that girls would assume the roles of wives and mothers and therefore could learn everything they needed to know from their mothers. By the 18th century schools were more widespread and consisted of one classroom with all ages of children (up to 14 years old) with one teacher, and requiring a tuition or rate fee; and it wasn’t until the late 18th century that larger towns in New England began opening grammar schools (later known as high schools). The grammar schools were slowly replaced by private academies or ‘prep’ schools, and by the 19th century women were able to go to their own private academies, but were still taught a different curriculum from the men. By the end of the 19th century, however, public schools began to outnumber private academies, requiring no tuition fee and operating on local funds and donations.
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Before the introduction of ‘normal schools’ in 1823 to formally train teachers, most teachers were merely educated adults with no actual knowledge of teaching skills. Schools still consisted of one classroom with varying ages of students, making it difficult for teachers to instruct all students properly. To fix this problem, Horace Mann introduced the idea of ‘common schools’, splitting up the students by age group and fitting them into ‘grades’. Also towards the end of the 19th century schools began to organize and branch out from local control, with the state and federal governments taking on larger roles. By 1918 all states made elementary school mandatory for all children and preparing students for high schools and universities became a major priority.
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With the advent of the Progressive Era, John Dewey (1859-1952), a leading educational theorist, believed that “the purpose of education was not so much the acquisition of a predetermined set of skills, but rather the realization of the student’s full potential and the ability to use those skills for the greater good. [...] To prepare him for the future life [...] to train him that he will have the full and ready use of all his capacities” (9). Dewey believed that education was necessary and instrumental for social change and reform and by the early 20th century most educators agreed that secondary and higher levels of education would “improve citizenship, develop higher-order traits, and produce the managerial and professional leadership needed for rapid economic modernization” (11).
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Preparing our youth for the future is one of the number one priorities in American education. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 lowered federal funding for schools that did not meet the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals measured by standardized tests in mathematics and language arts. At the time this policy was enacted however, the majority of states each used their own set of content standards, which roughly coincided with the national content standards, but in some cases varied widely, making the standardized test a poor measurement of knowledge, lacking both validity and reliability.
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In order to resolve this discrepancy among states, is the introduction of the Common Core Standards, expected to be fully implemented by the 2014-2015 school year. These new standards were written with a focus on preparing students for integration into a technologically advanced and globalized economy. It not only changes the curriculum, but also the methods and strategies currently being used by most educators. There is a push for more differentiated and integrated instruction, as well as more focus on technology skills and higher-order thinking skills. The transition to the new standards will not only be difficult for the educators, but for the students as well, and teachers are advised to start making the changes as soon as possible for both the students’ benefit and their own.
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