The Colonial Period
 

The Colonial Period falls loosely between 1642 and 1776.  It is the 200 years of history of this country that occurred before the separation from England and before the writing of the Constitution. Schools were patterned after all the colonists knew -- English schooling.  The Latin Grammar School was the order of the day.

In the South there was no public education.  Until the end of the 18th Century educational decisions were left to the families.  The wealthy had tutors on their plantations.  There were private, and parochial, boarding schools predominantly for boys.  However, young ladies often went to finishing schools where they learned social graces and enough reading, writing, and computing to manage a household. Education was for the landed, the wealthy.

In the Middle colonies there were some public schools.  There were also private schools, often operated by the various religious groups that were permitted in this area, e.g., Quakers, Catholics.  Most children went to work as soon as they were big enough to do so.  The middle colonies were so diverse that education became the Americanizing, socializing, agent for this area.  It provided the opportunity for students to learn a common language and common ideals.

Educational history during this period of time is focused on the New England area, Massachusetts in particular where education was closely tied to the religious groups that populated the area.  A major component of the Protestant Reformation was the “priesthood of the believer.”  Therefore, the Puritans believed that every Christian had to be able to read the Bible for themselves, as well as public notices, and be able to write and compute so that they could make a living and be financially responsible and independent. 

Both boys and girls attended classes to learn to read, write and spell. They met in the churches, or meeting houses.  Every family was responsible for their children's learning.  Every town of 100 or more families had to have a Latin teacher. This was codified in theOld Deluder Satan Act, the law which was based on the concept that an educated person could think reasonably, be godly, and avoid being seduced by old Satan. Wealthier families sent their sons on to school if it appeared they were capable of going to college.  The first college in the area was Harvard.  The only reason one went to  college was to become a minister, a lawyer, or a doctor. 

The emphasis is still on reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Religious faith insisted on the development of manners and morals.  This idea was based on the concept that children were born into the world in a state of sinfulness.  Play was idleness and idleness is the devil's workshop.  The place of the moral development of children in the curriculum of schools, although not as overt as in the early days, is still an important part of the hidden curriculum.  Teachers were to apply control and discipline.  All knowledge was in the mind of the teacher and students were to learn rotely.

The Puritans believed  that each person was responsible both for themselves and for the general welfare of the community.  That meant they minded their own business, but they also tended to the business of the community by attending church weekly, voting when it was appropriate, and attending public meetings. Reading was important, basic literacy was important; because it took a literate society to maintain a democracy.

It was in New England that the first public schools began.  Massachusetts was the first colony to require that every town of 100 or more families had to have a Latin teacher.  The South was slow to develop a system of public schools and still lags behind today in many ways.

Those who managed to obtain a college education became the leaders, the landowners and merchants, in the area, because they had the education to make choices in their lives.

Reading, writing, and arithmetic -- that's still the focus.  Teachers know it 
all -- students are like empty vessels to be filled -- still an assumption by many.  The principle purpose of education is socialization -- still somewhat believed.  A democracy depends upon  an educated citizenry that can make decisions and think for themselves -- still a grandiose ideal.

The National Period (circa 1776-1870)

Thomas Jefferson said that "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never shall be."  This was the time of the passage of the Northwest Ordinance which was the first federal law to mandate financing for public education.

During this period the focus was on subjects that would assist in the building of the nation.  So subjects like geography, surveying, engineering, accounting, and business were added to the curriculum.  It was also a time when America no longer liked to pattern itself after Europe.  So Noah Webster wrote the first "American" dictionary in which he "Americanized" English words.  Honour, for example, became honor.  It was also a time when the American culture was developed. 

American artists began to develop a unique genre, American architecture became a worthy, and unique design.  American literature became more than essays and speeches, but novels and poetry, as well.  The first books on American history were written.

As the nation began to develop, and schooling along with it,  multiple ideas 
of what schooling should be evolved. Benjamin Rush believed that education should be functional, should be used to improve the condition of man.  He wanted there to be a free elementary school in every town (as had been in New England in the colonial era).  That came into existence nation-wide via the Northwest Ordinance.

Rush also thought there should be "academics" at county, or regional, levels to provide further education, principally for boys. He also purposed that there should be free colleges and universities for all future leaders.  His  reasoning was that a good education would reduce taxes on the masses.  A more productive and well-managed workforce would result, along with a healthy entrepreneur class, which would mean that more people would be paying taxes.  Individuals, then, would have to pay less.

Even though Jefferson believed education was the backbone of a democracy, he thought that free schooling should be only through sixth grade.  Beyond that, a child should earn the privilege to be educated. Those who attended advanced academies would be taught by teachers in the morning and then would be used to teach the younger children in the afternoon.  In the rural areas, there were to be country-day schools.  The very smartest students would attend William and Mary -- the only university in the area  until Jefferson built the University of Virginia.

Along with the formation of the nation came the First Amendment.  Although religion, in some fashion, would continue to dominate schooling for many years to come, as it had done so throughout European history, the Bible was no longer the textbook.  Children were still expected to learn how to behave.  Enter William McGuffey and his reading series.  They combine the virtues of Protestant faith with those of rural America -- patriotism, heroism, hard work, diligence, and virtuous living.  The tone of the books was moral, religious, capitalistic, and pro American, i.e., America is the best.

The unexpected consequences of the popularity of McGuffey's readers was to establish, de facto, the grading system we know today, i.e., first grade, second grade, etc.

Mid-century, Congress made an extraordinary decision concerning higher education in the United States.  The Morrill Act of 1862 established the Land Grant university system. 

On July 2, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law what is generally referred to as the Land Grant Act. The new piece of legislation introduced by U.S. Representative Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont granted to each state 30,000 acres of public land for each Senator and Representative under apportionment based on the 1860 census. Proceeds from the sale of these lands were to be invested in a perpetual endowment fund which would provide support for colleges of agriculture and mechanical arts in each of the states. This act was reinforced in a second version passed in 1890

Also alive during this period of time was Henrich Pestalozzi.  It was his ideas that influenced Horace Mann, among others. Horace Mann became the first state superintendent of education, after a highly successful career as a politician, including terms in Congress.  One of his primary goals was public high schools.  This was very controversial, but the first one did come into existence during his service in Massachusetts.

Even though none of these ideas were adopted totally during this period of time, they laid the groundwork for some basic concepts.  First, education was to be for everyone in American.  They proposed universal education for the masses of children and youth. A main focus was socialization, to Americanize the masses. 

The role of "moral development" as a part of schooling was assured.  Instead of the focus being religion, it was manners that were important.  Second, the concept that education would be free to the masses, even post secondary was solidified. Third, the way we educate should be adapted to the age level of students and the methodology used should be appropriately chosen.  Classical education, i.e., education based on the European tradition, became  the domain of the elite.  The education of the masses became practical.

Pestilozzi's ideas were alive and well.  Educators were just beginning to develop their ideas about what education in American would be.  The idea of child-centered curriculum was catching on.  Another idea that was secure by this time was that a classical education was, perhaps, not all it was cut out to be.

That idea was fostered by the research of Thorndike.  Prior to his studies, it was believed that every one needed to learn Latin because there was something about the process that trained the mind.  Without conquering Latin, one's ability to learn was limited.  Thorndike's studies compared students who learned Latin with those who did not, and guess what?  There was no difference.  This spawned a whole new way of thinking about how people learn and who could learn.

For the first time in our history, educators from across the country decided they would sit down and talk to one another about what they were doing.  In short, they needed to get their act together.  The first national meeting was in 1892.  It was the Committee of Ten, ten college professors, who came together to decide what high schools should teach.  Colleges had no way of knowing what students knew when they applied for college.  The purpose of this meeting was to reach agreement on what courses every high school student should take to be accepted into college. 

This led to a tracked curriculum.  The best track was the college prep one.  The curriculum was dominated by academics.  If one did not fit this description, they dropped out of school.

In 1917, the U. S. government made its first entry into the public school arena in the passage of an omnibus bill that included a provision for vocational and agricultural training.  The Smith-Lever and Smith-Hughes Act put into every high school across the nation large amounts of money to provide instruction in vocational and agricultural areas.  Schools suddenly had elaborate home economics programs that taught girls how to run a home and similar programs that taught boys how to build things and farm the land.  The reason that this is a milestone in our history is that it is the first time the federal government became involved in local schooling.  These acts supported 4H Clubs and employed teachers year round.  In addition, cooperative extension agents were put into placethroughout the country, predominately in farming regions, to assist those who had not received an education.  These acts had the greatest impact on the south and the farming belt in the middle region of the U.S.

In 1918, a second critical meeting took place at the national level.  The meeting, the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education, is usually referred to as the Cardinal Principles. These stressed the whole child.  For the first time what children needed to know was framed in broad terms and addressed the education of all children.  Instead of specific courses, like geography, Latin, or English, the curriculum of high school were to be built around seven "cardinal principles." They include health, command of fundamental processes, worthy home membership, vocation, citizenship, worthy use of leisure time and ethical character.

With the infusion of a new wave of immigrants, schools, more than ever, took over the role of socialization, i.e., making Americans out of these foreigners." Patriotism and citizenship were all important.  It was also the first time there had been a nation-wide effort to reach some agreement on what constituted the curriculum of schools, especially high school units.  Elementary schools became less formal, and more child-centered.  With
the need to provide workers for the factories, the vocational programs began their growth.

The turn of the century brought much change to the nation.  The Industrial Revolution provided plenty of jobs.  For the first time children could stay in school longer.  In addition, young people needed to know more to work in the new age of industrialism.  Junior highs were all the rage.  Students graduated in elaborate ceremonies before going to work in the factories.  For the first time, educators looked upon young adolescents as a special group.

The era is commonly referred to as "progressive" regardless of the venue in which it is being discussed because everything was changing.  This was when the secret ballot was mandated and when Senators were to be elected by the population instead of being appointed.  The role of women was changing drastically.  New appliances and gadgets, including the automobile, were changing every day life. One of the "inventions," was credit, which some believe led, in 1929, to the Depression.

During the Depression, school saw the highest attendance ever.  For many young people the free meal they got at school was all they got to eat each day. Parents believed that education was the key to their students avoiding the predicament in which they found themselves.

In the late 40's one of the most famous educational studies was done by Ralph Tyler.  Dr. Tyler lived into his 90's.  He is most famous for his ideas that supported the involvement of teachers in the planning of curriculum.  He got 100 high schools to agree to participate and most of the major colleges in the nation. He believed that teachers could design engaging curriculum around broad themes and that these lessons did not need to be based on specific content.  The colleges, of course, wanted proof, since they were not going to get a transcript with Carnegie units listed.  To please the college recruiters, he invented a test.  The Scholastic Achievement Test is this kind of test.

The students were followed through four years of high school and four years of college.  Therefore, it was called the Eight-Year Study.  There was no significant difference between students in Tyler's study and those who went through traditional studies.

Unfortunately, the results of the study came out in the early 40's, and the nation had its mind on other things.  Students needed to learn everything they could because their intelligence was going to be needed to win the war.  Electives entered the curriculum, e.g., foreign languages, music, physical education.

What is left from this era in today's schools?
 

The idea that the general masses of people might make it in college and in the professions, including women became a reasonable idea.  Testing became the measure of what one knows, of whether or not one went into a profession or on to an advanced degree.  Conant began the Educational Testing Service, the firm than presently markets PRAXIS.  The SAT, along with the ACT, became the bar over which student had to jump to go to college. 

The 50's ushered in two major changes for education in America.  The first was the GI Bill.  The GI Bill gave educational opportunities to thousands of people who would have never gone to college before.  The big surprise was that the guys who would have never been considered college material ten years before, did just fine. That led curriculum planners and professional educators to rethink their assumptions about what should be taught in high school and who should be allowed to progress through "college-prep" programs.  The fact that women had built planes, run offices, and progressed through colleges while the men were over seas led to a new concept -- a large number of women who had never been allowed in college might just do very well there.

The increased number of students in high schools, and the additions to the curriculum, led to the idea of a comprehensive high school, made popular by James Conant.  These huge mega-schools that housed 2000 or more students could offer a curriculum as elaborate as the largest universities.  These schools were brought into question when in 1957 the Russians put Sputnik into space.  Obviously, U. S. schools were not doing a good job.  This led to a new emphasis on math and science which was paid for via a huge influx of funds from the federal government in the form of the National Defense Education Act.

The other major event of the 1950's was the presence of Joseph McCarthy.  Anyone, including many outspoken teachers, fell on the spear of McCarthyism.  The curriculum of the nation's high schools was sanitized. 

The 50's also brought the one event that has changed education in this nation more than any other -- desegregation. Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka Kansas forever changed the organization of public schools and opened the door for many groups who had been denied an equal education. 

The funds from the National Defense Act became available in the early 60's.  It was given, largely, to colleges.  College professors had free reign to develop new and better curriculum for high schools. Jerome Bruner is most often associated with this time because it was his curriculum (MACOS) that became so criticized.  His theory of a spiral curriculum was buried in the muck that criticized his ingenious ideas. 

What ideas are left over from this era?
 

For many, desegregation led to the loss of the neighborhood school.  It, of course, also led to busing.  Overcrowding, brought own by the baby boom, led to ideas we would call flex-scheduling today.  The Eight-Year Study gave rise to the idea that there were many ways to organize content.

The era also saw an increased emphasis on vocational courses.  Vocational school and community colleges were built throughout the nation.

Reform Era (1983 to present)
 

Terrell Bell was the Secretary of Education under President Reagan.  Reagan had as a main goal to eliminate the Department of Education, so, Bell was a tenuous situation. He could not get his President to back a study of public schools in America, so he got private funds to do so.  The report that came from the study Bell commissioned is known as the A Nation at Risk Report.  Although it had many fine things to say about education and laid an ambitious course for the future of education, it had some criticisms, as well.

The public, the media, emphasized the negative, of course, and the report has become the hallmark of the present generation of reform in which we live.  The report would have probably set on a shelf in Washington and gathered dust had it not been that there were other things happening in and around 1983 to give it added credence.  Five books, or position statements, were published between 1983 and 1985:

E. D. Hirsch's Cultural Literacy,
Ernest Boyer's High School, 
John Goodlad'sA Place Called School, 
Ted Sizer'sHorace's Compromise, and 
William Bennett'sJames Madison High School. 

These were all best sellers and all emphasized what was wrong with our high schools.  Suddenly, the public believed our schools were in trouble.  That got the attention of the politicians.

The improvements suggested in the A Nation at Risk report became the political policies of the state reforms in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina, and Texas.  They led to the National Governor's Association's and President Bush signing a pact that came to be known as the National Goals.  Under Bush they were known as America 2000.  Clinton changed that to Goals 2000.  It is presently codified in the Educate American Act.  Today there are standards that have been developed for all of the disciplines taught in high schools. It was from Goal Three that all of the standards have been written.  Those have been followed at the state level with list of basic skills of some sort -- the Quality Core Curriculum in Georgia.

It is this era in which we work and struggle.  The clarion call is that we must have better schools so that our students can compete in the world economy.  Its motto is accountability, personified in testing at every age level, for teachers and students.