The document provides a history of American schooling from the colonial period to the present. It outlines several major eras in American education including the colonial period, common school era, industrial era, progressive era, and post-World War II era. For each era, it describes changes to curriculum, teaching methods, and the societal factors influencing education. It also summarizes several major educational reform efforts from the 1950s to present such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. In closing, it shares the author's perspective that educational reform should shift toward a more democratic and multicultural approach.

1. History of American
Schooling and Reform
Kamila Bohacova
Goddard College
Fall 2013

2. Timeline of American
Schooling
Colonial Period 1620-1780
Early Republic Era 1780-1820
Common School Era 1820-1870
Industrial Era 1870-1940
Progressive Era- 1890-1920
Post World War II Era 1945-1980
Multicultural/Pluralistic Era 1970-present
Educational Reforms1950-present

3. Colonial Period
1620-1780
Primary education of upper class children included
reading, writing, simple math, poems and prayers.
Teachers were primarily white, middle class and
educated as well as being of high moral character
The three most common books were the Bible, New
England Primer and a hornbook
The “Dame” School- preschool
An early form of education in the American colonies
was apprenticeship

4. The 1st School
Boston Latin School was founded in 1635
First public school
Education consisted of traditional English methods of
family, church, community and apprenticeship
Girls were not considered for these schools
Purpose of school was to help boys get into Harvard
College(est. 1636)

5. Early National Era
1780-1840
Benjamin Franklin believed that science could
solve the problems of human life
English Grammar School had a curriculum that
illustrated scientific and practical skills
Education was now controlled by the state as
opposed to the government
Thomas Jefferson believed that only through
education can a democratic society emerge
Noah Webster- America’s greatest lexicographer,
with mastery of twenty languages, developed a
speller “Blue-backed Speller”

6. The Common School Era
1820-1870
Meant to serve individuals of all social classes and
religions
Schools were free and open to all white children
Funded by local taxes and overseen by elected local
school board
Taught by one teacher in a one room schoolhouse
Children learned reading, writing, arithmetic, history,
geography
Horace Mann “Father of the Common School
Movement” (1796-1859) – first secretary of
Massachusetts state board of education
McGuffey reader was the most common text book
Established only in the North(Puritan) States, the
South(Anglican) States did not have a tradition of

7. Industrial Era
1870-1950
Creation of larger
schools
More urbanization
New teaching methods
brought upon by the
interest in psychology
Age-graded
classrooms
Industrialization
Standardized
curriculum
o Teacher Centered
Classroom
o Learning theories
based on John
Locke’s philosophy
o John Dewey-
challenged current
thinking on how
children learn

8. Progressive Era 1890-1920
Reform and modernize the school at the local level
Passing compulsory schooling laws
Integration of community service and service learning projects into
the daily curriculum
Jane Addams and the Founding of Hull House
Development of manual training
“child centered”, “social reconstructionist”
Importance of emotional, artistic and creative aspects of human
development
John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Pestalozzi, John
Dewey, Maria Montessori

9. Post World War II Era
1945-1980
Higher education experienced a boom
as Congress passed the GI Bill providing
subsidies for returning veterans to
attend college (over 10 million veterans
took advantage of this opportunity)
Bigger schools were built to
accommodate the growing number of
school-age children
1950’s marked the beginning of the end
of school segregation- Brown vs. Board
of Education
Programs such as Head Start, Job
Corps, subsidized school lunches and
Title One appeared

10. Multicultural Education
1970’s
• Emerged as part of the nation’s growing concern for racism and civil
rights
• To help students know and value the diverse traditions that enrich and
dignify the nation’s heritage
• To engage students in learning and maintaining their own heritage and
language
• Two-way bilingual programs
• Multicultural education seeks to create equal educational opportunities
for all students, including those from different racial, ethnic, and social-
class groups
• Cooperative teaching rather than competitive teaching
• Value and support cross-racial interactions

11. What is Educational
Reform?
A demand with the goal of improving
education
Education reform is tied with the spread
of Compulsory Education
Economic growth and the spread of
democracy have increased the
importance of all children and adults
having equal access to high quality and
effective education

12. Major Reform Efforts
o A Nation At Risk 1983
o Goals 2000
o No Child Left Behind Act 2001
Recovery Act-2010
Race to the Top-2010
Educate to Innovate-2010

13. Reform arising from the
Civil Rights Era 1950-1970
Ending racial segregation
Desegregation
Affirmative action
Banning of school prayer
The launch of Russian’s Sputnik satellite in 1957
generated significant federal funding directed
toward increased science and mathematics
curricula in schools

14. Reform efforts in the
1980’s
A Nation at Risk by President Ronald Reagan
put a spotlight on federal and state government
pushing for higher standards and more
impressive academic results
The alternatives included: charter schools,
progressive schools, Montessori schools,
Waldorf schools, or homeschool.
E. D. Hirsch- advocated for “cultural literacy” –
the facts, phrases and text that were essential to
every American
Goals 2000- an effort by the federal government
to set standards for American education to meet
the needs of an increasingly diverse population

15. No Child Left Behind Act
2001
Requires all public schools receiving federal
funding to administer a state wide
standardized test annually to all students
Attempt to reduce the minority-majority
achievement gap
Requires states to provide highly qualified
teachers
Increased accountability for schools and
teachers
Reduces instruction time in subjects such as
art, music, history & language to provide
more time for mathematics and English

16. Quote
“The No Child Left Behind Act sets a clear objective
for American Education. Every child in every school
must be performing at grade level in the basic
subjects that are the key to all learning, reading and
math. This ambitious goal is the most fundamental
duty of every school, and it must, and it will be
fulfilled”
-President George W. Bush, June 10,
2002

17. Recovery Act 2010
President Obama and the administration provided a total of $100 billion toward
education:
$53.6 billion in aid to local school districts to prevent layoffs & cutbacks
$15.6 billion to increase Pell Grants
$13 billion for low-income public schoolchildren
$12.2 billion for special education
$2.1 billion for Head Start
$2 billion for childcare services
$650 million for educational technology
$300 million for increased teacher salaries
$250 million for states to analyze student performance
$200 million to support working college students
$70 million for the education of homeless children

18. Race to the Top 2010
Introduced by President Obama, drawn up
by the Bill & Melinda Gates, Walton
Family, Boeing and other foundations
Prompted 48 states to adopt the Common
Core Standards
Federally funded
Consists of four federally mandated
“solutions”- school transformations, school
turnarounds, school restarts, and school
closures.

19. Educate to Innovate 2010
Promote excellence in science, technology,
engineering, and math education aka “STEM”
education
“Reaffirming and strengthening America’s role as
the world’s engine of scientific discovery and
technological innovation is essential to meeting
the challenges of this century”- President Obama

20. My Thoughts On
Reform
Educational reform is inevitable as we continue to diversify and grow.
The new reform I am hoping to seeing in the twenty-first century is a shift
toward a more democratic, multicultural and pluralistic society which is
integrated into the school.
Technology is becoming a major vehicle in educational reform as it
allows access to virtually any inquiry in an instant.
The implementation of the Common Core Standards were
necessary in order to guide teachers in content, but I disagree with the
high degree of accountability the teacher is responsible for when
students are not performing up to the standards.
The No Child Left Behind Act had great intentions but has
demoralized many teachers. Instead of teaching what they are
passionate about, they are teaching test-taking strategies. Another problem
with NCLP is that the children tested come from a wide variety of
abilities and backgrounds yet still take the same test. This gives a
disadvantage to non native born and speaking children as well as those
with disabilities.

21. Works Cited
Oakes, J., & Lipton, M. (2007). Teaching To
Change The World. New York: McGraw- Hill
Cuban, L. (2003). Why Is It So Hard To Get
Good Schools? New York: Teachers College,
Columbia University
Kohn, A. (1999). The Schools Our Children
Deserve: Moving Beyond Traditional
Classrooms and „Tougher Standards‟.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.