Ashley Swanson

ED 250-Foundations of Education

“He who opens a school door closes a prison.”

-Victor Hugo

Quote:

Discuss Articles in GroupsAmerica’s History of Education

Types of Schools

Today’s Topics:

Article Discussions

America’s History of Education

New England Colonies (Massachusetts, Connecticut, & New Hampshire)Massachusetts enacted the first formal

education laws in British North AmericaPuritan schools (followed John Calvin’s theology)

Guided by merging economic and religious purposesPuritan teachers stressed values of punctuality,

honesty, obedience to authority, and hard workChild depravity

Town Schools Latin Grammar Schools

The Colonial Period

Middle Atlantic Colonies (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, & Pennsylvania)Education was influenced by the ethnic,

language, and religious diversity in these colonies

Parochial schools were established by different churches to educate children in specific religious beliefs and practices

All schools taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and religionNew York: private-venture schoolsPennsylvania: Quaker schools

The Colonial Period

Southern Colonies: (Maryland, Virginia, North & South Carolina, & Georgia)Centrally located schools existed in flourishing,

tidewater towns, but rural families had difficulty establishing a centrally located school

Affluent families hired private tutors to educate their children

The Church of England sponsored private schools in larger towns

Children of poor farmers were often uneducated because of limited schooling opportunities

The Colonial Period

When British rule ended, the new leaders of the republic wanted to create schools that emphasized American cultural identity and democratic political process

The Northwest Ordinance of 1785 was the first federal educational legislationReserved a section of each 36 square mile township for

educationThe 10th Amendment’s “reserved powers clause” gave the

states individual responsibility for educationNew Approach to American Education:

Prepare people for republican citizenshipPractical and scientific skills to aid in developing the

nation’s frontier and abundant natural resourcesConstruct a uniquely American culture by eliminating

European attitudes

The Early National Period

Benjamin Franklin: founded an academy (private secondary school)Shifted emphasis to English grammar,

composition, rhetoric, public speaking, foreign language, math, history

Thomas Jefferson: committed to separation of church and statePromoted state-sponsored public schools and

sought to provide equality and excellence in education

The Early National Period

Benjamin Rush: Disagreed with separation of church and statePlan involved a comprehensive system of state

schools and colleges combining private and public interests

Noah Webster: promoted a monocultural America by creating a distinctive American version of the English language

The Early National Period

Alternatives to public schools:Sunday Schools: provided basic minimal education

(writing, reading arithmetic, and religion) for students who worked in the factories

Monitorial Schools: used older pupils (monitors) who were trained in a specific skill to teach to younger children

Common Schools:Publicly controlled and funded elementary educationOffered reading, writing, arithmetic, spelling, history,

geography, hygiene, and singingOpen to children of all social and economic classes

(except slaves)

Movement Towards Public Schooling

Horace MannOne of the most prominent common school leadersConstructed the general public school philosophy:

Organized a statewide system funded by local and state taxesGoverned by elected school boards that carried out state

mandatesFree of church controlStaffed by professionally educated teachers

Common school movement had two complementary consequencesNormal Schools: provided preservice teacher

preparationElementary school teaching career path was opened to

women

Movement Towards Public Schooling

Academies were the first form of secondary education:Traditional college preparatory curriculum

(emphasized Latin and Greek)English-language curriculum (general program)Normal curriculum (prepared elementary school

teachers)Military academies (attended strictly by males)

While most academies were private, some were semipublic-partially funded by cities and states

Development of Secondary Schools

In the 1870’s, public schools began to replace academies

The high school became the dominant public secondary school in America

School districts were approved to levy taxes to open and support public high schools

In the late 1800s-early 1900s states passed compulsory attendance lawsKeating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916

Development of Secondary Schools

By the 1920’s four curricular patterns were established in high schools:College preparatory program (English language

and literature, foreign languages, math, natural and physical sciences, and history and social studies)

Commercial or business program (bookkeeping, shorthand, and typing)

Industrial, vocational, home economics, and agricultural program

General academic program (for students who planned to complete their formal education upon graduation)

Development of Secondary Schools

Junior High SchoolsCreated in the 1920s and 1930s as a transitional

institution between elementary and high schoolOriented towards adolescents’ developmental needsEither two year (7th & 8th) or three year (7th, 8th, & 9th)

instutions Included some vocational courses

Middle SchoolsCreated in the 1960s as a transitional institution

between elementary and high school Included grades 6th-8th

Focused on facilitating a gradual transition from elementary school to high school

Development of Secondary Schools

Types of Schools

A school supported by public funds that provides free education to children of the community/district

Relies on revenues generated from taxes (property taxes, sales taxes, and incomes taxes)

Open enrollment: district or statewide choice programs that allow families to choose a public school other than the one assigned to them by their residenceInterdistrict-choose schools in other districtsIntradistrict-choose other schools within the district

Public Schools

A public school governed by a community group granted a special contract (charter) by the state or local school board

Established by chartering authorities and funded by public sources

Have more leeway in spending funds and carrying on other operations than do public schools, but they can have their charter revoked if they are not successful

Tend to be smaller and more manageable 40/50 states allow charter schoolsState and federal regulations still apply to charter

schools

Charter Schools

A public or private school that provides opportunities different from those in local public schoolsMagnet Schools Parochial SchoolsPrivate Schools

Characteristics:Greater individualizationMore independent study Openness to the outside communitySmaller class sizesStrong concern for noncognitive goals of educationFrequently enroll students who have not succeeded in

traditional public schools

Alternative Schools

School Vouchers: give parents the freedom to choose a private school for their children using all or some funding set aside for their child’s education.

Education Savings Accounts: parents receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized savings accounts with restricted uses.

Tuition Tax Credits: parents can receive state income tax relief through individual tax credits, which can be used for private school tuition, books, supplies, transportation, computers, and tutors

Taxpayer-funded scholarships: allows taxpayers to receive full or partial tax credit when they donate to nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships for private schools

Public Support for Private Schools

A type of alternative school that offers special instructional programs or curricula and attracts voluntary enrollment from more than one neighborhood

Part of reform effort at decreasing segregation and providing students with opportunities to participate in programs not available in their schools

Operate in public school system-open enrollment school

Students must meet admissions criteria to be put in lottery

Magnet Schools

Type of alternative schoolTypically charges tuitionAffiliated with a religious organization Curriculum includes religious education

along with core subjectsCatholic schools enroll the most private

school students

Parochial Schools

Educational institutions run independently of the government

Types of private schools:College Preparatory AcademyMontessori SchoolWaldorf SchoolBoarding SchoolMilitary SchoolSpecial Needs School

Private schools typically charge tuition

Private Schools

Allow students to work through the curriculum and with teachers online in place of or in combination with tradition classroom learning

Multi-District Online Schools (Cyber Schools): Enroll students full-time Run by school districts or charters

State Virtual Schools: Not full-timeOffer supplemental programs for students who

are enrolled in “brick and mortar schools”

Online/Virtual Schools

Education outside of a public or private school setting that usually takes place in the student’s home

Homeschooling regulations vary from state-to-state.Parents are able to create their own curricula

in some statesOther states require regular professional

evaluation of students, curriculum approval, and standardized tests

Churches often have homeschooling support groups where parents and students can meet and get the social interact aspect that is often missing in homeschooling

Homeschooling

North Dakota School ChoiceSchool Choice Availability?Magnet Schools NoIntradistrict Open Enrollment

No

Interdistrict Open Enrollment

Yes

Voucher Programs NoTuition Tax Credits NoOther State Support for Private School Choice

Yes

Charter Schools NoFull-Time, Multi-District Online Schools

No

State Virtual Schools YesHomeschooling Yes

Discuss the Pros and Cons of School

Choice

Council of Chief State School Officers. (2013). School Choice in the States: A Policy Landscape. Retrieved from: http://www.ccsso.org/Resources/Publications/School_Choice_in_the_States_A_Policy_Landscape.html

Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice. (2013). The ABCs of School Choice. Retrieved from: http://www.edchoice.org/CMSModules/EdChoice/FileLibrary/965/The-ABCs-of-School-Choice---2013-edition.pdf

Ornstein, A.C., Levine, D.U., Gutek, G.L., & Vocke, D.E. (2014). Foundations of Education. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Main Sources