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Dec 6, 2023
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Running head: PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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The Progression of Public Schools
Adam Wiley
<Class>
North Georgia College & State University
<Professor>
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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The history of education in America is as rich and tumultuous as the history of the
country as a whole.
Born out of the desire to create a sense of unity in an essentially new world,
formal education began as a private, often religiously-based, institution.
As the nation grew, so
too did the need for a structured entity of learning. America’s leaders realized the necessity of
developing a strong educational system throughout the nation in order to ensure its continued
success and responded accordingly.
The progression of the public education system in American
History reflected the rapid growth of the nation in both population and power.
From the settlement of the first colonies onward, Americans exhibited a trend for
expansion and consistent growth.
The westward movement of so many settlers in search of new
territory resulted in an informal education for many in America’s early generations.
The Land
Ordinance of 1785 required all western territories to allocate areas for developing and
maintaining public schools (Sass, 2012).
Even so, with towns and populations so widely
dispersed, most settlers either taught themselves through books or in small schools, often held in
churches.
These schools were often headed by school masters or mistresses with little formal
education themselves.
While the early American government passed few stipulations for
education, legislation did require that all parents “make certain that their charges could read and
understand the principles of religion and the laws of the Commonwealth” (Ornstein & Levine,
2011, p. 149).
Protestant religion heavily influenced early education in the country, with local
parishes often serving as school administrations as well.
In 1821, the first government-controlled
secondary schools opened in Boston, Massachusetts (p 152).
Other states soon followed suit,
resulting in the birth of public education in America. Five years later, the Massachusetts state
government passed a law requiring towns to elect school boards, which began the organization of
public schools (p. 154).
However, despite the rapid rise of public schools throughout the states,
parents still held ultimate authority over the education of their children.
Parents were not
required to send their children to school, and as a result, private education (i.e. “home-
schooling”) remained common throughout the early nineteenth century.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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As the American population continued to rapidly grow in the late 1900s (due in large part
to the vast number of immigrants to the country), governing school boards sought more power in
order to establish common standards and ensure quality education throughout the nation.
Throughout the remainder of the century and into the early nineteenth century, all states passed
laws requiring all children to attend school (Gutek, 1990, p. 183).
The shifting of power from
parents and churches to public school officials resulted in structured, unilateral standards of
education with an emphasis placed on secondary and post-secondary training.
In 1917, the
National Education Association issued a reorganization of secondary schools into four groups of
curricular instruction, including college preparatory, business, vocational, and modified academic
programs (p. 212).
While the various categories of educations would continue to shift and
change through the years, the trend of variation in education remained a constant factor.
The first
charter school opened in 1992 in St. Paul, Minnesota, offering new options to parents and
educators alike (Sass, 2012).
Although public schools continue to be the most prominent
institutions for students, Americans now have more options than ever in choosing an educational
path for their children, including private, charter, and home schooling.
The history of American Education is a study in both national and democratic ideologies.
Early educators and government officials sought to create a school system that would both
strengthen the minds of the country and reflect the governing principles of the nation, which
included a desire for growth and expansion.
The resulting public school system continues to
evolve, ensuring that the trend of progression in American history will continue in education.
References
Gutek, G. L. (1991).
An historical introduction to American education
(2nd ed.). Prospect
Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press.
Ornstein, A. C., & Levine, D. U. (2011).
Foundations of education
(11th ed.). Belmont, Calif.:
Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Sass, E. (2012, September 10). American Educational History Timeline.
Cloudnet
. Retrieved
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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January 9, 2013, from
http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/educationhistorytimeline.html