Public Education In The 1800s

Public education in America began in the early to mid-19th century with the simple goal of “uniting the American population by instilling common moral and political values” (Spring, 2012, p. 5). Our country was founded by men who designed the constitution so that it could be amended to accommodate changing political and social climates. They believed in the ideology of the American dream which “holds out a vision of both individual success and the collective good of all” (Hochschild & Scovronick, 2004, p. 1). It is with this same ideology that our public schools were

Public schools before the 1830s weren’t technically public because education was not open to the general public. At the time, the “public” schools were made up of a majority of white children, because their parents were wealthy enough to pay for their education. While some schools in both the North and the South allowed African Americans to attend, a lot of the African American families still could not afford to send their children. On top of not being able to afford school, in the South most schools did not believe in educating slaves. The monetary problem holding kids back from getting an equal opportunity to access education was what sparked the movement to reform the public schools.

Education in the late 1700’s and early 1800 was only available to those who had money. Public education was not available to everybody. Children who came from wealthy parents were able to learn how to read and write. These children went on to continue the cycle with their children. Schools came about when towns would pull their resources and higher teachers. The teachers were literally paid by bushels of wheat and half of a cow. School was based off the Bible. These facts and many more make me so grateful for not being born during this time. I love education and I love learning. I don’t know what I would do without the education I have received and continue to receive.

In Chapter 1 of Spring, the author discusses the goals of public education and whether or not those goals have been met. The chapter is divided into sections. These sections include Political Goals of Schooling, Censorship & American Political Values, Courts & Political Values, and Political Values & State & National Curriculum Standards. Each section the author makes a claim about public education.

From the dawn of time, education has been the past's greatest utility in survival. Through learning, skills that have been passed down from the errors of others, communities were able to learn and grow with each other. Simple public education systems began to pop up to educate the youth and the curious, and ever since the first school systems began there has been room for improvement. The largest reforms of the educational system began at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

The role of education in society has proven to service the people through the spreading of information, teaching of lessons and simply giving the gift of knowledge. With the gift of knowledge, we ultimately give the other the right and the ability, more importantly, to make their own informed choices. An educated mind can go beyond the limits set out by society and can make wise decisions regarding their health, success and general well being by simply using rationale. The level of education one obtains is directly related to the health of that individual, whereby it determines the person’s quality of life and life expectancy. Further more, one may be lead to believe that education is the most

In the farming society of the early 1800’s, education was not possible for many children. Horace Mann, a farm boy himself and an early advocate for educational reform, saw the deficiencies in the educational system. He pushed for “common schools” that would retain local control, be co-educational and revolve around the agricultural year. Mann’s ideas began to be adopted around the country in the second half of the nineteenth century. By the start of the twentieth century, mandatory public schooling was the norm. This was the height of the industrial revolution. As Davidson notes in “Project Classroom Makeover”, “Public Education was seen as the most efficient way to train potential workers for labor in the newly urbanized factories (197).” Schools began to work like an assembly line with a focus on efficiency, attention to detail, memorization of facts and staying on task. Curriculum became standardized and states began to replace the local management of education. Critically thinking outside the box was less valued. Regardless of ability, children started school at the same age and were moved through their education in a regulated process.

According to Kenneth E. Redd from Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Making a Comeback, teachers in the 1800’s were white philanthropists. They were in southern states under auspices of the federal Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (commonly known as the Freedmen Bureau), black churches and white philanthropists. They help to establish several colleges, Howard University, Atlanta University, (Clark Atlanta) St. Augustine College (North Carolina) Fisk University (Tennessee) and Johnson C. Smith (North Carolina). The first HBCUs were private, non-profit institutions and was funded by without government support.

Malcolm X once said “education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”. From adolescence to adulthood almost every person is put through schooling. As one gets older in age, the education they obtain becomes more rigorous in order to stretch their minds far beyond two plus two or what color the sky is. The strategies of critically thinking and being able to analyze/decipher information in front is them is reinforced routinely in the educational system. With this being said, the purpose of education is to aid in enhancing one’s qualification, socialisation, and subjectification skills within the society regardless of how or where one’s education was obtained.

People in the past did not stress value of receiving a higher education because it was not as indispensable as it is today. Now, people perceive others not only by their appearances, but by their accomplishments. Employers always hire people with the most education and experience. The majority of students are concerned about getting a higher education throughout the years. Nevertheless, some people question the purposes of getting educated, and consider it meaningless. The concept of education has a significant meaning. It enables one to take control of knowledge and apply it. It is education what prepares the mind to comprehend and learn important ideas. A higher education is very important for an individual's success in

The education system has been the cornerstone of freedom and equity for economic success in The United States. However, the history of education has never been so crucial to the collective future of our nation and to the young people. The public schools must struggle to provide equality in educational system as never before. The demand for education has become necessary and growing to provide education for all students to comply with the rigorous academic standards on a global scale (Baker, B. D., Sciarra, D. G., Farrie, D. (2010, p. 1).

Since 1983 public education has been an issue in America. The system has been constantly changing every year with reforms. This constant change has been driven by the American people’s perception that education has declined and something should be done about it. First there was an increased emphasis on basic skills, making school years longer and more graduation requirements. Second, many began focusing on increasing teachers professionalism. Third, they began restructuring many things such as how the schools were organized and how the school day was structured etc. Now today the most of the American people believe that not enough money is given to public schooling. They associate academic improvement with the money the school is funded.

Life in New Zealand in the late 1800’s was looking quite grim. Section 89 presented in the 1877 Education act, was considered important at the time because the government wanted the notion of building a nation and society, improving the lives of individuals, developing an economy, and to integrate different groups into ‘the social contract’ (Codd, J., & Openshaw, R, 2005) Education was perceived as a formula for this to happen. The reasons for exemptions, was firstly as stated by Charles Bowen (1877) “that it was not the intention to encourage children whose vocation is that of honest labour to waste in higher schools time which might be better spent in learning a trade” (Stephenson,2009 p.9). It was considered enough to gain basic skills in

The United States prides itself on its public education system making it a core value of many families. The level of education a person has will influence their career achievements. Americans expect their public system of education to provide a solid curriculum. Most of the people in the United States place their trust in the public school system in which they support through taxes. This trust although is contradicted by the public system of education’s current shape. Much of the schools in the United States are either deteriorating, or failing all together. The drawbacks of public education create an unhealthy environment for student learning.

Education can bring these individual talents to the surface. Having these talents developed by the way of the educational system, a person is more likely to become a productive member of society. Without these gifts and talents of individuals, answers in the medical, environmental, and social fields could remain mute and unexplored. Education has the responsibilities to bring out the best in each individual. The needs of society are continually changing. Therefore, education must also continue to change in order to productive responsible members of society.