The Education System Of The United States Essay

In the early 1800’s education in America grew and developed rapidly, largely because of the works of three very important men: Noah Webster, William McGuffey, and Horace Mann. These three men were catalysts for the growth of education throughout the nineteenth century, and without them the large strides America took during this time would not have occurred. These great men all shared one goal: to educate the youth of America as well as possible. This was no small task, however, because the educational system in place was disorganized and had several large problems that had to be overcome.

There was a time when America’s education system was top-notch according to the culture and society. With time, a myriad of things has changed, but unfortunately what has not evolved is the American education system. The country is still following a system which was not designed for the current global economic climate. Equality, as positive as it sounds is not as sufficient when it comes to education. The system treats students equally yet expect a similar culmination and outcome. Every child has his individuality and distinct abilities; one cannot judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Conversely, a few of the prominent reasons why the education system is failing are overcrowded schools, the rise of technology, and following the same old school hours.

Even though the Declaration of Independence does not mention education, our founding fathers did value education. Illustrated by the ordinances they passed “in 1785 and 1787 that granted federal lands to states to create and support public school- an institution that the nation’s founders viewed as essential to democracy and national unification.” (Jennings, p3) In 1959, the admission of Alaska and Hawaii into the Union reconfirmed the Federal government’s support of education. Three distinct elements that impact education are; laws that have been passed, the removal of the church from public schools, and the role of federal government that has evolved and changed over the years. These three factors have transformed education over the

Thomas Jefferson remains one of the first advocates for public education, which was later termed the Common School Movement. He recognized the inequality in education, for the wealthy stood the only ones capable of affording an education, thus the poor stayed poor and the rich stayed rich. Jefferson aspired to change the apparent injustices in the education system. He felt all children possessed the right to and education regardless of prosperity, heritage, and circumstances. Even though Jefferson remained not able to create the change he so desperately sought to make, he never stopped trying and since education stayed revolutionized, for his persistence in equality. James Conant, former president of Harvard University stated, “In short, as I view the American scene of the 1960’s, I am ready to declare without hesitation that Jefferson’s proposals have become incorporated in the pattern of our educational structure” (Mercer, 1993).

America used to thrive on its education system and that is why it became one of the greatest nations in the world. Education is the backbone of our country, and we must give high priority to improve its current condition. Unfortunately, in the past couple of decades, the education system has been regressing. It has been on the decline and not as effective. The quality of education in a country has an influence on GDP growth, social cohesion and social well being in general. In order to improve the quality of education in the U.S., the following must be taken into consideration: the structure of our education system must be reanalyzed, we must compare and contrast our education system to systems of other countries with higher rankings, and finally, there must be a solution.

Education in America is one of the most important issues that face our nation. If the education in America is not thought of one of most serious issues we face, our nation as a whole will fall. There are many debates and they seemly extend to all walks of life. The debates range from the decline in education, school vouchers, and the no child left behind law. As a nation, the United States is ranked above others. We must search for that solution to all of the pro’s and con’s in education. The solution should allow all walks of life to excel in the education realm. After all, the children of today will be the leaders of tomorrow.

Education has existed throughout history in one form or another. The process of passing down accumulated information from one generation to the next has been present in every human society, past and present. From the young listening to the stories of the elders around the hearths of the ancient world, to pupils being instructed in the alphabet in a one room schoolhouse on the American frontier, to the present day online teaching sessions; the tradition of teaching and learning has been a constant in the ever changing world. Education has been and continues to be used for many purposes, chief among them being the creation of an educated citizenry, the empowerment of that citizenry, and improvement of the

Thomas Jefferson and Horace Mann had a large influence into our educational foundation. They fought for and persuaded many people into believing education was needed for all citizens. They also believed in separation of church and state. In this paper I will summarize each individuals influence on education as well as separation of church and state.

Education is a necessity across the globe, from America to Africa to China. Some education systems, however, are more successful than others and hold differing views and approaches to education. Culture greatly impacts education, which in turn impacts further opportunity. As unfair as it may be, a child’s cultural background largely determines their level of success. The American education system is lacking when compared to various other world cultures, and this is causing the socioeconomic gap to grow. Because of this inadequate education, more and more families are dipping beneath the poverty line. This could be due to poor discipline as well as the diversity of students. The diversity of the students results in a wide array of needs that are not being met by the public education system. This issue could be minimized by working to create a more inclusive academic environment to ensure equality and success.

The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.

In early America, only a couple of schools were open, and children were mainly taught at home or were sent to a boarding school. In 1837, a man named Horace Mann led the Massachusetts Board of Education and he seeked free, equal, non-religious education for all social classes. This was a major step towards obtaining natural rights. In documents H and E, it shows that education is one of the most important things in life. For example, “... It does better than to disarm the poor of their hostility towards the rich; it prevents being poor” (Doc. H). This quote shows that having an education can prevent someone being in poverty because, if you are smart, then you can get a high paying job, which will prevent you from being poor. Another example is, “When he goes to school he walks quickly, and does not lose time on the road. ‘My parents,’ he says, ‘are very good to save some of their money in order that I may learn to read and write’...” (Doc. E). This shows that his parents were willing to spend the extra money for their child to get an education, which will give him a chance at a better life. Without having an education, you will not get very far in life. It is a necessity to life. Education really helped expand democratic ideals in the United States because, giving different class people the chance to attend school and get a free education is the best possible way to do it. You are giving poor and wealthy children the

Horace Mann and Jane Addams both lived in the 19th century America and were university educated reformers. However, they came of age in very different times, with Horace Mann living during the early years of American democracy and Addams the massive industrial expansion and immigration era of the late 19th century (Gutek, 2011). These differences created distinct educational needs that required very different responses. In the case of Mann the need was for quality instruction for all children and not just the children of the elite. Horace Mann used the skills he developed as a Massachusetts politician and his post as the first secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education to advocate for the creation of Common Schools. These schools

During the creation of the new American republic, there were many ideas about what the purpose of education should be for the nation. Thomas Jefferson believed that general education “would lead to a rise of ‘natural aristocracy’ of talent and accomplishment, which would provide leaders for a new nation (Rury 50).” Benjamin Rush advocated for education to mold children into “republican machines” that would be schooled in democratic principles and would craft America into a strong, independent nation (Rury 51). Finally, Noah Webster believed that education would be crucial in fostering national unity and creating an American identity (Rury

When our Founding Fathers’ first came to America, the people were in charge of their education and this is how our country functioned. This caused many to start private schools, picking their tutors, and teaching their children. As you can see, this was open and free. This system worked for them at the time, in fact, the literacy level was as high as 97% in the North and 81% in the South. (How Did Government Get So Involved in Education, 2008). This sort of system was in place for the first fifty to seventy-five years of our nation’s first known establishment. Nevertheless, providing an alternative was what reformers aimed to do. A well-known individual part of this went by the name of Horace Mann and was a member of the Massachusetts State Legislature. The light that Mann wanted to shed to light was that education was "the balance wheel of the social machinery" (Gale, 1998). His purpose was for everyone to have equal opportunities, which would

Since the eighteenth century, there have been heated debates about the proper role of government in American public education. Thomas Jefferson, a product of classical education in the tradition of the Enlightenment, was primarily concerned with the political value of education. For Jefferson, an educated populace was a prerequisite of a free republic. In 1779, he proposed a bill that would provide three years of publicly funded education for all free citizens, to prepare the citizenry to make political decisions at the ballot box (12) Horace Mann, on the other hand, viewed equality of opportunity as the primary goal of public education. Mann identified social goals for education as well, arguing that crime rates and tension between the classes would decrease if students from different socio-economic backgrounds were educated together in the public schools (33, 67). In Mann’s view, public education would ensure that “all members of society are given equal chances to pursue wealth and enter any occupation or social class” (66). Mann contended that public schooling would also benefit the economy, since a highly skilled workforce increases overall productivity in the marketplace, leading to national prosperity – an early example of “Human Capital Theory” (90?) Over the past two hundred years, Americans have continuously bickered in the halls of government over public education. Spring contends that even today, “The goals of American schools are politically determined”. (3)