National Public Primary Education:History
In the United States, public school education is primarily the responsibility of each individual state. The state delegates the task of day-to-day operations to school districts at the local level.¹ In addition, the state establishes colleges, develops criteria, and determines requirements for enrollment and graduation.² Basically, the national public school education system is powered by the states.
This educational system can be traced all the way back to the foundation of the country. After the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson proposed that Americans give a high priority to a "crusade against ignorance".³ Jefferson was also the first to propose a system of free schools for all persons that would be publicly supported by taxes, which basically means that he was the first to propose a school system.³ Then in 1785, the Land Ordinance of 1785 came about. This established a mechanism for funding public education in the United States. Then after a somewhat long recession of education, the Department of Education was founded in 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the states establish effective school systems.² The foundation of the Department of Education was the start of what would eventually become modern education. However, even though the Department of Education was founded in 1867, the first public school was actually founded in 1821 in Boston.[4]
The 19th century turned out to be a rather big century for education. The two major changes that came about were kindergarten and teacher training programs. In 1839, Horace Mann began the nation's first teacher-training school in Massachusetts.[4] This was obviously to ensure that teachers would be qualified to teach the youth, foreshadowing what would become a big part of modern education (the qualification of teachers in the classroom) And in 1873, the nation's first kindergarten opened in St. Louis, paving the way for the future.[4] In addition to kindergarten and teacher-training, some minor changes also came about around this time. For example, the Morrill Act of 1890, withheld grants from states that deny admission to schools based on race.[4]
The 20th century was also a big one for education. For example, World War II led to an expansion of federal support for education. The Lahman Act of 1941 and the Impact Aid laws of 1950, eased the burden on communities affected by the presence of military by making payments to school districts, which in turn, would enhance the districts.² In addition, the GI Bill sent many World War II veterans to college, highlighting the importance of higher education.¹ The Cold War also helped to bring about huge change in education. Because the United States was competing with the Soviet Union at this time, the government wanted to make sure that the most qualified people would be there to help the United States. Therefore, the government gave loans to college students and helped to improve science and mathematics.² Needless to say, the Cold War played a big role in the escalation of education.
It was something different, however, that changed the face of education forever: the civil rights movement. In 1954, the famous Brown vs Board of Education case led to the desegregation of schools, which was huge.¹ The desegregation of schools meant that African Americans no longer had to go segregated schools, which were often times, not as good as White schools. Furthermore, it helped ensure that everyone got an equal education. In addition to the case, the passing of laws such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Ammendments of 1972 further helped to ensure that everyone got equal education. [4]
The most recent act toward education was the No Child Left Behind Act, which wants to establish high standards and accountability for the learning of all children regardless of their background or ability.[5] This is a very large act, which discusses many different ways to enhance the learning of children.
The issue of public primary education in the United States has been a big one. It has gotten to its current situation through years of evolution. The modern education system shows many similarities to the system that was founded back in the 19th century. But many things have been learned over the years to bring educaiton to where it is today. Much emphasis has been put on education mainly because people realize that it is the youth which is the major factor. Educating the youth for the future is the major factor that contributes to the support of the educational system.
¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_education
²http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html
³http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761571494
[4]http://familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,1-4485,00.html
[5]http://www.nea.org/esea/index.html