History of Education

Brown v. Board of Education

a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students and denying black children equal educational opportunities unconstitutional.

Apprentice

a person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer; having agreed to work for a fixed period at low wages.

Teacher

a person who teaches, especially in a school.

Common school

a public school in the United States and/or Canada in the 19th century; schools that were meant to serve individuals of all social classes and religions.

McGuffey Readers

a series of graded primers that were widely used as textbooks in American schools from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century; still used today in some private schools and homeschooling.

Montessori

a system of education for young children that seeks to develop natural interests and activities rather than use formal teaching methods.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act

a U.S. federal statute enacted April 11, 1965; funds primary and secondary education, while explicitly forbidding the establishment of a national curriculum.

Civil Rights Act

a federal law in the United States that made everyone born in the U.S. and not subjected to any foreign power or citizens; aimed at the Freedmen (freed slaves) and was a major policy during the Reconstruction Period.

Hornbook

a teaching aid consisting of a leaf of paper showing the alphabet, and often the ten digits and the Lord's Prayer, mounted on a wooden tablet and protected by a thin plate of horn.

Baby boom

a temporary marked increase in the birth rate, especially the one following World War II

Dame School

an early form of a private elementary school in English-speaking countries; usually taught by women and were often located in the home of the teacher.

G.I. Bill

an omnibus bill that provided college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans and one year of unemployment compensation.

National Defense Education Act

provided funding to United States education institutions at all levels; signed into law on September 2nd, 1958.

Title IX

A U.S. law enacted on June 23, 1972; states that "No personin the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

Thomas Jefferson

3rd President of the United States; chief drafter of the Declaration of Independence; made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and sent out the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore it.

No Child Left Behind Act 2001

A U.S. Act of Congress about the education of children

Charter Schools

A publicly funded independent school established by teachers, parents, or community groups under the terms of a charter with a local or national authority.

Competency-based education

An educational approach based on a predetermined set of knowledge, skills, and abilities that the student is expected to accomplish.

Global Economy Accountability

Being responsible for part of the global economy.

Project Head Start

Compensatory education designed to provide children from low-income families the opportunity to acquire the skills and experiences important for school success.

Educational Standards

Education reform in the U.S. since the 1980's has been largely driven by the setting of academic standards for what students should know and be able to do.

Back to Basics Movement

Emphasizing or based upon the teaching of such basic subjects as reading, arithmetic, grammar, or history in a traditional way.

Education for All Handicapped Children Act

Enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1975; required all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to education and one free meal a day for children with physical and mental disabilities.

Career Clusters

Provide students with a context for studying traditional academics and learning the skills specific to a career.

Bilingual Education

Teaching academic content in two languages

A Nation At Risk

The Imperative for Educational Reform is the title of the 1983 report of American President Ronald Reagan's National Commission on Excellence in Education.

Goals 2000 Act of 1994

The National Education Goals were set by the U.S. Congress in the 1990's to set goals for standards-based education reform.

Desegregation and Busing

The action of incorporating a racial or religious group into a community; to transport a child of one race to a school where another race is predominant, in an attempt to promote racial integration.

Horace Mann

United States educator who introduced reforms that significantly altered the system of public education.

John Dewey

United States pragmatic philosopher who advocated progressive education.

B.F. Skinner

believed that the idea of human free will was actually an illusion and that any human action was the result of the consequences of the same action.

Normal school

formerly, a school or college for the training of teachers.

Kindergarten

preschool; a school or class for young children, usually between the ages of four and six; immediately before they begin formal education.

Benjamin Franklin

printer whose success as an author led him to take up politics; helped draw up the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution; played a major role in the American Revolution and negotiated French support for the colonists; as a scientist he is remembered particularly for his research in electricity.

African American Education

the Quakers in Philadelphia were leaders in providing education for African Americans in 1745.

Segregated Education

the restriction of one group in a school, mostly for racial reasons.

Curriculum

the subjects comprising a course of study in a school or college.

Dick and Jane Readers

used to teach children to read from the 1930's through to the 1970's in the United States.

Career and Technical Education

vocational education or vocational education and training (VET) prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation.