The Continuing Historical Effort to Improve Education

The Continuing Historical Effort to Improve Education

Janet Hughes

The Big Historical Ideas· Phenomenal growth in size and complexity in the

U.S. educational system in the last sixty years· The information age has placed new demands on

schools and teachers· Must provide equal education opportunities for all

students· History tells us where we have been and how we can

improve

Growth• Public schools have doubled in 60 yrs

• Needed more schools• Needed more teachers

• Consolidation necessitated the busing of students

Busing· Busing increased

over the last 60 years because of consolidation and integration of schools.

· Approximately 60% of all students today are bused.

Growth of Programs· Curriculum became more diverse· 1958 launch of Sputnik congress

passed the National Defense Education Act (NDEA)

· Special Education – Public Law 94-142, the Education for Handicapped Children Act

Growth of Programs· Asian American Education· Hispanic American Education

Development of the Teaching Profession

· GI Bill of 1944 – provides for the education of veterans

· National Science Foundation· Equal educational opportunity – all children

are entitled to an education regardless of race, creed, religion, or sex.

· NCLB- latest attempt to improve education

Teachers · European Beginnings· Colonial Teachers – no formal

education· Indentured Servants · Teaching Apprenticeships – learn from

schoolmasters

Teachers· Teaching Academies – Ben Franklin· Normal Schools – devoted exclusively

to teacher training.· State Teachers’ Colleges· Universities – multipurpose institutions

Education of Women

· Emma Willard

Emma had liberal well-to-do parents who hired tutors or sent their daughters away for an education. As a result, Emma became a pioneer and champion of education for females. She opened one of the first female seminaries in 1821, which offered an education equal to what boys received.

Maria Montessori· Maria Montessori, born in 1870, was the first woman in Italy to receive

a medical degree. She worked in the fields of psychiatry, education and anthropology. She believed that each child is born with a unique potential to be revealed, rather than as a "blank slate" waiting to be written upon. What ultimately became the Montessori method of education developed there, based upon Montessori's scientific observations of these children's almost effortless ability to absorb knowledge from their surroundings, as well as their tireless interest in manipulating materials. Every piece of equipment, every exercise, every method Montessori developed was based on what she observed children to do "naturally," by themselves, unassisted by adults.

Ella Flagg Young· She studied at the

University of Chicago under John Dewey and received her Ph.D. in 1900.

· Superintendent of Chicago public school system in 1909

· First female president of the National Education Association

Mary McLeod Bethune· Mary McLeod Bethune

founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial School for Negro Girls, now Bethune-Cookman College.  Bethune was active in the fight against racism and served as an advisor to President Roosevelt on minority affairs.

Recent Trends in Education

Analysis of teaching

Effective teaching

Sociological Studies

Study of the learning process

Jean Piaget· Created the theory of Cognitive

Development. Children learned in four major stages

· Sensorimotor stage – birth to age 2· Preoperational stage – 2 to age 7· Concrete operational – 7 to age 11· Formal operational – 11- 15 to adult

B. F. Skinner· Behavioral Theory – suggests that

students could be successfully trained and conditioned to learn. This technique requires the teacher to break down the learning into small sequential steps.

Progress· One significant example of progress in

the U.S. educational system is the increase in the percentage of students graduating high school; from 50% in 1940 to about 70% in 1990.

What is the Value of History

· Knowing history prevents the repetition of mistakes of the past.

· Educators can profit from a better understanding of the history of education and that such knowledge can help us improve student learning!

Here’s to the Future!