The History of Education

1
The History of Education

• From Ancient Greece to Modern America

2
Education in Ancient Sparta

• The goal of education was to promote patriotism
  and train warriors.
• Welfare of the individual was secondary to
  welfare of the state.
• Curriculum emphasized exercise and games,
  military training, dance, and music.

3
Education in Sparta

• Its primary focus was on the maintenance of
  military strength, so creative and intellectual
  pursuits were discouraged.
• Girls received no formal education. However,
  some physical education was provided so that they
  could eventually produce strong sons.

4
Spartas Impact on Today

• We recognize the importance of physical and moral
  training.
• Think about it you are required to take Health
  and P.E. and Freshman Focus, which has an element
  of character education.

5
Education in Ancient Athens

• The goal of education was to prepare well-rounded
  citizens.
• The emphasis was on the value of reason.
• The curriculum included reading, writing,
  mathematics, logic, physical education, music and
  drama.

6
Socrates and His Pupils

• Socrates was the ancient philosopher who taught
  Plato, who then taught Aristotle.
• Socrates introduced the strategy known as
  Socratic Method, and Aristotle introduced the
  scientific method of investigation.

7
The Socratic method

• First, demolish false opinions or assumptions.
• Then, use an experience-based questioning process
  that analyzes the results of certain actions.
• Finally, bring the student to a discovery of
  general ideas or concepts that can be applied to
  a new problem.

8
Education in Athens

• There was no compulsory education, except for
  males aged 18-20, who were required to go to
  military training to receive citizenship.
• Most believe that girls got no public schooling,
  but some archeological evidence suggests
  otherwise.

9
Athens Effect on Today

• We still use the Socratic teaching method in
  classes.
• We still focus on the importance of reason and
  use the scientific method to solve problems.

10
Education in the Middle Ages

• By the 600s, public education was almost gone.
  What was left was run by the church.
• The curriculum included grammar, rhetoric, logic,
  arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.

11
Education in the Renaissance

• Education, for the ruling classes, returned to a
  focus on the classics of the ancient cultures.
• The curriculum included reading, writing, and
  speaking in Latin, study of the Greek classics,
  and the study of history.

12
Education During the Reformation

• When Protestantism began and The Bible began to
  be printed in the vernacular, there was a shift
  in a need for literacy among the masses.
• Vernacular schools offered instruction in the
  native language in reading, writing, mathematics,
  and religion.

13
Education in Colonial America

• The Puritans were the first to establish laws
  regarding education in Colonial America.
• They were the first to establish compulsory
  education laws with the Massachusetts Law of 1642.

14
Education in the Colonies

• New England Colonies required elementary,
  secondary was optional.
• Mid-Atlantic Colonies no government support for
  schools, limited elementary and few secondary
  schools.
• Southern Colonies educational opportunity was
  determined almost entirely by social class.

15
From Colonial Times to Today

• A new focus on mathematics led to a split between
  grammar schools, which taught math and vocational
  skills, and academies, which focused on the
  classics curriculum.
• Private, then public colleges were established
  for higher education.

16
The Early 19th Century

• Monitorial schools one teacher, with several
  student teachers, lectured to several hundred
  students at a time.
• Sunday schools since many children worked in
  factories during the week, they were taught basic
  literacy on Sunday.

17
The Mid 19th Century

• Common schools were established in response to
  urbanization and mass immigration. Upper classes
  liked the social control.
• One-room schoolhouses were signs of civilization
  in an expanding Western frontier.

18
Increase in Public Support

• Horace Mann, considered the father of American
  education, began a movement in the mid 19th
  century to get more government money and support
  for education.
• Schools were built and improved upon, and
  teachers salaries were raised.

19
Increase in Public Support

• With government support came government control,
  and states began appointing superintendents to
  oversee education programs.
• Soon to follow were local school districts and
  standardization of the curriculum.

20
Secondary School Movement

• The first comprehensive high school was
  established in 1831, but prior to the Civil War,
  the movement moved slowly and generally existed
  only in urban areas.
• After the Civil War, when there was a greater
  demand for skilled workers, the high school
  became more popular, as many viewed it as a
  necessary step toward achieving social and
  economic goals.

21
Secondary School Movement

• The improved economy led to a larger tax base for
  public education, and eventually high schools
  were widely supported.
• By the early 20th century, child labor laws led
  to more rigid compulsory attendance laws and
  consequently a drastic decrease in illiteracy.

22
Education Today

• All children in the United States are required by
  law to attend school until the age of 16.
• All children are entitled to a totally free
  education, regardless of race, gender, or social
  status.

23
Education Today

• Students in public schools are provided with many
  support services to help them achieve success.
• Not only can everyone get a high school
  education, scholarship opportunities for colleges
  and universities are widely available as well.

24
The End!

• All information in this presentation comes from
  the following source.
• Webb, L. Dean, Arlene Metha, and K. Forbis
  Jordan. Foundations of American Education. 4th
  ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson Education,
  Inc., 2003.