History of the American Education

    I found this chapter very intriguing; while I was reading, it may be because I enjoy history, or maybe it is just because I am going to the education field. The education system has gone through many changes over the years. 

    One of the first types of schools was "dame schools" (Lyman et al., 2015), and these schools came around during the time of American settlers. They needed these schools because parents could not teach their children and work. Married women and widows would teach in their homes, and they were paid a little bit for their work. These women would teach numbers, the alphabet, and how to read. After some time, in 1647, a law was created that required "... town government to provide schools … in towns or villages of more than 50 families" (Lyman et al., 2015). Yet, many children still did not receive an education because many families could not afford it. 

    When Thomas Jefferson was in Virginia, he came up with an education plan to create public schools. Jefferson "... advocated tax-supported … schools that would provide three years of basic literacy education" (Lyman et al., 2015); later, the Northwest Ordinances would say that education was a priority in the United States. 

    One-room schools would come from the Northwest Ordinances, and these schools would have students from first grade to eighth grade. One teacher would be responsible for all students, like organizing and implementing instruction, so the students would master basic skills. 

    From going to rooms schools to modern education, the education system would need to be modernized. Some ways of doing this would be changing how teaching was conducted. Another example would be getting teachers training, educating more students, and monitoring student development. Teachers were taught multiple students of different levels, so they would want teachers to do more group teaching.

    I feel that teachers getting the training would be a big game-changer because they can now make education for the students more intriguing. Lyman et al. explicitly state that "children's needs and interest are primary" (2015) also that students would also gain more interactive learning. 

References

Lyman, L., Foyle, H. C., Waters, S., & Lyman, A. L. (2015). Teaching Social Studies in the 
    Elementary School: Communities, Connections, and Citizenship. National Social Science Press.