Throughout our history, education has been a controversial topic. There have been many ideas and concepts that have been brought into the educational field by some great educational figures. These educational figures have shown us many different ways that education can take form. They showed us the past and how we can learn and grow from it. They have changed education so that it is better than it was before. Whatever these educational figures did they had a huge impact on education and has helped shape the education system that we now have today.
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin unlike many of our other figures did not have a educational theory or idea. Benjamin Franklin showed us how not every citizen had to get the same form of education. Franklin was first enrolled in a grammar school, which was common at the time, after only a short period of time he dropped out. He then went to a school that focused on bookkeeping and mathematics. This schooling allowed him to gain an apprenticeship and helped him becoming one of the most important early american figures. Franklin showed us that for many one way may not make all successful. It helped make way for many different types of schooling throughout our history. |
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, commonly known as one of the founding fathers, had a big role in the education field. Thomas Jefferson viewed education as an important element in creating a nation. He believed that every citizen should have the right to basic education, which allowed them to gain the knowledge they need to become good American citizens. He wanted everyone to have a basic education, so he wanted to create free schooling for the younger generation. They would be able to get an education for three years, the counties would be divided into 100 wards with one school in each. Despite Jefferson having many educational ideas most of his ideas were not adopted. |
Noah Webster
Noah Webster was an educational figure who wanted to make sure that children got the best education possible. Many may recognize the name Webster from the Webster spelling book. Noah Webster’s greatest educational accomplishment was the Webster spelling book. This book was among some of the first American textbooks. His book focuses on our own country, he made the Webster spelling book different from previous common languages. He made a language that was unique to America. His book taught students not only spelling but good lessons about being good people. Webster believed that a child should have the best education, it is better to have no education than a bad one. He focused on making children good people and not only learning. |
Horace Mann
Horace Mann was one of the early educational figures. He had many shared beliefs with Jefferson. For example, he also thought that education was one of the most important aspects of creating a nation and good citizens. Although Mann is most commonly known as the “Father of the Common School.” Horace Mann created the common school movement. The common school was a school that allowed for everyone to attend. It looked a little into religion, but for the most part, religion was taken out of the schools so that people from all different religions could attend. Mann tried to appeal to many different types of people on the aspect of the common schools. For example, he said that schooling makes better workers. Overall, Mann had big contributions to education through the common school movement. |
Frederick Douglass
Fredrick Douglass grew up as a slave. During the time that he was a slave, many ideas were going around about the education of slaves. At this point, slaveowners and white people believed that if a slave were to get an education then they could become free. Douglass realized this and began to take advantage of it. He showed us how hard it was to get an education as a slave, he asked little boys for help, looked at books while his master was not there, and learned to write at the ship docks. He eventually learned to read and write, which allowed him to escape from slavery and later become a great African American teacher. Although Douglass did not have an educational theory, he helps us get a better understanding of education for slaves during this time. |
John Dewey
John Dewey is known for his work in the Progressive period. During this time many ideas for new and different schooling were coming to light. One example was vocational education which emphasized training for a job, this was for kids who were less likely to be college-bound. Dewey opposed this idea, his idea for schooling was a child-centered curriculum. With this curriculum, students would be able to learn more skills that they could use at any job or in everyday life. This curriculum focused on the students and what made them engages and interested in school. This idea of a child-centered curriculum was what John Dewey focused on and is what he is most know for. |
Catherine E. Beecher
Catherine E. Beecher had quite a bit of involvement with women teachers towards the beginning of education in the United States. She believed that women were good teachers for the lower grade levels. Schooling helps shape children into the people that they are. Before women were teaching in classrooms it was all men, men were looked at as harsher and do not connect as well. Women are nurturing and create a good environment within the classroom, without neglect. She also believed that it was better for both men and women because women would get low salaries and men would be able to move up to the higher positions within the colleges and universities. Catherine E. Beecher was a driving force in putting women in schools as teachers. |
Herbert Kohl
Herbert Kohl was a new teacher in the mid-1960s. He showed us how hard it was to be a teacher during this time. He explained how when you got to a classroom it was something that you were not expecting. The conditions within the classroom were very poor. The students were not up to the standards that they were supposed to be at and the materials within the classroom were in very poor condition. He explained that teaching in these conditions was very tiring, you had to be able to be flexible and connect with the students. Herbert Kohl showed us one example of how hard it was to be a teacher. |
Kenneth B. Clark
Kenneth B. Clark conducted research in the 1950s that helped many people get a better understanding of racism in terms of education. He proved that segregation within the schools was causing students to acquire a racial attitude or a racist mentality. Segregation within the schools causes students to have a poor mentality about the African American race, even if they are African American. This research was crucial when it came to the Brown v. Board of Education case. Clark’s research was a huge reason why the case turned out to be in favor of Brown. |
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36th president of the United States. During his time as president Johnson made great strides in the education field. One of his main focuses within the education field and in general was poverty. Lyndon B. Johnson started the Head Start program, which gives low-income children a chance to prepare for school. Despite the Head Start program being a big achievement for Johnson, the biggest thing that came out of Johnson’s presidency from an educational standpoint was the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. This act helped give funds to schools that had more poverty, and needed help financially, with their educational programs. This act has stayed in place for a very long time, although it has had some name changes, it is still in place today. |