History of Education in The United States - Growth of Public Schools

Growth of Public Schools

"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves."

— John Adams, U.S. President, 1785

After the Revolution, an emphasis was put on education, especially in the northern states, which rapidly established public schools. By the year 1870, all states had free elementary schools. The US population had one of the highest literacy rates at the time. Private academies flourished in the towns across the country, but rural areas (where most people lived) had few schools before the 1880s.

In 1821, Boston started the first public high school in the United States. By the close of the 19th century, public secondary schools began to outnumber private ones.

Over the years, Americans have been influenced by a number of European reformers; among them Pestalozzi, Herbart, and Montessori.

Read more about this topic:  History Of Education In The United States

Famous quotes containing the words growth of, growth, public and/or schools:

    “Hence, the less government we have, the better,—the fewer laws, and the less confided power. The antidote to this abuse of formal Government, is, the influence of private character, the growth of the Individual; the appearance of the principal to supersede the proxy; the appearance of the wise man, of whom the existing government, is, it must be owned, but a shabby imitation.”
    —Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    “There are enough fagots and waste wood of all kinds in the forests of most of our towns to support many fires, but which at present warm none, and, some think, hinder the growth of the young wood.”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    “I have known the inexorable sadness of pencils,
    Neat in their boxes, dolor of pad and paper-weight,
    All the misery of manilla folders and mucilage,
    Desolation in immaculate public places,”
    —Theodore Roethke (1908–1963)

    “The schools begin with what they call the elements, and where do they end?”
    —Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)