Chapter 5: The History of Schools in the United States

Today, we believe in a free and universal education is the right of all children. However, in our country's history that hasn't always been the case. In the 300 years of our country's existence, we have gone through times when only the elite received an education to modern day public education. It was in the eighteenth century that the idea of educating all began to cross the minds of many people. Schooling of young students is where it all started, and with debate people began to want higher education for students. This is when teaching began to go beyond just teaching to read, write and be a good citizen, high schools were beginning to grow around the nation in the late nineteenth century. The need for middle-level education came on quick as well. In the twentieth century junior high schools sprouted across the nation. As time passed education of all people became more and more important in society.

When it comes to education in our history, just about everything has been debated. From who should be taught, what should be taught, who should be able to teach, and if education is important. In education's earliest stages people debated that schooling was only to learn to read, write, and the basics of being discipline. The debate about high school education centered around funding. Should higher education use public funds? In the end the need for higher education overcame the debate of if it could be affordable. An ongoing debate in American education was should all people be educated, including people of all races and cultures. This debate was never resolved for many years, discrimination was part of our history it took to he late twentieth century for changes to be made.