In my Civic Engagement Essay, the leader I choose was Horace Mann who lived from 1776 to 1859 and had a profound influence on what we call the education system. Mann started off his career in life as a lawyer in Massachusetts. While he was good at being a lawyer he soon found himself elected to the senate set for Massachusetts State. In this position he quickly came to realize that the state’s schools were performing poorly and was highly unorganized. At this point in history teacher were either poorly trained or not trained at all. In addition to the lack of qualified teachers the state also faced high levels of poverty which kept many children from attending school (Baines, 2006).
In Order to rectify the situation of depressed attendance numbers and lack of qualified educators; Mann took on this challenge to enact reformation of the education system. He accomplished through many different avenues. His first advance in education what to establish a school for the mentally handicapped which during his time was unheard of. Before then there had never been a school that catered to a specific subset of children with special needs. Following this same path he also implemented the idea of having colleges setup that would cater specify to the education and training of teacher. He felt that it was important to have well trained teacher in order for the schools to be successful in teach children (Baines, 2006).
Mann’s highest achievement in the advancement of education was when he created was the first interracial, coed, and free school system. This would allow anyone from any race to attend school without the financial burdens that had kept the poor out of school in the past. Mann’s vision for doing this was to create a unified collective within his state in order to advance diversity in education. He was able to push for this reform in education by inspiring others is the fact that education was a way to influence moral behaviors. He saw education as the tool guild the morality of others (Baines, 2006).
Mann was held as a leader in the education reform movement for much reason. The first if the qualities he possessed. Leaders often have certain quality that makes them leaders of others. In Mann’s case, his most notable quality was his concern for other. Concern for others by definition is a leader that cares for and nurturers the concept of humanity while considering other first and foremost (Manning, and Curtis, 2012).
Mann wrote about, in varying degrees, his improvement interests in the areas of public versus private school attendance, preparing the student for real life experiences, equality among people, gender roles and gender expectations, recognition of teacher accomplishments and attributes. In addition, teacher safety, morality, classroom management and discipline, academic content, salary, books and qualified teachers were among his primary concerns.
--Noah webster also known as the "School Master of America", published the blue back speller to teach students about the U.S becoming America's textbook. Thomas Jefferson believed the survival of the democracy depended on the education of U.S citizens, no education for slaves, only three years for women, and only focused on finding smart white men. His ideas were considered radical. His bill for the education was defeated every time and he created the University of Virginia. His biggest belief was that public education was essential to a democracy. Horace Mann 1830-1840s, in Massuchusetts state senate, first secretary of education, and visited over 1000 schools reporting on their conditions resulting in him wanting to change public schools. He said governments have to make the changes. Through lectures and conventions he created the common schools which included everyone and was supported through taxes. He standardized al...
Ever since slavery has been established there has been negative and positive influences for white Americans. Some white Americans did not show any remorse for the African Americans and believed they deserved to be slaves. However, there were good white Americans like Horace Greeley that went to their grave to abolish slavery, and the brutality the Africans Americans faced. There was fairness for the African Americans because they were considered not human. People like D.L. Moody who was an evangelist that preached only his sermons to whites. Certain events like the yellow-fever epidemic of 1878 blamed the African Americans for the cause of it, yet some political leaders took it as an advantage to help stop slavery. These influences were not only bad influence, but positive as well.
The issue of equality in education is not a new problem. In 1787, our federal government required all territories petitioning for statehood to provide free education for all citizens. As part of this requirement, every state constitution included, “an education clause, which typically called for a “thorough and efficient” or “uniform” system of public schools” (School Funding 6). Despite this requirement, a “uniform” system of schools has yet to be achieved in this country for a variety of reasons, many of which I will discuss later on. During the early part of th...
While some citizens of the United States, between 1825 and 1850, believed that reform was foolish and that the nation should stick to its old conduct, reformists in this time period still sought to make the United States a more ideally democratic nation. This was an age of nationalism and pride, and where there was pride in one’s country, there was the aspiration to improve one’s country even further. Many new reformist and abolitionist groups began to form, all attempting to change aspects of the United States that the respective groups thought to be unfair or unjust. Some groups, such as lower and middle class women and immigrants, sought to improve rights within the county, while other reformers aspired to change the American education system into a more efficient way of teaching the county’s youth. Still other reform groups, particularly involved in the church and the second great awakening, wanted to change society as a whole. This was a time and age of change, and all these reforms were intended to contribute to the democratic way our country operated.
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Originally founded by Mary Lyon as Mount Holyoke Female Seminary on 8 November 1837, it is the "first of the Seven Sisters" and is the oldest continuing institution of higher education for women in the United States. In addition, according to the United States Department of Education, "Mount Holyoke’s significance is that it became a model for a multitude of other women’s colleges throughout the country." (contributors, 2008) 1834 was a turning point for Mary Lyon. She decided to leave Ipswich Female Seminary, where she was assistant principal, and focus all of her time and efforts on founding an institution of higher education for women. For the next three years, she crusaded tirelessly for funds and support. It was not the best time to ask people for donations, the U.S. was in a severe economic depression. But Mary Lyon persisted. She wrote circulars and ads announcing the plan for the school, raised money, persuaded prominent men to back her enterprise, developed a curriculum, visited schools and talked to educators as far away as Detroit, chose the school's location, supervised the design and construction of a building, brought equipment, hired teachers, and selected students. She endured ridicule from those who felt her ambitious undertaking would be "wasted" on women. Her constant travels often left her in a state of exhaustion. Yet, Mary Lyon never doubted her belief that women deserved to have the same opportunities for higher education as their brothers.
Horace Mann was an American education reformer and also was a politician known for encouraging universal public education. His efforts were to establish that education should be universal, free. Also, that education should be social efficiency oriented.
Schools have evolved constantly throughout the years starting when they were first created, to our present day. Society has been testing multiple schooling styles to try and find the best form to benefit all students equally. In the reading assigned in class from the textbook, “School and Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives,” I agree with Orestes Brownson’s assessment that Horace Mann’s plan for common schooling and establishment of normal schools was undemocratic, because it did affect our free society as a country, produce conservative teachers and the board did have influence on what books should be placed in school libraries.
...Of Frederick Douglass." Philosophical Studies In Education 39.(2008): 24-34. Education Research Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Throughout history, there have been great leaders, some for the good of humanity, and some for the not-so good of humanity. The one element all leaders have in common is in some way, have changed the course of history. The one great leader I have found to be interesting and envision of a great leader is William Bradford, an original passenger on the Mayflower, and the first ever governor elected on what is to become, American Soil.
Within the last couple of centuries, there have been a great number of influential leaders in the education field, but one that always stood out to me and impacted me the most is Booker T. Washington.
If schools do not build character in young students, the next generation will be closed minded, illogical, and far from the requirements of a leader. However, another article also supports my claim. The article “The Goal of Education is Becoming” by Marc Prensky, informs readers about how the standard of the education systems today are not giving all the needed tools to become leaders by saying “ We spend so much time and effort looking at test scores, averages, and other petty measurements of "learning" that we have little time or energy left to focus on who our students are (or are not) as individuals, what they love or hate, or what drives them (Prensky2).” Prensky is saying that schools are only looking at the academic achievements of the students, but not at all their artistic, characteristic achievements. Students should be thriving to become better individuals, thinkers, and idealists. They can achieve this through the right environment, encouragement, and curriculum from
Teachers are a very important aspect of children and adult learners’ lives. Educator professionals’ work is inextricably linked to the success of students, schools, and states. The shortage of teachers is increasing due to some having a lack of certification and being qualified. This paper will address the shortage of special education teachers, the shortage of teachers in rural areas, and other educators; also, how to recruit and retain teachers who are already in the teaching profession and what contributes to the decreasing numbers of teachers.
Dr. Montessori’s first notable success was when she had several of her eight year old students apply to take the State examinations for reading and writing. The children who were “defective” did not just pass but had above average scores. After the results came in Maria thought “If mentally disabled children could be brought to the level of normal children then (she) wanted to study the potential of ‘normal’ children” [Michael Olaf’s Essential Montessori: School Edition for ages 3-12+].
“Leadership for educational equity: About LEE.” Leadership for educational equity. Web. 19 Apr. 2014 http://educationalequity.org/about/