Social Reform -- Education -- Grade 08 -- Internet Resources
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A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated.

- Horace Mann

OVERVIEW

In the early 1800s, many children worked instead of going to school.  Those who did go to school learned only basic reading, writing, and math.  A good education was reserved for the wealthy who could afford tutors and private schools.  Efforts to improve education began in the 1820s.  Horace Mann was the leader of the movement to provide free education to all children.  He believed that the government should pay for public schools and for teacher training.  He worked to improve teaching practices and curriculum, and to make the school year longer. Mann led the first state board of education in the United States.  It was in Massachusetts.  Under his leadership, Massachusetts passed the first compulsory school law.  The law required all children to go to school.  Many Northern states followed Massachusetts’s example.  By 1850, many Northern states had enrolled fifty percent of white children in schools.  Public schools were not for everyone though.  African Americans were often excluded from attendance, especially in the South, and girls were usually not taught more than basic reading and writing skills.

The following is an 1809 speech by New York Governor DeWitt Clinton explained the importance of education.  Use information in this document (below) to identify the beliefs of education reformers.

Address on Monitorial Education

URL: http://www.constitution.org/lanc/dewitt_clinton.htm

The broadside (below) was published in 1936.  It is a summary of quotes from Horace Mann, a social reformer dedicated to expanding education.  He is known as the “Father of the Common School” due to his work to ensure publicly funded education for all children.  Use information from the document to identify methods used by education reformers to bring about change.

Horace Mann 1796-1859.  Thoughts from His Writings

URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

1)      Type “Horace Mann” in the SEARCH box.

2)      Choose ITEM TITLE (14) - Horace Mann 1796-1859. Thoughts from his writings…Baltimore, Md. Norman T.A. Munder 1936.

3)      Double click on the first image to enlarge it.

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