Equal Education for All

Equal Education For All

Education has always been a part of the American culture. In the earliest years of being a nation, many people realized how important education was to a free society. Thomas Jefferson, especially, believed that “a continuous system of public education was the primary requisite of a free nation” (Rippa, 1993, p. 545). However, public education was not popularized until the 1830’s when a financial hardship hit the United States and caused people to look for reform in education as a way to treat uplift man and society. Horace Mann, known as the father of public education, was the most influential spokesman for this reform. His ideas that education should be separate from religious influences, provide well-prepared teachers, and be the responsibility of the state governments, remain a staple in the American educational system today (Rippa, 1993, p. 546).

Throughout the years education has grown to many different people. At the start of the public school system, males and females were not considered equal. Males provided for the family while the female carried out domestic chores such as cooking, cleaning, and raising children. Therefore, the first schools were made up of mostly male students. It was not for several years later that girls were allowed to enter the school system. However, males and females were not the only people considered to be unequal, African-Americans were largely considered unequal against a majority white population. The biggest change in the public school system was the integration of African-Americans into white schools in the 1950’s. Around the same time Mexican-Americans and Asian-Americans demanded the same right for equality in education. Nevertheless, even with definitive prog...

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