Public Education

Fill in the blank.

"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 ________________________ in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." John Adams, US President - 1785.

_{(from, "Why We Still Need Public Education, 1996)}

• Bank.

• Brothel.

• School.

• Church.

In addition to preparing young people for productive work and fulfilling lives, public education has also been expected to accomplish certain collective missions aimed at promoting the common good, specifically...

• Preparing youth to become responsible citizens.

• Institutionalizing standards instead of encouraging creativity.

• Reducing inequalities in American society.

• Forging a common culture from a nation of immigrants.

In the "General School Act of 1647," the Massachusetts Bay Colony stated that towns of sufficient size were to appoint someone to teach the children at the expense of their parents.

By the American Revolution, the idea of public education had spread, and the "how" and "who" would be educated and "how it would be funded" was varied, which led to ___________________.

_{(from, "Why We Still Need Public Education, 1996)}

• Inequities.

• Ignorance.

• Invalids.

• Insurgence.

"After the American Revolution and believing that the survival of the new republic depended on citizens with sufficient education to govern themselves, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, among others, supported the creation of publicly funded schools. Jefferson submitted a proposal to the Virginia legislature in 1779 to create free elementary schools across the state for all white boys and girls, regardless of family income, and to educate the brightest boys from each school through adolescence at public expense. But the conservative legislature did not want to assume the burden of educating the _______________, and the bill was defeated.

_{(from, "Why We Still Need Public Education, 1996)}

• Girls.

• Nation.

• Boys.

• Poor.

Public education is the ___ part of a state's budget.

• least significant

• smallest

• most important

• largest

Is it your human right to receive an education.

• TRUE

• FALSE

Jackson lives in rural Chile, and is the son of a poor farmer.  The nearest school is 50 miles away, and he has no means to get there.   What does the educational system in Jackson’s country lack?

• Formal Education

• Informal Education

• Universal Access

• Latent Functions

What type of public policy occurs when the federal government sets standards for public schools?

• Economic Policy

• Social Policy

• Foreign and Defense Policy

Still, in the 1780's, "Jefferson’s ideas about the connection between education and democracy proved influential. The federal Land Ordinance law of 1785, reserved a portion of revenues from land sales to fund public schools..., and Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire enacted general laws to fund tax-supported schools. It would take another 50 years, however, before a broad system of _______________________ public schools became a reality.

_{(from, "Why We Still Need Public Education, 1996)}

• Equitable.

• Federally funded.

• Tax supported.

• Unified.

"Little by little, public schools took hold in communities, often because the ___________________, rather than the politicians, demanded them.

In the 1830s, the push for public education gained momentum when reformers...promoted the notion of the “common school.” These schools would be publicly funded and locally governed and would offer a common curriculum to all students."

_{(from, "Why We Still Need Public Education, 1996)}

• Local people.

• Clergymen.

• School teachers.

• Local businesses.