Education in the US, control of education, goals of education, school types, standards

Since the early colonial times Americans have always seen education as very important. Among the first settlers there was a high proportion of educated men. There was an average of one university man to 40 or 50 families.

In 1837 the Oberlin College in Ohio was the first one which admitted women on an equal basis with men. By 1850, every state had provided a system of free public schools open to all and paid for by public taxes.

Today, 88 % of American children attend public schools and 12 % go to private schools.

A lot of private schools are run by churches or religious groups.

The Americans believe that the future of society depends on the quantity and quality of its educated citizens. That?s why a lot of Americans are still willing to give more money to education.

Until 1954, the generally established principle of separate but equal facilities largely barred Negroes from white schools, especially in the South. In 1954 a Supreme Court ruling required the integration of Negroes into the public school system. This led to many conflicts in the Southern states.

In recent years court orders for busing as a means for achieving integration have often led to racial confrontations among students in the school.

Most Negro-children still go to segregated schools.

2) Control of education There are two influences on American education which give it its present character. The first is governmental and the second is cultural. The United States don?t have a national system of education.

It?s considered to be a matter for the people of each state. As a result, each of the 50 state legislatures is free to determine its own system for its public schools.

But school boards set the school policy and decide about the curriculum.

The result is that there is an enormous amount of variety and flexibility in elementary, secondary and higher education.

Some school systems in the US are very different, the one are extremely conservative, the others are progressive and liberal. There are also big differences in the quality of education because local and state taxes support the public schools.

High schools offer study courses which their students need. The range of courses is enormous. What makes the American education makes so different from most other countries is that all programs, whether academic, technical, or practical, are taught under one roof.

2. 1. Special features The U.

S. Office of Education, which is part of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, has only advisory functions. A characteristic American feature is the tendency to make children of all social levels attend comprehensive schools together as long as possible.

The principles of education are less authoritarian in the U.

S. A than in almost any European country. The democratic American tradition and the fact that schools have always played a major part in the process of naturalizing alien immigrants have had important results. American schools ...