1. Taking the Mystery Out of the History of Education
Fact or Fiction
Taking the Mystery Out of the History of Education

2. Fact or Fiction?
George Washington is known as the Father of American Education.

3. Fiction
Horace Mann is known as the Father of American Education. He worked tirelessly for free education.

4. Fact or Fiction?
William H.McGuffey wrote a series of readers that incorporated religion along with core subjects.

5. Fact
The McGuffey reader was the first standardized textbook in American schools.

6. Fact or Fiction?
Maria Montessori established Project Head Start in 1965 for disadvantaged preschool children.

7. Fiction
Project Head Start was established in 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson. It provided opportunities for disadvantaged children.

8. Fact or Fiction?
Catherine Beecher had a great impact on establishing teacher training schools, also known as normal schools. She saw the need for better- educated teachers.

9. Fact
Beecher also believed that women were responsible for the education and moral development of future generations.

10. Fact or Fiction?
Benjamin Bloom is best known for his fight to include blacks and Native Americans in the American education system.

11. Fiction
Benjamin Bloom developed Bloom’s Taxonomy, a system for classifying learning objectives according to their complexity in the mid 1900s.

12. Fact or Fiction?
John Dewey was a Progressive who believed students should be problem-solvers and use critical-thinking skills.

13. Fact
Prior to Dewey, education was characterized by memorizing information and repeating it.

14. Fact or Fiction?
Benjamin Franklin’s curiosity to understand the world inspired him to educate the population of Colonial America. He established the Academy of Philadelphia, which focused on preparing men for leadership in government and business.

15. Fact
Franklin’s curriculum included real-world learning experiences.

16. Fact or Fiction?
The concept of kindergarten or “children’s garden” was established by Italian doctor Maria Montessori.

17. Fiction
Friedrich Froebel was a German educator who changed thinking about early childhood education. He established a new type of school for children ages three and four. Called a kindergarten, or “child’s garden,” it used play, activities, stories, and songs to establish an educational environment that encouraged self- activity and self-development.

18. Fact or Fiction?
Dame Schools were the first all-girl American schools. They provided some of the first opportunities for women to become educated.

19. Fiction
Dame schools existed in the American colonies. Open to both boys and girls, they were run by women in their own homes who could read and write.

20. Fact or Fiction?
An influential African- American educator, Booker T. Washington encouraged others to rise through education and hard work. He founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

21. Fact
Booker T. Washington’s quote,“Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work,” explains his drive and life-long commitment to education.

22. Fact or Fiction?
Because he was dissatisfied with British textbooks, Noah Webster reshaped the English language by producing the American Spelling Book in

23. Fact
Also, Webster’s last name is most often associated with An American Dictionary of the English Language, the first complete dictionary of American English, published in 1828.

24. Fact or Fiction?
As the founder of the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson believed that ignorance was the enemy of freedom.

25. Fact
Jefferson’s strong belief that the strength of a country is related to the education of its people led to the quote, “Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.”

26. Fact or Fiction?
A hornbook was used by teachers in colonial times to call students in from recess. One would blow into the horn to signal “time to get back to the books.”

27. Fiction
A hornbook was a flat wooden board with a handle. A sheet of paper containing the alphabet, a prayer, and Roman numerals was covered on the board with a thin piece of clear animal horn.

28. Fact or Fiction?
Common schools were funded by local property taxes, charged no tuition, were open to children of all races and religions.

29. Fiction
Although common schools were free and funded by tax dollars, they were initially open only to white students.

30. Fact or Fiction?
Although segregation had been addressed earlier in American history, Brown v. the Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas, ruled that segregated schools were unequal.

31. Fact
The result of the ruling led to the beginning of segregation across the United States, which would take the next 30+ years to implement.

32. Fact or Fiction?
Bilingual education was first addressed in the 1970s in a case involving two school districts in Texas.

33. Fiction
Surprisingly, in the early 1900s, the first bilingual education required Englih to be spoken in schools that taught in German, the first language of the children of immigrants.

34. Fact or Fiction?
Early classrooms were led mostly by female teachers.

35. Fiction
Men primarily filled the role of teachers in early colonial America. Catherine Beecher encouraged women to receive training, thus increasing the number of female-led classrooms in the early 1800s.

36. Fact or Fiction?
The Morrill Act, established by Abraham Lincoln, required all states to elect school boards to govern school districts.

37. Fiction
The Morrill Act established at least one land-grant college per state.

38. Fact or Fiction?
The progressive movement was a backward way of thinking that negatively impacted education in the 1970s.

39. Fiction
Progressives (1880 – 1920) led a movement that encouraged cooperative learning and allowing student interests to guide their learning.

40. Fact or Fiction?
No Child Left Behind was a program introduced by George W. Bush. It uses standardized tests to measure what students know.

41. Fact
NCLB was created because there was evidence that children were being promoted without actually mastering concepts.

42. Fact or Fiction?
Under Federal law, children with disabilities are required to receive free public education. This applies only to physical disabilities.

43. Fiction
Students with physical, intellectual, and emotional disabilities are entitled to a free public education under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act.

44. Fact or Fiction?
Charter schools are private schools that follow a rigid set of guidelines to outperform public schools.

45. Fiction
Charter schools are public schools that operate with freedom from regulations that apply to most public schools.

46. Fact or Fiction?
The Smith-Hughes Act promoted vocational training. This is known today as on-the- job training.

47. Fiction
Vocational education is currently known as career and technical education. It prepares students for specific trades and occupations.

48. Fact or Fiction?
Gallaudett University was the first institution open specifically to Native Americans.

49. Fiction
The innovative Gallaudett University for the Deaf opened in 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut.

50. Fact or Fiction?
Benjamin Franklin established the first library in America.

51. Fiction
Benjamin Franklin is credited with this honor as his natural curiosity and love for learning led to a desire to share resources with the public.

52. Fact or Fiction?
The influx of computers into American classrooms was hampered by their high price when they were first used as educational tools.

53. Fact
In the early 80s, very little educational software existed and technology was expensive. As the cost of software and computers continues to decline, technology is more readily available to learners.

54. Fact or Fiction?
Title IX is the Federal ruling that requires all students to participate in standardized testing and meet the requirements of the national standards.

55. Fiction
Title IX prohibits discrimination based on gender in all programs. Boys and girls are to be provided equal opportunities in programs using Federal funds.

56. Fact or Fiction?
Normal schools were established during Horace Mann’s tenure as governor of Massachusetts. They provided a higher quality and more equitable form of education.

57. Fact
Prior to normal schools, education was primarily for the rich and for males.

58. How did you do?
Add up your scores.

59. The Results: Education History “Smartie” (19 and above)
Education History “Dum- Dum” (18 and below)