Wayne Iannella, age 8, of Tempe, Ariz., for his question:
HOW DID SCHOOLS ORIGINATE?
A fine system of schooling is considered to be one of the most important institutions of the 20th century. In almost every country in the industrialized world the quality of schools is being stressed. More and more, people are coming to the realization that progress in the future depends on the members of the younger generation having fine educations.
It may surprise you to know that until the 1800s, most children never went to school. In the ancient days only a few selected children were given the privilege of receiving educations. Even in the advanced societies of ancient Greece schooling was very limited.
During the Middle Ages from 400 A.D. until about 1500, the Roman Catholic Church ran monastery schools in Europe, but only young men who were being trained for the priesthood were given a chance to attend.
By the end of the 1700s, the nation rather than the church became the chief symbol of people in a number of European countries and also the United States and Canada. As people shifted their greater loyalty from the church to the nation, control over formal schooling suddenly received a wider base and more children were given a chance for education.
It may surprise you to know that until the 1800s, most children never went to school. In the ancient days only a few selected children were given the privilege of receiving educations. Even in the advanced societies of ancient Greece schooling was very limited.
During the Middle Ages from 400 A.D. until about 1500, the Roman Catholic Church ran monastery schools in Europe, but only young men who were being trained for the priesthood were given a chance to attend.
By the end of the 1700s, the nation rather than the church became the chief symbol of people in a number of European countries and also the United States and Canada. As
people shifted their greater loyalty from the church to the nation, control over formal schooling suddenly received a wider base and more children were given a chance for education.
Political leaders in America during the early 1800s, like those in Europe, realized that the economic and social well-being of a nation depended on educated citizens. Labor unions, then growing in the cities, also made demands for proper schooling for the children of workers.
During this period, many state legislatures gave individual communities the authroity to collect property taxes to pay for schools. Many states at this time also started giving school districts financial aid.
The nation's first state board of education was established in Massachusetts in 1837. And by 1850 many states began passing compulsory school attendance laws which required children to attend school until they reached a certain age or grade. Every state except Mississippi has such a law today.
The nation's first public high school was started in Boston in 1821. The first public kindergarten opened in 1873 in St. Louis.
Physical education classes started in schools in the 1870s with shop classes in the industrial arts being added in the 1880s. Homemaking classes were introduced in the 1890s.
During this century the quality of schooling and education has increased dramatically. More and more students are now not only finishing high school but are going on to attend and graduate from colleges.