Compulsory education Essay

The K-12 program line form is the in the ordinary eye(predicate) gentility musical arrangement that most people are familiar with today. Comprised of 13 socio-economic classs, kindergarten through 12th, it refers to the earth direct system in all of the joined States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and split of Europe as well. It is knockout to pinpoint the exact history of pedagogics, as it has been occurring in some form for centuries in all parts of the world.Today, K-12 education represents the dictatorial education call for of all children in the US. Though this type of education ordure be attained from either publicly or common soldierly funded institutions, children who have reached compulsory school sequence (ranging from age six to eight, depending on the state) are required by law to attend school. Compulsory education in the United States began over 150 years ago when Horace Mann established a statewide system of education in Massachu make up ones mindts, whi ch became the first state to pass school attendance laws in 1852. By 1918, children were required by law to receive an education in all states.Kindergarten was actually developed prior to compulsory education. Though it is not compulsory in all states, children are required to start school in most states at the age of six. If the child is too young to start kindergarten the year he turns five, kindergarten whitethorn technically be required since he will be turning six that school year. The watchword kindergarten is of German origin and means childrens garden. The concept was the brainchild of Friedrich Froebel, a self-educated philosophical teacher, who sought-after(a) to develop a place of guided play for children to bloom.The first kindergarten established in England was in 1852, and the United States followed by establishing its first in 1856. Though education was required of all children in Massachusetts by that time and numerous other states were following suit, not all scho ols provided, nor required, kindergarten.Similarly, not all schools required a student to stay in school beyond a certain grade, as compulsory education initially applied only to elementary aged children. Many children were also permitted to miss portions of theschool year, in particular farmers children who were needed at home for harvesting crops and preparing for the winter.The Education Act of 1918, or the Fisher Act, was an act of British Parliament that implemented changes in progressive education and helped form many aspects of the K-12 education system employ today. The Fisher Act raised the age at which children could leave school to 14 and addressed education needs, such as health inspections and accommodations for special needs children. This act also led to the development of a committee that reported to and made recommendations to policy makers regarding education.In the United States, unlike England, public education was governed by each individual state. As early as 1791, seven states had specific provisions for education in their own individual constitutions and were formed partly on the basis of education without religious bias. Prior to the notch of compulsory school attendance laws, education was primarily localized and available only to the wealthy, and it often imply religious teachings. Following the compulsory attendance laws, Catholics banned together in opposition of states mandating common cultivation and created private Catholic schools. In 1925, the Supreme flirt ruled that children could attend public or private schools for education.Over time, each individual state developed its own department of education to oversee the public education system. Compulsory attendance grew to include kindergarten and mandate attendance through the age of 16. Funding sources for public education also grew to include federal, state and local sources. Federal funding was overseen by the United States surgical incision of Health, Education, and W elfare from 1953 to 1979, until it was divided and the US Department of Education was formed as a stand-alone entity.By the 1950s, compulsory education had become well established, but the K-12 education system was really still in its infancy. Schools were still primarily localized, but education was no longer available only to the wealthy. Even in the 1950s, however, sequestration by race was still common practice in public schools in the US. wherefore came another landmark decision bythe Supreme Court.In 1954, in the US Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Though this decision was met with resistance and it took many years before legalized segregation was all in all eliminated, specially in southern states, the federal courts eventually achieved success.This achievement was not without its repercussions, and many urban and interior(a) city schools sa w an exodus of wealthy and middle-class white families, who moved to suburban districts. In time, many urban districts were left only with poor families and it became difficult to attract and pay for quality teachers and education.Since the formation of the US Department of Education in 1979, the education system has been similar to what is found today, but has lowgone a serial of developments and amendments to accommodate the changing needs of education. Funding has always been a source of concern for public schools, especially in poor, urban districts, where the quality of education also came into question.As a result, federal funding is straightway directly related to school performance as determined by standardized testing under the current No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). NCLB was signed into law by death chair George W. Bush 3 January 2002. Under this law, standards of accountability were increased in an effort to improve performance and to move on parents flexibility in choosing schools.NCLB requires states to administer assessments of basic skills to all students at certain grade levels and achieve the standards set forth by each state in order to receive federal funding. Specific and more(prenominal) rigorous goals were placed on reading achievements under this law and states also had to develop high school exit or graduation exams with specific measures of assessment in place as well. The intention was to bandage schools to a higherlevel of accountability, but was debated from its inception.Currently, the K-12 public education system provides a 12th grade education to eligible students for free. Families have the option of sending their children to private schools, but are then amenable for tuition. The future of education will undoubtedly experience change and social and economical challenges, just as it has in the past. Programs may soon expand to include pre-K compulsory attendance and could even expand to include options beyond the 12th g rade, as these are concepts, in their earliest stages, currently being explored.