Let Freedom Ring, a United States History. Silver Budget Company, 1977, p. 276
in which the ability to read and write separated the economic classes.
The importance of education in American life was also reflected in the Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 which set guidelines for organizing the new lands to the west. They provided for one square mile of land in each township to be reserved for public schools. By 1859, every state had provided for a system of free public schools open to all and paid by public taxes.
Since its inception in the mid-1800s the nation's public school system has also helped millions of immigrant children learn the language and skills necessary to succeed in their new country. It goes without saying that a great deal of the economic, political, scientific, and cultural progress America has made in its relatively short history is due to its commitment to the ideal of equal opportunity. In this respect one can't but mention the landmark case of Brown V Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) in which the US Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated public schools were unconstitutional. Later court decisions ordered schools to desegregate. To comply, many school districts began bussing students to schools outside their neighborhoods to bring together children of different races and ethnic backgrounds.
The aim of American education to educate as many Americans as possible to the best of their abilities is proved by recent legislation, including school voucher program, which enables students attend a public school outside their neighborhoods, and No Child Left Behind law passed by Congress in 2001. The latter reflects many of President George W. Bush's education initiatives, and aims to close achievement gaps among students from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as among those with special needs or learning disabilities. The belief that the future of society depends on the quantity and quality of its educated citizens makes it clear why a great many Americans are still willing to give more money to education. p> 2.2 A Brief Account of American Education: Differences and Similarities
Every American is entitled to an education. School attendance is compulsory for all children. Students attend school five to seven hours a day, five days a week for nine months each year, from September to June. Public education from kindergarten through grade 12 is tax-supported; no tuition is required.
About 85 per cent of American children attend public schools. The other 15 percent choose to pay tuition fees to attend private schools. The latter ones are mostly run by religious organizations and generally include religious instruction.
In spite of the above said the United States do not have a national system of education. Education is considered to be a matter for the people of each state. Although there is a Federal Department of Education, its function is merely to gather information, to advice, and to help finance certain educational programs. Education, Americans say, is "a national concern, a state responsibility, and a local function ". As a result, each of the 50 state legislatures is free to determine its own system for its own public schools.
In turn, however, state constitution gives the actual administrative control of the public schools to local communities. There are some 16000 school districts within the 50 states. School boards made up of individual citizens elected from each community oversee the schools in each district. They, not the state, set school policy and actually decide what is to be taught.
The major result of the decent realization is that there is enormous amount of variety and flexibility in elementary and secondary education throughout the nation. In public schools, decisions about school curriculum, teacher certification, and student achievement standards are made by Boards of Education at the state and/or district level. For example, although all states today require that children attend school until a certain age, it varies from 14 to 18 years. Or, as another example, in about 60 per cent of the states, local schools are free to choose any teaching materials or textbooks which they think are appropriate. In the remaining states, only such teaching materials may be used in public schools which have been approved by the state boards of education. Some school systems require that a high school student completes three years of mathematics, before graduation. The national average however is lower. p> Funding for schools is another source of difference. Communities and states that are able or willing to pay more for school buildings, materials, and teachers, almost always have better educational systems than those that cannot or do not.
Because of the great variety of schools, and the many differences among them...
