compensations in this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
RALPH WALDO EMERSON - considered the leader of the transcendentalists, an American philosophical movement that believed all humans, like all nature, were born good. - If people became corrupt, it was because some institution of society had ruined them. - This philosophy had a strong influence on American society in the 1830s and 40s, and many adherents turned their attention to making America into a better place. HORACE MANN, "THE FATHER OF AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS." state's supervisor of education lengthened the school year to 6 months and made improvements in school curriculum three basic principles of public education: that school should be free and supported by taxes, that teachers should be trained and that children should be required to attend school.
Horace Mann of Massachusetts led the common school movement in the early 1800s, in which public schools were financed by local property taxes. Mann also emphasized positive reinforcement instead of punishment.
CALVINISM The Christian denomination based upon the doctrines of John Calvin, which place emphasis on the sovereignty of God and which distinctively include the doctrine of predestination (that a special few are predetermined for salvation, while others cannot attain it). Early public school curriculum was based on strict Calvinism and concentrated on teaching moral values.
Education in the United States had long been a local affair with schools governed by locally elected school boards. Instruction and curriculum were all locally determined and teachers were expected to meet rigorous demands of strict moral behavior. Schools taught religious values and applied Calvinist philosophies of discipline which included corporal punishment and public humiliation.
THE LYCEUM MOVEMENT The Lyceum Movement was a public education movement that began around 1825 It is credited with promoting the establishment of public schools, libraries, and museums in the United States. Lyceums reflect the lecture system that many universities continue to use today. Josiah Holbrook, the "father" of the Lyceum Movement, named the program for the place (a grove near the temple of Apollo Lyceus) where the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle taught his students.