Thomas Jefferson is well known as the author of the Declaration of Independence and as the third President of the United States, and he also had significant impacts on the education of Americans. In early colonial American, there was not a public education system, and only wealthy families could afford access to the private education…
Author: Brandon Russell
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
Born in 469 BC, Socrates is considered the father of western philosophy. Interestingly, Socrates never wrote anything, and therefore all we know about him comes from what others wrote about him, especially his student Plato through his many dialogues. In one of these dialogues, Socrates even discusses the merits of the spoken word overwritten since…
Military & Education
One of the main reasons many people decide to join the military is the substantial educational benefits. While serving, servicemembers can take advantage of tuition assistance and, upon an honorable discharge, can take advantage of the GI Bill to pay for college. Created as the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, the GI Bill was developed…
Western Educational Development: Technological Revolution
Televisions, Computers, and Tablets! The rapid development of technology in the latter years of the 20th century until today has had a tremendous impact on how students learn. The 1950s saw educational content televised for the first time, and in the 1980s, the inclusion of the computer in the classroom provided students with access to…
Western Educational Development: School Segregation
Brown v. Board of Education After the abolishment of slavery, the Fourteenth Amendment was created in 1868 to give the freed slaves equal protection and due process of the law. Unfortunately, this was largely ignored in many facets, including education. It was not until after many lawsuits and continued fighting for justice that the Supreme…
Western Educational Development: Public Education
The Common School Movement After the American Revolution, many of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence called for free public education. The idea was rejected at the time, and it wasn’t until many years later, in 1796, when Thomas Jefferson would finally get the Act to establish public schools approved. There was much resistance…
Western Educational Development: Enlightenment
The Age of Reason It was after the reformation, in the 17th century, when Western civilization underwent the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was not a singular event, nor even sparked by one, but instead was considered a period when people across Europe and America began questioning traditional authorities, and the numerous productions of written works, inventions,…
Western Educational Development: Martin Luther
Reformation In the 16th century, a radical change was about to begin in Europe, the Protestant Reformation. At the time, the Roman Catholic church was the predominant religion in Europe. The reformation was sparked by the work of Martin Luther when he nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church. Although the primary…
Western Educational Development: Socrates
The Socratic Method and the Academy Ancient Athens has been studied and well documented as a critical point in the development of western civilization, being the birthplace of western philosophy and many great figures. This is arguably where modern western education was born, with significant figures and major contributions were developed. Notably, Socrates, sometimes referred…