The Evolution and Growth of Our Classrooms

The Historical Foundations of Curriculum and Pedagogy

The Evolution and Growth of Our Classrooms

"A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank...but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child." -- Forest Witcraft
In our world today, it is rather understandable how we can become distracted and sometimes lose touch with what it is that we may believe is important.   With the mass amounts of social media and technology that were invented with the intention of making our lives easier, it still seems today, our lives are more complicated than ever. Yet if we have all this technology, then why are we slipping at one of the foundations for society: education?   The answer is obviously not a simple one.   We have seen a steady decline in the average I.Q. of Americans within the recent times and now, more pressure than ever is being put upon educators and schools nationwide to “fix” these problems help and lead us into a brighter tomorrow.   So with all the change the educational system has gone through, how do we know what is the best course for what society needs now?   In order to get a grasp on what may be needed now, we need to reflect upon our past in education and see how social, academic, and overall classroom procedures have help shaped us into the world we are today.  
Focusing primarily upon the subject of English (being that it is one of the most basic parts of any school curriculum) we will see the changes from late 1800s- early 1900s learning and see what changes have been made in contrast to today’s education field.
Starting in the late 1800s (specifically 1870s), we see much was happening throughout America. According to americasbesthistory.com, in the 1870s the 15th Amendment was added allowing black citizens to vote as well as later that year, Hiram Rhoades Revels becomes the first African-American elected to U.S....