大学英语education of us.ppt

Unit 5 Education in the U.S. “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character– that is the goal of true education” -----Martin Luther King, Jr. 1. History of American Education American education, like all the other elements of American culture, is rooted in the Old World . When The Puritan settled to the New World , they hold so strong spiritual belief that they consider the education of next generation was important to further “purify” the church and perfect social living. Therefore, the Puritans established schools as they set up churches. They formed the first publicly funded secondary school in America in 1635, called the Boston Latin School , and it is also the oldest educational institution in the country. Later the first American College Harvard College is established in Cambridge . The Massachusetts Law of 1642 is passed to endow (资助，赋予) parents the responsibility for the education of their children. In 1647, Massachusetts passed another law for parental negligence (失误，过失 ) to education of their children. Towns of a hundred families must have a grammar schoolmaster who could prepare children to attend Harvard College. Then the American colonists established schools and brought in schoolmasters. With the achievement of independence, American education came into its own. By 1850, every state had provided for a system of free public schools open to all children and paid for by public taxes. Meanwhile, state-supported colleges and universities had already been established in many states. Consequently, compulsory education laws proliferated [pr?u’lif?reit] (激增) at an astonishing rate, and public schools expanded rapidly. In 1852, Massachusetts passed the first compulsory education law in the new nation, covering young people 6 to 16 years old. It was during the latter part of the 19th and the ear