EDF 1005- Reflection 20

Horace Mann's success made Elementary schools become more popular, however, there was a large gap between them and the uprising establishment of Universities around the nation. They had not preparation between these elementary schools and universities. I can imagine all the information they may have forgotten by the time they got to the university level. The English Classical school was the first free secondary school in the U.S. It was located in Boston and established in 1821. This school had 176 boys. Girls did not attend all the way up until 1852. The purpose of these schools were not clear. They became privatized and did not have the same curriculum as other schools did. Unlike today, anyone can send their children to public schools for free, however, because secondary schools were supported by a higher elementary school tax at first, if you wanted your kids to move forward to a higher education, you would have to pay for it. Thankfully, this is not the case today. The United States tried using the same tracking system that is used in Europe In fact, United States and Europe's school systems used to be very alike. Instead of just graduating from secondary schools and entering into universities, in order to attend universities you had to figure out a way to bridge the time gap between university and elementary school. Either that or just begin working very early in life to help support the family. Secondary schools have given this "bridge" between elementary and university to us and has been able to prepare students for college. Abandoning this older system of education has made American education a great thing. With a high school diploma, graduates are able to attend college and have a higher chance of getting a good job. Freedom, career, success and money is the "American Dream" and introducing secondary schools into our lives has given us a better reflection of the hard work that has to happen to make this dream happen. Secondary schools can be publicly attended by anyone for free, no matter what gender, race, or economic status you are. A democracy such as our's should offer fair and equal opportunities for kids to educate themselves and decide what they want to do with their lives and secondary schools has given us this.