Compulsory Education

COMPULSORY EDUCATION

The compulsory attendance act of 1852 enacted by the state of Massachusetts was the first general law attempting to control the conditions of children. The law included mandatory attendance for children between the ages of eight and fourteen for at least three months out of each year, of these twelve weeks at least six had to be consecutive.

The exception to this attendance at a public school included: the child's attendance at another school for the same amount of time, proof that the child had already learned the subjects, poverty, or the physical or mental ability of the child to attend.

The penalty for not sending your child to school was a fine not greater than $20.00 and the violators were to be prosecuted by the city. The local school committee did not have the authority to enforce the law and although the law was ineffective, it did keep the importance of school before the public and helped to form public opinion in favor of education.

In 1873 the compulsory attendance law was revised. The age limit was reduced to twelve but the annual attendance was increased to twenty weeks per year. Additionally, a semblance of enforcement was established by forming jurisdictions for prosecution and the hiring of truant officers to check absences.

The state of Connecticut enacted a law in 1842 which stated that no child under fifteen could be employed in any business in the state without proof of attendance in school for at least three months out of twelve. The penalty was $25.00 and the business was made financially responsible for the fine. Through this system of fines businesses were forced to be socially responsible for children as well. In addition, children could not work more than ten hours a day. This fine was $7.00 per day. By 1918 all states had passed a compulsory attendance law.

Some of our current laws have taken root from these early laws and have expanded on them. For example, the exceptions to compulsory attendance have been addressed by the states in various ways. Presently children are required to have a physical before entering school and again before enrolling in high school. They must also have a regulated number of immunizations in order to control disease and attain the best level of health for each child, thus helping to make them physical able to attend school.

The states have also restricted working conditions of school age children. A child must obtain an "intent to hire" form from the business they intend to work for and take it to the school to be approved. There are currently restrictions on the type of work as well as the number of hours worked and the lateness of the hours a child can work.

Since the first law in 1852 the goals of education remain the same and have been gradually improving the conditions of children by supporting these restrictions on child labor. Compulsory education laws and child labor laws have worked hand in hand to advance children's rights.

THE MORRILL ACT OF 1862

The Morrill Act of 1862 was also known as the Land Grant College Act. It was a major boost to higher education in America. The grant was originally set up to establish institutions is each state that would educate people in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other professions that were practical at the time. The land-grant act was introduced by a congressman from Vermont named Justin Smith Morrill. He envisioned the financing of agricultural and mechanical education. He wanted to assure that education would be available to those in all social classes.

There were several of these grants, but the first passed in 1862. This bill was signed by Abraham Lincoln on July 2. This gave each state 30,000 acres of public land for each Senator and Representative. These numbers were based on the census of 1860. The land was then to be sold and the money from the sale of the land was to be put in an endowment fund which would provide support for the colleges in each of the states.

The land-grant has improved the lives of millions of Americans. This was not the case in the early stages. At the time the grants were established, there was a separation of races. In the South, blacks were not allowed to attend the original land-grant institutions. There was a provision for separate but equal facilities, but only Mississippi and Kentucky set up any such institution. This situation was rectified when the Second Morrill Act was passed and expanded the system of grants to include black institutions.

The Morrill Acts have become a major educational resource for our nation. This program is available to all people who are in search of higher education. Over the years it has proven to be an important part of our educational system. This Act changed the course of higher education. The purpose of education shifted from the classical studies and allowed for more applied studies that would prepare the students for the world that they would face once leaving the classroom. This Act also gave education support directly from the government. The Morrill Act changed the face of education and made room for our growing and ever changing country and ensured that there would always be money to finance educational facilities and that there would be continual government support of these institutions.

NEA (NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION)

The NEA as it is known today started out in 1857 as the National Teachers Association founded by forty-three educators in Philadelphia. Now the largest educational association in the world, the National Teachers Association was founded "to elevate the character and advance the interest of the teaching profession, and to promote the cause of popular education in the United States (Meyer, 387-388)." The purpose sounds good, but it didn't allow women to be members until 1866. It also didn't allow men who taught in private schools to be members.

In 1870, the National Teachers Association merged with the National Association of School Superintendents and the American Normal School Association to become known as the NEA (National Education Association). When it became the NEA (National Education Association) the requirements for admission became less exclusive. The NEA has not stopped growing since 1870. In 1957, one-hundred years after it was founded it had 700,000 members. In 1991, membership was up to 2.1 million. The 2.1 million members in 1991 consisted of approximately 55,000 who were students, 90,000 were retired members, 175,000 were school secretaries, teacher aides, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and custodians, 80,000 were college professors, 100,000 were guidance counselors, librarians, and administrators, and more than 1.6 million were classroom teachers. In