Reflection Paper #19

The development of U.S. education from the Old Colonial Dame Schools to today's high schools is significant. In today's schools, there is so much more coursework and extra curricular activities that are offered and there are equal opportunities for both boys and girls. The Dame Schools of Old Colonial were modeled after the Dame Schools on Britain. They were private schools, which were privately supported, and fees were charged. They concentrated on reading, writing, moral and religion. They were taught by women and from their homes. In New England, these schools prepared the boys for admission to town schools. The boys had to stand up and read words with at least two syllables. The girls were taught how to do chores so they can keep a good household. This Dame school model is what is known today as a form of home schooling. Today's public high school education is so much more then the Dame schools were or offered the students. High schools today offer both boys and girls the same coursework there is no discrimination of gender. Public schools is a secondary school and it is financed by tax revenues and other government collected monies which administered by the state and local officials. They offer many different programs, which include magnet programs. These magnet programs are for students that want to study a specific career; it is a vigorous academic program. They have many levels of coursework. The coursework consists of regular, average, advanced and honors courses. They also offer advanced placement coursework, which allows the students to attend college level courses while still in high school. This allows the student to graduate with a high school diploma along with college credits or even their AA degree. High schools also offer extra curricular activities like sports, dance, clubs, band and many more activities. The purpose of high school is two fold; it is to prepare the student to enter the work force or to prepare the student to continue on to college.