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How Far We've Come[edit]

Learning Targets[edit]

1. Be able to identify important cases involving social and educational issues.

2. Be able to understand percentages and ratios in accordance to statistical facts.

3. Be able to identify important aspects of the Bilingual Act.

When sitting in class one day, look to the person on your left, then look to the person on your right. Chances are at least one of those two students will be a student of color, and also, a female. A series of laws has changed the face of education to include minorities and women. By understanding where we have come from, education can move forward and develop new ways for learning.

Brown VS The Board Of Education[edit]

Schools in the state of Kansas had been segregated since the late 1870's because of a state law that allowed cities of 15,000 people to build schools for children African American children and White Children. In many of the black schools across the country, most of the buildings were made of wood with no indoor plumbing, and kept the rooms heated with wood, coal, or kerosene stoves. By contrast, white schools had many more schools made of brick, had indoor plumbing facilities, and had hot water heat. Across the country, $195 was spent for every one African American child, compared to $317 spent of white children. (One with school pics.) By 1950, eleven court challenges about the desegregation of schools in Kansas made it to the Kansas State Supreme Court. While none of these cases overturned the law, at least the ball got rolling. In 1950 Topeaka NAACP organized another case with the main complaint that the children of the thirteen families involved in this case, had to ride school buses in order to reach segregated schools that was far from their homes. Even though there would be a white school just a few blocks away, the black children were not allowed to attend. When this case reached the federal court in Kansas, it was ruled that segregation was not illegal because the state provided the same facilities to each school. The NAACP then appealed to the Unted States Supreme court and their case was joined by similar cases from South Carolina, Delaware, Virginia, and Washington D.C. Combining these five cases under the name (underlined) Oliver L. Brown et al. vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, KS et al. It was special counsel Thurgood Marshall who argued that segregation was unconstitutional because it denied African Americans equal protection guaranteed by the 14th amendment.

Virginia Local News[edit]

After the historic case of (italics) Brown vs the Board of Education, young African American school children were encouraged by their parents and family members to join the NAACP and attempt to integrate into the white school system. At the time, and this was after the ruling of the court case is Kansas, not one public school in the state of Virginia had been integrated yet. When all was said and done, 151 students attempted to transfer from their black schools and attend white schools. Before this could happen, members of the school board in Norfolk made the children jump through hoops by making them take academic and psychological tests. After reviewing all the test scores, the board denied all 151 students at first. However, after meeting with the District Court they allowed 17 of the 151 students to attend the white high schools (The Brown Decision).


Women in Education[edit]

A new tide was turning after the 19th Amendment was signed giving women the right to vote in America. Thanks to the unending dedication of Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, who picketed the White House every day, suffered the batons of policemen, were then imprisoned and forced to eat food while on a hunger strike, women no longer belonged to their husbands and could start seeking an education for themselves outside the home. Suddenly, women were able to have their voices heard and count among their male counterparts. However,when it came to women in the education system, the inequalities were still clear. Men were still the predominant sex at universities, and generally, men also received most of the diplomas handed out by universities. It wasn't until after the end of World War II that change starts to come. In 1945, the first woman was accepted to Harvard Medical School(Eisenmann appendix). Harvard didn't start accepting women into their undergraduate programs until 1973. In 1972, Title IX in the Educational Amendments of 1972 was created to so that, "No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid." In 1994, women received 38% of medical degrees, compared with 9% in 1972. In 1994, women earned 43% of law degrees, compared with 7% in 1972. In 1994, 44% of all doctoral degrees to U.S. citizens went to women, up from 25% in 1977

Did You Know?:[edit]

Did you know that in 1915, A list of rules was published for female teachers.

1) You will not keep company with men

2) You will not marry during the term of contract.

3) You must be home between hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.

4) You must not loiter downtown in any of the ice cream stores.

5) You may not travel beyond the city limits unless you have the permission of the chairman of the board.

6) You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless it be your father or your brother.

7) You may not smoke cigarettes.

8) You may not dress in bright colors, and you may not under any circumstances dye your hair.

9) You must wear at least two petticoats, and your dresses may not be shorter than 2 inches above your ankles. (2009, January). Rules for 1915 Female Teachers (Reprinted from The Nebraska Farmer, September 1999). Nebraska State Education Association VOICE, p. 1. .

== Bilingual Education Act of 1968 == 

The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 was established to provide students who couldn't speak English well, attending public schools, the opportunity to be taught in their native tongue. What good is providing a student with facilites, textbooks, and teachers if they do not understand the language in which they are taught in? Interestingly enough, the practice of teaching a student in a different language started before 1968. Before World War II, if a student did not speak English they were taught in their native language. However, as the Cold War started and fear of communism spread, this method of teaching was no longer practiced. Everything in that era had to be "American." How was speaking another language patriotic? Thankfully, after the Cold War, the nation started questioning the behavior of the federal government toward "non-American behavior," and they didn't like what they saw. Thus, in 1968 the act was born.

Test Your Know How![edit]

What could be another rule added to the 1915 Rules for Female Teachers?

A. You may not tutor the children individually. B. You may not wear the color black C. You may not be pregnant during the school term D. You may not wear your hair down.

In 1994 what was the percentage of women with law degrees?

A. 51% B. 39% C. 90% D. 44%

What's the dollar difference spent between a black child and a white child?

A. $122 B. $201 C. $59 D. $677

In what state did Brown vs The Board of Education originate in?

A. Nebraska B. California C. Kansas D. Mexico

Answers: c, d, a, c


Eisenmann, Linda ed. A Historical Dictionary of Women's Education In the United States. Greenwood Press: 1998.

Selected Moments of the 20th Century (October 2004). Retrieved February 6, 2009. from web site:


The Brown Decision in Norfolk, Virginia. Retrieved February 5, 2009. from web site: 2009

Separate But Not Equal: Race, Education, and Prince Edward County, Virginia (July 2007). Retrieved February 6, 2009. from web site:

Shaw, S., & Lee J.(2009) Women's Voices, Feminist Visions. New York, NY: Mc Graw Hill Higher Education.

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