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History of education in Texas
The history of education in Texas covers public and private schooling at the elementary, secondary and higher levels from the colonial era to the present.
In breaking away from Mexico in 1836, the grievances in the Declaration of Independence complained of the failure of the Mexican government "to establish any public system of education, although possessed of almost boundless resources." Texans learned that it would take many decades to build a public school system. In the meantime, they relied on tutors, private religious schools, and ad-hoc arrangements whereby a few neighbors would hire a teacher, and provide room and boarding and a room to teach in. State funding was promised time and again and rarely materialized.
Religion was a powerful force, with Baptists, Methodists, Catholics and smaller denominations setting up colleges in which most students were enrolled in from grades 1 to 12, with a minority in higher education. That minority grew larger in time until established private colleges flourished in the 20th century.
Washington entered the scene during Reconstruction, operating schools for the freed slaves. Outside philanthropists kept up schools for African Americans into the 20th century. After 1875, a statewide plan was in operation for towns and most rural areas. By 1900, the nationwide Progressive era inspired Texas reformers to modernize education, train teachers, and consolidate the surrounding one-room schools into a good school in the county seat, usually with a high school. Rural Texas resisted the reformers but they could not resist the strong forces of urbanization and industrialization. After 1947 the rural schools were consolidated. In the 1960s the legal segregation of Blacks and Hispanics ended. In the 1980s, upgrading performance in tests became a statewide priority, and the methods promoted in Texas became a national model.
Under Spain and Mexico, schooling was a low priority in Texas. As an independent country from 1836 to 1848, private schooling was a priority for the elite. As a state, Texas had difficulty establishing a good educational system.
Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the independent Republic of Texas, is called the "Father of Texas Education" due to his pioneering efforts to establish the first public education system. He strongly emphasized the necessity of public education, famously stating that a "cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy." He convinced the legislature to set aside three leagues of land in each county to be devoted to school development. He also allotted 50 leagues of land for the eventual support of two universities, Texas A&M University in 1876, and the University of Texas in 1883. Although no facilities were constructed during his term, he provided the base for a statewide public school system with 18,000 acres of public land for public schools. In 1839, he founded the Texas State Library.
An ambitious 1854 law established public school districts with elected trustees to oversee education. Building costs and teachers' salaries were to be funded by the state. However, due to insufficient funds and citizens' reluctance to pay taxes, the plan failed. The fund provided only $1.50 per student per year, far too little to support any school. Later funding schemes set aside revenue from sales of government-owned land. However, the land was then pledged to proposed railroads, which defaulted, so very little money went to education. All these failures meant that Texans lacked a formal public education system until the 1870s. There were very few public schools in operation.
Schooling was left to private initiative. Rich families had private tutors, whereas other families hired itinerant teachers who lived with parents and taught their children reading, writing, and arithmetic. Here and there, a private school was set up to provide basic education to children whose parents could afford tuition. More upscale academies offered Latin, Greek and geometry]. Schools typically admitted both boys and girls, though some separated them by gender. Female institutes emphasized music and art but largely followed the same curriculum as boys' academies, including ancient languages and mathematics.
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History of education in Texas
The history of education in Texas covers public and private schooling at the elementary, secondary and higher levels from the colonial era to the present.
In breaking away from Mexico in 1836, the grievances in the Declaration of Independence complained of the failure of the Mexican government "to establish any public system of education, although possessed of almost boundless resources." Texans learned that it would take many decades to build a public school system. In the meantime, they relied on tutors, private religious schools, and ad-hoc arrangements whereby a few neighbors would hire a teacher, and provide room and boarding and a room to teach in. State funding was promised time and again and rarely materialized.
Religion was a powerful force, with Baptists, Methodists, Catholics and smaller denominations setting up colleges in which most students were enrolled in from grades 1 to 12, with a minority in higher education. That minority grew larger in time until established private colleges flourished in the 20th century.
Washington entered the scene during Reconstruction, operating schools for the freed slaves. Outside philanthropists kept up schools for African Americans into the 20th century. After 1875, a statewide plan was in operation for towns and most rural areas. By 1900, the nationwide Progressive era inspired Texas reformers to modernize education, train teachers, and consolidate the surrounding one-room schools into a good school in the county seat, usually with a high school. Rural Texas resisted the reformers but they could not resist the strong forces of urbanization and industrialization. After 1947 the rural schools were consolidated. In the 1960s the legal segregation of Blacks and Hispanics ended. In the 1980s, upgrading performance in tests became a statewide priority, and the methods promoted in Texas became a national model.
Under Spain and Mexico, schooling was a low priority in Texas. As an independent country from 1836 to 1848, private schooling was a priority for the elite. As a state, Texas had difficulty establishing a good educational system.
Mirabeau B. Lamar, the second president of the independent Republic of Texas, is called the "Father of Texas Education" due to his pioneering efforts to establish the first public education system. He strongly emphasized the necessity of public education, famously stating that a "cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy." He convinced the legislature to set aside three leagues of land in each county to be devoted to school development. He also allotted 50 leagues of land for the eventual support of two universities, Texas A&M University in 1876, and the University of Texas in 1883. Although no facilities were constructed during his term, he provided the base for a statewide public school system with 18,000 acres of public land for public schools. In 1839, he founded the Texas State Library.
An ambitious 1854 law established public school districts with elected trustees to oversee education. Building costs and teachers' salaries were to be funded by the state. However, due to insufficient funds and citizens' reluctance to pay taxes, the plan failed. The fund provided only $1.50 per student per year, far too little to support any school. Later funding schemes set aside revenue from sales of government-owned land. However, the land was then pledged to proposed railroads, which defaulted, so very little money went to education. All these failures meant that Texans lacked a formal public education system until the 1870s. There were very few public schools in operation.
Schooling was left to private initiative. Rich families had private tutors, whereas other families hired itinerant teachers who lived with parents and taught their children reading, writing, and arithmetic. Here and there, a private school was set up to provide basic education to children whose parents could afford tuition. More upscale academies offered Latin, Greek and geometry]. Schools typically admitted both boys and girls, though some separated them by gender. Female institutes emphasized music and art but largely followed the same curriculum as boys' academies, including ancient languages and mathematics.