Running head: FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 1
FREE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2
Free Public Schools
Several important events have occurred between 1929 and 1975 that have had a profound impact on the American public education system. The first major event was the Great Depression that began in 1929. The Depression began with the stock market crash of October that year. Funding for public schools is greatly reduced leading to lower salaries, early retrenchments, and the closing of several schools.
In 1939, David Wechsler developed the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale. The scale calculates IQ scores based on how an individual’s scores deviate from the average score of other students who are of the same age as the individual. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children is still used countrywide to identify students who are in need of special education.
In 1946, the 79th Congress passed the National School Lunch Act. It became apparent that the year-to-year appropriations by Congress were not an enough assurance that school lunch programs would continue into the future. Furthermore, the country had its share of experience when it came to the falling off Federal support for donating foods. There was a serious need to have a legislative basis for a national school lunch program that was permanent.
The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka of May 1954 was a landmark case in the public school arena. The Supreme Court ruled that separate educational facilities were unequal by simply being separate. The ruling was the precedent for several cases that would follow and it paved the way for educational equality in the United States.
In 1963, Samuel Kirk coins the term ‘learning disability’ to refer to children with perceptual disorders. The following year, the Association for Children with learning Disabilities is formed to cater to the needs of children with learning difficulties and disorders. Currently, one-half of American students who are beneficiaries of special education have been diagnosed with learning difficulties.
Venn diagram of Historical Events
Association for Children with Learning Disabilities-1963
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-1939
Both events have had a profound impact on identifying and supporting children with learning disabilities.
The above events are significant to this day because of the impact they have had on understanding learning disabilities in children and adults. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children is a critical tool used in the clinical assessment of children to diagnose attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as any learning disabilities. The test is usually carried out in a process known as pattern analysis. The Association of Children with Learning Disabilities also uses the test when gathering information about learning disabilities in children, their causes, symptoms, and practical solutions.
If only one of these events could have taken place, I would choose the formation of the Association of Children with Learning Disabilities. This is because the Association has been instrumental in identifying different levels of learning disabilities and providing efficient support systems to children with the disabilities, their parents, their teachers, and the society as a whole. Through this organization, thousands of children have received the adequate attention they require so that they are able to learn and become integral members of the society.
The most important results of the two events chosen are the acceptance of children with learning disabilities into the public school program. More than one-half of school going children in America has one or more forms of learning disabilities. Prior to these events, the concept of learning disabilities was widely ignored. Children who suffered from these disabilities were often ostracized in schools and in the public. However, awareness of their inabilities has paved the way for the society to accept them and accommodate them in the entire learning process.
-founded in 1963; provides support to children with learning disabilities through research and practical solutions; also provides a network of resources for all stakeholders involved
-introduced in 1939; introduced the concept of deviation IQ; IQ scores are calculated as a deviation of the average of similarly aged students; helped in identification of students that need special education
Liz2013
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