Apprentice
Someone who learns a skill trade by watching and helping someone in that trade.
Career and technical education
Courses of study that prepare students for careers related to a specific trade or occupation.
Common Schools
Public schools available to children from all levels of society.
Dame schools
In early America, schools run by women in their own homes. Parents paid a fee for their children to attend.
Disposable income
Money beyond that needed for basic necessities, allowing people to buy or do things that they want.
Hornbook
A flat wooden board with a handle. A sheet of paper - usually containing the alphabet, a prayer or two, and Roman numerals - was pasted on the board. A thin, flat piece of clear animal horn was attached to cover and protect the paper. Used during the Colonial Period.
McGuffrey readers
The first widely used textbooks published during the American Common School Period. They included moral lessons along with science, grammar, and other subjects.
Montessori method
The teaching principles developed by an Italian doctor, emphasizing self-directed learning through sensory experiences.
Normal schools
Schools that prepared men and women with the necessary skills to become teachers.
Progressives
Members of a reform movement that began int he late 1800s. They believed that education should be more individualized and teach students the skills that would improve the ills of society.
Quotas
Limits. Immigration laws set limits for people coming to the United States from other countries.