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American educators began founding high (secondary) schools in the early 19th century. Only a small number of children were involved. State after state after admission to the Union began founding public school systenms. This basically involved elementary (primary) schools with programs up to 8th grade, children about 13-years of age. Gradually more and more high schools were established for teenagers, grades 9-12 meaning youths about 14-19 years of age. Attendance increased, but was still relatively small at the end of the century. These schools except in major cities were small reflecting the relatively limited attendance. Few working-class youths attended. Attendance steadily increased after the turn-of-the 20th century, but continued to be limited. The Great Depression made a differnce (1930s). Few jobs were available for youths. By the time of World War II, attendance was becoming increasingly common, more common than in Europe. Secondary schools have had dress codes which varied over time. Secondary schools through the 1930s tended to have much stricter dress codes than is the case today. Until the 1940s, completion of high school was not something that to which all children aspired. Many children from low-income families did not go to high school. Thus attire was influenced by the social-level of the students. Most boys at the turn of the century wore knee socks or knicker suits to high school, usually with long dark stockings. Often boys wore knickers right through school. Above+ the knee knickers were common in the 1920s. Jackets with Norfolk styling were partivcularly popular. It was not only the younger boys wearing them. This did not change until the 1920s. High schools boys in the 1920s gradually began wearing the below the knee style with kneesocks, but by the 1930s older boys were more commionly wearing kneesocks. High schools generally had restrictive dress codes even in the 1950s and early 1960s. This began to change in the late-1960s as part of the tumultuous social tumault associated with the war--which had a major impact on teenage fashions. America boys began wearing jeans in the late 1940s, but most secondary schools did not permit, although by the late 1960s this had begun to change. It was common through the 1950s for boys and girls to wear their Cub and Scout uniforms to school on weekly meeting days. Secondary schoolboys wore long pants to school by the 1940s. Dress standards were maintained until the late 1960s and jeans were usually prohibited. Currently schoold have dress codes, but all but the most bizare outfits are allowed. Boys at most schools are now allowed to wear shorts which currently means long baggy ones.
American educators began founding high (secondary) schools in the early 19th century. Only a small number of children were involved. State after state after admission to the Union began founding public school systems which evebntually included secondary dchools. .
The American public school system in the 19th century basically involved elementary (primary) schools with programs up to 8th grade, children about 13-years of age. There were few secondary schools and onky a small number of children attended them. Gradually more and more high schools were established for teenagers, grades 9-12 meaning teenagers about 14-19 years of age.
Attendance increased, but was still relatively small at the end of the century. These schools except in major cities were small reflecting the relatively limited attendnce. Attendance steadily increased after the turn-of-the 20th century, but continued to be far below pimary school attendance. Several factors swere involved. Attendance in the South was below national trends, and this was far bogth white and black youth. The prosperity of the Roaring Twnties provided a boost in secondary school attendance. Pradoxaly so did the Depression of the 1930s. With jobs hard to get more young people apparently decided to continue their schooling. The higest attendance rates were in states where manufacturung was less important or agricultural areas where income was the highest. Attendabnce tended tolag in areas where foreign-born immigrants were concentrated. 【Goldin】 During the late-19th and early-20th century, attendance was becoming increasingly common, more common than in Europe. After World War II, both America and Europe moved toward an era where most children continued their education to secondary schools.
Relatively few working-class youths attended. Here several fasctors were involved. First, there prents for the most part were poorly educated meaning they came from families that did not especially revere education. Second, the familes had difficulty supporting teen agers or needed the extra income the boys could bring into the family. Third, there were costs involved incuduing books, supplies, transportion, clohes, ect. This is not to say that no working-class children attended. Remmember that America had the highest paid workers in r=the world. American high schools, however, were mostly for middle-class children, until the 1930 when teenagers found it very difficult to find jobs.
American schools from an erly point were coeducational. As far as we know this not a cincious decesion based ion educationl theory. It was a function of the Frontier. Thanks to the Noethwest Ordinance (1786), schools west of the Appalachans were createdby by the sale of land. In every unit of land, there as a lot allocated for a school. Because these schools were at first small, one or two room schools with a small number of children. Thus separate schools for boys and girls were not feasible. So as the frontier moved inexorably west, a tradition of coeducation became established. Protestantism may have been a factor. Bible reading was a priority for Protesrants. Thus both boys and girls had to learn to read. It is no accident that other than Dame Schools--Protestant Scotland had the first coeducational schools. America had a Protestant foundation, butIt was the frontier that was the major factor in America. The Homestead Act (1862), ensured thast this system would be continued west of the Mississippi River. These of course were primary schools. Secondary education was mimimal and required a level of urbanization which did ot come for decasdes. But wghen it did come, the idaa of coeducation was so firmly estabished that secondaty schools also became coeducationsl. Americans may think that this was forordanined, but at the gtime, no other country had large numbers of coeducastional schools. In Europe coeducation was prevlent only in small village primaries. And as far as we know, there were next to no coeducationl secondary schools. Today, coeducation is prevalenbt asround the world, at least in Western countries. Many countries, howevr, offer single gender secondary schools as a parental choice. Private schools were slower to make this transition. And quite a number of private schools are still single gender schools.
Curiculums in primary schools tend to be similar ariund the world. This is a function of the age level and the need to teach basic reading, writing, and math skills. Secondary education is different, curriculums are more diverse. Secondaruy schools appeared first in Europe and the sdchools that developed were highly academic. This was in part because these schools were preparing middle-class students for university. Very few working-class boys and virtually no girls attended these schools. Now there were schools with dfferent focuses, suvh as classical and science priograms, but all were highly acasdemic. American secondary schools as hey appeared developed for better or worse developed substantially different approaches. Not only did they become coeducational from an early point, but American secondary schools were not as exclusively middle-class as the European schools. Here a fctor was that American workers were so much better pauid than European workers. And the American secondary schools did not deveklop the exclusively ascademic focus prevalent in Europeam secondary schools. This developed in several ways. First of all vocational education was much more important in American schools. We note classes like wood working and shop classes--meaning industrial/mechanical skills. The term shop is used becaise it used to be in 'shops' where these skills were employed. Various other skills like typing were taught. The nodern terrm is industril arts. European boys might learn mechanical skills as apretices, but not as part of their secondary education. There were a variety of consequences. It is no accident that it was America that turned the automobile into a major force in industry. And most American boys during World War II not only knew how to drive, but had developed important mechanical skills. Few German or Japanese boys knew how to drive, let alone work on engines and other mechanical equioment. Given that World War II was an industrial war, this was an important advantage. Second, extracuicular activities were much more important. Sports became an important part of school life. European schools mught hsve gym classes, but sprts ere largely asbsent. Third were socisl sctivities. Americn schools spomonsired dances and other socioal ctibities.
Secondary schools have had dress codes which varied over time. Secondary schools through the 1930s tended to have much stricter dress codes than is the case today. Until the 1940s, completion of high school was not something that to which all children aspired. Many children from low-income families did not go to high school. Thus attire was influenced by the social-level of the students. Most boys at the turn of the century wore knee socks or knicker suits to high school, usually with long dark stockings. Often boys wore knickers right through school. Above the knee knickers were common in the 1920s. Jackets with Norfolk styling were partivcularly popular. It was not only the younger boys wearing them. This did not change until the 1920s. High schools boys in the 1920s gradually began wearing the below the knee style with kneesocks, but by the 1930s older boys were more commionly wearing knee socks. High schools generally had restrictive dress codes even in the 1950s and early 1960s. This began to change in the late-1960s as part of the tumultuous social tumault associated with the war--which had a major impact on teenage fashions. America boys began wearing jeans in the late 1940s, but most secondary schools did not permit, although by the late 1960s this had begun to change. It was common through the 1950s for boys and girls to wear their Cub and Scout uniforms to school on weekly meeting days. Secondary schoolboys wore long pants to school by the 1940s. Dress standards were maintained until the late 1960s and jeans were usually prohibited. Currently schoold have dress codes, but all but the most bizare outfits are allowed. Boys at most schools are now allowed to wear shorts which currently means long baggy ones.
Goldin, Claudia. "How America graduated from high school: 1910 to 1960," NBER Working Paper Series, No. 4762 National Bureau of Economic Reserach (June 1994).
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
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