1. What was the nature and purpose of colonial education?
Colonial education took place in homes, including the dame schools; in churches; and through apprentice programs. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin viewed the new nation's schools as a continuation of democratic principles and as a break from classist European traditions, although instruction was typically dominated by religious teachings. From colonial times to the present, continuing educational disputes include the role of religion in schools; local control and state standards; and inequities in educational opportunities for women, people of color, and the poor.

2. How did the Common School Movement influence the idea of universal education?
Nineteenth-century leader Horace Mann fought for the establishment of the common school for all children, and for quality teacher education.

3. How did teaching become a "gendered" career?
Although teaching was initially "gendered" male, the advent of the common school created a demand for a large number of inexpensive teachers, and women were recruited and soon dominated teaching. Today's teachers continue to encounter sexism.

4. How did secondary schools evolve?
The first publicly supported secondary school was the English Classical School in Boston. Not until 1874 in the Kalamazoo case was the legal basis for high school funding established.

5. How have twentieth-century reform efforts influenced schools?
From the Committee of Ten in 1892 to "A Nation at Risk in 1983" waves of educational reform have become part of the American landscape.

6. What were the main tenets of the Progressive Education movement?
Progressivism, led by John Dewey, emphasized learning by doing and shaping curricula around children's interests.

7. What role has the federal government played in American education?
While the Constitution leaves the responsibility for schooling to the states, the federal government has exercised a growing influence over public schools.

8. Who are some of the key individuals who have helped fashion today's schools?
Seventeen noted educators from sixteenth-century Comenius to twentieth-century Paulo Freire are profiled.