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The Horace Mann Companies
 The
largest multiline insurance company focusing on the
financial needs of the nation's educators and their
families. View the company's 60-year historical timeline.
For details on how Horace Mann supports
the educational community, visit the Educator
Resources section of horacemann.com. |
With today's public school system, every child can attend
school without cost. So it is difficult, at best, to understand
the importance of Horace Mann (1796-1859). So this unit of
study about Mann is not strictly based on his remarkable life,
but the advantages free public education provides students.
This unit aims to build a greater understanding of Horace
Mann's contributions to society and students' ability to prosper
from his progressive thinking. We provide all the elements
for the lesson. But, you may wish to individualize it by adding
state and local educational leaders and events.
Procedures:
- Have students read the brief history of American education
and of Mann's life and accomplishments:
The history of education in America
Mann's life
Mann in a nutshell
The Morrill Act of 1862
The Northwest Ordinance
- Use these six activities to help students understand Horace
Mann's significance:
Activity One: Compare laws and understand
what land was covered
Compare the Morrill Acts and the Northwest Ordinance --
the two pieces of legislation creating the base of educational
funding. We provide an overview of these documents. The
activity requires map skills; high school students might
want to research land grant colleges.
Activity Two: Discussion questions after reading
Discuss Mann's ideas based on the readings. This activity
has two levels, one for more advanced students. It includes
Horace Mann Links.
Activity Three: Table interpretation and stay-in-school
monetary value
Study income level by educational attainment. Students examine
the provided table, make interpretations and use their math
skills.
Activity Four: Interpretation of drop-out
rates
Examine drop-out rates by states. You can individualize
this activity by downloading and comparing state and local
information.
Activity five: Analysis of quotes
Students read and reach conclusions about Mann's most famous
quotes. Individualize this activity by having students create
quotes; display them next to Mann's.
Activity Six: Word wall
Download images of Mann and create a baseball-card type
vocabulary activity for students.
[ Top of page ]
The history of education
in America
Americans have valued education from this country's earliest
days. The Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1657, passed a law
requiring a community of 50 or more families to hire a schoolteacher.
No less a person than Ben Franklin (1706-1790) believed the
value of education was its ability to create useful members
of a prosperous society. However at that time only men were
targeted for formal education as women were expected to follow
in their mother's role of housekeeper.
Puritans founded Harvard College in 1636, and in 1701, the
Congregational Church started Yale University. The Great Awakening,
a revival of religious feelings, occurred around 1739. This
search for new preachers resulted in new colleges. Princeton
was built in 1746, and King's or Columbia started in 1754.
Dartmouth College opened in 1769. All these colleges were
private, exclusive and costly. They taught classical studies,
which meant the great works and deeds of the past. Public
schools were still a foreign idea in America, as was the study
of ideas in technology, agriculture and other applied arts.
[ Top of page ]
Mann's life
The most striking thing about Horace Mann's early life was
his struggle to get an education. The son a poor farmer, he
attended a small, inadequately outfitted one-room schoolhouse.
An itinerant schoolmaster helped tutor him, but mostly he
taught himself using the community library. Described as introspective
and highly read, Mann used his determination and thirst for
knowledge to earn a diploma from Brown University in 1819
and the title of class valedictorian. Following that, he went
to law school in Connecticut and, in 1825, became a practicing
attorney in Boston.
Mann was a humanitarian, advocating for public education.
He did this from his position as secretary of the Massachusetts
state legislature. Mann knew the basis of quality education
is good teachers, so he advocated for trained professional
teachers in all public schools. Mann's belief in improving
society also pushed him to reform mental institutions and
call for the end of slavery.
In 1837, Mann was elected first secretary of the Massachusetts
Board of Education. What was so unusual about this man, who
would eventually be known as "the father of the American
common school," was he gave up a lucrative career in
business to pursue a life helping others.
Once on the job, Mann realized the rundown school system
needed more than ideas. In his 12 years as secretary of the
board, he researched and wrote many articles on the importance
of school reform. He knew the importance of communicating,
so he started a biweekly publication called the Common School
Journal. He believed an educated person helped further society
and the economy, just as Franklin had said. This logic resulted
in increased funding and better pay for teachers.
Later in his life, Mann was elected as a member of the U.S.
House of Representatives, worked to end slavery and to build
hospitals for the insane.
Mann believed popular schooling could be transformed into
a powerful instrument for social unity by providing all children
with a common set of values and skills. To this end, he had
three objectives. First, he needed data to prove his points.
Second, he wanted all textbooks to be approved. Finally, Mann
sought to have Normal Schools, or teacher colleges, controlled
by the states. In this way, government could control what
was taught in public school, how it was taught, what resources
could be used to teach, and who was allowed to teach. These
issues created a mission for public education and gave a significant
role to government.
[ Top of page ]
Mann in a nutshell
Horace Mann was known for advocating reforms in the United
States educational system.
| 1823-1837 |
Practiced law in Massachusetts |
| 1827-1833 |
Served as a representative in the Massachusetts state
legislature |
| 1833-1837 |
Served as Massachusetts state senator; signed into law
the bill that created the first state board of education
in the United States |
| 1837-1848 |
Served as secretary to the Massachusetts Board of Education |
| 1837-1848 |
Published influential annual reports on education |
| 1838 |
Founded and edited the Common School Journal |
| 1839 |
Established the first school for teacher education in
the United States |
| 1848-1853 |
Served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives |
| 1853-1859 |
Served as president of Antioch College |
[ Top of page ]
The Morrill Act of 1862
The Morrill Act of 1862 was also known as the Land Grant
College Act. It was a major boost to higher education in America.
The grant was originally set up to establish institutions
in each state that would educate people in agriculture, home
economics, mechanical arts and other professions practiced
at the time. A congressman from Vermont named Justin Smith
Morrill introduced the land-grant act. He envisioned the financing
of agricultural and mechanical education. He wanted to assure
education would be available to those in all social classes.
There were several of these grants, but the first passed
in 1862. Abraham Lincoln signed this bill on July 2, giving
each state 30,000 acres of public land for each Senator and
Representative. These numbers were based on the census of
1860. The land was to be sold and the money put in an endowment
fund to provide support for each state's colleges.
The Second Morrill Act in 1892 was passed to allow blacks
to attend land grant colleges, whereas the first Morrill Act
was passed before the war and blacks had limited, if any,
rights. These acts shifted the focus of higher education from
classical studies to preparing students for real life situations.
The acts also required government to support education, and
public institutions now had the financial backing to grow.
Previously, religious groups emphasizing classical studies
dominated the major universities. The Morrill acts changed
this and provided opportunities for students to learn skills
to directly improve society, such as the applied arts, agriculture
and technology.
[ Top of page ]
The Northwest Ordinance
The
Northwest Ordinance established a means and precedence
by which the United States could expand westward. This final
of four ordinances was adopted in 1787 and dealt with the
territory acquired from Great Britain in the aftermath of
the Revolutionary War -- land north of the Ohio River and
east of the Mississippi. Eventually, the Northwest Territories
became the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin
and Minnesota.
The ordinance promised each new state would be considered
equal to the existing states. Second, revenue created by selling
a portion of each township in the new states would go to fund
public education -- the first instance of federal aid for
education in American history. Third, the ordinance declared
slavery would not be allowed in the new states. And finally,
it called for Indians to be treated with respect.
The Northwest Ordinance was a notable act, allowing education
to grow and providing a basis for respect of others. It was
based on the ordinance of 1784, drafted by Thomas Jefferson,
which divided the region into numerous territories, but never
went into effect. The ordinance was the most significant achievement
of Congress under the Articles of Confederation and made education
a federal funding issue, as it is today.
[ Top of page ]
Activity One: Compare
laws and understand what land was covered
Have students use the resources listed to answer the following
questions:
What do the Morrill Acts and the Northwest Ordinance have
in common?
Whose land was being taken and where was this land?
Map
of Indian Tribes
The
Little Book Online - Northwest Ordinance
This is a map of the land involved in the Northwest Territory
Ordinance.
Using the following links, make a map and locate the land
grant colleges. Research one of the colleges and see if they
offer classes in applied arts, agriculture or technology.
Students should write institutions they're interested in attending.
Land
Grant Institutions
Land Grant Institutions by State
Morrill Act
1862
Land Grant Colleges & Universities
Activity Two: Discussion
questions after reading
After reading from the Horace Mann links below, ask students
these questions. Pick questions appropriate for the level
of students. You may wish to supplement these materials with
current events. We've supplied federal Department of Education
and education journal sites for this purpose.
- What do you think Mann meant when he said public education
would increase the wealth of individuals, communities, the
state and the country as a whole, while teaching respect
for private property?
- How does a good education promote a more egalitarian and
democratic society?
- Why is public education seen as the most successful progressive
social ideal in American history?
- What does this quote mean? "Education then, beyond
all other devices of human origin, is a great equalizer
of the conditions of men, - the balance wheel of the social
machinery. I do not here mean that it so elevates the moral
nature as to make men disdain and abhor the oppression of
their fellow men. This idea pertains to another of its attributes.
But I mean that it gives each man the independence and the
means by which he can resist the selfishness of other men."
- What do you think Mann would feel about the following
proposals? How do you feel about them?
Allow students to drop out when they feel like it
Pay students to stay in school
Have students take classes at home
Make students work their way through high school
Force students to graduate
Make the parents of troubled students attend school with
them
Use corporeal punishment for those who don't want to learn
Make school easier and don't give homework
- What did Mann mean about the following:
Equal opportunity for all?
Social harmony?
Schools are the "great equalizer?"
- Why did Mann believe education would reduce crime?
- Why did Mann want a longer school year, with a six-month
minimum?
- Why did he believe having well educated teachers benefits
students?
Try the following higher level thinking statements.
[ Top of page ]
Activity Three: Table
interpretation and stay-in-school monetary value
Relate the value of education to income over time. Have students
make a graph of this information. If Horace Mann had not advocated
for public schools, what would be the income difference for
a person without a high school education versus one with a
high school education?
Using the data, what if the Morrill Acts did not pass? What
would be the difference between a high school graduate's income
and the income of a person with a bachelor's degree?
Finally, using the graph they made, have students figure
out the average annual income for each level of education,
assuming they are going to work 50 years.
Table 1
Lifetime Earnings and Earnings Payoff by Education Level |
| Education Level |
Lifetime Earnings |
| Less than a High School Diploma |
$993,466 |
| High School Graduate |
$1,298,316 |
| Some College/No Degree |
$1,462,379 |
| 2-Year Degree |
$1,527,582 |
| 4-Year Degree |
$2,173,417 |
| Master's Level Degree |
$2,312,426 |
| Doctorate or Professional Degree |
$2,907,904 |
Source: computerjobs.com
More wage information:
Unemployment and earnings for full-time wage and salary workers age 25 and over, by educational attainment
[ Top of page ]
Activity Four: Interpretation
of drop-out rates
By downloading the file of drop-out rates by state, a teacher
can create a nice integrated unit of study that requires students
to make appropriate tables, reach conclusions and back up
their hypothesis. Question to consider: What would Mann think
about these drop-out rates?
Public
High School Dropouts and Completers from the Common Core of
Data: School Years 1991-92 Through 1997-98
[ Top of page ]
Activity Five: Analysis
of quotes
Using these quotes, have the students write their feelings
and come up with a quote about education. Take these student
quotes and mix them with Mann's quotes. See if the students
can identify Mann's from the others. For more basic classes,
you may wish to skip this activity. The first quote is his
most famous.
"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for
humanity."
"Do not think of knocking out another person's brains
because he differs in opinion from you. It would be as rational
to knock yourself on the head because you differ from yourself
10 years ago."
"Resolve to edge in a little reading every day, if it
is but a single sentence. If you gain 15 minutes a day, it
will make itself felt at the end of the year."
"Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin,
is the great equalizer of the conditions of men -- the balance
wheel of the social machinery."
"If any man seeks for greatness, let him forget greatness
and ask for truth, and he will find both."
"Habit is a cable; we weave a thread each day, and at
last we cannot break it."
[ Top of page ]
Activity Six:
Word wall
Place these words in alphabetical order and write their definition
on the back of a Horace Mann Card. (See image link at end
of lesson.)
Humanity social
resolve Northwest Ordinance
Morrill Acts
Territory progressive
community federal
opportunity
public education prosperous
Puritans Great Awakening
classical studies agriculture
applied arts inadequately
introspective
humanitarian Secretary
advocated mental institutions
lucrative
career monetary
enrichment logic
insane transformed
values government
humanity threat
human origin abhor
The following link has several images of Horace Mann. You
can use these to make one side of a baseball-like card for
the Horace Mann word wall definition activity.
Google
Search: Horace Mann |
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