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Thomas Jefferson was certainly an idealist. He vocalized and mapped out a reform on the educational system. Despite Thomas Jefferson’s belief that the public education should be available to every single U.S. citizen, it didn’t become a reality until a few decades ago. And when he meant "every single U.S. Citizen," he may have meant that he did not prefer discriminating upon race, gender, age or socioeconomic status when it came to learning from a school. Before Thomas Jefferson, schools were run by Puritans who included God in their curriculum. Many new immigrants did not like having a religion forced upon them.
Gender bias
Girls were not admitted inside schools for several years after schools were established. Even so, girls were not taught withing the same classes as the boys. Instructors typically refrained from encouraging girls to improve themselves academically during the learning process. Today, girls have distinct areas where they excel beyond men’s capabilities
Equality in the 1950s
Since the 1950s, public policy which addressed discrimination in education became more prevalent than educational issues. The Federal government has remained concerned with equality within school districts.
Court Cases
In 1896, the Plesy v. Ferguson ruling established that the South would have separate schools for African Americans and whites.
In 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling stated that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
In 1960, the Women’s Rights Movement helped eliminate barriers between women and their desired career focus.
Even after successful court rulings, it’s difficult to completely remove discrimination. Today’s educational system is not perfect; however, many instructors and school administrators have become conscious of discrimination in the classroom. Discrimination can be found in the workplace and other spots, aside from schools. It’s important that we become aware of the discrimination around us, so that we can learn from it.
