Henry Barnard And Public Education In The United States

Henry Barnard (1811-1900) is a famous educator and politician of the 19th century, a great leader of the public education campaign. Barnard pays much attention to the development of the American public education. In his opinion, every child of school age is supposed to receive the school education in order to gain the common sense of life which is the goal of public education. Barnard believes that it is of great importance for the whole country and every single citizen to promote public education, with the purpose to encourage the citizens to realize the role of education. As a result, he devotes himself to popularize during the educational reforming process.Besides the introduction part and summary, the thesis consists of three parts:1.The exploration of public education. This part mainly describes his educational experience through the school age, which deeply reflects the poor educational situation at that time. His teaching and observing experience in Pennsylvania and some European countries is also illustrated in this part, which tells people the origin of Barnard’s educational career.2.The practice of public education. As the key point of the thesis, the historical material about his practice of public education in Connecticut and Rhode Island is analyzed. From 1837 to 1855, the education situation in these two states changes a lot, which is the proof of Barnard’s contribution.3.The main points of public education. Through the detailed analysis in the second part, Barnard’s three main points are concluded—firstly, the popularization of public education; secondly, the establishment and revolution of teacher’s education; thirdly, the spread of educational information.