Elementary and secondary education:
- In the early 1900s, over half of all American children under 18 were enrolled in school, a significant increase from the 19th century.
- The majority of schools were one-room schoolhouses, where students of different ages and grade levels were taught in the same room by a single teacher.
- The curriculum typically consisted of basic subjects such as reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and history.
High schools:
- Public high schools were becoming more common in the early 1900s, but many students, particularly in rural areas, did not have access to them.
- High school education was often seen as a luxury for the privileged and was not always compulsory.
- High schools offered a wider range of subjects compared to elementary schools, including science, languages, and social studies.
Teacher training:
- Teachers in the 1900s were often underpaid and received minimal training.
- Many teachers had only completed high school or a brief teacher training program before entering the classroom.
Segregation:
- In the Southern states, segregation was rampant, with separate schools established for White students and Black students.
- This practice persisted until the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which declared segregation in schools to be unconstitutional.
Higher education:
- College education was relatively exclusive, and only a small percentage of the population pursued it.
- Colleges were primarily for the elite and often focused on classical education.
- Women's colleges and agricultural colleges were founded in the late 1800s and early 1900s to expand access to higher education for women and farmers, respectively.