Music competitions have an ancient history dating back some two thousand years. In the United States, early music contests mimicked the German Saengerfests and Welsh Eistoddfods; however, some of the earliest continuously running music competitions held in America are the state contests for secondary school students. This article identifies for…

Claude V. Palisca (1921-2001) was a prominent American musicologist and music educator. He authored books and articles about Renaissance and Baroque music theory and developments in musicology, but is most widely known as the founder and first editor of the "Norton Anthology of Western Music (NAWM)" and coauthor of "A History of…

This article from the archives of "Schools: Studies in Education," presents a biography of Ella Flagg Young, a dynamic and inspirational leader in American education, with a career that spanned more than 50 years. Young was one of the most outstanding educators during the period that saw the rise of universal education in the United…

In this amended excerpt from "Hope Against Hope", educational reform in post-Katrina New Orleans is considered from a journalistic perspective in presenting the story of Geraldlynn Stewart as she and her family navigate the new school system. In providing voices of lived experiences of Stewart as well as other individuals within this new…

The history of the world could be told through countless biographies, as Carlyle said, and these biographies undoubtedly would represent gifted individuals and their contributions at different times in different cultures of the world. The Greeks and Romans recognized the value of talent, as did the tribes of the Bible, responding to the parables…

Background/Context: Montessori education has flourished as an alternative approach to schooling for a hundred years. In the century since the first Montessori school opened in the slums of Rome, the movement has undergone sustained growth while simultaneously enduring efforts to modify the method in order to reach a wider audience. Despite…

Describes the problems in New York City's schools during the period from 1898 to 1914 and Superintendent Julia Richman's innovative approaches to solutions. (MB)

Article describes the life of music educator, Luther Whiting Mason, one of the founders of the music teacher's profession. (Author/RK)

In this article, the author presents the memoir of Angelo Patri, a very important and well-known educational figure during the first of the last century in his educational career. In 1917 Patri published Schoolmaster of the Great City, which gives readers vivid impressions of his early life in Italy and New York, his family and community, his…

Every year, historians in the United States attend the American Historical Association (AHA), a conference that has met annually since 1884. The AHA draws scholars from all specializations, and it is the primary organization through which the profession is represented. In 1969, the conference met at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. At…

This book describes the teaching experiences of Helen Hussman Morris, who taught in a one-room school in rural Oklahoma during the early 1930s. Her story calls attention to some of the educational issues that were present in the 1930s and that are still being addressed at the local, state, and national levels, including curriculum, facilities,…

The bibliography provides a comprehensive listing of the literature of Texas educational history up to March, 1978. Objectives are to provide access to the sources and to stimulate interest and research in the field. Over 1050 books, journal articles, pamphlets, theses, and doctoral dissertations are arranged in nine subject sections: General…

Ella Flagg Young's contributions as an administrator in the Chicago public schools from 1909-15 are assessed. Intended as a profile of an administrator whose personal accomplishments broadened American education, the study is also a history of progressive and vocational education in Chicago during the early 20th century. Characterized as a woman…

Traces the life and career of DeWitt Clinton, who served as mayor of New York City, governor of New York, and U.S. senator. Stresses that Clinton deeply impacted the state and nation as the founder of New York City's public schools, as an advocate of higher education for women, and as a major figure in building the Erie Canal. (NL)

The history of Arizona public schooling had a modest beginning in 1864 when the first Territorial Legislature allotted $1,500 to five existing mission schools. The third territorial governor, Anson P. K. Safford, launched a crusade to establish public schools, and by 1877 there were 28. The 1885 Legislature authorized the founding of a Territorial…