American Decades
Curricula
Life Adjustment.
Educational methods changed significantly during the 1950s as Americans started to reap the benefits of a strong economy, with a job waiting for almost every able-bodied adult. To face this new, prosperous world, schools changed curricula. Teaching students "life adjustment" took precedence over the traditional skills of math, science, and reading. Schools emphasized mental, physical, and emotional aspects of a child's life. The humanities and life skills became the new focus of educators. Home-economics classes and government classes attained record enrollments as citizenship and managing the home and family became high priorities. Comprehensive high schools offered a wide variety of vocational training as well as numerous electives in such areas as photography, botanical care, and baby care. Audio-visual aids, modern laboratory equipment, and supplemental reference materials regularly enhanced education in the...
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1950's Education
- Overview
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Topics in the News
- Adult Education
- Church vs. State
- Curricula
- Desegregating Education
- John Dewey and Progressive Education
- Drafting College Students
- Federal Funding for Education
- Great Books Program
- Midcentury White House Conference on Children and Youth
- National Defense Education Act of 1958
- Office of Education and Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (Hew)
- President's Committee on Education Beyond the High School
- Quality in Education?
- Funding the Future Through R and D
- The "Red Scare" in Education
- Report Cards
- School Dropouts
- School Shortages
- Teachers
- Television's Effect on Education
- U.S. vs. Soviet Schools
- White House Conference on Education
- Why Johnny Can't Read
- Headline Makers
- People in the News
- Awards
- Deaths
- Publications
- Important Events in Education, 1950–1959
