A BRIEF
HISTORY CAREER TECHNICAL OF
AND
EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES By Andrew Johnson-Schmit
F
ounding Father Benjamin Franklin recognized Americans needed a new kind of education as early as 1749. He joined with other colonial leaders to create the Academy and College of Philadelphia in 1749.
of the Declaration of Independence were either alumni or trustees of the school.
The goal of the school was to teach useful and practical work skills. Previously, schools were based on the European model which emphasized Latin, Greek and religion. These early schools were finishing schools for gentlemen and church leaders.
students – whether to focus on classical
As president of the Academy’s board of trustees, Franklin drew up a constitution that emphasized the sciences and languages needed for a frontier society. The new school turned out engineers, surveyors, doctors, and business leaders.
During the Revolutionary War, the school split into two different ones, each emphasizing a different approach. Eventually, the two schools came back together and became the basis of the University of Pennsylvania.
These graduates not only helped establish their trades in the New World, but they also gave back to the new Republic. Twenty-one members of the Continental Congress and nine signers
As the new country went through its early growing pains, business leaders realized that the traditional British model of apprenticeships was not working. In Europe, a master craftsman
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Debate about the best way to educate or vocational subjects – has been an ongoing discussion for years.
