This Day In Education

It’s October 15, and on this day in 1952, one of the best selling children’s books of all time, Charlotte’s Web, was published. 

A story about the runt of a pig’s litter, a clever spider, and coming to terms with mortality, it’s no wonder that Charlotte’s Web continues to captivate and inspire young students in classrooms today.

It’s October 14th and on this day in 1773, Europe’s first Ministry of Education was formed.  Located in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Commission of National Education reformed and modernized a system, taking it from a religiously dominated practice to a secular one inspired by Enlightenment era philosophers, the system they created would be highly recognizable to teachers and students today.

It’s October 13th and on this day in 1983, Ameritech Mobile Communications launched the first private cellular phone network.

It is easy to think of communication technology as just a series of updates, each inventor or designer tweaking what was already there. Telegraph to telephone to mobile phone, etc. Those people from the past could likely never imagine the possibilities of today. However, while the first mobile communication network became available in the 1980s, the idea itself was predicted in the 1870s, as soon as Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone. Maybe even before that.

It’s Tuesday, October 12th and today in 1492, a sailor on board the Pinta was the first of Christopher Columbus’ men to see what would become known as “the New World”.  For years, American educators would mark this day as a heroic one- a day of discovery that would lay the groundwork for the establishment of the United States.  But, in recent decades, the way that we teach about Christopher Columbus has shifted away from the Euro-centric tale of exploration and bravery to paint a more realistic picture of Columbus as a harsh leader responsible for the genocide of the Taino people.

It’s October 11th and on this day in 1884, Eleanor Roosevelt was born. 

Eleanor Roosevelt would go on to be the First Lady of the United States, transforming the role from a passive hostess to an active political participant. This isn’t surprising, as she was already an advocate for social reforms, human rights, and education before her marriage.

It’s October 10th, and on this day in 1889, Barnard College opened its doors in New York City. Barnard was one of the first women’s colleges of its time to hold students and staff to the same rigorous academic standards as the male-only Ivy Leagues.

It’s October 9, and on this day in 1701, the Collegiate School of Connecticut was founded with the goal of educating students for religious and civil employment. 

Never heard of it? Well - today, we know this school as Yale University, one of the top ranked colleges in the United States.

It’s October 7th and on this day in 1806 carbon paper received its patent.

Ralph Wedgwood (1766-1837) was an English inventor. He came from a family of well-known pottery-makers. Wedgwood received British Patent 2972 for his “apparatus for producing duplicates of writings,” which he called the Noctograph or “Stylographic Manifold Writer.” As stated in the patent description, Wedgwood’s device produced duplications. The user would insert a piece of carbon paper in between two pieces of stationery. They’d then write with a metal stylus that produced a smudgy imprint of the writing onto the bottom sheet. Meanwhile, the top sheet would receive a mirror image on its underside. The paper itself became “carbonated” by a treatment process of soaking it in a mixture of pigment and oil.

It’s October 6th, and on this day in 1986, one of Russia’s most influential minds in the field of education, mathematics, and computer science would pass away at the age of 65. His name was Alexander Kronrod.