From Dakota Territory to Today: How Much Has Education Changed?

This paper presents a historical study of three issues in education: (1) the teaching of morals; (2) teacher retraining; and (3) practices in language arts. It demonstrates that recent actions by the South Dakota legislature to ensure that children are given moral and character instruction are similar to efforts undertaken in the 1890s in North and South Dakota. The paper then notes that the ongoing training of teachers is another issue of recent concern that was also widespread in the Dakotas in the late 19th century. It also explains that the current emphasis on whole-language instruction and a deemphasis on rote spelling lessons and books also hearken back to the 1890s, when "A Teachers Manual and Guide and Course of Study for the Common Schools of South Dakota" (H. L. Bras and others) emphasized similar ideas. The paper concludes that being aware of past practices and methods can help educators understand that much of the current emphasis on morality education, teacher retraining, and whole language education has its roots in the 19th century. (MDM)