Horace Mann

Hello my name is Horace Mann and I was born on May 4, 1796 in Franklin, Massachusetts. My family were farmers and due to the constraints of our budget I was in my younger years educated for only 6 weeks of the year. But I didn't let that discourage me, instead I took initiative over my education and avidly took advantage of my local library. At the age of twenty I was able to enroll at Brown University and 3 years shortly after I was able to graduate as valedictorian of my class. I then took up law for a time taught Latin and even became a librarian at the same school of Brown University. In 1830 I decided to marry Charlotte Messer, yet sadly she died 2 years later. In 1827 I finally took my venture into the political aspect by joining the House of representatives, later in 1834 joining the senate as a member of the Whig party, and finally becoming secretary of the newly formed board of education of Massachusetts in 1848. Within that time, on 1843 I remarried to Mary Tyler Peabody . 

As a education reformist a very keen issue I had to face was creating a equal opportunity to all students. I traveled to many schools with this goal in mind and bases off of my experience came up with the solution through 6 key principals:  (1) the public should no longer remain ignorant; (2) that such education should be paid for, controlled, and sustained by an interested public; (3) that this education will be best provided in schools that embrace children from a variety of backgrounds; (4) that this education must be non-sectarian; (5) that this education must be taught by the spirit, methods, and discipline of a free society; and (6) that education should be provided by well-trained, professional teachers. 
With these key principals in mind I created the Massachusetts normal school system to better address these needs. It's a start.