Chapter 7: History of Education in the United States

Europeans who settled along the eastern coast of what would become the USA.

Who established the first schools in America?

In the 17th century.

When were the first schools established in America?

The founding of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 by roughly 100 people.

What marked the formal beginning of North America's colonization?

The English Puritan religious sect who hoped to settle in a place that allowed them to worship God in their own chosen way.

Who settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts 13 years following the founding of Jamestown?

It lacked tolerance for any doctrine other than its own; Church of England in the 17th century was practically an extension to the English government.

Why did the first colonists oppose the Church of England?

That the Bible in its literal/pure form is the source of all wisdom.

What belief did the Puritans hold?

By establishing English-style colonies with their own biblical interpretations to guide them.

How did the Puritans seek to establish to avoid being forced to abide by the Church of England’s doctrine?

Roger Williams

Which prominent Puritan of the 17th century was banished from the Massachusetts Bay colony (and forming what is known as Rhode Island today) for supporting the separation of the church from the state?

That people were inherently sinful and that children would remain so if could not ward off Satan by reading the Bible and upholding its principles; that play was a waste of time and that discipline should be stern.

What attitude from the Puritans about children and scripture carried over into early American schools?

European theorists, Puritan religious beliefs, and Puritan social customs.

What influenced the type of early schooling that the Puritans established?

Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)

Which theorist matches this summary of influence?

• Need for systematic training of teachers

• Need for liberal arts education to include classics

Martin Luther (1483-1546)

Which theorist matches this summary of influence?

• Education is necessary for religious instruction

• Education should include vocational training

• Emphasized the need for free and compulsory education

John Calvin (1509-1564)

Which theorist matches this summary of influence?

• Education serves religious and political establishments

• States that elementary education should be for all

• States that secondary education for leaders

• Placed an emphasis on literacy

Francis Bacon (1561-1026)

Which theorist matches this summary of influence?

• Education should advance scientific inquiry

• Rationale should be provided for development of critical thinking skills

John Amos Comenius (1592-1670)

Which theorist matches this summary of influence?

• Learning must come through the senses

• The general body of knowledge (paideia) should be possessed by all

John Locke (1632-1704)

Which theorist matches this summary of influence?

• The goal of education is to promote the development of reason and morality to enable men to participate in the governing process

Dame schools

What was considered as the first American elementary school?

Schools that were run by respected women who had learned to read and write (usually without formal schooling) and turned their homes into schools where parents paid to have their children (both boys and girls) educated.

What were dame schools?

They took up an apprenticeship and usually moved in with their master to get taught a specific trade and basic literacy skills.

What was the path BOYS usually took after dame schooling (if they had been educated to begin with)?

They usually stayed home and were taught homemaking skills from their mothers.

What was the path GIRLS usually took after dame schooling (if they had been educated to begin with)?

Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire.

Which four colonies made up early New England?

Puritan faith and English roots.

What religion and background did early New Englanders generally share?

Dame schools, where children learned reading, writing and arithmetic in a religious context.

What type of schools were common for young children in New England?

Boys studied basic academics; girls’ lessons focused more on homemaking.

What was the difference inn curriculum between boys and girls at dame schools?

Dame school education only.

What was typically the extent of formal education for girls in colonial New England?

Boston, in 1635.

What was the first Latin grammar school in the colonies, and when was it established?

A secondary school (not elementary, as today).

What did “grammar school” mean in the 17th century?

Advanced reading, writing, arithmetic, and classical literature.

What subjects were taught in Latin grammar schools?

Harvard University (founded in 1636).

What university were Latin grammar schools designed to prepare boys for?

Wealthy New England boys.

Who typically attended Latin grammar schools?

Poor boys, girls, African Americans, and Native Americans had little to no access.

What demographics usually did NOT have access to educational advancement?

The first compulsory education law in the New World, requiring White children to attend school (unfunded mandate).

What was the Massachusetts Act of 1642?

Required towns of 50+ households to provide a school, aiming to prevent ignorance (linked to fighting the devil).

What was the Massachusetts Act of 1647 (Old Deluder Satan Act)?

About the same as in England.

What was the literacy rate in New England by 1700?

A religious-based textbook with alphabet rhymes, the Lord’s Prayer, Apostles’ Creed, Ten Commandments, Bible books, and numbers.

What was the New England Primer (1690)?

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

Which colonies made up the Middle Colonies?

Settlers came from many countries (Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, France) and religious groups (Quakers, Jews, Mennonites, Catholics, etc.).

Why were Middle Colony schools so diverse?

Mostly private.parochial schools tied to different religion sects: Lutherans, Presbyterians, Jews, Mennonites, Catholics, Quakers, Baptists, Huguenots, etc.

What type of schools existed in the Middle Colonies?

Business, bookkeeping, and navigation.

What extra subjects were often taught in Middle Colony schools?

Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

Which colonies made up the Southern Colonies?

Social class.

What determined access to education in the South??

By private tutors, private schools, or schools in Europe.

How were wealthy plantation children educated?

None.

What education did children of enslaved people receive?

Charity schools, apprenticeships, or church schools.

What opportunities existed for poor farm children?

With little to no formal training; many were widows, housewives, failed professionals, indentured servants, or aspiring ministers/lawyers.

How were most teachers prepared in the 17th century?

Widows or housewives who could read and write.

Who typically taught dame schools?

Teachers lived with students’ families for a week at a time to save on lodging.

What was “boarding round"?

About the same as farmhands-very low.

How were teachers paid compared to other jobs?

Secondary (Latin grammar school) teachers, many with college training.

Which teachers had the highest status?

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

• Inventor and philosopher known for flying a kite in the middle of a thunderstorm.

• Supported educating America’s youth in practical useful arts and trades.

• Stated that in addition to reading and math, he was the first to propose the study of history.

• Founded the Library Company of Philadelphia in 1731 to promote reading by subscription.

The Franklin Academy, a school that was oriented toward real-world, useful learning; it offered a variety of courses in mathematics, astronomy, navigation, accounting, bookkeeping, French and Spanish; it was the forerunner to what we know today as electives as this school allowed for students to choose some of their own courses.

What did Benjamin Franklin establish in 1751?

Content that intended to prepare students to participate in business and trade.

What were 18th century private schools designed to teach?

Early American (18th century) schools that were established for whole communities; while some schools were still limited in curriculum to just reading, writing, and the classics, specialized schools in the form of academies became popular as well.

What were town schools?

He believed that education was essential to the maintenance of a viable republic; it would increase production and preserve health; that only through education could people preserve freedom and promote their own happiness.

What did Thomas Jefferson believe in education?

the Virginia Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge

What bill this Thomas Jefferson propose to the Virginia legislature in 1779 that ultimately they ended up not passing"?

A bill that proposed for a broader availability of education for more children.

What was the the Virginia Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge?

the University of Virginia (UVA)

What did Thomas Jefferson establish after his bill failed to pass through the Virginia legislature?

The early 18th century Quakers

Who believed that education should be all-inclusive?

An elementary school that INCLUDED girls, African Americans, and Native Americans.

In 1770, what did the Quakers establish in Philadelphia?

Noah Webster (1758-1843)

• Credited as singlehandedly having the MOST influence on American education in the 18th century due to his writings.

• Referred to as the “Schoolmaster of the Republic”

• His most important work was the American Spelling Book, published in 1783.

• Believed that the U.S needed both political and cultural independence from Europe.

• Saw education for both boys AND GIRLS as essential.

• Believed education for women was a necessity because they are the first teachers of children.

• Yale University (1701)

• the University of Pennsylvania (1753)

• Brown University (1764)

• Dartmouth College (1769)

What were some colleges that were established PRIOR to the American Revolution?

Theology

What was the most popular degree in the 18th century but what later overtaken by the popularity of others such as law, medicine, and commerce?

Plow fields and do other menial tasks.

What did teachers in the 18th century have to do to support themselves as they continued to be undervalued in colonial America?

An ordinance that divided federally owned land in the wilderness into townships and required that schools be built.

What was the Northwest Land Ordinance of 1787?

“Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools, and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”

What did Article Three of the Northwest Land Ordinance of 1787 proclaim?

That since the inception of the United States to the present (except for federal mandate), states usually grapple independently with educational issues.

What does the Tenth Amendment of the Bill Rights: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” mean within an educational context?

45.

By the end of the 18th century, how many states did America have on its maps?

The birth of the democratic party; it turned the nation from being governed by largely an aristocratic society to be one governed by the people, for the people (“the people” being almost EXCLUSIVELY white, land-owning men).

How did the election of President Andrew Jackson in 1828 bring changes to American politics?

By continuing the desire for individual independence and opportunity while expanding the nation itself to the Pacific Ocean.

How did the Westward expansion advance the U.S.?

• Poverty-level wages

• A workforce that included too many children

• Unchecked immigration

• Abysmal working conditions

How did the American revolution reflect poorly on the country despite a heightened spirit of inventiveness?

There were town schools run by charity schools, churches/philanthropic groups, and dame schools serving as local institutions.

How did the north handle education in the 19th century?

Most educational opportunities still belonged to the wealthy.

How did the south handle education in the 19th century?

Most frontier children did not receive a formal education.

How did the west handle education in the 19th century?

By not providing equal education and opportunity to all.

How did the lack of consistency in American education not mirror its Preamble goal of “promoting the general Welfare?”

About 1830

When were common schools etablished?

Community-supported elementary schools for all children established in response to many economic, social, and political factors; considered a radical departure from catering schooling to solely wealthy children.

What were common schools?

Horace Mann

Who was regarded as the “champion of common schools?”

Avenues for social and economic mobility.

From the viewpoint of the working class, common schools provided…

An increase in supply of literate and trained workers.

From the viewpoint of those in the business and industry common schools provided…

Means of controlling crime and social unrest.

From the viewpoint of social groups, common schools provided…

Symbols of civilization and ways to keep literacy and citizenship alive in the wilderness.

From the viewpoint of people of the frontier, common schools provided…

Free schools meant fewer private school students.

From the viewpoint of private school proponents, common schools were objectionable because…

A decrease in the workforce of children who opted for school instead of a job.

From the viewpoint of some business and industry, common schools were objectionable because…

Apprehensions that an overeducated citizenry might question authority

From the viewpoint of some political leaders, common schools were objectionable because…

Some schools were hosted inn acceptable buildings and had adequate supplies while others were housed in dilapidated, and filthy surroundings.

As more common schools were established, what inconsistencies started becoming more apparent?

W. H. McGuffey (1800-1873)

• Wrote multiple books that included stories and poetry that appealed to the interests of students.

• These volumes sold over 1 million copies between 1836 and 1906.

The establishment of the English Classical School in Boston in 1821.

What marked as the beginning of public high schools

Reading that was learned during common schools was usually considered as sufficient education.

Why were high schools considered insignificant prior to the civil war?

The establishment that the legislature could tax for support of both common and secondary schools, propelling public high schools into school systems in every state.

What did 1874 Kalamazoo call for?

Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827)

Who developed the theory of child-centered education and the concept of individual differences among children?

Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852)

Who established that children should be encouraged to be creative and expressive in an activity-based curriculum that would later become known as “kindergarten” or “children’s garden?”

In 1860; Boston

When and where was the first kindergarten in the U.S. established?

Very little—few had completed secondary education, and preparation was inadequate and inconsistent.

Before Horace Mann’s proposal, how much training did most teachers have?

The first U.S. institution of higher learning for women, founded in 1821 in Troy, New York, by Emma Willard.

What was the Troy Female Seminary, and who established it?

In 1839, in Lexington, Massachusetts.

When and where was the first normal school established?

To prepare teachers with specialized training.

What was the purpose of normal schools?

Horace Mann and Catherine Beecher.

Who were key figures in prioritizing teacher preparation in normal schools?

Friedrich Froebel (1782–1852).

Who is considered the father of the kindergarten?

Like flowers that would blossom into healthy adults if given opportunities to be creative.

How did Froebel view young children?

Self-development and self-expression.

What was Froebel’s emphasis in education?