8. +Education+Reform

- 1642 Massachusetts Bay school law-required every town to establish a public school supported by fees from all but poor families - Many towns failed to establish schools - The schools that existed were intended for the elite - Jefferson decided that a democratic republic should require an enlightened place - The revolution brought about women’s education (the first private female academies, providing an education beyond the level of basic literacy and handicrafts, were established at the end of the eighteenth century) - Mothers were to shape their children to be moral and intellectual à required educated mothers who would instruct their children in republican values (mothers had a chance to be educated if they wanted to teach their children) - Before the Civil War, educational opportunities for women, Catholics, non-whites, non-English speaking immigrants, and southerners were severely restricted

one room schools: http://clarke.cmich.edu/schoolhouse/schoolsintro.htm

-Horace Mann was a big advocate of the public schools -as the urban population boomed more people became aware of the illiterate children -the increased immigration put pressure on education -manual labor schools were proposed -many feared the public schools because of taxes or lack of religious focus

Education in the American Colonies - Education has been important from the earliest settlements - In the 17th century Puritans believed that everyone should be able to read to the bible - So at first all the heads of households were required to teach children and servants the basics of reading and writing - This soon proved inadequate and they started developing laws based on education - Ex: 1642 Massachusetts Bay School Law. This required all towns to create public schools with fees from all except the poorest families - In the early days education and religion were strongly linked. People were being educated so that they could further understand and read into religion - Many towns failed to actually develop schools though and the ones that did were used more for educating the elite

Education in Early Republic - Thomas Jefferson believed that a democratic republic required educated citizens - He believed that the government should assist in education based on talent and ability - Publicly financed education was very unpopular amongst the states - Ex: Virginia rejected the 1817 proposal by Jefferson to establish state supervised system of public schools and colleges - During this time period their was a heightened interest in woman’s education. - At the end of the 18th century the first woman’s academies were developed. These provided education for woman more then just the basic understandings. - The idea was that woman needed to understand so that they could educate their children in the republic world

Schooling During the 19th Century - In 19th century the U.S had the highest rate of literacy in the western world - Their were charity schools and Sunday schools for the poor - Private academies for the more privileged - Still the opportunity to attend school was limited. Formal schooling was mostly limited to those with money - Even free schools required some sort of payment in tuition - Primary schools required the students entering to be literate - They mixed ages, sometimes having children of two or three with adults of 20 - Could be as many as 80 people in one room - Just taught basic fact - Lacking textbooks, chalkboards, windows -