Early History of Education

Objectives

• Give examples of how education reflected local culture and beliefs

• Trace changes in the preparation, roles and status of teachers over time

• Describe how educational opportunities changed from colonial times forward

• Analyze how key people in early education reform responded to concerns of the time

Key Terms• Apprentice – someone who

learns a skilled trade by watching and helping someone in that trade

• Dame School – early American schools run by women in their own homes; parents paid a fee for their children to attend

• Hornbook – flat wooden board with a handle; sheet of paper – usually containing the alphabet, a prayer or two, and Roman numerals – was pasted on the board and covered with a thin, flat piece of clean animal horn to protect the paper.

Key Terms Continued

• Common Schools – public schools available to children from all levels of society

• Normal Schools – school’s that prepared men and women with the necessary skills to become teachers.

• McGuffey Readers – first widely used textbooks published during the American Common Schools period. Included moral lesson along with science, grammar, and other subjects

Key Terms Continued• Progressives – members of a

reform movement that began in late 1800’s; believed that education should be more individualized and teach students skills that would improve the ills of society.

• Montessori Method – teaching principals developed by Maria Montessori, an Italian doctor, emphasizing self-directed learning through sensory experience.

• Career and Technical Education – courses of study that prepare students for careers related to a specific trade or occupation.

Key Terms Finished

• Disposable Income – income beyond that needed for basic necessities, allowing people to buy or do thing they want.

• Quotas - limits

1600-1776 American Colonial Period

• Most education took place at home• Basic reading and arithmetic skills taught• Daily life and work provided opportunities for practical

learning• When schools were established:

– Mainly in well-populated areas– Primarily for elementary grades– Few universities and colleges founded –so few opportunities to

attend• Most older children worked on family farms and business• Others, learned a trade in an apprenticeship

– Some worked without pay for agreed upon time period in exchange for their learning

New England Colonies

• Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, & Rhode Island – all came from England

• Majority Puritans– Believed in importance of

religious education– Valued person’s ability to read

the Bible– School viewed as a way to

reach those goals and teach basic skills for farmers

• 1642 Massachusetts enacted a law requiring every town to establish a school – not always followed

Middle Colonies• New York, New Jersey,

Pennsylvania & Delaware• All from different backgrounds• No common school system• Cultural groups developed own

schools• Quakers

– Settled around Philadelphia– Believed everyone should be

educated– Tolerant of others beliefs– Established 1st school that

welcomed all regardless of religion or race

• Open to girls, African Americans and Native Americans

Southern Colonies• Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina,

South Carolina, and Georgia• Social and economic class divisions

were more rigid• Sons of wealthy plantation owners

received a formal education preparing for college in colonies or Europe

• Due to geographical separation of plantations were educated at home by tutors

• Middle class was smaller than other areas

• Middle class and poor, especially girls, had fewer opportunities

• Enslaved people were only taught skills useful to their owners

• Dame schools were open to both boys and girls

Role of Teacher

• Ranked right below religious leaders in importance

• Were men better educated than the general population

• Expected to teach and act as an example of moral behavior

• Could NOT drink, smoke, date or marry

• Had to:– Attend church regularly– Participate in civic events– Be industrious and honest

• Routinely clean the school• Visit the sick• Perform charitable acts

School Curriculum• Most schools focused on basic

reading, writing, simple math and religion

• Some educated beyond elementary• Few formal school existed• In Middle and New England colonies

training was available for trades• Sons of wealthy learned Latin, Greek

and advanced math • In south sons studies astronomy for

navigation and plantation management skills

• Girls taught basic skills – sewing, home management skills

• Wealthy daughters taught literature and poetry

• Books were rare and expensive• Schools used hornbooks – used

throughout the colonies until 1800’s when books became less expensive

1776-1840 American Early National Period• Began with the American Revolution• Believed they could make a better

society and were eager to try new ideas

• Change occurred quickly in cities and slower in rural settings

• Educators believed improving lives and society through the use of reason; could find rational solutions for problems

• Schools were a vehicle for making a better society

• Ideas & traditions of Europe less influential

• Education considered way to promote the new nations ideas of freedom & liberty

• Religion played less of a role; focused on teaching skills to help students enter fields such as agriculture, business and shipping

Benjamin Franklin

• One of the most important early leaders

• Started a secondary school or academy in Philadelphia – open to anyone who could pay tuition

• Due to his influence schools today:– Teach good citizenship– Are available to everyone– Teach a wide variety of

subjects

Thomas Jefferson• Believed that education was

the key to making the newly formed democracy a success

• Introduced legislation to divide counties in Virginia into smaller districts that were responsible for education – a public system of education

• Wanted elementary schools available without cost

• Due to his influence schools today:– Public system of education

introduced– How public schools are

organized

Role of Teacher

• Continued to be positive models of good citizenship

• Expected to be involved, make community better place through church participation and involvement in community issues

• Taught that citizenship involved obeying laws and rules and respecting authority

School Curriculum

• Continued teaching basics of reading, writing, math Christian principals and citizenship

• Also taught Greek, Roman, English history and American history

• Opportunities remained limited, especially in less populated areas

• Wealthy boys were taught Greek, Latin and English grammar, advanced math, geography, literature and science in preparation for university entrance

• If girls received additional education it was through a tutor at home or schools designed for girls

• Education was limited to those of European ancestry

1840-1880 American Common School Period

• Marked by events that significantly altered the American way of life– 1840 – Oregon Trail opened– Gold discovered in California– Labor saving devices

developed – sewing machines and washing machines

– 1860’s – civil war claimed lives, freeing slaves & triumph of union altered American life

• In 1840 most American children received minimal schooling if any at all

• By 1880 education, including free public education for many – was more widely available

Horace Mann• Served as 1st Secretary of the State Board

of Education in Massachusetts• Worked hard to establish free public

education for every boy and girl• First public state supported schools called

common schools gave the same education to people from different levels of society

• Established teacher-training schools called normal schools

• Successfully advocated establishment of free libraries

• Increased state funding for public schools by using state taxes to pay for education – provided money to raise teacher salaries and improve materials and equipment

• Believed schools should be nonsectarian since funded by taxpayers – reasoned that people should not have to pay to teach religious principals contrary to own beliefs

• Since country was overwhelmingly Christian, morality based on general Christian principals still taught

African American Education• Before civil war very few enslaved African

Americans were able to read or write– Most learned in secret due to laws in South

prohibiting educating them– Former slaves in Northern states faced social

and economic obstacles• Few African American schools existed• Quaker schools allowed them to attend• Struggled with very low wages so

children found work as soon as old enough

• After civil war– Educated African Americans set up schools– Missionaries from North set up schools– First African American colleges founded– Debates among African Americans about

what was the best type of education for their people

– Most efforts were short lived• Schools strictly segregated• Lacked funds for equal education

Role of Teacher

• Country was still primarily rural

• Children educated at home or in small country school houses.

• 1 teacher taught all grades

• Teachers paid by community members

• Salaries quite low

Normal Schools

• To enter a normal school for training applicants had to take a test to show that they were properly educated

• Resulted in higher expectations of teachers knowledge and teaching abilities

• More women enrolled and entered profession– Opportunity to make a living on own

School Curriculum

• Brought more change in how subjects were taught

• Establishment of kindergartens in public school in 1870– Developed by Fredrich

Froebel, a German educator– Believed young children

learned best through play– First kindergarten classes

established to help poor children succeed in school

– Songs and games were used to teach the children

– Prior to this children did not attend school until 7 years old

School Curriculum Continued• Textbooks became more

widely available– Reverend William Holmes

McGuffey asked to write a textbook

• beginning of McGuffey readers

• Used in schools across country

• Books taught moral lessons along with reading, spelling and other subjects

• Subsequent readers taught history, biology, botany, literature, speech, proper behavior

– Contributed to standardization of American education

School Curriculum Continued

• Morrill Act of 1862– Known as the Land-Grant College Act– Gave federal land to establish colleges in

every state• Provided practical education in agriculture, home

economics and other useful professions to people from all social classes

– Second Morrill Act in 1890 expanded the system

1880 – 1921 American Progressive Period

• Bridged the 19th and 20th centuries• Women gained more rights• European immigrants poured into cities• Industrial revolution continued to change nature

of work and society• Time of business expansion and reform• Reformation members called themselves

Progressives– Wanted to regulate big business who took advantage

of workers and consumers– Corrupt government officials were also targets

American Progressive Period Continued

• Between 1880 and 1920, half the rural population abandoned farming and moved to town to find work

• Over 15 million new immigrants arrived • Urban areas became overcrowded• Poverty and disease widespread• If you found work

– Long hours– Working conditions were hazardous– Children worked limiting education

opportunities• Progressives worked toward

– Better pay for women– Passed laws reducing number of hours

children could work in factories– By 1920 all states passed laws requiring

children attend elementary school

Segregated Education

• Schools were still highly segregated• African American children attended separate

public schools that received less funding• Educational materials were scarce and inferior,

often the cast-offs from the “white” schools• African American teachers could only teach in

African American schools and received lower pay then their counterparts

Role of Teachers• Teachers were considered

professionals• Teacher preparation programs in

colleges replaced normal schools• More emphasis was placed on

educational theories• Teachers were well trained and

qualified to both run a classroom and teach a variety of subjects

• Many teachers grew unhappy with emphasis on standardization

• First teachers unions were formed to protect the working rights of teachers

– Fought to improve pay, status and working conditions

• Women entered the workforce in greater numbers

• By end of progressive period, women had achieved the right to vote

School Curriculum

• Progressives believed that schools should focus on students more as individuals, felt that curriculum was too standardized

• Felt that students should be encouraged to think critically and independently, rather than simply memorize information and accept facts – these changes were significant for education

• One notable change was the opening of thousands of public high schools– In 1880 there was only about 800 of these– This allowed students to continue their education and prepare

for a career, even if they were not attending college– High school diploma became more important in finding a job

John Dewey• An educational philosopher,

psychologist and writer was a leading voice for progressive education

• Believed that classrooms were too rigid and inflexible, did not adapt to needs, interests, and abilities of individual students

• Believed schools should place a greater emphasis on the development of problem solving and critical thinking skills

• Promoted the link between learning and experience

• Due to his influence schools today:– Collaborative learning on projects and

discussing topics– Role of teacher as guiding learning– Real life activity that linked new

information to previous experiences

Maria Montessori• Italy’s first female doctor, tried to find

ways to help children who had difficulty learning

• Believed that young children are capable of great discovery and motivated to explore the world.

• Sensory experiences should come before learning to read and write

• Developed the Montessori method– Considers all of a child’s needs, not

just intellectual– Classrooms are stimulating

environments– Many opportunities for large and fine-

motor development and sensory exploration, along with language, science, art, geography, and math

– Children direct their own learning with teachers as partners

– Teachers encourage children to judge their own progress and choose own interests

Career and Technical Education

• Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 established federal funds to support vocational education (now called career and technical education)

• Prepares students for the many career opportunities in specific trades and occupations where skilled workers are needed

• Funding greatly influenced the spread of CTE classes in public high schools

1920s and the Great Depression (1921-1940)

• America was the most industrialized country in the world and economic prosperity and growth were strong

• Influence of the Progressive movement in education continued through this period

• Economic prosperity of the 1920s increased the size of the middle class.

• Most people had disposable income• Americans became consumers, rather than producers• Consumer credit issues surfaced for the first time as credit became

more widely available, so consumer education became a need.• Concerns about the rate of immigration caused quotas to be set• October 14, 1929, the New York Stock Market crashed

– Became known as Black Thursday– Caused the economic panic that put country into the Great Depression

Impact of Economy on Schools• In hard economic times schools had to respond to

lost revenue• During the Great Depression

– Public schools faced a shortage of cash– Many citizens were unable to pay taxes– Some districts ceased to operate– Some districts shortened the school year– Teacher pay was decreased or eliminated– Course offering cut back to basic subjects– Families found it difficult to keep children fed and

dressed - not enough money for books and school supplies

– Many children unable to attend due to working to supplement family income

• Federal Government steps in to help– Funds helped support some schools to hire teachers

and purchase supplies– Schools began offering free hot lunches for children– Better schools were built in some communities as part

of the program to employ others• By end of 1930s families were getting back on their

feet– Social institutions were working to recover from a

decade of hardship– Americans were inward focused

Dick and Jane Readers

• Early 1930s, a new set of reading textbooks for beginning readers were published

• Taught basic reading skills with simple stories about a family.

• From 1930 to 1960, over 85 million students used these textbooks

• Widespread use help standardize education

Give examples of how education reflected local culture and beliefs

• Ability to read the Bible• Religious education• Everyone educated – Quakers• Social and economic divisions• Tutors – plantation children• Nonsectarian – paid for by taxes• Segregation• Industrial revolution

Trace changes in the preparation, roles and status of teachers over time

• Men only to men and women• Role models to professionals• Teacher dos and don’ts• Duties• Community involvement• Segregation• Normal schools to teacher colleges• Low pay • Teacher unions

Describe how educational opportunities changed from colonial times forward

• Tutors• Apprenticeships• One-room school houses• Common schools• Kindergarten• Morrill Act• Mandatory elementary school attendance• Montessori Method• Smith-Hughes Act• Hornbooks to McGuffey readers to Dick and Jane

Readers

Analyze how key people in early education reform responded to concerns of the time

• Benjamin Franklin

• Thomas Jefferson

• Horace Mann

• Fredrich Froebel

• Reverend William Holmes McGuffey

• John Dewey

• Maria Montessori

Analytical Question Prompts

• Throughout the early history of education in America, teachers were held in great respect and were expected to be role models for students. In your opinion, how are teachers regarded today? Give reasons for your view.

• During the Great Depression of the 1930s, some teachers continued to work for little or no pay. What do you think motivated them? How do you think you would react, as a teacher, if a similar situation occurred? What factors would you weigh as part of your decision?