EDUCATION IN AMERICA Ch. 2 THE EARLY YEARS

1. EDUCATION IN AMERICA Ch. 2 THE EARLY YEARS

2. Europeans who influencd Early Education John Amos Comenius [1592-1670] All children should be trained methodically by teachers using quality textbooks in schools supported by government and the clergy. Programs divided into four different grades: The Nursery School [birth to age six] Elementary or National school [ages 6-12] Latin school or Gymnasium [ages 13-18] Academy [Gifted ages 19—24]

3. COMENIUS [cont] • A child’s mind should be “prepared” to receive instruction • Education would be “easy and pleasant” if begun EARLY, before a child’s mind was “corrupted.” • Teachers should: present lessons at a reasonable pace use age appropriate instruction keep materials constantly before children’s eyes use a single method of instruction at all times

4. ENLIGHTENED VIEWS LOCKE and ROUSSEAU JOHN LOCKE [1632-1704] believed: • The human mind at birth was a blank slate [tabula rasa] not a collection of preformed ideas placed there by God. • Children: should interact with the environment by using their five senses to gather and test ideas. learned through imitation

5. JOHN LOCKE [cont] Teachers should: • Tailor instruction to the individual child’s talents and interests. • Encourage curiosity • Treat children as “rational creatures”who might unlock life’s mysteries • Teach by example and suggestion, not by coercion

6. AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT Defined as a period when reason was valued as a supreme virtue. Locke thought that people were inherently good, and that children taught by benevolent educators were bound to grow intellectually and prosper.

7. JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU[1712-1778] In his book, Emile, Rousseau described the development of a human being from infancy to maturity. Goal: to provide experiences that matched the natural conditions of a child’s growth by: • Removing obstacles that might impede development • Allowing the child to: learn by trial and error explore the environment with his senses use his hands (Emile learned carpentry) compare himself to others think about his place in the world

8. JOHANN HEINRICH PESTALOZZI[1746-1827] Children should not be treated like sheep should not be forced to study boring letters and numerals pass through a number of stages of development natural curiosity and playfulness should not be stifiled by educational conditions be exposed to experiences that appealed to all of the senses learn by head, hand and heart

9. FREDRICH FROEBEL [1782-1857] Founder of the first kindergarten (1837) in Blankenberg, Germany Children: • learn through the use of educational games and activities (gardening); play is an important part of learning • are not “lumps of clay” to be molded • need time and space to develop according to natural law • Use their senses, emotions, and reason that are necessary attributes for learning • Learn only when they are ready to learn • Are creative

10. EDUCATION IN THE SOUTHERN COLONIES • Virginia, Maryland, Georgia and the Carolinas • People lived on large plantations with rigid class distinctions • Growers raised crops: tobacco, sugar, cotton • A hired tutor taught the landowner’s children • Curriculum: the 3 Rs; reading the Bible • Slaves, servants and their children rarely received any type of education on the plantation; most could neither read or write • Informal education for small farmers’ children

11. EDUCATION IN THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC COLONIES • New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware • Diversity: Religious: (Catholics,Mennonites, Quakers, Lutherans, Calvanists, Presbyterians, Jews) Language: most spoke English; others spoke Dutch, German, French, Swedish Parochial Schools: English, Irish, Welsh, Dutch, and German Quakers (open to everyone including Indians and slaves). Curriculum: religion, the 3 Rs, vocational training

12. NEW ENGLAND COLONIES • Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut Shared: Puritan values common religious beliefs Teachings of John Calvin: God is omnipresent and good Human beings are evil and helpless, predestined for either salvation or eternal torment Established: Town Schools (every town of fifty households had to employ a teacher of reading and writing; every town of 100 households had to provide a grammar school to prepare students for continuing study at Harvard University) Enacted: The Massachusetts Act of 1647 (Old Deluder Satan Act) to produce Scripture-literate citizens to thwart Satan’s trickery.

13. FACTORS AFFECTING EDUCATION BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR • Institution of slavery, displacement of Native Americans status of women • European philosophies and educational practices • Patterns of colonization and immigration • Importance of religion • American Independence and westward expansion • Importance of nationalism • Industrialization and Immigration • Wealth and poverty • Common school movement and push for universal schooling

14. QUESTIONS • HOW DID INDUSTRY AFFECT EDUCATION? • HOW WERE SLAVES EDUCATED? WHO WAS DAVID WALKER? • DESCRIBE EDUCATION FOR NATIVE AMERICANS. • DESCRIBE EDUCATION IN SPANISH AMERICAN COLONIES • HOW AND WHY HAS THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN EDUCATION CHANGED? • WHY DO YOU THINK ATTITUDES TOWARD PEOPLE WITH DISABLILITIES CHANGED SO MUCH?

15. AIMS OF EDUCATION • TO SAVE SOULS: RELIGION • THE KING JAMES BIBLE • FORMAL SCHOOLING PATTERNED AFTER ENGLISH SCHOOLS • DAME SCHOOLS = Run by women; taught girls reading, writing and calculating. • Private schools • Wealthy sent their children abroad

16. LIFE IN COLONIAL SCHOOLS • Schoolmasters had to teach and do other jobs • One room schoolhouse with all ages • Whole -group instruction, memorization, drill and repetition, choral responses, corporal punishment: “Spare the rod, spoil the child” • Mid-1880s = change from teacher brutality due to graded schools and Pestalozzi: teaching students to behave rather than beating them into submission.

17. CURRICULA • Old and New Testaments = God & the 3 Rs • ABCs, Vowel sounds, one-syllable, longer words and sentences • Wrote on chalk slates and used quill pens and copy books and other books from the family • HORNBOOKS, PRIMERS and ALMANACS • GEOGRAPHIES, SPELLERS and DICTIONARIES • MCGUFFEY READERS (1836)

18. TYPES OF FORMAL SCHOOLS • Monitorial Method = older pupils taught younger pupils • Latin Grammar School (Boston,1635) Boys • Benjamin Franklin’s English Language Academy in Philadelphia (1749) • Thomas Jefferson drafted the Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge = Free public education via the COMMON SCHOOLS, tax-supported schools [3Rs & History] that children could attend free for 3 years and pay thereafter

19. THE MOVEMENT FOR UNIVERSAL EDUCATION • HORACE MANN [1796-1859], Revolutionized US education: the financial responsibility of the state; established the system of grade levels, age and performance; extended the school calendar from 3 to 10 months; standardized textbooks and made attendance manditory. Mann also established the first Normal School for training teachers (1839) • HENRY BARNARD [1811-1900] Led the struggle for the common school; English was the most important subject; promoted the public high school; teacher pay; common school: good enough for the best, cheap enough for the poorest family.

20. THE DEVELOPMENT OF PAROCHIAL SCHOOLS • PROTESTANT • GERMAN LUTHERAN • ROMAN CATHOLIC • BAPTIST • ANGLICAN • CONGREGATIONAL • DUTCH REFORMED • PRESBYTERIAN • FRENCH REFORMED • QUAKERS • MENNONITES • HUGUENOTS • ANABAPTISTS • JEWS