Philadelphia High School for Girls - Milestone Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Education in Colonial and Revolutionary Times D. A. R. PRIZE ESSAY E. Virginia Smith F' DUCATION is a mighty foundation stone without which the structure of any nation is unfinished and not worthy to be called the dwelling place of a people of high and noble ideals. Our ancestors, by whose toil and manhood the foundations of this republic were laid, saw the true value of so great a support, and, as they slowly and laboriously piled upon one huge stone after another, brought education into its rightful position. It is true that education was not the first consideration of our pilgrim fathers, when they landed on these wild and unknown shores. Not at all, the first thought was that of shelter from savage men and beasts,-and not only a shelter, but a home, the desire of every heart. What place could schools, such as they had left in their fatherland, have had in the small widely-scattered settlements, which were so busily striving to establish a government, under which the children of the nation-to-be might ever press onward and upward? But, when the weightier problems had been solved and the home and church well established, the minds of these early founders of the nation turned immediately to this new task of establishing a successful system of education. This task of founding schools and colleges was by no means an easy one. Among the many obstacles to be overcome was the lack of teachers and books. The difiiculty of securing instructors was met in many ways. Very often the parson also served as schoolmaster. ln other cases we find the schoolmaster carrying on some such trade as tailoring or shoemaking while he taught. We find an ordinance of the selectmen of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which details the following as the duties of the school- master: To act as a court messenger, to serve summonsesg to lead the choir on Sundays, to dig the graves, to ring the bell for public worship, to take charge of the school, and to perform other occasional duties. The lack of books also had to be contended with, although this want was not so serious in the common and elementary schools as in the colleges, which were springing into existence. The founding of Harvard and Yale Colleges was made possible by contributions of books from the private libraries of learned men. In like manner many other schools were begun. Despite the many difhculties, schools were established, but we find a marked difference between their success in New England and the colonies of the central and southern regions. The schools of the northeastern colonies flourished rapidly, while in the central and southern settlements they were often decided failures. This difference was most likely due to the fact that the latter colonies were more widely scattered than the former. So we 13

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In Our Idle Momgnfg 12

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tind New England forgin,g ahead in the establishment of both public schools and colleges. As early as 1640 we find that a free school had been estab- lished in Salem of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1642 or even earlier both Boston and Cambridge had their public schools. Very soon every promising little settlement had its school, and not long after the state adopted a system of public schooling. A bill passed in 1647 provided for the establishment of common and grammar schools in every township. Turning again to the remaining colonies we may readily see that the progress of education was here less swift. New York had no system of public schooling until 1760. The schools of Pennsylvania and New Jersey were mostly parish schools under the control of the Presbyterians and Quakers. These schools, however, were partially successful. In fact it is said Considering the mass of immigrants their efforts were crowned with success. In Mary- land slaves were sold as teachers. Virginia's scattered settlements prevented the establishment of a public system, and farther south than this we do not hear of any attempts which had been made to found public schools. This does not mean that the sons of the southern planters were not educated, for they were usually sent to the famous old schools of England. At this time our own colleges were being established and were speedily developing into favor. Harvard was founded in 1638 by Reverend John Harvard, who gave half his estate and many of his books. William and Mary College was founded at Williamsburg, Virginia in 1692. This college was the pride of the Virginians, and to it they devoted the funds whch hitherto had been unsuccessfully employed in the establishment of public schools, Eight years after the founding of William and Mary, ten clergy- men held a conference at Saybrook, with intention to establish a college there. Through their contributions of books and money this was made possible the following year. Elihu Yale was the most important patron of this college and from him it received its name. In 1717 Yale was moved tc New Haven, Connecticut, the birthplace of its patron. Another famous college of the day was King's College-now Columbia University,-which was established in 1750. The courses of education offered by these colleges were not very advanced and were greatly influenced by religious feeling. The branches taught were not as many as those in a high school course of today. There were no schools of medicine or law, and the physician and lawyer were lightly esteemed. The sole object of most of the colleges was to train the youth in the old doctrine of the church. In the common schools there was the same strong religious element, and here too we find the studies not at all advanced. In the Dutch settlements, in particular, the clergymen were also the masters of the schools. And, this method was not without its advantages, for should you on a Sunday hear the master in his stately robes hurl down his fiery warnings from the pulpit far above your head, you would surely go to school the next day in a meeker and more passive frame of mind, lest some of that brimstone fall on you, 01' CVCI1 a Worse punishment,-the birchrod. The branches taught in these 14