Primary Education Of Upper Class Children

Even though the Declaration of Independence does not mention education, our founding fathers did value education. Illustrated by the ordinances they passed “in 1785 and 1787 that granted federal lands to states to create and support public school- an institution that the nation’s founders viewed as essential to democracy and national unification.” (Jennings, p3) In 1959, the admission of Alaska and Hawaii into the Union reconfirmed the Federal government’s support of education. Three distinct elements that impact education are; laws that have been passed, the removal of the church from public schools, and the role of federal government that has evolved and changed over the years. These three factors have transformed education over the

Thomas Jefferson recognized the necessity for education as a form of national improvement. Like roads and canals, schools would unite and improve the nation, but this improvement is greater than roads. Jefferson writes in 1786,

Kaestle wrote the founding fathers believed that education would prepare men to vote intelligently and prepare woman to teach their sons properly (1983, p. 95). Kaestle used an example of how a school official in Vermont mentioned that teachers stamped characters on children and molded them for the places the teachers thought they would fill, whether as a political figure or in prison; they were scaffolding (1983, p. 81). This mindset mirrored an ideology the Protestant culture enforced. There was also mentioning of the republican machine, which was a person who was intelligent and free but would subject himself to the whim of the government and do things for the common good (1983, p. 79). Kaestle argued that government in education was paramount in order for people to become the virtuous citizens they were meant to

Thomas Jefferson remains one of the first advocates for public education, which was later termed the Common School Movement. He recognized the inequality in education, for the wealthy stood the only ones capable of affording an education, thus the poor stayed poor and the rich stayed rich. Jefferson aspired to change the apparent injustices in the education system. He felt all children possessed the right to and education regardless of prosperity, heritage, and circumstances. Even though Jefferson remained not able to create the change he so desperately sought to make, he never stopped trying and since education stayed revolutionized, for his persistence in equality. James Conant, former president of Harvard University stated, “In short, as I view the American scene of the 1960’s, I am ready to declare without hesitation that Jefferson’s proposals have become incorporated in the pattern of our educational structure” (Mercer, 1993).

Thomas Jefferson and Horace Mann had a large influence into our educational foundation. They fought for and persuaded many people into believing education was needed for all citizens. They also believed in separation of church and state. In this paper I will summarize each individuals influence on education as well as separation of church and state.

First and foremost, the American Educational System has received numerous advocates offering crucial inputs on education from centuries ago up to the present time. Even so, with focus, shining on past advocates, three well-known men who are still receiving constant acknowledgment for their ideas and contributions regarding the system. Notably, Dewey, Man, and Jefferson all share major impacts, alike and unlike, resulting in significant effects on the American Educational System.

In the farming society of the early 1800’s, education was not possible for many children. Horace Mann, a farm boy himself and an early advocate for educational reform, saw the deficiencies in the educational system. He pushed for “common schools” that would retain local control, be co-educational and revolve around the agricultural year. Mann’s ideas began to be adopted around the country in the second half of the nineteenth century. By the start of the twentieth century, mandatory public schooling was the norm. This was the height of the industrial revolution. As Davidson notes in “Project Classroom Makeover”, “Public Education was seen as the most efficient way to train potential workers for labor in the newly urbanized factories (197).” Schools began to work like an assembly line with a focus on efficiency, attention to detail, memorization of facts and staying on task. Curriculum became standardized and states began to replace the local management of education. Critically thinking outside the box was less valued. Regardless of ability, children started school at the same age and were moved through their education in a regulated process.

April 13, 1743 Albemarle County in the English colony of Virginia was the start of an American historical giant. Thomas Jefferson was born in affluence to his father, Peter Jefferson, a rising young planter in the Virginia colony, and his mother, Jane Randolph, who held a high status within the colony as well. Due to his father’s prosperity Jefferson was afforded the absolute best in the ways of education, starting with private tutors at the age of five, then moving on to learn how to read Greek and Roman in there original text and finally taking his studies to the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg which he would say is “…what probably fixed the destinies of my life…” pg 5. On the other side of the spectrum, a few years later

The Declaration of Independence acknowledges these basic freedoms and liberties through the following statement: "...that all men are created equal...[the people] are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights..." (Document 1). The structure of the passage connotes the importance of such liberties, exemplifying that a suppression or restriction of these rights violates democratic principles. Furthermore, Jeffersonian liberalism argues for the people's rights to basic services and needs. In a letter written in 1786, Jefferson explains the importance of public education to the preserving of democracy in the nation, stating that "No other foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness [than education]....Preach a crusade against ignorance; establish and improve the law for educating the common people" (Document 3). Free education offers the common people, including farmers, an opportunity to be more successful in making their decisions regarding the government of the United States. According to Jefferson, education was a key element for a republic to thrive, allowing the American people to achieve

During this period, the most influential person dealing with educational reform was Horace Mann. Horace Mann believed that “education was the only way to ‘counterwork this tendency to the domination of capital and the servility of labor’” (Brinkley

Jefferson felt that education was an important factor in attaining freedom. An educated man was less likely to be susceptible to being corrupted due to ignorance of what justice consists of. In his later years, one of his many accomplishments was the founding of the University of Virginia, which compounded his belief that education was a vital path on the road to freedom. (planetpapers.com)

Jefferson placing the nations needs above all is what kept him in office. He believed in homeschooling rather than European schools so the future of America could absorb ideas and traits. Jefferson’s nature was always more practical then theoretical, based, more on common sense then upon philosophy. Jefferson always preferred precision to “metaphysical subtleties”. Jefferson placed his faith in free election of a virtuous and talented natural aristocracy. Avoiding war, quiet factionalism, preserving republican government were essentials Jefferson believed in. The place in which Jefferson stood gave him no option but to exhibit more federalist ways than his strict constructionist ways. Although this was so he stayed true to the importance of

Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in American History once said, “Until we get equality in education, we won’t have an equal society.” (1) Since it’s birth, our great nation has undergone positive change that shapes the world we live in today, and we have public education to thank for that. Many progressive movements began with our children and their educational rights, before branching out to the rest of America’s citizens. This can be seen throughout each century. During the 1700's, education was finally brought to the forefront of American states, creating a basic guideline of what every American should know and giving them a space to learn.

Throughout the colonial period education was limited to both men and women, but was even more limited to women. There was a gap in education between males and females for education. Males were more likely to go to school than females due to the facts that you had to pay for schooling. There was also the fact a woman 's education depended on their race, class, and location.

Since the establishment of America’s first schools, the American people have disagreed not only about what the purpose of school is, but also about what schools should teach. Initially schools were supposed to “prepare men to vote intelligently and prepare women to train their sons properly. Moral training based on the Protestant Bible would produce virtuous, well-behaved citizens [who knew not only] the three R’s but [also] the general principles of law, commerce, money, and government” (Kaestle, 1983, p. 5). During the 1780’s educational theorists began calling for reform and in 1785 Massachusetts law