The Colonial Period (1607 - 1775)

1.1 How did the diversity of the original colonies shape the education system of the United States?

• Regional differences in the original colonies effectively divided them into three geographic regions with varying economics and different reasons for coming.
• The southern colonies were linked to the land and revolved around agriculture. It was the location of many large plantations with small, poor farmers barely making it by. Education in the south was restricted strictly to the rich who hired private tutors or groups of families who hired a single tutor to teach all their children. Private schools sponsored by the Church of England and boarding schools for the wealthy sprang up in larger cities.
• The middle colonies were very diverse, so no one school could meet the demands of everyone. Different cultural groups created parochial schools that taught in their native language and included the study of their respective religions in addition to the three R's.
• The New England colonies were culturally and religiously homogeneous and industry and commerce encouraged them to cluster into towns, allowing for the formation of common schools. Education there was viewed as the vehicle for helping people follow God's commandments and resist the devil's temptations. New England have had the most influence on many controversies in schools today.

1.2 What role did religion play in colonial schools?

• Religion affected what was taught and how it was taught. Emphasis was on memory and recitation, children weren't allowed to ask questions or have opinions, and they had to sit quietly for long periods of time. It determined the way parochial schools were formed in the middle colonies and how the common schools formed in the New England colonies.

1.3 How did this emphasis on religion influence schools today?

• The earliest schools set the foundation for the transformation to today's schools. The strong relationship between religion and schooling in the colonial period is why religion continues to be an important and contentious issue in education today.

1.4 Why was the Old Deluder Satan Act of Massachusetts important for the development of our American educational system?

• The Old Deluder Satan Act required towns of 50 or more households to hired a teacher of reading and writing to produce citizens who understood the Bible and could thwart Satan's trickery. It gave birth to the idea that public education could contribute to the greater good of our society and provided the legal foundation for public support of education.