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Synopsis:
They created Harvard College to train the next generation of clergy and community leaders, and made it the very first college in all of British North America, when the Massachusetts Bay Colony was established.
Impact on Education:
Coming hotfooting from the old country, this new college set a precedent for higher education in North America, one that would go on to influence the classical curricula of later colleges. -
Synopsis:
When colonial law laid down that towns must create a place for children to learn to read, it had a twofold purpose: to combat "the old deluder, Satan" by making Scripture and the law accessible, and to get children educated.
Impact on Education:
Well-known for its commitment to education, this ruling marked the beginning of an understanding that towns can be relied on to arrange for their children's education, and foreshadowed the decentralized school governance in the United States. -
Synopsis:
When discussing the number of schools in a town, we see a significant increase, from just a handful in the 1650s, to a more considerable network by 1689 as the town grew. Coming from this, we can tell that formal schooling was fragile but spreading.
Impact on Education:
The reach of the schools was still severely limited and very much dependent on the community's willingness to invest in education and resources. -
Synopsis:
When the New England churches decided to allow partial membership for the children of the baptized who hadn't undergone a full conversion, it was the first indication that the rigid religious structure was beginning to lose its grip on people, coming from the top down.
Impact on Education:
As for cultural beliefs, we can't force them on others, especially not on children. Scholars noted that this marked a shift in education and was an early step toward Enlightenment ideals. -
Synopsis:
Coming from a wealthy planter who was deeply rooted in the Anglican Church, Virginia's Governor practically showed how out of touch he was with the priorities of the common people, saying, "I thank God there are no free schools nor printing."
Impact on Education:
Illustrates regional divergence: Southern colonies, unlike the New England colonies, did not have free public schools and instead heavily relied on private tutors and church instructions for their elite classes. -
Synopsis:
Uniting the alphabet, a catechism and moral verse in one book, when the New England Primer was first introduced it became the go-to textbook for early American education.
Impact on Education:
Coming out of the 17th century, this Primer went on to institutionalize the combination of literacy and Protestant moral instruction, and laid the foundations for the way we teach reading to this day. -
Synopsis:
When Connecticut's Collegiate School, which would eventually become Yale, was first established in 1701 it was intended to train up the next generation of clergymen and community leaders, right in the midst of a period of great religious division and revival.
Impact on Education:
The school would significantly boost the capacity for higher education in the colony, and in doing so, solidified the classical-theological curriculum that produced the elite networks of the day. -
Synopsis:
They spread mainly through books, pamphlets and the lively debates of elite and town-based societies, when Newtonian science and Lockean philosophy were transmitted to the American colonies.
Impact on Education:
Coming from England, this movement brought with it the idea that reason and natural rights should be elevated. In turn, it opened the door for more justification of the importance of literacy, criticism, and civic education, as the society here was growing more diverse. -
Synopsis:
Their sermons and teachings marked the beginning of the widespread popularity of evangelical piety and the "new light" movement, when George Whitefield embarked on his tours and Jonathan Edwards began preaching.
Impact on Education:
This phenomenon made religion more accessible and democratic, encouraging deeper exploration of religious texts and personal faith. As a result, educational institutions reevaluated their authority. -
Synopsis:
Newspapers, almanacs, and commercial 'writing schools' proliferate in port cities -- where apprenticeships taught record-keeping.
Impact on Education:
It provided non-school pathways into literacy and numeracy for commerce, raising functional literacy beyond just religious aims. -
Synopsis:
The fight for independence encourages republican values that depend on an educated citizenry, capable of rational discussion and self-governance.
Impact on Education:
It reframed education as a form of civic infrastructure -- focused on preparing voters and leaders -- while increasingly fueling debates over the balance of power between national and local authorities. -
Synopsis:
A brand new way of looking at women's education began to take shape, one that made the creation of educated, virtuous citizens a top priority, when the ideas of the American Revolution and the Enlightenment were spreading.
Impact on Education:
The result was a push for women's literacy and mass education. This was most evident in the rapid growth of dame schools and female academies, when the idea that social change is linked to girls' education took hold. -
Synopsis:
Prominent New Yorkers not only helped lay the groundwork for the idea that education is a cornerstone of urban order, but also fought against the inhumane treatment of slaves and protected the rights of free Black people.
Impact on Education:
Coming from a philosophical perspective, they made a model of charity schooling as a means of social control. Interestingly, this model foreshadowed the 19th-century urban reform schools, and the racialized governance of education. -
Synopsis:
The Manumission Society establishes a charity school for free Black children to teach literacy and 'proper' conduct.
Impact on Education:
This school, like all institutions, expanded the boundaries of formal education for some black children -- however, it also perpetuated the expectation of the need for black people to demonstrate 'respectability' and came with a degree of surveillance. -
Synopsis:
Congress believed that the building blocks of a well-functioning society are religion, morality and knowledge, and as such, schools were a must, encouraging them in the newly formed territory, when laying out the principles of the Northwest Territory.
Impact on Education:
Coming from the federal level, this declaration marked a federal interest in the civic purposes of education and in essence, laid the seeds for the state-funded school systems of the future. -
Synopsis:
His Female Academy became one of the first of its kind in the US, when Rush argued that women's education is a path to civic virtue.
Impact on Education:
Rush has been credited with popularising the idea that women's education doesn’t have to be confined to the home, connecting the idea of female secondary schools with the idea of a well-rounded citizen, which in turn, went on to influence the 19th-century female seminaries.