Discrimination in Colonial Era Public Education
Enslaved Colonists, Women and Poor Blocked from Early Public Schools
Oct 19, 2009
Public education in America had a rough start. The doors of wisdom were shut tight when it came to teaching enslaved African-Americans during the time of the early settlers in America. It was illegal. Then again, the door was only slightly cracked to allow women in the classroom. However, once inside the classroom, some students encountered functionally illiterate teachers.
Keeping Blacks Illiterate
Lawrence A. Cremin writes in his book "American Education: the Colonial Experience", that during the Colonial Period, there was a well developed ideology of race inferiority to justifiably cut off one-fifth of their population and forever keep the enslaved from the colonist's ideas of freedom and revolution.
Not every African-American during that time was enslaved but it did not matter. The whole idea was to keep the Black, whether slave or free, illiterate and removed from colonist's idea of revolution and freedom. There was even debate as to the purposefulness of baptizing Blacks. Some colonists thought Blacks too animalistic for Baptism and others thought Baptism would make the slave free indeed and thus, equals both under the law and God's eye.
More Money, More Knowledge
Attitudes regarding education in 17th century America reflected that of the colonists' motherland: England. They were concerned with educating young men for the greater good of the society in which they lived. Girls, Native Americans and African-Americans were after thoughts when it came to education, if that.
Lester and Alice Crow write in their book, "Introduction to Education: Fundamental Principles and Modern Practices", that early settlers valued individuality. Tutors and governesses taught the wealthy aristocrats and middle class. They sent their children to fee-charging primary schools named petty schools that were attached to Latin Grammar Schools and then on to Oxford or Cambridge. Girls got private tutoring to a point and then were taught how to be wives and mothers in the home.
The poor and orphans received little schooling besides industrial apprenticeships provided by the government. Their view was that education was the responsibility of the individual or the parent, as in England.
Literacy as a Road to Independence
In the New England settlements, education was thought to be a religious and civic function. They wanted students to be able to read the Bible for themselves. Most children were taught at home, whether the parents were literate or not, capable or not.
Sometimes the smartest woman in the neighborhood would charge a few cents and teach the children to read and say prayers but the town fathers found this method to be not good enough. In 1642, education laws were set in place throughout the towns to create compulsory education. Other settlers realized without knowing how to read, children would not be able to study the Bible for themselves, stating, "Illiteracy keeps men from knowledge of Scripture."
Essentially, the law stated that parents (mothers) weren't teaching the children effectively. The words "indulgent" and "neglect" were used as they ordered everyone in every town to keep and eye over the children to see that they were taught properly so that they as a society would not suffer "barbarianism." The fine was 20 schillings for not sending children to school.
Even after classrooms and teachers were established, many of the teachers were found to be only functionally literate.
Puritans felt school and education was important to church and state and thus, society. In 1693 education opportunities were expanded and improved to reflect those ideas. The College of William and Mary was founded along with a Latin Grammar School, a college of liberal arts divinity school and a school for "Indians".
Sources–Lawrence A. Cremin "American Education: The Colonial Experience, 1607-1783, first edition, published 1988 New York: Harper & Row.
–Lester and Alice Crow "Introduction to Education: Fundamental Principles and Modern Practices", second edition, published 1966 American Book Company, New York.
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