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Essay about contemporary issues that influence the practice of early childhood education
American history chapter 3 colonial life
Essay about contemporary issues that influence the practice of early childhood education
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The years 1607 and and1754 mark the start and end of the colonial time period. The time period begins with a single settlement, Jamestown, and concludes with thirteen colonies. The colonists in America faced numerous hardships such as famine and attacks from Native Americans. Nevertheless, the settlers persisted and helped give birth to this nation. Being the founders of the country, these colonists laid the foundations for the education system, which would be changed and improved in years to come. The US education system in the colonial time period had a number of purposes and influences. When the first colonists came to America, they quickly set up schools due to the fact that education is such a vital aspect of a strong and productive nation. The first schools set up were …show more content…
In order to administer discipline, teachers would hit or beat the students if they misbehaved. This created an atmosphere where students would grow up knowing right from wrong, thereby building a nation with morals and order.When the colonists became more settled in their land, the education system was improved upon. For example, the British curriculum in schools in America began representing more of the schools they had back home. They opened elementary reading schools, Latin grammar schools, private venture schools, and an apprenticeship system. Private venture schools adopted the most secular curriculum of the ones listed and taught courses such as navigation, surveying, and bookkeeping. Though education like this and schools like Harvard were divided by social and class rank, there were programs which provided aid to the less fortunate. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, for example, made its way from Britain to the US. This agency of the Anglican church provided underprivileged children with an education, whereby they were provided with textbooks, teachers, and other facilities. While attempts to educate
Jamestown was the first successful settlement established by England. It was first built in 1607 and lasted until about 1614. On the first ship, 100 male settlers set off for a new settlement in the New World. Life there at times was hard for various reasons. They did, however, become 7 7 trading partners with the Indians. 80% of Jamestown’s more than 500 settlers that had arrived had been dead by 1611. The reason for this is because of sickness and disease, lack of resources, and where they chose to build their settlement.
The English colonies greatly evolved from 1607 to 1745. England’s first permanent settlement was founded in 1607 and was named Jamestown. The colonists at Jamestown were all males, and the lack of women made it difficult for the settlers to establish any semblance of a society. After the arrival of women in the English colonies, real communities were beginning to form. The men would typically farm while the women tended to the house and children. Society revolved around religion- men and women looked to God for guidance as to how to live their lives and shape society. Many events including Bacon’s Rebellion, the Enlightenment, the Great Awakening, and the Zenger case had a great influence on the development of a democratic society in the English colonies; however, the most influential is the Enlightenment and the Zenger case.
Gender, social status, and the region in which a child lived determined how much schooling a child would receive and where and how they would get it. Children of the upper class were either taught in private schools or by a tutor. They were taught reading, writing, prayers, and simple math ("Education") . They were taught using repetition from the Bible, a religion-based reading supplement called a primer, and/or a paddle-shaped (also religious) horn book ("Schooling"). The upper-class boys were taught more advanced academic subjects, and may have been sent to boarding school in England or another state. The girls were taught to assume the duties of a wife and mother and obtained basic knowledge so they could read the Bible and record expenses ("Education"). While the south had very few laws for education because of its population, the middle and northern colonies (and then states) had established guidelines for their citizens. Pennsylvania's Law of 1683 set a monetary penalty for any parent whose children could not read and write by age twelve, and who were not taught a useful trade. By 1642 the northern colonies had already mandated a public education or apprenticeship for children, one grammar school for towns with more that one-hundred families, and an elementary school for towns with more than fifty.
During the years of 1675 and 1676 the North American colonies experienced conflicts that shaped the dynamics of their colonial life. King Phillip's War would effectively end relations between the New England colonists and the Indians. Also, the rebellion in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon stressed the growing discontent of poor frontier farmers for British rule. The consequences of these two events clearly had an impact on different levels that would extend well beyond their time. Therefore, the years 1675 and 1676 played a very significant role in the Northern American colonies.
The Antebellum period was a time of reform and improvement. After the War of 1812, America went through a period of westward expansion, patriotism and an economic emergence as a world power. Their new found power as a country inspired reformation. Abolitionists worked to end the institution of slavery through protests, rallies, and the formation of societies; women’s rights activists advocated in a similar way. Simultaneously, many Americans supported the government’s efforts to remove Native Americans from their own land. Americans during the Antebellum period were ambitious, but contradictory in their activism; while many activists fought for the rights of slaves and women, others sought to curtail rights of Native Americans.
The New England colonies developed a close-knit homogeneous society and a thriving mixed economy of agriculture and commerce. They developed this by creating a group called the New England Confederation. This focused on the protection of the people in the colony in the event of enemies trying to attack them. On page 49, it says “The primary purpose of the confederation was defense against foes or potential foes, notably the Indians, the French, and the Dutch.” They created this as a safety net for the New England colonies. Every part of the New England colonies had two votes, it didn’t matter on the size of the colonies. The ran it as their own because the king of the time didn’t care much for the colonies.
Education did not form part of the life of women before the Revolutionary War and therefore, considered irrelevant. Women’s education did not extend beyond that of what they learned from their mothers growing up. This was especially true for underprivileged women who had only acquired skills pertaining to domesticity unlike elite white women during that time that in addition to having acquired domestic skills they learned to read a result becoming literate. However, once the Revolutionary War ended women as well as men recognized the great need for women to obtain a greater education. Nonetheless, their views in regards to this subject differed greatly in that while some women including men believed the sole purpose of educating women was in order to better fulfil their roles and duties as wives and mothers others believed the purpose of education for women was for them “to move beyond the household field.” The essays of Benjamin Rush and Judith Sargent Murray provide two different points of view with respects to the necessity for women to be well educated in post-revolutionary America.
During early colonial America, schooling was not mandatory and it was primarily given to the wealthy Anglo-Saxon children (Carlson, p230). Children were mainly taught in the home or in a single room schoolhouse. Therefore, children of limited mental capability were not likely to be schooled. Also, in a non-graded schoolhouse, children of differing abilities did not pose problems.
"His work seemed to him thin, commonplace, feeble. At times he felt his own weakness so fatally that he could not go on; when he had nothing to say, he could not say it, and he found that he had very little to say at best" (Adams 39). Having been born into the upper class, Henry Adams graduated from high school and then for him, "the next regular step was Harvard" (Adams 32). Through Adam's essay, "The Education of Henry Adams", it is clear that the education he received at Harvard was plagued by his negative mindset that was triggered by his social status and the history of his surname. Adams failure to find his passion for education can be attributed to his lack of motivation, his nonexistent personal achievement, and his feelings of social superiority.
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Originally founded by Mary Lyon as Mount Holyoke Female Seminary on 8 November 1837, it is the "first of the Seven Sisters" and is the oldest continuing institution of higher education for women in the United States. In addition, according to the United States Department of Education, "Mount Holyoke’s significance is that it became a model for a multitude of other women’s colleges throughout the country." (contributors, 2008) 1834 was a turning point for Mary Lyon. She decided to leave Ipswich Female Seminary, where she was assistant principal, and focus all of her time and efforts on founding an institution of higher education for women. For the next three years, she crusaded tirelessly for funds and support. It was not the best time to ask people for donations, the U.S. was in a severe economic depression. But Mary Lyon persisted. She wrote circulars and ads announcing the plan for the school, raised money, persuaded prominent men to back her enterprise, developed a curriculum, visited schools and talked to educators as far away as Detroit, chose the school's location, supervised the design and construction of a building, brought equipment, hired teachers, and selected students. She endured ridicule from those who felt her ambitious undertaking would be "wasted" on women. Her constant travels often left her in a state of exhaustion. Yet, Mary Lyon never doubted her belief that women deserved to have the same opportunities for higher education as their brothers.
When settlers from England came to America, they envisioned a Utopia, where they would have a say in what the government can and cannot do. Before they could live in such a society they would have to take many small steps to break the hold England had on them. The settlers of America had to end a monarchy and start their own, unique, form of government. They also had to find a way that they would have some kind of decision making power. The most important change that the colonies in America had to make was to become a society quite different from that in England.
...forbade black education. Besides that, very little of the white population went to schools anyway. Establishing school systems in these areas was a tricky job. Despite problems in the South and West with education, America had grown into a more learned nation. Over 80% of the population (excluding the slavery population) were literate, compared with a much lower literacy rate prior to the 1800’s. Americans had once again worked hard in order to enhance their societies’ standards.
Different ideas were being expressed through The Second Great Awakening. The religious focus was now turning to God’s mercy and benevolence, which sparked other beliefs and ideas. People started believing that they could control their own fate. Worship services consisted of singing hymns and personal testimonies to make it more emotional. Many found religion as a soft comfort during the difficulties of this time period. Charles Finney was one of the most effective evangelists of the time. He entertained and edified, preached on conviction, repentance, and reformation (DOC B). The belief that parents could contribute to their child’s salvation led women to want to spiritually educate their children. Spiritually educating led to the belief that education was important. Schools were started to educate children while they were young. Many lower-class families had to go to high extremes to put their children in school. Children were needed to help work in the homes, but families saw that education was important, and they would allow their children to attend half a day or more of schooling (DOC E). Religion and education was becoming better known throughout society. America saw they needed to apply higher principles to gain benefits of the highest physical, intellectual, and moral education in order to be a gre...
America was just colonies in this era, and were under England’s rule completely. Jamestown was the first English Colony on American land and was established by John Smith in 1607.
The intellectual culture expressed in literature and education was for the Americans to receive the basic reading level skills. In 1647 Massachusetts established a law, which required each town to support a public school. Others who did not support public schools, had church schools and “dame”, or private classes in the instructor’s house. Even though this does not sound familiar, people of the white race were the only ones to receive education, especially white males. Men had a higher degree of literacy than females, but Americans had a higher rate of literacy than most European