II. THE NATIONAL PERIOD: EDUCATION

FOR ALL

What grand awakening came in education in the 1800's?

About the middle of the 1800's education had a general awakening in this country. Travelers in Europe and immigrants who came to this country during this time brought with them stories of the European systems of education. There were some objectors, such as Henry Barnard and Horace Mann, who revolted against the inadequacies of the American system. Following the Revolutionary War, the academy flourished and helped in training teachers. The academies and private ventures in the line of teacher training were the only sources of preparation given to those who wished to enter the profession of teaching. As a result of the general awakening of the country and the revolutionary methods put forward by Barnard, Mann, and others, teachers began to get the necessary training. Most of these reforms in education took place first in the New England States, the rest of the Nation not having much faith in the new ideas. A brief summary will clarify the conditions of the late 1700's and part of the 1800's:

1. Between the later 1700's and the early 1800's education, in general, was at a standstill.

2. Teachers were not well trained for their work.

3. Academies and private institutions were used as schools for teacher training; but, on the whole, these schools failed.

4. About 1830 a more or less static period of education ended and a period of development began.

This summary leads us into the period of Henry Barnard, Horace Mann, and other great educators whose work in the "development period" is foundational even to the present day.

What did Horace Mann give to American education?

The first quarter of the nineteenth century belonged to the "transition period" in American education. About 1825, America experienced a renewed interest in culture and cultural subjects, which led to an increased appreciation of education. The conditions in the earlier schools have been described and it is now only necessary that we point out those in Boston, for its system of schools was looked upon as the model for other States.

In 1837 the Legislature of the State of Massachusetts created a State Board of Education. This board's primary function seems to

have been that of collecting information on the general conditions of the schools. Horace Mann was appointed secretary to the board in that State. He was at first handicapped because of the limited powers granted him, but he soon began a crusade for free schools in which he managed to get the people of Massachusetts behind him. When he left his office 12 years later, his reforms had already been copied by many other States.

Through his paper, the Common School Journal and his Annual Reports, he made the people of Massachusetts realize the inefficiencies of their system of education. Through his lectures, talks, and meetings, he was able to make the people of that State "educationconscious." His tireless efforts brought forth "normal schools." Taxes for school support were levied and the number of teachers increased. The school year was lengthened 1 month. His efforts bore results, as is shown by summaries of conditions prevailing after he left office.

What women pioneered in education?

There were many leaders in the field of education, each trying to raise the standards by which American children were taught. Among these leaders were three women who, although they worked independently and perhaps knew each other by name only, did much to secure a higher education for the girls of this Nation. The first of this trio was Emma Hart Willard, a Connecticut schoolmistress, who struggled to get the first higher schools for girls. Being a wise woman, she understood the people of that time who considered that woman's place was in the home and not in the school. In fact, it was considered very unbecoming for a girl even to aspire to an education. With this in mind, Mrs. Willard tried to convince the people that a girl ought to have a fuller education to carry on the duties of wife and mother. Useful things should be taught her and she should be disciplined by such solid studies as mathematics, philosophy, geography, and the scientific study of housewifery. Mrs. Willard's favorite subject was geometry, which she made interesting by using potatoes to illustrate her points.

She had great faith in history and religion. She planned a type of education for girls that was different from that for men in that it trained the girls for the home. After overcoming many obstacles, she established a female seminary in the city of Troy, N. Y. It was so successful that when she retired after some years she was acclaimed one of the most famous women in America.

Catherine Beecher began her distinguished career as a teacher at the Hartford Female Seminary in 1828. Here she attempted to teach her advanced ideas. Her work failed because it did not seem practical. She then started to act as a missionary for women's education on the

western frontier. Her plan was to interest wealthy women in supplying money for a girls' school and to supply teachers from a school in New England for this new seminary. The crusade, except for a small measure of success, failed at the time; but the publicity she got later advanced the cause of education for women. She believed that the woman's world consisted of home-life, nursing, and teaching. She wished to furnish training for these three fields in her school. She made possible the "scientific" study of health; she introduced calisthenics, or gym work, as we know it, in her school at Hartford, and ever after advocated physical education for girls.

The third of these crusaders was a woman of great religious fervor combined with an almost fanatical desire for higher educationMary Lyon. She was deeply sympathetic with girls of small means who had little to spend on schooling. She founded a school in which the tuition cost was at a minimum, Mount Holyoke Seminary, now Mount Holyoke College. This school emphasized religious education and sent many of its graduates into mission work.

What foreign educators influenced the American schools?

Probably one of the greatest educators of all times was Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827), a German-Swiss reformer. More than any other reformer, he laid the basis for the modern elementary school, believing in making the school as nearly like home as possible. He urged the teaching of spinning, weaving, and other useful activities, and at the same time the children were taught to read and count. Knowing the needs of children of elementary-school age, he suggested a new form of instruction particularly suited to their minds. He developed the object system and considered the environment and experiences of a child his most valuable means of instruction. Many of his methods are used today, such as teaching by observation and investigation.

To another European, Friedrich Froebel, we are indebted for three additions to elementary education: The kindergarten, the play idea, and handwork activities for the child. Froebel turned to the Pestalozzian school to train for his work as a teacher. While in this training he became greatly impressed by the values of music and play in the education of children. His childhood had been unhappy, so he decided to devote himself to establishing schools for the very young. He believed that we could start early in educating children because they acquire habits during their early years. In his school, which he called a "kindergarten," the main types of activity included play and music.

He was, however, unsuccessful at that time, the fault lying in his inability to convince the great educators. One of his friends, the Baroness Bertha von Marenholtz Bülow-Wendhausen, who spent her

life bringing his work to the attention of the world, helped crown Froebel's efforts with success. Although he was a European, his schools attracted educational leaders from all over the world. His ideas were first introduced into the United States early in the nineteenth century largely though the work of Joseph Neef, one of Pestalozzi's instructors.

What influence had Sunday Schools on education in the nineteenth century?

One of the greatest influences on nineteenth century education was the church. It must be remembered that the church had had complete control of schools in the early history of the country. When a public system of education was founded, the church lost much of its influence, although some church schools were continued. The Sunday School was opened to give the church a way of educating the young. The chief field of the Sunday School was, and is, that of spiritual education. Some of the ideas held by churches persisted in the new system of Sunday Schools; but since 1800, the direct influence of the churches on the education of the young has been almost wholly confined to the parochial (church) schools organized as private schools in many parts of our country. On Sunday, parochial school children and many children from the free public schools of today attend Sunday Schools connected with churches, just as they did in the early 1800's. What general changes came about in rural and village education in the century that included the period of the War between the States?

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, elementary education was still in its beginning. Consider the worst elementary school of today; it is probably much better than many village and rural schools of the early nineteenth century. At the beginning of the century the average village or rural school was housed in a small, old frame building with a dirt floor. This building had few windows, a door, a hearth in the center of the room for the fire, and a hole overhead in the room for the escaping smoke. Often there were no desks; logs cut in half and laid across barrels served for desks! There was seldom a blackboard; the earth floor sprinkled with sand was used by the master of the school as a place for writing problems. Even this poor school was appreciated; for had they not had it, classes would have been held in homes or public buildings.

The schoolroom had to be cared for by the pupils, for it was not until later that there were janitors. The boys had to come early and sweep the room, set it in order, and start the fire. The wood for the fire was brought by the pupils until local authorities assumed the responsibility. The master of this school could not be compared with ours of today. He was invariably poorly qualified for his work. The requirements of the schoolmaster were merely that he know how to read, write, and use numbers, and that he be strong enough to maintain discipline.