Thomas Jefferson

Hello, I’m Thomas Jefferson. I was born to a wealthy family in Virginia on April 13, 1743.  I have six sisters and a younger brother. My father died when I was fourteen leaving me the head of our household. My own education began under the direction of a private tutor when I was five. At fourteen, I left to attend boarding school with my tutor. I continued studying there until I left for the College of William and Mary at age sixteen.

Democracy has always been an important ideal to me. I wrote the Declaration of Independence to uphold these ideals in America. I believe education should be the foundation of democracy. I once said and still believe that, “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” I wrote the Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge which would establish schools across the state of Virginia. The bill would have provided three years of elementary school for both boys and girls, even more education for a few boys, and a scholarship to the College of William and Mary for a one boy every two years. I presented the bill to the House of Delegates twice, once in 1778 and again in 1780, but the bill was defeated both times. Fellow Virginian James Madison also tried to pass the bill but he was also unsuccessful. Eventually, a very revised version, The Act to Establish Public Schools was passed in 1796, but the bill was all but ignored by most counties in the state.

In 1802, I served as President of the United States. After this time, I established the University of Virginia which was the first non-sectarian university in America. While other universities only offered courses in medicine, law, or theology, the University of Virginia allowed students to study medicine, law, mathematics, chemistry, ancient languages, modern languages, natural philosophy, and moral philosophy. I also encouraged elective courses among other policies. I had hoped UVA would offer opportunities for more access to higher education.

Today, I am speechless about how much schools have progressed. Schools are more diverse, and the class populations are larger. It is interesting that fewer universities are founded on one specific religion, or none at all, similar to Virginia. However, I still think America is not doing enough for children in a lower socioeconomic class to further their education.

Benjamin Rush

America, my name is Benjamin Rush and I have returned to share my wisdom in regards to American education. For those who do not know me, I was born in 1745 in Byberry, Pennsylvania. I received a formal education, was a pioneer in promoting new theories about the medical field, and even wrote the first textbook on mental illness wherein I coined the term “Insane In the Membrane”. Just kidding, but I could have done it. I was a founding father whose signature lies on the Declaration of Independence, I pushed for abolition of slavery, and I advocated for free public education for the American people. The public education cause is what I will be, as the contemporary youth call it, “blogging” about here.

In my highly professional opinion, the public school system should first and foremost serve to promote an active and efficient democratic population. Schools should engrain a sense of national pride in their students so they may grow up to be both educated and fully committed to aid in the development and success of their country. The school system, much like the government, must be in constant development to adjust with the demands of the public at large. The lessons taught in schools must be flexible so that they may adapt, and old methods brought over from our predecessors should be forgotten due to their irrelevance. Among these irrelevant lessons are dead languages such as Latin or Greek that no longer serve a function, and if taught will take up time that could be spent on subjects such as science that could actively advance the progress of the nation.

In my era only males received a full education, while the women were taught primarily to help teach their children. However, I have been made aware that this is not the case in the present day. Now that women play a more important role in the democratic process they must receive an education to equal the responsibility of voting and playing a role in the political machine. Obviously the students must learn how to read and write in the English language, and as they progress through the grades they will begin to learn more advanced and specific areas of the sciences, mathematics, and history. These fields of study will help produce educated and more informed citizens, which is what our country truly needs to succeed.

While I appreciate the control our schools hold over our students, and the lack of choice we give them in order to make them more obedient, there are some aspects of the current system that leave me malcontent. For one, our schools do not work hard enough to give the students activities in their free time that strengthen their patriotism and eagerness to be an active citizen. Secondly, the public schools do not supply the students with enough Christian morales. I am shocked and appalled that the students are only forced to say God once in their Pledge of Allegiance. Though some states have a state pledge students recite that also include God, I find this lack of religious presence to be a major disappointment. Our students deserve better.

Colonial-era school teacher

Hello, my name is Mary Anne Johnson and I was a colonial school teacher living in the colony of Virginia. I taught during the 17th century. Things seem so different today. I was a widow and I had minimal reading and writing skills. I think it is amazing that teachers now a days have so many resources, and training available. My students ranged in age and my home doubled as my classroom. I taught in what was called a dame school. I concentrated in reading and writing to the males in the classroom and basic home skills to the females. Of course, these home making skills were fundamental skills for women in society. My salary usually came from the parents of my students. It was not a set earning - it consisted of whatever amount the parent could contribute. I usually taught from my kitchen with a large table that sat many people. The way classrooms are set up today seem somewhat like the schools that started to develop in the late 1800’s and 1900’s. Where there are seats in rows and columns, and a spot for the teacher to teach in front of the students. I can really see how that could've been helpful when I was teaching in my kitchen.

As the students did their work, I did my house work as well. I did not own teaching supplies. I incorporated the Bible into the children’s learning. I usually started the class day off with a prayer. This is the duty the Lord would want me to do in my classroom. Frequently, some of my students were absent if they were needed for work at home. I was very strict because of the amount of students I had and their variation in age levels. I believed strictness was necessary for moral and obedient children.

The other teachers around were mainly males. Many of them were male ministers who taught the Holy Scriptures. The boys that could afford the advanced education went on to Latin Grammar school which were taught by men. These boys were between the ages of 7 and 14 and these schools were specifically formatted to prepare ministers. Another form of education available were apprenticeships, which consisted of a person learning a craft from someone who had already mastered it.

Today, I am shocked by the changes in the school system. Following Catharine Beecher’s influence, the number of female teachers increased dramatically. Catharine Beecher thought that teaching came naturally for women because of our nurturing nature. She wanted to establish a career for women and teaching seemed like the most fit career for women during that time. Nowadays, most teachers are women! There are new ideas about how to teach the youth. Progressive education, as I can see, made a large impact. Progressive education was a movement influence by John Dewey that called for learning by experience. This type of education included health concerns, family and community life issues, and vocational studies. Also, the education system has strayed from being God’s classroom to not teaching the word of God. The school buildings are huge and the students come in split into groups with other students their same age. Things have certainly changed quite a bit since my time.

The Rise of Common Schools Project

HELP US FINISH OUR PROJECT

Monday, September 22nd, 2014 and Thursday, September 25th, 2014 is the final day of the below lesson for my three sections of Schools and Society. If I have contacted you it is because I would like for you to use Twitter to ask my students a question about education that they will answer from the historical perspective of their character. For example, you might ask Catharine Beecher, "@(Beecher handle goes here) What do you think about Title IX? #TWU2003" or you could ask the same question to the entire class. All you have to do to ask a question is add the hashtag #TWU2003 in your tweet, but you can also ask a specific actor by including their Twitter handle(s) (e.g., @EraTeacher) found below. The key is making sure to add the #TWU2003 hashtag to any tweet so I can see it. 

My students will be answering questions at the following times: 

• Class 1: Wednesday, September 24th from 9:40-10:10am
• Class 2: Wednesday, September 24th from 1:10-1:40pm
• Class 3: Thursday, September 25th from 5:50-6:10pm

You can also leave questions beforehand. Thanks for your help in expanding our lesson beyond our classroom walls.

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RISE OF COMMON SCHOOLS PROJECT

In looking for a way to teach the students in my Schools and Society class about the rise of common schools in the United States I did what many teachers do - I modified a lesson from another teacher, my friend Michael Milton (@42thinkdeep). Michael and I wrote about how he used blogs and Twitter to teach his high school students to take historical perspectives of Enlightenment philosophers, and even consider how their perspectives might be pertinent to issues today (Krutka & Milton, 2013). While I had taught about the rise of common schools before I was searching for a way to make the lesson more dynamic and lasting for my students. Michael's lesson seemed an appropriate model.

In addition to creating THIS DIGITAL TIMELINE TOGETHER, I began by assigning my students to read a blog post on the rise of common schools called “Education to the Masses” (link) and also watch a video online titled “The Common School: 1770-1890” (link). I reinforced the ideas in these two assignments by using primary documents (e.g., historical quotes, letters, a video clip, pictures) to complete a station activity (link). Students moved from station-to-station with small groups of 2-3 students in four minute increments and were encouraged to consider the questions, "How and why did the Common (public) School movement come to fruition in the United States?" and "Who was included and marginalized within early schools?" I walked around the class and answered questions or provided further context when needed. We also created and studies a digital timeline we created together (link). For homework, groups of students chose one historical actor to research further. The list included:

Blog posts and Twitter handle to be added shortly*

• A colonial-era school teacher (Class 1: @colonialTeach; Class 2: ; Class 3: )

• Thomas Jefferson (Class 1: @T_JeffersonUV; Class 2: ; Class 3: )

• Benjamin Rush (Class 1: @BenjiGoldRush; Class 2: ; Class 3: )

• Noah Webster (Class 1: @Dictionaryking; Class 2: ; Class 3: )

• Horace Mann (Class 1: @horacemann_; Class 2: ; Class 3: )

• Bishop John Hughes (Class 1: ; Class 2: ; Class 3: )

• Sarah Roberts (Class 1: @sarahroberts_18; Class 2: ; Class 3: )

• Catharine Beecher (Class 1: @catharinebeechr; Class 2: ; Class 3: )

• Immigrant student (Class 1: @ImmigrantC)

While some of these characters (e.g., Jefferson, Mann) are well known to the common school movement, others helped bring forth important issues that faced early schools (e.g., Bishop John Hughes - issues of church and state; Sarah Roberts - issues of (de)segregation in Massachusetts; Catharine Beecher - gender issues). Groups sought out new sources and added notes to a collaborative Google Drive document prior to attending class.

Once in class, students were asked to write a blog post reintroducing their character to the world as if they had returned to assess how public schools were doing in their wake. Blog posts were required to provide a historical context for their actor and explain their contribution to the rise of public schools. Students completed their post on a Google Drive document and then "shared" it with me and I posted it to this blog (riseofcommonschools.blogspot.com). Once this was completed, students and I created a Twitter account by which they could share their blog posts with each other and other educators. The Twitter accounts were to include an avatar, a creative handle, and an accurate bio. Students then used these accounts to share their blog posts using a common class hashtag - #TWU2003. Students were asked to read the other posts to prepare for an assessment. Finally, I sought out other educators to ask students questions about how they would view specific problems facing education today. This required students to not only answer from a historical perspective, but research (when necessary) issues that educators should consider as leaders of their field.

References

Brackemyre, T. (2012). Education to the masses: The rise of public education in early America. U.S. HistoryScene (blog). Retrieved from: http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/riseofpubliceducation/

Krutka, D.G. & Milton, M.K. (2013). The Enlightenment meets Twitter: Using social media in the social studies classroom. Ohio Social Studies Review, 50(2), 22-29.

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (2001). "Episode 1: The Common School: 1770-1890" In School: The story of American public education. Retrieved from: http://www.fmgondemand.com/play/libsc1