Reflection #18

In a way education in America was always view as a way to improve society. The Puritans believed that saving souls and understanding the bible was a path to heaven. Not only was it a path to heaven it was a way to be moral and upstanding citizens. In creating moral and upstanding citizens you improved society. This is why the majority of education in colonial American involved reading, writing, and moral development. It was not just to create upstanding citizens, but to create upstanding citizens who could read and understand the bible. By implementing a law that required that children were taught properly Puritans started what would become known as the Boston Grammar School. This is the first step in creating modern schools in the United States of America. This school taught students how to recite Greek works in Latin as well as incorporated math, science, and some other languages. While students were studying heavily from scripture they were also being taught to be leader of the community. These new leaders were also expected to continue their education and become ministers in order to spread their knowledge (moral excellence) on to their congregation (community). While I believe that there should be a separation of church and state in public schools the colonist dead attempt to educated their children as best as they could (in their minds) on how to be productive citizens. In doing so they exposed them to reading, reading is a powerful tool that will expand the mind of whoever possesses it. In teaching children skills like reading, math, and science you give a student the vehicle to learn and create. In today’s society children take what they have learned and run with it and create innovative ways of doing that very well may help society in the future.