Reflection #17

Colonial New England schools and schools in the U.S today are vastly different. One of the main differences would be the teachers. In the beginning of education the majority of teachers was male and it was seen as a taboo for a woman to teach. Teaching was primarily a gendered career and its gender was male. The women were seen as gender trespassers and often viewed as masculine. Also a major difference in the schools of the past is the religion. Education was seed as a path to heaven and teaching children to read and write was all revolved around the bible. While before this most children were educated in a trade and were not formally educate. They were taught how to read, manners and morals at home by parents or grandparents. Now it very rare for children to be taught at home and even rarer to have children engage in a trade rather than attend a formal school. While morals are often taught at home and religion is often taught in a place of worship the education of the past include a almost constant religious rhetoric. Another difference between the schools of the past and today’s schools would have to be discrimination. Although integration between poor and wealthy children quickly gained popularity in colonial schools integration based on race was far behind. While there were some schools that did educate blacks they were segregated and lacking far behind other schools. This is hard to grasp in the current diverse educational structure in the U.S. today. We celebrate diversity and educated many students from all walks of life. The gap between elementary and university was a wide one in colonial American and thus there was a need for secondary schools after elementary schools. This is the norm in today’s society where children are grouped by age and skill level. It is a sort of rite of passage. When a child finishes with one graduation they are celebrated and continue their education journey into adulthood.