Early American Education and Early Education Laws

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“The philosophy of the ____schoolroom______ in one generation will be the philosophy of ____goverment________________ of the next.” – Abraham Lincoln EARLY AMERICAN EDUCATION Harvard Started by the Congregationalist, Harvard was founded as a school that trained men for the ministry of being a pastor (Barton, (2004)). Its philosophy was “Christ and the church and to the glory of God” (Barton, (2004)). This school produced great men such as Cushing, Pickering and many more that would lay a Godly foundation for education (Barton, (2004)). Yale Started by the Congregationalist, this too was founded as a school to train men for the ministry (Barton, (2004)). This school produced men that signed the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution of the United States of America (Barton, (2004)). This school knew and practiced the belief that God’s Word was of utmost importance in education. Princeton Started by the Presbyterians to train men for the ministry of being a pastor (Barton, (2004)). Students were expected to attend church, read the Bible and participate in religious activities (Barton, (2004)). The school was the first to train African American men in relation to the ministry. (Barton, (2004)). EARLY EDUCATIONAL LAWS 1642 Old Deluder Satan Act According to Barton, this Act required public school education to be found on God’s Word in all communities so that children would receive an education based on God’s Word. This Act would not only be an important foundation for American education but as bases on foreign nation’s education. This was also an important Act because children received a Biblically based education they were able to recognize when a law went against God’s Word. ... ... middle of paper ... ...cation. He also uses the textbooks to show that Biblical principles were used everyday in the classroom. I believe that David Barton’s perspective of education accurately portrays the Biblical principles that our founding fathers based education on. Barton uses resources such as the 1642 Old Deluder Satan act, the 1787 Northwest Ordinance, the New England Primer and McGuffey Reader as basis for proving that the Bible is to be used in educating our children. Each of these incorporated knowledge, morality and religion into every aspect of education so that schools could produce students who would lead according to God’s Word. References: WallBuilders. (2004). Four Centuries of American Education with David Barton [DVD]. Aledo, TX.: Wallbuilders. Gutek, G. L. (1995). A history of the western educational experience. Prospect Heights, Ill: Waveland Press.

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