A History Lesson

Here's an interesting bit of information.

Public school was created to educate the poorest class of people.  Its goals were to give them basic skills so they could contribute to society rather than be a burden on society when they were adults.  The skills that were taught: reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Children who attended public school were often considered crude in society.

Private schools were primarily used by middle class citizens who couldn't afford private tutors and who didn't have the time to attend to their childrens' education because they had to work long hours for their living.  These private schools were much more rigorous than the public schools and prepared students for professional careers.

The rich upper class taught their own children at home and would sometimes hire private tutors or governesses to assist in their childrens' education.  The father would typically teach the children to read himself.  Boys would study higher math, Greek, Latin, science, celestial navigation (navigating ships by the stars), geography, history, fencing, social etiquette, and plantation management.  Girls would study art, music, French, social etiquette, needlework, spinning, weaving, cooking, and nursing.

I thought this was really interesting.  I'd known a long time before learning this that I wanted to homeschool, and a large part of my reasoning was because I felt like the public school system wasn't set up to teach my children what I want them to learn.  It really can't teach much more than a few basic skills to such a large number of children.  Is reading, writing, and basic math really good enough?  I don't think so.  That's all I'd learned when I graduated high school, though.  One problem is that the public school system is set up with minimum standards, and those minimum standards don't challenge the majority of students.  Another problem is that there is no minimum standard to teach a child to think and reason.  If you look at the original goal of public school, however, it is still doing its job: reading, writing, and arithmetic.  The big difference is that now the vast majority of children attend public school which means the vast majority of us enter adulthood with only basic skills.  What kind of a contribution can I make to society if I can read, write, and do basic math?  Not much because I don't actually know anything.  I can follow directions really well.  That may or may not be such a good thing.

During the early days of our nation, those with private training entered adulthood well prepared to think and reason.  They understood civilizations, history, government, etc.  These were men and women who founded a nation which became great in a shorter time than any other in history.  These were men who created our Constitution.  When the people voted, they understood who and what they were voting for.  In social gatherings, they didn't discuss the latest movie, they discussed the well being of the people and the issues of the day.  They understood the world around them and were able to make the changes necessary for a strong nation.  They were the majority. 

Today, those like them are the minority.  I wish I could class myself with those people, but I am severely lacking.  Only now am I starting to learn, to really learn, something about the world around me.  I've had nearly 30 years to learn already, and it's really astounding at how little I understand.  I want a much better education for my children while they are children.  Then maybe when they enter adulthood they will understand how to strengthen our weakening nation.  They will have the knowledge to make choices that will benefit their fellowman.  They will have that option.  If I want them to learn this, I'd better learn it.  So a big part of their schooling, is my schooling.  I just have to keep at least one step ahead of them...wish me luck!