Hello Iduggan~
The question I felt was most "answerable" was the one about education
in the Southern colonies. Here is information on the school system of
that time and place, who participated in it, what was taught and why,
and what discipline might also be involved.
Typically, a child?s first source of education was in a ?dame
school?--that is, a school run by a woman in her home. Such women
?taught? while they conducted their regular household chores. The
kitchen was the favorite ?classroom;" there were no desks or
blackboards--and sometimes no books. (Instead of traditional books,
?hornbooks? were used. These were wooden paddles over which a single
sheet of paper was attached, displaying the ABC in both small and
capital letters, some sort of Bible verse [often the Lord?s Prayer],
and syllabic processions. Because paper was so expensive, it was
protected by a thin layer of ox or cow horn?-hence the name
?hornbook.? Each hornbook measured about 2 3/4 inches by 5 inches.
Most hornbooks had a hole in their handle, so children could tie the
hornbook to their belt or wear it around their neck. To see a
hornbook, please check out ?Schooling, Education, and Literacy, In
Colonial America, http://alumni.cc.gettysburg.edu/~s330558/schooling.html
)
Girls were welcome in these schools, and, in addition to learning to
read and write, were taught spinning, sewing, and basic needlework,
which would be necessary skills as they matured into womanhood.
Dame schools were really not much more than glorified day care
centers, with some very basic education included. Children in the
Southern colonies generally felt privileged to go to dame school,
since many families found such schools impractical because of the
distances from plantation to plantation.
To see an illustration of a Dame school in progress, check out
?History of American Education Web Project: Colonial Period?:
http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfrnb/pur17.jpg
After boys went to dame school for a time, they moved on to ?common
school,? which was generally taught by a man. Girls did not attend
common school, but instead learn housekeeping skills at home. (Girls
from wealthier families also received private education in such areas
as French, music, dancing, painting, and singing?-which were then
considered good skills for a gentle lady. They also sometimes learned
bookkeeping from tutors, which could help them run an efficient
household once they were married.)
Most families could afford to send their boys to school--though boys
from wealthier families got better educations, largely through the use
of tutors. (In the Southern colonies, wealthy families typically
brought tutors over from Ireland or Scotland.) Even those who could
not afford to go to school, however, learned a trade through
apprenticeship. To read about apprenticeship in colonial America,
check out The History of American Education?s article
?Apprenticeship:? http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfrnb/apprenti.html
Public schools, or schools paid for by taxes, did not appear in the
Southern parts of America until after the Civil War.
Interestingly, the American Colonial Gazette reports that in Virginia,
literacy was nearly 100% among gentlemen, but about 40% among
laborers. 25% of ladies could read, and 1% of slaves could sign their
names.
Common schools focused on more serious educational matters. By 1690,
the first textbook specifically for the colonies was published by
Benjamin Harris. This book, called ?The New England Primary,? expanded
upon the idea of the hornbook: It included the alphabet, syllables,
had alphabetic couplets, as well as religious text. While teaching the
basics of writing and reading, ?The New England Primary? also taught
the basics of Christianity and etiquette--which were, in some cases,
considered not just on par with the three Rs, but more important. The
primer was under 90 pages, and wasn?t discontinued until the 19th
century.
To see a page from the primer, including the alphabet and basic
syllables, visit: http://alumni.cc.gettysburg.edu/~s330558/nep05_4.jpg
To see some of the couplets, go to:
http://alumni.cc.gettysburg.edu/~s330558/nep05_12.jpg
To see some of the religious text, please go to:
http://alumni.cc.gettysburg.edu/~s330558/nep05_18.jpg
To see the primer reprinted, visit ?The New England Primer:?
http://my.voyager.net/~jayjo/primer.htm
The first colonial spelling book was Noah Webster's "?Blue-Backed?
Speller,? published in 1783. This book contained lessons spelling,
grammar, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and religion.
Science was almost never taught, since it was not considered an
important part of education, was looked on skeptically by many, and
wasn?t considered an area that would help a grown man earn a living.
Basic math skills, however, were taught, since they would be useful to
men in many lines of work.
It was also common for children to practice their penmanship by
copying parts of the Bible, or moral and etiquette texts. To see one
such text, penned by our first President, George Washington, see ?The
Exercise of a Schoolboy,? Colonial Williamsburg,
http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/manners/rules2.cfm
Classrooms had no chalkboards; each child used a slate?-which, in
essence, was a miniature, portable blackboard. Paper was expensive;
therefore, all assignments were done on this slate board, roughly 8
inches by 11 inches. Most of these early slate boards didn?t have
wooden frames. To protect from slivers, sometimes ribbon or a binding
of felt was placed around the edge of the slate board. To write on
slates, children used special pencils, also made of slate.
Discipline for the boys attending common school was also firmly in
place. Disciplinary action was largely meant to embarrass the child in
front of his peers; hence, one of the more common forms of punishment
was the wearing of a dunce cap?-a tall, peaked hat?-and sitting in a
prominent, yet separate section of the classroom. Whippings were also
common, done with twigs or actual horse whips. Many colonial school
houses even had whipping posts outside; to see a picture of one, visit
?Agriculture & Education in Colonial America:?
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/aee501/show1/sld034.htm
Like 19th century schools, colonial common schools were one room, with
all ages present. Generally, the tallest children sat in the back, and
the shortest in the front. The only light in common school rooms came
from the fire, or natural sunlight. Each child was required to bring
wood from home to help keep the fire going. Families generally paid
for the teacher by having the child bring him food and material goods.
Among the more elite, there was also something called a ?Latin Grammar
School.? Such schools were designed for boys from wealthier families,
with the thought that they would one day be leaders of the society,
and would attend college (either somewhere in the colonies or in
England). The first Latin Grammar School was founded in Boston in
1635. Students in Grammar Schools learned Latin and Greek language and
literature, alongside religion. Generally, ministers taught at Grammar
Schools. Grammar Schools were only attended after a boy had mastered
basic skills in common school, or through private tutoring.
In 1647 the Massachusetts Bay Colony created the "ye olde deluder
Satan" Act, which required every town having more than 50 families to
establish a Latin Grammar School. All the other colonies, except Rhode
Island, soon followed suit. According to the laws of the Southern
colonies, beginning in 1642, it was mandatory for children to be
apprenticed, if they did not go to school. The law also stipulated
that there be at least one elementary school for towns numbering fifty
families. To help enforce such laws, a fine of 5 pounds was imposed on
those who opposed the law.
I also did some preliminary research on art in the colonies, but--as I
feared--came up with no useful information. I would encourage you to
post that as a separate question, and perhaps a Researcher more versed
in art history can help you.
Best wishes,
Kriswrite
KEYWORDS USED:
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Southern colonial schools
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Southern colonies art
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Southern colonies artist
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colonial art
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colonial artists
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