Colonial Education and the Common School Movement in the 19th Century

Colonial Education and the Common School Movement in the 19th Century

Education is one of the critical components of any society that wants to enjoy development in different quarters. Therefore, it is imperative to have people who have been enlightened through the system because they can comprehend several things. Hence, they can be helpful in the provision of remedies in society. In this piece, I would provide my reflective opinion that would be laced with some critical analysis.

Colonial Education

Colonialists wanted to entrench their policies to their subjects. Hence, the use of education platforms was one of the means that was used in the transfer of knowledge to the people. I realized that one of the key components of the colonial education systems comprised an element of Universality. For instance, the United States had a form of education that was used throughout the entire country (Campbell, 2006).  Additionally, it must be noted that most of the parents were not ready for this form of formal education. Consequently, there was a sense of resistance from most of them. However, they barely had any impact on the colonisers.

Compulsory education in most of the territories was another bit that made colonial education unique. The masters wanted every child to go through the school system. This avenue was one way that could be used to transform the people into refined individuals who could carry out any task. Statutes were issued in some places that required children to report to school. In most of the outlets, male students were the pioneers, but slowly, their female counterparts joined them once the system had been expanded to accommodate others. As time elapsed, this decision was followed by the emergence of more refined facilities such as private academies (Rury, 2012). This adoption ensured that colonial education was significant in the upbringing of the children in society.

Common School Movement in the 19th Century

People have always attempted to have an educational system that they believe can serve them without any form of discrimination. This point implies that forms of segregation and other issues that threatened the quest for students to study together were discouraged. Therefore, common schools in the 19th century were supposed to take in children regardless of their social class or religion. Hence, a sense of inclusivity was inculcated in most such institutions.

Notably, most of such facilities were funded by taxes which were collected locally. White children were also allowed to attend then. Consequently, it can be deduced that the platform gave everyone a chance to be parts of the elite in society by ensuring that there was nobody who could not access education. Despite, their usual tiny sizes, they impacted the society positively as several students went through the system. Majority of the students were between six and fourteen years; hence, they were still sensitive and needed to be handled with the utmost care so that they could understand their syllabus (Jeynes, 2007).  The flexibility of the curriculum was another beneficial aspect about the common schools.

Campbell. (2006). The young colonials: A social history of education, 1834-1939. University Press. .

Jeynes, W. H. (2007). American educational history. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage.

Rury, J.L. (2012). Education and Social Change : Contours in the History of American Education. New York, NY, Routledge.

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