Colonial New England
Purpose For Education
 In the New England colonies
education was used by the
Puritans to teach Scripture.
 Predominantly wealthy white
males were tough Scripture
and Latin grammar
 Girls were tough how to be
mothers and house keepers
Similarities between modern and Colonial New England Education
(God’s Classroom)
In 1642, 22 years after settling the New World, laws
were passed that required parents and masters of the
apprentices be checked periodically to ensure that
children were being taught properly.
Summarized: They passed a law to make sure that students were being
taught right. They made sure that they had some understanding of
reading and writing.
Similarities between modern and Colonial New England Education
(God’s Classroom)
In 1647, 5 years later, The Old Deluder Satan Law was passed that
required: (1) every town of 50 households must appoint and pay a
teacher of reading and writing and (2) every town of 100
households must provide a (Latin) grammar school to
prepare youths for the university.
Summarized: They passed a law that taxed households in order to create
a community school. We have something similar, called property taxes.
Key Terms
 Dame Schools- Women would
convert their homes into
classrooms.
 In loco Parentis- Latin for “in place of
parents”
 Old Deluder Satan Law- a law
passed to further educate colonists
about Scripture
 Latin Grammar school- offered to
any white males who could pay for
further education.
IMPORTANT EVENTS
•
1910 the Puritans arrived in America
•
1635 they established their first Latin Grammar School in Boston
•
•
- for the elite
- curriculum emphasised Latin and Greek
•
•
Harvard College established in
1636
•
- first college in America
•
The Law of 1642
•
- parents and masters of apprentices be checked periodically to ensure that children were being taught properly.
•
Old Deluder Satan Act
•
- the Massachusetts Law of 1647
•
- the Puritans' attempt to fend off Satan's Trickery
•
By the 18th century, the grammar school had incorporated
mathematics, science and modern
languages.
•
By the 1700's, private teachers and
night schools were functioning across
America.
•
The first published textbook was in
1690, called the New England Primer.
The primer reflected the religious
orientation of colonial schools
• Sadker, D. M., & Zittleman, K. R. (2009). The
Multicultural History of American Education. In
Teachers, Schools and Society (2nd ed., pp. 138141). New York: McGraw Hill.
tic Media (2010) New England – Colonial New England.
Retrieved from:
http://www.visitnewengland.com/current_category.2
919/companies_list.html
The First Public School –Then & Now. Retrieved from:
http://sites.google.com/site/firstpublicschool/