Colonial Education
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     In colonial times, education was important.  Some children went to school and some didn't.  Those that did go would learn to read, write, and do arithmetic.  Parents wanted their children to learn how to read so they could read the Bible.  They wanted their children to study their religion.

     Schools in colonial times were not like schools today. The schools had only one room and the children had to sit on hard benches. These were not comfortable.  One teacher would teach all of the children of every grade level.  There were no books for the kids to study from.  The children learned from hornbooks.  These were paddles with paper nailed to them, then covered with a thin shaving of cow horn to keep the paper from tearing.  The alphabet and a prayer were written on the paper.  Teachers taught the students how to write and good penmanship was important.  The teachers did not care if a kid could not spell because  there were no rules for spelling, but they did want everyone's handwriting to look good.

     Colonial school rooms were very cold in the winter.  They were heated by a fireplace and every child had to bring firewood for the fire.  If they forgot then they would have to sit the farthest away from the fire and they would get very cold before the day was over.  There were no blackboards in colonial schools, so the kids wrote with a lump of lead or coal on a piece of  birch bark because it cost a lot to make paper.

      Teachers would discipline their students in tough ways. Children who did not know their lessons were called dunces and they would have to sit on a tall stool with a pointed cap on their heads. Sometimes the kids would have to wear signs showing they had not behaved. These punishments would hurt a child's feelings and make him feel silly. There were other punishments that would hurt. Sometimes a teacher would make a child wear a cut branch on the end of his nose if he did not behave.

     The first school that boys and girls went to was a Dame School.  The kids would go to the teacher's home and learn how to read and write.  When they knew how to do this, they were finished with Dame School.  However, the law said that all boys should go to school to learn more than to read and write, so they would go to school and use the New England Primer to learn their lessons.  When they knew everything in the book, they would go to another school.  Girls would learn to read and write, but  the people felt it was more important for girls to know how to care for the house and to spin and cook, so they would not go  to school very long.

     Teachers were called schoolmasters and they would get paid by a kid's family.  Many times they would be paid by corn and other foods.  If the schoolmaster had too much food, he would have the boy trade the food for something he needed. 

           School in colonial days. 

Sample Hornbook

The first school boys and girls went to in colonial days was a Dame School.

New England Primer

Created by Rob, Nick and Assaf 

Solomon Schechter Day School

June 2006