A History of American Schooling Education Essay Paper

A History of American Schooling
Name
Institution
A History of American Schooling
The Colonial Era, 1750
“Hurry up, we will be late,” shouted James, my elder brother. In the distance, I could see smoke rising from the chimney of the school room. It was just a few hundred meters away, but it felt like miles. My body was still aching as a result of the spanking I received the day before. Each step was excruciating as my body screamed at me to stop. It was one of the bad days. A few minutes later we arrived at the school late, and the teacher was already teaching. It was a one-room building with a chimney and a fireplace in the center. We stood at the door waiting for him to permit into the class. My body was shaking; the thought of a whipping frightened me. Luckily, he let us in with a warning.
As a teenage son of a planter, my father sent me (and my brother) to school to expand on the basics he had taught us before joining the school and learn social, moral rights to become responsible citizens in colonial New England. A few of our classmates were lucky as their wealthy fathers would soon send them to boarding schools in England for higher education. Reading materials were scarce as there were only three books in the school, The New England Primer (which the teacher used to teach us alphabet syllables and prayers), the Bible and a hornbook. The subjects we studied included math, science, Latin, Greek, celestial navigation (navigating ships by the stars) and social etiquette, fencing, history, geography and plantation management. I always enjoyed my evenings, shared what I learned at school with my sister. The common topics between us were French and social etiquette; her other subjects were nursing, cooking, weaving, spinning, needlework.
I loved Mr. Hendricks, out teacher. He had answers for everything; I secretly wished to become a teacher one day. He was kind, fun and caring. However, he was strict and ruthless at punishing bad behavior. I was always on the receiving end of his spanking, whipping, sitting in a corner or worse the whispering stick. After my school days, I will surely miss him.
The Common Schools, 1850
It was around midday, one lesson to lunch break. I accidentally dropped my pencil, and when I kneeled under the locker to pick it, a woman’s voice filled the classroom, “Good morning class.” “Good morning madam,” we replied, all eyes glued to her in surprise. “Am Mrs. William, your new English teacher,” she continued. That morning our class did not attend the morning parade, we were on cleaning duties at the opposite end of the school compound; unknown to us we missed her introduction. She was the first female teacher in the history of John B. Cary’s academy. Rumors of having female teachers circulated in the past year, but having one in front of us were unbelievable. I could sense the excitement in the other girls, at last, we had one of our own, a person who could understand our feelings, fears, and joys. Throughout the lesson everyone was lively, I was not even tempted to take my usual nap. When the bell rang, I felt as if the bell ringer’s clock had skipped some minutes. It was the best lesson ever, not because of English, but ...