Part 67 (1/2)
In the rew rather rapidly, and the task soon beca the churches made an effort to keep up, as they were loath to relinquish in any way their for The churches, however, were not interested in the problem except in the old way, and this was not what the new de of nationality and the slow but gradual growth of a national consciousness, national pride, national needs, and the gradual development of national resources in the shape of taxable property--all alike coious schools see number of citizens
II AWAKENING AN EDUCATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS
Between about 1810 and 1830 a number of new forces--philanthropic, political, social, econo conditions which made state rather than church control and support of education seee, too, was markedly facilitated by the work of a nuan the work of founding schools and building up an interest in education, the most important of which were: (1) the Sunday-School movement; (2) the City School Societies; (3) the Lancastrian movement; and (4) the Infant-School Societies These will be described briefly, and their influence in awakening an educational consciousness pointed out
THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL MOVEMENT The Sunday School, as a ious learning, had been h the initiative of Raikes of Gloucester (p 617), a very is of instruction for the children of the city poor Raikes's idea was soon carried to the United States In 1786 a Sunday School after the Raikes plan was organized in Hanover County, Virginia In 1787 a Sunday School for African children was organized at Charleston, South Carolina In 1791 ”The First Day, or Sunday School Society,” was organized at Philadelphia, for the establishuson's ”School for the Poor”
was opened in New York, and this was followed by an organization of New York wo the poor In 1797 Samuel Slater's Factory School was opened at Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Though there had been soland, the introduction of the Sunday School froious Sunday School in Aht the idea of a coious school on Sundays for the instruction of any one, a number of societies were formed to carry on and extend the work The elical Society of Philadelphia
1816 The Female Union for the Promotion of Sabbath Schools (New York)
1816 The New York Sunday School Union
1816 The Boston Society for the Moral and Religious Instruction of the Poor
1817 The Philadelphia Sunday and Adult School Union
1824 The American Sunday School Union
These different types of A open to all instead of only to the poor and lowly, had a s class distinctions and ina common day school seem possible The h, soon met in A they took over the idea, superseded private initiative and control, and changed the character of the instruction fro The Sunday School, in consequence, never exercised the influence in educational developland
THE CITY SCHOOL SOCIETIES These were patterned after the English charity- school subscription societies, and were for the first quarter of the nineteenth century for the purpose of providing the rudi These Societies were usually organized by philanthropic citizens, willing to contribute so yearly to provide some little education for a few of theno opportunities for any instruction A number of these Societies were able to effect some financial connection with the city or the State
One of the first of these School Societies was ”The Manuanized in New York, in 1785, for the purpose of ”hts of the blacks, and especially to give them the elements of an education” Alexander Haanizers A free school for colored pupils was opened, in 1787 This grew and prospered and was aided from time to time by the city, and in 1801 by the State Finally, in 1834, all its schools were ed with those of the ”Public School Society” of the city In 1801 the first free school for poor white children ”whose parents belong to no religious society, and who, from some cause or other, cannot be admitted into any of the charity schools of the city,” was opened This was provided by the ”association of Woed ”a oood education and morals as instructor” at 30 per year This association also prospered, and received so free elementary education for 750 children Its schools also were later ed with those of the ”Public School Society”
”THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SOCIETY” Perhaps the most famous of all the early subscription societies for the maintenance of schools for the poor was the ”New York Free School Society,” which later changed its name to that of ”The Public School Society of New York” This was organized, in 1805, under the leadershi+p of De Witt Clinton, thenthe subscription list with a promise of 200 a year for support
On May 14, 1806, the following advertisement appeared in the daily papers:
FREE SCHOOL
The Trustees of the Society for establishi+ng a Free School in the city of New York, for the education of such poor children as do not belong to, or are not provided for by any religious Society, having engaged a Teacher, and procured a School House for the acco that it is proposed to receive scholars of the descriptions alluded to without delay; applications may be made to, &c
Four days later the officers of the Society issued a general appeal to the public (R 311), setting forth the purposes of the Society and soliciting funds
[Illustration: FIG 196 THE FIRST SCHOOLHOUSE BUILT BY THE FREE SCHOOL SOCIETY IN NEW YORK CITY Built in 1809, in Tryon Row Cost, without site, 13,000]
This Society was chartered by the legislature ”to provide schooling for all children who are the proper objects of a gratuitous education” It organized free public education in the city, secured funds, built schoolhouses, provided and trained teachers, and ably supplemented the work of the private and church schools By its energy and its persistence it secured for itself a large share of public confidence, and aroused a constantly increasing interest in the cause of popular education In 1853, after it had educated over 600,000 children and trained over 1200 teachers, this Society, its work done, surrendered its charter and turned over its buildings and equipment to the public-school departislature in 1842
SCHOOL SOCIETIES ELSEWHERE The ”Benevolent Society of the City of Baltimore for the Education of the Female Poor,” founded in 1799, and the ”Male Free Society of Baltianized a little later, were other of these early school societies, though neither became so famous as the Public School Society of New York The schools of the city of Washi+ngton were started by subscription, in 1804, and for some time were in part supported by subscriptions from public-spirited citizens [4] This society did an i the people of the capital city to the provision of some form of free education
In 1800 ”The Philadelphia Society [5] for the Free Instruction of Indigent Boys” was fored to ”The Philadelphia Society for the Establishment and Support of Charity Schools” In 1814 ”The Society for the Proanized in Philadelphia, and four years later the public sentiment awakened by a co of the Lancastrian system of instruction enabled the city to secure a special law peranize a system of city schools for the education of the children of its poor Other societies which rendered useful educational service include the ”Mechanics and Manufacturers association,” of Providence, Rhode Island, organized in 1789 (Rs 308, 310); ”The Albany Lancastrian School Society,” organized in 1826, for the education of the poor of the city in anized in Savannah in 1818, and Augusta, in 1821, ”to afford education to the children of indigent parents” Both these Georgia societies received some support from state funds
The formation of these school societies, the subscriptionsrants of some city and state aid to these societies, all of which in ti interest in providing schools for the education of all This rising interest in education was greatly stiland, about this time, of a new and what for the tianization of education, the Lancastrian monitorial plan
THE LANCASTRIAN MONITORIAL SCHOOLS Church-of-England ideas were not in much favor in the United States for some time after the close of the Revolutionary War, and in consequence it was the Lancastrian plan which was brought over and popularized In 1806 the first monitorial school was opened in New York City, and, once introduced, the systeia, and as far west as Cincinnati, Louisville, and Detroit In 1826 Maryland instituted a state system of Lancastrian schools, with a Superintendent of Public Instruction, but in 1828 abandoned the idea and discontinued the office A state Lancastrian system for North Carolina was proposed in 1832, but failed of adoption by the legislature In 1829 Mexico organized higher Lancastrian schools for the Mexican State of Texas In 1818 Lancaster himself went to America, and was received withtwenty years of his life were spent in organizing and directing schools in various parts of the United States
Incities of the eastern part of the country the first free schools established were Lancastrian schools The system provided education at so low a cost (p 629) that it made the education of all for the first time seem possible [6] The first free schools in Philadelphia (1818) were an outgrowth of Lancastrian influence, as was also the case in an a Lancastrian school six years before the organization of public schools was peranized in different parts of the United States, and it was even proposed that the plan should be adopted in the colleges A nuland cities, that already had other type schools, investigated the new monitorial plan and were impressed with its many important points of superiority overCoood exaland, the system was very popular from about 1810 to 1830, but by 1840 its popularity was over
THE INTEREST THE NEW PLAN AWAKENED It is not strange that the new plan aroused widespread enthusias men, and for almost a quarter of a century was advocated as the best system of education then knoo quotations will illustrate what leading ht of it De Witt Clinton, for twenty-one years president of the New York ”Free School Society,” and later governor of the State, wrote, in 1809: