American Education example essay topic

Dan Berkowitz Education In many different ways, American cultural life during the Jeffersonian Era began to appear as a reflection of the Republican vision of the future. The Republicans had observed many modernizing trends, some of them favorable and others detrimental to their view of an ideal society. American religion began to adjust to the spread of Enlightenment philosophies. However, one of the most notable alterations was the new emphasis placed upon education. As more and more opportunities for learning arose, the nations literary and artistic life began to digress from the European influences which had governed early colonial society for years. In many respects, the new culture was the antithesis of many Republican ideals, and the new education system fell into that category.

The foundation of the Republican conception of America was based upon a virtuous and educated population; Jefferson himself called for a "crusade against ignorance". Unmistakably, the Republicans believed that a nationwide system of schools should be created to produce the first wave of an educated populace, which they believed was necessary to the advancement of society. Under the Republican view, all white male citizens would receive a free education. Nonetheless, they were unable to actualize that ideal. However, many of the Republican efforts to better education would in turn spur a movement later on in which an erudite society would thrive. Many states endorsed the principle of public schooling for all in the early years of the republic.

However, a working system of free schools was never put into effect. Later, a Massachusetts law of 1789 validated the statement that every town was responsible for supporting a school. Yet this principle was rarely imposed upon the people. Rather, schooling was primarily placed into the hands of private institutions. In New England and other areas, academies were customarily more secular. In the South and mid-Atlantic regions, religious groups regulated most of the schools.

By 1815, there were a large number of private schools throughout the nation, a stark contrast to the Republican dream of America. The early nineteenth century did invoke some important advances in female education despite the Republican paternal vision of society. They adhered to a view of society where educated white males presided over a society in which everything else was dependent, including women. But America had begun to place a new accentuation upon the contribution of the mother to society. This, in turn, posed the conundrum: if women remained illiterate, how could they raise a generation of enlightened children?

Many considerations such as these lead to the rapid creation of many female academies across the nation. This was a significant step for the edification of women, and opened the door to many substantial developments to come. This new movement intended to improve the pedagogical system also triggered a growing interest in the education of Native Americans and other races. Jefferson hoped that by schooling many Indians in areas pertaining to white culture, many would be "uplifted" and assimilated to American society.

However, the government did little to advocate Native American education. Even a smaller percentage of African Americans were educated than Indians, primarily because a large fraction were still in astute of slavery. The white population recognized no reason to educate African Americans, which critically exacerbated the lack of schooling for this culture. A college education was even less accessible than a lower level education, which was not readily obtained in the first place. Although the number of universities grew from nine to twenty-two by the early 1800's, they were all still privately managed institutions. Moreover, the programs that the colleges instituted were confined and narrow.

Despite the Republican dream of a diverse, yet advanced system of schooling, the only few who obtained an opportunity for an earnest education were the affluent, propertied, upper class of society. The education system that developed during this time period was a direct contrast to the manners in which the Republicans had hoped it would transpire. Even though many of the Republican visions of an ideal education were not fulfilled, there were many advances in the schooling of the average American citizen. The education of women underwent a drastic, beneficial change. An education system was beginning to flourish that would produce many more beneficial changes to schooling in later years. Although a school system was not really developed for Native Americans and African slaves, education did improve at least for some during the Jeffersonian era.