September The Rise of Public Education 1840s – 1880s

Lecture Outline 1. Historical context: rebellions, immigration & urbanization 2. Reformers/Egerton Ryerson 3. Public Schooling – The Vision Equal Access Free Schooling Better Teacher Training Standardized Curriculum Moral Christian Education Regular Attendance 4. Public Schooling – The Reality

1. Rebellions: William Lyon Mackenzie

Rebellions 1837 – Rebellion in Upper Canada William Mackenzie Easily defeated 1838 Rebellion in Lower Canada language-related power imbalance Rebels (Patriotes) easily defeated Lord Durham Recommended the union of Upper and Lower Canada to solve the “ethnic problem” that led to the Rebellions

2. Population Growth 1815 – Over 1 million immigrants British Isles England Scotland Ireland Elites had problems with some of the new immigrants Irish Catholics “dangerous classes”

Popular Representations of Irish Catholics

3. Beginnings of Urbanization Immigrants drawn to urban areas Montreal and Toronto Urban life seen as dirty, diseased, and crime-ridden Poverty, lack of basic sanitation, potential crime and moral decay Elites and reformers = very uneasy Potential for more unrest

Education as a Cure-All? How could an education system be used to prevent social breakdown and challenges to authority ? State-run education system should : shape morals and manners of the lower classes Create harmonious citizens Common childhood experience = class harmony Moral police

School Reformer – Egerton Ryerson -b in Upper Canada - United Empire Loyalist family -Pro-British – first principal of Methodist Academy – named Assistant Superintendent of education for Upper Canada (for 32 years)

Ryerson’s Vision for Educational Change 1. Equal access 2. Free schooling 3. Better teacher training 4. Standardized curriculum 5. Moral Christian education 6. Regular attendance

Ryerson’s Vision 1. Equal access controlling the masses through education discipline, literacy, civic responsibility control juvenile delinquency influences of the upper classes

Ryerson’s Vision 2. Free Education Taxing everyone – not just parents of students funding schools through property taxes

Ryerson’s Vision 3. Better teacher training Raise the standard of teaching Goal: properly trained teaching force 1847 – Normal School opened in Toronto Normal School: authoritarian and hierarchical morality gender segregation

Ryerson’s Vision 4. Standardized Curriculum All students should learn the same thing Irish Readers Accentuated the gendered nature of education

Ryerson’s Vision 5. Moral Christian Education Non-denominational Not overtly Anglican or Catholic Still very much Christian Irish readers

Ryerson’s Vision 6. Regular Attendance regular school attendance was encouraged School not yet mandatory 1850s & 60s enrolment increased Enrollment tied to issues of class and gender

Implementing the Vision - Successes Successes: 1. Enrollment 2. Discipline 3. Better Teachers

Implementing the Vision - Failures Too rigid Textbooks Teaching Buildings

Public School: Opposition and Support Opposition Too expensive Waste of taxpayer’s money Toronto, 1847 Support Changes in economy made education seem more necessary Demographic changes

Chapter 3 Questions 1. Why did some women become teachers? 2. Why is Annie Leake’s autobiography important? What sorts of evidence does it reveal? 3. What kinds of problems did teachers face in this period?

Chapter 4 Curriculum and Pedagogy in the mid- nineteenth century Questions 1. Why were the Irish Readers so useful? 2. What were some of the social and political lessons presented in the readers? 3. Does the author present a critique of the Irish Readers? 4. What is the main argument of the article?