1. The New America By: Christina Frederickson September 14, 2010 EDU 224
17th Century Schoolhouse in England
By: Christina Frederickson
September 14, 2010
EDU 224

2. What if….. We went to school in 16th Century England?
The Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England…that was considered Treason so they came to the New World to escape to escape persecution.
The Puritans came to the New World to establish their own church as supreme, not to establish religious freedom.
Their schools were designed simply to teach the young to read and understand the Bible in order to battle Satan — nothing more.
“Men accepted tenets in religion and politics, however absurd, as truths, and bestowed no thought upon them” (publicbookshelf.com)
They were not interested in separating religion from politics and were intolerant of any other religion.

3. An American / Education Revolution
Along with the American Revolution came an Education Revolution.
Leaders such as Thomas Jefferson no longer accepted that education was only about religion and for an elite class of society.
He believed education should be available for all White children, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Jefferson believed this should be done at the governments’ expense.

4. Benjamin Franklin
In 1749, Benjamin Franklin wrote Proposals Relating to the Youth of Pennsylvania
The proposal was about an academy to replace the Latin grammar schools
The Franklin Academy was established two years later offering practical subjects free from the religion of the Puritans early schools
Some of the subjects offered included: mathematics, astronomy, athletics, navigation, dramatics, bookkeeping
The Franklin Academy was considered “the most important secondary school in America” and was open to both male and female students, as long as they could afford the tuition.

5. 1778 ~ Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts
The Franklin Academy paved the way for modern day electives and programs at the secondary education level and sparked the establishment of six thousand academies over the next century, to include
1778 ~ Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts
1783 ~ Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire
The Franklin Academy later became the University of Pennsylvania
Jefferson and Franklin paved the way for flexible scheduling of the secondary schools of today and the start of separation of church and state.

6. References
Sadker, D. M., & Zittleman, K. R. (2009). Teachers, Schools, and Society A Brief Introduction to Education. New York, NY: David Patterson.
Reference in formation for photographs, all retrieved on September 8, 2010, are listed under each photograph individually