By Jacquie Foote When considering childhood in Geauga in the…
By Jacquie Foote When considering childhood in Geauga in the early days (1800s), it is impossible to avoid mentioning education. The settlers who came to…
By Jacquie Foote
When considering childhood in Geauga in the early days (1800s), it is impossible to avoid mentioning education. The settlers who came to the Western Reserve from the East Coast states valued education to the extent that the school was, traditionally, the third thing settled upon. First for each family was the home (usually a cabin to start with), AND then was where worship would be held and third where school would take place.
Within a short time, one-room school-houses were put up. And, some fine education took place there. The emphasis was on what we would call the basics, reading, writing (which meant more than mere penmanship … it meant writing good, fluent English) and arithmetic. In addition, the history and government of the fledgling United States were a focus.
In the 1700s, it is true that the boys in the wealthier families often had tutors and were fluent in Latin, Greek, usually French, and, perhaps, Italian, and well versed in the literary classics. Girls in those households were literate with the emphasis on light literature (poetry, novels, etc.). Feminine accomplish-ments, such as playing the pianoforte, dancing, drawing and fine needlework, were encouraged. Less well off households sent their children to schools as they could, considering that many of the children started work early in life.
During the 1800s, basic (elementary) education became compulsory and so it was here, in Geauga. Life was different then … and so was schooling. There was music in the one-room schoolhouse and some art, but few other frills. Because of the work that had to be done on the farm, children often missed school in spring and fall. Children typically walked over to a one-room schoolhouse where one teacher balanced the needs of a wide span of children.
At first each school was run by a group of parents from the area. Later, the schools in each township were run by a board comprised of people whose children attended.
And it worked. By the first quarter of the 1800s, America was doing well enough to attract the interest of Europeans who wondered why. Alexis de Tocqueville came from France to find the secrets of American success (especially economic success). He found that the schools were a powerful instrument in Americas progress. In his Democracy in America (1831), he recorded the fact that the average American who had completed the second grade was able to read a newspaper, able to carry on intelligent conversation and demonstrated depth of knowledge in how his country was founded and how the government worked.
Americans, in general, were very well read, interested in politics and given to lively debate. De Tocqueville also praised the firm grounding in math and in values each student received in American schools. He was impressed that values that were first taught in the home were focused on in both the schools and the churches.
As far as the children having to take time off for farm chores was concerned, the school year was designed to allow for this.
For information on the events at the Geauga County Historical Society’s Burton Century Village Museum, call 440-834-1492 or visit www.geaugahistorical.org.
