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Colonial America (1492-1765)

Education in Colonial America

Education in Colonial America
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   high interest, readability grades 4 to 5
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   4.4

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    mathematics, paddle-shaped, spanked, education, lasted, verse, hornbook, lower, schools, upper, public, different, household, business, often, school
     content words:    Colonial America

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Education in Colonial America
By Cathy Pearl 		  
1     School in Colonial America was very different from school today. Rich children would get a different education from poor children. Girls usually didn't get to go to school. Boys might only go to school until they were 8. Then they would have to start learning a job. A boy would take over his father's business after he retired.
 
2     Children received the most public education in the northern colonies. In 1647, Massachusetts said that a school must be started in every town that had at least 50 families. The schools were for boys. Girls were taught to read, but they couldn't go to school.
 
3     School was much shorter than it is today. Back then, school only lasted about four months. The schools were very small. Many different grades were taught in the same room. Paper and pencils were hard to get. Students had to repeat the lessons over and over until they memorized them.

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