Notebooks and textbooks are on laptops and tablets today. Smart boards are the new chalkboards. Backyards have become classrooms. Families are learning how to school on the road. More schools offer virtual classes. Technology keeps kids connected with the classroom. School sure has changed over the years! How much? Let’s see!
Schools for children began in Egypt thousands of years ago. But they weren’t for everyone. Only the children of royal or wealthy families could attend. Most kids didn’t learn to read and write. Boys that didn’t go to school studied their father’s trade. Mothers taught daughters how to keep a home.
In Israel, schools were places to teach scripture. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 was as clear 2,000 years ago as it is now. Teach God’s word.
European schools began as places to train church leaders. Priests and monks taught classes. By 1179, the European church mandated free education for all poor children.
In America, the first schools started in the 13 colonies. In fact, each colony had to have a school. But many wealthy families paid tutors to teach their kids at home instead of sending them away to a school room. Boston Latin School began in 1635. It was the first public school. It is also the oldest school in the United States.
As America grew, the one-room schoolhouse became common. These schools were very busy places. A single teacher managed a roomful of kids of all ages and grades.
By 1840, fewer children attended classes. The census that year showed that only 55 percent of kids attended school. Why? Their families needed them home to work.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, schools in the United States were separated by race. After many hard years, that changed. In 1954, the Supreme Court said segregated schools were unconstitutional and unacceptable.
The homeschool movement began in the 1970s. Some families in the United States and around the world wanted to provide religious or moral instruction for their children along with the regular curricula (subjects). They chose to school at home.
Schooling has changed over the years! But passing on knowledge is still vitally important. Private school, public school, mobile school, homeschool, virtual school. How do you do school?
