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Did Puritans support public education?
The Puritans valued literacy highly; they believed all individuals should be able to read and interpret the Bible for themselves. In 1642 Massachusetts had required parents to ensure their children’s ability to read, and five years later, in this act, the state mandated community schooling.
Why did Puritans value education in literacy?
The Puritans, in particular, valued education, because they believed that Satan was keeping those who couldn’t read from the scriptures. According to The American Colonial Gazette, about two-thirds of Puritan men and one-third of Puritan women could sign their names — the accepted standard of literacy for the time.
Where did the Puritans start the concept of public education?
As recounted by Historian General James A. Williams, the Puritans who came from England to the Bay Colony in the early 1600s established a vigorous educational system that included several universities that are still thriving today.
Did the Puritans value education?
Not only were the majority of Puritans not threatened by the classical emphasis in the education of the time, but they were positively enthusiastic about it. In fact, much of the classical education of the colonies was the direct result of its promotion by Puritan leaders.
What did Puritans teach?
The Puritans in the Colonies were great believers in education. They wanted their children to be able to read the Bible themselves, and interpret it themselves, rather than have to have a clergyman tell them what it says and means.
In what ways did ideas and values held by Puritans influence the political development of the New England colonies?
They built the colonies and made a system based upon the idea that God was the most important aspect of life. Puritan ideas and values influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660’s by spreading their beliefs into every facet of daily life.
Why did public education develop in New England?
The colony began in 1647 to require by law secondary schools in the larger cities, as part of an effort to insure the basic literacy and religious inculcation of all citizens. More ministers were needed, and schools were founded to train them, reinvigorating a thirst for learning in the New England colonies.