The Puritans and to a lesser degree the Pilgrims were the primary force behind establishing an education system in the colonial period. Both the Puritans and Pilgrims were Calvinists who were greatly influenced by the theology and the education philosophy of Martin Luther. Although Luther and Calvin never set foot on the American soil, their footprints were seen every area of the colonial life, especially in education, through the Puritans and Pilgrims. It is imperative to take a look first at what Luther and Calvin believed about education in order to assess their impact on American colonial education, for the educational philosophy of the Puritans and Pilgrims were essentially the same as that of the Luther and Calvin.
First and foremost, …show more content…
Luther’s idea of providing the basic education for girls was adopted. The idea of universal education for everyone developed into the public education system for the first time in America. The common school system was modeled after Calvin’s Geneva Academy. By 1647, a Massachusetts law mandated that every town of 50 families or more support an elementary school and every town of 100 or more families support a grammar school where boys could learn Latin in preparation for college. Like Luther and Calvin, the many of the Puritans were well educated scholarly people who saw the need for universities to provide education opportunities for male beyond the secondary level. They founded Harvard and Yale Universities, which was modeled after Emmanuel college at Cabridge, England. Just as Emmanuel college was founded by a Puritan with a goal of education Protestant pastors, Harvard and Yale were founded by the Puritans in order to produce schoolmasters, civil leaders and pastors who were educated in evangelical beliefs to govern, teach, and minister the needs of the newly formed colonial
First and foremost, …show more content…
Luther’s idea of providing the basic education for girls was adopted. The idea of universal education for everyone developed into the public education system for the first time in America. The common school system was modeled after Calvin’s Geneva Academy. By 1647, a Massachusetts law mandated that every town of 50 families or more support an elementary school and every town of 100 or more families support a grammar school where boys could learn Latin in preparation for college. Like Luther and Calvin, the many of the Puritans were well educated scholarly people who saw the need for universities to provide education opportunities for male beyond the secondary level. They founded Harvard and Yale Universities, which was modeled after Emmanuel college at Cabridge, England. Just as Emmanuel college was founded by a Puritan with a goal of education Protestant pastors, Harvard and Yale were founded by the Puritans in order to produce schoolmasters, civil leaders and pastors who were educated in evangelical beliefs to govern, teach, and minister the needs of the newly formed colonial