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Essay On American Education

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Education in the United States
Public education has been in the United States since 1647, when the Massachussetts Bay Colony’s General Court declared that towns with more than fifty families were required to have a primary school (Source #). Today, over 70 million students in the U.S. are enrolled in public schools, with over one trillion dollars in expenditures (Source #). The United States education system has evolved a great deal over the history of the country, beginning with the colonies until the present day.
Public education began in Massachussets by Congregationalist colonists to teach their children how to read the Bible and learn the laws of their communities (Source#). The Boston Latin School opened its doors to male students in 1645, becoming the oldest public school in the Americas. Students were taught Greek and Latin, as well as English and grammar. Other schools, known as Grammar schools, were founded around the colony; however, these public schools were not the ones we know today. “Public” did not mean that all were welcome to attend, as only boys were eligble to study at grammar schools, and it did not mean that the community was responsible for funding the on its own. While a 1642 law required everyone to learn to read and write in English, girls and boys not intending to enter the ministry were educated at …show more content…

Children could attend these schools free for three years, and then pay to attend longer. Every year the superintendant granted a scholarship to go to grammar school to a boy with outstanding grades whose family could not afford an education for otherwise. After six years at grammar school--which now funtioned as high schools--the bottom half of the class would enter the workforce as teachers or other educated professionals. The rest were granted scholarships to attend college for three

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