During the colonial period, according to the University of
Pennsylvania Archives and Records center, “Boys seem to have been admitted to
the Academy (a prep-school) between the ages of seven and thirteen, and then
placed in proper class depending on the extent of their earlier training. Few
people appeared to have entered the college before reaching the age of
thirteen, but many received degrees at the age of sixteen or seventeen.”
Can it be imagined what it was like to have a college degree
by the age of seventeen? There were no extra activities available because the
atmosphere was strictly academic. Before college, prep-school, there was
writing, arithmetic, and mathematics, natural and mechanical philosophy, Latin,
Greek, English, French, and German, history, geography, chronology, logic, and
rhetoric. In college the curriculum consisted of Latin, Greek, mathematics,
natural philosophy, ethics, oratory, logic, and history.
During the 19th century, according the University
of Pennsylvania, schools were changed slightly by adding some specialized
fields. In 1810, “…University of PA was organized into these three parts:
Charity Schools, Academy (including Math and Grammar Schools) and the College
(including Medical, Law, and Collegiate departments.)…To be admitted, a student
was tested by the faculty to determine his ability to translate Caesar’s
commentaries and Virgil (or its equivalent), to translate into grammatical
Latin, to translate the gospels from the Greek, and to do common arithmetic,
decimal, and common fractions.”
Again, what has happened to the education in our country? It
has been common knowledge that all children are sponges. Do not use the excuse “integration”
because that is insulting. (*I took 4 semesters of Latin and if I can pass it
anyone can.)
The easiest theory at hand is “MALE IDIOCY.” Why? Simple men
were in charge and women couldn’t vote. How simple was that? Do not mistake
this informative blog today, for male bashing, because it is far from that.
In all honest attempts to figure out why, no real
explanation could be obtained. We could look at theories, ideas, educated guesses,
but there really is not an answer. We are only in hopes that it was not because
of the economics of the United States, powerful money grubbing coffers, or the
lack of investing in the future of this great society in which we live in. (Hind
sight is better than fore-sight. In the case of educational hind sight of the
18th and 18th centuries was by far better.)
Let us look forward. What is the excuse now as to why the
United States educational system is not performing like it should in the
international community? The only answer that can be had is the lack of
economic investment into the future ventures that is needed to sustain our
society. The children are those future ventures.
Today the children of this multiracial environment are not
being treated as they should be by the National and the State Departments of
Education. Budgets are set to “get by.” Road projects are more important
because people do not see children in the capacity of dollars and cents. The
children are not as expensive as the newly modeled car that just rolled of the
assembly line.
Mark my word and take note. When the national, state, and
local governments are being run by these children they may yank the funding of
the very old, feeble, retired national, state, and local employees. Never think
anything is secure because you have retired from governmental service and are
set for life. Any minute that can change. What goes around comes around.
Word to the wise, our young people need to become educated.
This means:
Teachers
need more money to effectively perform,
Find
out what it will take to raise the bar, and
Restore
liberal arts.
When the society sets the teachers up for success, the
students will have an opportunity to succeed. Invest in our future of “We the
People!”
Do a comparison, and ask: “Are we supporting our teachers,
and educating our children properly?”
Sources: University of
Pennsylvania Archives and Records Center (1995-2013) (accessed 6th May
2014) http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/1800s/1811/acad_univ.html
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