Climbing the Ladder of Success through Education

In America, there is a strong belief in the value of education as way to help individuals advance in society. Yet, when the founders of the United States wrote the Constitution, they did not include the idea of education as a right in that document. Many Americans did not have access to formal education during this time, and many Americans still struggle for equal access to educational opportunities today.

Racially segregated schools were established from the late 1700s until the Supreme Court ruled that they went against Constitution of the United States in 1954. Segregated or separate schooling created racial divides and resulted in unequal educational funding and educational opportunities.

Access to Education in Early America

For early American colonists, just learning to read was a major step toward improving their status. Historically, literacy or the ability to read and write, was taught so that people could read sacred texts. In the case of colonial America, the ability to read the Bible was a focus in both Sunday schools and in early American schoolhouses where reciting and memorizing the Bible was a common assignment. At first, only boys were taught to read. Later, and in some colonies, girls were also trained to read. While boys needed to read so that they could be informed voters in a new republic, girls were educated so that they could someday raise literate boys. Essentially, it was education in the service of others and not in pursuit of girls’ own goals.

One’s gender, race, social class, and perceived ability or disability could often determine whether one had access to formal education. In New England during the late 1700s, some boys attended “dame schools,” where small groups of children were taught by women educators in their homes. These schools prepared some boys for town schools and academies, which girls were not allowed to attend. Girls did not attend schools outside of the home until the 1800s. Children of wealthier families may have gone to a private school or had a tutor to teach them reading, writing, and arithmetic.