Like other advocates of "civilizing" the Native Americans, Jefferson linked the creation of the nuclear family with a desire to acquire property and the establishment of a formal government.
Jefferson wanted to change the structure of family, where men were the head of the household rather than women. In many Native American cultures, women were the head of the household, otherwise known as matriarchal.
Massachusetts Education Act of 1789
It seems that this law had both its benefits and drawbacks as it promoted access to education for all children as well as standardization, emphasizing sonsitency and quality of instruction. However, the law only focused on elementary and grammar schools limiting educational access for older children.
A major theme of these councils was that religious instruction should not be separated from other forms of instruction.
This seems like a horrible idea that it merges the idea of church and state which could cause the government to endorse a specific religion which is contrary to the First Amendment. Including religion with academic instruction would also thwart scientific texts and research as many religious beliefs do not see eye to eye with scientific principles.
Racially segregated schools were widely established from the late eighteenth century until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional in 1954.
I believe that Jim Crow as well as the separate but equal doctrine as a result of Plessy v. Ferguson caused enforced segregation and discrimination. This caused major systemic inequality which can still be seen today in our education system. I would also argued that it even caused economic disadvtanges for African American as well as institutionalized racism.
In 1866, the Second Plenary Council emphasized the principle "that religious teaching and religious training should form part of every system of school education."
It seems that the Council found that faith and knowledge complemented each other, which in turn enhances knowledge as a whole. On the other hand, one can argue that the Council attended to impose faith based education so that Catholicism can live indefinitely from generation to generation.
The purpose of the com-mon school remained the same: to teach Christian morality, discipline, and a handful of academic subjects, a process sometimes reinforced by the generous use of the rod.
Referring to "use of the rod", educators believed that physical/corporate punishment was crucial in a developing child. By using abusive punishment towards children, educators believe that they were able to instill Christian morality and principles. I feel that educators focused more on religious studies rather than academic subject as children were only taught fundamental knowledge such as writing and basic arithmetic.
An essayist in the Common School Journal in 1840 attacked the elitism of private schools and wanted to infuse public schools with the spirit of Chris-tian brotherhood and republicanism to enhance "an equality among the peo-ple; not by depressing those who are exalted, but by lifting up those who are bowed down.
This critic saw private schools as exclusive insitiutsions that only catered to one group of people: the rich, causing social class division in democracy as well as reinforcing this elite attitude where they feel that they are superior than others.
Common School Journal
I find this incredibly important. The Common School Journal played a pivotal role in the school movement as it explain how the gov't must establish a free, universal, nonsectarian educational system for children. I find that this was strange at the time as schools during this era focused on religious books for literacy and moral education. However, this journal was one of the first (of not the first) work that contained teaching pedagogies, methods, and educational philosophy that can contribute significantly to a child's life. :)
Contrary to Cal-vinist precepts, children did not enter the world fully formed or with a certain destiny; even if some children had vicious parents, moral education might save them from a life of vice and crime.
I find that the Calvinist beliefs ultimately set many children up for failure. They believed that children were born with a fixed moral character as predetermined by God. I believe that due to this, many gave up on children that demonstrated a "low sense of morality. However, reformers believed the contrary and found that human nature was malleable with education being the a contributing factor to its malleability. I believe that reformers also brought to the table the idea that the upbringing of a child also has a lot to do with shaping a child's destiny.
Protestant concern for education did not alone account for the growing cit-izen interest in schools and school improvement.
This is a great point. Other factors such as immense economic growth, urbanization, as well advances in communication such as printing allowed for an increase demand in educated workers and better access to books and educational materials which caused an fueled interest in quality education