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Introduction Image right: |
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Changing
Patterns in Educational Facilities AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY (1650-1849) page 2 of 5First Wave Societal Patterns The economy was decentralized and local based. Politically, the village was typically under the control of a single authoritarian or a small group of social elite. Community life was organized around the social support of the village settlement pattern of semi-isolated communities. Houses were typically grouped around a central public meeting space containing public structures such as the church acting as a meeting hall and sometimes a school. 
The agricultural family replaced the tribal structure of small migrating groups. Agricultural life required that the family structure was multi-generational and extended. Work life and home life were intermingled. Work was performed in fields or the home with the entire household toiling together as an economic unit. The imperative of group survival required an individual’s personal needs to come second to the group. The agricultural lifestyle relied primarily on renewable resources that existed around the village settlement. Trees provided the necessary source of fuel for heating, cooking and comfort. Animals and people provided the power required to transform the land. People rarely left the confines of their own village. When they did, they were limited to walking by foot or horse and wagon, or rarely by boat. Communications in the First Wave could be described as face-to-face. Illiteracy was high among First Wave peoples with the spoken word being relied upon for day to day communication and oral traditions kept the collective memory of the community alive. Even as the written word was available at this time, many people relied on others to read aloud the material to benefit the whole community. Postal services were developed in Europe for the wealthy and powerful providing them with a communications monopoly. Attempts to send letters by other means were looked upon with suspicion and even forbidden by authorities. Educational Approaches during the First Wave The most formal structure involved the academy and university. The establishment of such colleges as Harvard College in 1636 and William and Mary in 1688 illustrates again the overlapping nature of societal waves of change. These opportunities were reserved for the elite and, to some degree perpetuated the survival of the elite in the classist society. Formal educational systems were essentially non-existent during this period. The need for literacy in the village, however, focused almost entirely on the need to read and understand the Bible so one’s soul would be saved. As this period progressed, democracy began to require an informed citizenry so literacy became a necessity in order for members to be able to debate and vote on particular issues. However, elitism still prevailed with men and property owners being the only members having access. First Wave Facility Responses The one-room schoolhouse nevertheless best characterizes the typical First Wave educational facility. The school was multi-aged by necessity due to the relatively small size of the village community. One teacher would preside over teaching to this multi-aged group. Learning was by rote but self-paced depending on the developmental level of the student. One-room schools often had very simple furnishings, poor ventilation, and relied on oil lamps for light and wood burning stoves for heat. Larger schoolhouses that formed in more urban areas of the country were variations on the theme of the one-room school house often containing two, four or six self-contained rooms, often with their own entrances. |
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