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Children gather with their teacher in a colonial school. These children were among a minority of children who received formal education.Most children did not go to school beyond the elementary level

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To encourage education, Massachusetts passed a law in 1647 that required every town with 50 families or more to hire an instructor to teach their children to read and write.

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Pencils and papers were scarce. Students shouted out spelling words and wrote sums in ink on pieces of bark.

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Schools were one-room buildings with a chimney and fireplace in the center.There were no maps or boards to write on.

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Most colonies believed that boys needed more education than girls

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Parents were asked to contribute whatever they could to the village school

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Only in the New England were towns required to provide public schools

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Children in the colonies recieved little formal education. Neither the middle nor the southern colonies had public schools.

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In the middle colonies,religious differences among Quakers, Catholics baptists and other religious groups slowed the growth of public education.

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In the southern colonies most families spread out along the rivers, a few neighbors might get together to hire a teacher for their children.