EDUCATION, the art of drawing out or developing the faculties, the training of human beings for the functions for which they are destined. Education means the imparting or gaining of knowledge of every kind, good as well as evil; but specifically it signifies all that broadens a man's mind, disciplines his temper, develops his tastes, corrects his manners, and molds his habits. In a still more limited sense it means any course of training pursued by parents, teachers, or a whole community to train the young physically, mentally, and morally. The means employed in education fall nat urally under two heads: discipline or moral training, and instruction, or the imparting of information; though the two often run into each other. Under the head of discipline come the forming of habits of order, self-control, obedience, civility, love of truth and reverence for what is good and great. In respect of direct utility the things most necessary to know are those that bear most directly (1) on the preservation of life and health, and the proper performance of the more common industrial labors. This involves a knowledge of the sciences of physiology, natural philosophy, and the other physical sciences. (2) A knowl edge of our moral relations. Besides a knowledge of the ordinary moral duties, and the high religious sanctions with which they are enfored, this implies some acquaintance with the laws of economy.
(3) As a preliminary step, there is re quired a knowledge of the mother-tongue, and the faculty of reading and writing it.
(4) Tho cultivation of the taste and imagination, or the faculties which derive pleasure from music, painting, sculpture, architecture, poetry, and works of fiction.
United States. — Education in the United States naturally divides itself historically into two parts: Colonial and National. Education in the 13 colonies deserves attention for its originality and its marked influence in preparing the colonies for national independence. Im mediately on landing, in 1620, one of the first acts of the Plymouth colonists was to provide a meeting-house for re ligious services and a schoolhouse for the children. The citizens of Boston as early as 1635, by vote, appointed a schoolmaster. By law of the Massa chusetts colony in 1642, the selectmen of every township were required to see that provision was made for the educa tion of all the children, so as to be able to read and have "knowledge of the capi tal laws." In 1647 every township of 50
householders was required to appoint a schoolmaster, and every township of 100 families to maintain a grammar shool in which boys could be prepared for Har vard College. The Colonial laws of Con necticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, with reference to public educa tion, were explicit, and were enforced so as to secure practically universal ele mentary education. New York was not behind New England in similar legal educational provisions, but they do not seem to have been so well enforced. The West India Company, under whose charge the first Dutch colonists came to New York, enacted a law in 1629 which required the establishment of schools. The first school was opened in 1633, speedily followed by others. Church and state united to pay the expenses of the schools, and no charge was made directly for tuition; Dutch schools existed in the towns and villages when the English obtained possession of the colony, After this great difficulties arose from the con flict of the two languages, and though many English schools were established education greatly suffered for a few years. In 1704 a society for the propa gation of the Gospel began its work of establishing schools in the English lan guage in several of the counties. In 1732 an act was passed to establish a public school in the city of New York; King's College, afterward Columbia Col lege, was founded in 1754. New Jersey, as early as 1693, by law enabled the in habitants of any town to establish a free and to tax all the property hold ers for its support, under which law schools became numerous. Pennsylvania had many private schools, but no educa tional system previous to the Revolution. In Virginia little attention was paid to the education of the poorer classes, but the College of William and Mary was established in 1692. Maryland passed an act as early as 1723 for erecting schools in several counties. The Southern col onies generally had not succeeded in establishing public schools previous to the Revolution, though numerous private schools existed.