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Blank White Page: What was the first American school?

By: Chloe L, 5th period

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History/ Origins

  • The first school founded in America was called Boston Latin School (source 1)
  • Founded on April 23, 1635 (source 1)
  • Puritan settlers founded the school (source 2)
  • The first classes were held in Master Philemon Pormort's home until 1643 (source 1)
  • The school later moved to School Street (source 2)
  • Public funds supported the school (source 1)

BLS in 1893

(source 11)

(source 7)

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What did BLS teach?

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  • BLS was a Latin Grammar School (source 3)
  • Puritans formed Latin Grammar schools to educate their future leaders (source 4)
  • Students learned:

-Latin and Greek (source 4)

-Religion from the

Protestant Reformation (source 4)

-Reading, writing, and arithmetic

  • Its main purpose was to prepare students for college (source 4)

Boston Latin School today

(source 6)

Source 8

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Who attended BLS?

  • Upper class boys who were likely to become leaders in church, state, or court (source 4)
  • Girls were excluded (source 4)
  • Some important historical figures that

attended the school:

-Benjamin Franklin; politician, author

(source 5)

-Barry Newman; actor (source 5)

-Edward Charles Pickering; astronomer

(source 5)

-John Hancock; politician, merchant (source 5)

source 9

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A Notable Event in History

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  • On April 19, 1775 the school temporarily closed down during the Siege of Boston (source 1)
  • The American Revolutionary War was beginning and the headmaster, John Lovell announced, "War's begun and school's done!" (source 1)
  • Later, the British evacuated Boston and Lovell left the country (source 1)

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source 10

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Bibliography

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1. "First Public School Site and Ben Franklin Statue." City of Boston.gov. The Freedom Trail Foundation, n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/firstpublic.asp>.

2. "History (375+ Years)." Boston Latin School. Boston Latin School Association, n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://www.bls.org/podium/default.aspx?t=113646&rc=0>.

3. "Notable Boston Latin School Alumni/Students." Ranker. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://www.ranker.com/list/notable-boston-latin-school-alumni-and-students/reference>.

4. Sass, Edmund. "American Educational History: A Hypertext Timeline." American Educational History. N.p., 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/educationhistorytimeline.html>.

5. Sass, Edmund. "Latin Grammar Schools." American Educational History. N.p., 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 04 Dec. 2012.

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Images Cited

6.http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3168/2979600089_6f0f8e19df_o.jpg

7. http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4058/4406137653_237d803b71_b.jpg

8. http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&tbo=d&tbs=sur:f&tbm=isch&tbnid=ncBR3E3xj14PsM:&imgrefurl=http://www.hamedsafa.com/other/445/blackboard&docid=iDAZxuwv42WfvM&imgurl=http://www.hamedsafa.com/wp-content/uploads/yapb_cache/takhte_siah.5yc2sfleejs4c84kwkkscw0k0.8wlwk6mi6zggocssco44gwoow.th.jpeg&w=800&h=600&ei=5Li_UJCxG4mOigLCgIGgBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=733&vpy=205&dur=345&hovh=191&hovw=255&tx=130&ty=57&sig=106588193431805169370&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=184&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0,i:173&biw=1024&bih=634&ei=Orq_UJP_OuKsjALZl4DADQ&dur=5784&biw=1024&bih=634

9. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6202/6039314863_426c2fd4b0_o.jpg

10. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2382/2469917321_2b5f7e992f.jpg

11. http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6231/6303680558_23e92ae9e3_b.jpg

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