Jefferson’s concept of the “citizen” was unlike any that had been seen before, and it was this unique perspective that was clearly reflected in his educational proposals. In those proposals, Jefferson stood for “the pursuit of knowledge,” and he had a clear “plan for popular education” in order to ensure that each citizen was able to obtain that to which Jefferson believed he was entitled (Jefferson). Jefferson’s educational bills covered topics ranging from the general diffusion of knowledge, the establishment of public libraries, and even one to establish a system of public education.
His proposal for the establishment of a public education system required the division of the school structure into several categories: the elementary school, the grammar school, and the university. Each level of increased knowledge had a set curriculum which would allow students to gain additional knowledge, developing them as both students and as society members.
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"Discuss Jefferson’s Concept Of The “Citizen” And Explain How It Was Reflected In His Educational Proposals".
The bill proposed “to lay off every country into small districts of five or six miles square, called hundreds, and in each of them to establish a school for teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic” (Smith). Furthermore, individuals were not required to pay for their initial education; “the tutor to be supported by the hundred, and every person in it entitled to send their children three years gratis, and as much longer as they please, paying for it (Smith). Elementary schools afforded the luxury of allowing boys and girls to obtain the same education, learning the basics of reading, writing, and mathematics. Grammar school comes next, getting students prepared for college by teaching them “Greek, Latin, geography, and the higher branches of numerical arithmetic. Of the boys thus sent in any one year, trial is to be made at the grammar schools one or two years, and the best genius of the whole selected, and continued six years, and the residue dismissed” (Smith). At the collegiate level students are considered to be highly advanced, obtaining additional learning in fields like medicine, philosophy, law, and art.
Jefferson wanted American citizens to have a commitment to education and knowledge. It was important to express that “knowledge is power, that knowledge is safety, and that knowledge is happiness” (Jefferson).
- Smith, George H. “Thomas Jefferson on Public Education, Part 1.” Libertarianism.org. N.p., 3 Apr. 2012. Web. 15 Sept. 2014.
- Tozer, Steven, Paul C. Violas, and Guy B. Senese. School and Society: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print.
