This practice, most common in New England became known as Dame schooling. This was one of the first forms of schools seen in the new world. If she did not go to a New England Dame school, a girl might learn basic reading and writing skills along with specific tasks, through apprenticeships. New England consisted of small towns, and church and state worked together providing the new world with a glimpse of what was yet to come - the beginning of the American public school system. In a sense, New England was the pioneer of the current schooling system in the USA. In 1642, Massachusetts passed a law which ordered parents and masters of apprentices to teach children a trade and sufficient reading to understand "the principles of religion and the capitol laws of the country", and failure to act in accordance was punisha!.
ble by the removal of children from care, by selectmen of each town. With this law, Massachusetts set an example which would be followed by other colonies. "Of all of the New England colonies, only Rhode Island failed to pass a compulsory education law." In 1647, Massachusetts went even further with the "Old Deluder Act" which required every town with more than fifty householders to establish schools to teach reading and writing, and towns with more than one hundred householders were required to establish secondary schools as well. These schools were to be tax supported (with a possible low tuition) and open to all. At this time, New England was the only place to establish education as mandatory and as a public function. The New Englanders were also the first to divide areas into school districts, as a result of increased population and need for additional schools. .
Education was a family and church responsibility in the middle colonies, and due to the variety of religious and national groups in this region, any attempts at public schooling were quickly laid to rest.
