West Virginia: A History

Chapter 8: Educational and Cultural Foundations

Educationand Culture 69 began in West Virginia, the only schoolsavailablewere of the subscriptiontype. These schools were established by a contract between a schoolmaster and subscribers, orparents whohad the desireto provide educationfortheirchildren and the meansto pay tuition. Schoolterms usually lasted abouttwo months, and tuition ranged from two to three dollarsper pupil per term. Some teachers were very competent, but others were barely literate and capable of only the lowest order of instruction. Statistics on enrollments of early subscriptionschools are meager, sincefewof them kept records. Probablynot more than half the children of West Virginia attended these schools. Convinced, like many other leaders, that education was the cornerstoneof the new Americanrepublic, GovernorThomasJefferson in 1779calledupon the legislature to authorize the division of each county into districts known as hundreds and the estabishment of a free school in each hundred. After the Revolutionary War, unfortunately, much of the enthusiasm for free schools abated. The literary Fund. The triumph of Jeffersonian democracy in the United Statesin 1800excitedrenewed interest in public schools. During the first decade of the nineteenth century several states provided for instruction of children of indigent families. In 1810 Virginia joined their ranks by creating the Literary Fund. Western leadersresisted effortsof influentialpersonsin the Tidewaterand Piedmontto draw off part of the money foraproposed stateuniversity, and about $45,000 annually was set aside for the education of poor children. Administration of the Literary Fund rested with the second auditor, who served as superintendent.The law also required that each county appoint from five to fifteen commissioners, who were charged with responsibility for determining the number of poor children eligible for benefits and given authority to construct buildings and employ teachers. The commissioners ordinarily used their limited funds to pay tuition for poor children at existing subscription schools. In some localities, where the number of paying children was insufficient for a school, the addition of those supported by the Literary Fund made schools possible for the first time. School attendance remained low in spite of opportunitiesprovided by the Literary Fund. Many parents consideredthe fund a form of charity and refused its benefits. Some desired to send their children to school but could not afford the clothing needed during winter months. Still others, untouched by formal educationthemselves, held schoolsin contemptand kept theirchildrenathome. Even where positive attitudes prevailed, the population, particularly in mountainous sections, was often too sparse to support schools. Qualified teachers long remained scarce, and many counties employed almost any person professing an ability to teach if he gave evidence of good moral character, a criterion regarded as important as academic preparation. Perhaps a high percentage of the teachers, like those of Harrison County, could be described as "generally men of good moral character but not . . . men of 70 West Virginia: A History high literary acquirement^."^ By 1840 several counties had begun to employ women as teachers of small children. Schools of West Virginia did not differ substantially from those in other parts of the United States. Most of them emphasized reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic. Worn copies of the Bible and the New Testament served for textbooks in many classrooms. Both teachers and parents believed in rigid discipline, and the ability to keep order and maintain respect was considered the mark of a good teacher. DisbidFreeSchools. Prospects for free schools brightened in 1829, when the General Assembly provided for the division of counties into school districts and the establishment of a free school in each district. Unfortunately, the legislation was permissive rather than mandatory, and few counties cared to tax themselves for free schools. The first West Virginia county to attempt the plan was Monroe, which established a free school at Sinks Grove in 1829, but it abandoned the system in 1836. Influential men still believed that free schools simply saddled "the liberal and just" with the burden of educating the children of the "parsimonious and niggardly. "3 An address by Governor David Campbell to the legislature in 1839detailing widespread illiteracy and revelations of the census of 1840that the problem was actually increasing galvanized advocates of free public schools into action. They held a series of educational conventions, the most important of which were at Clarksburg, Lexington, and Richmond. The Clarksburg Convention, held September 7 and 8, 1841, attracted 114 persons, most of them from northern West Virginia. George Hay Lee. an eminent barrister of Clarksburg, served as chairman. The gathering drew wide support from political, religious, social, and journalistic leaders. Fourteen members were...