Education Of George Washington Means To An Individual
By: Steve Patterson
Submitted: 2011-08-18 10:43:16 | Word Count: 395
Believe it or not, the education of George Washington was limited compared to other leaders of his day. His two older half-brothers went to England to receive their education; George Washington did not.
He didn't even go to college or study an additional language. George Washington's education came to an end when he was about 16 years old.
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Who taught Washington? Where did he go to school? This is not known for certain. The only tangible evidence we have of the education of George Washington is his school papers. It is through these papers that we can determine he received a useful education that helped him later on.
But according to Washington himself, his education was "defective." Although the education of George Washington was something that was continued throughout his entire life, he was still self-conscious of his formal schooling ending when he was still in his early teens.
His favorite learning methods included studying the people he most respected, learning from others, and reading books. He also took the time to learn from his own experiences.
But let's go back to his school papers. Here's what we can conclude about the education of George Washington through these records:
1. His first school papers were dated 1741. If he was born in 1732, he was about 8 or 9 and could effectively read, write, and do math.
2. Washington turned in a paper that was a survey of a turnip field owned by his half-brother. Clearly he learned about surveying in school. How did this skill help him later on?
3. One of his papers showed that he studied geography, could calculate interest on money transactions, and could copy many legal forms that were used in Virginia at that time.
4. Even though Washington didn't go to England for schooling, he spent time learning manners. In one of his papers, he copied 110 rules people should follow for good behavior and good manners.
These rules were named "The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation." It was these rules that must have enabled him to communicate so well with the leaders and people around him.
Although it's true that the education of George Washington was truncated by a couple of years, he still received a very solid education. He learned the skills he needed to be a leader for this nation.
