Society to Encourage Studies at Home
Encyclopedia
The Society to Encourage Studies at Home (1873 - ca. 1897) (often abbreviated as SH) was the first correspondence school
in the United States
. It was founded in Boston
, Massachusetts
by Anna Eliot Ticknor
.
, historian
and Harvard professor. Its purpose was "to induce among ladies the habit of devoting some part of every day to study of a systematic and thorough kind.". It was loosely based upon the English Society for the Encouragement of Home Study though it differed from that institution in a number of respects. The English society extended its benefits only to upper class women of leisure whereas the American society served women of all classes and specifically sought to serve women who were already busy with chores of the home, showing how they might profitably use their time for study and enlightenment. Further, the English society provided only a standard curriculum and students were expected to complete the course work on their own. The American society provided individually planned courses and constant interactive communications between instructors and students. Finally, the English society required its students to travel to London to take a final competitive examination. The American society with its individualized teaching plans dispensed with this formality judging it impractical due to the geographic distances between instructors and students and recognizing the limited financial means of many of its students.
The courses were open only to women and over the 24 years of its existence it served 7,086 students and had over 200 correspondent teachers. The society was voluntarily dissolved after the death of Anna Ticknor in 1897. Among those involved as teachers were: Ellen Swallow Richards
(science), Lucretia Crocker (science), Katherine Peabody Loring (history), Alice James
(history), Lucy Elliot Keeler (history), Florence Trail (ancient history) and Elizabeth Thorndike Thornton (history).
Among the students of the society were: Mary Parker Follett
and Charlotte Perkins Gilman
. The Society maintained several thousand volumes in a lending library which was paid for by the small fees charged to students. Instructors offered their time and services free.
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was founded in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
by Anna Eliot Ticknor
Anna Eliot Ticknor
Anna Eliot Ticknor was an author and educator from Boston, Massachusetts. In 1873, Ticknor founded the Society to Encourage Studies at Home which was the first correspondence school in the United States...
.
History
The Society to Encourage Studies at Home was founded in 1873 by Anna Eliot Ticknor (1823–1896), daughter of George TicknorGeorge Ticknor
George Ticknor was an American academician and Hispanist, specializing in the subject areas of languages and literature. He is known for his scholarly work on the history and criticism of Spanish literature....
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and Harvard professor. Its purpose was "to induce among ladies the habit of devoting some part of every day to study of a systematic and thorough kind.". It was loosely based upon the English Society for the Encouragement of Home Study though it differed from that institution in a number of respects. The English society extended its benefits only to upper class women of leisure whereas the American society served women of all classes and specifically sought to serve women who were already busy with chores of the home, showing how they might profitably use their time for study and enlightenment. Further, the English society provided only a standard curriculum and students were expected to complete the course work on their own. The American society provided individually planned courses and constant interactive communications between instructors and students. Finally, the English society required its students to travel to London to take a final competitive examination. The American society with its individualized teaching plans dispensed with this formality judging it impractical due to the geographic distances between instructors and students and recognizing the limited financial means of many of its students.
The courses were open only to women and over the 24 years of its existence it served 7,086 students and had over 200 correspondent teachers. The society was voluntarily dissolved after the death of Anna Ticknor in 1897. Among those involved as teachers were: Ellen Swallow Richards
Ellen Swallow Richards
Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards was the foremost female industrial and environmental chemist in the United States in the 19th century, pioneering the field of home economics. Richards graduated from Westford Academy...
(science), Lucretia Crocker (science), Katherine Peabody Loring (history), Alice James
Alice James
Alice James was a U.S. diarist. The only daughter of Henry James, Sr. and sister of philosopher William James and novelist Henry James, she is known mainly for the posthumously published diary that she kept in her final years.-Life:Born into a wealthy and intellectually active family, Alice James...
(history), Lucy Elliot Keeler (history), Florence Trail (ancient history) and Elizabeth Thorndike Thornton (history).
Among the students of the society were: Mary Parker Follett
Mary Parker Follett
Mary Parker Follett was an American social worker, management consultant and pioneer in the fields of organizational theory and organizational behavior. She also authored a number of books and numerous essays, articles and speeches on democracy, human relations, political philosophy, psychology,...
and Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent American sociologist, novelist, writer of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction, and a lecturer for social reform...
. The Society maintained several thousand volumes in a lending library which was paid for by the small fees charged to students. Instructors offered their time and services free.
Further reading
- Annual Reports, 1878 – 1896.
- Samuel Eliot, Mrs. Louis Aggasiz, et al. Society to Encourage Studies at Home. Cambridge, MA: Printed at the Riverside press, 1897.
- Schwager, Sally "The Silent University," in "Harvard Women": A History of the Founding of Radcliffe College (Ed.D. diss., Harvard University: 1982), pp. 30-78.
- Bergmann, Harriet F. “The Silent University”: The Society to Encourage Studies at Home, 1873 – 1897 in The New England Quarterly. Boston: September 2001. Vol. 74 No. 3. pp 447-77