The Society to Encourage Studies at Home (1873 – ca. 1897) (often abbreviated as SH) was the first

correspondence school Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It was founded in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Anna Eliot Ticknor Anna Eliot Ticknor ( Boston, Massachusetts, June 1, 1823 – October 5, 1896) was an American educator, who launched the first correspondence school in the United States, and pioneered public libraries in Massachusetts. Distinction In 1873, Tick ...

History

The Society to Encourage Studies at Home was founded in 1873 by Anna Eliot Ticknor (1823–1896), daughter of

George Ticknor George Ticknor (August 1, 1791 – January 26, 1871) 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 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 stu ...

and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

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.Tonn, Joan C., ''Mary P. Follett : Creating Democracy, Transforming Management'', New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. p. 33 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 in 1897 after the death of Anna Ticknor. Among those involved as teachers were:

Ellen Swallow Richards Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (December 3, 1842 – March 30, 1911) was an American industrial and safety engineer, environmental chemist, and university faculty member in the United States during the 19th century. Her pioneering work in ...

(science),

Vida Dutton Scudder Julia Vida Dutton Scudder (1861–1954) was an American educator, writer, and welfare activist in the social gospel movement. Early life She was born in Madurai, India, on December 15, 1861, the only child of David Coit Scudder (of the Scudder f ...

(English), Lucretia Crocker (science), Katherine Peabody Loring (history),

Alice James Alice James (August 7, 1848 – March 6, 1892) was an American diarist, sister of novelist Henry James and philosopher and psychologist William James. Her relationship with William was unusually close, and she seems to have been badly affect ...

(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 (3 September 1868 – 18 December 1933) was an American social worker, management consultant, philosopher and pioneer in the fields of organizational theory and organizational behavior. Along with Lillian Gilbreth, she was on ...

and

Charlotte Perkins Gilman Charlotte Perkins Gilman (; née Perkins; July 3, 1860 – August 17, 1935), also known by her first married name Charlotte Perkins Stetson, was an American humanist, novelist, writer, lecturer, advocate for social reform, and eugenicist. She wa ...

. 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.

References

External links

Biography of Anna Eliot Ticknor
{{Authority control Education in the United States 1873 establishments in Massachusetts 1897 disestablishments in the United States Beacon Hill, Boston Libraries in Beacon Hill, Boston Defunct libraries Defunct organizations based in Massachusetts Organizations established in 1873 Organizations disestablished in 1897 History of women in Massachusetts

History

References

Further reading

External links