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Little Known George Washington Education Facts
February 22, 1732: George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on his father's plantation. Augustine Washington, his father, was both the leading planter in the area and was also a justice of the county court.
February 22, 1732: George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on his father’s plantation. Augustine Washington, his father, was both the leading planter in the area and was also a justice of the county court.
Austine already had two sons and a daughter from his previous marriage, which ended when his wife died. He married Mary Ball, and George was her first born. She later had five more children.
We don’t know much about George Washington’s childhood, nor do we know a lot about the George Washington education.
We do know that most children in the state of Virginia were instructed by private tutors or in local private schools. At age seven, boys usually began their formal education. They learned how to read, write, and do basic arithmetic.
Boys would later learn classic languages, Greek and Latin. They also were taught bookkeeping, geometry, and surveying. If their fathers were wealthy, they would be sent to England to complete their education.
George’s two older half brothers were able to go to England. However, George never was able to go because of his father’s death.
The George Washington education most likely started in a school located close to home for a few years. He may have gone to another school later. But what we know for sure was that was very good at mathematics and learned surveying.
Although most sons of gentlemen learned Greek and Latin, George never learned any other language. Nor did he ever go to college. It’s been estimated that the George Washington education came to an end around the age of 15.
To the gentry class, social skills were one of the most important components in a young man’s or woman’s education. After George’s father passed away, he began spending more time in Mount Vernon with his older half brother Lawrence.
Lawrence helped in many ways, such as: mentoring and tutoring him in his studies, teaching him social graces, and introducing him into society.
Through his life, the George Washington education was considered defective. He consciously tried to make up for some of what he did not learn in school by constantly reading and learning from those he respected.
Through the years of his personal studying, he built up an enormous library. He also subscribed to many newspapers. He also wrote a lot.
George may have placed such a high value on education because of his incomplete formal schooling. When he died, his will donated money for building a school in Alexandria, Virginia and for a national university.