Home & Family Facts and Notes

The education of George Washington was rather limited compared to others in his day. After all, his two older half-brothers went away to England for their education; he did not.

George Washington learned no other languages and never attended college. He was only about 16 when his education ended.

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.

Washington was quoted as describing his education as “defective.” Even though the education of George Washington continued to be developed, he remained embarrassed that his formal education ended early.

Some of his favorite methods of learning included books, studying the people he respected, and learning from others. In addition, he learned 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 are dated from 1741. These papers show that Washington could read, write, and do math when he was 8 or 9.

2. One of Washington’s papers was a survey of his half-brother’s turnip field. He obviously learned surveying in school. How would this skill help him later in life?

3. We can see from another one of Washington’s papers that he learned geography, knew how to calculate interest in monetary transactions, and could also copy many of the legal forms in use in Virginia in those days.

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 called the “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” These rules obviously helped him communicate well with people and leaders 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.

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