Amos Eaton Was Right!

Abstract

Engineering education in the United States traces its roots to 1824 when the Rensselaer School was founded in Troy, New York by Amos Eaton and Stephen Van Rensselaer. This school, while initially founded to teach the application of science to the common purposes of life, quickly became an engineering school and in 1835 awarded the first civil engineering degree in the country. Eaton's philosophy of education was radically different from most of his colleagues in that he believed in learning by doing, not learning by telling. His five rules of education, which he developed in the early years of the college, are still valid today, and educators of the 21st century might learn a great deal by modifying their pedagogical techniques to bring them in line with Eaton.