In the colonies, most children did not have an education or a school. In the Southern colonies neighbors sometimes got together to hire a teacher so their kids can be taught. Some of the churches built schools or others like their parents taught them themselves. Massachusetts made a law in 1647 were in every town with 50 families or more had to hire an instructor to teach their children. Towns with more than 100 families were required to build a school. Back then there were no maps or boards to write on so they used ink on pieces of bark. The only book that they had was "The New England Primer". Most of the colonists believed that boys needed more education that girls. The education back then wasn't the best. In the Middle Colonies, religious differences among Quakers, Catholics, Jews, Baptists, and other religious groups slowed the growth of public education. Each religious group or family had to decide for itself how to educate children. Some children would go to church schools, and others would teach their children at home.