Abstract:
The Common School Law, ratified by the General Assembly in 1839, allowed the state to create school districts, levy school taxes, and establish a school term of at least two and one-half months in each district. Before this law was created, there was much opposition to public education in North Carolina, also known as the “Rip Van Winkle†state. George Garrett became the first public school teacher in North Carolina when his private schoolhouse, located in Rockingham County, was converted into the first public school in North Carolina.