How were younger children taught in the 1800s?

Even though some children learn more slowly than others, teachers in this time believed that all students learned at the same speed. 
If a child fell behind he was thought to have not been trying hard enough and was therefore punished. 
Teachers were allowed to administer correctional canings or beatings in school.
More commonly known a cone with the letter “D”(Dunce) was placed on the childs head.