Final answer:
The Pennsylvania penitentiary system believed that silence and labor provided the best hope of rehabilitating the criminal spirit, which is in line with historical shifts towards rehabilitating rather than simply punishing individuals.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Pennsylvania penitentiary system was built on the belief that in order to reform the criminal spirit, isolation and constructive activities were necessary. This approach to imprisonment focused on silence and labor as the key elements for rehabilitating inmates. The penitentiaries during this period were places where criminals could engage in hard work and religious instruction, away from societal vices, with the goal of transforming them into law-abiding citizens. Historical reforms in criminal justice moved away from public punishments and debtor's imprisonment towards a system seeking to rehabilitate rather than just punish.
Education and training were indeed parts of some prison reforms, but the Pennsylvania penitentiary's main assumption for rehabilitating criminals was built on a different philosophy. According to historical records, the idea was to use silence and labor to facilitate this transformation. The workhouses and asylums established during the same period also reflect a broader shift towards rehabilitation efforts, but for the context of this specific question, the focus is on the Pennsylvania penitentiary's practice.
Therefore, the correct final answer to the student's question, based on the historical background of the Pennsylvania penitentiary, is that silence and labor were seen as the best method to rehabilitate the criminal spirit.