A Brief History of Education

The Library by Jacob Lawerence

The Renaissance (1250-1600)

School of Athens by Raphael

The Renaissance

• Renaissance means “rebirth”• The revival and learning of culture• painting, poetry, sculpture

– They call this period the Renaissance because Europe had just come out of the Medieval Period (Middle Ages), a time when education and culture were not important

• There was not yet science (no microscope, no telescope, no dissection)

• What “knowledge” was absent?

What was a school like in the Renaissance?

Welcome to Mount Joy School • Attention class! Settle down, boys! Everybody sit in

your proper rows and take out your horn books. We will start today with a new song on the organ called Greensleeves.

• Since you are new here, let me go over the rules.• You will call your teacher “Headmaster Snyder”• As you probably know, schools are for boys only, and

girls are rarely accepted. A young lady’s and women's place is in the kitchen and the home, taking care of the children and serving food.

How the School System Works

• The Mount Joy School for boys is an example of a “petty” school.

• If a family is rich, or the boy shows enough talent to earn a scholarship, he might go to a grammar school.

• This stage of school lasts five to ten years, typically to age 12 or so.

• A child can sometimes get in at 7 or 8, but he has to be wealthy or the father must have something to valuable to offer. (status)

• The "grammar" taught at grammar school was Latin language and literature.

• Older students are expected to speak Latin at all times in the classroom and will be punished for speaking English, or any other vernacular.

• Grammar school teachers are most likely University graduates.

• Since it is very rare for a girl to be admitted to a school, you can imagine how hard it is for one to be admitted to a grammar school. However, there are special boarding schools for girls. I won't accept them here!

The Horn Book• You learn the alphabet from a “horn

book”, not at all like the books you have in modern schools.

• The alphabet and the Lord's Prayer are written on a piece of paper.

• The paper is stuck on the wooden bat and a thin, transparent piece of deer or elk horn is fixed over it.

• Since the horn is transparent, you will be able to see the alphabet underneath.

• The books are to be shared between you and several students during class because books are extremely expensive and rare.

• Wealthy families can afford their own horn book, and sometimes the families crest, coat of arms, or a symbol is inscribed on the back.

The Alphabet

• Our alphabet has only 24 letters with the capital I and J interchangeable. The J is often used as the capitol form of I. The letters U and V are similarly equivalent, with I being used at the beginning of a word and U used toward the middle. For instance, your "I have an uncle" is written as "J haue an vncle.“

• There is a special character to represent your th that resembles a y. It actually comes from an ancient runic letter called 'Thorn'. When you see "Ye Olde Tea Shoppe", the "ye " should be pronounced as the.

• There are no dictionaries• Spelling is largely built on custom, and we write words

phonetically, or by the way they sound. • The Oxford English Dictionary is 200 years away• The most obvious difference is that we often add a final "e" to

words that we don't necessarily need them in. • For example "school" is often written as "schoole". • There are 2 types of printface in books: Blackletter type and

Roman. • The Blackletter type is derived from medieval writing; it looks

like what we sometimes call Old English. • Roman type, i.e. italics, is associated with classic learning and

is currently replacing Blackletter type. • Your writing is based on Roman type. Italics are also used to

set important words off from surrounding Roman text.

The Schoole Day• If you plan on attending Mount Joy, be prepared to work

hard!• I adhere to the typical school hours: 6:00 a.m. to 5:00

p.m., with Breakfast and Lunch served to you. • There is a break during the day. • You must eat Dinner at your own home. • You will have Thursday and Saturday afternoons off,

with two week holidays for Christmas and Easter. • School is never in session on Sundays, because it is a day

of rest, and you're expected to go to mass. • Some grammar schools board their students, but mine,

since we are located in towne, is a day school.

Home Schooling• You don't have to go to school, and if your family lacks

the funds or they need you to work, you will stay home and help out with the family business.

• Most people cannot read or write, unfortunately, and can do little else besides their manual labour jobs.

• If a man has to sign a deed or a contract he must draw a symbol that represents him because he can't write.

• Most girls do not go to school, unless they show a talent that surpasses that of most boys.

• They instead stay at home and learn to sew, spin, cook and run the house. Even in the smallest of houses, there is much to be done that they keep busy.

• Wealthy girls are also taught reading and writing, but they still do not get the same schooling as boys.

Etiquette and Rules• Etiquette is taught and will be enforced throughout all

of your schooling. • You are required at all times to be well-mannered and

polite and cannot speak to any adult unless you are spoken to first.

• Never interrupt or argue with an adult. • You should be grateful for any kindnesses given by

an adult. • Stand when an adult enters a room, take off your hat,

and bow or curtsy.

Funding and Punishment

• All schools are paid for by rich men who want their own children to have an education. (patronage)

• Unlike ours today, none of our schools are paid for by public money.

• If you are caught being naughty or you come in late be forewarned!

• Teachers use birch rods to dole out any punishment or they might hit you on the hand with a ferula, (a flat piece of wood, similar to a ruler with a circular knob on one end)

What do you think?

• Is this the type of school that you would like to attend?

• What do you like about this school?

• What do you not like about this school?

The Origins of

School.

1391—Elementary Schools Multiply

• Richard II, King of England decreed that a parent may send any of their children to school

• Country—monastic schools (run by clergy)

• City—trade schools (run by clergy, hospitals, and guilds)

• Attendance was voluntary

• Teachers were usually priests, but over time, others became involved

• Subjects included– Catechism, basic

prayers, reading, writing, arithmetic, singing

• Secondary schools continued religious teachings and added grammar and Latin

1440—Henry VI Sponsors Eton School

• The sons of the aristocracy went to Eton School to prepare boys for Kings College in Cambridge

• Up until the age of 7 aristocratic boys were educated at home by women

• At 7 boys served as “pages” and were taught writing, reading, religion, and manners

Kings College

• At 14 boys became “squires”—adult servers of the lord• They learned to ride, shoot, hunt, joust, and wage war• Book learning was left to the inferiors• There is an explosion in the number of colleges at this time

throughout Europe

• New universities were opening and it became popular to assist in funding them

• By 1500, nearly 70 universities had been founded

• Theology and Law were the major fields of study

• Medicine and “natural philosophy” (science) were becoming popular

• Some universities started to offer estate management (business)

• Universities were little more than guilds of teachers who settled in a building provided by a local bishop

• The university provided a place where teachers and students could live together

• There were lecture halls and a library

Why did people go to university?

• Original purpose of a university degree was that it served as a licence to teach

• But courses were so long (it could take over 16 years to become a Doctor of Theology) that many students stayed until they had learned all they needed and then got a job based on their having “attended university” for so many years

The University Format

• Universities were mostly lecture based and sometimes there were debates

• Intramurals (sports for fun) were prohibited• There were very few text books• In some universities professors were chosen

by the students• Most universities followed the teachings of the

church

School Becomes Mandatory • 1530—Martin Luther

proposes that elementary school be compulsory and funded by the state

• He wrote curriculum for over 300 public schools

• Main theme of school—”to gather, translate and transmit the old world of Greece and Rome to the young of Western Europe”

• Francis Bacon changes this

”I have taken all knowledge to be my province"

• Francis Bacon’s Scientific Method changes learning and knowledge so that it evolves and changes, instead of remaining static

• This system stays the same until the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution—1800s

Educational Objectives1. Produce reliable, productive and clock orientated

workers

2. Make people proud of their country (Nationalism)

3. Create an informed citizenry to keep the democracy healthy

Schools of Today in Canada

• 1998-1999– Community College 495 000– University 825 000

• 2000-2001– 4.8 million Canadians in elementary and secondary

schools