History of Education

As long as we live we continue to learn, and the education we receive when we are young helps us to continue learning. The first teachers were fathers and mothers, but very early in the history of man children began to be taught by people other than their fathers and mothers. It is thought that schools first started in Egypt 5, 000 to 6, 000 years ago, and that it was the invention of writing which made them necessary. Writing made it possible to store up knowledge which grew with each gener­ation. Specially trained people were therefore needed to teach it.

Only the sons of nobles attended the first Egyptian schools, which taught reading, physical education and good behaviour.

A clear example of the way in which even the neighbouring peoples produce different types of education comes from an­cient Greece. Sparta and Athens were two Greek states. The Spartans, a hard and warlike people, gave a purely military education. At the age of seven all boys of noble families were taken from their families and sent to live in groups. They were kept under a very strict discipline and were taught hunting, military scouting, swimming and the use of weapons. The Spar­tans despised literature, and some people think they could not even read.

At the same time, also for the nobles only, the Athenians were building what we call a liberal education - one that helps the man to develop all sides of his nature, helps him to make and appreciate beautiful things and helps him to find the best way of life. They thought it important to educate the body as well as the mind, and had a programme of physical training which consisted of running, jumping, wrestling and throwing the discus. As time went on Athenian education paid special attention to reading, writing and literature and these were taught by a special teacher, known as the «grammatist». Com­mon people were not educated, they were trained in craftsman-ship and trades.

Greek philosophers, or thinkers, always discussed what ed­ucation should try to do and what it should include. Plato wrote a book called The Republic, which is one of the best books ever written on education, and since those days Greek ideas have influenced European education, especially secondary and uni­versity education.

The Romans were good at organizing, and they were the first people to have schools run by the government free of charge. Throughout their great empire there was a network of these schools which provided for three stages of education.

At six or seven all boys (and some girls) went to the primary school, where they learnt «three R's»: reading, writing and arithmetic. Most children were not taught more than this, but at 12 or 13 boys of rich families went on to the «grammar» school to study the Greek and Latin languages and their litera­tures, that is, what had been written in those languages. At 16, young nobles who wanted to enter politics or the service of their country went to the school of rhetoric to be trained in rhetoric, or public speaking.

In Great Britain the first teachers we read about were craftsmen. They taught children to read, write and count, to cook and mend their own shoes. In the early 19th century the main system of teaching was the «Monitor» system. The teacher could manage a class of 100 or more by using older pupils or «monitors» to help him. The schools had long desks which were sometimes arranged in tiers so that the teacher could see every child in a large class.

Note:

the «Monitor» system – Ланкастерська система освіти, коли старші учні наглядають за молодшими