Education of Boys in Victorian England
The Upper and Middle Classes
* The Elementary School Act of 1870 made school compulsory up to the age of 12.
* The most famous group of public schools was referred to as “the Nine Great Public Schools.”
* The famous schools were Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester, Shrewsbury, Charterhouse, Westminster, St. Paul's, and Merchant Taylors.
* These schools were originally opened up to everyone and sustained through the donations of wealthy donors. Initially taught boys Latin and Greek grammar but in 1861 the administration was changed and more of the sciences were included. As a result, the schools became public in name only and were attended pretty much by upper class and middle class boys only.
* Children of the upper and middle classes were taught at home by governesses or tutors until they were old enough to attend public schools.
* Public schools were important for sons of well-off or aspiring families because schools gave them the opportunity to establish connections which could later help them out in their careers.
* Most of the boys that attended these schools went off to Cambridge and Oxford and then later on to Parliament.
* George Osborne was not of the upper classes but he interacted a lot with them and it was a possibility for a gain in status.
* A lot of emphasize was placed on athletic games. They oftentimes even took precedence over the learning of Greek and Latin. Being a sportsman reaffirmed a man's leadership.
The Lower Classes
* Boys of the lower classes were excluded from attending the “public” schools of England because they did not fit into what was expected of the boys that attended those schools.
* The boys attending the public schools were most often than not of well to do families, which meant they would be well-dressed, well-mannered boys.
* Boys from the lower classes did not have the same upbringing and as a result did not fit into the public schools instead they attended what were often referred to as Ragged Schools.
Purposes of Education
* For the upper classes, the purpose of an education was to raise gentlemen and prepare them for prestigious appointments in Parliament or government.
Gender, social status, and the region in which a child lived determined how much schooling a child would receive and where and how they would get it. Children of the upper class were either taught in private schools or by a tutor. They were taught reading, writing, prayers, and simple math ("Education") . They were taught using repetition from the Bible, a religion-based reading supplement called a primer, and/or a paddle-shaped (also religious) horn book ("Schooling"). The upper-class boys were taught more advanced academic subjects, and may have been sent to boarding school in England or another state. The girls were taught to assume the duties of a wife and mother and obtained basic knowledge so they could read the Bible and record expenses ("Education"). While the south had very few laws for education because of its population, the middle and northern colonies (and then states) had established guidelines for their citizens. Pennsylvania's Law of 1683 set a monetary penalty for any parent whose children could not read and write by age twelve, and who were not taught a useful trade. By 1642 the northern colonies had already mandated a public education or apprenticeship for children, one grammar school for towns with more that one-hundred families, and an elementary school for towns with more than fifty.
Like most young men in this time he attended private schools and was provided with the ...
The compulsory attendance act of 1852 enacted by the state of Massachusetts was the first general law attempting to control the conditions of children. The law included mandatory attendance for children between the ages of eight and fourteen for at least three months out of each year, of these twelve weeks at least six had to be consecutive.
Education in the colonial era was highly dependent on the financial prosperity of individual families. Most could not afford to send their children to school, however wealthier families could afford to send their daughters to primary school to learn basic skills including the alphabet, reading, writing, and womanly chores such as sewing and knitting. Boys had the opportunity to further their education past the basics; however, young girls often were not granted this privilege. Women possessing higher education were often considered unusual. This was detrimental to their likelihood of finding a suitable husband.
Burghardt Du Bois). Schooling was a huge thing back in the days, many did not or rarely went to
The Education system of England and Wales underwent a number of important changes since 1944. This essay seeks to concentrate on these major changes describing the rationale and impact they had on the British education system.
Men in the upper class had jobs of high ranks and involved less manual work. Occupations of these high ranks would be in the possession of men that were considered Gentlemen. In the Victorian Era, jobs of high skill or importance would qualify men to be a gentlemen. (Victorian Web.) David Cody, in “The Gentlemen” specifies that some of these jobs would be clergymen for the church, parliament members and army officers.
They are overwhelmingly nonwhite and exceptionally poor, which stands out forcefully from the well off overwhelmingly white rural schools right alongside them (Kozol 74). He constrains his choices to poor inner city schools as opposed to incorporating examples of every single poor school in light of the fact that he feels that they best display racial isolation and social class divisions. He states that even though many schools can be “diverse” with different cultures and ethnicities, segregation occurs through different programs that are provided in
One Victorian sentiment was that a civilized individual could be determined by her/his appearance. This notion was readily adopted by the upper classes and, among other things, helped shape their views of the lower classes, who certainly appeared inferior to them. In regards to social mobility, members of the upper classes may have (through personal tragedy or loss) often moved to a lower-class status, but rarely did one see an individual move up from the abysmal lower class. Although poverty could be found almost anywhere in Victorian London (one could walk along a street of an affluent neighborhood, turn the corner, and find oneself in an area of depravity and decay), most upper-class Londoners, who tended to dwell in the West End, associated the East End with the lower class.
The upper class represented themselves with rich, opulent and luxurious surroundings. They had large mansions, fast cars and modern technology which they showed off at large, elaborate parties.
“Aunt Addie, her youngest child, had just finished the Seventh-Day Adventist religious school in Huntsville, Alabama” (Wright 104). Richard’s Aunt Addie was smart and had a very strong education. She taught a religious school that Richard attended for a while. She was favored by her mom, Richard’s grandmother, which caused him to be unaccepted because she would turn her mom against Richard. Richard’s aunt was educated so she had high expectations for Richard's education. “Already my personality was lopsided; my knowledge of feeling was far greater than my knowledge of fact. Though I was not aware of it, the next four years were to be the only opportunity for formal study in my life” (Wright 123). Even though Richard became academic he was more street smart. Richard faced the issues with society when he was very young, so he learned his ways around the streets. Since Richard was more street smart then educated it left him ostracized because Aunt Addie told her mom. RIchard being more street smart isn’t rebellious because it comes in handy for him. In addition to having a contrasting mindset than his family Richard was also ostracized because of his lack in
The intellectual culture expressed in literature and education was for the Americans to receive the basic reading level skills. In 1647 Massachusetts established a law, which required each town to support a public school. Others who did not support public schools, had church schools and “dame”, or private classes in the instructor’s house. Even though this does not sound familiar, people of the white race were the only ones to receive education, especially white males. Men had a higher degree of literacy than females, but Americans had a higher rate of literacy than most European
Money was very tight in Victorian Britain, and it was hard to live if you didn’t have money, and most families did. So their children enslaved the day away working for the factories, or the farms for no pay. Families who couldn’t afford their child’s needs sold them for money to support themselves and watched their child work. If you got to go to school you learned the basic subjects similar to what is taught today, reading, writing, and math, but besides subjects they did punishments way different and it is what we would consider abuse, if children talked or did something wrong, there was no warnings it was a hit to the head and not with a hand, with a wooden ruler. Other punishments included writing sentences and the corner of shame. In 1870 child labor was somewhat banned, and every child 5 years of age and older was required to receive a basic education. Hopefully now you understand how easy our lives are today and how lucky we are to have a good opportunity to receive
An accurate definition found in the Encyclopedia of American Education (1996) states: “Any elementary or secondary school under control of elected or appointed civil authority, supported entirely by public tax monies, and, with few exceptions, open to all students in a designated district, free of any tuition charges.” (780) These include elementary, secondary schools and vocational schools. Public schools are a good choice in education because they provide a wide variety of subjects to study, are diverse in their student body, available to everyone, yet can sometimes be misunderstood. Imagine sitting in a class, completely bored out of your mind. This is not difficult considering everyone has taken a class like this somewhere along the road of their education.
Study/education improves the development of a society hence the need for educated individuals to occupy significant position in order to improve such society.