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Victorian Education

Page history last edited by wikiuser9 15 years ago

Victorian Education

Children of the working class in Victorian Age England did not recieve any major form of education. The early ninteenth century did not offer any kind of organized education. Recieving an education was not free. Schools were financed by private individuals, churches, charitable organizations and businesses. The cost was between one and nine pence per child, per week. After the Education Act, schools obtained assistance through government grants. By the middle of the ninteenth century, approximatly 2/3 of all working class children between the ages of 5 and 15 were attending Sunday school.

Classrooms

The Victorian classroom was small, dark and warmed by a single stove or open fire. The walls in most cases were bare, with the exception of an embroidered text or blackboard. Students were taught the basics, reading, writing and arithmetic. Females did not receive the same education as a male student as a female would most certainly marry and raise a family. Classes would usually take place between the hours of 9:00 A.M. - 12:30 P.M. and resume again at 2:00 P.M. until 4:30 P.M. Children who lived within a short walking distance usually went home for lunch; the others brought their lunch and remained at school. The schoolhouse was usually one room with one fire in the back. School houses rarely had windows. If there were windows, they were placed high on te wall to prevent students from gazing outside during school hours.

Victorian classroom (49573 bytes)

Lessons

Lessons focused on the three "r's": reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic. Lessons ranged from 20 to 30 minutes. In time for the weekend a student would have spent approximately 3.5 to 4.5 hours on reading, 4-6 hours on arithmetic and 4-5 hours on spelling and diction. Before books a freestanding blackboard was a substitute. Writing materials consisted of sand trays, slates, and later copy books. "Object" was a teaching method used to teach science. An object, natural or man-made is brought into the class and the lesson revolves around it. Another teaching tool was the abacus which was used to teach arithmetic. Its beads slide up and down on "rods" which are divided horizontally by a "reckoning bar" or "beam". The rods going from left to right are Ten thousands, Thousands, Hundreds, Tens, Ones, Tenths, Hundredths, Thousandths and Ten thousands.

Abacus by opalpics.

Students

Many children in early Victorian England never went to school at all and more than half of them grew up unable even to read or write. Although some did go to Sunday schools which were run by churches. Children from rich families were luckier than poor children. Nannies looked after them, and they had toys and books. A governess would teach the children at home. Then, when the boys were old enough, they were sent away to a public school such as Eton or Rugby. The daughters were kept at home and taught singing, piano playing and sewing. Slowly, things changed for poorer children too. By the end of the Victorian age all children under 12 had to go to school. Now everybody could learn how to read and write, and how to count properly.

For the more rich and blessed children, there were tutors who would either come to the child's house, or the child would come to their house. Many children, after being tutored until the age of 12, would leave home for a different school that catered to large pocketbooks. However some took a tutor throughout their entire schooling.

Children learned to write on slates, they scratched letters on them with sharpened pieces of slate. Paper was expensive, but slates could be used again and again. Children were supposed to bring sponges to clean them. Most just spat on the slates, and rubbed them clean with their sleeves. Older children learned to use pen and ink by writing in "copybooks". Each morning the ink monitor filled up little, clay ink wells and handed them round from a tray. Pens were fitted with scratchy, leaking nibs, and children were punished for spilling ink which "blotted their copybook". Teachers also gave dictation, reading out strange poems which the children had to spell out correctly.

Slates and Copybooks

Children learned to write on slates, they scratched letters on them with sharpened pieces of slate. Paper was expensive, but slates could be used again and again. Children were supposed to bring sponges to clean them. Most just spat on the slates, and rubbed them clean with their sleeves. Older children learned to use pen and ink by writing in “copybooks”. Each morning the ink monitor filled up little, clay ink wells and handed them round from a tray. Pens were fitted with scratchy, leaking nibs, and children were punished for spilling ink which “blotted their copybooks”. Teaches also gave dictation, reading out strange poems which the children had to spell out correctly. This picture shows some of the basic tools that are needed on a normal school day. There are chalk pads becuase they didn't use paper to practice their basic courses. The children practiced their letters and math facts. After students could write letters and read word they would move on to reading. In most cases they would read the bible.

Teachers

Typical Victorian Era teachers were very strict. often, their students were afraid of them. they had "pupil teachers" who were children as yound as thirteen who helped their teacher control the class. they took notes for the teacher and recieved certificates which helped them qualify as teachers when they got older. In schools before 1850 you would see just one teacher instructing a class of over 100 children with help of pupils called “monitors”. The teacher would quickly teach these monitors, some of them as young as nine, who then tried to teach their classmates.

Salaries were low, and there were more women teaching than men. Some people taught only because they were too ill to do other jobs, not because of their passion for teaching children. The poor conditions in schools simply made their health even worse. Sometimes, teachers were attacked by angry parents. They shouted that their children should be at work earning money, not wasting time at school. Teachers in rough areas had to learn to box!

Punishments

Students who misbehaved badly were punished a lot more harshly than the punishments today. There were a veriety of things that students did to receive punishments; Throwing ink pellets, talking back, missing Sunday prayer sessions, leaving the courtyard without permission, being tardy to class and sulkiness. Childern were whacked with a awooden cane, if they misbehaved. Girls were whacked along thier bare lefgs or acress thier hands, while boys were beaten across their bottoms. If students did not catch on to thier required work then they had to stand on a stool in the corner and had a large triangular cap placed on their head. they had to wear an arm band that read 'dunce' and a large 'D' was written on the hat. The main reason for the dunce cap was to punish children for 'not trying hard enough'. Teachers did not believe that all student learned at different paces and in different ways.

Rewards

Student participated in a PE class better known as 'Drill'. In this class, the teacher would play an out of tune piano, and the children would have ot lift weights and jog to the rythm of the horrendous music. PE wasn't the only break that students had, they had time to play out on the playground. Most students ran and played with their friends while others went to the butcher shop, asked for a pig bladder and blow it up and play a form of football with it. While some children did physical activities, others played board games or spun homemade tops.