The Role f Education to a More Cultivated Youth - Essay Example

Running Head: Aim Of Education Aim of Education of the of the Aim of Education Many changes took place in the Education system in Early-Modern Britain. This paper will firstly discuss the changes to the form οf education, how education has moved away from the exclusive realm οf private tutorage towards grammar schools and akin. This paper will delve into the role οf education and the achievement οf a more cultivated youth. The paper will discuss the nature οf education and how it evolved into an education with a more practical curriculum via a humanistic education. Finally it will discuss the changes to the availability οf education to larger segments οf the population in Early Modern Britain. There were many forms οf education that evolved in Early Modern Britain. The education system that existed in that time period departed from those that existed in medieval Britain. At the start οf Early-Modern Britain, schooling was very limited in its form. Education was not as widespread as it was towards the end οf the period. Education was normally limited to the Royalty and Nobility. Not through legislation but the expense οf private tuition and lack οf other established educational institutions. Private tutors were the educators οf British Society in Medieval times. Tutors were academics that taught children in their homes. Tutors sometimes lived with their students and became tutor-companions οf the students. This mode οf education was clearly out οf reach to a large proportion οf the population. The other previous form οf limited education was related to the religious orders οf the time, within monasteries. This was very limited due to the numbers that the church could take and provide employment for. With the ever-increasing demand for a more educated society, changes had to occur. After a time several other types οf schooling established themselves in British Society. At the start οf Early-Modern Britain there were several modes οf schooling developing. These included groupings such as Independent Schools, Song Schools and alas, grammar schools. Independent schools for example had a single headmaster that ran classes from his own home and drew his students from the local community. Some Headmasters ran boarding schools that were designed for students to live and study in. These forms οf schools deviated from the previous form οf education, the private tutor. Endowed schools arose from several communities and towns. The municipal councils often sponsored these endowed schools. This sometimes allowed for free or subsidised education for all young boys (and some girls) who lived in the community. Young girls however, were seldom taught in the town in which they lived. The purpose οf the education was to train future workers and leaders οf the town. Such towns and communities believed that a good education would lead to a benefit to the community in the long term, without this education, their younger citizens would develop vices that would lead to the ruin οf the community to which they belong. The development οf Community Sponsored education in Early-Modern Britain brought about an increase in the availability οf education to Education in Britain, A topic that will be discussed later in the paper. The role οf education in Early-Modern Britain had developed and diverged over time. For parents and communities to invest in their children, there had to be more a more practical curricula that taught what was needed for a future profession. For the scholars οf the time, it was a chance to expose the youth to a greater array οf knowledge. Plumb (1975: 69) believes that the face οf education is changing towards one οf necessity and future occupation. "Never the less no-one can read through the hundreds οf advertisements in the provincial press for private schools.... Without realising the emphasis on education has changed. Its aim was social, to equip the child with accomplishments that would secure for it gainful employment". Its is clear that after some time, schools in Early Modern England recognised the needs οf the community and the need for a more practical curricula. Charlton (1982: 260) believes that "The value systems οf the community had diverged and this divergence tended to be confirmed through the medium οf education. Whereas the gentry were groomed for leadership, the son οf a shopkeeper was groomed to make his own living". The role οf education was to teach the youth desirable qualities, to train young minds to be obedient and productive. To create a more civil and virtuous society in which the nation may prosper. As quoted by (Clark, 1948: 250) John Milton stated that the goals οf grammar schools was to have, "constant and sound indoctrinating to set them right and firm, instructing them more amply in the in knowledge οf virtue and the hatred οf vice." ODay (1982: 75) further states, "The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries certainly represent a milestone in the attempt to school society. Many Englishmen believed that, by a deliberate effort, expressed through an academic curriculum new generations could be fitted for society." From this we can clearly draw the connection between education and societal indoctrination. It is now clear that the role οf education in Early Modern Britain was an attempt to create a better society through the curriculum developed through the forms οf schools now developing. With the divergence οf fields and schools οf education in Early-Modern Britain the very nature οf the education provided to students changed to reflect their future occupational needs. Those οf the elite wished to push education in a direction that would benefit the society, as well as the status quo. The status quo was important to law makers and the hierarchy. Thus becoming an added incentive for the state to encourage education. A greater emphasis on Classical and Christian Education resulted, through the belief that a more rounded and cultured student would be the result. ODay (1982: 25) states, "There did however emerge a movement for the schooling οf society. Renaissance scholars saw in education on classical lines a way to improve society. John Colet and others were convinced that virtue could be restored to civic and religious life through the medium οf a progressive Christian, classical Curriculum." It is obvious that the scholars οf the day wanted to change the current face οf education. A more practical and beneficial curricula for future students would be produced for the betterment οf society. John Colet went on to establish St Pauls Grammar school in 1509; it became a model οf future grammar schools in the next century and beyond. Other great scholars such as John Brinsley discussed in his books at lengths, the methods and results οf such an education, (ODay, 1982: 48) "If children did not learn profitable things in their early years, they would certainly learn bad things, which would have to be unlearned at great cost. Schooling at an early age would keep children out οf bad company." Scholars such as Brinsley were οf the belief that a more humanistic education would result in the prevalence οf a more moral and productive society. John Locke pleaded for a broader curriculum. He believed education should fit man for society as well as equipping him for society. (Grendler, 1990: 68). A more humanistic approach to schooling was developing. It was not only what was taught but the development οf the student as a person. Roger Ascham, a scholar in Early Modern Britain, was οf the belief that the core οf a stable education was the instilment οf a strict code οf behaviour and a firm basing in the tongue οf Latin. (Ascham, 1863: 7) attempts to illustrate that the mastery οf Latin leads to the mastery οf eloquent speech and reason. "I wish to have them speak so, as it may well appeare, that the braine doth govern the tonge, and the reason leadeth forth the talke." Education was not only designed to laden the student with facts and figures but the cultivation οf the individual through social etiquette and behaviour. It can be seen through Roger Aschams works, that a more humanistic and classical education was now developing in Early Modern Britain. With the establishment οf St Pauls Grammar school the new curricula οf education was taking root in the British Education system. The change in availability οf education in Early Modern Britain is quite evident. As stated previously private tutors and monasteries were the main educators οf Medieval Britain. The pure cost οf a private education was too great for the majority οf the population. Only Royalty, Nobility and perhaps a few rich merchants could afford the costs associated with a resident tutor in the household. The other avenue οf education, via monasteries, was also very limited. The clergy dominated the education scene due to the nature οf their work and the needs οf their occupation, thus further limiting access. (ODay, 1982: 25) states, "For Centuries academic learning had been the preserve οf the clergy and the potential clergy because only the clergy needed an advanced literacy for their work." ODay further states, " Institutionalised, academic education was reserved for members οf the clerical estate." With the advent οf printing and the development οf related technologies, information could be more affordably passed on through books. As these books became more affordable, the costs οf schooling decreased. Another factor was the increasing availability οf texts and great works that previously had to be hand written at great expense. More and more students were exposed to the works that were once only available to the most gifted and wealthy οf scholars. With the printing press coming to the forefront, replacing the costly traditions οf handwritten work, Students were exposed to more and more works οf art. (Marin et al., 1982: 19) states, "The predominant feature οf the new period was that the monasteries were no longer the sole producers οf books οf all kinds." Marin further states in the next paragraph that, "Intellectual life was now centred outside the monasteries, and it was in the universities that scholars, teachers and students, working in co-operation with artisans and craftsmen, organised an active book trade." With alternative sources οf texts, the information was now more readily transferable and schools could now afford to buy texts. The changing modes οf education also developed. Endowed schools arose from several communities and towns. The municipal councils often sponsored these endowed schools. This sometimes allowed for free or subsidised education for all young boys who lived in the community. With the advent οf a more practical curricula, towns and communities believed that a good education would lead to a benefit to the community in the long term, without this education, their younger citizens would develop vices that would lead to the ruin οf the community to which they belong. With the increasing forms available to townsfolk and alike, there was a greater ability to send their children to school. It is quite clear that education in Early-Modern Britain was undergoing some vast changes. With the establishment οf Grammar schools and akin, there was a growing availability οf education for those οf middle and lower class origin. As the student body increased, academics realised that there was a greater chance οf influencing society. A Christian and Classical Education was one οf the mains goals οf education in Early Modern Britain. Etiquette and the training οf young minds was the key to an enriched society. Finally, the availability οf education was more prevalent. With the British economy becoming more diverse and complex, demand for education was increasing. Artisans and Merchants, who could not previously bare the expense οf private tutorage, could now turn to other mediums οf education. Independent schools and alike could now provide a cost-effective alternative to private tuition. The rise οf Endowed schools also enabled those who could not afford to attend grammar schools to receive a free or subsidised education. These changes in Early Modern Britain allowed for a greater number οf students to be influenced by the new progressive curricula, and the establishment οf institutionalised schooling that we can still appreciate today. The changing roles οf the teacher Among the people with whom most teachers have professional relationships, several groups may be distinguished, which potentially have considerable influence upon the role οf the teacher. So, for this reason, the most appropriate way to begin would be by defining the 1988 Education Reform Act which has had an immense effect on the role οf the teacher in the modern era. It was the most important and far-reaching educational law-making for England and Wales since the Education Act οf 1944 and it altered the basic power structure οf the education system. Maclure (1992:1) describing this change says: "It increased the powers οf the Secretary οf State for Education and Science and it restored to the central government powers over the curriculum which had been surrendered between the wars and set up formal machinery for exercising and enforcing these powers and responsibilities. It also introduced important limitations on the functions οf the LEAs, who were forced to give greater autonomy to schools and governing bodies." The most obvious and striking aspect οf the new Act, which greatly changed the work οf teachers, was the establishment for the first time οf a prescribed national curriculum for all state schools from the age οf 5 upwards. Chitty (1999:30) explaining in detail this major change says: "The 1988 Act defined mathematics, English and science as core subjects with a second group οf foundation subjects which contained modern foreign language, technology, history, geography, art music and physical education. For most subjects the Act stated that there would be attainment targets for children aged seven, 11, 14 and 16." The second major change he described was the introduction οf a system οf school management known as local management οf schools and the third major change was the creation οf a new-tier οf schooling comprising city technology colleges (CTC) and grant maintained schools. Since, the introduction οf The National Curriculum together with the new testing and assessment procedures have had such a major influence on the role οf teachers, it would be most appropriate to discuss issues concerning these matters, first. The National Curriculum online describing the aims and objectives οf the National Curriculum say: "The National Curriculum lies at the heart οf our policies to raise standards. It sets out a clear, full and statutory entitlement to learning for all pupils. It determines the content οf what will be taught, and sets attainment targets for learning. It also determines how performance will be assessed and reported." The desirability or otherwise οf a centrally imposed National Curriculum is one issue, on which various groups have failed to reach agreement on as Chitty (1999:37) explains: "It can hardly be disputed that the original national curriculum consultation document, issued in July 1987, was greeted with a chorus οf disapproval on the part οf a large body οf teachers and educationists." Teachers now feel de-professionalised because the government prescribed not only the content but also how these subjects are to be taught. Woods and Jeffery (2002:95) elaborating on this point say that From a notion οf the good teacher based on personal qualities the emphasis is now on teacher competencies, such as subject expertise, coordination, collaboration, management and supervision. References Ascham, R., The scholemaster ed. John Mayor (London, 1863) Chitty, C (1999) The Education System Transformed Tisbury: Baseline Clark, D.L, John Milton at St. Pauls School (New York, 1948) . May 2003 Febvre, L. and H.J. Marin, the coming οf the book: the impact οf printing 1450 - 1800 (London, 1982) Grendler, P., Schooling in Western Europe Renaissance quarterly, 43 (1990) Maclure, S.(1992) Education Re-formed (3rd ed) London : Hodder and Stoughton: National Curriculum online (2005) What is the National Curriculum for England? [http://www.nc.uk.net/home.html] (05/01/2005) ODay, R., Education and society 1500 - 1800 - the social foundations οf education in early-modern Britain (London, 1982) Patterson, A., Censorship and Interpretation: The conditions οf writing and reading in early-modern England (Madison, 1984) Plumb, J.H, The new world οf children in 18th Century England. Past and Present, 67 (May, 1975), 64-93 Woods P.; Jeffrey B. (2002) The Reconstruction οf Primary Teachers Identities British Journal οf Sociology οf Education, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 89-106(18) Read More