Roman Education
Roman Education was not mandatory for Roman children, in fact, school was considered a luxury, and only the high class Romans who could afford education sent their children to school. The reward of attending school was the ability to read and write, which was in high demand at the time. Someone who could read and write were at an advantage in the Roman society, and it was those people who were the most likely to become high ranked officials, senators, or candidates. It was common that only boys went to school and the girls stayed home, but if the girls wanted more education, a private tutor could be hired to teach the girls literature and womanly tasks such as singing. Those who could not afford to be sent to school, were sometimes taught by their mothers on the basics, but, since education was very important, some families payed anything to get their child sent to school.Here's a video clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p37Dk-aLLKQ
Primary Education:
This stage of education would have begun around the age of seven. Since the children were too young to know their way around the town and their family was occupied with the chores of the day, a paedagogus would usually escort the young children to the site of education. The school would have been relatively small with a limited number of classmates - those classmates consisted of the wealthy - and a teacher - the ludi magister. As for the location of the schooling, there was no designated building that was meant for schools, therefore, the class would be taught in public areas with no peace or silence to keep the minds of the children on the material. Subjects to be taught to Roman boys would include Latin, Greek, and math. To learn math, the children would learn on an abacus. The technique of the teachers to get their children to learn was by threatening and beating them if they misbehaved or answered a question incorrectly. Therefore, by fear, the children would eventually learn that if the came up with the correct answer, there would be no punishment. I found this fact interesting because in modern education, students are taught very slowly and with extreme patience, but as we can see, Roman education was very much forced.
Secondary Education:
During this stage of education, children would be around eleven years old and would have moved to a more formal school. This school would be run by the grammaticus who taught Greek and Roman literature as well as some history and geography. The focus of this stage of education dealt more with the analysis of famous poems, playwrights, and other famous works by well known writers as well as public speaking. Public speaking was very important to the Romans because in order to be recognized in Roman society, you had to have that quality of being able to speak your mind to the crowds of Romans who were willing to listen. The Roman students, by the end of this stage, would have a very great understanding of the Roman culture as well as the Greek's. The Romans have been learning so much from the Greeks' culture because most of the Roman Empire was based off of Greek ideals and way of life.
Tertiary Education and Beyond:
Beginning at the age of sixteen, a student would enter a school run by a rhetor who was also a very well educated student in the areas of Greek, literature, and public speaking. In this stage, a Roman student would perfect their public speaking skills and learn different ways to express their points of view in debates and arguments. These teachings were based off of the Greek oratory which was the Greeks' way of expressing and teaching the art of public speaking. By being able to speak in front of crowds, a Roman student could advance into political positions.
Having your Roman student being taught in a certain field of education such as science or math, required an extra tutor and a high expense cost. These subjects would have been helpful if the student wanted to pursue a job in the business or trading industry.
Materials:
While learning how to write, students would be given wax tablets. After that, children would be allowed to use tabulae - wooden tablets - and a stilus for informal writing and they would use papyrus rolls and quills to write for formal occasions. The Roman students did not have desks, but instead they used benches and the teacher sat in a tall stool looking down upon the class.
Holidays:
Romans were given many holidays: some on special occasions, religious holidays, village festivals, and market-days. Romans had a break from school from July to October when the weather was the hottest.
Primary Education:
This stage of education would have begun around the age of seven. Since the children were too young to know their way around the town and their family was occupied with the chores of the day, a paedagogus would usually escort the young children to the site of education. The school would have been relatively small with a limited number of classmates - those classmates consisted of the wealthy - and a teacher - the ludi magister. As for the location of the schooling, there was no designated building that was meant for schools, therefore, the class would be taught in public areas with no peace or silence to keep the minds of the children on the material. Subjects to be taught to Roman boys would include Latin, Greek, and math. To learn math, the children would learn on an abacus. The technique of the teachers to get their children to learn was by threatening and beating them if they misbehaved or answered a question incorrectly. Therefore, by fear, the children would eventually learn that if the came up with the correct answer, there would be no punishment. I found this fact interesting because in modern education, students are taught very slowly and with extreme patience, but as we can see, Roman education was very much forced.
Secondary Education:
During this stage of education, children would be around eleven years old and would have moved to a more formal school. This school would be run by the grammaticus who taught Greek and Roman literature as well as some history and geography. The focus of this stage of education dealt more with the analysis of famous poems, playwrights, and other famous works by well known writers as well as public speaking. Public speaking was very important to the Romans because in order to be recognized in Roman society, you had to have that quality of being able to speak your mind to the crowds of Romans who were willing to listen. The Roman students, by the end of this stage, would have a very great understanding of the Roman culture as well as the Greek's. The Romans have been learning so much from the Greeks' culture because most of the Roman Empire was based off of Greek ideals and way of life.
Tertiary Education and Beyond:
Beginning at the age of sixteen, a student would enter a school run by a rhetor who was also a very well educated student in the areas of Greek, literature, and public speaking. In this stage, a Roman student would perfect their public speaking skills and learn different ways to express their points of view in debates and arguments. These teachings were based off of the Greek oratory which was the Greeks' way of expressing and teaching the art of public speaking. By being able to speak in front of crowds, a Roman student could advance into political positions.
Having your Roman student being taught in a certain field of education such as science or math, required an extra tutor and a high expense cost. These subjects would have been helpful if the student wanted to pursue a job in the business or trading industry.
Materials:
While learning how to write, students would be given wax tablets. After that, children would be allowed to use tabulae - wooden tablets - and a stilus for informal writing and they would use papyrus rolls and quills to write for formal occasions. The Roman students did not have desks, but instead they used benches and the teacher sat in a tall stool looking down upon the class.
Holidays:
Romans were given many holidays: some on special occasions, religious holidays, village festivals, and market-days. Romans had a break from school from July to October when the weather was the hottest.