A Fun Journey Through the History of Schools

Classrooms today are filled with technology, students of all ages, and a wide array of subjects, but have you ever wondered how schools looked centuries ago?

Let’s take a fun journey through the history of education and see how schools have evolved over time!

Ancient Greek Schools: Where Learning Meant More Than Books

Let’s start our journey in Ancient Greece, where education was about much more than just reading and writing. Greek boys began their schooling at the age of seven, learning to read, write, and recite poetry. Forget about notebooks—these students wrote on clay or wax tablets, and older students might have used papyrus for more advanced writing. Music was also a big part of their education. To be well-educated, one had to master an instrument like the lyre, often made from a tortoise shell!

Teaching Idea: Try Writing on Wax Tablets!

• Get children to create their own “wax tablet” using a small tray and some clay or playdough. They can then use a stick or a pencil to practice writing their name or a short poem. Imagine you’re in an ancient Greek school! Perhaps even create “benches” for the students to sit on and try doing simple maths questions on their tablets without having a table to lean on. Talk about how different this is from modern classrooms.

Physical education was equally important, especially in Sparta, where boys— even some girls—were trained in combat and endurance. In fact, Spartan girls enjoyed more educational opportunities than those in other Greek city-states, with state sponsored physical training until the age of 18. However, it’s important to note that education was still mostly reserved for the wealthy, and slaves had no access to education at all.

Teaching Idea: Spartan Training Challenge

• Head outside or to a gym and set up a mini obstacle course. Include activities like jumping, running, and climbing. Time children and see if they can improve their score, or make a competition out of it – just like a young Spartan in training!

The Medieval Classroom: Quills, Parchment, and Prayers

Now, let’s fast forward to the Middle Ages. Imagine stepping into a classroom during this time. Instead of desks and whiteboards, you’d find students sitting in chilly stone buildings, likely part of a church. Schools back then were all about religion. The church not only ran the schools but also controlled what was taught. Most of the students were from noble or wealthy families, as education wasn’t for everyone. If you were a peasant, your days were more likely spent in the fields than in a classroom.

These early schools were the guardians of knowledge, carefully copying ancient texts by hand and preserving them in their libraries. Public schools didn’t exist, and literacy was rare among the lower classes. Despite these limitations, these medieval classrooms laid the groundwork for the universities we know today.

Teaching Idea: Write Like a Medieval Monk

• Grab some feathers (or use a regular pen) and have the children try writing with it as if it were a quill. They can dip it in ink (or use paint) and practice writing out a quote or a short paragraph. See how neat they can make their handwriting.

The Birth of Universities: Breaking Free from the Church

Fast forward a few centuries to the 12th century, and education starts to change. Universities began to sprout up across Europe, gradually gaining independence from church control. The University of Bologna in Italy, founded around 1180, is one of the oldest, and it set the stage for other famous institutions like Oxford and Cambridge in England and Salamanca in Spain.

These universities were still primarily for the elite, but they represented a significant shift towards a broader and more secular education. The subjects taught expanded beyond religious studies to include law, medicine, and the arts, paving the way for the modern university system.

Teaching Idea: Create Your Own University!

• As a class, imagine you’re starting your own university. What subjects would you teach? Design a name and a logo for your university, and come up with a list of classes that students would take.

From Slate to Screen: The Evolution of School Supplies

Jumping ahead to the 19th and 20th centuries, students began using slates—small, tile-like pieces of stone that they wrote on with pencils. These were perfect for practicing maths or writing since they could easily be wiped clean and reused.

By the 1950s and 1960s, “dipping pens” were all the rage, with students dipping their pens into inkpots on their desks – an updated version of a quill pen! The invention of ballpoint pens and, eventually, computers revolutionize

Teaching Idea: Chalkboard Art Challenge

• Get some small chalkboards and some chalk. Get children to create a drawing or write a message as students did on slates years ago. Try doing maths problems or writing a short story—then erase and start again!

From Privilege to Public Education

It wasn’t until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that education became more widely accessible. In 1880, laws in many countries required children to attend school, and by 1918, most children were staying in school until they were 14 years old. This shift marked the beginning of modern public education systems, where schools were no longer just for the privileged but open to all.

Teaching Idea: School Through the Ages Collage

• Create a collage that shows the different types of schools and educational tools throughout history. You can use pictures from magazines, printouts from the internet, or your drawings. Label each part of your collage with the time period and what was used in schools at that time.

Full Circle: From Ancient Tablets to Modern Tablets

The story of schools took an unexpected twist in recent years. With the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the world were forced to adapt quickly. Suddenly, classrooms were no longer necessary, and education moved online. From writing on wax tablets in Ancient Greece to learning on modern tablets today, it feels like we’ve come full circle!

Just like the ancient Greeks adapted to using clay tablets, students today adapted to online learning on laptops and tablets, attending online classes from their own homes. The global shift to remote learning was a reminder of how resilient education can be. Who would have thought that after thousands of years of classroom learning, we’d return to a kind of virtual “home school”—only this time, with technology at our fingertips?

Teaching Idea: Tablets in the classroom

• As a class, discuss what benefits and drawbacks modern tablets have in modern schools. Make lists of the pros and cons – is there anything your class thinks was better about a classroom from history

A Never-Ending Journey

The history of schools shows us that education has always been a powerful tool for shaping society. From the well-rounded education of Ancient Greece to the religious teachings in medieval monasteries and the digital classrooms of today, the journey of education is ever-evolving. As we look to the future, who knows what the next chapter in the history of schools will bring?

Next time you pick up a tablet in class, just remember—you’re part of a long tradition that stretches back thousands of years. And who knows? Maybe one day, students will be learning about the “ancient” digital classrooms of 2024!