Education Flashcards
What did pupils learn at the school of litterarius?
Pupils sat on wooden benches, holding their wax tablets on their knees. From dawn until mid-afternoon they practised writing, chanted the alphabet, and sung their multiplication tables for hours on end.
Who educated a boy until the age of 7?
He was put under the care of a Greek slave called a paedogogas. This man was responsible for the behaviour and appearance of the 7 year old boy, as well as teaching him Greek.
What comment did Martial make about teachers in the Litterarius?
‘You rascally schoolmaster…you shatter the silence with your savage threats and cruel blows’
What stage of education came after the Litterarius?
If children aged 14 were wealthy enough, they went onto the Grammaticus.
What did pupils learn at the Grammaticus?
They read and analysed the great works of Greek and Latin literature. The students were required to read aloud and learn long passages by heart.
How were the skills learned at the Grammaticus useful to students?
Studying famous works gave them access to philosophy , medicine, poetry and drama. Exercises in speech making, which formed the final part of the Grammaticus stage were of practical value in the future.
What did students not study in the Grammaticus?
Since so much time was spent in literature, there was little time for history, geography and mathematics.
What was the final stage of Roman education?
The Rhetor
Who would study at the Rhetor?
Young men from very wealthy families, aged 16.
What was studied at the rhetor?
The rhetoric - the art of public speaking.
The exercises involved writing speeches praising famous men or characters in history (Suasoria), composing attacks on Rome’s enemies, or arguing for/ against a particular view.
What about the girls?
Fathers did not worry about the education of their daughters.
Those from rich families would have learned reading and writing alongside the boys at the litterarius, but then their education would be continued at home. At home, girls would have learned Greek and Latin literature under the care of a tutor. They also learned needlework, singing, dancing, as well as learning to run the household and directing the slaves.
How did Roman boys write?
Whilst in school, boys would have practised in wax tablets, set in wooden boards. The stylus (pen), made from metal or bone, would be used for writing, with the blunt end being used for wiping words out, so the wax could be continually used.
Later in ink, made from soot, would be used - this on was called a calamus, and paper made from Egyptian papyrus reeds would be used. The calamus often had a spoon end for mixing ink.
Why were these schools not fondly remembered?
Teachers at this level were very poorly paid. Any room could be used as a classroom, and some were situated right by noisy streets or at the back of shops.
Teachers could also be very violent.
