Our
children – actually our
grandchildren – are now out of school for the year, having achieved another
level of education and hopefully with great success. With respect to our
grandchildren, how could it be otherwise!
Anyway,
it got me thinking about what children are taught today versus what was in the
curriculum a century or more in the past.
Our
system in Canada is based largely on the models developed in Britain, modified
to fit our unique nationalism and geography, of course. In England, the modern,
nationally-based educational system really only dates back to the latter part
of the 19th century.
It
developed gradually due to pressures from the middle class who saw education
and formal training, outside of apprenticeships, as being mandatory to secure
the future of their children. Compulsory apprenticeship was abolished in 1814. Previously,
schools, particularly higher grades were available only to the well off. Child
labour was still common well into the late 1800s as working-class families
needed the extra revenue from their children’s jobs to sustain them.
Religious
differences also played a role in the building of a consensus regarding public
education as various groups sought to have their own beliefs included as part
of the curriculums being taught to their children. The established Church of
England in many ways controlled schooling through enrollment to accreditation
of teachers.
The
Education Act of 1870 (Forster Act)
established the national, nondenominational, education system, running parallel
with private schools which usually aligned with specific religious groups.
School attendance was made compulsory to age 10 years. In 1893 that was raised
to 11 years, and later to 13.
The
basic curriculum in the 18th century involved teaching children to
read and then to learn the catechism. Some schools included Latin and Greek
classes, as they related to Biblical writings. In 1840 the Grammar Schools Act resulted in the addition of science and
literature courses.
A
National Curriculum, prescribing what was to be taught in the
government-sponsored schools, was not introduced until 1988. It has two
objectives: “to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and to achieve”;
and “to promote pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and
prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of
life.”
1 English is not statutory in Key Stage
1 in Welsh-medium schools in Wales
2 New Computing curriculum replaced Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) in schools (computing is now counted as a
science in EBACC).
3 ICT is not statutory at KS4 in Wales
or Northern Ireland.
4 Simply "Foreign Languages"
at KS2.
The
addition of Computing as a major course of study is certainly indicative of the
modern world. What might be of concern is the absence of the subject of History
for older age groups as well as any emphasis on music and the arts.
To
get back to Canada – over the past century our educational system has developed
and expanded to match the technology and demands of our society.
I
thought it would be interesting to compare the high school curriculums, if not
the actual marks, in schools members of my family attended over several
generations. It would tell us how (well) we were/are educated as well as what
we were/are good at.
My
father excelled in math and science. Being educated in a rural school he took
subjects that dealt with the local environment such as agriculture that we city
kids never knew about. He was an average to an above average student in
History, English and French. The sheet below shows the province-wide subject
list, however, many options were not offered in the country schools. He went on
to a technical school instead of finishing grade 12.
My
final reports cards in high school, in fact pretty much all through school,
were letter graded, except for the final marks based on written, province-wide,
departmental examinations: basically starting at Ds for abject failure (below
40%) and moving up to As for exceptional work (65% to 79%) and Hs (80% or
higher) for honours achievements.
By
the time I was in high school (30 years after my father), in the city, we had
options for music and typing. Physical Education was also emphasized. My marks
paralleled my Dad’s, with my strengths also in Math and Science.
Our son, according to one teacher in grade 10, was “a natural athlete with a super
attitude.” He got the attitude from his mother! He was also educated from
Kindergarten through grade 12 in French Immersion, meaning he took all his
courses, except for English, in the French language. We thought that particular
program was exceptional in the public system and we also believed being fluent
in a second language would be of great benefit to him down the road. And it
was!
His
marks were much like mine and my father’s, with a talent for Math and Science
as well, and having a little less interest in the Arts and Social Sciences. He
was, alas, never a musician but he did learn to dance.
Our daughter also excelled at school and, again with better results in Math and
Science. Curiously she did very well in Accounting courses but she would tell
you today she understands little about the subject.
My
grandchildren are super-sharp students. How could they be otherwise with this
pedigree?
Only one has reached high school level, so we don’t have too much to
compare with yet. His
strengths lie in many areas: Music, Social Studies, English and Science but he
does very well in Mathematics, French and Woodworking, another option available
in today’s schools.
It’s
hard to compare exactly what the content is in each of the subjects over the
years. There has been much advancement in the sciences that schools have tried
to keep up with. I know from hiring people and seeing current writing examples
over the past few decades that the level of accomplishment in using the English
language has declined. At the same time use and understanding of technology has
increased significantly. My grandchildren have used devices for years that
baffle us.
These
are signs of the times, though, not measures of intellectual capacity. Had my
father owned a computer in the 1930s, I am sure he would have been a whiz at
using it. His post-secondary education at the Coyne Electrical School in 1936 (blog 24 March
2015)
is evidence he understood the latest technology for his time.
Currently
our local public school board says this about High School Success: “In the
increasingly independent setting of high school, students explore new ideas,
develop additional interests, build relationships, and pursue their goals. All
of our high schools work together to give students more flexibility in
accessing various programs and courses across our system.” That’s pretty much
what schools have always tried to do and be so it is not really all that
helpful. What we hope and expect is that they will turn out well-rounded people
capable of independent thinking.
What
that seems to mean to many of us in the “older” generation is that they think
the students can teach themselves and progress at their own rate – rather than always actually receive direct instruction from teachers. they seem to less insistent on getting feedback by way of assignments and
exams that measure what they have learned. There is no doubt that the
subject matter has grown exponentially but the goal of public education should
be still to teach the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, so that
students learn to communicate and are able move forward with confidence in
their field of choice.
For
genealogists learning about how their ancestors were educated might go a long
way to explaining their life choices, or controls. It’s worth investigating.
Wayne
Shepheard is a volunteer with the Online Parish Clerk program in
England, handling four parishes in Devon, England. He has
published a number of articles about various aspects of genealogy in various
family history society journals. Wayne also provides genealogical consulting
services through his business, Family History Facilitated
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