We live in a world where nearly every country expects children to reach at least a certain level of education. However, that was not always the case. History tells a different story, one that varied dramatically over the years.
There were times in history when children were only taught what they needed to survive. Weaver’s children learned to weave, and farmers taught their children how to tend crops, etc. All of their education came from experience. Even this statement varies depending on the location, as history books are quick to teach us.
Proper schools were not a thing in ancient Egypt. Children learned essential skills from their parents. Sometimes the wealthier families would hire scribes to teach, but it wasn’t as common as one might imagine.
For girls, things were not all that different in ancient Greece. They learned skills from their mothers – though it was much more common for them to have the opportunity to read and write. Meanwhile, the boys learned various subjects and lessons from a very early version of a school.
Looking at items history has left behind, it is easy to piece together how humanity passed down lessons. The Romans used wax-covered writing boards, and clay tablets have been discovered in the Middle East.
Following the fall of the Roman Empire, education took a drastic turn. The church took charge of education, and they would maintain a strong hold right up until the printing press made books more accessible to the general public.
It was the invention of the printing press that allowed for a revolution in the education sector. Now children and adults around the world had easy access to all sorts of materials and thoughts. Furthermore, this easy way of communication allowed for the creation of curriculums, forming certain expectations for who should be learning what and when.
From that point, education has continued to change, sometimes slowly, other times at lightning speed. All to keep up with the changing ideas of humanity and the ever-increasing demands.
Most recently, digital technology has allowed education to take an entirely different shape. Without this technology, schools would not have continued during the pandemic that 2020 brought with it. While this is a larger example of what education technology can do, there are many other ways it has impacted our education.