The early church provides a unique look at the development of a system of religious education fairly recently in history. With the death of the apostles, believers who were still alive had to face the reality of two major problems.

1. What do we do with our children in terms of their education?
2. How do we educate people who want to join the church?

The answers to these two questions intersect in many ways. This post will examine education in the early church.

Education of Children

The education of children was a problem for the early church. Children needed an education but state-run schools were not really an option. The reason has to do with the difference in philosophy of Christian education and state education.

Christian education is focused on character development and being prepared for eternity. In contrast, state education is focused on skill development and the here and now as eternity is often not a concern. As a result of this, Christians did not consider state-controlled schools as an option for their children.

In addition, it was common for state-led schools to mix Roman worship with education and for the Christians this was unacceptable. It is also important to realize that Christians were frequently persecuted as atheists during this time so it was impossible to go to school when one’s life was in danger.

The solution to this was the one that the Jews used, which was homeschooling. The focus of the child’s training was to develop a trust in the Christian God. By keeping the child at home he or she was protected from the influence of the world for a time. This led to a simplicity of taste that non-Christians found bewildering.

The Bible was the sole book for most children. The stories within it served as nursery tales. Scripture was memorized and the Bible was even used for learning to read.

With the focus on character development and a sense of morals, Christian education was vastly different from the education of other societies. Even without the focus on the classics and even technical training Christians were a spectacle to the world at this time. In terms of the results of this education among women one heathen author exclaimed “What wives these Christians have” indicating his awe in how these people conducted themselves.

Catechetical Schools

As the church grew, it became difficult to address the needs of new members. In particular, there were concerns over how to prepare prospective members for church membership. One answer to this problem was the development of Catechetical schools which were a place for prospective and current members to receive training in Christian beliefs.

For people considering baptism, the training could last anywhere from a few months to as long as three years. The curriculum consisted of learning the Ten Commandments, Lord’ Prayer, other parts of scripture, and as well as a confession of faith.

For people who were already Christian, they could receive advanced training that would prepare them for ministerial work as a teacher or leader. Some of the subjects covered for believers included philology, rhetoric, math, and philosophy.

The most prominent of these schools was found in Alexandria, Egypt. For several centuries after this,  Alexandria has a powerful influence on the Christian church.

Conclusion

The purpose of education is to meet the needs of the people in the context in which it is needed. The Early Christian Church had the dilemma of having to be separate from the world while still developing skills needed to survive in it. This led to the development of the homeschool for children and the Catechetical School for new converts.

The Roman Empire was around in one form or another for over 1,000 years. To attempt to try and cover the educational approach of an empire over such a long period is not practical in a blog post. Instead, certain key ideas will be highlighted to provide a brief picture.

Background

The Romans had a war-like spirit due in part to the context in which they found themselves. They were surrounded by enemies on all sides and had no choice but to fight for their survival. This war context influence education in that the Romans were focused on a practical utilitarian education for their children. This is in stark contrast to the aesthetic education of the Greeks who loved beauty for beauty sake.

Another unique characteristic of Roman society was the status given to women. Women in Roman culture were often viewed as Queens of the Household and wielded tremendous power behind their husbands.

What they Taught

The Romans taught the same basic subjects of many other ancient cultures. Some of the subjects included reading, writing, math. grammar, poetry. However, due to their practical nature, the early Roman empire did not have a strong aesthetic culture. This came later as Rome began to absorb and imitate Greek life.

How Learning was Organized

Education was divided into three main stages of life. The first stage lasted from birth until about the age of 7 and was under the mother. Basic life skills were taught and not too much in terms of academics. Later, the mothers would reject this responsibility and leave their children in the care of a pedagogue but this did not happen until Rome began to decline.

From ages 7-12 a child went to elementary school and studied under a literature. Being a literator was often viewed negatively as someone who had failed in life. Therefore, primary education was full of washed up men. Corporal punishment was common as well and stern discipline was instilled.

From age 12-16 a boy would receive advanced training under a literatus. Unlike the primary teacher, the literator, the literatus was highly respected and could earn a great deal of money from his occupation.

At the age of 16, a boy was considered an adult and would pursue his life work which could be anything such as agriculture, law, politics, military, etc. were some of the many options available.

Conclusion

Roman education was focused on what was necessary to improve the practical life of the people. There quest for conquered lands help them to spread their influence over the entire planet.  Therefore, Rome is remembered for their sense of independence that is still remembered until this day.

In many ways, Athens is the home of Western thinking. Countless philosophers were either from Athens or at least spent time there. In this post, we will take a look at education in Ancient Athens.

Background

Athens is located in Central Greece and during antiquity had a population of about 500,000 with about 80% of this population being slaves. This huge disparity between freemen and slaves makes it more amazing that a population of only 100,000 could contribute so much to history.

Generally, slaves and women were not educated. It was considered embarrassing for women to obtain an education. It was the father’s responsibility to educate his son for usefulness.  Failure to do so meant the father forfeited whatever support his son would give him in old age.

The government was shaped largely by Solon. As a democracy, Greece was revolutionary for its time. Solon also established other laws such as outlawing the selling of children and requiring fathers to train their children.

What they Taught

The Athenian education was focused on aesthetics. The idea of beauty influenced everything that was taught.  Subjects taught in Ancient Athens included reading, writing, rhetoric, math, philosophy, music, and poetry. Music and poetry often worked together as poems were set to music. Music was viewed positively as a hobby but professional musicians were looked down on as common laborers.

Physical education was also rigorously taught as beauty was so important. Subjects include swimming, wrestling, running, jumping. One field of study that was often neglected was moral training. The Greek gods were not the best role models.

In place of morals, Greek boys were taught to be patriotic, respect religious rights, and generally to always strive to maintain a good appearance in public.

The teaching methods involved primarily transmission approaches. The teacher would read or say something and the student wrote it down. This was how most subjects were taught.

How they Organized Education

There were essential four levels of education in Ancient Greece. From 0-6 years of age, a boy was under domestic training under his mother or a nanny. Nannys were for the rich.

From 7-14 years of age, the boy was placed under a guardian called a pedagogue and sent to school. There he studied with private teachers the basics of education.

From 14-18 there was a split, the rich continue their education while the poor would branch off and focus on learning a trade from their fathers. For the rich, they would study more complex subjects such as philosophy or higher match. At 18 years of age, a boy would enter military service.

Conclusion

The education found in Ancient Athens was unique in its focus on aesthetics. However, there was at times an indifference to substance and there was almost no interest in moral development. However, educational systems have their flaws and even Ancient Athens is without exception in this regard.

With Ancient Greece there was a small city-state called Sparta. MAny today know of Sparta because of the movies that have been made of this war-like people. Spartan education was primarily a one about military training.

The reason for this emphasis on developing soldiers was due in part to the context in which the Spartans lived. In their own country, they were a minority with a large population of neighboring freeman and an even larger population of slaves. The only way in the Spartans minds to maintain power was through the use of strength. As such this was the focus of their education.

Background

The founder of the government of what makes up classical Sparta was Lycurgus. After spending time in Egypt Lycurgus came to Sparta and developed their constitution. Some of the practices he made lawe included the making all money out of iron to discourage greed and to require men to live in barracks together to encourage unity towards the military and state over the family.

By discouraging greed and familial affections Spartan men were focused on developing strength and military prowess almost to the exclusion of anything else. What else is there for a man to do when he cannot acquire wealth or enjoy his family?

One last point to mention is that children were seen as the property of the state. In a rather cruel way, weak children were eliminated at birth and only the strong were allowed to live. This further strengthens the idea of the state over family.

What They Learned

The training was primarily physical in nature. Young boys were taken from their homes at the age of 7 to live in the state barracks. Once there, they were given a minimum amount of clothes and food. The cold and hunger often compelled the boys to steal. Stealing was actually encourage as it taught stealth. However, being caught was punished severely because it indicated carelessness, which could prove deadly on the battlefield.

Gymnastics, wrestling, and the use of weapons were also emphasized. Despite the contradiction in encouraging stealing the Spartan education also strongly inculcated moral training as well. Boys were to control their appetites, respect the aged as well as their parents, and to be indifferent to suffering. It was considered shameful to lose control of one’s behavior in any way. This naturally discourages such behaviors as drunkness.

Unlike other ancient cultures, the Spartans loved music and spent a large of amount of free time developing this skill. Songs were frequently about war and brave acts.

Women also received an education and the focus was on the development of the physical nature.

How Were They Taught

Spartan boys were taught primarily by the senior citizens or the aged of the society. The old would spend time with the young boys. The common forms of instruction involved a question and answer format. This instilled a great deal of practical wisdom in the youth.

Another primary method of learning was imitation. Young people would learn simply through copying the actions and behaviors of the aged. This imitation of the aged rather than of other young people help Spartans to mature and develop a seriousness to them that would be hard to find in young people today.

COnclusion

The Spartans were a military culture with a strong state apparatus. Their educational system was developed to suppress the people around them in an attempt to maintain their own safety. This desire to survive contributed to a highly oppressive system from the viewpoint of an outsider but perhaps a saving grace for the Spartan.

Ancient Egypt is perhaps one of the oldest if not the oldest civilization on the planet. With a rich history dating several thousand years Egypt also had a reputation for education as well. This post will discuss education in Egypt with a focus on training by caste.

Background

Egypt was famous for their wisdom and architectural work. In terms of architecture, we are probably all familiar with the pyramids that are still standing after several thousand years. In terms of wisdom, Egypt was so highly regarded in the past that the Greeks sent several future philosophers and leaders to Egypt to study. Among those who went include Plato perhaps the greatest philosopher of all time, Lycurgus, the founder of Sparta, and Solon, the famous Athenian Statesman.

Egypt also had a strong caste system similar to India’s. There were essentially three classes. At the top were the priests, second, was the military, and the lowest classes was everybody else. The lowest class was also sub-divided into three subclasses of farmers/boatmen, then mechanics and tradesman, and lastly the herdsman, fishermen, and laborers. A person was born into their class and it was almost impossible to move from one to the other.

The priestly class was also exempt from taxes and owned as much as 1/3 of the land in Egypt. Their skills and training also commanded high salaries. Egypt was essentially a priests’ country in terms of status and privileges.

What They Study

The education an Egyptian received was heavily influenced by the caste they came from. The priest received the most extensive training. They studied philosophy, natural history, medicine, math, history, law, etc. With this training, a person from the priestly caste could be a physician, historian, surveyor, customs inspector, judge, counselor, etc.

Everyone else received a basic education depending on their occupation. Merchants learned how to read, write, and perform simple math. Tradesman only learned their trade from their parents.

The writing was also divided along class lines. THere were two types of writing systems. The Demotic style was for the masses while the Hieratic style was for the priestly class. The main difference between these two styles is the proportion of hieroglyphics used.

Two subjects commonly ignored in Egyptian education was gymnastics and music. Gymnastics was considered dangerous due to the risk of bodily harm. Music was considered to have an effminate influence on a man if studied to excess.

Conclusion

Ancient Egyptian was unique in terms of the dominance of the priestly class. The priest was allowed to study extensively while everyone else did not seem to enjoy the same access to education. This allowed the priest to wield tremendous informal power within Egypt and to quietly work behind the scenes to achieve goals