ancient schools. School of the past - the history of general education

A common phenomenon for most countries of the world is the system school education. The systems themselves may differ, but somehow basic education is no longer outlandish, as has been observed in some European countries as early as the beginning of the last century.

First schools

There is a theory that the first schools in the history of mankind appeared not for the sake of education, but in order to occupy the elderly and children - two categories of the population that were a burden on the able-bodied population. One of the proofs of this can be the value Greek word"schole", from which the word "school" is derived, which is available in a slightly modified form in many languages. "Schole" meant "to do something during leisure, to spend free time to be idle.

It is also believed that the emergence of schools is an attribute of the emergence of civilization. Already in ancient Egypt, the first schools appeared, since the literacy of people facilitated the functioning of the state apparatus. True, only the children of representatives of the upper classes had the opportunity to study in schools: the pharaoh, priests, officials, and only occasionally, for a large fee, the children of simpler people. Schools in ancient Egypt were located at temples.

AT Ancient Greece education and comprehensive development valued for themselves. A boy who had reached the age of seven was taken from his mother by his father into his own care and that of a teacher-slave (other Greek "teacher" - "leading / accompanying the child"). By the way, in ancient Greek schools there was already the first similarity school uniform. Young men aged 16-18 could continue their education in free gymnasiums, as well as in the schools of rhetoricians and philosophers. Mom taught girls how to manage household, but the training of the female did not end there. An educated ancient Greek girl had to be familiar with literature, be able to sing and dance (to participate in ritual holidays).

Pre-Petrine era

AT Ancient Russia at first there were schools, gradually turning into schools. For example, it is known about the existence of a school founded by Yaroslav the Wise in Novgorod in 1030. In ancient Russian schools of the 11th-15th centuries, they studied grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy (that is, seven free arts dating back to antiquity itself). Schools not only served as educational institutions, but were real centers of culture. They translated the works of foreign authors, rewrote manuscripts. The Mongol-Tatar invasion led to a decline in the level of education, and monasteries became the centers of education, that is, education from a predominantly secular turned mainly into a spiritual one.

A certain rise in the level of education began to be observed with the formation and strengthening of the Muscovite state. Literate people were required for the elementary functioning of the state apparatus. And after the Troubles, education was essential tool in political and ideological struggle. Then, in the 17th century, the Kiev-Mohyla Collegium was opened and, following its model, the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. From the middle of the same century, schools began to open in Moscow, working on the model of European grammar schools and allowed to receive a secular and theological education. By the way, in the pre-Petrine era, education did not have a class character.

B.M. Kustodiev. Zemstvo school in Moscow Russia

Standardization

Created a system vocational education in Russia, and from 1714 he obliged children of all classes, except peasants, to receive an education. True, under Peter, attention was paid to education in connection with the development of the army and navy, and the digital schools themselves, which were subordinate to the Admiralty College, were not popular with the population, so they were canceled in 1744. In general, the school education system in Russia XVIII century was scattered. Educational institutions differed in types, programs, quality of training of students.

Under Catherine II, who actively studied the experience of countries Western Europe, for the first time in Russia, a class-lesson system began to be introduced, standardization began educational process. The first clear educational plan and single list textbooks appeared in the 19th century. AT early XIX century, three types of schools were also introduced: parish and district schools, as well as gymnasiums (or provincial schools). In schools of the first two types, children from any class could study, education for them was free. The parish schools were given elementary education: reading, writing, counting, the Law of God. In district schools, the study of these disciplines took place in depth, grammar was added with geography, arithmetic with geometry, history with physics and technology.

V.E. Makovsky. At a rural school

Under Alexander II, there were attempts to combat the spreading revolutionary spirit among the intelligentsia by reforming educational system. The goal was to create disciplined people deeply versed in the exact sciences. For this, the emphasis was not on the humanities, which develop a breadth of thought in a person and make him see the problems of society.

Zemstvo schools that appeared in Russia as a result deserve special attention. They taught children from 8 to 12 years old for three years. Be sure to study reading and writing, the basics of arithmetic, the Law of God (to a lesser extent). Over time, the program has expanded.

N. P. Bogdanov-Belsky. Verbal counting.
In the folk school of S. A. Rachinsky

Despite all this, the level of literacy of the Russian population by the beginning of the 20th century remained extremely low: about a fifth of the subjects of the Russian crown were literate (significantly less than in most European countries). This was due to the fact that the overwhelming majority of the population were peasants, for whom a child, as soon as he became able to provide a little help to the family, was more needed for household chores. In addition, zemstvo schools could not cover a sufficient number of the country's population.

The Bolsheviks after the revolution tried to solve the problem of education. By 1933 after various experiments educational programs were unified and textbooks were created for them. It was then that the type of lesson that exists to this day was fixed (if you do not take into account individual changes and innovations in recent years).

Sunday readings in a rural school, Bogdanov-Belsky N.P., 1895

A school is a place where several people, usually children, come together to acquire certain knowledge and skills. You can mark two distinctive features schools: this certain place where several people study at once.

The Greek and Roman schools were the forerunners of all modern schools and colleges. But even in Greece many centuries ago there were times when one student was brought to one professional teacher. There were no schools or classes then.

Later, Greek speakers and philosophers, to whom students came and who had to travel a lot in order to give people knowledge, began to create some kind of school. The great Greek philosopher Plato was the first teacher to organize education in what he called "the academy". The term of study there was 3-4 years.

Raphael, Aristotle Academy of Athens

Ancient schools were usually located on the grounds where the military trained or held parades. These places were called gymnasiums. Later, Aristotle created his own school and called it a lyceum. Another thing is also interesting: in Germany, schools began to be called gymnasiums, in France - lyceums, and the Scottish name of the school is an academy! All three names have survived from the time of Plato and Aristotle.

Neither of these two schools looked like a modern educational institution. Rather, they were places for discussion, and only occasionally lectures or classes were given to students.

Around the year 250, the ancient Greeks realized that students should be taught grammar, so special grammar schools gradually appeared.

Pupils of the first school in Dagestan

Still later, the Romans adopted their system of education from the Greeks. Roman schools were more similar to modern ones. Believe it or not, students went to Roman schools with the same reluctance that we sometimes go to modern ones. The students had to get up early, memorize complicated rules, foreign language and, moreover, behave appropriately. The disobedient and lazy were flogged with rods!

The reason for the emergence and development of the school as a social institution were and are the practical needs of society and man (economic, social, political, spiritual). The historical era leaves a significant imprint on all components of the school structure.

The school as an institution for teaching writing, counting, reading arose not earlier than a certain stock of knowledge had accumulated and an ancient type of writing did not arise: ideographic writing (Sumerian, ancient Egyptian, Chinese) as a means of consolidating and transmitting knowledge and information. The first schools in the states of the Ancient East (Mesopotamia, Sumer, Akkad, as well as Egypt, China) have been known since the 3rd-2nd millennium BC.

Over time, education becomes more and more universal and mass, and the activity of teachers turns into a special kind of activity (as a rule, separated from other professions and practices). In the XVII-XVIII centuries. the idea (plan) of education is formed, including the regulation of: a system of training a person in a school focused on nature (the idea of ​​“natural conformity” of education, later - “mental development”); special goals (the formation of a person who is knowledgeable, reasonable, religious, prepared for maturity; in social terms, they were determined by the requirements of training a specialist, and not an individual); special content (educational knowledge and subjects).

The result is a school institute of education, organization for education, copying the practice of organizing discipline and "the whole school business" state institutions.

The next step was the emergence mass school(universal and special), which was due to the further unification of education, focus on the creation of educational institutions that: 1) are created by the state or acquire the right to education from the state; 2) adhere to a certain standard of training; 3) persons with a certain status are admitted as teachers and students; 4) presuppose the existence of some economic independence of the educational institution in the management of the economy, maintenance of the educational process; 5) provide for the empowerment of teachers and students with rights and obligations, sometimes beyond the scope of the direct educational process, but within the framework of the envisaged social role; 6) involve fixing the fact of graduation from an educational institution (as a rule, the issuance of an appropriate document), the acquisition by a graduate of certain additional rights, status.

Patriotic school as an institution for learning begins to take shape after the baptism of Russia. The first chronicle mention of the organization of children's education dates back to the 10th century. As an institution of education, it takes shape by the 18th century, later than in many countries of Western Europe.

In the history of the school, with a huge variety of areas of education and forms of educational institutions, two types of schools are distinguished: the “school of study” and the “school of life”, or the “school of education”.

The “School of Study”, which arose in the era of the New Age, reflected the growing power of reason, science and enlightenment. She played an outstanding role in social and pedagogical development. One of its leading ideologists is the prominent German educator A. Diesterweg. In the "school of study", focused mainly on the assimilation of knowledge and the development of the intellect, education is built on the principle of "from knowledge to conviction and action" and is carried out in the form of cultural and educational work. (Subsequently adopted Soviet system political education.)

"School of Life" has deep roots in folk pedagogy. In the "school of life" not only education, but also training is consistent with the famous thesis of the French teacher J. J. Rousseau and the Swiss teacher I. G. Pestalozzi: "Life forms (educates)".

The two types of schools are not mutually exclusive. Elements of the "school of life" are always present in the "school of study", but are not always recognized and actively used. The elements of the "school of study" are not canceled in the "school of life", they only acquire new qualities, as close as possible to practical creative activity.

The priority of education in official pedagogy of the 19th-early 20th centuries. was ensured by the "creation of mental horizons" of the student

nickname in the classroom and in the course of extracurricular communication. This attitude was borrowed by Russian education from the outstanding German teacher I.F. Herbart, who believed that it was knowledge that completely determines a person’s behavior and is a means of his upbringing. The main task of the school - the expansion of knowledge and the development of the intellect of students, orientation towards "holistic teaching and upbringing", as well as the entire organization of the school, ensured its development as a "school of study".

The result of the implementation of this installation was characterized at the beginning of the 20th century. one of the professors of Moscow University: “Lessons and their preparation - that's what fills the whole day and all days. Even if all the lessons were entirely meaningful, even then such a life would be abnormal. The most active and devoted to his profession adult person cannot be devoted to his work all day and all moments of his life; but the school puts the young man and the teenager in such a position of indefinite occupation” 1 .

In the early years Soviet history general education began to develop within the framework of the labor school (“the school of labor” is considered by some experts as another, third, historically entrenched type of school), but the tradition of the “school of study” has not been overcome. In the system of relationships and behavior at school, the main importance began to be given to the socio-political position of the individual. Increasing the educational role of individual contacts between school workers and students, their cooperation was hindered by the inertia of the old school ethics: close relations with the teacher were perceived as sycophancy, servility, and snitching. In the "Basic Directions of the Unified Labor School" (September 1918), the transition from the school of "educational education" to the school as an educational institution was clearly defined. character building, volitional qualities and creative abilities of the individual began to determine the system of education under the motto “On all three questions: how to educate the will, how to form a character, how to develop a spirit of solidarity? - the answer is one magic word- labor. Up to a third of the study time began to be devoted to labor. Assessing First stage implementation labor start to school, N. K. Krupskaya noted the weak influence of labor on the general atmosphere school life: “It was understood that children should not only study, but also work. Education remained old, but along with it, children were forced to sweep floors, wash dishes, carry firewood, unload wagons, and run errands” 2 . However, interesting experience has been gained

1 Cited. on: Kozlova G. N. Patriotic high school as an educational
decision (end of XIX-beginning of XX century) // Pedagogy. - 2002. - No. 4. - S. 80.

2 Krupskaya N.K. Pedagogical essays: In 6 volumes - M., 1978. - T. 4. - S. 23.

The inclusion of high school students in socio-political associations, the creation public organizations students, the development of school self-government.

In the 1930s the return to the “school of study” becomes obvious. Emerged at the same time by the beginning of the 1950s. negative socio-pedagogical consequences necessitated an education reform on the basis of the "Law on strengthening the connection between school and life" (1958). This second attempt to change the type of general education school was discontinued in 1964: outstanding scientific and technological achievements, success in space exploration "turned" general education to the "school of study".

Subsequent adjustment of the school's activities through: the development of "career guidance", episodic socially useful and productive labor, diverse areas of "educational work", expanding the network of out-of-school institutions, organizing work with children at the place of residence, creating inter-school educational and production complexes (CPC), the massive use of a single "Exemplary content of educating schoolchildren" - did not change the main characteristics of the "school of study".

Modern school reform in accordance with the Law Russian Federation“On Education” (as amended in 1996) generally does not affect the foundations of the “school of study” model, which in modern practice is represented by separate types of schools:

traditional school. It is focused on the transfer of ready-made knowledge, reproduces primarily the empirical type of thinking. Thanks to the practice of the traditional school in society, ideas have developed about what and at what age a student should know and be able to;

specialized school with in-depth study one or more items. It is focused primarily on the student's assimilation of certain ways of working with the content of the subject being studied, which is most often achieved by increasing the number of exercises and study hours allocated in the curriculum for a more detailed study of the material. In most cases, the difference between this school and the traditional one is not qualitative, but quantitative. This type of school demonstrates to society the fact that, with certain abilities and preliminary training, children (mainly in the middle and senior levels of education) can learn much more complex subject material than in a traditional school, and specialize very early in certain form activities;

gymnasiums, lyceums. They are an attempt to recreate the academic level of education that took place in the history of the school (style, form, method), which in practice is associated with a significant change in curricula by adding new subjects, usually a humanitarian profile, and attracting

the process of teaching specialists high class. At the same time, negative manifestations are associated with an overload of curricula, ignoring the age-related capabilities and characteristics of students by invited specialists. Thanks to gymnasiums and lyceums, the requirements for the level of general secondary education, for the method of organizing educational environment;

innovative schools. Focused on creating their own developments or mastering ready-made ones pedagogical technologies. The lack of clear criteria for judging what developments and technologies can be used in a new school, how effective they are, the lack of integrity and consistency in the study of the content foundations of each particular school does not allow us to consider the data educational establishments as a homogeneous type of school;

a school focused on the established pedagogical system(for example, Waldorf School, Montessori School, etc.). They are focused on adapting the finished model to new conditions, while a holistic assessment of both the possibility and the feasibility of transferring the existing pedagogical system to new soil is not always given. The emergence of these schools expanded the understanding of the forms and content of education, increased the significance of the ideas of pedocentrism, and sharpened the issue of the relationship between teaching methods and the spatial organization of the educational institution.

The whole history of upbringing and education dates back to the beginning of the development of civilization on our planet. In almost all ancient civilizations, the beginning of learning and the emergence of schools gave rise to writing. The formation of the education system can be considered on the example of the history of the school in ancient egypt. Even in the period of the Old Kingdom, they began to appear at the palace of the pharaoh. They were created to train builders, architects, doctors and officials, they approached training very seriously and, as a rule, simple people did not get there.

With further development state, the history of the emergence of schools continued, schools appeared at temples. Here they taught writing, this profession in those days was in great demand. Later, with large public institutions schools appeared, where mainly boys were taught between the ages of 7 and 16 years. The main subjects for study were literacy, writing and counting. For writing, the students used a thin reed stick and black paint, and a new line began with red paint. This is where the name "red line" comes from. The children did their training in writing on polished limestone plates, since it was too expensive to write on papyrus. The plates were made lined up in a ruler or in a cage, depending on the subject of study. The history of the school has preserved lined and checkered notebooks to this day.

If the student had already mastered the skills of writing to perfection, then he was allowed to write on a small scroll of papyrus. Texts were specially selected for writing, the content of which helped the further training of future specialists (these were instructions, hymns and religious texts). The history of the development of the school in ancient Egypt suggests that in those days great attention was paid to the creation of libraries, in which ancient texts were collected and stored. When they found notebooks with the solution of various practical problems, for example, calculating the number of workers for construction works, determination of the required area of ​​crops and others. Future officials in Egypt were given assignments to memorize religious texts; practical sciences were intensively studied at higher levels.

The history of the school in Egypt testifies that in addition to the basic subjects, the students were engaged in swimming, gymnastic exercises learned good manners. The higher nobility sent their children to military schools. Students in temple schools studied astronomy and medicine, but Special attention devoted to religious education. A similar path of development, as the history of the emergence of schools shows, was taught in other ancient civilizations. There are many facts that testify to the studies with students in the Babylonian civilization, in ancient india and China, as well as in the Mayan and Aztec civilizations.

The history of the school continued its development already in ancient rome and Greece. Back then, the school didn't look like a modern school at all. Only one student came to the teacher, and there were no school buildings. In the future, Greek philosophers and orators began to take several students for training in order to lecture them on various clever things. By the way, the word "school" is translated from Greek like "leisure". Interesting, isn't it? The well-known created his own small school, which he called the academy. So over time the history of the school passed and it finally became what we know it now. In ancient Russia, the word “school” began to be used starting from the 14th century, although already in the 11th century there was a school at the palace of Prince Vladimir in Kyiv, and in 1030 he founded a school in Novgorod. The ancient three main ones (grammar, dialectics and rhetoric) and auxiliary ones (arithmetic and geometry, astronomy and music) were included in the education system. At first, teaching was conducted by Byzantine, and then domestic scientists.

Initially, education did not play an important role in Ancient Russia, since apart from the children of rich boyars and noble families, no one else could study science. The main part of the population were peasants who, day and night, were engaged in the cultivation of their lands, and the lands of their own master. But the situation began to change during the period of the baptism of Russia.

Experts and historians have calculated that the very first schools in Russia were founded in 988 in the city of Kyiv. Such information is fully consistent with the famous chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years". It turns out that the origin of education in Kievan Rus began only when Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavovich began to carry out the baptism of the people. In addition, the name of this particular prince was indicated in the annals as the founder of the first school in Kievan Rus. By his decree, he ordered to gather all the children in noble and boyar families and send them to schools to study book business. But training was perceived by many as torture. Mothers did not yet understand where and why they were going to send their children. That is why, they greatly mourned them, and said goodbye to the children, as if they were going to certain death.

The school created by Prince Vladimir had the name "Book teaching", and was a real palace educational institution. It taught not only literacy, but also other sciences. About 300 students studied at this school, and all of them were divided into small groups, each of which was taught by its own teacher. After that, most often schools could be seen at monasteries and temples. For the first time, the term itself "school" appeared in Russia only in 1382, when, according to common European traditions, this term began to denote educational institutions where people were taught crafts and provided specialized knowledge.

It should be noted that only boys could teach at school during the reign of Prince Vladimir, and the first subject for their education was book business. It was believed that men should be more savvy in communication, and girls should not be literate, as they would become future housewives, and their duties would only include proper household management. And you don't need to be literate to do that.

And only in May 1086 the very first women's college, founded by Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavovich. Moreover, his daughter, Anna Vsevolodovna, simultaneously headed the school and studied science. Only here young girls from wealthy families could learn to read and write and various crafts. At the beginning of 1096, schools began to open throughout Russia. The first schools began to appear in such major cities, like Murom, Vladimir and Polotsk, and were built most often at monasteries and temples. Thus, the priests were considered in Russia the most educated people. Since the 15th century, institutions at monasteries have ceased to be built, and there appear which at that time were called "masters of literacy".

Despite such an increase in the construction of educational buildings, the school was still not widespread throughout Russia. Education in Kievan Rus was organized systematically and everywhere. That is why the first schools in Russia, although they existed, did not flourish and gradually began to fade away. And only at the beginning of the 17th century, the study of sciences and arts in schools began in a new way. In the era, the first school was opened in the city of Kyiv in the systematic sciences, which the tsar himself called a new step in the education of every person. True, only children from noble families could still get here, but there were more people who wanted to send their children to study. In all schools in the 17th century, teachers taught subjects such as grammar and Latin.

It is with the era of Peter 1 that historians associate significant changes in the educational sphere. At this time, not only school institutions were opened, which were an order of magnitude higher than the very first schools, but also new schools and lyceums. Basic and compulsory subjects Mathematics, navigation, and medicine become subjects for study.