Medieval European Education

The Start of Education

A ruler of the French, Charlemagne, observed that his people needed education. Education was free because he knew that his people needed education to survive. Teachings were taught in churches by churchmen so young children who attended school had the ability to know about thier religion as well as what it was like to be a churchman. Students would also learn about the basics such as the alphabet, math, and geometry. Projects were performed in front of the class. Most projects would be making a timeline into a board game and calligraphy. However not everyone was able to attend school.

Who was Able to Attend School

Boys were able to attend public schools but girls were not. This did not mean that girls were not educated. Only boys were able to go to school because back then, men were the leaders of the land. They had to attend school to take in all the information about being a leader and what to look forward to in the future. Most boys would start school before the age of 14. If they started after that it was probably because they didnt have enough money to go. As time went by, education was not always free. The government slowly raise the price of the schools depending upon how many students would attend. If there were a lot of young boys attending, then they would raise the price because the classrooms might not be big enough. If there are not enough boys attending then they would lower it.

Boys were taught many things. In their future, they would be looking forward to becoming either a churchman or a sales-man. If they wanted to be a churchman they would attend class at churches that taught about thier religions and proper prayers. In their future they will be the ones leading the prayers on church days and. It was not easy for some, others, they did not have any trouble because they were hard workers and understood the material.

For those who wanted to become a sales-man, school was completely different. They would deal with numbers so they could add numbers quickly. This was important, because being good with numbers allowed that person to be a fast sales-man. This allowed him to make money fast. Boys would learn about how to keep a clean and professional setting. Boys were taught that having a dirty, non-organized setting would cause people to avoid your shop. For practice to keep a clean setting, boys would be giving a part of the classroom full of dust, dirt, mud and cleaning it until it was spotless. This would be practiced about three or four times a week so boys could get used to it and keeping their setting clean.

Education For Girls

Education for girls was different, because girls could not go to school. Some did not have the money to do it, but for those who did were either educated privately or home school being taught by theit mothers. For those who could afford school were taught many things such as:

playing the piano or some other instrument
singing
and sometimes dancing

Girls would be educated about performing arts because they would to perform during ceremonies or in their own home for their families.

Sometimes girls did not want to play an instrument or be a performer. Marriage, motherhood, and child care were the goals for most girls. Being a mother meant keeping a healthy home for their children, and also getting food by hunting and planting crops. Women also devoted their time into female labors and religous prayers. An enormous number of girls did show their talents as writers, poets, composers, and artists. Girls who wanted to become writers were taught how to read and write at a young age. Most successful writers started school at around the age of five. In medieval times, starting school at the age of five was considered early. One of the most famous poets were Christine de Pizan. She was an inspiration for other young writers. De Pizan wrote a book about the rights of women.
Girls who wanted to become nuns had to learn proper reading, writing, and Latin. Girls who wanted to be nuns were raised by very strict parents and learned important religious teachings.

Universities

Universities offered education to the higher class as well as the ruling class. Students in the universities were expected to understand the material of being churchmen, as well as math, astronomy, and natural science. Universities were only open to boys because they needed to know the proper way of praying, leading prayers, and a higher class of teaching others about religion. This would be the most important school they had becuase this would also be their "confirmation" in becoming a teacher or a churchmen. For those who were very committed to it never gave up and always did their best. Others who were not as committed did not even bother to try. Many boys passed, others did not. The teachers got a good education to become a teacher. As teachers, they had to have a good university approve their job before becoming a teacher.