mercoledì 18 settembre 2013

Going to School in the Victorian Times






Quanto mi sarebbe piaciuto poter andare a scuola durante il periodo vittoriano !!
Entrare ogni mattina in un edificio come questo 






o magari come questo





        The old Norton School building, near to Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, Great Britain  
     © Copyright Mike Hallett and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.                                                                                  http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/98319
  

con in mano una piccola lavagnetta, il cestino in vimini per gli spuntini da consumare durante la giornata e trascorrere in allegria con i compagni tutte le ore che prevedevano i programmi didattici del tempo ..
Che dite, se ci sforziamo un po' e ci appelliamo ad un briciolo d'immaginazione magari riusciamo a calarci in una di quelle mattinate ....






".. Come on, everyone in the class, the bell has already rung and Miss Donovan is about to come in !! You know that when the teacher enters the classroom, she has to find you already there ready to greet her with your good morning .. You'll come back and play later !


----------------------------


".. Coraggio, tutti in classe, la campanella è già suonata e Miss Donovan sta per entare !! Lo sapete che quando l'insegnante entra in classe vi deve già trovare in classe pronti per salutarla con il buongiorno .. A giocare tornerete più tardi !"
Accadeva spesso che Mrs Mary Jane, la moglie del pastore, che si prendeva cura della scuola oltre che della canonica ed accudiva anche il giardino che la circondava, il mattino incontrasse questi vivaci fanciulli; e, come per magia, diligentemente, come se le sue parole li avessero richiamati alla realtà dalla fantasia dei loro giochi, questi cominciarono a raggrupparsi e già da soli a dividersi in due file, i maschi da una parte, le femmine dall'altra, ciascuno conosceva ormai a memoria la propria posizione nella fila per essere ordinati in base alla statura; entrarono in classe e rimasero così,





al centro della stanza, tra le due file di banchi ad attendere la graziosa Miss Patricia Donovan *: dietro un paio di occhiali dalle piccolissime lenti nascondeva uno sguardo ancora giovane, i suoi occhi verdi come le brughiere d'Irlanda spesso sorridevano prima ancora di lei, tradendo un carattere dolce ed un cuore buono; i capelli di un biondo ramato, leggermente mossi, sempre raccolti in una morbida crocchia, le incorniciavano il viso addolcendo i lineamenti piuttosto regolari; i suoi modi erano sempre gentili, ma la disciplina è di importanza fondamentale; sempre rigorosamente abbigliata con eleganza, entrava ogni mattina in classe e porgeva loro il suo "Good Morning"; questi avrebbero risposto "Good Morning Miss", i maschi si sarebbero inchinati, le femmine avrebbero fatto la riverenza ed avrebbero quindi preso ordinatamente posto, rimanendo sempre in piedi, per l'appello e quindi per le preghiere con cui si apriva e si concludeva ogni giornata di scuola:
"Let us pray, hands together, eyes closed, heads bowed. Repeat after me: 

Lord teach a little child to pray
And fill my heart with love 
And make me fitter every day 
To go to heaven above” 


------------------------------


"Preghiamo, mani giunte, occhi chiusi, capo chino. Ripetete dopo di me:


Signore insegna ad un bimbo a pregare
E colma il mio cuore con amore
E fa di me ogni giorno un bimbo migliore
Perchè possa andare in paradiso lassù
”  


poi, prima che le lezioni cominciassero, veniva cantato un Inno che poteva essere, per esempio, "All things bright and beautiful" ("Tutto ciò che è radioso e bello").


Iniziava così una tipica mattinata di scuola, intonando coralmente un canto gioioso intorno alle 9 del mattino, e prendeva avvio una giornata che si protraeva fino alle 16,30 - 17,00, una giornata sicuramente impegnativa per un bambino, ma molto varia e che lasciava anche ampio spazio allo svago, al divertimento, alla manualità.
Ma lasciamo i nostri alunni seduti nei loro banchi alla prima lezione del giorno, 





che generalmente era di lingua, ortografia, poesia o recitazione e facciamo un piccolo passo indietro nella storia; dovete sapere che l'istruzione cominciò a diffondersi già nel XVI secolo, ma fu a partire dal 1831 che vennero istituite le prime vere e proprie scuole, Sunday Schools, scuole domenicali che si basavano su lezioni che si tenevano in chiesa solo la domenica mattina, prima o dopo la funzione; Robert Raikes, colui che ebbe l' intuizione di provvedere a diffondere un principio di acculturazione vide 1.250.000 bambini cominciare ad alfabetizzarsi in questo modo ed era questa una cifra decisamente considerevole se si pensa che corrispondeva a circa un quarto della popolazione britannica del tempo.** 

Con l'ascesa al trono della regina Vittoria, nel 1837, in un'Inghilterra fortemente avviata verso il progresso industriale, si avvertiva vivo il bisogno di educare e di plasmare anche una classe borghese e dirigenziale e perciò le riforme che vennero promulgate in questo periodo non trascurarono il campo dell'istruzione: ci volle del tempo, però prima che la riforma prendesse realmente corpo e solamente nel 1870 venne promulgata la Elementary
Education Act che sanciva la nascita dell'istruzione formale per i bambini dai cinque ai dodici anni in Inghilterra e Galles, integrata con leggi successive che la rendevano obbligatoria nel 1880 e completamente gratuita nel 1891.

Solo che a Londra tra il 1870 e il 1902 la London School Board aprì più di 400 nuove scuole: la scuola di Harper Street dell'architetto Robert Edis è un tipico edificio scolastico dell'età vittoriana: alte facciate, grandi finestre capaci di far entrare




         
                Perspective view of Harper Street School, New Kent Road, London, 1885 
    Designer: Robert W Edis, © Victoria and Albert Museum. Museum number E.3367-1900


nelle ampie aule molta luce naturale e aria fresca con ingressi separati per bambini di diverse fasce di età e sesso e con stanze davvero molto capienti, tanto da contenere fino a 100, 200 alunni, con una grande stufa, generalmente posizionata al centro dell'aula.






Pagine tratte dall Encyclopaedia of cottage, farm and villa architecture( Londra, 1846 ) di John Cloudius Loudon, imprescindibile anche per guidare nella scelta e nella costruzione degli arredi interni alle aule scolastiche.



Frattanto nelle campagne continuavano a funzionare le scuole di villaggio, situate vicino alle chiese, per un numero decisamente più limitato di alunni e spesso con un'unica aula che raggruppava bambini di età anche differenti.






 Esempio di planimetria di un'aula per una scuola di villaggio tratto dall “Encyclopaedia of cottage, farm and villa architecture” ( Londra, 1846 ) di John Cloudius Loudon.



A questo punto vi chiederete che cosa veniva insegnato al tempo .. la regola fondamentale era quelle delle 3R - reading - 'riting - 'rithmetic, la lettura, la scrittura, il far di conto erano gli elementi di base dell'educazione scolastica e ad essi era dedicata la maggior parte della mattinata: le lezioni duravano all'incirca 20 - 30 minuti *** e, nell'arco di una settimana, da 3 ore e 1/2  a 4 ore e 1/ 2 erano dedicate alla lettura, da 4 a 6 all'aritmetica e da 4 a 5 alla grammatica, all'ortografia e al dettato, materie quali la scienza e la geografia erano insegnate talvolta il pomeriggio, in apposite aule, ma principalmente il dopopranzo era dedicato ad attività ricreative: venivano impartite lezioni di cucina,






alle femminucce si insegnava il cucito ed il ricamo 







e talvolta anche l'economia domestica affinchè potessero da adulte essere in grado di prendersi cura di una famiglia e di una casa; nel frattempo i maschietti imparavano a lavorare il legno, di modo che qualsiasi cosa avesse deciso il destino per il loro futuro, sarebbero diventati almeno degli abili falegnami o maniscalchi. 

Inutile dire che a quei tempi la scuola tendeva ad essere soprattutto formativa, era più aperta alla socialità ed attenta a forgiare il carattere e la personalità di futuri uomini e donne ( ed è così che trovava giustificazione la pedagogia dei premi e dei castighi di cui spesso veniva abusato o fatto uso improprio per divenire, di conseguenza, tanto aborrita oggigiorno).


Ma torniamo ai nostri alunni ...
Li abbiamo lasciati all'inizio delle lezioni e dopo poco più di un'ora per loro è già cominciata la ricreazione, una mezz'ora d'intervallo e di gioco: eccoli in giardino ... 



 




                                                               BBC © 2013



li attendono ancora un paio d'ore di lezione e poi il momento del pranzo alle 12,30; per coloro che abitano vicino alla scuola è semplice pranzare con i genitori tra le mura domestiche per poi tornare a scuola per le 14,00 mentre, chi abita piuttosto lontano, pranza con i compagni a scuola e, se il tempo lo consente, si pranza all'aria aperta: pane e biscotti fatti in casa, frutta raccolta dagli alberi strada facendo il mattino .. ma la cosa più importante è lo stare insieme con i compagni e così si scherza e ci si diverte anche durante il pasto!





E poi arriva il pomeriggio, praticamente dedicato per intero alle attività manuali, e tutto s'impara quasi come fosse un gioco ...


 




                                                              BBC © 2013


Sì, sono sempre più convinta che dell'epoca vittoriana mi sarebbero piaciute anche le scuole.. imparare a leggere e scrivere come lo insegnavano allora, ripetere le poesie tutti in coro, imparare il ricamo,





il bricolage, cantare in classe prima di cominciare con lo studio per imparare che anche ciò che è gravoso ed impegnativo può essere affrontato con l'animo sereno, giocare con i giochi del tempo insieme con i compagni .. è proprio vero che nel XX secolo sono nata .. per errore.., ma basta un po' di fantasia per tornare indietro nel tempo !! 

Arrivederci al prossimo "viaggio" miei cari lettori ... !


A presto 






Dany



Fonti bibliografiche:

R.J. Evans, The Victorian Age: 1815-1914, Western Printing Services Ltd, Bristol, England, 1968
J.Chastenet, LA VITA QUOTIDIANA IN INGHILTERRA AI TEMPI DELLA REGINA VITTORIA, Fabbri Editori, Milano, 1998.



Note:

* generalmente ad insegnare erano donne in giovane età ancora da sposare, difficilmente si trattava di uomini perchè il compenso era realmente molto modesto.

** Raikes fu il primo a comprendere che il futuro sarebbe stato triste per quei bambini che lavoravano durante l'intera settimana per aiutare le famiglie, senza poter nutrire la speranza di una educazione, e, peggio ancora, senza che nessuno potesse insegnare loro il Vangelo o il modo di seguire la via di Dio, con il rischio di vivere i loro giorni da adulti in povertà, affamati, privi di alcun principio morale; l'amicizia con il reverendo Thomas Stock gli permise di concretare velocemente sua idea che divenne presto realtà.

*** La psicopedagogia moderna, alimentandosi degli studi più avanzati in campo neuropsichiatrico, da tempo ci insegna che dopo 20 minuti o poco più la nostra attenzione e quindi la concentrazione (e perciò, conseguenzialmente, l'apprendimento) subiscono un brusco calo e che l'integrare fasi di apprendimento con fasi di svago migliora ed intensifica il livello dell'apprendimento stesso, .. allora nessuno poteva ancora attingere ai dati statistici di cui disponiamo ora, ma probabilmente era l'osservazione diretta di alunni in classi così numerose a guidare gli insegnanti.









- picture 1


How much I'd have liked to go to school during the Victorian period!
Every morning to come in in a building like this



- picture 2



or maybe like this one



- picture 3 - The old Norton School building, near to Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, Great Britain © Copyright Mike Hallett and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/98319 


holding a small slate, the wicker basket for snacks to eat during the day and have a good time with mates during all the hours that the educational programs of the time included ..
What do you say if we try and appeal to a little of imagination, maybe we can immerse ourselves in one of those mornings ....



- picture 4



".. Come on, everyone in the class, the bell has already rung and Miss Donovan is about to come in !! You know that when the teacher enters the classroom, she has to find you already there ready to greet her with your good morning .. You'll come back and play later ! " 
It often happened that Mrs. Mary Jane, the pastor's wife, who took care of the school as well as the rectory and also of the garden that surrounded it, in the morning met these lively children, and, like magic, diligently, as if her words recalled them to reality by the imagination of their games, they began to regroup and split into two files, the males on one side, girls on the other, everyone knew by heart his position in the row according to the stature, entered the class and remained so,



- picture 5



in the center of the room, between the two rows of benches to wait for the lovely Miss Patricia Donovan *: behind a pair of glasses with tiny lenses hide a still young look, her eyes green like the moors of Ireland often smiled even before than her betraying a sweet and good heart, her coppery blond hair, slightly wavy, always collected in a soft bun, framed her face refining her rather regular features, her manners were always polite, but discipline is of  fundamental importance; always dressed strictly elegantly, she came every morning inside the class and gave them her "Good Morning", and they would have answered "Good Morning Miss", the males would bow, females would have curtsied and then would have taken neatly place , while remaining standing for the appeal and then for the prayers which opened and ended each schoolday:

"Let us pray, hands together, eyes closed, heads bowed. Repeat after me: 

Lord teach a little child to pray
And fill my heart with love 
And make me fitter every day 
To go to heaven above” 

After that, before than lessons started, they sang an hymn such as "All things bright and beautiful", for example.


So a typical school morning began, singing a joyful song in chorus at around 9 in the morning, and in this way started a day that went up to 16.30 - 17.00, a day certainly demanding for a child, but also very varied and that left ample space to recreation, entertainment, manual activities.
But let's leave our pupils sitting at their desks at the first lesson of the day, 


- picture 6


that was generally speaking, spelling, poetry or drama and let's take a small step back in history.

You have to know that education began to spread in the sixteenth century, but it was starting from 1831 that were established the first real schools, Sunday Schools, schools based on lessons that took place in the church only on Sunday morning, before or after the function; Robert Raikes, who had the 'intuition to cater and spread a principle of acculturation saw 1,250,000 children begin to literate in this way and this was a very substantial amount if you consider that it was about one quarter of the British population of the time. **
With Queen Victoria's ascent to the throne, in 1837, in an England definitely started towards industrial progress, it was felt strongly the need to educate and also to shape a bourgeois and management class, and therefore the reforms that were passed during this period didn't neglect the field of education: it took some time, anyway, before that the reform took shape and only in 1870 was passed the Elementary education Act which sanctioned the birth of formal education for children aged five to twelve in England and Wales, supplemented by subsequent laws that made it compulsory in 1880 and completely free in 1891.
Only in London, between 1870 and 1902, the London School Board opened more than 400 new schools: the Harper Street School from the architect Robert Edis is a typical school building of the Victorian era: high facades, large windows able to bring



- picture 7 - Perspective view of Harper Street School, New Kent Road, London, 1885 Designer: Robert W Edis © Victoria and Albert Museum. Museum number E.3367-1900


in the spacious classrooms plenty of natural light and fresh air, with separate entrances for children of different age groups and sex and with very spacious rooms, enough to hold up to 100, 200 pupils, with a large stove, usually located in the center of the classroom .




- picture 8,  picture 9 and  picture 10: Pages taken from "Encyclopaedia of cottage, farm and villa architecture" (London, 1846) by John Cloudius Loudon, also essential to guide in the selection and construction of the interior furnishings of the classrooms.





In the meanwhile, in the countryside the Village Schools went on to work, always located close to the churches, for a much more limited number of pupils and often with a single classroom which brought together children also from different ages.


- picture 11 - Example of planimetry of a classroom for a Village School taken from "Encyclopaedia of cottage, farm and villa architecture" (London, 1846) by John Cloudius Loudon.


At this point you may wonder what was being taught at the time .. the fundamental rule was that of the 3Rs - reading - 'riting -' rithmetic, reading, writing, numeracy were the basic elements of school education and it was devoted to them most of the morning: the lessons lasted about 20 - 30 mins *** and, within a week, from 3 hours and 1/2 to 4 hours and 1/2 were dedicated to reading, from 4 to 6 to arithmetic and from 4 to 5 to grammar, spelling and dictation, subjects such as science and geography were taught sometimes in the afternoon, in separate classrooms, but mainly after lunch the time was dedicated to recreational activities: were given cooking lessons,



- picture 12


the girls were taught sewing and embroidery



- picture 13


and sometimes even the domestic economy so that, as adults, they could be able to take care of a family and a house; in the meantime the boys learned to work with wood, so that whatever the fate would have decided for their future, they would become at least skilled carpenters or blacksmiths.
Needless to say, in those days the school tended to be primarily educational, it was more open to the social care, to mold the character and the personality of future men and women (and that's how it was justified the pedagogy of prizes and punishments which often was abused or make improper use to become, accordingly, so abhorrent nowadays).

But let's come back to our pupils ...We left them at the beginning of the lessons and after a little over an hour for them has already begun recreation, a half-hour interval of play: here they are in the garden ...



- picture 14,  picture 15 and picture 16  BBC © 2013



Still a pair of hour of lessons are waiting for them before lunch time at 12.30; for those who live near the school it is simple having lunch with parents at home and then go back to school for 14,00, while, who's living quite far, dines with classmates at school and, if the weather permits, you can dine in the open air: homemade bread and cookies, fruit picked up from the trees along the way in the morning .. but the most important thing is being together with classmates and so you may mess around and have fun even during the meal!



- picture 17



And then comes the afternoon, practically entirely dedicated to manual activities, and you learn almost everything as a game ...



- picture 18,  picture 19 and  picture 20 BBC © 2013



Yes, I'm increasingly convinced that of the Victorian era I'd have liked even schools .. to learn to read and write as taught then, repeat the poems all together, learn embroidery,



- picture 21



DIY, singing in class before starting lessons to learn also how much it is important to address strenuous and demanding moments with a peaceful heart, play with the games of the time together with mates .. it is really true that I was born in the XXth. century .. by mistake .. but it's enough just a little of imagination to go back in time!
Goodbye until next "trip" my dear readers ... !

See you soon 






Dany


Bibliografic sources:

R.J. Evans, The Victorian Age: 1815-1914, Western Printing Services Ltd, Bristol, England, 1968
J.Chastenet, LA VITA QUOTIDIANA IN INGHILTERRA AI TEMPI DELLA REGINA VITTORIA, Fabbri Editori, Milano, 1998.



Notes:

* Generally teachers were women still at a young age not married yet, it was difficult that they were men because the fee was actually very modest.

** Raikes was the first to understand that the future would be sad for those children who worked throughout the week for helping families, without being able to cherish the hope of an education, and, even worse, no one could teach them the Bible's words or how to follow God's way, with the risk of living out their days as adults in poverty, starved, deprived of any moral principle; his friendship with the Reverend Thomas Stock allowed him to quickly substantiate his idea that soon became reality.

*** Modern pedagogy, feeding of the most advanced studies in the field of neuro-psychiatric, for time teaches us that after 20 minutes or so our attention and then our concentration (and hence, consequently, learning) experience a steep drop and to integrate learning stages with phases of leisure enhances and intensifies the level of learning itself, .. in the Victorian era no one could draw from the statistical data available to us now, but it was probably the direct observation of pupils in such numerous classes to drive teachers.






This post is joining the link- up party at:

JES'S




This blog was featured by the whole team, LisaKris, Fiona and Michelle
I thank you from the bottom of my heart ladies!


10 commenti:

  1. Oh, how beautiful! I think I would have loved going to school in Victorian times, and in those beautiful buildings! :)
    Another lovely post, Daniela. Enjoy your day! xo

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Kia
      Victorian schools were lovely, weren't they?
      And also the way Victorian children lived their schoolday!!
      Thanks for your beautiful words, my friend, happy weekend to you ♥

      Elimina
  2. I enjoyed going back in time with you this morning, Dany! I know things were far from perfect in Victorian times, but at least people showed respect to one another (even if it was feigned at times!) and they valued human life more than we do today. Those desks are beautiful! Very good for posture! But I don't think I would have liked sitting in the front row! Have a blessed day!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ June
      first of all let me say that I'm far too glad to know you and your lovely blog thanks to Kia ;)
      And I'm also glad to read that you've perfectly understood what I meant: things weren't perfect at all in the XIXth century, you're right, but, as you underlined, there was much more attention to respect and tolerance .. from that point of view we've still much to learn from that age ..
      Ah, one last thing .. I also wouldn't have liked sitting in the front row .. really :D !!
      A blessed weekend to you ✿⊱╮

      Elimina
  3. How wonderful this must have been. So different from now, and in many ways, possibly better.

    This is a wonderful post, Dany. Thank you!

    I wish you a wonderful week, my friend. xo.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Lisa
      actually I think it was really quite better than today: it's true that teachers often were far too strict and abused of the concept of discipline but it's also true that children learned to deal with life and to love each other more than now.
      Have a lovely week you too my dear and sweet friend ღ

      Elimina
  4. What a neat post Dany! I agree with you, the classrooms are absolutely beautiful! And I also appreciate the singing in the morning, the strong spiritual teachings and the hands-on learning! Thank you for sharing this on the Art of Home-Making Mondays! :)

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ JES
      my blessed friend, as a teacher I'm sincerely persuaded that, after and together with the family, the school has to be a teacher of life, and probably during the Victorian age it was easier than today, nowadays, at least in Italy, we have to think about teaching as many things as possible, but how about education, respect, spiritual growth ... ?

      I'm so proud you agree with me, my darling friend, I appreciate your words so very much.

      Have a most beautiful week, precious friend, filled with Joy and Wonder, thank you from the deep of my heart ❥

      Elimina
  5. Such simple times. What a blessed time to live in.

    The pictures you shared brought that time alive again. Such refinement was found in that era. We could use some of that these days.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Blessings.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. @ Karen
      it would be so wonderful and useful, furthermore, to take back some old books of pedagogy and teach at school what was taught then, especially in that atmosphere, which made it all much more joyful and easier to learn !

      Sending blessings of joy to you too, new friend ♡ஐ♡

      Elimina

I THANK YOU WHOLEHEARTEDLY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND WORDS, SO PRECIOUS TO ME.