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Bernardo Gallegos
Page 04 - Part E
Grammar was studied first, and was intended to develop correctness in the
use of speech. With its careful study of words, phonetic changes, drill on
inflections, and practice in composing and paragraphing, this made a
strong appeal to the practical Roman and became a favorite study.
Literature followed, and was intended to develop an appreciation for
literary style, elevate thought, expand one's knowledge, and, by
memorization and repetition, to train the powers of expression. The method
practiced was much as follows: The selection was carefully read first by
the teacher, and then by the pupils. [18] After the reading the selection
was gone over again and the historical, geographical, and mythological
allusions were carefully explained by the teacher. [19] The text was next
critically examined, to point out where and how it might be improved and
its expressions strengthened, and much paraphrasing of it was engaged in.
Finally the study of the selection was rounded out by _a judgment_--that
is, a critical estimate of the work, a characterization of the author's
style, and a resume of his chief merits and defects. The foundations were
here laid for Grammar and Rhetoric as the great studies of the Middle
Ages.
Homer and Menander were the favorite authors in Greek, and Vergil, Horace,
Sallust, and Livy in Latin, with much use of _Aesop's Fables_ for work in
composition. The pupils made their own books from dictation, though in
later years educated slave labor became so cheap that the copying and sale
of books was organized into a business at Rome, and it was possible for
the children of wealthy parents to own their own books. Grammar,
composition, elocution, ethics, history, mythology, and geography were all
comprehended in the instruction in grammar and literature in the secondary
schools. A little music was added at times, to help the pupil intone his
reading and declamation. A little geometry and astronomy were also
included, for their practical applications. The athletic exercises of the
Greeks were rejected, as contributing to immorality and being a waste of
time and strength. In a sense these schools were finishing schools for
Roman youths who went to any school at all, much as are our high schools
of to-day for the great bulk of American children. The schools were better
housed than those of the _ludi_, and the masters were of a better quality
and received larger fees. Like the elementary schools, the State exercised
no supervision or control over these schools or the teachers or pupils in
them.
Source: THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION, by ELLWOOD P. CUBBERLEY
[ Part A ]
[ Part B ]
[ Part C ]
[ Part D ]
[ Part E ]
[ Part F ]
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