Roman Education
Unlike Greece, were the people were trained in both body and mind, producing a Jack of all trades, the Roman people considered a good public speaker the best type of citizen. For this reason, boys, with the occasional girl here and there, were sent to school- to learn the art of speaking and persuading, among other things. Education was seen as one of the most important things to Roman citizens- or at least, the ability to speak well and hold decent conversation.
Beginnings
Up until the early ages of around 7 years of age, boys and girls were taught by their parents at home- usually their mothers. They would learn the basic of the basics until they were ready to move on. This would consist of having a good hand at Latin in both vocal and written form. Unless they were very rich, boys were also taught the art of farming and it's techniques: how to plant, take care of, and reap crops. The girls, on the other hand, would learn how to cook, clean, spin, and take care of the house. Some of the girls, if they were from rich families, would learn how to run the households and control slaves. Up until this point, schooling for girls and boys is about the same.
Round Two- Well, One Technically
From here is where boys and girl diverge into different paths. Although school at this stage and beyond would have to be payed for, it wasn't quite as costly, and the rewards that being literate brought even poor children to the gates of knowledge.
Boys, after the age of seven, would go into an actual school where they would stay for about four years. There was one ludi magister, which was in charge of thirty plus students at a time. This teacher was in charge of expanding the child's primitive knowledge about reading and writing. Not only this, but Greek was also touched upon, though most boys already knew some Greek from being around playmates. Math would be taught at this level. But because of Roman Numeral's complicated nature when dealing with math, the lessons on this would not be as strict or demanding.
Boys, after the age of seven, would go into an actual school where they would stay for about four years. There was one ludi magister, which was in charge of thirty plus students at a time. This teacher was in charge of expanding the child's primitive knowledge about reading and writing. Not only this, but Greek was also touched upon, though most boys already knew some Greek from being around playmates. Math would be taught at this level. But because of Roman Numeral's complicated nature when dealing with math, the lessons on this would not be as strict or demanding.
The school room itself was not actually in a classroom as one would think of it now. It might be rented or it might be in a place that was out in public but it usually was filled with distractions. There might be some food-sellers nearby, advertising their goods with shouts, waiting for the hungry boys to go into their short lunch break and make some money. Or there might be people coming to and fro, maybe making an emergency errand, or a stray dog might even come up. However, the risk of getting caught not paying attention was severe. More can be learned about this aspect of Roman Schooling in the Odds and Ends page.
Say Greetings to Grammaticus
And here, the wealthy and poor split like bananas. Here, schooling was much more expensive and only a few boys moved on to this stage. A grammaticus would teach a small group of boys, now aged to eleven years old, about the finer points in language and literature. The main focus of this stage was analyzing the grammar of what works were read or recited to them. they read great classics, poems and epics, of Homer and others as well. After analyzing the grammar, the students were put to memorizing long excerpts of literature, some from Greek writers while maybe also another from a Roman writer. They would study under this teacher for about four to five more years.
These lessons might even consist of basic geography, to at least know of the places spoken about in the playwrights that they read. It was also not very important because mos of the people in Rome were more about public speaking than trading.
Stage III
Only the elite came to this level of schooling. The students often consisted of the sons of wealthy politicians or the like, around the age of sixteen. The teacher called a rhetor, usually a highly trained and Greek, also honed in their skills of grammar and appreciation of fine literature. On top of this, he also upgraded their ability to make convincing arguments; one example would be that teachers would purposely put a student against a topic he was for and have him argue, expanding his ability to use his improvisation and quick tongue.
Sometimes, in order to get a better understanding of how good arguments are made, or how to get a point effectively across, they would go to where debates or public speeches were being performed. Here they would see all the hand gestures their rhetor taught them in action, and they would be able to hear to tone variations with their own ears and see how it affected the crowd.
Sometimes, in order to get a better understanding of how good arguments are made, or how to get a point effectively across, they would go to where debates or public speeches were being performed. Here they would see all the hand gestures their rhetor taught them in action, and they would be able to hear to tone variations with their own ears and see how it affected the crowd.
This above picture depicts such a scene.
Further Learning
Less students make it to this level, as it seems unnecessary to most to learn about mathematics when the only thing really needed in Ancient Rome was the ability to argue well and have basic literate abilities. These were very expensive, and usually taught just for the sake of learning. other skills, such as baking, would be learned through apprenticeships.