Ancient Roman Education

By 100 ВС, the Romans had built the most extensive educational system of that time. Their system was patterned after** that of ancient Athens. But unlike the Athenians, the Romans provided schooling for girls as well as boys. The children of wealthy citizens were taught by a ludus (elementary-school teacher) from about the age of 7 to 10. They learned to read and write both Greek and their native language, Latin. Girls received only an elementary education. Boys from about 10 to 15 years old attended a secondary school run by a grammaticus (teacher of grammar). In secondary school, they continued their study of Greek and Latin grammar and literature. The Romans also established institutions of higher learning. These institutions were schools of rhetoric, which prepared young men for careers in law and government.

Assignments:

1. Give the English for:

происходить, изобретать, ученичество, приобретать, узы, связывать, иметь отношение к, сложный, включать, устно, запоминать, доступный, поведение, возникать, священник, переписывать, задача, племя, родственный, ценный, требовать, процветать, успехи, древний, основываться на, ограничивать, раб, делать упор на, рассуждения, предоставлять.

2. Form nouns from the following verbs:

invent, communicate, educate, perform, imitate, know, behave, calculate, discuss, develop, govern.

3. Form adjectives from the following nouns:

history, religion, emotion, east, west, value, education, alphabet, power, policy, democracy.

________________________

* the Lyceum – лицей

** to be patterned after – быть созданным по образцу

4. Join A and В in pairs of synonyms;

A. adults, to establish, talented, to arise,, hard, task, to complete, advances, ancient, to prepare.

B. difficult, gifted, elders, to appear, success, to found, to finish, aim, old, to train.

5. Complete the following sentences:

1) Young people in prehistoric societies were educated through...

2) The invention of writing was the second major milestone in...

3) Scribes were hired for any task that required a knowledge of ...

4) The Hebrew schools were religious schools conducted by

5) The educational system of each city-state aimed to produce ...

6) Gymnasiums emphasized such sports as ...

7) Students held discussions to improve their ...

8) Unlike the Athenians, the Romans provided schooling for ...

9) The Romans also established institutions of ...

10) These institutions were schools of rhetoric which prepared...

6. Ask 10–15 questions about the text. Be ready to answer them.

7. Prove the following statements:

1) Today, in all societies, young people still learn through apprenticeship, imitation and ritual.

2) As a society grows increasingly complicated, teachers and schools take on more and more responsibility for educating the young.

3) Alphabetic system makes writing easier than picture system.

4) Athenian education was far from democratic.

5) By 100 ВС, the Romans had built the most extensive educational system of that time.

8. Speak on the major milestones in the history of education. Give the advantages and disadvantages of each of the discussed educational systems.

9. Say what elements of ancient educational system you'd like to introduce in our system of education and why.