Education in Victorian England

Education in Victorian England was different from today's schooling in many aspects. The malicious treatment of students at boarding schools frequently included being beaten and almost starved. Some children died as a consequence of the harsh way of life. Officials at these schools commonly censored mail and did not let pupils take vacations home, so parents had little to no knowledge of these problems. However, many children still attended these schools, because public education was more expensive. The poor turned to lives of crime because they lacked educaiton, and therefore could not make much money.

Schools taught children attending public schools with different customs depending on sex, parents' financial situations, social class, religious beliefs, and education values. The children of the upper class generally had the best education. During this time; however, the middle class started receiving a better education. However, boys who were regularly left at public schools were unattended while not in classes and sometimes were found drinking, smoking, and gambling.

During Victorian England, there was not much agreement of what should be taught, how it should be taught, how much to pay teachers, or whom to teach. Each school decided its own curriculum. Relationships between popular teachers and students were much closer, and could even be considered too close or improper in today's society. School students were much more affectionate with each other. Although the upper class generally had the best education, and the places in most schools, there were also "ragged schools". These schools lured poor children into the schools by offering free meals, clothing and lodging. Funding for these schools came from charities and volunteer and/or paid teachers as staff.

Middle and lower class girls earned their apprenticeships at a very young age by helping with babies, sewing and washing laundry, and cooking. Governesses, who even acted as a nanny at times, taught upper class girls in their homes. Women sometimes taught themselves different languages and other subjects by reading dictionaries and other books for a few hours each day. There were very few women's institutes of learning, but some very well-off girls were sent to attend the existing ones. In 1878, forty-three years after the University of London was founded, the school started to admit women under all fields.

...