Ancient Egyptian Education
Ancient Egyptian Education
The Ancient Egyptians held education in high regard. However, there were
only a limited number of schools which were attended by royalty and the
wealthy or those whose careers would be that of a scribe or a priest.
These schools were only attended by boys. The ordinary people were
educated at home. Girls were given education by their mothers, which was
dictated by the tasks of their particular social standing. Men were
educated by other men and it was common place for a father to teach his
profession to his son.
Ancient Egyptian Education
for Girls
The main roles of Egyptian women were to nurture and serve. Their
mothers would teach them the fundamentals of housekeeping, cooking,
brewing and making clothes. Women were excluded from the ruling
bureaucracy so were not eligible to work as scribes. Women were also
excluded from the temple elite. Egyptian women were allowed to farm
land, sell land and produce produce which they could sell and would
therefore have received some education in these areas, if appropriate to
their status.
Ancient Egyptian Education
- The Scribe Schools
The scribe schools were attended by boys and their age of entry was
between 8 and 9 years of age. Schoolboys lived at home and attended
schools on a daily basis. The schools were usually attached to
government buildings and temples and the teachers were men who were
experienced in government such as scribes and temple priests. The school
day started education in the morning with a break at midday which was
followed by a siesta during the heat of the day after which lessons
would continue through the late afternoon.
Ancient Egyptian Education
- The Prince's School
The Prince's School was the most
respected of all of the schools and gave the very best Ancient Egyptian
education. The Prince's School would have educated the sons of the
Pharaoh, members of the royal family, nobles and high officials. There
was also a scheme which allowed recommendations when young boys who
showed great promise were also allowed in the Prince's school. The
Vizier had overall control of the Prince's
school and therefore the education of the next Pharaoh, nobles and court
officials.
Ancient Egyptian Education
- The Lessons
The lessons undertaken by the
younger schoolboys consisted of basic mathematics and reciting sums.
They practised writing by copying from existing documents. The youngest
schoolboys would practise writing on wooden tablets which were coated
with a smooth white plaster which could be wiped clean. Only older
students would be allowed to use papyrus. The students sat Indian style
holding his writing board in his lap. Older students were given a good,
well rounded education and their lessons included:
Any
misdemeanours were treated seriously and punishments for
pupils ranged from beatings to writing out lines and
even being placed in the stocks!
Ancient Egyptian Education
- The Art of Writing
Ancient Egyptian Education included the Art of Writing. The different
styles of writing are detailed as follows and these would have been
taught in schools and were an important part of Ancient Egyptian
education
-
Hieroglyphics were a
system of picture writing which used symbols (hieroglyphs) instead
of letters or words. Hieroglyphics use a combination of logographic,
syllabic, and alphabetic elements. The original hieroglyphs
represented sounds and there were over 700 hieroglyphs which could
used in numerous combinations to give specific meanings.
Hieroglyphics were used for writing memorials on great monuments
-
A simplified version of hieroglyphics was devised
known as 'hieratic' writing which lost the pictorial aspect of
hieroglyphs. The hieratic version of writing was used to create
various papyrus documents
-
By the Late Period and
even more fluent script was used for documents and lists which was
called Demotic script
Ancient Egyptian Education
- Books of Instruction
The Ancient Egyptian Education
included the use of the Books of Instruction which contained rules for
living a well ordered life. The Books of Instruction also included
elements of morality such as justice, wisdom, obedience, humanity and
restraint.
Ancient Egyptian Education
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