How do children learn now?
All children today have to learn. This is called education. Some children learn at home. Most go to school.
Watch: Schools 100 years ago
Schools were different in the past. Watch this video about schools over 100 years ago. This may be when the grandparents of your grandparents were alive.
Isa: Thatâs me, Isa. And thatâs my Uncle Albert.
And thatâs my neighbour, Tommy.
Tommy: Hurry up, slowcoach!
Isa: Tommy says heâll look after me in my first day.
Uncle Albert says Iâd be better being looked after by a monkey.
BELL RINGS
Mr Baker: Settle down, everyone. Boys and girls, meet Isa. Sheâs joining us, so you must show her how we do things.
Isa: Thank you, sir.
Mr Baker: So, Isa, weâll get along fine if you obey the rules. No speaking unless spoken to. Always face the front and always do as youâre told.
Isa: Yes, sir.
Mr Baker: Sit down. Now, arithmetic. Everybody, look at the blackboard. Today youâre going to recite all multiplication tables from 2 to 12.
All chant: Two times two is four. Two times three is six. Two times four is⊠five times nine is 45. Five times 10 isâŠ
TOMMY YAWNS
Mr Baker: Thomas Johnson, concentrate or itâs the cane for you.
Tommy: Sorry, sir.
Mr Baker: Ok, where were we? Letâs move on.
CLOCK TICKS
Tommy: Iâm full up, but every day itâs the same boring dinner. Bean soup and dumplings.
Mr Baker: What was that, Johnson?
Tommy: Just saying Iâll clean up after dinner.
Mr Baker: Well, get on with it then! And now letâs do some poetry. A new poem called If.
Tommy: Itâs freezing in âere
Mr Baker: Find something amusing, Johnson?
Tommy: I was imagining if I was a clown, sir.
Mr Baker: You are a clown, Johnson. But not just a clown. What are you?
Tommy: A dunce, sir.
Mr Baker: Ok, everyone, concentrate.
Isa: The British Empire and Dominions. India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, Hong Kong, GibraltarâŠ
BELL RINGS
Tommy: What do you think of our school then?
Isa: It was cold.
Tommy: Why do you think I drew on a slate? Dunce gets to sit closer to the fire.
Isa: Tommy!
How have schools changed in the last 100 years?
We have seen how schools were different around 100 years ago. What changes have happened between then and today?
More children started going to school
- In 1880, the law changed so that all children between five and ten had to go to school.
- This meant there was one type of school for younger children. It was called an elementary school. It was like a modern primary school.
- From 1918, children stayed at school until they were 14. This meant there were secondary schools as well.
Changes in equipment
- 100 years ago children wrote on slates with pencils. A slate was a piece of stone, a bit like a tile.
- When they were older, children wrote on paper with pens. They had to keep dipping them into a pot of ink on their desks.
- âDipping pensâ were used in schools until the 1950s and 1960s.
- Schoolchildren didn't use computers until the 1980s.
- Now computers, laptops and tablets can be used in classrooms.
All children started learning the same things
- In 1988, the law changed so that all children had to study the same subjects. They followed the national curriculum. It is still used today.
Activity: Schools through time quiz
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