'Fors Clavigera', the Young Women of Whitelands College, and the Temptations of Social History

By Christopher Bischof

On the first of May each year from the 1880s onward the young women at Whitelands teacher training college in London celebrated by throwing to the wind the timetable that normally dictated how their every moment would be spent.  Instead, they adorned the college in flowers, donned in white dresses, and spent the day dancing, singing, and reading poetry.  The tradition of May Day helped to poke a hole in the rather dour institutional regimen of Whitelands, which opened the way for many smaller, everyday acts that gradually reworked the ethos of the college.

The women of Whitelands on May Day, c. 1923.  Whitelands Archive: Student Albums and Memorabilia, Box N-P.

Whiteland sanctioned these May Day activities at the suggestion of John Ruskin, the famous author and social thinker, who was a patron of the college.  Ruskin sought to revive May Day as part of his campaign to overcome the effects of industrialization on social relations and culture by returning to the perceived organicism of medieval traditions.

In the afternoon, the young women elected a May Queen, who handed out copies of Ruskin's books to her fellow students.  Ruskin himself donated copies of all his books that he had on hand – all except for Fors Clavigera, his famous book of letters to working men encouraging them to radically reimagine society, which he declared was "not meant for girls."  The women of Whitelands, however, secretly acquired and distributed Fors along with the rest of his works.[1]  This was part of a remarkably widespread and passionate culture of intellectual curiosity at Victorian training colleges.[2]

What is even more remarkable is that the young women of Whitelands not only acquired, read, and probably discussed Fors Clavigera, they actually helped to make its index – unbeknownst to Ruskin himself.  Ruskin had asked John Faunthorpe, the principal of Whitelands and one of his intellectual protégés, for assistance compiling an index for Fors, which was to be published separately.  Faunthorpe shouldered most of the work himself, but at several key points he enlisted the help of his wife and the young women at Whitelands.  At one point he had twenty-six Whitelands women, one for every letter of the alphabet, assembled in a room scanning Fors.  "This took me about two years of leisure time," Faunthorpe recorded later in his never-published autobiography, "and without my wife’s and my college girls’ help it would have taken me much longer."

Though built on the backs of the young women of Whittelands, the index of Fors also cemented the budding friendship and intellectual relationship between Ruskin and Faunthorpe. "I am really aghast to-day at learning the toil that index has cost you," a grateful Ruskin wrote Faunthorpe in February of 1886.  Fors, Ruskin believed, "will be thrice the book" once it had a "well done" index.  In fact, the index inspired him to a new project: "I think with the help of this index of writing a systematic commentary on Fors and you to be partner in profits.”  Faunthorpe counseled Ruskin against this project, arguing that the nature of Fors did not lend itself to a commentary.  Ruskin heeded this counsel, marking a shift in their relationship.  Before Ruskin had been mentor to Faunthorpe.  Now Ruskin took advice as well as gave it.  The work which it appeared Faunthorpe had heroically and single-handedly put into indexing Fors – and the mastery of the text that work implied – helped to bring about this shift.[3]

This is another chapter in the hidden contribution of women to intellectual work, much like the contribution of women to some of the nineteenth century's great works of history as revealed by Bonnie Smith.[4]  What makes this story particularly interesting is that the contribution of women was hidden even from Ruskin himself, who would have been aghast at this violation of the gendered sensibilities which he held so dear.

It also reveals the challenges of doing social history, especially in the context of the history of education.  For historians of education working on the nineteenth century or earlier, recovering the story of teachers, pupils, parents, and other on-the-ground actors is a major struggle.  We still know remarkably little about what actually went on in the Victorian classroom, a lacunae that owes largely to the lack of sources.  To compensate for this gap in our understanding, it is tempting to lean heavily on the histories of ideas or people we do know well – and who are well known to contemporary readers. 

Figures like Ruskin can grab a reader who might otherwise flounder on the unfamiliar terrain of a narrative dominated by unknown teachers and pupils.  They also shaped teachers’ way of seeing the world and, as a narrative device for the historian, they provide an organic link to the larger social, cultural, and political context in which teachers and others operated.  Yet they threaten to steal the show from on-the-ground actors like the teachers-in-training at Whitelands.  Writing a social history of education that connects up to big issues like gender, intellectual work, and ideas about the nature of institutions requires walking a fine line.

References 

[1] Whitelands Archive (WA): The Whitelands Annual, 14 (1895), 31-38.

[2] Christopher Bischof, “‘A Home for Poets’: The Liberal Curriculum in Victorian Britain’s Teachers’ Training Colleges,” History of Education Quarterly 54, 1 (2014), 42–69.

[3] WA: James Faunthorpe, Ilicet. Being [My] Life and Work in Three Training Colleges: Battersea, Chelsea, Whitelands, 1874-1907 (unpub. manuscript, 1908), 57-64.

[4] Bonnie Smith, The Gender of History: Men, Women, and Historical Practice (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998).

International Standing Conference on the History of Education 2014

The Past in the Present…Rainy day reflections on the scorching days of summer

By Jonathan Doney ~ @Jonathan_Doney 

As the rain pours down on the ‘summer’ Bank Holiday, the scorching sunny days of early July spent in London attending the ISCHEconference at the Institute of Education, seem so far in the past. But yet, this past is still a present reality…

Like all good conferences, there was a delightful mix of laughter, catching up with old friends and making new ones, food, music, and, of course, the wonderful privilege of listening to others as they presented their work. The insights gained into how other people see the world, how they mold together ideas from different theorists, different perspectives and different periods was both challenging and encouraging in equal measure.

Amidst such a mix of experts, specialists and professionals, the apprehension that goes with presenting your work to others grew day by day and hour by hour. My paper, ‘From Enemy to Ally: Ecumenical reconstruction of the 'religious other' and the adoption of world religions teaching in English Schools during the 1960s and 1970s’ was timetabled for the last day of the conference. Surely, by then, people will have heard enough? Tired, they will be ready for a break, ready for their journeys home…

The questions flooded through my mind. Am I stating the obvious? Have I overlooked something very simple? Is my argument watertight? I was reassured through a conversation with another presenter, someone for whom such presentations were a regular event. They told me that they too get nervous, they too ask these questions. I was comforted.

Then they told me that their main worry was ‘will anyone turn up to listen?’. So concerned had I been with my questions, I had not thought about this!

What if no one comes?

But the people did come. They listened, they engaged, they challenged. True to their word, a handful followed up our discussion with emails, sending papers that they had suggested I read. Nervousness was eased, and encouragement flowed.

So, as I return to work after the summer break, the comments, the encouragement, and the discussion of my presentation, together with the wider experience of the conference, continue to affect my thinking and my work. The past is not separated from the present, but continues to affect it, to shape it, and to help make sense of it.

I am very grateful for the generosity of those who engaged with my work during the conference, for those who shared their work, for the encouragement and the challenge. I am especially grateful to the History of Education Society, who through their Brian Simon Bursary made it possible for me to attend the conference.

Researching Petty Schools of 17th Century England; Surely Somebody Has Been Here Before?

By Ken Clayton

In researching the history of education in 17^th century England, we might expect to find a number of books examining the subject in detail. To a degree this is true, but only to a degree; when it comes to petty schools, there is very little existing material and yet their activities would have affected a greater proportion of the population than any other type of school. This blog post outlines some of the sources and considers their limitations. 

Authors such as John Brinsley (bap.1566 d. in or after 1624) and Charles Hoole (1610-1667), both schoolmasters in the 17th century, wrote about education. In modern times, a remarkable variety of authors ranging from David Cressy to Foster Watson have written extensively about Early Modern education. In addition, many of the grammar schools that were in existence at the time have been the subjects of individual histories based on founding statutes, minute books, records of accounts and any other material the authors could find. So there is no shortage of sources to help the researcher concentrating on 17th century grammar schools.

Sadly, it is a very different story when considering petty schools. Even books such as Helen Jewell’s Education in Early Modern England makes only a few passing references to them.

It is true that some information exists. Charles Hoole, for example, included a treatise on petty schools in his A New Discovery of the old Art of Teaching Schoole (1660) but this deals purely with teaching methods. For example, Chapter II explains ‘How a childe may be taught with delight to know all his letters in a very little time’ (1660, p4). Clearly this would be wonderful information for anybody studying teaching methods of the time but Hoole seems to have provided no information at all for researchers interested in where petty schools were located, who taught in them, who attended them and how they were managed.

The discovery of The Petie Schole by Francis Clement, printed in 1587, offers the hope of a more informative source but, again, this contains only information on techniques for  the teaching of reading and writing.

Occasionally the Victoria County Histories provide a passing reference to petty or dame’s schools and sometimes a document provides a rare insight as in the case of the will of Sir Francis Nethersole who transferred buildings to a group of trustees in 1656 with the intention that a school be provided to teach boys to read and write and girls to read and do needlework. Sadly, the will provides little more information than that and there seem to be no records of the school having been built.

These passing references appear to make up the bulk of available material so it seems that the only way of collecting information on petty schools is to search for brief mentions in sources such as these and biographies. Unfortunately the biographies are often confusing rather than illuminating.

Adam Martindale (1623-1686) is a perfect example. His autobiography, edited by Richard Parkinson and published in 1845, made it clear that he was taught to read by his brothers, sisters  ‘and a young man that came to court my sister’. When he was seven years old he started at a school in St Helens, Lancashire but he did not explain what type of school it was. At that point, he was at the lower end of the age range for grammar school and his text suggests that he was learning Latin which, in turn, suggests that this was, indeed, a grammar school given that my own researches so far have uncovered no evidence of Latin being taught within petty schools.

Yet he wrote that his third teacher ‘was a woman […] that had some smattering of Latine’. In most cases grammar school founding statutes stated that a master had to have a degree which precluded women from holding such posts because they were not allowed into the universities. Yet Martindale wrote ‘She could teach us to construe the Latine examples of the English rules called the Parvular […] and Lillies rules’. It may be that she was able to do this because, according to Martindale, her father was a schoolmaster so he may have taught her some Latin (Parkinson (ed.) 1845, p12). But does this mean that she was teaching in a grammar school or that Martindale attended a petty school in which Latin was taught? Both possibilities run counter to the widely accepted understanding of petty and grammar schools. Hence Martindale confuses rather than illuminates.

So where does this leave the researcher? In general terms, feeling like a prospector in the Australian gold rush: sifting through large quantities of sand in order to find the occasional grain of gold.

On the other hand, the shortage of information suggests that the research is worth doing. If enough grains of gold can be gathered together, at least future researchers should have a useful source from which to work. On the other hand, perhaps there are HES members who know of better sources. If you are aware of any, please leave a comment below.

References:

Brinsley, J. (1612) Ludus Literarius or The Grammar Schoole London, Thomas Man.

Clement, F. (1587) The Petie Schole London, Thomas Vautrollier.

Cressy, D. (1980) Literacy and the Social Order Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Hoole, C. (1660) A New Discovery of the old Art of Teaching Schoole London, Andrew Crook

Jewell, H. (1998) Education in Early Modern England Basingstoke, Macmillan Press

Parkinson, Rev. R. (ed.) (1845) The Life of Adam Martindale written by himself Manchester, The Chetham Society.

Watson, F. (1908) The English Grammar Schools to 1660: their Curriculum and Practice Cambridge, Cambridge University Press

Call for Papers: History of Education Society Annual Conference 2014: Transnationalism, gender and teaching

The deadline is fast approaching to submit abstracts to present at the History of Education Society annual conference, at University College Dublin, on the 21st-23rd November 2014. 

We invite papers that examine the conference theme: Transnationalism, gender and teaching: perspectives from the history of education. Papers may also be considered that provide historical perspectives on one of the conference thematic areas: transnationalism and teaching, OR gender and teaching. 

Papers may address the conference theme through consideration of some of the following, though this list is only suggestive, and not definitive:

• International education networks & alliance
• Travel, transnational mobility and global citizenship
• Knowledge formation & travel writing | education and the Grand Tour
• Education and diasporas | missionary education
• Travel scholarships, boarding and finishing schools, school tours
• Education & experiential travel | teachers as ambassadors
• Networks of schools and teachers | voluntarism, voluntary action and education
• Life histories| history in the margins | masculinities and femininities
• Heritage education and global knowledge| cross-cultural studies and the history of education
• Nationality, language and schooling | transnational femininities | space and place
• Academic leadership, public intellectuals and international education
• Gender and university teaching | gender-differentiated curricula and schooling
• Materialities of teaching | visual histories | education archives
• Reading, libraries and transnational culture | books, publishing and the transfer of ideas
• Teacher education and gender | teacher unions and professional societies

Keynote speakers

Professor Joyce Goodman MBE is Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Winchester. Professor Goodman is a past President of HES, former Secretary of ISCHE and previous editor of History of Education. She was awarded an MBE in 2011 for services to higher education. Professor Goodman has published extensively on the history of women's education, with a particular focus on: Colonialism, national identities, internationalism and transnationalism; Secondary education for girls; Educational policy and administration.

Professor Elizabeth Smyth is Professor and Vice Dean (Programs) at the School of Graduate Studies, University of Toronto. Her research interests include the history of education in Canada , the history of the professions and professional education, the intersection of religion and history, history of teachers and the pedagogy of new technologies. She is co-editor of Historical Studies in Education, the journal of the Canadian History of Education Association.

Professor Dáire Keogh is President, St Patrick’s College, & Cregan Professor of Modern Irish History, Dublin City University. He has published widely on the history of popular politics, religion and education in Ireland. Professor Keogh is a founding member of the European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR) Committee, the body charged by EU Governments with monitoring quality assurance in higher education across the continent. 

Venue
The conference venue is Bewley’s Hotel / Thomas Prior Hall, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland. The hotel was once a Masonic School. Many of its original features remain. 

Submissions:
Abstracts (500 words max) should be sent to deirdre.raftery@ucd.ie by Friday 12th September 2014.

With many thanks to our conference host:
The School of Education, University College Dublin, Ireland

10 Documentaries on the History of Education

by Charlotte Rochez

"Above all, documentary must reflect the problems and realities of the present. It cannot regret the past; it is dangerous to prophesy the future. It can, and does, draw on the past in its use of existing heritages but it only does so to give point to a modern argument. In no sense is documentary a historical reconstruction and attempts to make it so are destined to failure. Rather it is contemporary fact and event expressed in relation to human associations."
- Paul Rotha (1935)  

While some might question their academic value, documentaries provide an accessible, relatively popular, window through which to look at the history of education. For many of us a relevant documentary provides an opportunity for a moment of tea, toast and 'guilt-free' TV. Sometimes a documentary sparks a lively debate or new line of academic interest.

Discussing documentaries with friends of the History of Education Society, produced the following sample of ten thought-provoking film recommendations. What would you add? Please share your favourites with us on Twitter and Facebook.

The Ladybird Books Story: How Britain Got the Reading Bug (BBC4 - Timeshift)

Documentary on the creation and popularity of the Ladybird books, provides insights into literacy, learning of the world, and childhood culture of the second half of the twentieth century. Most interesting are the illustrations capturing the 1950s idealisation of childhood. 

The Wellbriety Movement: Journey of Forgiveness

Oral testimonies document the abuses of the Indian Boarding Schools of North America and discuss their ongoing impact experienced as continued intergenerational trauma suffered in native communities.

BBC 4 - Commonwealth on Film: Childhood

A piece of 'imperial nostalgia'. Footage from the mid twentieth century. Segments on connecting teachers and children in rural Canada (school boat, and school rail car) and Australia (radio). Clips of schools in Barbados and Kenya and interviews with Indian school boys.

Hitler's Children (Guido Knopp & ZDF Contemporary History Department)

Five-part documentary on Hitler's harnessing of children in the Third Reich, and their experiences through the Jungvolk, Hitler Youth to the Wehrmacht, SA or SS.

Helen Keller Documentary

Helen Keller born in 1882, suffered an illness as an infant which left her blind and deaf. This documentary tells of her life and how with Anne Sullivan's aid she became able to communicate, growing up to become the first deafblind person to gain a bachelor of arts degree.

British Children at War and Play (The British Council Film Collection) 

1940s footage of children at school and at play and during evacuation. The film provides a window into contemporary educational ideals, including gendered education, a concern for charater development and a high valuation of progressive play-based pedagogy in the early years.

Pink Floyd - The Brick in the Wall Kids

Documentary offers insights into experiences and perceptions of schooling in 1970s and 1980s London. The former pupils of Islington Green School featured on Pink Floyd's 1980 hit, 'Another Brick in the Wall' reflect on their day-to-day experiences of school and growing up and relate the song to their lives. Roger Waters, the song's writer, speaks of the creation and meaning of the song. Best watched in conjunction with 'The Wall' itself.

British Pathé Collection

Not a documentary as such, searching for 'education' or 'schooling' within the Brisith Pathé Collection returns engaging footage from the mid twentieth century.

Human Resources: Social Engineering In The 20th Century  (Metanoia Films)

Scott Noble seeks to expose how modern capitalist states and systems exploit human beings as a resource. The clip below is the film's treatment of modern schooling and its relationship to behaviourism and control, with a strong focus on the work of John Taylor Gatto. The full documentary deals further with the topic of the exploitation of human resources in relation to work, production, war, society and culture.

Sunday Schools: Reading, Writing and Redemption (BBC 4)

Charting the history of the Sunday Schools from their origins helping with literacy for the poor, to their popularity in the Victorian era to their decline in the late twentieth century, this film documents the influence of Sunday Schools upon British culture and education.

Exploring the history of education through pop music

by Charlotte Rochez

“The times you lived through, the people you shared those times with — nothing brings it all to life like an old mix tape. It does a better job of storing up memories than actual brain tissue can do. Every mix tape tells a story. Put them together, and they can add up to the story of a life.” 

― Rob Sheffield, Love is a Mix Tape

Did you ever make a mixtape when you were younger? What memories do those songs bring back? How do they relate to your educational experiences? Do you think your mixtape was similar to others of your generation? Would those songs bring back similar memories for them? A top hit would likely be meaningful to many different people of similar ages, though it may be imbued with distinct recollections.

If, rather than reflecting on your own experience, you were to nominate a song relating to the broader theme of 'education', which would you choose? And if we were to take these collectively, what might such a 'people's playlist' tell us about the history of education over the last 60 years?

Popular music is not only culturally reflective, it may be prophetic, provocative or ameliorative. Charting such a musical history may afford insights into popular perceptions, the creation and proliferation of contemporary ideas and the dialogue between them.

In following playlist of British popular music relating to education we witness the movement of positive associations or reminiscences of schools and teachers to a criticism of the school system, its methods and aims. This is not a simple trajectory; Madness's 'Baggy Trousers' celebrates good times within a flawed system was as a response to Pink Floyd's critical condemnation of schooling in 'Another Brick in the Wall'. Through time similar motives reappear: Busted’s ‘What I go to school for’ sexualises the theme of teacher admiration in Lulu’s ‘To Sir With Love’ and Elton John’s ‘Teacher I need you’; the Kaiser Chiefs’ ‘Never Miss a Beat’ echoes Madness’s ‘Baggy Trousers’ in celebration of cheeky youthful defiance, but with young people’s location moved from messing around in school spaces, to playing truant on the streets.

In US music, too, there is a movement from celebrating schools as a place of learning to challenging the pedagogy and curriculum of conventional schooling, and more recently to questioning the impact of social stratification according to popularity on adult life experiences. 

Which songs do feel provide particular insights into the history of education? Share with us on Twitter or Facebook.

Shakespeare on (early) modern education

by Charlotte Rochez

Many are currently celebrating Shakespeare's 450th birthday. A search for Shakespeare quotes on education and school, returned this top ten from the American Shakespeare Center. The quotes indicated how many of our contemporary views on school may be shared by with Tudors, and a possible continuity of educational issues fully spanning the modern eras.