Who Invented School?

Many disgruntled students would love to know who invented school. However, the idea of schools cannot be attributed to one single person. Schools have existed in many forms throughout the ages. Some of the earliest schools date back to the early Greeks and Byzantine Empire. Modern public schools can be attributed to Horace Mann. Yet there are many other innovators that have helped to make schools into what they are today.

Schools are places where parents send young people to be educated. In many westernized countries, this means all children are required to go to school until a certain age, usually sixteen. Some developing countries do not have such requirements because buildings, teachers, and supplies are difficult to obtain.

Although the purpose of school is to obtain an education, there are many ways to get an education that do not require sitting for eight hours a day in a classroom. Apprenticeships, internships, self-study, and home schooling are all time honored ways of learning as well. However, an important part of schooling is helping children learn how to become lifelong learners, especially in today’s constantly evolving technological society.

Who Invented School?

Classical Education

A classical education usually consisted of rich white males learning scripture, literature and languages. Educated people followed their parents vocations, such as medicine or law, entered into public service, or became part of a clergy. Those who remained on the farm would have little need for a formal education; therefore, few received more than basic reading and writing education, and that was only to allow them access to scriptures.

Women who were educated learned how to care for a household or learned some artistic skill to make them better able to entertain a potential husband’s clients and friends. Few women were encouraged to broaden their educational outlook.

Horace Mann (1796-1859) and Public Education

Public school in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries consisted of many students of different ages learning together in a one-room school house. Their education lasted only a few weeks a year, usually during the winter when their services were not required on the family farm. Teachers were mostly untrained, and educational materials were limited.

Having started in a one room schoolhouse, Horace Mann struggled to become educated. He eventually rose to the position of state senator where he began a lifelong crusade to improve public education.

Important educational innovations created by Horace Mann:

• Teacher training institutes
• Instituted a six month school year
• Developed funding for teacher salaries
• Developed funding for books to be used in the schools
• Built more schools

Other Influential People in Education

• John Dewey (1859-1952) believed that children should learn through experience based on children’s psychological development and guided by a knowledgeable teacher. This was considered radical in his day compared to the type of education most students received through rote memorization and recitation. 
• Maria Montessori (1870-1952) pioneered a type of education named after her where students direct their own learning based on their interests and development.
• Jean Piaget (1896-1980) developed the groundwork for the theory of cognitive development in children. While some of Piaget’s stages have since been altered by other research, his theory that children develop in stages and through sociological methods was the first of its kind and made a big impact on how children are educated.

Schooling Today

Today, who invented school does not seem to be as important as the current debates about the best way to educate students. To this end, there are many school choices available for students today (public, private, charter, bilingual, homeschool, Montessori, Waldorf, vocational just to name a few) because no one school option will work for every community or every student.

Parents with more financial resources have a greater variety of options from which to choose. Even those of limited means still have a few options, but governments are ultimately responsible for the education options available to citizens.