There have been schools of many kinds over the past five thousand years. This book traces their evolution from the teaching of cuneiform in Ancient Sumeria to the use of digital technologies.
Warlow reflects on the innovations which have shaped practice in education today. Comenius in 17th century Hungary promoted classroom drama, art, astronomy and gardens where each child could grow plants. In the 19th century Robert Owen’s school in New Lanark for his factory employees took the children for a daily walk through the forest; there were no rewards or punishments, just the satisfaction of learning. Mao’s Cultural Revolution brought schools to a standstill, but Deng Xjaping’s recovery of Chinese education in the 1980s was remarkable.
In this comprehensive exploration of education through the ages, Warlow asks the question – what can modern schools learn from the past? The history of education is the history of our culture, full of wisdom and enterprise.
Author Biography:
Aidan Warlow was born in 1938. He read History at Oxford. After teaching at a London comprehensive and at Marlborough College, he became Deputy Director of London’s Centre for Language in Primary Education. He was head of Ibstock Place School and founded Hunter Hall, an independent school in Cumbria. In Nepal, Aidan set up Kathmandu University High School and the university’s Department for Art and Design. Aidan’s series for schools, Reasons for Writing, was a bestseller.
