Reflection # 9

The Sumerian education came from their invention of writing. This was a big contribution that the Sumerian's had given to the world. The tablets however, were not dealt with firectly with the school system. The information found from the Sumeria neducation came from the first half of the second millenium B.C. Evacuated tablets have bewen found that have all kinds of practices for the pupils. It goes from a not so good first grader to a more advanced and older pupil. The tablets didn't say much about the style of teaching in the Sumerian school. Luckily, the teachers themselves wrote about the schools and their styles of teaching. Now, we can understand more about how the First school were organized. The original goal of Sumerian school were to train the scribes to take good care of the economic and all of the administrative demands of the land, mainly those in the temples or the palace. Later on the education moved on and became the center of learning and culture in Sumur. Unlike, present schools today the Sumur schools was also the center of creative learning. Most of the graduates of the Sumur schools became either scribes or teachers themselves. the teachers got paid out of the tuition of the students attending the schools. Education wasn't something that everyone was forced to have like it was more for students coming from wealthy familes. Poor students couldn't afford the expenses of the schools or had enough time that a prolonged education demanded. The head of the school was called the "ummia" , which means the expert or the proffesor. They would also be called the "school father" while the student was called the "school son." They called their assistant principal the "big brother." Like the original goal of the Sumerian schools the Egyptian students were being taught their trade or occupation. Most of the students in Egypt were home schooled. Their parents instiled in them their views of life and taught them what their job was to the society. If a man did not have a son to teach their was adoptian to take care of property inheritance and succesian in proffesion. The girls that weren't from wealthy households learned how to manage a household. The priests were the teachers for the students in Egypt. Like the Sumerians the students were usually being taught to become scribes. Paper was very expensive. If the students made even one mistake the consequences were harsh. They had to recite what they learned over and over so that they could remember. The Sumerian and the Egyptians schools were not so different. Teacher effectiveness today compared to then has changed tremendously. The students can choose to look up to the teachers or not. Teachers can not discipline their students anymoree. Teachers do not teach students according to what their future occupations will be, unless the student is in college. Students can even be disrespectful to the teachers.