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The 19th century saw major changes in the demography
of Scotland. From being a mainly rural country Scottish cities, such
as Glasgow, expanded and came to play an increas- ingly important role
in the life of the nation. The growth of international trade and the
development of the mining and metal industries led to a general increase
in wealth.
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However, in the cities poverty was extensive and the number of schools
and teachers had not kept pace with the increase in population. This increase
can be seen in the census returns for Edinburgh: in 1811 a population of
82,624 was recorded which by 1851 had expanded to over 345,000. The city
was plagued by organised gangs of youths based in the Grassmarket, the Canongate
and Niddry Street. The problem came to a head at the Hogmanay celebrations
in 1811. The gangs joined together ‘to give the police a licking’.
They stormed a midnight gathering being held in the Tron Church and carried
out widespread assaults, robberies and murder across the city. 68 youths
were arrested: 3 were hanged in the High Street and a number transported.
Church Ministers met to consider ways in which the root causes of this rioting
could be addressed. Their solution was to arrange for the wider provision
of education, particularly religious education, for the poor. As a start
it was agreed in 1812 that Sunday Schools should
be established in every parish in the city with the necessary teachers appointed
and paid.
However, the real problem was the lack of elementary schools in the city.
Consequently, Edinburgh’s churches agreed that as a start a school
should be established to which they could all send a number of their parish
children. This Sessional School was opened in 1813 in
Leith Wynd. The emphasis was to be on reading, writing and counting. Because
of the large number of children attending, and with only one schoolmaster,
the school was organised on a monitorial system.
At first Lancaster’s principles were followed,
with the children arranged in groups of ten, each under a monitor. Then in
1818 the school implemented Andrew Bell’s
Madras system, with the children working in groups of thirty. Under both
systems the education provided was regimented and mechanical.
Monitorial
Systems of Teaching:
Monitorial systems developed at the end of the 18th
century in response to a shortage of teachers and the increasing number
of pupils in school classes. In England Dr Andrew Bell and Joseph Lancaster
initially developed these systems. Both involved the selection from the
older and more able children who could undertake the role of monitor. These
children would receive additional instruction from the schoolmaster and
in turn they would instruct a group of children: ten in the Lancaster method
and up to thirty in the Bell system. The first to apply these techniques
in Scotland in 1810 was James Pillans Rector of the Royal High School in
Edinburgh. He used a combination of class and group teaching, with monitors
instructing groups of ten boys. Lancaster visited Edinburgh in 1812 and
the Leith Wynd Sessional School, opened in 1812/3, at first followed his
principles. In this school the desks were arranged around the walls of
the schoolroom. The remainder of the space was empty except for the schoolmaster’s
desk. "One half of the scholars always sit at the desks with their
faces to the wall, employed in learning to write or cipher, while the other
half stand on the floor, either reading or practising the rules of arithmetic…" (John
Wood). The classes on the floor were arranged in groups facing the schoolmaster
with a monitor keeping order over each group. At the end of an hour those
at the desks would change over with those on the floor. Writing would be
carried out on slates, although the older children might use paper.
Whilst monitorial systems overcame the teacher shortages and were inexpensive
to run they had major drawbacks. They were regimented and involved rote
learning and repetition. No child was ‘oot o’ the Bible’ when
studying reading and writing and children were unlikely to develop an enthusiasm
for reading later in life. The mechanical routines of instruction also
prevented an understanding of words and language.
In 1818 John Wood started
visiting the Leith Wynd School to assist the work of some of the apprentice
weavers for whom he was responsible. His increasing contributions meant
that he effectively became the head of the school. In 1824 the school moved
to a new building in Market
Street, Edinburgh
consisting of a single schoolroom 83ft by 35ft. The children were drawn
from some of the poorest families in Edinburgh although most would still
pay a small fee. In 1828 upwards of 500 children were reported as attending
with the largest number registered being 601. John Wood is recorded as
the Superintendent in charge from 1826-1840.
Market
Street School (highlighted)
The roots of teacher training at Moray House can be traced back to these
Edinburgh Sessional Schools. Before the 19th century schoolteachers received
no formal professional training. Whilst some schools required their teachers
to have a master’s degree, or at least some evidence of having attended
one of Scotland’s four ancient universities, many had to appoint
teachers who had few qualifications.
In March 1824 the Principal of Edinburgh University, the Rev. George Baird,
raised the issue, in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, of
the parlous state of education throughout the country, not least in the
Highlands and Islands. The Assembly agreed that a Church Education Committee
should be established with George Baird as its first convener. Its remit
included the ‘training of teachers both to a knowledge of the branches
usually taught, and to the actual business of teaching.’ The Committee’s
first report to the General Assembly in 1825 highlighted the state of illiteracy
in many parts of Scotland and demonstrated that some 250 more ‘Assembly’ schools
were needed just in the Highlands and Islands. The Committee also recognised
the need to improve the quality of teaching across all its schools.
In 1826 the Education Committee made arrangements with the Market Street
Sessional School to allow future Gaelic speaking teachers bound for Highland
and Island schools to undertake a course of observation and practice. In
this way the Edinburgh Sessional School became a ‘model’ school.
By 1834 the Church was convinced of the need for a more systematic approach
to the training of teachers. ‘There is an art of teaching in which
every schoolmaster ought to be instructed. …This can only be accomplished
comprehensively by the institution of model schools for the training of
teachers to the practice of their calling’. In 1835 John Wood’s
help was sought and a more formal training programme was developed. This
comprised daily instruction in the subjects to be taught and practise in
the art of teaching by serving as monitors under the guidance of the schoolmaster.
After a period, usually no longer than six months, those considered ‘proficient’ were
awarded a diploma. It was agreed that all teachers appointed to Assembly
schools should receive such training. A training department was introduced
at the Market Street Sessional School and it became the General Assembly’s
Normal Seminary in Edinburgh. John Wood became responsible for the training
of these students.
In 1837 the General Assembly’s Education Committee became responsible
for the School and it was renamed the Normal and Sessional
School of Edinburgh.
In its new role it combined a school and a training department for students
intending to become teachers. As a school it had some 300 pupils and in
1840 its associated teacher training centre (Normal School) had over 50
students passing through it. With these developments the Market Street
premises proved to be too small and in 1841 a government grant was sought
and agreed for a new school to be built at Johnston Terrace close by the
Castle. This was the first time the government had played any significant
role in the training of teachers in Scotland.
......
on to Part 3
or
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or read more about Lancaster,
Bell and Wood
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