The History of Grammar School Education in England Essay

The History of Grammar School Education in England - Essay Example This essay declares that the modern education system has developed to become a public facility that is accessible to every person in the society. When religious bodies started education forum, they intended to form a training ground for Latin language that was the traditional language that linked people in religion. This paper stresses that in the 19th century, education experienced numerous changes that are regarded as critical turning points in the history of education. This period began with the leadership of the Lord Chancellor who came with the motive of abolishing the traditional school system that only paid attention to the study of Greek and Latin. His feeling was that the system was unprogressive and immodest for a world that was quickly changing and experiencing forces that demanded an expansion of the education culture. In 1840, the Grammar School Act was put in place to allow the traditional school to teach other languages such as French other than the traditional languages. This wave of change was suppressed by other forces that were foreseen in the Grammar School Act. In this act, the head of the school had to approve a change in the educational structure within the institution and hence those who did not feel the necessity to revise their learning subjects were left at liberty to retain their old system. This freedom of the educational heads to decide the kind of curriculum to teach in their schools inhibited institutional transformation. By the year 1968, the number of grammar school in England was at a figure of 782, and an increase in these figures was anticipated. In this year, the Public Schools Act came into existence and formed a new era when regulation policies for institutions became evident (Miner, 2010, P. 32). This act was enacted by the British parliament that as a reformation strategy that would see the leading English boys’ schools that had been previously grown out of some traditional charity school. After this act, these schools were placed under the direct care of the government as public schools apart from a few schools such as St Pauls’ and Merchant Taylor schools that were able to prove their authenticity as private schools. This was a critical point in the history when the educational system became divided into public and private, which is a characteristic of the modern education system. Another markable transition came into place after the formulation of the Endowed Schools act in 1869 that sought to change the social aspect of the traditional school system. After the Public schools act launched a policy to control the nine leading boys' school, the Taunton commission was given the mandate to investigate the affairs of the 782 grammar schools that existed by that time. In their investigation, the commission gave a feedback report that noted the gender imbalance that existed in these schools and the low quality of education that was offered (Miner, 2010, P. 32). The two issues were identified as a weakness of the educational system and that these conditions did not match the demands of the current population. In this regard, the government sought to reform educational structures by imposing an act that would enhance quality and gender balance in these grammar schools. Consequently, the Endowed school s act was put in place and declared that some