The Roman Times
84 A.D
All the News Romans Need to Know
Ancient Rome
Can All Children Learn..?
By Alexius Lipchius
I am a poor young boy living in Rome right now. I am not allowed to have
a formal education, but I still am learning how to read and write, but all the rich
boys were well schooled and were taught by a private tutor at home or went to
schools. In Rome, two types of schools exist. One is for the older boys and one is
for the younger. I am not allowed to attend either. From what I have heard there
isn’t really a topic that the kids learn, so a lot of the time people are bored. It
stinks for them because they need to go to school seven days a week! They are
never given a break. If a boy had not learned what he was supposed to learn, the
teacher would frequently hit him with a stick. Many boys were very afraid of
their teacher, and hated school because they were afraid of being hit with the
stick. Only some rich girls got an education, but from their mothers at home.
They learned how to run the house and be a good wife they sewed and ran the
kitchen. The boys were told practice made perfect. They were not allowed to
write on paper. Boys first practiced on a wax tablet. They were allowed to obtain
paper when they proved they could write well enough. The main thing taught
was the Twelve Tables. These were a set of laws in ancient Rome that expressed
the most important rules of Roman law.
Teacher teaching the wealthy boys.