Emily Kastl
Mrs. Stafford
English 1 Honors
March 20th 2013
According to dictionary.reference.com education is the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life, but to people in the 16th century education was the practice of learning skills for the future. Education in the 16th century was very different than what education is now in modern times. Many people in England were illiterate and uneducated. Some boys were educated and many girls in the upper class were given private tutors. Education in England in the 16th century can be summed up by saying education varied from person to person because of the difference in education in peasants and the wealthy and boys and girls.
To begin with, boys in the upper class received the best education all throughout England in the 16th century. There were two main options for boys in the upper class, one of which was a grammar school. “In many towns there were grammar schools where boys were educated. Boys worked long hours in the grammar schools and discipline was severe” (Lambert 1). Boys who were sent to grammar schools were the most intelligent in England because most of the population was illiterate and many could not afford to change that. The second option for boys in the upper class was to train to become a knight or figure of high power. “A son of a wealthy or noble family might spend his youth learning to be a knight. When he was about seven years old he would be sent to live with another noble family, who would train him in military arts and courtesy” (Education 4). Not only were wealthy boys educated in grammar they were also trained for duty which made them a very powerful group.
Similarly to wealthy boys, wealthy girls also received better education than most. Many wealthy girls would be taught at home and had private