Ragged Schools in the Victorian Era

harass inculcates in the Victorian EraVictorian generation started out in 1800s and lasteduntil 1901. During this occlusion of time, children were living in poverty, thus one of the great move piecepowerts of Victorian philanthropic gift was establishing of frustrate schools to provide cultivation opportunity, like its name, rag Schools provide discipline for children who are too ragged, filthy, wretch forlorn to enter every new(prenominal) places (Besant, 1984).The origin of ragged schooling was first pieceed by John Pounds (1766 1839), he was a cobbler in Portsmouth and initiated by using his shop in 1818 for educational activity. John pound actively recruit children by expending time on streets and quays of Portsmouth by making contacts with children as fountainhead as bribing them with baked potatoes (Guthrie, 1847).After recruiting these children, he would then teach the girls to cook simpleton food where the ragged school cookery class is form. As for the boys, he would impart his skills raft as a cobbler to them which would eventually representing industrialism. Reading, make-up and arithmetic were also taught thoroughly thus making education as a base for schooling (Montague, 1904 p.40-41).A nonher Ragged School would be St. Johns School which is situated at Forton, a slender village in Staffordshire in England. During year 1830 to 1831 it was being used as a Sunday School before being converted to a ragged school in 1861. During 1861, boys and girls schools were built within the existing premises, thus, distinct sexes would be posted to their designated buildings respectively. There were also blackboards and slate pencils available as well as cane which is being used as death penalty of penalty system for children being late or playing truancy (Turner, 1986).As children during Victorias England, it was a time where child hold the society, thus, during this time families tends to be large which eventually lead to overcrowding which then leading to poor families. Poor children are often put to utilisation at early age much(prenominal) get going places could be textile mill around and also coal mines where working conditions are often deadly thus, education are something of a luxury for the children (Boone, 2005). Thus, the ragged school provides a dependable environment and protection for children which has proper mentor in guiding skills set for them. Such protection would be to protect them from their parents who did not know how to remove a child into the right wing path (Silver, 1983 p. 20).Charles Dickens was another soulfulness whom brought the whole of Britain attention to children (Smith, 2001). He wrote the first letter on ragged schooling after he visited Field Lane Ragged School which was established in 1841, which later appeared in The Daily News on February 4th 1846. He mentioned they are never taught that first distinctions between right and wrong are, from their cradles, perfectly confoun ded and perverted in their minds that they come of illiterate parent (Charles, 1846). pincerren were not taught on morality and were unable to differentiate uncomplete what is right nor what is wrong, thus pull up stakesing in higher crime rate such as pickpocketing, thus, ragged school rescues children who are facing such difficulties in their break downs (Boone, 2005).Dickens (1841) also described the boys that were age from mere infants to young men who were rescued to Field Lane Ragged School when he do his way down to the chamber room where these boys are going to live in. When he first saw the boys, he could not see any ingenuous, frank or even pleasant in their faces but their expressions and behaviours looked vicious, wicked, cunning, tincture being abandoned from all help (Boone, 2005).Some people business leader think that Dickens is being extremely harsh with the above comments but, he points out severe problems with the education system in Victorian England. As t he teachers are mostly volunteers, basic education such as writing, recital and arithmetic were all being provided for these children as well as a sheltered place for these children (Macgregor, 1853). However, majority of the children were not as civilised and their behaviours ever poses problems to the teachers. They could be listening attentively at sometimes while all told changes to another personality in a short time disgorge causing nuisance hence, punishment system was implemented.One of such punishment would be to forfeit the days pleasure if one is found with being disobedient to teachers. Whenever the day arrives and the children whom misbehaves realises that they were not going anywhere, they would start crying. This would pay heed as a reminder to them which would gain beneficial and positive result in shaping their behaviours and improving their manners (Walvin, 1982).There was another man whom made a great contribution to the Ragged School movement, Dr doubting Tho mas John Barnardo (July 1845 September 1905) who started his own experimental Ragged School in late 1866 (Fletcher, 2005 p.41). He met the first destitute child, Jim, in 1866 and described Jim as genuine Arab boy, friendless, homeless (Marchant, 2007, p. 342). Barnardo also mentioned that when he saw the upturned faces more of those boys, he realises the fact that all absolutely destitute and homeless, he knows himself that he must look for ways to save these boys whom were also labelled as street-arabs (Wagner, 1979).First, he started a trade strategy for his ragged school, photographic marketing (Ash, 2008 p.180) to increase the publics awareness surrounding those pauper children during Victorian times as well as to raise funds for his ragged school. He would create postcards of poverty-stricken, dirty children before coming to orphanage and compare and line of credit with the after photograph where the children are well-dressed and good-manner (Swain and Hillel, 2010). In thi s, much awareness was gained roughly how parents have failed in giving their child proper education and understanding of own morality, thus, bringing up issues of children during that time (Ash, 2008 p. 180)Lastly, there were two logbook entries by their headmaster from Kidmore End Ragged School which started recording in 1873. 8 October 1868 1st class not well attended. Boys wanted for work for lean cattle and working in the field and 3 April 1871, Harry Castell and George front punished for playing truant since yesterday afternoon. There was no use in the afternoon, the weather being damp and showery (Hendrick, 1997). From the above entries, we could guess that children who were attending Ragged School were still constantly wanted for work however, they would be punished for truancy, thus enabling them to change their behaviours as well as for them to realise the importance of education during Victorian times.With all these demonstration to support the contributions of the Ragged School has made during Victorian times, although their facilities are not as good as those normal schools, however, the intentions of the founders were the same. They wanted to build a better future for Britishs children during that time. They foresee that only when children attain more education, the country would then be able to progress (Hendrick, 1997).ReferencesAsh. S 2008, Heroin Baby Barnardos, Benevolence, and Shame, in Journal ofCommunication Inquiry, 32(2), 179-200.Ashley, M 1850. Ragged Schools and Emigration Special Appeal. The Times, 10 July.Besant, W 1894. The Jubilee of the Ragged Schools Union, capital of the United Kingdom RSU.Boone, T Youth of Darkest England Working-Class kidskinren at the Heart of VictorianEmpire. New York Routeledge, 2005.Fletcher, W 2005, Kepping the hatful Alive The Story of Barnardos 1905 -2005. Barnardos Organiszation, Essex.Guthrie, T 1847 Plea for Ragged Schools, or Prevention is Better Than Cure, EdinburghHC Deb 1849. Ragged Sch ools. ONLINE Available athttp//hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1849/jul/24/ragged-schools. Accessed 29 October 14.Hendrick, H 1997, Children, childhood and English society, 1880-1990, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Macgregor, J 1853, Ragged Schools their Rise, Progress and Results. London.Marchant, J 2007, Memoirs of the Late Dr. Barnardo, Hodder and Stoughton, London.Montague, C. J. 1904 Sixty Years in Waifdom. Or, the Ragged School Movement in English history, London.Silver, H 1983 direction as History, London Methuen.Smith, M 2001 Ragged schools and the development of youth work and informaleducation. The encyclopaedia of informal education. www.infed.org/youthwork/ragged_schools.htm.Swain, S and M Hillel 2010, Child, Nation, Race and Empire Child Rescue Discourse, England, Canado and Australia, 1850-1915, Manchester University Press, Machester.Turner, O 1986. Forton St. Johns School. 1st ed. Staffordshire London.Wagner, G 1979, Barnardo, Weidenfield and Nicolson, Lon don.Walvin, J 1982 A Childs World. A social history of English childhood 1800 1914, London Pelican.WT14041938Page. 01 of 06