Ap Euro Dbq Renaissance Education

Renaissance education was a catalyst for change in education unlike the Middle Ages where education was primarily based on theology. Renaissance education revived the study of classics, took on an individualistic approach, and focused on humanistic pursuits. The values and purposes of Renaissance education were to familiarize wealthy people to humanities and arts as well as prove society but over time, these values were challenged and transformed when it expanded to include practical subjects and was targeted towards a wider audience. Some of the values and purposes of Renaissance education can be seen in the first two documents. Piccolomini, an Italian humanist, wrote about how people should hold knowledge in humanities (arithmetic, rhetoric,

Annie Higginson’s letter to the Lady Ferrers signifies that education for women is also turning for the better. In this letter, a woman recommends a school for women to another woman (Document Nine, Letter to Lady Ferrers of Transworth Castle, England). This exemplifies the significant change in education because what was originally targeted to wealthy young men grew to include many women. In 1523, a man goes on to say that women need to be taught structure/morals and be literate. Once again, this is a major transformation, as a man is supporting educated women. This is important as the change in education implemented the idea that educated women would divert from Christian values but a man strongly opposing the idea dismisses it, and lends a supportive perspective of educated women. However, something that is not showcased in this document is that women were taught theology, basic arithmetic, and language which limited them to their lives at home. Not being so educated in a vast variety of subjects like the men of their times eventually led to the downfall of women. They lost power and and didn’t have a very crucial role in shaping

In 1642, Comenius, a reformer in Bohemia refers to schools as useless and does not see it as real learning. As per his views, ‘real’ learning is taught in university. This document speaks for itself as many of the subjects are dismissed as impractical in relation to the lifestyle of people during the Renaissance period. As an educational reformer, Comenius would be more knowledgeable about changing schools. Therefore, this document can be seen as a reliable document (Document 13, Reformation of Schools). In 1622, Brinsley considers education as a waste of time. People only knew how to write in Latin which “no one of judgement will want to read” (Document 10, Consolation for Our Grammar Schools). He also refers to it as a waste of money because people would come back home just as uneducated as when they had left. This is significant because of the shift from just a few decades ago. This document once again brings up the point that people wanted education to be more practical. The humanities didn’t play an important role in the lives of people outside their schooling. This document is also reliable because Brinsley was a schoolmaster who had a firsthand account on the toll education took on students. In the mid-seventeenth century, a letter to the Parliament of Dijon was written where an unidentified author states that education is impractical for jobs that have more