Karen Carter’s interesting study (2011, University of Notre Dame Press) explores ‘religious education’ in pre-Revolutionary France. This original study allows contemporary educators to immerse themselves in a world which is quite different to 21st century educational systems. What unites these epochs is the enormous influence of religious bodies in the provision of schooling. To be sure, the education provided in the period covered by this book is limited in scope when set alongside the wider curriculum of today’s schools: we would certainly wish to go beyond learning to read simply in order to read the Scriptures and portions of a catechism. However, this is where we glimpse the roots of local provision of education; thanks to some fascinating insights from extant primary sources, the reader becomes immersed in the complex interaction between clergy and lay people as they strove to build an effective schooling system.
What can we learn from a volume such as this? Given the title, this book will be of direct interest to historians of France, historians of education and contemporary students of religious education. More broadly, we come to understand how parents and communities would go to amazing lengths to provide an ‘education’ – albeit a simple instruction in basic skills - to their children. Alongside the impressive range of historical detail, the book reminds us that the aspirations of parents remain constant: to offer educational opportunities to their children which they might not have enjoyed. Is this much different today?
Education remains the bedrock of a good society. In a publicly-funded system, it is easy to forget the hardship and sacrifices suffered in the past by people of modest means who were prepared to dig into meagre resources to fund schools and teachers.
I end with a question: what kind of education system will we bequeath to our children?
