History Begins At Sumer Summary

Sumer is a complex society in Mesopotamia that was established in 3200 B.C.E. Some characteristics of this society include political stratification, the education system, social classes, art, and writing. They were the first to use education and writing. Samuel Noah Kramer, in his book "History Begins at Sumer" discuses the similarities and differences between Sumerians and modern world humans. He argues that although we have cultural, characters and mentality differences between Sumerians and modern humans that are obvious. Kramer saw that we are comparable with ancient Sumerians in certain aspect s of life and he spent his time trying to figure out if the problems faced in the past by Sumerians are similar to what current humans face today. …show more content…
In today's society, many teenagers get in trouble and go to jail, and for some parents try hard to put an end to it. The author ascertains a case of juvenile delinquency found in Sumer. Sumerian parents wanted to take their kids out of the streets so that they would have and education. He writes, "'You who wander about in the public square, would you achieve success? Then seek out the first generations. Got to school, it will be of benefit to you. My son, seek out the first generations, inquire of them.'" (Kramer, 16). The Sumerian dad was sick of how the son did not want to do anything like following is track: going to school, getting an education, and becoming a scribe. Like many parents today, the fathers are hurt when their son does not want to follow their professional footsteps. Parents generally expect their kids to go to school so that they can be what they want or what their parents want them to become. The point is, this behavior has not changed and is still present …show more content…
Sumerians developed the earliest form of writing which is Cuneiform. Their everyday lifestyle consisted of learning the language Cuneiform and children when to a temple school to write and become scribe. Kramer wrote, "The original goal of the Sumerian school was ... of training the scribes required to satisfy the economic and administrative demands of the land, primarily those of the temple and palace" (Kramer, 4). The main purpose of their school was to train children to become scribes so that in the future days they will provide things their society need. Similar to the school they went, our parents sent us to school starting from pre-nursery to college so that we can become someone in life and will later on provide not only for the family but also for the society. They used clay tablets, which is what we use as notebooks and textbooks