In Quintilian’s On the Teaching of Speaking and Writing, Quintilian stressed the importance of a proper upbringing to become a successful member of Roman society. He also stressed that people needed to continue learning beyond one’s childhood to become a prominent public figure. The traits outlined by Quintilian were not viewed as the ideal method back then, and weren’t implemented into the educational system right away; even though many concepts like: repetition, habit, and imitation seem intuitive today. Back during the days of the Roman Empire, Quintilian’s guidelines were still seen as somewhat controversial, unlike how they are viewed as common sense today. If Quintilian’s methods were to be implemented back then, reformations were desperately
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Beginning one’s education during infancy instead of the age of seven gives the child more time to develop, and leads to an individual who would be far ahead of their peers. Many Romans, however, countered with the old way of thinking that boys could not retain most knowledge before the age of seven. Quintilian ignored this way of thinking and continued to stress that these young children can learn, and should actually start learning how to read and write during this impressionable age. Although, Quintilian noted, for this to be successful, the child needed to be surrounded by those who could properly correct them if they were wrong. This follows the idea of repetition that Quintilian favored in his methods, as repeated correction of an incorrect pronunciation or action would eventually lead to perfection, or as close as one could get to it. Quintilian also discussed the use of repetition to teach young children how to write by following the shape of a letter on a wax sheet of paper over-and-over until memorized. The forms of repetition that a child is constantly exposed to at an age before seven, and during their school years, builds a strong educational foundation for them. With a stronger educational foundation, the democratic society can begin to improve earlier, further following the idea that these reforms do not happen overnight and that “difficulty should precede every work of excellence”
Beginning one’s education during infancy instead of the age of seven gives the child more time to develop, and leads to an individual who would be far ahead of their peers. Many Romans, however, countered with the old way of thinking that boys could not retain most knowledge before the age of seven. Quintilian ignored this way of thinking and continued to stress that these young children can learn, and should actually start learning how to read and write during this impressionable age. Although, Quintilian noted, for this to be successful, the child needed to be surrounded by those who could properly correct them if they were wrong. This follows the idea of repetition that Quintilian favored in his methods, as repeated correction of an incorrect pronunciation or action would eventually lead to perfection, or as close as one could get to it. Quintilian also discussed the use of repetition to teach young children how to write by following the shape of a letter on a wax sheet of paper over-and-over until memorized. The forms of repetition that a child is constantly exposed to at an age before seven, and during their school years, builds a strong educational foundation for them. With a stronger educational foundation, the democratic society can begin to improve earlier, further following the idea that these reforms do not happen overnight and that “difficulty should precede every work of excellence”