Why do schools have 'houses'
what's the point of them? They don't even have a Hogwarts 'sorting hat'.
46-50, F
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chilloutab2 · 46-50, M
That's a throwback to old English "public" schools (which were actually private schools). All of these were boarding schools... in other words, the students, almost always all-boys, lived in the school while studying and only went home on vacations. To house them, there were buildings on the premises, usually more than one because they were too many to be accommodated in one building.
These buildings - or houses - had names. And all the students accommodated in or housed in a particular building were said to belong to that "house". And students of any particular house were supposed to form a fraternity.
This fraternity gave rise to inter-house competitions, such as sports and other activities, which developed the skills of the students and inculcated the spirit of teamwork in them.
Each house also had a house master, or the teacher in charge of discipline and administration of the house, and under him were senior students selected for their excellence and leadership qualities to delegate some of his tasks to. These students had a hierarchy - A House Captain, assisted by several House Prefects.
Old English public schools like Eton, Harrow and Rugby still continue with this tradition, as do several other schools all over the world modelled on the English public school system.
Hogwarts was JK Rowling's recreation of this old, traditional British schooling system in the imaginary world of wizards.
These buildings - or houses - had names. And all the students accommodated in or housed in a particular building were said to belong to that "house". And students of any particular house were supposed to form a fraternity.
This fraternity gave rise to inter-house competitions, such as sports and other activities, which developed the skills of the students and inculcated the spirit of teamwork in them.
Each house also had a house master, or the teacher in charge of discipline and administration of the house, and under him were senior students selected for their excellence and leadership qualities to delegate some of his tasks to. These students had a hierarchy - A House Captain, assisted by several House Prefects.
Old English public schools like Eton, Harrow and Rugby still continue with this tradition, as do several other schools all over the world modelled on the English public school system.
Hogwarts was JK Rowling's recreation of this old, traditional British schooling system in the imaginary world of wizards.
gandalf1957 · 61-69, M
@chilloutab2 I'm not sure that all being boarding schools is true for, example I don't think Manchester Grammar School founded 1515 which is a public (private) school is a boarding school and there are others that aren't boarding schools too.
chilloutab2 · 46-50, M
@gandalf1957 Yes you're right, not all were boarding schools... but the boarding school seems to have been the norm for the upper class public school system, with only a few exceptions. At least the most prestigious ones seem to have been/are boarding schools.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@chilloutab2 @SunshineGirl My Local Education Authority Grammar School (part of the state not private education system) was mixed, roughly equal numbers of boys and girls, and day-attendance only.
Yet that had "houses" although for sports purposes only, named after Empire-days generals as I recall. Mine was Clive (of India), but I forget the others.
My Primary School, similarly state, mixed and non-boarding, also had "houses" which as I recall were named after admirals; but again, only for PE and Games. Mine was Nelson; I vaguely recall the others were Rodney, Hardy and Blake.
Oh, and Britons had, and still have, "holidays", but I don't know if a few public schools used that American word "vacation". Which has also crept across the Atlantic in that gruesome non-word "staycation" - as if " a holiday in one's own country" is even a new concept anyway.
Why are the larger, older, private schools called "Public"?
From their late-Mediaeval origins, when there was no national education system and most people had only the most rudimentary "education" at best. Parents had either to teach their offspring as best they could, or pay for a private tutor to visit the home. So schools were established open to any parent who could afford the fees - so were "public" in that sense although administratively businesses or affiliated to the Church. They were though, boys-only for centuries.
It was not until the 19C that Britain developed a fully open, state education system free to all, but the Public Schools stayed as supposedly offering a better standard of education than the state ones, to families who can pay their high fees. Some now also offer bursaries to suitable candidates from the state schools.
The boarding system, with its accommodation "houses" on the site, was originally for sheer practicality because they were much too far from most pupils' homes for day attendance. Though of course they have always offered a way for rich parents to offload their clearly unwanted little darlings for the entire length of each school term... ("term", not "semester").
Many of the Public Schools are now mixed, admit day as well as boarding pupils, and they all have to teach to at least national standards.
Yet that had "houses" although for sports purposes only, named after Empire-days generals as I recall. Mine was Clive (of India), but I forget the others.
My Primary School, similarly state, mixed and non-boarding, also had "houses" which as I recall were named after admirals; but again, only for PE and Games. Mine was Nelson; I vaguely recall the others were Rodney, Hardy and Blake.
Oh, and Britons had, and still have, "holidays", but I don't know if a few public schools used that American word "vacation". Which has also crept across the Atlantic in that gruesome non-word "staycation" - as if " a holiday in one's own country" is even a new concept anyway.
Why are the larger, older, private schools called "Public"?
From their late-Mediaeval origins, when there was no national education system and most people had only the most rudimentary "education" at best. Parents had either to teach their offspring as best they could, or pay for a private tutor to visit the home. So schools were established open to any parent who could afford the fees - so were "public" in that sense although administratively businesses or affiliated to the Church. They were though, boys-only for centuries.
It was not until the 19C that Britain developed a fully open, state education system free to all, but the Public Schools stayed as supposedly offering a better standard of education than the state ones, to families who can pay their high fees. Some now also offer bursaries to suitable candidates from the state schools.
The boarding system, with its accommodation "houses" on the site, was originally for sheer practicality because they were much too far from most pupils' homes for day attendance. Though of course they have always offered a way for rich parents to offload their clearly unwanted little darlings for the entire length of each school term... ("term", not "semester").
Many of the Public Schools are now mixed, admit day as well as boarding pupils, and they all have to teach to at least national standards.