In 1833 the government gave money to education for the first time, but most children were unable to go due to their work. In 1870 a place was provided for every child in school, but school was still not compulsory. In 1880 the Mundella Act was passed, making it law that every child had to go to school. In 1891 education was made free for all.
In the novel ‘Jane Eyre’ there are three types of education described. They are Lowood, the governess system and a Village School. These are all based on Charlottes personal recolections.
Jane Eyre was sent to Lowood at the age of 10. The Lowood timetable was very strict; the girls were controlled by the use of bells. There were 80 girls in total; they all wore the strict uniform, ‘brown stuff frocks and long holland pinafores.’ The girls ranged from the age of 9-20. There were monitors that were like the prefects in that they collected the lesson books and gave out the supper trays and they did other general tasks. Lowood was a very religious school and prayers were very important to them, they were said in the morning for an hour, in the evening before dinner. School dinners and suppers were not very nice, even the teachers were surprised at what the girls were made to eat. The girls slept in dormitories, when the bell went for getting up time the room was very cold, the girls got up and washed in cold water. There were 6 girls to a washbasin, the bell rang again and the girls descended down the stairs in file two and two. The girls were led into the schoolroom where they read prayers and had lessons until day breaks. At daybreak the bell rang and the girls were led into a room to have breakfast. Lessons began again at 9,00.
Discipline was a very important part of life at Lowood the girls seemed to be afraid of the teachers and were always silent when they entered a room. The cane was used. Jane was horrified at the harsh punishments that were used at Lowood, these were both physical, the cane and verbal, which could be very hurtful. Jane thought that she could never bear such a punishment and is mortified when she is made to stand on a stool and is accused of being a liar. Most of the punishments at Lowood were for very trivial things such as having dirty nails when the wash water was frozen. Jane thought that these punishments were very mean and she believes that these people do not deserve courtesy or to be obeyed.
Jane Eyre has one friend at Lowood she is called Helen Burns but during a Typhoid epidemic she died. Even though the health problems at Lowood were common among charity schools, the outbreak of brought Lowood into the public eye, where the living conditions at Lowood were found unacceptable.
‘’Our clothing was insufficient to protect us from the severe cold: we had no boots the snow got into our shoes and melted there; our ungloved hands became numbed and covered with chilblains, as were our feet...’’
‘’The scanty supply of food was distressing: with the keen appetites of growing children, we had scarcely sufficient to keep alive a delicate invalid. (92; ch. 7) ‘’
When the school was moved and Mr. Brocklehurst's power was lessened, discipline was relaxed as well. More compassionate men were in governance of the school and Miss Temple, Jane’s teacher, no longer had to follow Mr. Brocklehurst's rules. While strict discipline was common in monitorial schools, it was not approved of by all, and lost favour as time went on. When Jane sums up the eight years between the passing of Helen Burns and her own leaving Lowood, she upholds the value of her education at Lowood.
Having had a quality education and gained teaching experience at Lowood, Jane was more qualified than most governesses were. Jane's lack of confidence in her abilities to fulfil the requirements of the job are unfounded. When Mrs. Fairfax replies to Jane's ad she writes: "If Jane Eyre possesses the acquirements mentioned a situation can be offered her.’’ Jane's ability to provide a good education as well as teach French, drawing, and music was quite valuable for a governess, as most did not have as good of an education as Jane. But, as Mrs. Fairfax stresses, only "if Jane Eyre has the acquirements mentioned" will a position be offered, because many governess advertised that they possessed more knowledge than they really had.
When Jane teaches Adele she is obviously more caring and lenient than Lowood was at first. Jane talks of Adele's abilities, demonstrating she is aware of what Adele is and is not capable of, which suggests that she is teaching to Adele's personal abilities.
St. John's Morton School is an example of a class school. Again, Jane is never depicted teaching, only talking to her students after class. The school reflected the times, in which the majority of public schools were now class schools. In these schools, one teacher met with a smaller class, allowing her to spend more time with each student, and every student would receive work appropriate for his own age and ability. The passages, which do show Jane at the school usually, include praises of how well her students are doing and how the children of England are so much better than the children of the rest of the Europe. This belief also suggests that their education system is the best, including the newest form of schooling, the class school.
Charlotte Bronte was very lucky to receive the education that she did; she had a very good governess job that was due to her education. Many children were happy not to go to school, but they suffered in later life, especially the girls and lower class people who were not educated. Charlotte was unlucky to loose two of her sisters at school and that must have made her have unhappy memories about her school life. When Charlotte attended Miss Wooler’s school she was the happiest that she had ever been at school. She respected Miss Wooler and this was reflected in her grades. When she left this school she had quality experience that stood her in good stead and allowed her to progress further in life than many of the women at that time. Jane Eyres education is very similar to that of Charlotte Bronte, she had unpleasant experiences of death when her closest friend dies of typhus. Jane also had a teacher that inspired her to do well, Miss Temple. In the novel Jane was also very lucky to get such a quality education to set her up for later life, as she had very good jobs in her life considering her age.
