Literacy & freedom

[joette]

I am very happy to have recieved a guid Scot's education.I would say one that was broad-based but anchored on the 3 R's with a good dose of common sense & a sense of self & nationhood.Add a dash of poetry & song-thanks again Mrs Burns of Dalmuir Primary who I can still picture playing her heart out & all of us singing along.
I took for granted the fact that I could read & write & that books my life-long passion would always be aviable to me.I could read from about three & a half which is when my elder sister learnt & taught me.
I can sort of operate a computer & almost record on a DVD.I know how the washing machine works & can change the clocks when we have a power cut because I read the instruction manual-when all fails.I could read treatment charts & prescriptions & treat my patients when I was nursing.
I had a lovely e-mail from my Aunt in Boise,Idaho this am & was able to reply & give her all the latest.
When I want to relax I read a good book & escape into another world.
As I have researched my family I have had to be numerate as well as literate as I work out all the comings & goings"Well she was very clever giving Birth in 1812 when she died in 1811" is one I have latelty spotted-still trying to work it all out & which child belongs to which Mother & did he marry two women at the same time.My head is spinning with it all-he actually had at least three wives & at least one "in fornication"
I am so grateful for the way that my forefathers fought for the universal education of all.For all the little girls & boys who toiled in factories & helped their parents raise their sibs.Who found the time to read & to learn more of the World which led them to fighting for change.
For my Granny & her fight for the rights of Women.As she rose above the stigma of having two illigitimate children & her struggle to better herself.
For my parents who sacrificed to give us the best start they could provide & for my sisters & brothers-in-law who are still struggling to educate their children & keep roofs over their heads-how thrilled my ancestors would be to see the girls getting an education like the boys.
My Great-grandparents educated their nine children as best as they could giving them all girls & boys a trade which was a big sacrifice.
I can read for myself what is happening in the World & make my own mind up about what i think of it all.
I can visit many different times,places without leaving my sofa.I am just so glad that I have this wonderful gift & I would be lost without it.

[Ted]

Joette

Thanks for posting this - what an interesting read. I am sure that many of us here can relate to your thoughts and have had similar 'guid Scots upbringings' - maybe one of the many reasons that sets our race apart!

Best regards

Ted

[mallog]

not necessarily in that order !

Well said.

Researching Family History even just a generation back really makes you appreciate your lot in life.

Mallog

[emanday]

My GGGrandfather apparently could read & write as he signed his marriage certificate, but GGGrannie obviously couldn't as it shows "Her Mark" followed by witness signature.

Like you joette, I am an avid reader and can't begin to imagine what it must have been like not to have that skill. Thank heavens things did change.

[StewL]

A few years ago while studying for my first degree at uni. I made a comment in a class about how pleased I was to see so many women at this level of education. Well the lecturer (snr lecturer at that) tore strips of me and called me sexist. Not surprisingly I was stunned, but not stunned enough not to respond and give my reasons (my mother was brilliant at school but sent off to the cotton mills with her sisters). When I had finished my reply the lecturer was quite red faced (actually) and apologised, quietly of course. After the class all my fellow students came up and said she was out of line, and thanked me for bringing up the change in educational chances that women now have.