CHILDHOOD AND ITS CONCEPT IN THE WEST IELTS ACADEMIC READINGS FOR EXAM PRACTICE VOLUME 2 EXAM READING 31

 

IELTS ACADEMIC READINGS FOR EXAM PRACTICE VOLUME 2 EXAM READING 31 READING PASSAGE 1

 

CHILDHOOD AND ITS CONCEPT IN THE WEST The history of childhood has been a heated topic in social history since the highly influential book Centuries of Childhood’, written by French historian Philippe Aries, emerged in 1960. He claimed that ‘childhood’ is a concept created by modern society. A One of the most hotly debated issues in the history of childhood has been whether childhood is itself a recent invention. The historian Philippe Aries asserted that children were regarded as miniature adults, with all the intellect and personality that this implies, in Western Europe during the Middle Ages (up to about the end of the 15th century). He scrutinized medieval pictures and diaries, he concluded that there was no distinction between children and adults for they shared similar leisure activities and work. Aries, however, pointed out that this is not to suggest that children were neglected, forsaken or despised. The idea of childhood is not to be confused with affection for children; it corresponds to awareness of the particular nature of childhood, that particular nature which distinguishes the child from adult, even the young adult. B There is a long tradition of the children of the poor playing a functional role in contributing to the family income by working either inside or outside the home. In this sense children are seen as ‘useful’. Back in the Middle Ages, children as young as 5 or 6 years old did necessary chores for their parents and, from the 16th century, were often encouraged or even forced to leave their family by the age of 9 or 10 to work as servants for wealthier families or apprentices for a trade. C With industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries, a new demand for child labour was created, and many children were forced to work for a long hours, in mines, workshops and factories. Social reformers began to question whether labouring long hours from an early age would harm children’s growing bodies. They began to recognize the potential of carrying out systematic studies to monitor how far these early deprivations might be influencing children’s development. D Gradually, the concerns of reformers began to impact on the working conditions of children. In Britain, the Factory Act of 1833 signified the beginning of legal protection of children from exploitation and was linked to the rise of schools for factory children. The worst forms of child exploitation were gradually eliminated, partly through factory reform but also through the influence of trade unions and economic changes during the nineteenth century which made some forms of child labour redundant. Childhood was increasingly seen as a time for play and education for all children, not just for a privileged minority. Initiating children into work as ‘useful’ children became less of a priority. As the age for starting full-time work was delayed, so childhood was increasingly understood as a more extended phase of dependency, development and learning. Even so, work continued to play a significant, if less essential, role in children’s lives throughout the later 19th and 20th centuries. And the ‘useful child’ has become a controversial concept during the first decade of the 21st century especially in the context of global concern about large numbers of children engaged in child labour. E The Factory Act of 1833 established half-time schools which allowed children to work and attend school. But in the 1840s, a large proportion of children never went to school, and even if they did, they left by the age of 10 or 11. The situation was very different by the end of the 19th century in Britain. The school became central to images of a ‘normal’ childhood. F Attending school was no longer a privilege and all children were expected to spend a significant part of their day in a classroom. By going to school, children’s lives were now separated from domestic life at home and from the adult world of work. School became an institution dedicated to shaping the minds, behaviour and morals of the young. Education dominated the management of children’s waking hours, not just through the hours spent in the classroom but through homework, the growth of ‘after school’ activities and the importance attached to parental involvement. G Industrialisation, urbanisation and mass schooling also set new challenges for those who are responsible for protecting children’s welfare, and promoting their learning. Increasingly, children were being treated as a group with distinctive needs, and they were organised into groups according to their age. For example, teachers needed to know what to expect of children in their classrooms, what kinds of instruction were appropriate for different age groups, and how best to assess children’s progress. They wanted tools that could enable them to sort and select children according to their abilities and potential. Questions 1-7 Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet, write TRUE if the statement is true FALSE if the statement is false NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage   1 Aries pointed out that children did different types of work to adults during the Middle Ages. 2 During the Middle Ages, going to work necessarily means children were unloved indicated by Aries. 3 Scientists think that overworked labour damages the health of young children. 4 The rise of trade unions majorly contributed to the protection of children from exploitation in the 19th century. 5 By the aid of half-time schools, most children went to school in the mid-19th century. 6 In the 20th century, most children need to go to school with a full-time schedule. 7 Nowadays, children’s needs were much differentiated and categorised based on how old they are. Questions 8-13 Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer: Write your answers in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet.   8 What is the controversial topic arises with the French historian Phillippe Aries’s concept? 9 What image for children in did Aries believed to be like in Western Europe during the Middle Ages? 10 What historical event generated the need for a large number of children to work for a long time in the 18th and 19th centuries? 11 What legal format initiated the protection of children from exploitation in 19th century? 12 What the activities were more and more regarded as preferable for almost all children time in the 19th century? 13 Where has been the central area for children to spend largely of their day in school as people’s expectation in modern society?

ANSWER KEY