ASHAM, ROGER. – Humanist and educational theorist, born at Kirby Wiske (Yorkshire) in 1515, died on 23 December 1568. He cultivated humanistic studies, with particular attention to Greek, of which he became “Regius Professor” in 1540; he was also tutor to Elizabeth, then still a princess, and later Latin secretary to Henry VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth after she became queen.
His name is associated with two works of considerable pedagogical importance. The first, Toxophilus (1545), deals with archery, regarded as physical exercise, highly useful for the harmonious development of the body and for the defence of the country. Written in English, it sought to persuade readers of the efficacy and flexibility of the national language, at a time when Latin, Italian, and French predominated. The second, The Schoolmaster (1570), published posthumously by his widow, had been written for the education of his three children and dealt chiefly with three points: truth in religion, honesty in life, and the true method of study. A. there appears to be dominated by the ideas of B. Castiglione’s Cortigiano, and indeed recommends reading it; but, as a good Puritan, while esteeming and praising fine Italian culture, he warns young people against going to Italy, lest they be corrupted through contact with the lax customs of the Italians. The third point, concerning educational problems, is especially important: he recommends the method of translation and back-translation for Latin; he wants it to be learned more through constant reading of the classics than through the arid study of grammar; he deplores the then-current practice of imposing exclusive use of the Latin language on school pupils; the national language, too, has its merits and beauties. Not only that: children compelled to speak a language that is not their own ultimately use it barbarously and thoughtlessly.