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In Rebecca Solomon's 1851 painting The Governess, the title figure (seated right, with her charge) exhibits the modest dress and deportment appropriate to her quasi-invisible role in the Victorian household.
In Rebecca Solomon's 1851 painting The Governess, the title figure (seated right, with her charge) exhibits the modest dress and deportment appropriate to her quasi-invisible role in the Victorian household.

A governess is a female employee of a family who teaches children within their home. In contrast to a nanny (formerly called a nurse) or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not their physical needs. A nanny is a person who looks after the child or children of one family in the child's home Babysitting is the practice of temporarily caring for a child on behalf of the child's parents Her charges are of school age, not babies. [1]

The position is rare now, except within large and wealthy households such as those of the Saudi royal family[2] and in remote regions such as outback Australia. For the architecture of great houses see Mansion. For the great house masonry pueblos see Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The House of Saud ( Arabic: آل سعود romanized Āl Suʿūd is the Royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Outback or the Outback refers to remote arid areas of Australia, although the term colloquially can refer to any lands outside of the main Urban areas For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. [3] It was common in well-off European families before World War I, especially in the countryside where no suitable school existed nearby. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Parents' preference to educate their children at home—rather than send them away to boarding school for months at a time—varied across time and countries. A boarding school is a School where some or all pupils not only study but also live during term time with their fellow students and possibly teachers Governesses were usually in charge of girls and younger boys; when a boy was old enough, he left his governess for a tutor or a school. In British Australian New Zealand Italian and some Canadian universities, a tutor is often but not always a Postgraduate Student or a Lecturer

Contents

Role

Governesses taught the "Three Rs" to young children. The three R's (as in the letter 'R' is a phrase sometimes used to describe the foundations of a Basic skills oriented education program within schools reading They also taught the "accomplishments" expected of middle class women to the young ladies under their care, such as French or another language, the piano or another musical instrument, and often painting (usually the more ladylike watercolours rather than oils) or poetry. The middle class, in colloquial usage consists of those who have some economic independence but not a great deal of social Influence or power. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e Watercolor ( US) or Watercolour ( UK) (and "aquarelle" in French is a Painting method Oil painting is the process of painting with Pigments that are bound with a medium of Drying oil — especially in early modern Europe Linseed oil It was also possible for other teachers (usually male) with specialist knowledge and skills to be brought in, for example, a drawing master.

A governess was in an awkward position in the Victorian household, neither quite a servant nor a member of the family. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities A domestic worker, domestic, servingman, servingwoman, or servant is one who works and often also lives within the employer's household As a sign of this social limbo, she often ate in isolation. She had a middle class background and education, but she was paid and not really part of the family. Being a governess was one of the few legitimate ways an unmarried middle class woman could support herself in that society. Her position was often depicted as one to be pitied, and the only likely way out of it was to marry. Once her charges grew up, she had to seek a new position, or, exceptionally, might be retained by the grown-up daughter as a paid companion. A lady's companion was a woman of genteel birth who acted as a paid companion for women of rank or wealth

In fiction

Several well-known works of fiction, particularly in the nineteenth century, have focused on governesses. [4]

Notable governesses

Other uses

In the past, the term "governess" also referred to a female politician who serves as governor, but the term is now exclusively used to refer to a female teacher employed by a family, with the term "governor" being used in politics for both men and women. A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ A Governess's Duties, Outback House (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Homeschooling (also called home education) home learning or homeschool  – is the education of children at home typically by parents or professional Outback House was an Australian historical Reality TV series that originally aired on ABC TV in 2005 The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly abbreviated to the 'ABC' is Australia's national public broadcaster.
  2. ^ Ellis, Phyllis (2000). Desert Governess: An Inside View on the Saudi Arabian Royal Family. London: Eye Books. ISBN 1903070015.  
  3. ^ Harris, Julia: A career as a Governess? What skills do you need?, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 15 October 2004. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly abbreviated to the 'ABC' is Australia's national public broadcaster. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "
  4. ^ Lecaros, Cecilia Wadsö: The Victorian Governess Novel, Lund University, 2000. Lund University (Lunds universitet located in Lund in southernmost Sweden is one of Sweden 's most prestigious Universities and one of Scandinavia

Further reading

Dictionary

governess

-noun

  1. A woman paid to educate children in their own home
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