The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in ex-British colonies. Historically it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school. The famous Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, India which was founded on 28 July 1859 was one of the first public schools in the world to start the House System, the Prefectorial System and organize games and sports in public schools as part of their daily co-curricular activities along with other famous public schools in England. In the case of a day school, however, the word 'house' refers only to a grouping of pupils, rather than to a particular building. The house system has been common in the state sector for many years. It is attracting increasing attention in public and parochial secondary schools in the United States.[1]
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Description
Pupils are likely to be divided into a number of houses, which are often named after saints, famous historical alumni or notable regional landmarks (at international schools, for example, houses may be named after famous local people). Other more arbitrary names – animal names or colours, for example – may be used where the house system is adopted by a primary school.
The house system exists to provide a system for pastoral care of the students. In a world with absentee parents more and more children require schools to look after their basic physical, social and emotional needs. Learning can only take place when these needs are being met, so it is natural for the school to provide this care. Traditionally, the need was only with boarding students, hence the history of the house system, but now day students are in need of this as well.
A secondary feature of house systems is the competition between houses. The traditional school sports day is usually an inter-house competition. Debating competitions and charity drives are also often organised along inter-house lines. Merit points for behaviour and academic achievement may also be totalled up for comparison between houses.
In the past, pupils may have been assigned to houses randomly, on their first or last names or based on ability, with the aim of balancing the houses in order to increase competition. But today, the assignment is based on the social and emotional needs of the student and to ensure proper peer mentoring is enhanced with the right fit of students within a house. Traditionally, however, once a pupil has been assigned to a house, any younger siblings he or she has may automatically become members of that house when they arrive at the school, but this varies from school to school. (This tradition sometimes extends to the children of former pupils.)
One notable feature of the house system is the nomination and election, or appointment, of house captains for the junior and senior school, whose job it is to run the entire house, with staff assigned to the house serving only as advisors and mentors. Large schools may have a house captain for each year group (with vice-captains in the largest schools).
In boarding schools the term housemaster is held by the member of staff responsible for pupils living in a particular dormitory. In state schools, members of staff are appointed as (or volunteer to become) head of house. However, both terms can be used at either style of school for the sake of formality.
Other uses
The term "house system" is also used to refer to the residential college systems found in some colleges and universities, such as Yale College, Harvard College, and University of Chicago. These systems are based on the college systems of Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the United Kingdom, which in turn share many similarities with the house systems of British secondary schools.
Awareness in other countries
The house system has featured prominently at school stories series of books like Chalet School, Mallory Towers, Jennings and Billy Bunter, which have been published around the world and translated to several languages.[2] The Harry Potter books and films (re)popularized the house system, even in countries where this boarding system doesn't exist.[citation needed] The translators of the foreign editions of the books had difficulties translating the "house" concept in these countries, because there was no adequate word that could convey the importance of belonging to a certain house, the loyalty owed to your house, and the pride in the prizes won by your own house.[3]
See also
- Harvard House system
- House System at the California Institute of Technology
- Hogwarts houses, fictional houses in Harry Potter books
References
- ^ House Systems in Schools and Universities
- ^ Gill James publisher = Proceedings of the first Harry Potter conference on the UK (Accio UK 2005). "Harry Potter - All Things to All People?". http://accio.org.uk/05/proc/gilljames.pdf.
- ^ Judith Inggshttp (May 2003). "From Harry to Garri: Strategies for the Transfer of Culture and Ideology in Russian Translations of Two English Fantasy Stories". Meta Translators' Journal 48 (1-2 Traduction pour les enfants / Translation for children): 285-297. http://www.erudit.org/revue/meta/2003/v48/n1-2/006975ar.html.
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