How radical Victorian nuns pioneered education for poor girls

Nuns as teachers are historically associated with anything but progress. Often stereotyped as exactors of cruel discipline, nuns in the classroomv are thought of as wielding rulers – and worse – ready to rap disobedient children’s knuckles. And yet, during the 19th century, Catholic sisters were, in their own way, radicals as they engaged in work that challenged the norms of their time: the education of girls.

At that time, the education of women was still controversial. Some even argued that academic…

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