Transcript aztec kevin and mark

 Aztec
schools offered a formal system of
education. Every child had to attend, including
girls and slaves. School was mandatory and
free. Teachers were highly respected.
 School was tough. There was no recess or time
to relax in school. But all schools included
instruction in song and in dance, not because it
was a beautiful art, but because songs and
dances were important to religious festivals.
 There were three different schools. One school
was for girls. Two schools were for boys.
 Girls
learned about religion. They
learned how to cook, sew, weave, and
how to care for their children.
 One
school was for the nobles, and sons of
wealthy traders and merchants. This school
taught law, writing (hieroglyphics),
medicine, engineering and building,
interpretations of dreams and omens, and
self-expression. Students were taught how to
speak well. They also learned details of
their history and of their religious beliefs.
This was a tough school. The boys were
humiliated and despised to toughen them
up.
 One
school was for the commoners. Its main
goal was to train warriors and farmers.
 Unlike the school for nobles’ sons, this
school was pretty peaceful. Boys had to
sleep under skimpy blankets. They were
given hard bread to eat. But that was about
it.
 Like the school for nobles' sons, this school
taught history, religion, manners, correct
behavior, and important rituals, along with
singing and dancing.
Around 1400 CE, the Aztec government began
conquering neighboring tribes. The Aztec
population had grown. They needed many things
to manage their growing population. They
needed new cities to house their population.
They needed new lands to feed their population.
They needed new captives to feed their hungry
gods. Schools needed to be run. Storehouses
needed to be filled. Temples needed to be built.
The government had its hands full trying to
satisfy all these needs.
 War
was the answer. When the Aztecs
conquered a tribe, they demanded
tribute in the form of food, clothing,
precious stones, building supplies, and
captives. The first four the Aztecs kept for
themselves. The last they gave to their
gods. Other tribes hated and feared the
Aztecs. Sometimes, they simply ran away
in fear rather than fight.
The Aztecs had an emperor, a king who
ruled over all the people. The emperor
lived in the imperial palace in the capital
city of Tenochtitlan. The palace was huge.
It even had its own zoo. The ground floor
of the palace housed government offices
and the shops of the most talented
craftsman in the Aztec empire
 As
the Aztec empire grew, under the
direction of government officials, Aztec
engineers built many fine cities. A noble
family controlled each city. Although the
noble family was supposed to assist the
emperor, the truth is that each noble
family pretty much ran things in their own
city the way they wanted. Thus, the
Aztecs, like the Mayas, were governed by
city-states.
 With
their own people, the Aztec rulers
were quite severe. Aztec courts decided
on the punishment those who broke the
law would receive. Drunkenness was the
worse crime. The punishment for being
drunk was death. Thieves were put to
death. Laws were tough, and they were
written down. Codices warned of the
punishment you would receive for
breaking the law.

The Aztecs had an interesting law. Once, and only
once, you could confess your crime to the priests
of Tlazolteotl and you would be forgiven. No
punishment could be given to you. Timing was
everything. You could only do this once. And you
had to do it before you were caught. If evidence
came to light after you confessed, you were safe.
You had already been excused from punishment
for that crime. However, if you ever committed
other crime, you would be punished to the full
extend of the law. Aztec laws were very harsh.