Letter to a Student’s Father (II)

This Judeo-Arabic report, sent from a teacher to the home of his pupil, whose name was Abū Manṣūr, to complain about the student’s behavior, shows that corporal punishment was a common feature of schooling and also suggests that younger girls were educated as well as boys. The student in question was apparently new to the school in Fustāt (Old Cairo). The older female minder may have been the teacher’s regular assistant, a position that was usually held by a relative. Rare for such texts, this document is written on parchment, not on paper.