Sir Walter Scott warned that schoolchildren must not expect to be entertained all the time.
The hero of Walter Scott’s historical novel Waverley, published in 1814, is Edward Waverley, a delicate child plucked from London’s fogs and taken to his father’s country estate for his health. There, the boy was allowed to direct his own education. He had curiosity, which was good, but no staying power; and Scott took a moment to reflect on how fashionable educational theory was not much help in this regard.