In Hong Kong, all children have to go to school. That is the law. If you drop out of school, your parents can get into trouble. Hong Kong citizens are entitled to 12 years of free education.
Yet schooling hasn't always been compulsory: it wasn't even compulsory 50 years ago. Some of you may have heard your parents say how lucky you are to go to school: they mean it, too. That's because during their lifetime, education wasn't free for everyone.
Education is a way to gain knowledge. Nowadays, students learn languages, mathematics, history and science in school.
Yet since the start of human history until the Roman Empire, knowledge had a broader definition. For men, it included survival skills, some literature and philosophy - and war strategies. Women learned how to cook, maintain a home and take care of their family.
The curriculum and content of education must constantly change to keep up with life's demands. In some nations - especially in the West - religious study was once a major subject, with churches setting up schools to spread their religions. After the industrial revolution, children had to learn the 'three Rs', reading, writing and arithmetic. Later, when innovation and creativity became important, science and engineering became prominent school subjects.
This week, we'll take a look at the history of education:
Ancient times
