The Education Act of 1870 was  a life changing act for children. Before this Act was established only those who could pay to go to school achieved an education. In almost every case, the upper-class were the ones that recieved such an education. This Education Act, however, opened up the possibilty of recieving an education for many lower and working-class children. It allowed those children access to an education that would not have been available to them otherwise. While reading about this Act, it got me thinking about Oliver in Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. Throughout the novel Oliver does not seem that concered over obtaining an education because for him all he has ever known is work. For example, Mr. Brownlow offered to pay for Oliver to get an education when they first met. But Oliver declined is offer stating that hed rather "make the books" than write them. I found this really interesting because he denied an offer that could change his life, but Oliver seemed to decide that working was more important than recieving a proper education. Because the Education Act of 1870 didn't take place until 1870, there would be no way for Olive to recieve an education unless he had the money to. Yet, here was Mr. Brownlow offering him an opportunity that not a lot of children had at the time and he declined. I think it may be because of how he grew up. All Oliver has ever known is work. He worked in the workhouse, in a morgue, and worked with theives that suddenly being offered an education must have been a strange concept. Since he has only ever worked maybe he thought that recieving an education was useless. What counted was how hard you work and how you work. It is really intersting to see how education was viewed through Oliver's eyes. At the end of the novel, now in custody of Mr. Brownlow, Oliver has an even greater chance at recieving an education and I wonder how Oliver will change with education. The Act, even though it won't effect Oliver himself, can affect his children and the working children of the lower class. It makes me wonder how Oliver would act towards this law and if would embrace it or not, so too bad there isn't a sequel.