Transcript Chapter Five

Chapter Five
Classical and Global Roots of
Education
Classical and Global Roots of
Education
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The history of our profession is
ancient and noble.
 Education stands on the broad
shoulders of some of the most
remarkable figures of the past.
 It reaches deep into antiquity
and represents contributions
from our rich multicultural
heritage.
Education in Primitive Societies
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Humankind has existed for over a million years.
 Only relatively recently, however, have we
developed a distinctive human culture.
 Education was at the heart of the gradual
transition from primitive savagery to a human
culture.
 Over the centuries, millions of men and women
(the first teachers) passed on their collective
knowledge and skills to the next generation.
Ancient Multicultural Roots of
Education
 From
various multicultural threads, the
basis of our educational history has
gradually emerged.
 These threads come from the ancient
Egyptians, the Jews, the Hindus, and the
Chinese.
Contributions from Ancient
Civilizations
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Egyptians were the first to formalize education in the
West to venerate their secular and religious leaders and
to help build their great empire.
The Jews were the first to record their own history to
provide their descendents with a story of their past and a
plan for the future.
From the ancient Hindus of India comes the idea that
knowledge was of great value to both the spiritual and
secular world.
In China Lao Tse (Taoism) saw education promoting the
goodness of human kind, while Confucius saw education
as important in developing good citizens.
Contributions from the New World
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The Aztecs of central America promoted
universal education for both boys and girls.
 The Incas of South America encouraged
education in advanced mathematics and
engineering.
 These forms would be adapted by the Spanish
and eventually would make their way into the
southwestern areas of the future United States.
Ancient Greece
 The
basis of Western education developed
from the Greeks.
 Two traditions in education would emerge:
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Spartans gradually developed a system of
education that emphasized the virtue of valor
– the patriotic warrior.
Athenians developed the tradition of
academic learning and democratic citizenship.
Socrates
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The greatest of the Greek educators was
Socrates (469-399 BCE).
 Socrates’ educational approach was one of
critical analysis based on logical argumentation what we call the Socratic Method.
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First he challenged students’ preconceived ideas and
perceptions.
Then he revealed the faulty logic of their assumptions
and guided them to a better understanding of the
question.
Socrates – The First Educational
Martyr
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Socrates became embroiled in bitter partisan
politics and in 399 BCE he was charged with
impiety toward the gods and “corrupting the
youth of Athens.”
 During his trial, Socrates infuriated the judges
with his logic and his rhetorical skills and was
sentenced to death.
 Socrates accepted his punishment, drank poison
hemlock, and died. In so doing, he became the
first real educational martyr in history.
Plato
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Much of what we know about Socrates comes
from his brilliant student, Plato (427-347 BCE).
 In 387 BCE, Plato established The Academy –
which eventually became the centerpiece of
formal education in Athens.
 Plato’s dialectic was at the heart of his teaching.
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The dialectic involved oral questioning and student
responses.
Plato felt that this method of instruction allowed the
unfolding of knowledge (universal ideas) that were
already present in the mind.
Aristotle
 Aristotle
was born in 384 BCE in the
Greek city of Stagira.
 He was responsible for promoting modern
educational ideas outside of Greece (as
tutor to Alexander the Great).
 He was also the first to conceptualize the
basis of the empirical method and the idea
of causality – the basis of the scientific
method.
Rome

The Greeks had a powerful influence on the
Romans through their system of education.
 The critical link between Greek and Roman
education was made possible by Cicero (106-46
BCE).
 He argued that Greek education should be the
model for Rome.
 His three-volume De oratore (55 BCE) became
the basis of Roman education – public speaking.
The Maturing of Roman
Education
 Gradually
a formal system of Roman
education took shape.
 The system had four components:
1) basic elementary education
2) the grammar school
3) military service
4) higher education
Roman Elementary School
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The vast majority of Roman boys went to elementary
school (ludus). A few girls also attended.
The teacher (Litterator) instructed children ages seven to
twelve in reading and writing using the wax covered
tablet or tabella -introduced by the Greeks centuries
before.
Once a student had learned to read he began to
memorize lines from poets and the speeches of great
orators.
This general method of memorization, repetition and
recitation persisted in elementary schools well into the
modern era.
Roman Grammar School
 Young
boys in their twelfth year
progressed to the grammar school
instructed by the Grammaticus.
 Roman grammar schools typically focused
on literature.
 Some schools also embraced the
traditional seven disciplines of grammar,
logic, rhetoric, music, astronomy,
geometry, and arithmetic.
Quintilian
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The work of Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (Quintilian
35-90 AD) represents the first major reform of
elementary education in the classical world.
His Institutio Oratoria or The Education of the Orator
was the most important teachers’ training text of this
period, focusing on the aims, methods and content
of elementary education.
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He felt that teachers should not only be scholarly but
must also have good moral character.
He rejected corporal punishment as ineffective,
favoring instead encouragement and praise for
successful completion of work.
One of his most important educational ideas was the
developmental level of the child.
The Decline of Roman Education
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The great reforms of Quintilian signaled the end
of a “golden” era of classical education in Rome.
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Support for education declined during this period as
did the general status and salaries of teachers.
The overindulgence of children encouraged general
laziness and deteriorated the traditional Roman work
ethic.
Following the fall of Rome in the mid-400s, Roman
secular education collapsed and Europe plunged into
the dark ages.
The Role of the Church
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The one remaining element of the Roman
Empire, was the Christian Church - the Roman
Catholic Church.
 The Church demanded absolute adherence to
its doctrines and as a result, intellectual freedom
gradually faded.
 Open criticism of Church teachings literally
became dangerous.
 The teachings of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle,
Cicero, and Quintilian were ridiculed because
they did not align directly with Christian theology.
The Monastery
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During this period the monastery had a profound effect
on Christian education.
In the late 400s and early 500s, monasteries became
havens for pious monks seeking refuge.
In 529 Bishop Benedict created his monastery at Monte
Cassino and established the so-called Rule of Benedict
which established the model of Christian education.
In England the famous Bishop Bede (known as the
venerable Bede) taught in the Monastic school - later
known as the Cathedral School of York.
Bede’s student, Egbert, continued the York school,
established rigorous standards of scholarship and
expanded the curriculum beyond religion to include the
liberal arts.
Charlemagne and Alcuin
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Alcuin studied at the Cathedral School of York.
In the early 800s, Charlemagne recruited Alcuin
as his personal tutor and established the School
of Tours which was the intellectual center of the
Carolingian Empire.
 Charlemagne also encouraged the Church to
establish village schools throughout
Christendom.
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He called for improved education in the monasteries.
He also engaged scribes to copy the bible for
distribution throughout the empire.
Byzantium
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Despite efforts of the monasteries, much of
Western Europe remained in intellectual
darkness since the fall of Rome (400s).
 Byzantium was a beacon of intellectual light and
hope in the East.
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Byzantine scholars maintained an intellectual curiosity
and freedom that had all but disappeared in Europe.
They studied the ancient classics, expanded secular
knowledge and writing, and they maintained classical
education.
The Rise of Islam
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Islam emerged during the early 600s and expanded
rapidly.
By 750 Muslims controlled most of northern Africa and
pushed into present day Spain.
Islamic scholars translated a great deal of classical
Greek literature and philosophy into Arabic.
They also translated Persian, Indian, and Chinese
science and philosophy.
They developed the study of astronomy based on the
works of Persian and Hindu science.
In short, they preserved the educational traditions of the
ancient world.
The Renaissance and the Rise of
Humanism

Humanism was the heart and soul of the
Renaissance.
 It focused on the importance of the individual
and looked to the educational ideas of the
Greeks and Romans for intellectual
nourishment.
 It sought to reconcile religion with science and it
embraced a secular vision for the future.
 Major educational figures of the humanist
movement:
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Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374)
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494)
Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536).
The Reformation – Counter
Reformation

In the early 1400s, Christian humanists such as
Erasmus challenged the power, materialism, and
worldliness of the Roman Catholic Church.
 This reform tradition would grow over the years
and led to a major schism within the Christian
Church.
 Major educational figures of the Reformation –
Counter Reformation
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Martin Luther
Ignatius Loyola
John Amos Comenius
John Calvin.
Educational Contributions During
this Period
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Luther recommended a state supported system of
universal education that would focus on the study of
Greek and Latin, mathematics, science, history and
physical education.
Ignatius Loyola established the Society of Jesus
(Jesuits) that focused on rigorous teaching and helped
spread education to the New World.
Comenius wrote The Great Didactic - the first work on
discipline in education and Orbis Pictus - an illustrated
textbook designed to help students learn to read. His
concept of combining reading lessons with pictures
revolutionized elementary classroom instruction.
John Calvin (Puritan) emphasized universal education
for boys and girls to help them read the Bible.