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Education and Stone Age
The History of Education goes way back when Adam set his foot on
this earth and passed his knowledge on to the generation
followed by him. Education thus in Simple words is passing of
already discovered knowledge to another generation. Education as
a science cannot also be separated from the educational
traditions that existed before. Knowledge was actually the
natural outcome of an individual while fighting the battle of
survival and the transfer of this understanding to the newcomers
originated the phenomenon of Education in general. The transfer
of knowledge gradually evolved into distinct cultures and oral
language was developed into Symbols as well as pictures to
further enhance the process of handing over.
When cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond the basic
skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious
practices, etc, formal education, and schooling, eventually
followed.
Education and religion:
Initially the most popular mode of education in various regions
of the world was religion. The religious priests not only taught
religion but also the principles of writing, the sciences,
mathematics, and architecture. The regions like Egypt, India and
China are popular for the propagation of education through
religious scholars. The basis of formal education were really
strong in religions like Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and
Jewish. All of the religions incorporated their sacred worship
places as a mode of extending their knowledge and learning about
the realities of life.
Education in Greece and Rome
Romans and Greek serves as one of the origin of formal education
as the ancient Greeks' education focused on the study of
philosophy. The Romans, on the other hand, were preoccupied with
war, conquest, politics, and civil administration. The renowned
names in the Greek philosophy include legends like Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle. The main focus of these philosophers in
the beginning was grammar, logic, and rhetoric, subjects that
eventually formed the core of the liberal arts. Later The Greek
philosopher Socrates wanted to discover and teach universal
principles of truth, beauty, and goodness. Socrates believed
that true knowledge existed within everyone and needed to be
brought to consciousness. His educational method, called the
Socratic Method, consisted of asking probing questions that
forced his students to think deeply about the meaning of life,
truth, and justice. Plato, who had studied under Socrates,
established a school in Athens called the Academy. Plato
believed in an unchanging world of perfect ideas or universal
concepts.
He asserted that since true knowledge is the same in every place
at every time, education, like truth, should be unchanging.
Plato described his educational ideal in the Republic, one of
the most notable works of Western philosophy. Where as Plato's
student, Aristotle, founded his own school in Athens called the
Lyceum. Believing that human beings are essentially rational,
Aristotle thought people could discover natural laws that
governed the universe and then follow these laws in their lives.
He also concluded that educated people who used reason to make
decisions would lead a life of moderation in which they avoided
dangerous extremes. Quintilian, another influential Roman
educator who lived in the 1st century ad, wrote that education
should be based on the stages of individual development from
childhood to adulthood. Quintilian devised specific lessons for
each stage. He also advised teachers to make their lessons
suited to the student's readiness and ability to learn new
material. He urged teachers to motivate students by making
learning interesting and attractive.
Famous Methods of Education:
Montessori's methods of early childhood education have become
internationally popular. She developed a specially prepared
environment that featured materials and activities based on her
observations of children. She found that children enjoy
mastering specific skills, prefer work to play, and can sustain
concentration. She also believed that children have a power to
learn independently if provided a properly stimulating
environment.Montessori's curriculum emphasized three major
classes of activity: (1) practical, (2) sensory, and (3) formal
skills The work of.
American philosopher and educator John Dewey was especially
influential in the U.S. and other countries in the 20th century.
Dewey criticized educational methods that simply amused and
entertained students or were overly vocational. He advocated
education that would fulfill and enrich the current lives of
students as well as prepare them for the future. The activity
program of education, which derived from the theories of Dewey,
stressed the educational development of the child in terms of
individual needs and interests. It was the major method of
instruction for most of the 20th century in elementary schools
of the United States and many other countries.
The work of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget had a major impact on
educational theory in the early 20th century, particularly in
Europe. Piaget wrote extensively on the development of thought
and language patterns in children. He examined children's
conceptions of number, space, logic, geometry, physical reality,
and moral judgment. Piaget believed that children, by exploring
their environment, create their own cognitive, or intellectual,
conceptions of reality.
By continually interacting with their environment, they keep
adding to and reshaping their conceptions of the world. Piaget
asserted that human intelligence develops in stages, each of
which enhances a person's understanding of the world in a new
and more complex way.