Chapter Five

1. Chapter Five Classical and Global Roots of Education

2. Classical and Global Roots of Education • 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.

3. Education in Primitive Societies • 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.

4. 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.

5. Contributions from Ancient Civilizations • 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.

6. Contributions from the New World • 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.

7. Ancient Greece • The basis of Western education developed from the Greeks. • Two traditions in education would emerge: • 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.

8. Socrates • 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. • 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.

9. Socrates – The First Educational Martyr • 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.

10. Plato • 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. • 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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

14. Roman Elementary School • 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.

15. 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.

16. Quintilian • 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. • 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.

17. The Decline of Roman Education • The great reforms of Quintilian signaled the end of a “golden” era of classical education in Rome. • 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.

18. The Role of the Church • 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.

19. The Monastery • 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 establishedthe 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.

20. Charlemagne and Alcuin • 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. • He called for improved education in the monasteries. • He also engaged scribes to copy the bible for distribution throughout the empire.

21. Byzantium • 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. • 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.

22. The Rise of Islam • 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.

23. 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: • Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) • Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) • Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536).

24. 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 • Martin Luther • Ignatius Loyola • John Amos Comenius • John Calvin.

25. Educational Contributions During this Period • 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 - anillustrated 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.