Ben Franklin

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Ben Franklin was born on 17 January 1706 in Boston Massachusetts. And, when most folks think of Ben Franklin, what comes to mind generally is that he was one of our founding fathers, a scientist, inventor, and his face is on the U.S. one hundred dollar bill. As a scientist and inventor, he discovered lightning was electricity (by flying a kite in a storm) and invented the lightening rod. Moreover, due to his poor eyesight and the annoyance of having to wear two different pairs of glasses to read near and far, he invented bifocals (The Franklin Institute, 1994). What is lessor known by the masses is of Ben Franklin contributions to learning and educational system.
Ben Franklin considered traditional schools as too embellished and doubted their methods; he emphasized realism in his educational values. Franklin’s proposed that students mainly learn the English language, instead of classic languages like Latin, over and above other practical disciplines in the classroom. English, which was clearly the common language utilized in America during trade, would give people the potential to converse well and carry out business. Franklin also proposed that students learn a second language well chosen for the area or field that one intends to pursue in their future career. For instance, a minister may learn Greek or Latin; the student pursuing his/her career in medicine would study Latin, while merchants may study the language of the country where they intend to carry out business. Furthermore, Franklin proposed that English grammar school be performed away from the standard schools with Latin grammar. Shifting to a second different school would finally turn into a secondary school in which people are familiar with in the present era. Fra...

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...with a diverse curriculum well-matched with the demands of a rising and developing country (Knittle, 2009; Meiss, n.d).

Works Cited

The Franklin Institute. (1994). Benjamin Franklin: Glimpse of the man. Retrieved from http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/inventor/inventor.html
Knittle, B. (2009) Benjamin Franklin, education and the 21st century conclusion. Retrieved from http://www.bethknittle.net/WP_Blog/?p=714 Lockridge, D. (2012). Benjamin Franklin educational philosophy. Retrieved from http://dianelockridge.hubpages.com/hub/Key-Ideas-of-Benjamin-Franklins-View-of-Education Meiss, C. (n.d.) Benjamin Franklin. Retrieved from https://www3.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/franklin.html (Powell, J. (1997). Benjamin Franklin: The man who invented the American dream. Retrieved from http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/benjamin-franklin-the-man-who-invented-the-american-dream

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