Education is a process of learning in which we acquire knowledge and skills under the guidance of a teacher. Ideas, information and culture are conveyed from one generation to another (Murphy, 2006). Education is the development by which we are formed as human beings and by which a society preserves and transforms itself. Education is the most important way in which we can fight oppression, injustice and inequality by promoting and fighting for equality and justice in our society (Norris, personal communication, September 4, 2013). There has been some sort of education, whether being formal or informal, ever since human beings existed. Many of our education policies and systems originate from ancient Greece. Likewise, there are many Greek educators and philosophers who influenced our education system today. The purpose of this paper is to identify the significance and contributions of four of these educators, who include Sappho, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, by observing their major contributions to education. Furthermore, this paper will discuss the relationship between these four philosophers, the key components of their philosophy of education, and their contributions to modern day education.
Significance of
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He developed the science of biology, the syllogism, the science of logic, and the foundation of the study of literary criticism. As a philosopher, educator and scientist himself, Aristotle was one of the most influential thinkers. Aristotle contributed an educational theory that stated that the good community is based on the cultivation of rationality, meaning that if education is neglected, the community suffers. Like Plato, Aristotle was an advocate for compulsory public schools, a model that is still active today (Murphy, 2006). Aristotle also founded a school, the Lyceum, which was similar to Plato’s Academy. At the Lyceum, manual skills were not stressed; a more formal curriculum was
...d of the students to work. The mind will be given concepts to engage with so that it will become engrained in the students for life. The subjects will become useful to the students because of what they have learned through reading and writing combined with the instruction of their teachers, who do not make them only read and write, but also give the students time to discuss and struggle with the various subjects. This is what Socrates and Phaedrus were doing, and of this is what excellent education consists.
The sense that such a unification is necessary for the broader culture because it is essential to the development of the individuals within it is propounded by the writers of the educational treatises, who advocate the liberal arts education as a means to obtaining the character worthy of a ruler and an intellectual. The liberal arts, by their very nature, include the classics—arms and letters for Vergerio, the writings of Cicero and the poets for Bruni, and the intense study of classical languages for Guarino. More than simply advocating their study, however, the educational writers incorporate the ancients’ own educational philosophies and practices into shaping their own programs. Vergerio, for example, writes that “the practice of the Spartans [of putting drunk slaves on display to show the baseness of drunkenness] seems to me by no means objectionable,” and that both Cato and Socrates exemplify the virtue of learning throughout their lives. The foundation of modern education upon tenets of classical educational philosophy exemplifies the idea of a continuous tradition from the Greeks through the moderns.
In order to establish a PHILOSOPHY ON TEACHING, a sequence of events happen in history to open a doorway to “Society about Education and Schooling”, as the description of Public Education Goals for Our Educational System came from the ideas of two famous men, Horace Mann and Thomas Jefferson.
Education has become stagnant. Intelligent individuals are still being molded, but the methods of education are creating individuals who lack free will. Through deep analytical understandings of education, both Walker Percy’s essay, “The Loss of the Creature,” and Paulo Freire’s essay, “The Banking Concept of Education,” have been able to unravel the issues and consequences of modern-day education. Despite creating clever people, Percy and Freire believe that the current form of education is inefficient because it strips away all sovereignty from the students and replaces it with placid respect for authorities, creating ever more complacent human beings in the long run.
The great Greek thinker Aristotle was born in 384 B.C. in Stagirus, a city in ancient Macedonia in northern Greece. At the age of eighteen Aristotle went to Athens to begin his studies at Plato's Academy. He stayed and studied at the Academy for nineteen years and in that time became both a teacher and an independent researcher. After Plato's death in 347 B.C. Aristotle spent twelve years traveling and living in various places around the Aegean Sea. It was during this time that Aristotle was asked by Philip of Macedon to be a private tutor to his son, Alexander. Aristotle privately taught Alexander for three years before he returned to Athens after Philip gained control of the Greek capital. During this period back in Athens Aristotle founded his own school, the Lyceum, where he taught for twelve years. In 323 B.C. Alexander the Great died and the Macedonians lost control of Athens. Aristotle was forced to leave and he died one year later in Chalcis, north of Athens, at the age of 62.
To get a sense of what an education was intended for we must look at the ancient Greek society. The philosophers like the Sophist, Socrates, and Plato were a major part of the Greek society and the rest of the world. Take the Sophist for example, these scholars who would, for a fee, travel to give public lectures on such subjects as math, grammar, rhetoric, ethics and science. For the citizens, lectures were not only an educational experience, it was also considered a form of ...
Education remains a cornerstone for society as it has for decades. Technology advances, the economy fluctuates, and politics change, but education remains, not only important but imperative for personal and social growth. Yet, as important as it is touted to be, the quality and purpose of learning is often lost in the assembly-line, manufactured process of education that exists today.
In many ways, this debate over education has its roots in the writings of Plato (Jowett). In Book VII of The Republic, Plato discusses such topics as enlightenment, epistemology, forms, and the duties of philosophers. The rhetorical styles which he employ are those of the dialogue and the allegory. The dialogue takes the form of a discussion between Socrates and Glaucon, while the allegory serves as a concrete illustration of the abstract ideas which Plato talks about (Jacobus, 444). Let us examine this "Allegory of the Cave" in more detail.
In book 3, Socrates begins a very interesting perspective on the importance of education. Many times throughout the story does Socrates suggest that education can either be random or done with purpose. In fact, it is mentioned that education can be key to the problems that plague society. However, education is beyond the idea of what schools and high level education can teach. One of the best ways that education can be used is for the guardians, to curve the natural tendencies of taking complete control over the citizens. Education can be used to shape the characters of not only the guardians, or those in charge, or others in the community in a better way. “The Idea of the Good—in light of which the soul’s good may be discerned, and by which all things become useful and beneficial—is thus not only the “greatest study” but also the one most indispensable to the welfare of human beings. In addition, it is the study to which philosophers are inevitably drawn by their love of the spectacle of truth, since the Ideas themselves cannot be adequately known without knowledge of the Good,” (Howland). Education, as discussed by Jacob Howland directly relates to the good in people and shaping the characters of people. Socrates also discusses this further in book 4, “"The desires of the worthless many are controlled by the desires and knowledge of the decent few,” (Pg. 98). Once again, this quote relates back to the idea that education leads to the decency in people and better
These topics mostly dealt with issues such as government, opinions toward justice and how people really viewed education. Aristotle also had his own theories towards his belief in the "right government". He wanted his results to show happiness among the people. He'd mainly collect information from studying living creatures and observing their living habits. He would do this so that he could see what brought them happiness.
Education is a vital part of society. It serves the beneficial purpose of educating our children and getting them ready to be productive adults in today's society. But, the social institution of education is not without its problems. Continual efforts to modify and improve the system need to be made, if we are to reap the highest benefits that education has to offer to our children and our society as a whole.
Early thought processes concerning education laid the groundwork for the modern philosophy of education, including university structures and frameworks. What our ancients have advocated is said to be the cause of every century’s success in continually gaining knowledge. But Plato and Aristotle had very different opinions when it came to the education branch of life.
ii. Aristotle’s Lyceum was another research establichment that was founded after Plato’s Academy and taught using different principles than most.
Aristotle was and is a very influential figure when it comes to educational practices and process as well as philosophy, ethics, and many other subjects. Many of his teachings and lectures shape the way we are taught and learn today. He comes from a long line of recognizable names when considering influential figures in Educational Philosophy. Although this analysis is focused on his contributions to education, it is important to note that he showed influence in a variety of concepts.
Education is the act or process of providing knowledge skills or competence by a formal course of instruction or training. Through out history societies have sought to educate their people to produce goods and services, to respond effectively and creatively to their world, and to satisfy their curiosity and aesthetic impulses. To achieve reliable knowledge and to think systematically. Over the course of human history education has appeared in many forms, both formalised and informal. Major thinkers have always recognised the educational value of intellectual exploration and of concrete experimentation. Most societies have attempted to standardise the behaviour of their members. These societies have apprenticeship systems by which the young have learned to imitate the beliefs and behaviours of a given group. Teachers have worked within schools of thought cults, monasteries and other types of organisations to shape desired convictions, knowledge and behaviour. Such philosophical and religious leaders as the Budha, Confucius, Pythagoras, Jesus, Moses, Muhammad and Karl Marx instructed their disciplines through informal education.