Modules in Educ Systems Issues 2

7/29/2019 Modules in Educ Systems Issues 2

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320 Educational Systems

and Current Issues in Education

Lectures about

THE ANCIENT EDUCATION

A.Primitive EducationB.Education in Ancient China

C.Education Ancient Egypt

D.Education in Ancient IndiaE.Education in Ancient Greece1.Spartan Education

2.Athenian EducationF.Education in Ancient Rome

1.The Republic

2.The EmpireG. Ancient Jewish Education


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ANCIENT EDUCATION

Karl Marx (1963) once wrote, Men make their

own history, but they do not make it just as they

please; they do not make it under circumstanceschosen by themselves, but under circumstances

directly encountered, given, and transmitted from

the past. History provides not only with a chronicle

of the past but with a deep understanding of the

present. It also generates a means of predicting the

future.

The schools look and work the way they do

because of complex historical events and processes. To understand the

educational problems of today, we must first have a perspective from which tocomprehend these historical processes. This is the value of purpose of the

history of education.

It is often said that people who do not understand the history are

doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Although we do not claim that the

study of history of education will make educators capable of eliminating

mistakes altogether, and although the history of education suggests that

people indeed tend to repeat some mistakes, we nonetheless believe that an

ignorance of the past is a major barrier to educational improvement.

This unit provides the historical background of education in view of thedifferent early cultures of the world. This includes the ancient education during

the primitive period, ancient Oriental (China, Japan, Egypt, and Indian), Greek,

Roman and Jewish education.

The historical perspective isessential not only because itgives one a grasp of onesheritage but also because itempowers one to envision

the possibilities of the future.

Christopher Lasch (1983)

The Culture of Narcissism

Our instruction begins when we begin to live; our education begins with our birth; and our firstteacher is our nurse.

Rousseau


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Lecture 1

Primitive Education

Primitive Culture

The primitive culture was relatively simple. Primitive people had simple

activities which are confined to the necessities of life food, clothing, shelter,

and protection. People lived in an environment in which they struggled to

survive against natural forces, animals, and other humans. Social contact was

very limited only to his band or tribe. Because of a narrow socialization, they

were conservative and prone to superstitions. They believed in the unseen

beings like ghosts, spirits, and deities. Famines, storms, accidents, sickness, and

failures are attributed to these unseen beings. The safety and security of the

tribe was dependent on their religious or ceremonial performances led by a

priest or a witch doctor. Though they have a culture of their own and

possessed arts and information, they did not have cultures of writing and

reading.

Aims and Contents of Primitive education

The term education can be applied to

primitive cultures only in the sense of

enculturation, which is the process of cultural

transmission. The general theme or goal of

primitive education is for security, survival, or self-

preservation. To survive, preliterate or primitivepeople developed skills that grew into cultural

and educational patterns. For a particular

groups culture to continue into the future,

people had to transmit it, or pass it on, from adults to children. The earliest

educational processes involved sharing of information about gathering food

and providing shelter; making weapons and other tools; learning language;

and acquiring the values, behavior, and religious rites or practices of a given

culture. There is no formal education, nor system of reading and writing.

Another purpose of primitive education is to guide children to becominggood members of their tribe or band, thus, conforming to the tribe which they

belong. There is a marked emphasis upon training for citizenship, because

primitive people are highly concerned with the growth of individuals as tribal

members and the thorough comprehension of their way of life during passage

from pre-puberty to postpuberty. Because of the variety in the countless

thousands of primitive cultures, it is difficult to describe any standard and

uniform characteristics of pre-puberty education. Nevertheless, certain things


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are practiced commonly within cultures. Children actually participate in the

social processes of adult activities.

Agencies and Methods of Primitive Education

Primitive children, before reaching puberty, learn by

doing and observing basic technical practices. Their teachersare not strangers but, rather, their immediate community.

Through direct, informal education, parents, elders, and

priests taught children the skills and roles they would need as

adults. The simplest methods of learning exist. Since they lived

before the invention of writing, primitive people used an oral tradition, or story

telling, to pass on their culture and history from one generation to the next.

Other methods include trial and error, observation of elders activities,

demonstration of how things are done, and actual participation of the young

in survival activities. The closest to an educational program is the participation

of the young in initiation activities of the family and tribe. The earliest form ofapprenticeship can be deducted from such activities. The initiationcurriculum does not usually include practical subjects. Instead, it consists of a

whole set of cultural values, tribal religion, myths, philosophy, history, rituals, and

other knowledge. Primitive people in some cultures regard the body of

knowledge constituting the initiation curriculum as most essential to their tribal

membership. Within this essential curriculum, religious instruction takes the most

prominent place.

In contrast to the spontaneous and rather unregulated imitations in

prepuberty education, postpuberty education in some cultures is strictly

standardized and regulated. The teaching personnel may consist of fullyinitiated men, often unknown to

the initiate though they are his

relatives in other clans. The

initiation may begin with the

initiate being abruptly

separated from his familial

group and sent to a secluded

camp where he joins other

initiates. The purpose of this

separation is to deflect theinitiate's deep attachment away

from his family and to establish

his emotional and social

anchorage in the wider web of

his culture.


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Lecture 2

Education Ancient China

The ancient Chinese educational activities could perhaps be described

as the earliest in human history. It stressed philosophy, poetry, and religion.

These were taken mostly from the teachings of philosophical masters or sages

like Confucius and Lao Tzu, and other Chinese philosophers. Confucianism and

Taoism teach the ethical life and harmony of nature respectively.

SUMMARY: Primitive Education

Aims For security, survival and self-preservation For conformity, that is to guide children to becoming good members of their

tribe or band

Types Theoretical about cultural values, tribal religion, myths, philosophy, history,

rituals, and other knowledge Practical domestic and religious training Ritualistic and prescriptive

Contents gathering food and providing shelter; making weapons and other tools;

learning language; and acquiring the values, behavior, and religious rites orpractices of a given culture.

Agencies and teachers The parents, elders, and priests served as teachers. No formal school.

Methods Story telling trial and error

observation of elders activities demonstration of how things are done actual participation


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The roots of a system of formal

education in China can be traced backat least as far as the 16th century B.C.

later Shang Dynasty (1523-1027 B.C.)

Throughout this period education was

the privilege of the elite few, and for noother purpose than to produce

government officials. Early on, the

curriculum centered on the so-called Six

Arts: Rites, Music, Archery, Chariot-Riding, History, and

Mathematics However, based on the teachings of

Confucius (551-479 B.C.) during the Spring and Autumn

and Warring States periods (770-221 B.C.), the

curriculum gradually became based on The Four Books and The Five Classics.

These works outlined the principles of society and government, as well as

codes for personal conduct that collectively define Confucian philosophy,which exerted a fundamental influence on virtually all aspects of life, and

certainly on education.

Chinese ancient formal education was distinguished by its markedly

secular and moral character. Its paramount purpose was to develop a sense

of moral sensitivity and duty toward people and the state. Even in the early

stage of civilization, harmonious human relations, rituals, and music formed the

curriculum. Formal colleges and schools probably existed in the Chou dynasty

of the 1st millennium BC, at least in the

imperial capitals. Local states probably had

less-organized institutions, such as halls ofstudy, village schools, and district schools.

With regard to actual methods of

education, ancient Chinese learned from

bamboo books and obtained moral training

and practice in rituals by word of mouth

and example. Rigid rote learning was the

basic teaching method. Education was

regarded as the process of individual development.

It could be noted that writing was practiced during the Shang Dynasti(1766-1122 BC).In 770-256 BC, Chinese literature blossomed. The first school,

(philosophical school) was formed from the 5th to 3rd century BC.

The Chinese system of civil-service examination, which originated more

than 2,000 years ago and was used in China until the 20th century, made it

possible to select the best scholars for important posts in the government.

Nearly 3,000 years ago whenintrigue and vice were rampant infeudal China, the philosopherConfucius taught principles ofproper conduct and socialrelationships that embraced highethical and moral standards.

Confuciuss teachings andwisdom were standard scholarlyeducation for the bureaucratswho administered the country.The Confucian tradition, whichencompasses education, wisdom,and ethics, persists in China.Microsoft Encarta PremiumSuite 2005. 1993-2004Microsoft Corporation.


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The Chinese have given us filial piety (respect for elders), civil service,

selfless and honest service in the government, reverence for the teacher,golden rule, scholarship (earnest learning), and even the earliest form of

education for all or democratic education.

Great Contributions of Ancient China

Civil Service Examinations

Honest service in the

government

Coinage standardization

Paper money Building of Great Wall

SUMMARY: Education in Ancient China

Aims to produce government officials. to develop a sense of moral sensitivity and duty toward people and the

state.

Types philosophical, government-centered

Contents philosophy, poetry and religionArts Music History Math Secular and Moral Character

Agencies and teachers Formal colleges and schools, halls of study, village schools, and district

schools Teachers are the philosophical masters or sages (like Confucius and Lao

Tzu, and other Chinese philosophers)

Methods Rote memorization Reading Lecture


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Lecture 3

Education in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian education covered both the general upbringing of achild and their training for a particular vocation. Parents would instill in their

children various educational principles, moral attitudes, and views of life from a

tender age. They would receive their basic education in the bosom of the

family. This was about all of the schooling that girls would get; for boys it would

be supplemented by proper training in whatever line they chose, or was

chosen for them. The upbringing of boys was left mostly in the hands of their

fathers; the mothers were responsible for the upbringing of the girls. Parents

made their children familiar with their ideas about the world, with their religious

outlook, with their ethical principles, with correct behavior toward others and

toward the super-natural beings whom everyone believed in. They taughtthem about folk rituals and so forth. The educational principles of ancient

Egypt were written on papyrus commonly known as the Books of Instruction.

The advice given in these "books" was designed to make sure of personal

success in agreement with the needs of the state and the moral conduct. The

Books of Instruction had rules for the well-ordered life and elements of morality

that include justice, wisdom, obedience, humanity and restraint. The books

mostly took the form of verses addressed by a father to his son as he stepped

into his shoes or started to help his aging. Most of these books were put

together by senior officials or scribes. Many copies of these scrolls have been

made since they also served as teaching texts in the schools for scribes.

Egyptian culture and education were preserved and controlled chiefly

by the priests, powerful intellectual elite in the Egyptian theocracy who also

served as the political bulwarks by preventing cultural diversity. The humanities

as well as such practical subjects as science, medicine, mathematics, and

geometry were in the hands of the priests, who taught in formal schools.

Vocational skills relating to such fields as architecture, engineering, and

sculpture were generally transmitted outside the context of formal schooling.

Egyptians developed two types of formal schools for privileged youth

under the supervision of governmental officials and priests: one for scribes andthe other for priest trainees. At the age of five, pupils entered the writing school

and continued their studies in reading and writing until the age of 16 or 17. At

the age of 13 or 14, the schoolboys were also given practical training in offices

for which they were being prepared. Formal vocational training also existed

along with scribal and at-home teaching. An official took on his son as an

assistant, so that the son would have "on-the-job" training and the successionbecome almost automatic. On the other hand, priesthood training began at


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the temple college, which boys entered at the age of 17, the length of training

depending upon the requirements for various priestly offices.

Rigid method and severe discipline were applied to achieve uniformity in

cultural transmission, since deviation from the traditional pattern of thought

was strictly prohibited. Drill and memorization were the typical methodsemployed. But, as noted, Egyptians also used a work-study method or

internship in the final phase of the training for scribes.

Young men did not usually choose their own careers; instead, they often

followed in the family trade or profession, even up to the highest offices in the

land. The king was the only one who did not personally tutor his children. He

had royal tutors for his children. The princes and princesses learned literature,

mathematics, writing, and grammar.

Girls from less lofty families learned how to manage ahousehold, and how to sing, dance and play musical instruments.

These last would be important if the girl took on temple service as a

singer or musician.

The children of farmers and fishermen had even less formal

education. They learned how to sow, glean, and harvest, tending

poultry and cattle, make nets and catch and prepare fish. Children

were often included in scenes of harvesting, fishing, or caring for

cattle.

Egyptian Inventions and Contributions

A. Writing

1. Hieroglyphics (form of picture writing). The Egyptians developed one

of the first systems of writing, hieroglyphics - a word meaning sacred carvings

or priestly writings. Hieroglyphics are picture symbols that represent objects,

ideas, or sounds. First inscribed on stone, these symbols were later written in ink


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on specially prepared plant material called papyrus (the origin of our word

"paper").

2. The use of paper in writing. On papyrus scrolls the ancient Egyptians

recorded their history, literature, mathematics, scientific knowledge, and

government records such as tax lists and treaties.

3. Establishment of the first libraries. To house their papyrus scrolls, the

Egyptians established the first libraries. The scribes undertook the reading,

writing, and record keeping in ancient Egypt. They developed a simpler form of

writing for everyday use called demotic.

B. Medicine

The Egyptians had knowledge of the human body, treated illnesses,

prescribed medicines, set broken bones, and performed surgery.

C. Astronomy

The Egyptians devised the first calendar that divided the year into 365

days. It was more accurate than the previous lunar calendar, based on

revolutions of the moon around the earth. Introduced about 4200 B.C., the

Egyptian solar-year calendar is the basis of the calendar we use today.

D. Math

The Egyptians developed a number system based on 10 (similar to our

decimal system).

E. Architecture and EngineeringThe Egyptians excelled in working with

stone and constructed gigantic pyramids (80

are still standing today) and temples. The

temples featured vast halls lined by massive

colonnades (rows of columns). Egyptian

engineers also build dams and irrigation canals.

E. Art

The Egyptians were accomplished

sculptors who created huge stone statues. On the stone walls of temples andtombs, artists carved and painted domestic and historical scenes. Egyptian

drawings are distinctive with the head shown in profile, shoulders facing

forward, feet in profile. Egyptian workers skillfully designed delicate metal

jewelry, elaborate wood furniture, and beautiful pottery.


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SUMMARY: Education in Ancient Egypt

Aims to preserve and perpetuate culture (cultural) to transfer skills from father to son so that he could run his daily life

(utilitarian)

Types moral training, domestic training, religion vocational-professional types (for boys only) Mathematics, astronomy, physics, architecture, and embalming

Contents science

medicine mathematics geometry astronomy art architecture engineering sculpture

Agencies and teachers The home provided basic education; parents were the first teachers

Writing school; teachers were government officials and scribes Temple school; teachers were priests The king did not personally tutor his children. Princes and princesses

learned literature, mathematics, writing, and grammar through thetutelage of royal tutors.

Methods Dictation Memorization Imitation Drill

Telling and retelling of stories, myths, and legends Observation and participation Internship or apprenticeship


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Lecture 4

Indian Education

India is the site of one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. Aboutthe 2nd millennium BC the Aryans entered the land and came into conflict with

the local, dark-skinned people they called dasas (servants). They defeated

them, spread far and wide in the country, established large-scale settlements,

and founded powerful kingdoms. In the course of time, a section of the

intellectuals, the Brahmans, became priests and men of learning; another

group, nobles and soldiers, became Ksatriyas; the agricultural and trading class

was called Vaisyas; and finally the dasas were absorbed as Sudras, or

domestic servants. Such was the origin of the division of the Hindus into four

varnas, or classes. By about 500 BC the classes became hardened into

castes.

Religion was the mainspring of all activities in ancient

India. It was of an all absorbing interest and embraced not

only prayer and worship but philosophy, morality, law, and

government as well. Religion saturated educational ideals,

too, and the study of Vedic literature was indispensable to

higher castes. The stages of instruction were very well defined.

During the first period, the child received elementary

education at home. The beginning of secondary education

and formal schooling was marked by a ritual known as the

upanayana, or thread ceremony, which was restricted to boys only and wasmore or less compulsory for boys of the three higher castes. The Brahman boys

had this ceremony at the age of eight, the Ksatriya boys at the age of 11, and

the Vaisya boys at the age of 12 years. The boy would leave his father's house

and enter his preceptor's asrama, or home., The Gurukul system of education

was prevalent. The teacher was the Guru and the disciple was the Sishya. The

disciples lived in the Guru's asrama during the course of their training and in

turn offered their services. This period of learning of about 12 years, was

considered as a great sacrifice or a penance. The Guru identified thecapability of his Sishya and accordingly imparted knowledge. The sishyas

learned amidst the natural surroundings of the asrama, in open air, in closecontact with nature.

The Guru would treat a boy as his own child, give him free education,

and not charge anything for his boarding and lodging. The pupil had to tend

the sacrificial fires, do the household work of his Guru, and look after his cattle.

The study at this stage consisted of the recitation of the Vedic mantras, or

hymns, and the auxiliary sciencesphonetics, the rules for the performance


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of the sacrifices, grammar, astronomy, prosody, and etymology. The

characteristic of education, however, differed according to the needs of thecaste. For a child of the priestly class, there was a definite syllabus of studies.

The trayividya, or the knowledge of the three Vedas, the most ancient of Hindu

scriptures, was obligatory for him. During the whole course at school, the

student had to observe brahmacharyathat is, wearing a simple dress, livingon plain food, using a hard bed, and leading a simple life. As mentioned, the

period of studentship normally extended to 12 years. For those who wanted to

continue their studies, there was no age limit. After finishing their education at

an asrama, they would join a higher center of learning or a university presided

over by a kulapati (a founder of a school of thought). Advanced students

would also improve their knowledge by taking part in philosophical discussions

at a parisad, or academy. Education was not denied to women, but

normally girls were instructed at home. The method of instruction differed

according to the nature of the subject. The first duty of the student was to

memorize the particular Veda of his school, with special emphasis placed oncorrect pronunciation. In the study of such literary subjects as law, logic, rituals,

and prosody, comprehension played a very important role. A third method

was the use of parables, which were employed in the personal spiritual

teaching relating to the Upanishads, or conclusion of the Vedas. In higher

learning, such as in the teaching of dharmashastra (righteousness science),

the most popular and useful method was catechismthe pupil asking

questions and the teacher discoursing at length on the topics referred to him.

Memorization, however, played the greatest role.

The Kings sent their princes to gurus for training on the art of using

weaponry, Vedas, music, art and physical forms of exercising and defense. Atthe end of their training, the disciples thanked their gurus with a gift in the form

of a gurudakshina which literally means offerings to the guru.

The introduction of Buddhist influencesBy about the end of the 6th century BC, the Vedic rituals and sacrifices

had gradually developed into a highly elaborate cult that profited the priests

but antagonized an increasing section of the people. Education became

generally confined to the Brahmans, and the upanayana was being gradually

discarded by the non-Brahmans. The formalism and exclusiveness of the

Brahmanic system was largely responsible for the rise of two new religious

orders, Buddhism and Jainism. Neither of them recognized the authority of the


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Vedas, and both challenged the exclusive claims of the Brahmans to

priesthood. They taught through the common language of the people andgave education to all, irrespective of caste, creed, or sex.

Buddhism also introduced the monastic system of education.

Monasteries attached to Buddhist temples served the double purpose ofimparting education and of training persons for priesthood. A monastery,

however, educated only those who were its members. It did not admit day

scholars and thus did not cater to the needs of the entire population.

One of the most ancient universities of India is in Nalanda near Patna.

Founded in the 5th Century AD, this great seat of learning flourished until the

12th century AD. The founder of Buddhism, Gautam Buddha and Jainism,

Parsvanath Mahavir are believed to have visited Nalanda. The Chinese

chronicler Huen Tsang spent many years here both as a student and as a

teacher. Nagarjuna, the Buddhist Mahayana philosopher, Dinnaga, thelogician and Dharmapala, the Brahmin scholar taught here.

Besides religious texts, students in the ancient universities learned about

Ayurveda (Medicine), Ganitha (Mathematics), Arthashastra (Political science),

Jyothisha (Astrology), Vyakarna (Grammar), Shilpathana Vidya (Art and

Crafts), andAdyatma Vidya (Philosophy).

SUMMARY: Education in Ancient India

Aim to preserve and perpetuate culture and religion

Type (Systems/Organizations) Gurukul System - The teacher was the Guruand the disciple was the Sishya. The

disciples lived in the Guru's asramaor house Monastic System - Monasteries attached to Buddhist temples served the double

purpose of imparting education and of training persons for priesthood.

Contents Vedic literature and mantras, auxiliary sciences like phonetics, the rules for the

performance of the sacrifices, grammar, astronomy, prosody, and etymology. Trayividya or the knowledge of the three Vedas (for Bhramin students only)
http://buddha.htm/http://jain.htm/http://jain.htm/http://buddha.htm/


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Lecture 5

Education in Ancient Greece

Historians have looked to ancient Greece as one of the origins of

Western formal education. Ancient Greece was divided into small and often

competing city-states, or poleis, such as Athens, Sparta, and Thebes.

EDUCATION IN SPARTA

Sparta was basically a military state and so, it stressed

military education. Physical education was equally enjoined

by both sexes; but military and civic education dominated,

as it was expected that the citizen-soldier be ready to fight

and, if necessary, to die, for his country. Arts and sports

gave way completely to an education appropriate to men

of a warrior caste. The aim of education was to prepare theboys for citizenship and military services and the girls for their

future function as wives and mothers. Spartan education

was utilitarian which was designed for the State and not for

the individual. Courage, respect for elders, subjection to the state, loyalty and

obedience to authority were rigidly inculcated. Family life, including marriage

was under the control of the State. All children belonged to the State.

SUMMARY: Education in Ancient India

Agencies and teachers The home provided the elementary education; parents were the first teachers.

The secondary education is spent at the Gurus house (asrama or forest school)for about 12 years of great penance. The higher education is spent in a university presided by a kulapati.

Methods Memorization played the greatest method, use of parables Catechism


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The State took a complete control of training the children from birth.Sickly and deformed children were eliminated. If healthy, newly born infants

were returned to mothers who were also state nurses. Up to the age of seven,

children were brought up by the women, already in an atmosphere of severity

and harshness. Boys were trained to control their feelings, their appetites, andhabits. They were also taught to be obedient, respectful, modest and reserved.

Girls were trained to be healthy and courageous so that they could bear

healthy children.

The education or agoge, lasted from age seven to 18-20 and was

entirely in the hands of the state. The male youth of Sparta were enrolled into

formations corresponding to successive age classes, divided into smaller units

under the authority of training official called paidonomous. It was a collective

education, which progressively removed them from the family and subjected

them to garrison life and lived in barrack-typed school. Everything wasorganized with a view to preparation for military service: lightly clothed,

bedded on the bare ground, the child was poorly fed, told to steal to

supplement his rations and not to be caught, and subjected to rigorous

discipline. He was also, of course, directly apprenticed to the military craft,

using arms and maneuvering in close formation. The Spartan was trained under

a strict discipline to obey blindly the orders of his superiors. The child was at the

same time trained to lying and to theftall virtues when directed toward the

foreigner. At 20, boys were dispersed to military camps and at 30, they

became full-pledged citizens and were required to marry.


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EDUCATION IN ATHENS

Athens emphasized a humane and democratic society and education,

but only about one-third of the people in Athens were free citizens. Slaves and

residents from other countries or city-states made up the rest of the population.

Only the sons of free citizens attended school. The Athenians believed a free

man should have a liberal education in order to perform his civic duties and forhis own personal development. The education of women depended upon the

customs of the particular Greek city-state. In Athens, where women had no

legal or economic rights, most women did not attend school. Some girls,

however, were educated at home by tutors. The educated women were

called heterae who participated in social life and intellectual discussions of the

SUMMARY: Education in Sparta

Aims

to prepare the boys for citizenship and military services and the girls for theirfuture function as wives and mothers.

Types physical education military and civic education

Contents military exercises and practices

Agencies and teachers

The home provided the initial education of young children under the harshtraining of mothers who were also state nurses.At the age of seven, boys would stay and be trained in a barrack-type of

school under a paidonomous.

Methods Training rather than instruction Corporal punishment Cruel and harsh discipline Learning facilitated by activities and ceremonies led by elders and military

leaders.


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upper class males. Slaves and other noncitizens had either no formal

education or very little.

Athens, in contrast to Sparta, became the

first to renounce education oriented toward the

future duties of the soldier. The Athenian citizen, ofcourse, was always obliged, when necessary and

capable, to fight for the fatherland, but the civil

aspect of life and culture was predominant. Armed

combat, for them, was only a sport. The evolution of

Athenian education was moving toward increasing

democratizationthough it should be noted that

the slave and the resident alien always remained

excluded from the body politic. Athenian culture continued to be oriented

toward the noble life that of the Homeric knight, minus the warrior aspect, and

this orientation determined the practice of elegant sports. Some of these, suchas horsemanship and hunting, always remained more or less the privilege of an

aristocratic and wealthy elite; the various branches of athletics, however,

originally reserved for the sons of the great families, became more and more

widely practiced.

Education of youth

There was no single institution; rather, each activity was carried out in a

separate place. At the age of seven the young boy, of privileged family would

be taken by a paidagogos, who was generally a respected and learned slave

within the parents' household.

The elements of literacy were taught by the writing master, known as a

gramatist orgrammatistes (teacher of letters). The child was learning his letters

and numbers by scratching them on a wax-coated wooden tablet with a

stylus. More advanced formal literacy, basically about poets, playwrights, and

historians, was given by the grammatikos, although this was restricted to the

genuinely leisured. Supremely important was instruction in the mythopoeic

legends of Hesiod and Homer, given by the lyre-playing kitharist or kitharistes

(teacher of music). The paedotribe was also another teacher who was in

charge of gymnastics. The moral aspect of education was not neglected. The

Athenian ideal was that of the kalos k'agathos, the wise and good man. Theteachers were as much preoccupied with overseeing the child's good

conduct and the formation of his character as with directing his progress in the

various subjects taught him. At 14, his education was over. The boy could then

go to the palestra which was a public gymnasium to develop his physical

prowess. He could also hear and participate in the activities of the state, go to

assemblies and hear debates, listen to the classics and histories of peoples atthe theater and witness and join in the Olympic Games. The boy was trained in


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the palestra until the age of 18 and thus ready for military life. He then became

an ephebos, an apprentice militiaman.

Philosophers/Teachers/Thinkers

In the 400s B.C., theSophists, a group of wandering teachers, began to

teach in Athens. The Sophists claimed that they could teach any subject or skillto anyone who wished to learn it. They specialized in teaching grammar, logic,

and rhetoric, subjects that eventually formed the core of the liberal arts. The

Sophists were more interested in preparing their students to argue persuasively

and win arguments than in teaching principles of truth and morality.

Unlike the Sophists, the Greek philosopher Socrates sought to discover

and teach universal principles of truth, beauty, and goodness. Socrates, who

died in 399 B.C., claimed 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 studentsto think deeply about the meaning of life, truth, and justice.

In 387 B.C. 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. Platos Republic describes a model

society, or republic, ruled by highly intelligent philosopher-kings. Warriors make

up the republics second class of people. The lowest class, the workers,

provided food and other products for all the people of the republic. In Platos

ideal educational system, each class would receive a different kind of

instruction to prepare for their various roles in society.

In 335 B.C. Platos 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.

In the 4th century B.C., Greek orator Isocratesdeveloped a method of

education designed to prepare students to be competent orators who couldserve as government officials. Isocrates students studied rhetoric, politics,

ethics, and history. They examined model orations and practiced public

speaking. Isocrates methods of education directly influenced such Roman

educational theorists as Cicero and Quintilian
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SUMMARY: Education in Athens

Aims to produce an excellent man both in body and mind who would take active part in

the business of state.

to produce a well-rounded man, wise and good, beautiful in and out.

Types civic training, physical training, moral training, intellectual training

Contents reading, writing, arithmetic, music, art, poetry, games and sports. Military skills and civic virtues necessary to his role as a citizen in a democratic

state.


Education was supervised by the state. Paidagogus a learned and respected slave who was assigned to teach the boy

from the age of 7-14 with morals and good manners. Other teachers include:

gramatist orgrammatistes - teacher of letterskitharist orkitharistes-teacher of musicpaedotribe- teacher of gymnastics.

Teachers/Philosophers/ThinkersSophists wandering scholars. They specialized in teaching grammar, logic, andrhetoric, subjects that eventually formed the core of the liberal arts.

Socrates -forced his students to think deeply about the meaning of life, truth, andjustice by asking probing questions (Socratic Method).Plato established a school called the Academy; described his educational ideain the Republic.Aristotle, founded his own school in Athens called the LyceumIsocratesdeveloped a method of education designed to prepare students to becompetent orators who could serve as government officials.

Methods Imitation from a living model Reading and Memorization

Severe discipline and corporal punishmentUnder the Sophists: Speech training: grammar, rhetoric, and oratory Development of critical thinking
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Lecture 6

Education in Ancient Rome

The Ancient Roman history and education can be divided into the

Republic and the Empire, into purely Roman and Greco-Roman.

THE REPUBLIC (509-23 B.C.)

The Republic was a mixture of oligarchy and democracy with two

distinct classes of people: patricians and plebians. The patricians were the

aristocrats and the plebians were soldiers, traders, farmers, artisans, and other

free men who did not belong to the nobility. During this period, the Romans

were already noted for their social organization and law. They already

practiced the electoral system, legislation, political machineries, veto,

lobbying, taxation system, and other political ideas that we have today.

As with most societies, the internal dynamics of society were dominated

by the struggle for power and control of government. By and large power was

controlled by the upper class Patricians. During the times of the Republic, a two

party system developed which provided for a fairer sharing of government and

rights. The two parties were called the "Optimates" and "Populares" and

respectively stood for the conservative Patricians versus the social reformist

commoner Plebians. Because of the plebian power, plebians were allowed

to participate in the electoral system. This obviously initiated popular elections.

Another plebian power has led to the codification of law where plebians

could expect due process in trial and could only be punished for violation of

laws. Once, intermarriage was prohibited but later, plebians were allowed to

intermarry with patricians. The result of the Republican system was a degree of

fairer share of power. The seats of government which at first could only be held

by Patricians were now shared or new ones created to allow a more equitable

balance in power across society. The Patricians had the Senate and the

Plebeians had the Assembly. There were two Consuls ruling the city and one

had to be Patrician and the other had to be Plebeian.

Early Roman education was distinctly for practical life. It aimed to

develop the vir bonus, a man who possessed the virtues essential for the

exercise of his rights and the discharge of his duties and obligations. Educationhad a practical aspect, involving instruction in such farm management

concerns as how to oversee the work of slaves and how to advise tenant

farmers or one's steward. It had a legal aspect; in contrast to Athenian law,

which relied more on common law than on codified law. Roman justice was

much more formalistic and technical and demanded much more study on the

part of the citizen. Education also had a moral aspect, aiming at inculcating


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rural virtues, a respect for good management of one's

patrimony, and a sense of austerity and frugality. Romaneducation, however, did not remain narrowly utilitarian; it

broadened in urban Rome, where there developed the

same ideal of communal devotion to the public. The

interests of the state constituted the supreme law. Anation of small farmers, Rome was also a nation of

soldiers. Physical education was oriented not toward self-

realization or competitive sport but toward military

preparedness: training in arms, toughening of the body,

swimming across cold and rapid streams, and

horsemanship, involving such performances as mounted

acrobatics and cavalry parades under arms. Differing

from the Greeks, the Romans considered the family the

natural milieu in which the child should grow up and be educated. The role of

the mother as educator extended beyond the early years and often hadlifelong influence. The boy at seven years of age was allowed to move awayfrom the mothers exclusive direction. He came under the control of his father.

The Roman father closely supervised the development and the studies of his

son, giving him instruction in an atmosphere of severity and moral exigency,

through precept but even more through example. The young Roman noble

accompanied his father and imitated in all his appearances, even within the

Senate. Familial education ended at 16, when the adolescent male was

allowed to wear adult dress, the pure white woolen toga virilis. He devoted one

year to an apprenticeship in public life, no longer at his father's side but placed

in the care of some old friend of the family, a man of politics laden with years

and honors. Then came military service, first as a simple soldier (it was well forthe future leader to learn first to obey), encountering his first opportunity to

distinguish himself by courage in battle, but soon thereafter as a staff officer

under some distinguished commander. Civil and military, the education of the

young Roman was thus completed in the entourage of some high personage

whom he regarded with respect and veneration. The young Roman was

brought up not only to respect the national tradition embodied in the example

of the illustrious men of the past but also, very specifically, to respect the

particular traditions of his own family, which, too, had had its great men. If

ancient Greek education can be defined as the imitation of the Homeric hero,

that of ancient Rome took the form of imitation of one's ancestors.

THE EMPIRE (23 B.C.476 A.D.)

As the Roman Republic engaged in its

continuous conquests, it eventually became

a powerful empire. Greece was one of itsconquests. Thus, the purely Roman became

Captive Greecetook captive her

capturer.- Horace


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Graeco-Roman. The Romans transported not only the Greek language but also

art treasures, scholars, and libraries.

Three types of schools appeared corresponding to the states for theboys training:

Literary School (Ludus literarius). Children at six or seven entered the

ludus (which means play or sports). It was an elementary education where the

child learned the 3Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic) and athletics. The first

reading book was the Odyssey in Latin. Writing was done with a sharp stick

called astylus to etch into a waxed board. In this manner the writing could be

rubbed out and written over. A clean wax board was called a "tabula rasa".

There was a severe discipline in the elementary school and the rod was not

spared. The teacher received fees and he had to provide his own classroom.

Education in ludus lasted for six years. The teacher in the ludus is called ludi

magister.

Grammar School. Secondary education was offered in the grammar

school where students about 13-16 studied two languages: Greek and Latin.

The teacher in the grammar school is called grammaticus. Later the

Quadrivium was offered. It is consisted of arithmetic, music, geometry, and

astronomy. Secondary education was completed when the Roman boy

assumed toga. From here, the Roman could either go to military service, a

calling, or enter rhetorical schools to become a statesman.

Rhetorical school. After the grammar school the student would move on

to learn the art of oratory - to speak in public. This was between the ages of 16and 18 Education in the rhetorical school lasted for two or three years. It aimed

to develop the student for argumentation and debate. The oratorical power

was a Roman boys instrument for his success in law and public life. In addition

to this, a student was also required to read widely and become familiar with

the essentials of mathematics, science, law, and philosophy in order that his

training be truly liberal. Later, the rhetorical school became known as the

Athenaeum.

Roman Educators

Cato (234-149 B.C)the conservative side of Roman education is representedby Cato. His workDe Liberis Educandis (Books of Education), considered as the

first Latin treatise on education, was written as a protest against the Greek idea

of culture. He aimed to counteract the growing tendency to propagate

studies made popular by the Greeks especially music and literature. He

believed that Greek literature to pernicious and claimed that its dissemination

would ruin the traditional fabric of Roman society. Before he died, however, he


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realized the Greek influence had become into Rome to stay and in the end he

himself studied Greek.

Cicero (106-43 BC)A famous orator, Cicero embodied the Roman ideal of a

statesman. His eloquence in the Senate was both admired and feared by

colleagues. His main work De Oratore (Orator) and numerous literary worksattest to the high level of literature of the period. He described the

accomplished orator as knowledgeable o many subjects especially liberal arts.

Plutarch (46-120 A.D) In his work The Education of Children, Plutarch laid

down his educational theories. He stressed that moral education and habit

training must start from childhood. He pointed out the importance of good

surrounding in the early process of education. He also emphasized learning by

motives rather than by punishment.

Quintilian (35-118 A.D) He wrote De Institutione Oratoria (OratoricalInstruction) which is the exposition of the Roman idea of complete education,

that is education from infancy onward. He believed that the early years are

critical in the overall formation of the individual and that the parents have

great responsibility in the early education of their children. He disapproved

corporal punishment which is a disgraceful form and fit only for slaves. He

advocated that the school must not be rigid. There must be time allowed for

the students to relieve the strain of studies by means of play and games. He

also advocated classroom instruction over private education because he saw

the social dimension of learning.

Roman Contribution to EducationLatin Language

Bilingualism and Cross-cultural studies

Social and Political Organization and Law

The works of Roman EducatorsCato, Cicero, Plutarch, and Quintilian


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SUMMARY: Education in Rome

THE REPUBLICAims to develop a good citizen, a good soldier and a good worker of the state: vir bonus.

Types practical education

Contents practical aspect: involving instruction in such farm management concerns as how

to oversee the work of slaves and how to advise tenant farmers or one's steward. legal aspect: the law moral aspect: good virtues physical education


Education was familial. The parents were the teachers.

Methods Imitation of a living model and of ones ancestors.Apprenticeship

THE EMPIREAims to produce a man who has an excellence in public speaking and debate.

Types

oratorical training

Contents reading, writing, arithmetic, athletics, Greek and Latin, Quadrivium(arithmetic,

music, geometry, and astronomy), oratory

Agencies and teachers Ludus literarius - ludi magister Grammar School - Grammaticus Rhetorical school

Methods Memorization Corporal punishment


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Lecture 7

Ancient Jewish Education

Jewish education can be described in terms of its history which is dividedinto four periods: Patriarchal Period (from the call Abraham to Moses), Tribal

Period (from Moses to monarchy), Royal Period (from King Saul to the

Babylonian captivity), and Period of Restoration (from Babylonian captivity to

the time of Jesus Christ).

Ancient Israel first experienced a type of education that was essentially

familial. Education focused on obedience to the Law through oral instruction in

the home. The mother taught the very young and the girls, while the father

assumed the responsibility of providing moral, religious, and handcraft

instruction for the growing sons. This characteristic remained in Jewisheducation, for the relation of teacher to pupil was always expressed in terms of

parenthood and filiation. Education, furthermore, was rigid and exacting; the

Hebrew word musar signifies education and corporal punishment together.

Da'at means knowledge while shevet (rod or staff) are used by parents to

discipline their children.

Once they were established in Palestineat the crossroads of the great

literate civilizations of the Middle East, in the beginning of the 1st millennium

B.C.the Jewish people learned to develop a different type of education

one that involved training a specialized, professional class of scribes in a then

rather esoteric art called writing, borrowed from the Phoenicians. Writing wasat first practical: the scribe wrote letters and drew up contracts, kept accounts,maintained records, and prepared orders. Because he could receive written

orders, he eventually became entrusted with their execution. The training given

to these scribes, moreover, included training of character and instilling the high

ideal of wisdom. Writing also found another avenue of application in Israelin

religion. The scribe was the agent of education. He was the man who copied

the sacred Law/Torah faithfully and established the canonical text. He was the

one who read the Law to himself and to the people, taught it, and translated it

when Hebrew ceased to be the vernacular or living language (into Greek in

Alexandria, into Aramaic in Palestine). He explained it, commented on it, and

studied its application in particular cases. Talmud was the writtencommentaries on the Law/Torah.

After the downfall of Israel in 722721 BCand Judah in 586 BCand their

subjection to foreign rule, Jewish education became characterized more and

more by this religious orientation. The synagogue in which the community

assembled became not merely a house of prayer but also a school, with a


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house of the book (bet ha-sefer) and a house of

instruction (bet ha-midrash) corresponding roughlyto elementary and secondary or advanced levels

of education. Jewish religious leaders, known asrabbis, advised parents to teach their children

religious beliefs, law, ethical practices, andvocational skills. Both boys and girls were

introduced to religion by studying the Torah Girls,

however, continued to be taught at home. Although a pupil might learn to

read aloud, or rather to intone his text, his main effort was to learn by heart

fragment after fragment of the sacred Law. Alongside to this written Law,

however, there developed interpretations of it, which at first were merely oral

but which progressively were reduced to writingfirst in the form of

memoranda inscribed on tablets or notebooks, then in actual books. The

diffusion of this religious literature called for an expansion of programs of

instruction, evolving into diverse stages: elementary, intermediate, andadvanced. This religiously based education became one of the most

important factors enabling Judaism to survive the national catastrophes of 70

and 135 AD, involving the capture and subsequent destruction of Jerusalem. In

their dispersion, the Jews clung to Hebrew, their only language for worship, for

the study of the Law, for tradition, and consequently for instruction.

SUMMARY: Ancient Jewish Education

Aim to teach the Law/Torah

Types religious in orientation

Contents Torah and Talmud Vocational skills


Education was familial. The parents were the teachers. The Scribes were also teachers teaching the Torah and the Talmud Rabbis The synagogues served as the school

Methods memorization corporal punishment
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Lecture 8

Education Under Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ was born to Jewish parents in 4 B.C. during the reign of

Augustus. Christianity came from Christ, the Greek word for Messiah. Jesustaught new principles of human relations based on universal love. The most

frequent title of Jesus in the Gospels is teacher (Rabbi, Master). He taught

practically everywhere. He taught by personal example as a very evident in His

words, Love one another as I love you. There is no doubt that Jesus Christ was

the greatest Teacher the world has ever known. When He spoke, "..they were

astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority." (Mark

1:22). The life, teachings and example of Jesus Christ have profoundly

influenced the whole development of education worldwide. The Great

Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ was to "make disciples of all the

nations..teaching them." (Matthew 28:1920). The Apostles took the example

and commands of the Lord Jesus Christ seriously, "..they did not cease

teaching." (Acts 5:42). One of the Biblical requirements for a Christian leader is

that he must be "able to teach" (1 Tim 3:2).

He taught everyone without discrimination, a true example of

education for all. In teaching that God is the Father of mankind, He removed

racial discrimination, class distinctions and castes which paved way for a

universal and democratic education to every man, woman, and child. He

even reached those whom society thought of as outcasts: blind beggars,

people subject to epileptic fits (who were regarded with fear and horrorbecause they were thought to be possessed by demons), and even lepers,

who were banished by [Jewish] Law from all normal human contact.

The persistent theme of His teachings is salvation or liberation from sin to

gain eternal life in the kingdom of God. He dealt with the fundamental

universal truths. He practiced what he taught; his life was His curriculum. He

used no textbooks.

As a teacher, he did not organize a school or an institution because hetaught everywhere. He talked to people whenever and wherever he found

them. He taught without expecting any payment.

Among others, his more popular methods were:

Conversational methodit was informal and intimate. It was direct,


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natural, and familiar.

Gnomic methodthe use of gnomes or proverbs

Use of parable - which is a comparison or analogy.

SUMMARY: Education Under Jesus Christ

Aim to teach salvation and eternal life in the Kingdom of God

Types free from discrimination

Contents

liberation from sin; salvation eternal life Gods Kingdom

Agencies and teachers Education was everywhere; there was no organized institution . Jesus was the teacher or Rabbi

Methods Conversational Gnomic

Use of parables


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Something to ponder..

1. What are the ancient educational practices that are similar to

our present educational system?2. Corporal punishment was practiced in ancient times. Considering

the increasing cases of juvenile delinquency at the present

times, do you think we need to apply corporal punishment?

References

Forward to the Past: THE CULTURAL CONTEXT OF ANCIENT ISRAEL

http://www.1bread.org/bethlechem/Teachings/AncientIsrael.html

History of Education. Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved October 28, 2005, from

Encyclopdia Britannica Premium Service. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=108329

History of Education.

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561415/History_of_Education.html

http://www.crystalinks.com/greekeducation.html

Microsoft Encarta Premium Suite 2005. 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rightsreserved.

Sadovnik, Alan R. et. al. (2001) Exploring Education: An Introduction to the Foundations of

Education 2nd edition. Allyn & Bacon, Needham Heights, MA, USA

San Mateo, Rosalinda A. & Tangco Maura G. (2003) Foundations of Education II. Katha

Publishing, Co., Inc., Quezon City

Surowski, David B., History of the Educational System of China

http://www.math.ksu.edu/~dbski/publication/history.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/greekeducation.htmlhttp://www.math.ksu.edu/~dbskihttp://www.math.ksu.edu/~dbski/publication/history.htmlhttp://www.math.ksu.edu/~dbski/publication/history.htmlhttp://www.math.ksu.edu/~dbskihttp://www.crystalinks.com/greekeducation.html


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ED 320 Educational Systems

and Current Issues in Education

Lectures about

THE MEDIEVAL EDUCATION

A.Early Christian Education

B.Monasticism

C.ScholasticismD.Chivalric Education

E.The Guild System of Education

F.Saracenic Education


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THE MEDIEVAL EDUCATION

During the Middle Ages, or the medieval

period, which lasted roughly from the 5th to the

15th century, Western society and education wereheavily shaped by Christianity, particularly the

Roman Catholic Church. The Church operated

parish, chapel, and monastery schools at the

elementary level. Schools in monasteries and

cathedrals offered secondary education. Much of

the teaching in these schools was directed at

learning Latin, the old Roman language used by

the church in its ceremonies and teachings. The

church provided some limited opportunities for the

education of women in religious communities or

convents. Convents had libraries and schools tohelp prepare nuns to follow the religious rules of

their communities. Merchant and craft guilds also

maintained some schools that provided basic education and training in

specific crafts. Knights received training in military tactics and the code of

chivalry.

Only a minority of people went to school during the medieval period.

Schools were attended primarily by persons planning to enter religious life such

as priests, monks, or nuns. The vast majority of people were serfs who served as

agricultural workers on the estates of feudal lords. The serfs, who did not attendschool, were generally illiterate

In the early Middle Ages the Roman school system had disappeared.

Mankind in 5th-century Europe might well have reverted almost to the level of

primitive education had it not been for the medieval church, which preserved

what little Western learning had survived the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Cathedral, monastic, and palace schools were operated by the clergy

in parts of Western Europe. Most students were future or

present members of the clergy, though a few lay

students were trained to be clerks. Unlike the Greekand Roman schools, which sought to prepare men for

this life, the church schools sought to prepare men for

life beyond the grave through the contemplation of

God during their life on Earth. The schools taught

students to read Latin so that they could copy and

thereby preserve and perpetuate the writings of the

Church Fathers. Students learned the rudiments of mathematics so that they
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761578474/Middle_Ages.htmlhttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761573737/Roman_Catholic_Church.htmlhttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559561/Guild.htmlhttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576241/Chivalry.htmlhttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576241/Chivalry.htmlhttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761559561/Guild.htmlhttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761573737/Roman_Catholic_Church.htmlhttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761578474/Middle_Ages.html


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could calculate the dates of religious festivals, and they practiced singing so

that they could take part in church services.

Unlike the Greeks, who considered physical health a part of education,

the church considered the human body a part of the profane world and

therefore something to be ignored or harshly disciplined. The studentsattended schools that were dreary and cold, and physical activity was

severely repressed.

Schools were ungraded a 6-year-old and a 16-year-old (or an adult for

that matter) sometimes sharing the same bench. Childhood as it is known

today literally did not exist. No psychological distinction was made between

child and adult. The medieval school was not really intended for children.

Rather, it was a kind of vocational school for clerks and clergymen. A 7-year-

old in the Middle Ages became an integral part of the adult world, absorbing

adult knowledge and doing a man's work as best he could during what todaywould be the middle years of elementary education. It was not until the 18th

century that childhood was recognized; not until the 20th that it began to be

understood.

The 12th and 13th centuries, toward the end of the Middle Ages, saw the

rise of the universities. The university curriculum in about 1200 consisted of what

were then called the seven liberal arts. These were grouped into two divisions.

The first was the preparatory trivium: grammar, rhetoric, and logic. The second,

more advanced division was the quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, music, and

astronomy.

For the Middle Ages, knowledge was an authoritative body of revealed

truth. It was not for the scholar to observe nature and to test, question, and

discover truth for himself but to interpret and expound accepted doctrines.

To the credit of medieval education, by the 12th century the education

of women was no longer ignored, though only a small percentage of girls

actually attended schools. Most convents educated women. Early in the 12th

century, girls from noble families were enrolled at Notre Dame de Paris in the

classes of the French theologian and philosopher Peter Abelard.

Medieval education had its problems. There were many dropouts; the

influence of the church sometimes drugged rather than enlivened the mind;

and scholars were often expected to accept the unreasoned and the

unproved. Materials were few and poor. Many university libraries had fewer

than a hundred volumes. Because books were so scarce, lessons had to be

dictated and then memorized. Nevertheless, medieval schooling ended the


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Emperor Constantine I

long era of barbarism, launched the careers of able men, and sharpened the

minds and tongues of the thoughtful and ambitious students.

Lecture 1

Early Christian Education

As the Roman Empire declined, Christianity

became a potent force in the countries of the

Mediterranean region and in several other areas in

Europe. In the first two centuries after Christ, the

Christians gained followers but they were still

persecuted. It was only in 313 A.D through the Edict

of Milan when Emperor Constantine recognizedChristianity as the official state religion. Thus,

began the rise of the Catholic Church.

The primary aim of early Christian education

was the moral regeneration of the individual. It

confined itself to the training of converts before their baptism. Perspective

converts were given basic training. For advanced training of converts, the

catechetical school was organized. Soon, bishopries were put up and so with

cathedral school was organized under them.

The two types of education given to save individual souls and to convert

their fellow men were moral and religious training. There were no physical or

aesthetic training. However, musical training were present in relation to churchservices. In the beginning, there was no intellectual education but later on, the

converts among the educated class were trained to meet opponents and

heretics.

The contents of the training include instruction that would prepare the

candidate to be baptized. Basic elements of the church doctrine, church

rituals, and moral virtues of Christlike living composed of the training. EarlyChristian education eliminated physical education, art, science, literature, and

rhetoric because of the belief that their origins were pagan, full of vices and

corruption.

The earliest types of Christian education were the catechumenal, the

catechetical and the episcopal or cathedral. An institution known as


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catechumenal schools were organized for the instruction of those who desired

to become members of the church but lacked the requisite knowledge ofchurch doctrine. These prospective members who subjected to receive

instruction in religious discipline, moral values, and doctrine were calledcatechumens. The teachers were the more able members. Both boys and girls

were admitted and given the sacrament of baptism and communion afterseveral years of training.

When Christianity began to make converts among the learned, the

catechetical schools were organized. Those who sought to become members

of the Christian Church went through a two to three year teaching programme

where they were catechised. The schools were called catechetical because it

used the catechetical or question-and-answer method. The schools were used

primarily for the training of church leaders. Later, the church established

bishoprics in these theological training schools.

And so, the episcopal or cathedral schools

were organized that trained priests. By the 4th century,

church and cathedral schools taught Christian

doctrine, grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, music,

geometry and astronomy. The cathedral schools

became the higher schools for Christian education

which were located in the cathedral and were under

the direct instruction of the bishop.

The method of instruction used was

catechetical method. There was also rote recitation where the pupils

memorized answers to questions.

Amongst the many innovations in Christian education was that these

Christian schools taught everybody, including girls and women. Formally

educating both sexes was a Christian innovation. As W. M. Ramsy

concluded: Christianity aimed at "universal education, not education

confined to the rich, as among the Greeks and Romans .and it made nodistinction of sex." St. Augustine observed that Christian women were better

educated than the pagan male philosophers.

Many monasteries or monastic schools as well as municipal and

cathedral schools were founded during the centuries of early Christian

influence. Collections or compendiums of knowledge centered on the seven


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liberal arts: the trivium, composed of grammar, rhetoric, and logic, and the

quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. From the 5th to the7th century these compendiums were prepared in the form of textbooks by

such scholars as the Latin writer Martianus Capella from northern Africa, the

Roman historian Cassiodorus, and the Spanish ecclesiastic St Isidore of Seville.

Generally, however, such works disseminated existing knowledge rather thanintroducing new knowledge.

Lecture 2

Monasticism

Monasticism arose during the dark ages (400 A.D. to

750 A.D.) where invasions and destructions of barbarians

spread throughout the empire. Only the church remained as

the bastion of education.

The term monasticism came from the word monos,which means alone or one who lives a solitary life. It is a

mode of life practiced by people who have abandoned the

world for religious reasons and devote their lives, either

separately or in community, to spiritual perfection. The vows of chastity,

poverty, and obedience under which Christian monastic clergy live are termed

the evangelical counsels. A person bound by such vows is known as a religious(Latin, religare,to bind). A man who belongs to a monastic order is also

called a monk. The regular clergy called the monks strictly adhered to the

principles of monastic lifeobedience, simplicity, and industry.

The aim of monastic education was the salvation of individual souls, a

kind of moral and physical discipline based on bodily mortification and worldly

renunciation for the sake of moral improvement. The virtue of a monk was

measured by the ways he punished his body through fasting, very little sleep,

wearing course clothes, and assuming painful bodily postures. World

renunciation meant denying all claims of social and human institutions. Thisimposed upon the monks three vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

The vow of chastity involved giving up the family, and all human

relationships. The vow of poverty means rejection of all material interests in life.

When one entered in the monastery he surrendered his right to property and all


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claims to inheritance. The monastery could acquire the property by a monk

had no personal claim to the wealth. The vow of obedience includedrenunciation of rank and distinction. A monk subjected himself to his superiors,

surrendered his individual personality and negated social affiliations.

The monastic education was confined to literacy activities and manual

training. The monks copied manuscripts and produced original writings of

religious or moral nature. They also became skilled artisans in wood, leather,

and metal, skilled farmers, trained in agriculture and horticulture.

The monks established the monastic schools in addition to the

cathedral, parish, and other schools already existing. They instilled religious

discipline for the clergy and the lay people. The parish schools taught the 4 Rs

reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion. Monasticism reached its peak in St.

Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine Order. Later on, monastic schoolshad the Seven Liberal Arts consisting of the Trivium (grammar, rethoric, and

dialectic) and the Quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music).

Typical of Western monasticism were the abbeys, self-contained

communities of monks ruled by an abbot or of nuns ruled by an abbess. Within

the abbey walls were the abbey church, the dormitory, the refectory, or dining

hall, and the guest house for travelers. The buildings enclosed a large

courtyard that was usually surrounded by a cloister, or sheltered arcade. The

abbeys of the Middle Ages were peaceful retreats for scholars and were thechief centers of Christian piety and learning. One of the oldest and greatest of

the medieval abbeys was Monte Cassino, founded by St Benedict in 529.

The monastic schools used catechetical method. Dictation was used

and the pupils were made to memorize everything. Latin was used as a

language of instruction. Meditation was also greatly emphasized. Discipline

was very severe.

One of the most valuable functions performed bymonks in medieval Europe was the preservationof learning. Books were reproduced by monkswho diligently copied entire texts in a monasteryroom called a scriptorium, which was designed forthis purpose.


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Lecture 3

Scholasticism

Scholasticism comes from the Latin word

scholasticus, which means "that [which]belongs to the school", and was a method of

learning taught by the academics (or

schoolmen) of medieval universities circa 1100

1500. Scholasticism originally began to

reconcile the philosophy of the ancient

classical philosophers with medieval Christian

theology. It is not a philosophy or theology in

itself, but a tool and method for learning which

puts emphasis on dialectical reasoning. The

primary purpose of scholasticism was to find theanswer to a question or resolve a contradiction.

It aimed to support doctrines of the church by

rational argument. The aim was essentially

intellectual discipline in nature; it was confined

to religious and intellecual education.

Scholasticism is most well known in its

application in medieval theology, but was

eventually applied to classical philosophy and

many other fields of study. Upon encountering

the works of Aristotle and other Greek philosophers from Arab scholars, theScholastics attempted to reconcile Christian theology with Greek philosophy.

Scholasticism reached its high point in the Summa Theologiae ("sum" total of

Roman Catholic theology) of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a 13th century Dominican

theologian who taught at the University of Paris. Aquinas reconciled the

authority of religious faith, represented by the Scriptures, with Greek reason,

represented by Aristotle. Aquinas described the teachers vocation as one that

combines faith, love, and learning. The work of Aquinas and other Scholastics

took place in the medieval institutions of higher education, the universities. The

famous European universities of Paris, Salerno, Bologna, Oxford, Cambridge,

and Padua grew out of the Scholastics-led intellectual revival of the 12th and13th centuries.

The name university comes from the Latin word universitas, or

associations, in reference to the associations that students and teachers

organized to discuss academic issues. Medieval universities offered degrees in

the liberal arts and in professional studies such as theology, law, and medicine.As the number of schoolmen increases, a broaden education at institution
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developed which was the medieval university under the control of a

chancellor. The chancellor was givien the authority to issue a teaching license.The complete organization was known as Universitas Magistrorum et

Scholarium. The entire student body was the stadium generale. Outside the

lecture halls, students grouped themselves into nations, according to the place

of their origin. Each nationl annually elected a councilor. Each group ofteachers teaching the same subject was called facultas, and each of these

annually elected a dean. The dean of facultas and the the councilors of

nations made up the university coulcil which elected a rectorwho served as

the chief executive officier of the university.

In terms of methods, the scholastics would choose a book by a

renowned scholar called auctor, as a subject of investigation, for example the

Bible. By reading the book thoroughly and critically, the disciples learned to

appreciate the theories of the auctor. Then other documents related to the

source document would be referenced, such as Church councils, papalletters, anything written on the subject, be it ancient text or contemporary. The

points of disagreement and contention between these multiple sources would

be written down. These individual sentences or snippets of text are calledsententiae. For example, the Bible contains apparent contradictions for

Christians, such as the laws regarding what foods are kosher, and these

contradictions have been examined by scholars ancient and contemporary,

so a scholastic would gather all the arguments about the contradictions,

looking at it from all sides with an open mind.

Once the sources and points of disagreement had been laid out,through a series of dialectics the two sides of an argument would be madewhole so that they would be found to be in agreement and not contradictory.

This was done in two ways. First, through philological analysis. Words were

examined and it would be argued they could have more than one meaning,

that the author could have intended the word to mean something else.

Ambiguity in words could be used to find common ground between two

otherwise contradictory statements. Second, through logical analysis which

relied on the rules of formallogicto show contradictions did not exist, but were

subjective to the reader.

Scholastic schools had two methods of teaching. The first is the lectio. Ateacher would reade a text, expounding on certain words or ideas, but no

questions were allowed, it was a simple reading of a text, the instructors

explained, and silence for the students. The second is thedisputatiowhich is at

the heart of the scholastic method. There were two types of disputatios. The first

was called the "ordinary" in which the question to be disputed was announced

beforehand. The second was the quodlibetal in which the students would
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propose the question to the teacher without any prior preparation. The

teacher would then have to come up with a response. The teacher would citeauthoritative texts such as the Bible and prove his position. Students would then

rebut the response and this would go back and forth.

Documents

Modules in Educ Systems Issues 2