Edmund Burke's Education In A Burkian Society

Education in a "Burkian" Society The Enlightenment period was host to a variety of reforms spanning social structures and government infrastructures. There is no better example of these reforms than the French Revolution which Edmund Burke saw unfold and led him to write Reflections on the Revolution in France. Burke was strongly against these reforms and argued for tradition and rigid social structure. Had Burke written an education plan, like Rousseau's Emile, the pupil would be well prepared to function in a society and contribute to the greater good having learned his duty from his forefathers. In a world dominated by a "Burkian" education, people would be "inheriting privileges, franchises, and liberties from a long line of ancestors"
(203). As such, the education of a child can be divided into two main categories (with slight variance for members of the middle, and upper middle class): leaders, or the aristocracy, and followers, members of the working class. Despite following two different forms of education, the child's first year remains the same in either. Burke agrees with Rousseau in the fact that "we lack at birth, all that we need when we come to man's estate is the gift of education" (141). In the case of both categories, the child must be cared for and allowed to reach an age at which he can begin to learn. Once the child has reached this stage and has passed from "one to the other" (146), his education can begin. Stage Two, between the ages of two and twelve years, also varies little between the two divisions.
Both impress upon the child that "people will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors" (203). It is important to look at your ancestors as guides. They say that history is the best teacher and it is wise to learn from it. Burke could not agree more. He believes knowledge from one's ancestors should be used to the utmost advantage. The knowledge of a society rests upon its history. Citizens are called to act upon this knowledge and continue the passage of information down blood lines. Fathers and mothers are the most important teachers in both divisions and educate their children on their ways of
life. Parents are a child's first tie to the knowledge of their ancestors. Working class children are often oriented with the trade of their parents. Particularly during stage two, these children should see their parents working in such things as "the occupation of a hairdresser or of a working candlemaker" (207). The natural curiosity of a child should guide his burgeoning knowledge of the skills he will acquire in Stage Three upon reaching age 12. No matter the occupation, the child should be allowed every opportunity to witness the parents' duty to society. Religion should be introduced to the working class child at a very early age. He should be familiarized with organized religion and a firm believer in such before reaching Stage Three. It is not until Stage Three that aristocratic children are introduced to religion, however. Children of workers need to believe in a supreme power and cling to it. "Man is by his constitution a religious animal," (215) and needs to be given the opportunity to attend worship services and practice his religion. The practice of attending services and praying should be learned from the child's parents. Religion imparts upon the child civil order. Another benefit is that the child sees the community acting as a whole and believing in one entity. Those who learn that religion is beneficial and see their place in the community tend to follow their lot in life instead of rebelling against the common social order and trying to institute reforms. Religion is another way to teach children that lineage is important and the basis of societies functioning. Children of the aristocracy are not immune to the demands of learning their duty from their parents. These children should be educated in manners pertaining to the lands that they govern and lands around them for "the road to eminence and power . . . ought not to be made too easy" (208). Aristocrats have a responsibility to familiarize their children with the world beyond their immediate sight. Also, children must learn that the "characteristic essence of property, formed out of the combined principles of its acquisition and conservation, is to be unequal" (208). Children must be acquainted with this principle at an early age so as not to be startled when faced with this issue during a later stage of development. When presented with this fact early, the child agrees wholeheartedly. Parents should promptly inform children of this fact and not delay so that their "privileges . . . were not lost to memory" (205). In order to learn this fact, children should be exposed to the workings of their parents land and offered excursions to view the working class under the rule of their parents. Emphasis should be placed on lessons of generosity and sympathy. Children of the working class, upon seeing members of the aristocracy should be taught that these people govern them with their best interests in mind. In addition to this, it should be reasserted to these children that the aristocracy is brought up to govern and rule and given every possible tool to do so justly. Persons in positions of power have been entrusted with the knowledge their parents present to them and a become part of a "partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are about to be born" (216). Children entrusted with the well-being of others need to heed the warnings and lessons given to them and treasure every bit of advice. However, this goes for both divisions as all children should take to heart the knowledge given to them and regard it as a gift. Children are given the precious reward of a future for their efforts in getting an education and need not worry about their income, no matter what division they fall into. Security is the greatest gift a parent can give a child and parents do just that when they prepare their child for the tasks they are required to complete. With so much information presented to the child during this stage it is important to remember that "patience will achieve more than force" (218). Children often require extra time to absorb their surroundings and all that has been taught them. With patience and persistence, children will amaze their parents with their learned abilities. Stage Three marks the point in time when children begin to exercise what they have learned. In the working class, this means the child takes up an apprenticeship or other similar program with his parents. No matter how lowly the work the child has realized that by "respecting your forefathers, you would have been taught to respect yourselves" (206). Between the ages of twelve and fifteen, the child gains a newfound respect for his learned trade and for his parents. He has begun to earn their respect and is forming himself into an independent adult all the while applying the lessons learned from his ancestors. Only now does the child begin to realize the gift he has been given and that his education thus far is valuable and essential to his survival. In contrast to the working class, the aristocratic child does not begin to utilize his learned skills by governing people.
Instead, this child is given the opportunity to expand his knowledge. During these three years, his reason and intellect have far surpassed his reason and intellect at age twelve. Due to this, the complex institution of religion is introduced. The child learns that "religion is the basis of civil society and the source of all good and of all comfort" (214). Parents impart upon the child the benefits of religion. Quickly the child learns that religion can aid them in governing others as it maintains social orders and quells violence. Both are important to the posterity of any community, large or small. By introducing religion in Stage Three, instead of Stage Two, the child understands the logic behind religion and can use religion to aid in governing the working class, while himself becoming a believer. Also by being introduced at a later age, the child learns how he can use the church to aid in governing his
charges. Stage Four begins unceremoniously for a working class child. This marks the point in time when he is ready to strike out on his own, though not without his accumulated knowledge. He begins to practice his trade under his own supervision. Society calls upon him for the first time to "preserve the method of nature in the conduct of the state," (204) and to begin the cycle again. The child is now a man and capable of finding a wife from a similar status. They will then educate their children in the ways he has been learned and continue the cycle of education. His wife will have been educated in a manner much akin to his and both will have knowledge to offer their child to better their performance in a civil society. Meanwhile, the aristocratic child is only just beginning to utilize his knowledge. His parents have now allowed him to govern on a small scale and set him with tasks to prove he is ready to govern independently. Parents will make sure that the child is "always acting as if in the presence of canonized forefathers" (204). At this point in time, the child is fully aware of the responsibilities that come along with power. Parents will be revered as well as ancestors. Children now respect their parents and use them as a resource at this point in their life. Stage Five is the ultimate stage for the child of aristocrat parents. This is monumental for the child as he is no longer a child but a member of civil society in his own right. Everything the child has learned is utilized in this stage as he governs over the working class. The child does not allow for the working class to rule because "the state suffers oppression if such as they, either individually or collectively, are permitted to rule" (207). As such, it is in the best interest of the child to govern successfully and justly so that working class members do not feel the need to take governance upon themselves, a position they are not prepared for. The enormous responsibility of governing with others' interest in mind is not pushed aside and the leader takes to heart all concerns. Burke's education is superior to that of Rousseau's because his education is "the result of profound reflection, or rather the happy effect of following nature, which is wisdom without reflection, and above it" (203). Burke's ideas follow the natural order of things. In life, people are born into a certain situation because they are best at living their life in that way. Believing this idea, Burke argues for continuing the tradition and to not cease what works for society. This education is much more feasible than Rousseau's because the child learns to play an active part in society and to fulfill their role rather than becoming socially inclined. Social skills come naturally, and their level varies depending on what trade one has, and does not need to be taught in any formal lessons. Mastering one's trade and continuing a legacy furthers society by improving the efficiency of the community. By falling into one's place and assuming the responsibilities granted by one's ancestors, a child can grow into a resource for future generations and a model citizen. The grown child is also ensuring the posterity of his community, government, and way of life.

Word Count - 1985