Notes on Educational Heritage

Historical Foundation: Origins of Educational Heritage
A report for Educ 503- Foundations of Education
By: Eugene de Guzman, Euiga Jung, and Sheri-Ann Ramirez
Group 1 Diverse cultures and philosophies have contributed to present-day education. A study of the development of the political, social, religious, and philosophical ideas that were distinct for each historical period or civilization would give us a further understanding of the precursors and origins of teaching methods, beliefs, and curriculum— as well as how these still have an impact on educational issues today. This report will focus on six major civilizations and the famous personages that were all integral to the historical foundation of education. I. Education in Preliterate Societies
Our ancestors transmitted their culture orally from one generation to the next. Furthermore, the word enculturation is the key term which refers to the transmission of culture from adults to children. Children must learn the group’s language and skills and assimilate its moral and religious values.
It was essentially through trial-and-error learning through which people gained skills or knowledge. Preliterate people faced the almost overwhelming problems of surviving in an environment that pitted them against drought and floods, wild animals, and attacks from hostile groups. By trial and error, they developed survival skills that over time became cultural patterns.
The transition from childhood to adulthood is carried through ritual dancing, music, and dramatic acting to create a powerful supernatural meaning and evoke a moral response. Prescriptions (acceptable behaviors) and proscriptions or taboos (forbidden behaviors) were learned. These led to the formation of a moral code for a society.
They lacked writing to record their past, so they relied on oral tradition, or storytelling, to transmit cultural heritage. Storytelling was an engaging educational strategy used in the past. Elders or priests, often gifted storytellers, sang or recited narratives of the group’s past. They told myths and legends which told of heroes, victories, and defeats. Songs and stories helped the young learn about the group’s spoken language and develop more abstract thinking.
As toolmakers, humans not only made use of these for their survival but also learned to express themselves by the use of symbols such as signs and pictographs. They would discover art through drawing and paintings, modes of expression which are preserved in caves and rock surfaces in famous parts of the world. II. Education in Ancient Chinese Civilization
Historically, ancient Chinese civilization reached high pinnacles of political, social, and educational development. The empire was ruled by series of dynasties spanning more than forty centuries. Many educational traditions—especially Confucianism—that originated in imperial China still have influenced today. There were three main aims of early Chinese education. First, there was a focus on ideological and ethical learning based on the teachings of Confucius, particularly on relationships, order, duty, and morality. Second, it aimed to preserve their cultural patterns and usages. Third, education prepared students to take state examinations to qualify for the higher status in life and for positions in the government. One type of education was language education since the Chinese language has very many characters whereby each represents an idea. These had to be memorized. There were three chief methods of instruction. First, the Confucian method was not confined in the classroom. Outdoor teaching was done. Second, direct and exact imitation was a must for learners to master writing many Chinese characters. Third, memorization was a large part of learning because a lot of learning material had to be memorized thoroughly.
Confucian Education Confucius (551-479 B.C.) is one of the world’s greatest philosophers and teachers. His ethical system for more than two thousand years has influenced Chinese civilization and education. He emphasized on personal discipline, loyalty to the family and group, and the need for social and political harmony. He lived during the “warring states period”, a time of chaos and conflict in Chinese history. In response to this time of troubles, he formulated an ethical and educational philosophy to restore peace and harmony in China. He was convinced that knowledge could replace force, so he established a school where he would educate future government officials to rule China with justice, fairness , and order. Education was important for Confucius, stipulating that its goal is to develop persons of noble character who by diligent and continuous study acquire the necessary knowledge to follow the “way”, the path that leads to benevolence rather than violence. He organized his ethical and educational system around learning how to observe rituals and manners that governed human relationships in a hierarchal society. Everyone in that hierarchy would know his or her status, duties, and responsibilities, and proper behavior. This concept had an important implication for education, particularly character formation. The Confucian view rested on the idea that some individuals are superior and others subordinate. Character education rested on definite patterns on behavior, hence meaning that one must learn the roles and network of relationships that form a community to fulfill the prescribed role behaviors that will ensure social harmony. In China, teachers hold their teachers in high regard and respect. Confucius himself was called “the master”. This respect for education, learning, and teachers became an important characteristic of education in China and East Asia. An important educational legacy from ancient China was its system of national examinations. This has been adopted by almost all countries of the world today. Chinese educators developed comprehensive written examinations to assess students’ academic competence. Students prepared for the examinations by studying ancient Chinese literature and Confucian texts with master teachers at imperial or temple schools. The examinations emphasized recalling memorized information rather than solving actual problems. The examination process was operated hierarchically and selectively. Students had to pass a series exams in ascending order. If they failed, they were dismissed from the process. The educational and examination systems were reserved for upper class males. Women were excluded from schools. This is because of the Confucian belief that women were to serve men and society in the home. It was believed that the less learned a woman is, the more obedient she would be to her family. III. Education in Ancient Indian Civilization
River valley civilizations flourished in the banks of India’s Indus River at Mohenjo-daro and
Harrapa from 3000 B.C. to 1500 B.C. Wars were fought as invaders brought their culture that would be assimilated into the indigenous people’s society. A socio-cultural equilibrium would be restored. Among the early invaders were the Aryans, the ancestors of India’s Hindi-speaking majority, who conquered the Dravidians. Later, the Muslims established the Mughul dynasty. In the eighteenth century, the last of the invaders would be the British.

The Aryans introduced the religion of Hinduism and their highly stratified and rigid social order, the caste system. Hinduism emphasizes on the transmigration of the souls and reincarnation. The caste system, on the other hand, is divided into four strata: Brahmins (priest-educators), Kshatriyas (rulers, judges, and warriors), Vaishyas (merchants), and Shudras (farmers). The bottom of the caste were the untouchables who performed menial work. People stayed in the caste they were born to and learned their duties and roles by imitating parents and other adults of their own caste. Schooling was reserved for the upper castes, primarily the Brahmins.

Chief methods of instructions were imitation and memorization. Imitation is through which the teacher uttered words to be learned and the pupils imitated. The teacher would demonstrate in non-verbal learning such as in vocational, sports, and military, and the students imitated. In writing, pupils imitated the teacher’s copy, first on sand and later on palm leaves.

Education in India reflects the assimilation of cultural changes brought by the Aryans. They had the following types of schools: (a) Brahminic schools for the priestly caste stressed on religion, philosophy, and the Vedas. Vedas means knowledge. The Vedas, The Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads were Hinduism’s sacred religious books which portray the goal of life, which is to search for universal spiritual truths. Indian educators believed that the quest for truth required disciplined meditation. Contemporary transcendental meditation and yoga follow these ancient Indian principles for finding inner spiritual truth and serenity. (b) Tols were one-room schools where a single teacher taught religion and law. (c) Court schools – were sponsored by princes. Here, teachers taught literature, law and administration.

Hindu educational philosophy emphasized on religious purposes and had a prescribed appropriate teacher-student relationships. The teacher was known as an ayoha who encouraged students to respect all life and to search for truth. Students were to respect teachers as a source of wisdom, and teachers were to refrain from humiliating students.

The Mughul dynasty introduced Islamic religion, Arab and Persian philosophy, science, literature, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, art, music, and architecture. Muslim schools are called madrassahs and usually established near mosques . They emphasized on grammar and the Koran. India’s great contribution to education is its example of how education can help civilization endure over the centuries. Through cultural assimilation and readaptation, their culture has survived to the present. India’s situation reveals how caste can now be corrected through educational processes as India faces the challenge of assimilating and respecting diverse cultures and beliefs, particularly on human relationships.

According to Calderon (1998), the outstanding contribution of the Hindus is the decimal system of arithmetic notation, particularly the use of the symbol “0”. This system allows us today to use the four fundamental operations of whole numbers, fractions, and decimals.

IV. Education in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt developed as a river-valley culture along the Nile River. The tribal kingdoms combined into one empire headed by the pharaoh, an emperor believed to be of divine origin. The concept of divine emperorship gave social, cultural, political, and educational stability to the Egyptian empire by endowing it with supernaturally sanctioned foundations. Knowledge and values were seen as reflecting an orderly, unchanging, and eternal cosmos. The concept of the king-priest also gave the priestly elite high status and considerable power in Egyptian society. The educational system reinforced this status and power by making the priestly elite guardians of their culture.

There were four main aims of Egyptian education. First, the most in demand profession of the time was to become a scribe, a person who recorded transactions for business, religious text, and historical records. Few Egyptians could read and write. Second, writing sacred text was essential to give proper respect to the gods and the pharaoh who was considered a living god. Third, it was a way to transfer the skills of an occupation that was passed on through the family over generations. Last, it was to preserve their culture.

The Egyptians studied medicine, anatomy and embalming. They developed technologies for irrigating and building pyramids and temples. They also developed a system of writing, the hieroglyphic script which enabled them to create and transmit a written culture. By 2700 BC, they had an extensive system of temple and court schools. These schools would train scribes, many of whom were priests, in reading and writing. Schools were often part of the temple complex, which furthered the close relationship between formal education and religion. After receiving preliminary education, boys studied the literature appropriate to their future professions. Special advanced schools existed for certain kinds of priests, government officials, and physicians. In the scribal schools, students learned to write the hieroglyphic script by copying documents on papyrus, sheets made from reeds growing along the Nile. Teachers dictated to students, who copied what they heard. The goal was to reproduce a correct, exact copy of a text. Often students would chant a short passage until they had memorized it thoroughly. Those who advanced studied mathematics, astronomy, religion, poetry, literature, medicine, and architecture. Hence, the methods of instruction were through apprenticeship, dictation, memorization, copying, imitation, repetition, observation and participation. The greatest contribution of the Egyptians to education were, according to Calderon (1998), geometrical measurement and surveying. They were the first to use these two mathematical techniques to find solutions for their fields and crops due to the floods by the Nile River. V. Education in Greek Civilization

Ancient Greek education illuminates education’s role in forming good citizens. Unlike the
Great empires of China and Egypt, ancient Greece was divided into small city-states that defined civic responsibilities differently. This is particularly delineated between the competing city-states of Athens and Sparta. Athens was democratic while Sparta was an authoritarian military dictatorship or a totalitarian state. Each city-state (or polis) had its own distinct government and type of citizenship education.

The Greeks recognized the importance of interrelating enculturation (immersion and participation in the city-states’s total culture) with formal education. Through enculturation, the youth were prepared to become citizens of their society. Through formal education were they in turn provided the knowledge needed to fulfill society’s expectations of the good life. For example, the Athenians believed that a free man needed a liberal education to perform his civic duties as well as develop personally. In contrast, Sparta used formal education for military training.
Greek society had slaves who were prisoners of war or were judicially condemned to servitude. A few educated slaves tutored wealthy children in Athens, but Athenians generally believed that the liberal education was appropriate for free men and not for slaves. Greek society was patriarchal, so only a minority of women received any formal education. In Athens, women had limited legal and economic rights, and few attended schools. But most fortunate women at the time received instruction at home from tutors. Others , such as priestesses, learned religious rituals at temple schools. In Sparta, it was a marked contrast as young women received athletic and military training to prepare them to be healthy mothers of future Spartan soldiers. Spartan education focused on military training to foster patriotism and military skill, as well as discipline to produce the ideal Spartan citizen who could endure hardship. Spartans thus valued training as education, not school instruction. They believed that learning was through doing. Motivation was through rivalry, aspiring to be like the great men they honored and to perform great deeds. Perhaps their most outstanding contribution to education is their military education which influences military schools today, especially the development of patriotism and discipline.

Early Athenian education was under the influence of a man named Solon, one of the greatest lawmakers of all time. He drew up laws that guided Athens and became the basis for educational direction.

In early Athenian education, rhetoric was a main element. But their other aims were to hone good citizenship, individual excellence for people to become useful members of society, and to encourage people to improve oneself and develop their full potential. Perhaps their greatest contribution to education was the free development of one’s capabilities and the Olympic Games.

Education at Athens varied greatly in accordance with family wealth; unlike Sparta, the city had no common system of communal education for all young citizens.

Later Athenian education came about when Athens became powerful after the defeat of the Persians in the Battle of Plataea. It resulted to their might as an empire. Later Athenian education was dominated by the famous philosophers in the following discussion below.
The Sophists: Pragmatic and Utilitarian The Sophists were a group of traveling educators who developed new teaching methods to instruct the emerging commercial class in the skills of public speaking. Proficiency in oratory was highly important in a democracy such as Athens, where it could be used to persuade the assembly and the courts in one’s favor. They also claimed that knowledge depended on the situations in which people used it. The Sophists sought to develop their students’ communication skills so they could become successful advocates and legislators. The Sophists’ most important subjects were logic, grammar, and rhetoric—subjects which were later developed into the liberal arts. Logic, the rules of correct argument, trained students to organize their presentations clearly, and grammar developed their powers of using language effectively. Rhetoric, the study of persuasive speech, was important for future orators. The Sophists claimed that they could educate their students to win public debates by teaching them (1) how to use crowd psychology to know what would appeal to an audience, (2) how to organize a persuasive and convincing argument, and (3) skill in public speaking—knowing what words, examples, and lines of reasoning to use to win the debate or the case. Protagoras was the most prominent Sophist who developed a highly effective five-step teaching strategy. The steps are the following: (a) deliver an outstanding speech so that students knew their teacher could do what he was attempting to teach them and could also serve as a model to imitate; (b) students were instructed to examine the great speeches of famous orators to amplify the available models;(c) they were to also study the key subjects of logic, grammar, and rhetoric; (d) they must deliver practice orations which were assessed to provide feedback to the students; and(e) the student orators delivered public speeches. This method resembles how prospective teachers today study the liberal arts and professional subjects, learn various teaching strategies, and do practice teaching under the guidance of an experienced cooperating teacher.
Socrates: Education by Self-Examination or the Development of the Power of Thinking
The oracle at Delphi described him as the wisest man, and a surprised Socrates set out to question supposedly wise people, cross-examining them about their knowledge. Discovering this was scant, he understood that his wisdom lay in alone knowing his ignorance.

Socrates believed that knowledge was based on what was true universally at all places and times. He firmly defended academic freedom to think, question and teach. He was the teacher of Plato, who later systematized many of Socrates’ ideas.
His philosophy stressed the ethical principal that a person should strive for moral excellence, live wisely, and act rationally. He believed that moral excellence was superior to the Sophists’ technical training.
According to Socrates, the role of the teacher was to ask the right questions so that students could think critically. He believed that the concepts of true knowledge were present, but buried, within a person’s mind. A true liberal educations would stimulate the minds of learners to discover ideas that emerge into consciousness as truth that was latent in their minds.
His educational aim was to help individuals define themselves through self examination. He wanted students to become involved in discussions which investigated concerns on the meaning of life and other truths. Dialogues did not mean simply sharing ideas, but also reflecting on and criticizing them to find truth. This is known as the Socratic method, a way to make students critically examine current or historical issues. There were to two forms: one of which is known as the ironic or destructive. This is in which interrogation brings the pupil from unconscious to conscious ignorance. The other form is the constructive in which questioning leads a pupil from unconscious ignorance to a clear and rational truth.
The Socratic Method, also known as the dialectic method, questions what people think they know, trying to elicit internal contradictions so that the initial assertion is rejected for more consistent hypotheses. Socrates used it destructively to show that conventional ideas about such things as love, honor, virtue and courage were inadequate.

Plato: Eternal Truths and Values /Control by Intellectual Rulers
A student of Socrates, Plato rejected the relativism of the Sophists by arguing that reality consisted of an unchanging world of perfect ideas—universal concepts of truth, goodness, justice, and beauty.
Aristotle and Plato were the most influential philosophers of the ancient world; Aristotle more so because he covered more subjects. His thinking provided the foundation of European intellectual development, together with the systems which dominated thought for two millennia.

He founded the Academy, a philosophical school, and also wrote the Republic and the Laws, treatises on politics, law, and education.
Plato’s theory of knowledge is based on reminiscence, a process by which individuals recall the ideas present but latent in their minds. Reminiscence implies that the human soul, before birth, has lived in a spiritual world of ideas, the source of all truth and knowledge. This is also known as a theory of innate ideas, whereby innate ideas are repressed within one’s subconscious mind. So learning would be to rediscover these ideas.
He also believed in the stratified classes that make a society. This is elucidated in his work, the Republic. Individuals assigned to a class would receive the education appropriate to their social role. Plato particularly believed that the highest class belonged to the philosopher-kings, those who were educated for leadership and shaping the next generation. The following classes in descending order are: the warrior class (defenders of the Republic) and the workers.
He went against the general Athenian belief that women should not have an education. Instead, Plato believed that women should have the same privileges and responsibilities of men.
Plato’s ideal curriculum includes the following: gymnastics and “music” which consisted of reading, writing, literature, arithmetic, choral singing, and dancing. He also included rules of diet and hygiene.
Plato wanted children to be reared by experts in child care. He believed that children should live in state nurseries to acquire good habits and avoid learning prejudices from their parents.
He believed that literature was a powerful force in character formation and that children should read only poems and stories that epitomized truthfulness, obedience to authorities, courage, and control of emotions.
Aristotle: Cultivation of Rationality, or Rational Living
A student of Plato, Aristotle would later be the tutor of Alexander the Great. He was the founder of the Lyceum, an Athenian philosophical school, and studied on a broad range of subjects, including examining education in relation to society and government.
He opposed Plato’s belief on pure ideas, but rather believed that reality exists objectively. Aristotle established realism, as opposed to Plato’s philosophical idealism. Aristotle believed that objects existed out of our minds, but that through the use of our senses and our powers of reasoning and intellect, we can thus learn about the world. He believed that sensation is the root of knowledge, which is how we begin to form concepts or ideas.
Aristotle compared memorizing to making impressions in wax, and the idea that memories are copies of reality that a person stores and later retrieves has been widespread. This is sometimes called the storehouse metaphor, and many of the ways in which people talk about memory (searching for memories, bringing them back from the recesses of one’s mind) assume such a metaphor.

Aristotle championed education as vital for society, because if the cultivation of rationality is neglected, then society would suffer.
He believed in compulsory schooling. Infant schooling was to consist of play, physical activity, and appropriate stories. Children from ages seven to fourteen learned basic numeracy, reading, writing, and good moral habits. PE and music were important.
He also believed that women were intellectually inferior to men, so women were assigned household and child-rearing duties.
Aristotle’s theory of knowledge rests on the belief that knowledge arise in objects rather than from preexisting ideas in the mind. Education for him focused on the classification of objects into subject matters.
His lasting legacy for education is that schools must offer a prescribed subject-matter curriculum based on scholarly and scientific disciplines.
Isocrates: Oratory and Rhetoric
Isocrates emphasized on both knowledge and rhetorical skills. He took the middle ground between the conflicts of the Sophists and Plato.
He considered education’s primary goal as a service to society: to prepare clear-thinking, rational, and truthful statesmen. He believed that educated and honest leaders would be effective administrators. He particularly emphasized that rhetoric was important in cultivating morality, effective communication, and political leadership. Orators were to argue for honorable causes. Rhetoric was not just a persuasive routine, but a foundation for good government and an orderly society. Hence, Isocrates clearly believed that education contributed to public service guided by knowledge.
In conclusion, the outstanding contributions of the Greeks to education were the Socratic method, the varied forms of philosophy, mathematical principles, the arts, and classical literature. VI. Education in Ancient Rome
Romans were initially preoccupied with war and politics. But once they became an
Imperial power, they concentrated on administration, law, and diplomacy to maintain the empire. The Romans became known for educating practical politicians, able administrators, and skilled generals.

Only a minority of Romans were formally educated. Schooling was reserved for those who had both the money to pay the tuition and the time to attend school. As Rome grew, and particularly when it conquered Greece, the aristocratic education expanded upon the Roman model. In addition to the ways in which Roman men learned and apprenticed, noble Romans adopted elements of Greek culture and education. Those who could afford them bought Greek slaves as tutors to educate their children. Other Romans sent their children to schools that had been set up by enterprising Greeks. Most of this education was in Greek language and literature, but by the second century, there were schools in Latin as well. As they progressed, young Romans might study rhetoric and philosophy under a teacher at Rome or even be sent to study with the famous philosophers and rhetoricians in one of the schools at Athens. All this study was intended to give him the means to speak and to conduct himself as an effective Roman man in politics and public affairs.

Upper class girls often learned to read and write at home or were taught by tutors while upper class boys attended a ludus, a primary school, and then secondary schools taught by Latin and Greek grammar teachers. Boys were escorted to these schools by educated Greek slaves, called pedagogues, from which the word pedagogy, meaning the art of instruction, is derived.

The Laws of the Twelve Tables were a set of laws important for the youth to memorize. These laws defined human and property rights, as well as private and public relationships.

There were many agencies for education. Children learned the basics of knowledge, morals and religion t home. Trade was learned in the shop or farm. There were also military camps where one of the greatest armies the world has ever known trained for warfare. Places known as forums were where boys learned the science of politics and government.

Later agencies of education were schools with particular purposes. The school of litteratur (teacher of letters) was in the elementary level and attended by both boys and girls. The school of grammaticus (teacher of grammar) was in the secondary level attended by boys only. Grammar and literature were taught in either Greek grammar school or Latin grammar school. The school of rhetor (teacher of rhetoric) was in a higher level. Lastly, the Athenaeum was a school in the university level.

Rome’s educational ideal was exemplified by the orator. The ideal Roman orator was the broadly and liberally educated man of public life—the senator, lawyer, teacher, civil servant, and politician.

Quintilian: Master of Oratory

Marcus Fabius Quinilianus (AD 35-95) was one of imperial Rome’s most highly recognized rhetoricians. The emperor appointed him to the first chair of Latin rhetoric.

Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria, a systematic educational treatise included (1) the education preparatory to studying rhetoric, (2) rhetorical and educational theory, and (3) the practice of public speaking or declamation.

Quintilian made the important educational point that instruction should be based on stages of human growth and development. Anticipating the modern teacher’s concern for learners’ individual differences, he advised that instruction be appropriate to students’ readiness and abilities. He stressed the importance of early childhood in forming behavior, and he recommended that teachers motivate students by making learning interesting.

For the first stage, from birth to age seven, he advised that parents should select well-trained and well-spoken nurses, pedagogues, and companions for their children.

For the second stage, from seven to fourteen, the child should learn from sense experiences , form clear ideas, and train his memory. He now learned to write the languages that he already spoke. The primary teacher, the litterator, who taught reading and writing in the ludus, must have a worthy character and teaching competence. Instruction in reading and writing should be slow and thorough, and children would learn the alphabet using a set of ivory letters. Like Montessori many centuries later, Quintilian advised that children learn to write by tracing the letters’ outlines. He also urged that there should be breaks for games and recreation so that students could refresh themselves and renew their energy.

For the third stage, from fourteen to seventeen, he emphasized the liberal arts. Students studied Greek and Latin grammar, literature, history, and mythology bilingually and biculturally. Students also studied music, geometry, astronomy, and gymnastics.

For the fourth stage, from ages seventeen to twenty-one, rhetorical studies were emphasized whereby drama, poetry, law, philosophy, public speaking, declamation, and debate were studied. Declamations, known as systematic speaking exercises, were of great importance. After being properly prepared, the novice orator spoke to a public audience in the forum and then returned to the master rhetorician for expert criticism. The teacher corrected the student’s mistakes with a sense of authority but also with patience, tact, and consideration.

The outstanding contributions of the Romans to education were their methods of organization, management, and administration. Roman educational writers which include Quintilian led credence to the idea that an ideally educated man is an orator who utilized his learning for public service. Quintilian is perhaps the first to also write against corporal punishment, to emphasize on the proper selection of teachers and to set forth commendable qualities that make one, and to encourage that teachers take into consideration the individual differences of children.

References:
Calderon, Jose F. (1998). Foundations of education. Manila: Rex Bookstore.
Guthrie, James. (2002). Encyclopedia of education.2nd edition. USA: MacMillan.
Ornstein, Allan C. and Levine, Daniel U. (2006). Foundations of education. 9th edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Powell, Anton. (2001). Athens and Sparta: constructing Greek political and social history from 478 B.C. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.
Rorty, Amelie Oksenberg. (Ed.) (1998). Philosophers on education: new historical perspectives. London: Routlege.

References: Calderon, Jose F. (1998). Foundations of education. Manila: Rex Bookstore. Guthrie, James. (2002). Encyclopedia of education.2nd edition. USA: MacMillan. Ornstein, Allan C. and Levine, Daniel U. (2006). Foundations of education. 9th edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Powell, Anton. (2001). Athens and Sparta: constructing Greek political and social history from 478 B.C. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge. Rorty, Amelie Oksenberg. (Ed.) (1998). Philosophers on education: new historical perspectives. London: Routlege.