Historical Evolution of Education: Athens to Modernity
Arete in Athens and the Evolution of Educational Content
Arete’s most important hallmark is the emergence of philosophy, which affected different points in time where the ultimate goal was the pursuit of perfection, with three major exponents: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The concept of Arete sought the epitome of all virtues and aimed to reach perfection. This concept was imprinted in the Greek culture but had to be developed. Arete involves both physical and intellectual aspects, separate but complementary to each other, and can only be reached through effort and work. The Greek world was androcentric, that is, man-centered, meaning that Arete was only for noble and aristocratic men. Later, the concept of Arete, originally marked by physical appearance, integrated more spiritual virtues such as beauty, a sense of justice, and wisdom, achieving a comprehensive Arete. This encompassed different expressions of value, such as prudence and justice, both in the military and civic spheres.
The Development of Public Education in Rome
In Rome, most were farmers, and education was intended to provide an identity. What mattered was the family, clan, and family paternalism. Each clan had a military force and a paterfamilias. The paterfamilias was the wisest elder of the clan and could make and undo their clan. Children were taught to have great respect for their history; if they lost the bond with their ancestors, they would not be protected. Rome trained these clans with a great patriotic sentiment, and public schools were born from the state. Rome absorbed Greek culture and replaced it, forming a change in education and creating three levels of education:
- Basic education and civic culture: Everyone must know the laws in Rome, taught to the urban population.
- Patrician nobles: The only aim was to prepare state officials.
- Higher education: For new governors.
The Monastic Movement
Monasticism sought to preserve culture.
St. Benedict of Nursia, in the Benedictine Rule, ordered monks to pursue the study of Greek culture. Benedictine monasteries became cultural centers.
These monks transcribed and enriched ancient writings with illustrations in the libraries called Scriptoriums. They generated monastic schools to prepare future monks, which had a boarding school.
Maria Montessori vs. Traditional 19th-Century Education
Maria Montessori was the first female doctor in Italy. She worked in a center to educate children considered “uneducable”.
Objective: To unlock the potential of each child to develop themselves in a structured environment and achieve the maximum degree in their intellectual, physical, and spiritual development.
Basic principle: The child needs encouragement and freedom to learn. Education is based on a triangle: environment, love, and the child.
Method: Mainly based on sensory and motor activities. It applies to preschool and the Middle Ages.
The New School: Political, Social, and Economic Development
Initiated in the late 19th century, the New School is a set of principles to revise and transform the traditional forms of education.
- Its precursors differed in their conceptions of education, children, social orientation, and the political and sociological context of the school.
- A new boom occurred at the end of WWI.
- The basis of the educational process should not be punishment or the desire for reward, but a deep interest in the subject or content of learning.
- Schoolwork should be felt as a desirable goal in itself.
- Development of intellectual and moral duties, neglecting non-rote objectives in the child’s life.
Its foundations for teaching were:
- Education is a social obligation.
- It should be universally free.
- It aims to integrate the subject into life and develop the natural abilities of the individual.
- Method: Active school, “learning by doing”.
- Eliminates punishment and rote learning, seeking interest in learning.
- Concentrates on the child, considering their interests. The teacher is a collaborator in the process.
John Dewey’s Educational Proposal: Basis, Contributions, and Developments
John Dewey is the creator of the “experimental school.” He was a promoter of teachers’ unions, women’s equality, and education for democracy. His principles include identification, socialization, globalization, and self-education. Dewey teaches how to live in the real world through education for action. He proposes to reconcile two positions: the subjects (accumulated experience of mankind) and the immature child’s experience. The teacher mixes experience with theory, generating a problem that leads to a solution. Children are not blank slates; they have four motor impulses: to communicate, build, explore, and express themselves. These are the natural resources of education. Teachers must create the right atmosphere to form social habits and understand their responsibilities.