Indigenous Education in the Americas
Native American Education: Training Citizen-Soldiers
Early Education: Focused on individual personality and societal role. Families provided up to 12 years of education in self-knowledge and general skills.
General Education: Developed by the state, emphasizing political and economic control. Public education was mandatory, inclusive, and androcentric.
Educational Institutions
Tepochcalli (Basic School)
Directed towards commoners, providing elementary lessons and fostering social and national consciousness. Located in each district (calpulli), students entered at age 15. Mixed-gender education with sex-specific training.
- Women: Housework (weaving, spinning, cooking, culture, religion).
- Men: Military training, agriculture, and crafts. Emphasized endurance and discipline.
Method: Observation, experimentation, discovery, memory, advice, and persuasion. Physical work and sports were integral, sometimes involving risk.
Calmecac
Reserved for nobility (royalty, priests), serving as a higher education institution focused on individual conscience and leadership training. Exclusively for males, starting at age 12.
Contents: Physical education, music, medical and military training, and codices (Aztec writing).
Learning was reinforced through song and poetry in the Cuicacalli (houses of song) located in the palace.
Aztec ideal: “Soft and strong like the wind, impenetrable as night, clear as day, wise and simple.”
Inca Empire
A centralized, collectivist empire spanning 2,000 kilometers with 10 million inhabitants. The emperor, Zapa Inca, was worshipped, and human sacrifices occurred. The official language was Quechua.
Education of Nobility
Formal education was exclusive to the nobility, both men and women.
Yacaihuasi
Located in Cuzco, students entered at age 13. Subjects were taught for four years.
- Language: Quechua, including poetry and music. Writing was not developed.
- Religion: Theology and astrology.
- Quipus: Administrative and mathematical knowledge, civic education, and law.
- History: Inca kings, military strategy, and government accounts.
Physical education was essential for military prowess. At 19, individuals entered adulthood through the Huara-chicuy ceremony.
Amanauta were teachers who imparted religious, political, historical, and quipus knowledge.
Machu Picchu served as a university city for nobles.
Acllahuasi
For noble women in Cuzco, training them as priestesses and Virgins of the Sun. Some were given in marriage to chiefs to maintain political control.
Public Education
Informal and practical, focused on crafts and transmitted within families and communities. Emphasized moral standards, social discipline, and the values of honesty, truth, and work.
Mapuche Education
Emphasized understanding nature and becoming Kimche (wise person). Knowledge was transferred through experience and observation, with every individual considered an educator.
Core Concept: Ekuwun – Respect for nature. Humans are part of nature, and actions have consequences.
Education was primarily oral, with the Ngenpin (owner of words) sharing stories and songs at night.