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Educationin the Early Cultures

ducation is, in its broadestsense, the processof transmissionof culture from one generationto the next.l what is culture but the way the membersof the group think, believe,and live; what they do, say,and hold as values.There has been some sort of education ever since human beings existecl.First was the qreat human achieve- ment of spoken language,followed by learning how to muke anJ use rools. hunt and gather food, and make fire. Then the first societiesdeveloped and humans lived in yil- lages,farming, and making pottery and things from copper and bronze.2 Education in primitive society was informal. It consisted of teaching the young to survive by hunting for food and (eventually) by planting crops; to secureshelter; to ,ouk. tools and other utensils; and to learn the tribes' values and rules. Boys learned to make tools, to hunt, and fish. Girls learned to gather and prepare foocl. primitive education knew nothing of books and schools.It was motivated by the ,reedfor self,preservation;it was direct and effective;and it was carried on by the active participation of the learner as he imitated adult activities or was shown how to make tooli, engagein the hunt, or fish. Parents were, from the beginning, the primary educators of theli children. They were helped by other members of their tribe who taughr children the practical skills needed, , and who told them stories that explained the customs (mores) of the tribe.r Moral educa- tion was thus an integral part of the educativeprocess from the beginning.

Language:The Mark of Civilization

Language,the ability to communicateorally, is the mark of civilization.Educarion enr- phasized languagelearning by using songs, stories, and rituals that formecl the groul. cultural inheritance.Unique to human beings is the ability to use abstractrh..lril:: conceptualize,and communicate in oral and written languagelthis has truprr,p.l-.- ')^ - u-Ar tr|1 I

educzrtionalconsequences. As primitive man beganto scratchrough picturcs.rr iir.' u-rrri.: around him on the walls of caves,he was laying the basisfor a processthat u'ould latcr culn-rinateiu written svrnboisoI cotnmunication.

Educationin the Near East

It is impossibleto determinethe exactdate that schoolsfirst cameinto existence.Hou - ever, \4/eknorv that written langr-ragewas developedaround 4000 l.c. Once there was a written language,there u,:rs a needfor a more lormal liind of education.aThe earliestcivr- iizations that left rccords were a group of city-statesformed in the Tigris-EuphratesRiver valleyin Mescpotamia(now lraq; seeN{ap 1.1 ol the NearEast). Knor.r'n as Sumeria, the-se city statesbecame the basisfor later socialand educationaldevelopments in China,India, and Egypt. Althongh the Snmeriansdicl not have an alphabet,thev developedsymbols that came to be known as cuneiformthat were made by pressingir wedge-shapedstylus into a soft clay tablet.ln Babylon(and later in Egypt), this processat first took the form of picturerr,ritrng or pictttgrams.The picture rel'errednot onl,vto the objectportrayed but alsohad meaningbeyond the actualobject. Recentdrscoveries in Iraq ha\.eturned up cuneifonnmathematics textbooks used by schoolboysin Sumeriaas early as 2000 B.t.- L)necan assumethat some form of schools ffili'Jl,.;;:l";;:l::itff .I:n'ilHi::tff :f :il:.ll*',,:':,i:T;.::,:lT;

Map 1.1 Ancient Civilizationsand Trade Routesof the Near East

uJo\ toil .lrt,ch

- llr] ,, ,u -r..

ARABIAN '\''ot DrsI&r

\\ --- lgvptian trader()utes '' , I I '-!,*ou I

Source: From Anthony Esler, The Human Venture,Combined Volume:Frcm Prehistory to the Present,sthedition, 2004. Reprinted by permissionof PearsonEducation. I EDUCATIONIN THE EARLYCULTURES

the education ol priests, scribes, and civil ser\-ilnts.The Phoenicians clrrglt,pc.l i !\>lcnr ot 22 signs, each of which represented a consonant sound, around 1000 n.r. ThLs ..ii. thc beginning ol thc cleveloplnent of :rn alphabet as $,e knou' it toda),. Females could attend school and a woman could uranage her husbands brr.rncs. ,rr-L.l household alfairs when he was away. In the Old Babylonian period, women cr)Ll]cl;rri.r> r,r,'itnessesancl be scribes. There arc even reports of rvomen phy'sicians. EarliestWritten Literature By 2700 s.c.,cuneiform was alsoused lor works of literature.The Epic o/ Gilgarne.shis tht- earliestknown u'ritten work of literature. It dealsr'vith the profound thernesof friendship. the leality o[ death,ancl the questlor eternallifc.

Educationin China

China hasalso been a civiiizedsociet). lor a r,erylong time. There is cvidenceto suggest that forrnal schoois existed in China during the Hsia and Shang dynasties,perhaps as earlyas 2t)00n.c.o (see NIap 1.2 of China).Religion has irlways been one of the fundamen- tal lhctorsin Chineselife and eclucation.The Chinesehave a greatdevotion to tradition. This in evidentin the family,where the fatherhas absolute powcr to enforceobedience to himselfas the carrierof tradition.The statewas but an enlarsemer-rtof the familv.and tire

Map 1.2 China

Source: From Anthony Esler, Ihe Human Venture,Combined Volume:From Prehrstorvlc Present,5thedition, 2004. Reprinted by permissionof PearsonEducation. :_i,TER 1

il5:Tiil::T'.1 :'.:H,";'tff :l:'":: :li,:T i.,'::*:.T:',ilTifl:tT:,:: tain thinss as traditionclictated. ^lili'i

TheChinese Curriculum Around the seventhcentury B.c,, rve see the Chinesecurriculutn leaning heavily on tradi- tion. Classicalsubjects were studieclin a prescribeclcurriculum: history, poetr)',literature of antiquiq', governnrentdocrtments, ar.rd law China had no state system of schools nor public education.Formal educationwas stricily for men, anclonly thosemen who could pay for it. In general,the educationof women was lirnited to thar which they'needed in order to be polishedin socialsituations. but therearc repoltedincidents of women receiv- ::1ilffii""Hl;:l'J:TlJl:l;ihffi ilil;li:.:.'lilT"?ffi sff1H{i::'3; power when their husbands were awayi

ChineseEducational Institutions There were three levels of ancient Chineseeducation: elenentary.. acadetnies, and exami- nations.The elementaryschool met in the teachershouse. The hours were long and the work severe.The privateacaclemies were m(lrelike "cram" or "dlill'" scl.rocllsin which the youth studicd the Chincseclassics, grammar, and prosein orclerto passthe examinations. The rnethodologyat ever;'level of Clrinesecclucation was extrertelyformal, emphasizing memorizationand an exactreproduction o[ textr.ralrnaterial. The classroorn\&'as a scene of confusittn and ear-splittingnoise as thc children studied lheir lessonsancl recitecl aloud. To Inotivatestudents to this rote memory and absoluteimitation, the teacherl.rad to exertharsh discioline. Chinese education has alu,ays been characterizeclb1. tradition, moralitv. and conformity-all designedto help the studentsto becomethe kind of human pcrsonenvi- sioned by oriental thought. We traditionally credit the philosophersand rhinkers of Greece and Rome with establishingthe foundations of our intellectualeducational thought. Hoq'- ever,it is interestingto study Easternthought to seethat, in the sametime period, a similar system of ldeas was establishedin China. Eastern thought is different from \A/estern thought in that it is cyclical,ernphasizing harmony while alsojuxtaposing oppositcs. Confuciuswas the first privateteacher in China who taught men the value of teach- ing itself. It will do us well, therefore,to begin this book of educzrtionalwritings lvlth a work frorn one of China'sgreat thinkers. the famous philosopher Confucius, who wrote about the ilnportance of education for society This r,villhelp us to seethat educationalis- suesare perennial and crosscultures, civilizations,and time periods.

For FurtherResearch on the lnternet

Sltewith information on ancient Babylonia.Egl'pt, anclother ancient civilizations. httpl/ home. echo-on.net /-srnithda./ Irrforrnationon the Sumeriansof Babyloniaand other ancientcivilizations. http://rvw'w .eliki. com,/ancient/civilizations/ Lessonplans on the ancientcivilizations. http://lessonplans.com \lanr'links to ancient China. Egvpt,and India. http://wwwcrystalinks.com,/ancient.html EDUCATIONIN THE EAF.VCI-.'TURES

Notes

1. EclwardPou'er,PhilosophyoJEdutation:-StudicsiirPhilosophres,Schoolin.gdrl.JEJlirrltrr)r,ri/ Heights,IL: WavelandPrcss, 1990). 2. Nlarvin Pern er al.. '|4/cslrnCir'iij:afion: Ideas. Politics f's{).icl'y (Boston:HoughtrrD \lt1ii::; . 2000). 3. Tinr Megarry Societl,'irr Prchisalv; The Origin oJ HumanCulfure (New \brk: Neu \brl< L nirtr. l 996). Yun Lee Too, The PedagogicalCont,?rct: fhc EcorromiesoJ Teuchingand Lcarningin rLc {ttcttrtl \\,,ri,i - Arbor: Universityof MichiganPrcss,2000).

l EleanorRobson.Mesopotdmian,\{alllmutics, 2100-1600 s.c. (Oxford:Clarenclon Prcss. lt)t)9). 6 Ray Huang, China:A MacroHi.storl' (;\rnronk, N.Y: M.E. Sl-rarpe,1997). 7 Conrad Schirokaurer.A BrieJHi storl,ol ChineseCit,ilization (Ne u' York: Harcourt BraceJolrrnovich. I 9q i l

Sectionl.l: Confucius (552-479 s.c.) Proverbsand maxims are one o[ the most effective ways of teaching moral principles becausewhen learnedyoung, they stick with y,6llall your 1ife.We all rememberour parents'quoting: "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Confucius was the great moral teacher who taught using maxims.

Confucius'Life and Times

Confucius (born Kung Chiu, meaning Chiu oi the Kung family, later stvlized as Chung-ni meaning "secondson") was born tcla poor but noble aristo- craticfamily in the countn. of Lu in 552 n.c. His fa- ther was a distinguishedsoldier rvho died in battle when Confucius was only three yearsold. Confucius'mother was diligent in her drive tct orovidea sound educationfor hcr four sons.

His Education It was the custom of the rime: to appoint a private tutor to educate the sons of the noble classes.rConfucius was, therefore, well trained in the great classicsof Chinese literature as well as in history, poetr)', music, and archery. Poetry and music were to have a spectal influence on him. At the age of fifteen, he entered a local school in his village u-here he was taught by his elders the eticluetteof respectful service and good morals irs u-cll as the collrse of studies.2As a young irdult, he qr.ricklv earned a reputation Jor fairuess. ptrlitc- ness, and love of learning. After stud)'ing in the village school, he went to tl-rcestahhsh- ment for higher leaming ir-rthe Lu imperial capital of Zhor-rwhere l-remct ancl spol.r s rtlt Lao Zi. the founder of Taoism. He traveled extensively. Confucius t.nrrrricclrrt thr' .t{r' ,': : -::-EF l

nineteen.He had at leastone son, l-i Poyu, and a daughter.'(See the timeline of Confu- crus'lifeshorvn in Figr"rre1.1.)

Confucius,the GreatTeacher Upon his return to Lu at the age of thirty, Confucius began his careerin teaching.Tradi- tion tells Llsthat he used his own houseas a school and chargedsmall feeslor his stu- dents whom he instructed in his lavorite subjects:history, poetry, government, morality, and music. He taught the art of thinking through conversationwith his students about their own opinions on important matters, much in the style of Socrates.Beginning with just a few students,Confucius rapidly' developed a reputationas a greatreacher. He had an incredible ability to inspire others to seethe truths of the greatideas. He loved learning and he sought out pupils who shared this love. By the time he died, he had mentored more than 3,000 male studentswho carried on his teachingsas his disciples. His successas a teacherled to his receivinga major civil appointment.During Confu- cius'reign as minister of justrce,society ran \/ery smoothly and the crime rate dropped substantially.This was attributed to Confucius' principle of "rule by good example" rather than "strongfisted force." When other noblesbegan plotting againstConfucius'position, he retiredfrom public life to concentrateon teachingand studying.He spent the rest of his yearsteaching ancl',vriting, dying in 479 a.car rhe ageof 72.+

Confucius'Importance for EducationalThought

Prior to the time of Confucius, all branchesof learning had been in the oflicial custody of hereditary aristocrats.Except for schools of archery,there were no schools in China to provide what we consider a basic education. Readingand writing were learned at home. Confucius vi'as the first to offer to instruct private individuals and to set up a sort o[ schoolfor all young rnen,irrespective of their socialstatus and means.

Confucius'Philosophy of Education Confucins'aimwas to provideall studentswith an educationthat would be both practica, and moral; an educationthat would "cultivatethe person" and teach them to solve the daily problems of governmental service and bring the best benefits to the people rhey served.Confucius saw his role as a teacherto be a "transmitterof knowledge,"one who should inspirestudents r,l'ith the truths of the greatideas. His method of instructioncon- sistedof conversationand dialogue;sometimes he would questionhis studentsand com- ment on their answers,Iike Socrates.Confucius expected his students to be motivated and active learnerswho would take the initiative in their learning. He establishedthe cur- riculum of readingand studying the six Chineseclassics instead of acqr.riringpractical

Figure1.1 Confucius'Life and Times EDUCATIONIN THE EABLYCULTURES

knowledge.His emphasison liberal insteado[vocational education had signrir.rnt irflu- enceon thc historyof Chineseeducation.-

Moral RoleoJ Education Confuciuswas deeply convinced that learning 2ni 111,11..'111r were inseparable.Education, he felt. irnproved the moral characterof a persot-ras ri cll .,. the intellect.Morality needsgood education,and a good educationis one basedon tltu moral principles. Confucius set up a universal ethical system.6 Confucius taught that there were key cardinal virtues that all people needed to cle- velop. However,all virtues are interrelatedbecause the human being is an interrelationirl creature.The development of virtues brought harmony. Studentsshould be taught filial piety and fraternal love. Education is central to building up a strong society.The dream of Confuciuswas a world asit shouldbe. Confucius and his followers have had a tremendous impact on Chinese society and education.The traditional valuesadvocated by Confucius-filial respect,moderation, and truthfulness-still play an important part in Chinese people'slives as does the principle that educationshould be for all as it has a social purpose.According to Confucius, "Those who excel in office should learn; thosewho excel in learning should take office."7 For FurtherResearch on the lnternet A short biography of Confucius with an explanation of Chinesecharacters. httpl/ www. friesian. com./confuci. htm A publishing compan)rconcentrating on disseminatingthe u.ork of Confucius. http:// www. confucius. orglmaine. htm A site dedicatedto Confuclusand his r'vritings.http://www.cifnet.com,/-geenius/kongfuzi,/

Notes

i. Shigeki Kaizuka, ConJucius:fltsLi-[e andThought(Mineola, NY: Dovcr Publications,2002). pp. +2, 62. 2. lbid., p. 64. J. Paul Strathern.The EssentiqlConlicius (London: Mrgin Publications,2002). p. 20. 4. Kaizuka, p. '15. 5. Jianping Shen.ConJucius (New Yolk: Routledge,2001), pp. 2-3. 6. Strathern,p. 30. 7. Shen,pp 3-4.

Questions to Guide Your Reading l. Diagramshelp us to understand the logic of arguments.See if )'ou can diagram Con- fucius' explanation of The Greqt Learning and The Doctrine of the Mcan as you reacl theseselections. 2. Of what well-known literary form found in the Bible do The Anqlyticsremind i.oui Why is the use of maxims an effectivelearning device?Can you rnention sonle inA.\- irns that hold true in both Easternand Western societies? 3. Can you find Confucius'versionof The GoldenRule? Using the Internet.see rf r,.u can researchother versions of the Golden Rule as found in different cultrires ;n.l religions. READINGI.I: CONFUCIUS,THE IVIASTERTEACHER

The Great Learning Chapter Vll l. What the Creat Learning teaches, is to illus- /. What is meant by, 'The cultivation of the trate illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and person depends on rectiflzingthe mind,' may be thus to rest in the highest excellence. illustrated: lf a man be under the influence of pas_ 2. Things have their root and their branches. sion, he will be incorrect in his conduct. He will be What is first and what is last will lead near to what the same if he is under the lnnr"n"" of i"rror, ot. is taught in the Areat Learning, under the influence offond regard, or under that of 3. The ancients who wished to illustrate illustri_ sorrow and distress. ous virtue throughout the kingdom, first ordered B. When the mind is not present, we look and well their own States. Wishing to order well their do not see;we hear and do not understand;we eat States, they first regulated their families. Wishing to and do not know the taste of what we eat. regulate their families, they first cultivated their per_ 9. This is what is meant by ,ayi.,g thai the culti- sons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first vation of the person dependson the rlcilfying of the rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectifli their hearts, mind. they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such ex_ Confucian Analects tension of knowledge lay in the investisation of 2:lt The Master said, 'lf a nran things. keepscherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring 4. Things being investigated, knowledge be_ new. he may be a teacherof others., came cornplete. Their knowledge being complete, 2:t5 The Master said,'Learning without thought their thoughts were sincere. Their thoughts being is labor losUthought without learningis perilous., sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Therr 2:17 The Master said, 'yu, shall I teach vou hearts being rectified, their personswere cultivated. what knowiedge is? When you know a thing, to Their persons being cultivated, their familjes were hold that you know it; and when you do not know a regulated. Their families being regulated, their ,: allow that you do noi kno* it;-this States lhi.g,, is were rightly governed. Their States being knowledge.' rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made 4:16 The Master said, 'The mind of the tranquiland happy. supe- rior man is conversant with righteousness;if* *i"a 5. From the Sun of Heaven down to the mass of the mean man is conversant with gain., of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the 4:j7 The Master said, 'When we see men of person the root ofeverything besides. worth, we shouldthink of equalingthem; when we 6. It cannot be, when the root is neglected,that see men of a contrary character; we should turn tn_ what should spring from it will be well ordered. lt wards and examine ourselves.' never has been the case that what was of great im- 7:l The Master said, '[l am a] transmitter and portance has been slightly cared for, and, at the . not a maker,believing in and loving ihe ancients. . . . same time, that what was of slight importance has 7:B The Master said, 'l do not open up the been greatly cared for. truth to one who is not eager to get knowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain him- self When I have presentedone corner of a subject t,.-="- Th" Four Books. ed-_trans. IAe t: any:le, and he cannot from it learn the other -z:z ^Jar,ne;.Leggg, -' Ciossrcs.Vol. I (Oxford:Clarendon, 1893). three, I do not repeatmy lesson.' EDUCATIONIN THE EAFLYCULTURES

7:19 The Master said. 'l am not one who was 2:3 The Master said, 'Perfecr rs the vrrtue born in the possessionof knowledge; I am one who which is according to the Meanl Rare have ther iong is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seekingit there.' been among the people,who could practrcertl' 'When 7:21 The Master said, I walk along wirh 8:3 [The Master said]'When one cultrvatesto two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will the utmost the princrplesof his nature, and exercrses selecttheir good qualitiesand follow them, their bad them on the principle of reciprocity, he rs nor Ar qualitiesand avoid them.' from the path. What you do not like done to your- 7.24 There were four thingswhich the Master self, do not do to others.' taught,-letters, ethics,devotio-n of soul,and truth- l5:5 The Master said, 'ln archery we have fulness. something like the way of the superior man. When 9:4 There were four things from which the the archer missesthe center of the target, he turns Master was entirely free. He had no foregone con- round and seeksthe causeof his failure in himself ' clusions, no arbitrary predeterminations, no ob,sti- 20:ll lThe Master saidl'He who knows these nacy, and no egoism. three things [knowledge,magnanimity, and energy], 'The 12:15 The Master said, superior man seeks knows how to cultivate his own character. Knowing to perfect the admirable qualities of men, and does how to cultivate his own character, he knows hor,i not seek to perfect their bad qualitres.The mean to govern other men. Knowing how to govern other man does the opposite of this.' men, he knows how ro govern the kingdom with all 15:23 Tsze-kung asked, saying, 'ls there one its States and families.' r.vord which may serve as a rule of practice for all 2l:2t lThe Master saidl 'When we have intelli- ones life?'The Master said,'ls not reciprocity such gence resulting from sincerity, this condition is to be a word? What you do not want done toyourself do ascribedto nature; when we have sincerity resulting not do to others.' from intelligence,this condition is to be ascribed to 'By 17:2 The Master said, nature, men are instruction. But given the sincerity, and there shall nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart.' be intelligence;given the intelligence,and there shall be the sincerity.' 25l Sincerity is that whereby self-completion The Doctrine of the Mean is effected and its way is that by which man must di- rect hirnself t:4 Whrle there are no stirrings of pleasure, 25:2 Sincerity is the end and beginnrng of anger, somow or joy, the mind may be said to be in things; without sincerity there would be nothing. the state of EQUILIBRIUM. When those feelings On this account, the superiorman regardsthe ai- have been stirred, and they acr in their due degree, tainment of sincerity as the most excellent thing. there ensueswhat may be called the state of HAR- 25:3 The possessor of sincerity does not MONY This EQUILIBRIUM is the great root from merely accomplish the self-completion of himself '"vhich grows afl the human acting in the world, and With this quality he completesother men and things this HARMONY is the universalpath which they all also. The shouldpursue. completing of himself shows his perfect virtue. The completing of other men and things l:5 Let the states of equilibrium and harmony shows hrsknowledge. exist in perfection, and a happy order will prevail throughout heaven and earth, and all things will be nourishedand flourish.

DiscussionQuestions

l. Oriental thought is cyclical.Confucius seesa perfect relationshipbetween the .,ar- ues of the family,the state and the person.How would Confucius sol,,,ethe::.c:- Iem we face today in our schoolswhen the valuesof a student'sfamilr cias: .,.:^ the valuesofthe schooland societv? 10 cHAPTER1

2. Confuciussays the "the cultivationof the personis the root of everythrngbesides." Do you think that this is the main goal of educationtoday? [f not, what do schools today sayis their missiontoward students? 3. What is The Doctrine of the Mean accordingto Confucius? Is this similar or different from Western philosophy'sunderstanding of virtue as a mean between two defects, one of excessand the other of deficiency? What do you think Confucius would say about the current character education movement in schoolsand their definition of virtue? (Look at the character.orgsite to help you answer this questron.) 1. confucius explainshis philosophyof the teacheras "[l am] u i.unr-,.a"r ancrnot a maker...'" ls this an accurate metaphor to use to describethe teacher in todays schools?lf not, can you proposea more accurate metaphor?What do you think Confucius would say about the status, prestige, and role of teachers rn the schools today?Do you think they are giventhe respectthey were given in chinese society? 5. The Chinesewere one of the first groupsto extensivelyuse examrnatlonsand tests to measure learning. Compare and contrast their use of tests to our curent use of standardized "No tests in the child Left Behind"regisration. In what ways does this show that some educatronalissues are perennial? 6. Contrast the politicalideas of Confucius with those of a later Chineseruler, Mao Tse-Ti.:ng, who led the con.rmunrstrevoiution and createda new China basedon Marxist ideology.

For Further Research on the Internet

Internet site with picturesof Confuciusand Iinksto Chrnesehistory. http://www. crystalinks.com/confucius.html A publishingcompany dedicatedto the writings of Confucius. http://www. confucius.org/index.html iil::xx'ffi :t:":l,i:'.?,'.utJlft.?Tf i:;andchineseriterature.http://wwrv Suggestionsfor Further Reading

Confucius. The Wisdom of Confucius.NewYork: Partridge Green Citadel, 2001. Kaizuka, Shigel

CHAPTERACTIVITIES Linkingthe Pastto the Present ---*\-=::t-::>::::::--:\\::R_>\::-\ ._ -=s.=.s\:s\S-::\s:\=<-<-=:=S<-..i-=:\:.],..- EDUCATIONIN TI-1EEA: 11

TABLE 1.1 Education in EartySociety Comparedto Education in Modern Society

Education in Early Society Educationin ModernSocietv

Simple,homogeneous, integrated Complex,diverse, dispersed Dailyexperience is educational Onlyschools educate (businesses nou, educatingtoo) Objectivesself-evident-survival Studentsunable to see the importanceof the curriculum The familyis alwaysan important The breakdownof the family educationalagent Educationserves to preparefor important Educationmay not get youa job in the rolesin society currenljob market Each generationaccepts the standards Generationgap-rejection of normsand and valuesof its predecessors moresof parents Security,survival Confusion,lack of aims

-:,elopingYour Philosophy of Education

Reflecton the importancethe family had in Confucius'educational sysrern ancl in Chi- nese society.Write about the role the family u'ill har-c in vour educational philosophlr Horv u'ill you interactwith the parentsof the children you educate?How n'ill \/og con- l.nunicaten'ith them? Will you invite them into your classroom?For u.hat purposes? What will yor,rdo if the parentso[ yonr studentssubscribe to differentvalues than those o[ the school?

-:nnectingTheory to Practice

l. In your classroomclinical experience,observe the teacher-studentrelationship. How are the studentstaught appropriate behaviors? Does the reacherernphasize the deyel- opmentof r''irtuesit.r the students?Do the studentsrespect the reachcr? Is therea gen- eralatmosphere of harmonvin the classroomancl school? 2. Canyou give threereasons rvhy the study of the historl.and philosophyof eclucation rn'illhelp you as a teacher? 3. Give two examplesof how knowledgeof the histor;.of educarionrvill assisryou in soh'ing nrodern educationalproblems and prevent 1.oufrom "reinr.entingthe r,r,heel" or repeatingthe errors of tl-repast. !ducators'Philosophies and Contributions :o Education

l. Using Table 1.2 of educationalcontributions from the various earlv culrures,make a list of currenteducational contributions made bv the modernArnerican culture . t2 CHAPTER1

TABLE 1.2 EducationalContributions from Early Cultures

Sumerians Egyptians

Firstwritten language around 4000 e.c. Inventedpapyrus (pape0 Developedcuneiform writing with stylus in clay Createdhieroglyphic writing system Inventedpicture writing or pictograms Startedfirst libraries Firstcuneiform math books Developeda completeschool system and curriculum Babylonians Chinese

Earliestwritten literature-Gr/gamesh Inventedgunpowder, compass Elaboratesvstem of schoolsfor the elite Developedfi rst "universities"/schools ol higherlearning Developedprinting Firstto use "standardizedtests"

2. What contributlon doesConfucir-rs make to modern-da-vedr.rcators? Review Table 1.3 for ideas.

TABLE1.3 Confucius'Philosophyof Education

Role of Teacher Viewof Curriculum Purposeor Goal Educator & Learner & Methodology of Education Major Contribution

Confucius The teacheris "The The Liberal Arts: The Transmita cultural An ethicsand value Master"-a Five Classicsand heritagein orderto systemthat still inspires transmitterof the Four Books cultivatethe moral peopletoday knowledge-and (ethics,wisdom, personthat knows the studentis an spirit,truthfulness) how to solvethe activelearner who are taughtusing the problemsof society takesthe initiative informalmethod of and government in learning conversationand dialogue ffiK€AwKKKffi

Educationin Ancient Greece

e turn to Greeceto find the origins of many of our educationalpolicies ancl systems.Greece is the originating source of \&testerncivilization. Greek ideas about education and their educationalpractices have been verf influential on other cultures. We will see that Rome'sgreatest service to rnankind is that it carried the Greek tradition to all the Western lands. Greekcivilization developed between 1200 and 490 r.c. From the fifth centur,vto the third century n.c. Greece,and particularlyAthens, enjoyed a flourishinglevel of culture and education.They colonized much of the Mediterraneanarea, including towns in Italy and along the French borders during theseyears. lt is in the Age of Pericles,around 500 s.c., that we seethe first organizedeffort in a Western society toward forrnal education.r

Educationin Sparta

It was in Sparta.a citr; in the mour-rtainsof Greece,cut off from others, that the concept of the state's(or polis') obligation for the proper training of its citizens r,vasfirst developed. Previousto this, in other Greek statesand other countries,families educated their chil- dren. ln Sparta,every detail of the childs life, and of adult life, was controlledby the State.The Stateneeded well-trained warriors who could defendtheir country againstin- vaders.A distinctive featureof the Spartansystem was the attention paid to the training o[ women. (Elsewherein Greece girls were brought up in the seclusion of the home and only receiveddomestic training.) Spartanshad a clear view of the value of educatior.rfor all. They educatedtheir women becausethey had to becomeworthy motherswho rvould be the primar;' educatorsof their sons from birth to age seven.The mothers taught the young childrenat home,while the fatherwas busy with the dutiesof citizenship.At abor.rt age 7, young boys began their education under the tutorship of older rnales.As far back

tl 14 cHAPTER2

as we can trace the historv of Greek culture, schoolmastersappear as a regular feature of fi:t;::I.:T;i:,"'.*ml.'i;i:;;t::ti#in'"xln:.:::ri'rwh'seg'al

Educationin Athens

In Athens, the education of the 1'oungwas looked at as a public rather than a private mat- ter and was entrusted exclusivel,vto professionalhands. Athenian citizens were expected to be able to read and write, to count, and sing or play the lyre. Educationbegan in Athens around 640-550 n.c. with Solon'sedict that everyboy should be taught to swim and to read in schools and palaestrttd,or gymnastic schools.Solon did not define the cur- riculum or the methodsbut onlv the ageand rank of studentsand the qualificationsof the pedagogues,that is, the slavesrvho tutored each student. Today,when we use the word pedagogywe are referringto its Greekderivation from "piad" + "agoge"that meant "the leadingof the child/slave."Using the term pedagogyinstead of educationspecifically refersto this socialprocess of teachingand learrringin recognitionof that fact that educa- tion is a politicalprocess.l Schools in Ati-renswere not a creationof the statebut a private enterprisewith the teachersupported b1. tuiticln p2r\.nle nts. The Greekstyle of education tended to be a male-to-rnaletutori:rl, often involving a close personalrelationship be- tweenthe older and youngermale. School \\.as not conrpulsoryin Athens,nor was it open to all, but only to the male childrenof the citizens.Betr,r,een the agesof eight and sixteen someAthenian boys attended a seriesof public schools.

TheGreek School System

The Greel

Educationof AthenianWomen

The aim of education for Atheniau-rwomen \.as more at the level of training, enabling them to master domestic tasks rather than intellectual. Most Athenian girls were only ed- ucatecl in the home. However, a few womens schools did exist. Sappho of Lesbos, most notabl;'. operated a school that taught women of rank such subjects as singing, music, clancing.and sports.5Greek women may have lacked the breadth and cultural value given ro bor.s in their education, but they leamed more than the home crafts of spinning, weav- ing. ancl embroidery; they were also farnili:rr with the rich folk lore of their people, which u.as culture itself. and their music and dances. Most characteristic of Athenian life was the general opinion that education-cultural and civic education-was an art to be learned bv each ir.rdir.idr-ral.6 EDUCATION IN ANCIENTGREECE 15

Map 2.1 Ancient Greece

Fffiffilarn"ni"n ilrFirc,.tri{.} B.r.!:" r ilat|le site{ TtlRAC{

a 1d 4 '* r.Yt)tA 7 4 PHRYGIA

;d 4.. ,. rrr{rs -t 4

r.} a F ol!dii,iir l*1 PT " qs"..P$ls:x* Ionion 1 "u#S. r:l:l Sett " *"*.ffi,n,u, Cretan "v 1i .. St'rr i' {j. i t* ..---- '.'" ''a \-'' * ani--'*".-v l ,'l' *6 ,irli - , . l.'-=^'a-

lvledittrr{tne0rt Seu

J*_-l t,,r' r\t( ;r,,(.1\(,illrnrunr\

ATNICA

votume: prehistory i;il*,ijlil,iT?"#.:'J:Ll5 !:K"'E1y:?rcombined From to thepresent,sth editjon I (.' :-lt-ER 2

Sophism,Stoicism, and Epicureanism lF

The Sophistsflourished from 470-370 s.c. in Athensand soughtan educationthat would leadto politicalpower and socialstatus by emphasizingrhetoric, or persuasivespeech, as practicaleducation.i Socrates ancl Plato did much to discouragethe Athenianyouth fron.r seeking this practical,utilitarian education and instead encouragedthem to seek the truth. or true education,i.e., the love of wisdom or philosophy. The conquestsof Aiexanderthe Greatin the fourth centLlrvextended the Greekcul- ture to much of the easternMediterranean, Asia Minor, and northern Africa. The Hei- lenistic philosophies of Stoicism and Epicureanisrnchallenged the Athenian ideas. Epicurus had a materialisticview of life with its only goal being to avoid pain and secure pleasure.Stoicism was a conuary philosophl' that saw the body as unimportant.so one should free themselvesfrom their passions.Both Plato and Aristotle challengedthese two world viewswith their philosoph;'of life.

A GreekPhilosophy of Education

The studv of ancientGreek civilization provides valuable lessons on citizenshipancl civic educationthat illustratethe irnportantrole o[ educationin shapinggood citizens.ln these next seiections,we will be presentedrvith the Greekthinkers' viervs on the purposeof ed- ucation. rvl.ratit is that should be taught to others, and how the teachershould impart this knowledge.The study of Greek educationalthought illuminatesmany problemstoclay's eclucatorsface: Who are \\,orthy rnodelsfor children to imitate? How does education help to shapegood citizenship?How does education servehurnankind's search for trr-rth?Sap- pho, Socrates,Plato and Aristotleeach dealt u'ith thesequestions and their ideasare rele- vant to us today as we too searchfor answersfor clur schoo]s.

For FurtherResearch on the Internet The ClassicsPage has infonnation about life, literature,art. anclarcheolog;' in ancient Greece. http://www.classicspage.com/ This site has many links to ancient Greek resourceson line. http://www.webcom.com,/ showne/medea/grklink.html

Notes

l. Mark Griffin, Publiccnd Privctein Ear11'GrclhEducdtion (Leirlen, \etherlancls: Koninklijke Brill,200l), pp. 60-67. 2. Ibid., pp.46-47, Ar.rbrevGu'ynn, Romcn EducrtfitrnJrorn Cicoo to Qnintillian(London: Oxford Unilersitl' Press,I!)26),pp.26-29; SirraPomeroy,SpcrrtunVInntn (NervYbrk: OxlorclUniversitvPress,2tJ02). L Yrrl Lcc Too. Educrrtionin Greth and RornrrnAn{iqr{it-\ (Lejclcn, \ctherlancls: Ito;rirklijhe Brill. 2001), pp. 13-14. ,*. GrilTin, pp. 4O-471Gcrald Gutek. A Hislor.yof the l\tstcrn F,tlucttionalErptticnct (Prospect Heights, lL: \\hveland Press,lnc., 1995), p. 29; H. l. lvlarrou,.{ Histor.r'oJ Edutatiott in Antiquity (Madison: Llniversit-vol \\'isconsinPress. 19ti2), p. 63. 5. Anne Haward, PcnciopctL)Popp(r(a: \lbrnen in Gret:hturd Roinan Society (Surrey England: Nelson. 1992). 6. JosiahOber, The Debateover Civic Educationin ClassicalAthens, in Educ.tlionin Gr-eekortd Ronratt ,{ntiq- ruifr,(Leide n. Netherlands:I(oninklijke Brill, 200I), p. 179. /. bU[aK. l]. J). EDUCATIONlN ANCTENTGFEECE 17

Section2.1: Sappho(630?-572? B.c). Most of us probably learned r.r.rusicin school and maybe w-eeven learned to play an instrument. Sap- pho was tl-refirst femzrlemusic tezrcherwe know of who alsowrote poetryand readit to the irccompani- ment of her lyre. In addition, she was the first health and physical education teacherfor girls.

Sappho'sLife and Times

Sapphou'as born around 630 n.c..in either the city of Mytilene or Eresus,both locatedon tl-reisland of Lesbos,to an aristocraticfamill' (seethe timeline of Sappho'slife shown in Figure2.1). The oldestbibli- ographicalsource in eristence,the ByzantineEncy- ciopedicwork 5udcrwritten irbout 100 t.o.. givesus this fact and what little elsewe knoll.about Sappho. From this and what Sapphotells us in her poems, Sappho,Cireek lvric poct. O Bettmar.rn/(-orbis we believe that her firther was Scamandror-rl,mous and her mother r,vasCleis of Mr.tilene,ar.rd that she haclthree brothers.r From ancientart, especiallvdecorated vases with portraitsof Sappho,we know that she played a type of lyre called a "barbito." Sappho enjoyed immense popularity for the beautyof her languageand the directnessand power of her expression,but to the fourth centurv Athenian. the most remarkablething about her was that shc was a lr,r.',n-ran.l

Her Family a:nd"Friends" It seems that Sappho married Cercy4asof Andros, a very rvealthy man rvho tradecl from An- dros, and had one chiid by him. a daughter llames Cleis (r-rarnedafter Sappho'snrother). Sap- pho was from a lhmilv of some social prominence and an aristocratic u'orld view is represented in her poetry In fact, it is this statLlsthat enabled her to dedicate hersell to her work, and gave her the leisure for music-making ancl for having her work valued and preserved. According to the Suda, Sappho had three companior-rsand frit-nds, and "erccluireda bacl reputation for her shameful friendship with them."r Sappho. althor"rgh married. had ot]rer male lovers; Archilocus and Hipponaxare are two mentioned in her poems. Fragments of Greek biography found on papynls from the second ancl third centlrry state that Sappho was accused by some of being irregular in l.rerways and a woman lover.+ Some fincl it harcl to reconcile Sappho'-sinvolvement in the institution of rnarriage w-ith the passionate love

Figure 2.1 Sappho's Life and Times 18 cHAPTER2

poetry she addressesto other women. It seemsthat Sapphoherself did not regarclmarriage and lesbianismas mutually exclusive:in other words, the trvo could co-exisrin her wo.ld.t An inscription on a marble from the island of Parosrecords that Sapphofled from Mytilene to Sicily some tilne between 605 and 590 e.c., probably for thesesocial and political rea- sons'6Others maintain that Sappl-rowas not bi-sexual.but had cleeprelations with both men and women as was common in the Greek culture of her time. SeventhCentury Greece The time in which Sappho lived, the seventh century 8.c., was the archaic Greek period characterizedb1' the lively interchangeof people, products, and i

Sappho'sSchool for Girls Tradition has Sappho as the head of a girls' school. The Suda narnessome of her pupils and fragmentsof poetry list other names;nineteen different srudenrsin all.q Ai Jane Mclntosh Snyder states,she "rnust have been a model of purity for no one would send youllg women from a distanceto study under a woman unless she had a wonderful reou- lation."l0The institr,rtionthat she headecltrained young women according to rh..urtoa, o[ the tirne. They studied poetry and music, chorus dancing, and singing under Sappho's gtlidance.However, one day they do "go away again" and return to their hornesto marry, now culturedwomen. The issuesraised b;' her school regarding the relationship of the pupil and the in- structorremain relevant to our current concerns.IrThe relationshipbetween Sappho and her students was similar to that of Socratesand his disciples,that of a rnerlror with fol- lowers (see the next sectiotl of this chapter). Sappho foreshadowsthe development of mentoring as an important way to help teachersdevelop their practical teachingskills.

SapphosPoetry Sapphocomposed lyric poetry that is, songswith lyre accompanimenr.According ro the sudc, "she invented the plectrum. She wrote epigrams. elegiacs, iambics and solo songs."12(The plectrum is like a guitar pick; the a short poem used for com- "pig.u-, memoratiYepurposes, is a genre popular at this time; the elegiacis poetry written in cou- plets.) sappho is best known for the poem merer named after her: a "sapphic" poem is rnadeup of stanzasconsisting of three lines of elevensyllables followecl by a single line of five syllables,the syllablesfollow a formal parrern of "long" and "shorr".1l The circum- stanceslbr which Sapphos poems were written are shrouded in mysrery as we are nor sure who heard them or performed them. Sapphoherself may have performed her poems, but perhapsthey were not written down until after her death. As far as we know, writing u-asonly in limited use in Sappho'slifetime and for some time afterwards.It was, never- theless.customaly for the upper classto be accomplishedin the art of music and to have a repertoireof songsmemorized. Like othersof her time period,Sappho may havewritten copiesof hcr poetnsin lead or gold and dedicatedthern in the temple.Using an image EDUCATIONIN ANCIENTGFEECE 79

of female creativity, Sapphos poems are called her "daughters."r'5rr1,1.'1r,,. llrr-,r,. t,, Aphrodite" is her onll'complete poern that has been widelv translatccl. lirr ir.^la-l .iu- thorities in Rome and Constantinople publicly burned all known poems bv Sirpph,.,rLui l,- their homoeroticistn. About one hundred years ago. archeologistscliscovcreci iragnrcnl. ,'l her poems r.r'hileexcavating some coffins at Oxyrhnchus. Egvpt, rencrving rc\crrLh .rrri translations of this ancienl poet.rr Sappho \r.as one of the first to s,'rite using the first person. clescribing her fecling. about love and loss from her perspective. ln addition, she is the first woman lve knon .rl who defir"redwonlen in ternrs of therrselves rather thar.rin terms o[ rncn."'\\l llill ree that her work wili influence other important women writers and eclucatorssuch as Flilclc- gard and Christine de Pizan (see secticlns5.2 and 6.1). Sappho could be ctrnsidcreclthe first liberated wornan and feminist; she is certainly the first fernale indcpenclcnt thinkcr. Plato called her "the tenth muse" and throughout the history o[ western literature, women u'ho lvrite, and especiall;'those r,r'howritc in Latin ar-rdCreek. are cclebtateclas "the tenth muse" or "anorher Sappho."lT Sappho iived on in later literature as the main character in Greek cornedies and drarnas, popuiar plays, and even a French opera was named for her. Saltho,in 1851. It is said that Sappho has inspired the n'ork of the follor,ving rnodern poets: Michael Ficld, Pierre Louys. ReneeVivien, Marie N{acleleine,Anry Lorr'ell. rrnd H.D.18(Hilda Doolittlc).

LegendsAbout Sappho Nou, we get into the u'orlclof legenclthat has Sapphocloing manv diffcrent things.Sup- posedlyafter marrying Cercyiasand having a child, Sapphofell in love with Pl'raon,the handsomeferryn.ran on the islar-rdof Lesbos,but u-l.renhe spurnedher lovc she leapt trr her deathby jumping off the cliff, or White Rock of Leukas,off thc west coastol' Greccc Works of literature,art, and history refer to this legendof her suicidill leap in various wa1's.saf ing that it signifiesall sorts of things from gr.riltl'clespair,p'.rssionilte abanclon, and poeticinspiration.r'' Other traditionsbuild upon what is said in iroem Fragment #99 anclsay,that Sappho died peacefullyin bed, tencledby her daughterClcis.r"

SapphosImportance for EducationalThought

Sapphoof Lesbosis inrportrrntin wcsternciviiization both as iin author anclrrs an ecluca- tor. She is the rnost highlv regardedworran poet of Greek irnd Roman anticlllit)l Her lr.orl< is the earliestliterature by a woman writer that has survivedthe passageof time anclthc perhapslvillful attemptsto silencethe voicesof r'r'omen.Sappho is Ll.rclirst voicc ol a womanspeaking about her o* n sex.zl

Sappho,the Music Teacher It is difficult to separatelegend from truth in describingSappho's actual role in eclucation as it has changedthroughout the ages.Some see Sappho as a music leacher'.othcrs as a sex educatoror a physicaleducation instructor, others see her as the headof her school.rl A1lof theseroles u'ere irnportant, especially that of heado{ the girls'school that shebegan on the islzrndof Lesbos.It u'asone of the first of its kincl,ancl certainlr' trnc o[ the nrost elite, for she had many differentstudents, all from aristocraticparents. According to thc Suda,Sappho educated nobly born girls, not only frorn local lami]icsbut also lrom loni.r It was more than a school, it was a house lbr thoseu,ho cultivatcclthe Muses.:rn(l t..- getherthey formed a thiasosin which they bound themselvesto eachother and ttr thil: leaderbv tiesof greatstrcngth and intimacy'.The 1,oungwornen stuclied rvith hcr.lc.u.: r'- poetry and mttsic,chorus dancing and singing.Their parentssent them to slr-rch..i:::-. ' 20 oHAPTER2

most celebratedly,1iqi51 of the da1:u'ho acceptedthem as her studentsand companions. Sappho-sschool r"'as a kind of boarclingschool, similar to a finishingschool, tl.rat preparecl giris for marriage.Culture, deportment,arrd dress were all matters for study among Sappho'sgirls, but music wasat the coreo[ tlre curriculum.2]

Sappho,the DanceTeacher For over two centuries,choral dancing was recognizedas central to the educational process.Thc circumstancesfor wl-richSappho-s poems were composed have been a matter of controvetsy,but oue theor,vsees them composedlor girls'choruses.Sappho is thus al- lowed an educationalrole, leadinggroups of parthenoi,or young \r'omen,in the prirne of their life before they are married. It is this aspect of her role that has given her the de- scription.lsrr scx cdtrcation instruetor.

Sappho,the ReadingTeacher Sapphos poems, once r,r.ritten dou,n. were probably used as reading and writing exercises uhen, probably shortly after her lifetirle , literacy starteclto become a standard part of ed- ucation. We might imagine a generation of school children (girls as well as bo1.s)learning to read aloucl lrom texts of Sappho or laboriously incising them on their orvn waxed tablets. By the fifth century, it is likell'that Sapphos texts found a more permanenr srare in thc standard form trf booli.s of that tiurc: thc papvnls roll. 81,far rhe most important scholarlv etrcleavorrclirttng to thc studv o[ Sappho \,\.asthat of the librarians at Alexan- clna. for riithout rhern u-e rlight har-e none of Sapphos poetry today. Since Sappho was consicleredone of the ntne great lvric poets. they collecteclher work into nine books and latcl transforrttcd them f'r-ot.upapvms to parchrxent, ;rnclthen to the codex (rnost like the modern book). The u-ork of other poets was not consicleredas "popular," was not tran- scribcd. anrl thus was lost.2'

Sappho'sPhilosophy of Education Sapphobelieved in the educationo[ the whole studentand sc'rshe gaveequai importance to all the areasof education.She developedl-ruman r.irtnes and socialgraces in her stu- clents;carecl for their intellectualdevelopment by having thcm mernorizeand wrire po- etry; prolnotedtheir physicaider,elopment by' teaching them to dar.rce;and their spiritual developmer"rtby teaching them to sing to the muses. Sappho emphasizedthe important role of the teacheras a nlentorfor her studentsfor the goal of educationwas to help these girls develop and mature so that they could marn' and become or,itstar-rdir.rgGreek women. Sapphoalso speaksto us today about the inportance oI the teacher-learner relationship. Sapphosaw the purposeoI educationas a finishingschool to help theseyoung aristo- crirticgirls deveioptheir social,physical, ancl emotional potential so as ro preparethem for marriageand for taking their place as contributing membersof high Greek society. Sapphowrote, "I sayihat evenlater someonewill rememberus."25

Notes

l. Surla,citecl in lVlargaret Williamson. .SappholslnmttrLal Daa.qhfcls(Cambridge : H.lrvard University Press, 1995).p I 2. Jane \lclntosh Sn1'dcr.The \Lbtrtrurrirrri tht: Lyr-t':\\irrnr:n Wrifr:rs irr ClassicaiGrccrt andRpnrc (Carbondale: Southcrnlllinois UnivcrsitvPress, I 989). p. 8. l. Suda,citetl in \Villianrson.p. 2. -1. Matgaret\\rilliarnson,.Sappiro\ Immortal Duughttrs(Cambridge: Harvrrd Universitv Press,1995), p. 2tt. EDUCATIONIN ANCIENT

ons. ) Snydcr.p. j3. lred 6 Williarnson.p. 65. 7 Ibid., p. 23, Sn1,der,p. 2. ong o Wlllianrson, pp. 76-7 7. I MargaretRo'nolcls,ThcSapphoContpllisn(NervYrrrk:PrlgraveforSt.Martin.sPrcss.]001.,.1. - t0 Snrder. p. I 2. ll L. Glcnn SrnithandJoan K. Snith. /,ivesin fdacrrtior;A N.rrrdtivcof Pa()l)lc(ll(/ I(lcds,2ncl t-tl. \. St.Nlrtrtin. Pre\\. lou+) l) F. )nal t) Suda.citcd in W.illiamson,p. 2. tl Alison Sharrockand Rhiannon Ash, "Sappho."in FiJtvl(t'_v Classical ,4utiror-s, edited b,vA. Sh:trt.ockrr. ITTCI Ash (\erv York:Routlcdgc, 2002). p. 25. ; al- l+. \\illr.rnr:r'rr.pp I l. 17. eof 15. Smith anclSmith, p. B. de- 16 Ibid , p. 8. 17. Shirrrockand Aslt.p. 26 1U. URL: htqr://rvn,u,.sappho.con/poctrl/sappho.htrnl.p. ). accrssecll 0/16/03. 19. Williirnrson.p. !). 20. Marr'fJarnard, Sappho: A New l anslation(Los Ange les: Univcrsit)' ol California Pre ss. 1958), p. 97. 2L Verna Zinserlit.tg,l,Vtrnror in C,rceceantl Romc,translated b1 L. (Nen York: Abncr Schrarn,19731. '\. Joncs lSCS p. d. ^A 22. Holt Parkcr.'Sappho Schoolmistrcss." in Rr,-RcadingSappho: Reccption nnd llunsnri.ssion,rclitecl b1'E. (irecn ring (Bcrkcler:L ui\ersit,yof Califorr.riaPrcss. I996), p. I4gll. xed 21. tbict. pp. l5l-52. 24. \\'ilLiarnson,pp. j8-42. tate 25. Sap;rlioin [-'ragme]rt147, citcclin Snydcr,The Womttn and tht L1,rt:\l.irmen \\iito: in ClassicalGrzcrc,ttui tant Rome(Carbondalc: Southern lllinois UniversityPress, I 989). ian- was and the 'an- Questionsto Guide Your Reading An eflectiveway to readpoetry is to readit out loud. It is also helplul to u,'orkin groups in which you can pair-shareyour understandingof the poem. Try first to understandthe text of the poem itself, then relate the text to yolrrself, and finally, seehow/if the text can relateto the world of education.Use thesequestions to guideyour discussion. nce tLu- I. What kinc1of school does Sapphorun accordingto the poeln Thc -ShowPupil? Is it po- like todays magnet schoolswith seiectir,eachnissions or is it rnore like a private Lual school? -ant 2. Some think that Fragment#94 explainsSapphos school. What kinds of tirings clid teSe they do in the school?In what ways doestl.ris fragment shclw the whole purposeol eek Sappho'sschool: getting a girl ready for n.rzrrriage?In what wav is Fragmcnt#94 a 'ner fareu,ellpoem? What haschauged that thel' ntrlstpart? 3. Tlre Hymn to Aphrotlitc is the one conlplete poern that \,\'ehave of Sairpho'-s.lt is a ccltic hymn: the spe:rkercalls on the goclclesswith severalepithcts. Can you lincl zrncl rem Iist sorneof them? Can you aiso find "epic language"usedl What do you thinli it symbolizes?Do you think that the Hymn to Aphroditeis a prayer?Is the goddessbeing invoked to help Sapphoor doesshe exert son.re kind of power over her?

rCSS ll oHAPTER2

READING2.1: THE SONGSOF SAPPHO

On my heart's'tablet:When a chain The Show PuPil Of myriad blossomsyou entwined You seekthrough Mica entrance to my school, To throw around my neck, as fain The House of Song, but this I must deny' Me captive of your love to bind. A Penthilus* pupil taught to write by rule! Would play the mischief with my girls. When with a zone of rosesred And violets blue you girdled me, For I have taught them to sing as does the nightingale, My long locks bound therein, and said, That, hid in leafy nook of dewY green, ''Were but Alcreus here to seel" Poursforth his unpremeditated tale, "Show Pupil?" Poets should be heard, not seen' When royal myrh from daintY vase You took, and rubbed mY cheeksaglow, gaze (*Mica is shortenedfor Mnasidca; And cried, "Come, Cypris, on her House of Penthilusrefers to a rival school or Thiasoso) lf you would beautYs secret know!"

When, as we'lay in fond embrace #94- Lament for a Lost Student Upon a couch mid nibbled cates And cups half-drained,to Muse and Grace' No MORE returns mY Atthis dear You called, "Thus Sapphopassion sates" Since to Andromeda she fled, And ne'er will come again I fear you forget.or, worse, Ah me! lwish that I were dead. All thrs may Rememberbut to turn to iest, Saying,"Twill serve for Sappho'sverse Yet on her parting from me-still I hope she tells how I was dressedl" I see her bosom heave with strain Of sobbing,eyes with tear-drops filI From springsof seeminggrief; again Hymn to Aphrodite her trembling voice-she cried, I hear Throned in splendoqbeauteous maid of mighty Zeus, ''Sappho,how terriblYwe grieve wile-weavrng.rmmortal Aphrodite, (with oaths have ever lied) I srvear" Smile again; thy frowning so affrays rne ''Wantons against my will I leave." Woe overweighs me.

:'-: I. poor duPe,made braveessaY Come to me now; if ever in the olden! st,opmy tears, and with a smile l: Days thou didst hearken afar, and from the golden l.: ai. "Rejoicinggo \A/aY' YOur Halls of thy Father fly with all speeding but rememberme the while'" l:rr Unto my pleading.

,'.:,, cu know I love Yet, F::- ' You. Down through midaether from Love's empyral reglons e: .-ruid you doubt me, stillrecall E'. Swan-drawn in car convoyed by lovely legions u rrc:r vou seerninglyforget, Tnar Of bright-hued doves becloudingwith their prnions cf dalliance,graven all Our deec. Earth'sbroad dominions,

Quickly thou camest; and, BlessedOne, with smiling Countenance immortal my heavy heart beguiling, Sou..Lnouin'cn. David M. and Miller, Marion Mills, trans- Askedst the cause of my pitiful condition 1ator. 1925.1-lit' -\,,n.g-soj Sappho:Includlng lhe RecentEgypt- my petition: icrrrli-scolo'ics. The Mair'veiton Co., Lexrngton, Kentucky' Why EDUCATIONIN ANCIE^',-

What most I craved in brain-bewildered yearning; Cifts once scornedwith greatergifrs rec.a.^- : Whom would I win, so winsome in her spurning; Unto her shaming." Who rsshe, Sappho, evilly requiting cond love with slightrng? Come thus again; from cruel cares deliver; Of all that my heart wills graciouslybe given ' She who flees thee soon shallturn pursuing, greatestof gifts.thy lovrngself and tender Cold to thy love now, weary thee with wooing, To be my defender.

DiscussionQuestions l. Sapphohad a schooljust for girls.What doessome of the current researchon single- sex schools show? What does Sappho say to us today about the education of women and the role of women in education? 2. Sapphowas the first sex and health educator.What do you think she would do or say today about the spreadingof AIDS, the rising number of teen-aged,unwed mothers,and other issuesregarding sexuality? 3. What do you thrnk is Sappho'smajor contributionto education?What doesshe say to us about the teacher-student relationship?Do you think you should befriend your students?Why or why not?

For Further Research on the Internet A brographyof Sapphowith links to her poems. http://www.sappho.comlpoetry/ sappho.html A site dedicatedto understandrngSappho's poetry with linksto her poetry and pictures of her. http://www.temple.edu/classics/sappho.html

Suggestions for Further Reading Barnard, Mary. Sappho:A New Tianslotion.Los Angeles:University of CaiiforniaPress, r958. Parker, Holt. "Sappho Schoolmistress."ln Re-ReadingSappho: Reception ond Tiansmis- sion,edited by E. Creen. Berkeley:University of CaliforniaPress, 1996. Reynolds,Margaret. The SopphoComponion. NervYork: Palgravefor St. Martin's Press, 2001. Reynolds,Margaret. The SapphoHistory. NewYork: PalgraveMacmillan, 2003. Sharrock,Alison, and RhiannonAsh. "Sappho."ln Fifry Key ClassicalAuthors, edrted by A. Sharrockand R. Ash. NewYork: Routledge,2002. Smrth, L. Clenn, and Joan K. Smith. Lives in Education:A Narrative of Peopleand ldeos; 2nd ed.NewYork: St. Martin'sPress, 1994. Snyder, Jane Mclntosh. The Womon and the Lyre: Women Writers in ClassrcalCreece and Rome.Carbondale: Southern lllinoisUniversitv Press, 1989. Williamson, Margaret. Sappho'slmmortal Daughters.Cambridge: Harvard University Press,1995. Zrnserling,Verna. Womenin Creeceand Rome.Tianslated by L. A. Jones. New York: Abner Schram,1973. 24 CHAPTER2

Section2.2: Socrates(470-399 n.c.)

Don't ,"-ouenjoy classeswhere you discuss the mate- nal read? A skilled teacher will ask provocarivc questions and have the students analyze thc reading through their anslvers. We have Socrates to thank lor popularizing this rnetl.roclthat nou' bears his nnms-1hs Socratic Method.

Socrates'Life and Times

Socratesr,r'as a nal-ivc-bornAtheniin. He was thc son of Sophroniscus.a well-knowlr stonemason and a re- spected Athenian citizen, and Phaenarete,a midwife. Socratcs'carly 1'earswere typical of other Athenian )'outh: he received an 'elemcntarr/ education itr-rclbe- carne wcll-versecl in mathernatics and astronoml', a capableathlete, and a distingr-rishedmember of the citys military corps. Socratescontinued in his lather'sprofession as a sculptor,cuttinll and shapingstone, it is saiclthat he also continueclhis mother'-sprofession as a midu,ifeof ideas.At irge35, he longht with exceptionalcourage ancl distinction in the PeloponnesianWar, saving Xenophon'sancl Alcibiades'lile. Socratesmarried Xanthippe and they hacl three sons. Socrates'wifehad a difficult temperbut he knew how to humor her.r Socratesis describedin Mr'noas "an ugly'manwith a snub noseurnd pop e)'es"and in 5),rrrposirrnras havir-rgwide nostrils,protruding eyes,thick lips, irnd a paunch.-He trar'- eled barefoot,wore sirnpleclothes, and strutted like a pelican.People called l.rirna tor, pedo fish becausehe benumbedeveryone that camenear him with his qucsrions.

Socrates,the Philosopher After the war, Socrates gave ttp his trade and devoted himself whoily to teaching the youth of Athens because he heard an "inner voice" fronr the gods th:rt tclld him to seek thc good.r Socr.rtcsfeit that he was thc only wise uran he could find because he rvas the onlv one who kneu. that he did not know anything. Socrates could be found in the palaestrae, in the rnarket place, in the gymnasium, or in the streets asking people ques- tions and probing lor answers. He believed that there u,as a moral truth that held for all hnnran beings ancl that if onc clid not live bv it, one acteclwronglr:* Socratesu,as not a rel- ativist and was very much against the sophists of his time that believed only it.rthe logic of their arguments and not the reality of what they were saying. Socrates taught primarily b1' asking cplestions and inducing his listeners to answer, challenging their bcliefs. Socratic educaticln is basecl on the principle that both the teacher and the student harbor knowledge as well as ignorance within themselves. Socratcs did not teach by inculcating his own ideas ancl views into another, but by guicl- ing ancl questioning ancl leading others to recollect wh:rt is in some way alreacl;, r,vithin them. In his role irs teacher, he tried to nourish the sccds of knou,leclqe u'ithin his t studcnts.5 EDUCATIONIN ANCIENTGREECE 25

Socrates'Apologt and Death Socrateswas loval to his principlesand his mission to arousehis lel[or,r..citizcns out of their lethargicacceptance of previouslyaccepted beliel's about man's place in thc u orlcl.In 406 g.c. Socratesangered the oligarchic rulers who had overthror.l'nlhe dernocraticgor - ernment and passedthe power to a junta of thirtylh(Scc tht- tiurclinefrtr Socratcs'lileir' Figure2.2.) In 399 e.c.,qhen Socrateswas 70 yearsold, he rvasput on trial lor corruprilrg the youth and not believingin the gods.The Apologyis a dialoguein which Socratesgivcs a defenseof his life. He could havebeen exiled. but he feit that exile for an Athenianrvas to be a non-person,so he choseto accepthis sentenceand drink the hernlock.Plato was so moved b;t the death of his teacherthirt he cledicatedmuch of iris life ro vr.ritingdou'n the lessonshe had learnedin dialogueswith Socrates.ln Plartosttpinion, Socrareswas "the bestman of his time asr.vell as the wiscsrand ruostiust.";

Socrates'Importance for Education

Socrates\\'as one of the first Greekphiiosophers. Socrates' phiiosophy was a sirlpie ethic that held that mans only reasonlor beingwas to developmoral excellence.The rnanwhcr is excellentas a human being is one u,hoseactions are govemed b1'reason. Although Socratesis the centralfigure in &{enoand the other dialogues,he left no ac- tual writings;what u'e haveis a transcriptionof Socrates'lvords by his ciedicaredstudent, Plato.Socrates dialogued with his studentsusing leadingquestions that rverclneant ro stirnulatethe studentto exarnineand ponder basichuman concerns.Socrates callecl his method elenchos(pronounced eh-lenk-us) which means to examine.The tcchniclueof questlonand answer,or dialogue,between teacher ancl stuclent is known todav as the SocraticNlethod. Socrates is one oI the most important philosophersin history becausehe taught us horv to examine, analyze,ar-rd dissect ideas using this method of inquinrs

Socrates'Philosophy of Education Socratesis important in educationalhistory becausehe developedan explicit cducational theorythat, in a wa)',lvas the very first philosophyof education.He hasclear opinions on the role of the teacher,the student,the curriculum, the method,and the reasonlbr teacl.r- ing. He had a unique conceptof teacherlesseducation in which the teachersrole ri,'asro draw the knowledge out of the stuclent.He linnly defended the teacher'-sacaclen.ric fre e - dom to think. question.and teach.He believeclthat knowledgecould noi be rrarnsmirtecl from a teacherto the students,but that the studentshad to discoverthe knou leclserhat

Figure 2.2 Socrates' Life and Times 26 cHAPTER2

was within them. The teacher'srole was to ask the right question so that the students wotrld think about tire issue and solve the problem themselves.Use of the Socratic Nlethod requires skiilful questioning on the part of the teacher. It is still used today.in education but is olten relerred to as higher order questloning or clet,tlopirrghtglu:r ordcr thinhingskills qnd stimuldting crittcal thinhtng. Socrates stressed that the purpose of genuine education was to cultivete morally exccllerrt 1te.tple.'' Socratesbelieved that moral education is the only defensiblc educational objective for an1'socie ty ancl that lnou'ledge \\.asto be sought lor the good o[ the person and the state. Socratesis important becausehe began the dialogue on "virtue ethics" that has continued to intrigue educational philosophers (including Plato and Aristotle) through the ages.l0 In the reading {iom Meno, some of Socrates' key doctrines are revealed regarding virttte, knorvledge, and teacl-ring men to do good. Meno is a lr,ealthl, )/oung Thessalian who spenclssome time with Socrateson a visit to Athens.tr They discuss virtue and how it cotnes to be as thel' follorv Socratesguiding principle "Knou, thyself. The unexamined life is not worth living."

Notes

l. L.. C. \\l Tay'lor..So.r.ires: A \'i:rr Short Introdudi0tl (Oxford: Oxford University Press,2000), p. 5. 2.. (iar1'-\ llatt Scrrtt, Plrrtrr b 5ocnttls rtsFclLtt altrr. ( Albalv: StateU nivcrsity,of Ncu, Yorli. 2000), p. I I . L ClolinDavies. Socrales (Nerv Delhi:Decp & DeepPublicarions Pr,t..l-td., 2000), p. 71. 4. HopeMe1-, On -Sr).r,ltfs(Belmont. CA: Wadsurrrtl/ThomsonLearning. Inc.,2000). p. 2. 5. Scott.pp.14-47- 6. Ta11or,p. 11. 7. Davies.p. 78. 8. Ma1',p. 57. c). PaulWo1>1'lr11ff. Sor:r-n1ic Edutation (Lontlon: Routlcdgc, 1998). 10. l\,larkI-utz. .So.rdte-\'Education lo Virtue (Albanv: State University of Nerv\brk, 1998),pp. 50-51. 182-lBl. i1. ClhristophcrBnre ll. On tht'SocrcLtic Etlucation (Lanham. N{D: Rouman & LittlefieldPublishers, Inc., 1999), p. 164.

Questionsto Guide Your Reading

1. Reaclout loucl at least pages 29 ancl 30 of this selection u'ith a classmate.As 1'ou role plav Socratesand Meno, experience the Socratic method o[ questioning. 2. As 1'ou reacl, tr;.' to urake an outline of the logic of Socraies' three r.nain argulncnts found in the Meno. (Socr(Lteshelps you to do this qt the end oJ the selecLion.) 3. List the ciifferent definitions of virtue as the)' are presented in the dizriogue.Which one(s) does Socratesseem to like? 4. Why does Meno call Socratesa "torpedo fish"l EDUCATIONIN ANC 3:==C= 27 -',-

READING2.2: TVIENO

by Plato

Personsof the Dialogue: duty is to order her house, and keep what is indoors and obey her husband.Fvery age, every condition c. I Meno I Socrates life, young or old, male or female, bond or free, has a t ASlaveofNleno I Anytus different virtue: there are virtues numberless, and no Meno. Can you tell me, Socrates,whether virtue is lack of definitionsof them; for virtue is relatrveto the acquired by teaching or by practice; or if neither by actions and ages of each of us in all that we do. And :eaching nor practice, then whether it comes to the samemay be saidof vice, Socrates. ^-lan by nature, or in what other way? Soc. How fortunate I am, Menol When I ask you Socrates. O Meno, there was a time when the for one virtue, you present me with a swarm of -hessalians were famous among the other Hellenes them, which are in your keeping. Suppose that I :rly for their richesand their riding;but now, if I am carry on the figure of the swarm, and ask of you, -ct mistaken,they are equallyfamous for their wis- What is the nature of the bee? and you answer that :Jm . . . I am certain that if you were to ask any there are many kinds of bees, and I reply: But do Athenian whether virtue was natural or acquired, he bees differ as bees, becausethere are many and dif- "stranger, ..ould laugh in your face, and say: you ferent kinds of them; or are they not rather to be -ave far too good an opinion ofme, ifyou think that I distinguishedby some other quality,as for example :an answer your question. For I literally do not know beauty, size, or shape? How would you answer me? ,'.hat virtue is, and much lesswhether it is acquired lvten. I should answer that bees do not differ from : . teachingor not." And I myself Meno, living as I one another,as bees. :c in this region of poverty, a man poor as the rest of Soc. And if I went on to say: That is what I desire :.re wodd; and I confess with shame that I know lit- to know, Meno; Tell me what is the quality in which =:ally nothing about virtue; and when I do not know they do not differ, but are all alike;-would you be 'quid" "quale"? ::a of anythinghow can I know the able to answer? Men. But are you in earnest, Socrates, in saying Men. I should. :^.at you do not know what virtue is? And am I to Soc. And so of the virtues, however many and dif- - l:ry back this report of you to Thessaly? ferent they may be, they have all a common nature Soc. Not only that, my dear boy, but you may say which makes them vrrtues; and on this he who '--rther that I have never known ofany one elsewho would answer the question,"What is virtue?"would judgment - :. in my . . . do well to have his eye fixed: Do you understand? Soc. By the gods, Meno, be generous, and tell me lVlen. I am beginningto understand; but I do not as ', you :lat say that virtue is; for I shall be truly de- vet take hold of the question as I could wish. =rted to find that I have been mistaken, and that :-l and Corgiasdo really have thrs knowledge;al- Soc. Now in your turn, you are to fulfill your just :^:ugh I have been saying that I have never promise, and tell me what virtue is in the universal; -: -nd anybodywho had. and do nat make a singularinto a plural, as the face- Men. There will be no difficulty, Socrates, in answer- tious say of those who break a thing, but deliver - -r vour question. Let us take first the virtue of a virtue to me whole and sound,and not brokenrnro a ^-=n-he should know how to administer the state, number of pieces:I havegiven you the pattern. ,-: rn the administrationof it to benefit his friends Men, Well then, Socrates, virtue, as I take it, is harm his enemies;and he must alsobe careful not ':: when he, who desires the honorable, is able to pro- :: sufferharm himself A woman'svirtue, if you wish vide it for himself; so the poet says,and I say too- :: .row about that, may also be easily described: her Virtue is the desireof thingshonorable and the power of attaining them. : - -:;e: Tianslatedby BenjamrnJowett. From Dialogues - );ato, New York, P F Collier & Son. Copyright1900. Soc. And does he who desires the honorable also 'a Lolonlal l'ress. desirethe good? 28 cHAPTER2

Men. Certainly. and to many persons-and very good ones they Soc. Then are there some who desire the evil and were, as I thought-at this moment I cannot even others who desire the good? Do not all men, my saywhat virtue is.And I thrnkthat you are very wise dear sir,desire good? in not voyaging and going away from home, for if you Men. I thinknot. did in other places as you do rn Athens, you would Soc. Tlrere are some who desireevil? be cast into prisonas a magician. . . Men. Yes. Soc. Then, as we are agreed that a man should en- Soc. Do you mean that they think the evils that quire about that which he does not know, shall you they desire, to be good; or do they know that they and I make an effort to enquire together into the na- are evil and yet desirethem? ture of virtue? Men. Both, Ithink. Men. By all means, Socrates. And yet I would Soc. And do you really imagine,Meno, that a man much rather return to my original question, knon,s evils to be evils and desiresthem notwith- Whether in seekingto acquire virtue we should re- srandrng? gard it as a thing to be taught, or as a gift of nature, Men. CertarnlyIdo. or as coming to men in some other way? Soc. And desireis of possession? Soc. Had I the command of you as well as of myself, Men. Yes,of possession. Meno, I would not have enquiredwhether virtue is Soc. And does he think that the evils will do good to given by instruction or not, untrl we had first ascer- him who possessesthem, or does he know that they tained "what it is." . . . At any rate, will you conde- wrll do him harm? scenda little, and allow the question "Whether vrrtue lV1en.There are some who think that the evils will is given by instruction, or in any other way," to be ar- do them good, and others who know that they will gued upon hypothesis?... And we too, as we know do them harm. not the nature and qualities of virtue, must ask, Soc. And, in your opinion,do those who think that whether virtue is or not taught, under a hypothesis: they will do them good know that they are evils? as thus, if virtue is of such a class of mental goods, Men. Certainlynot. will it be taught or not? Let the first hypothesis be Soc. Is it not obvious that those who are ignorant of that virtue is or is not knowledge: in that case will it their nature do not desire them; but they desire be taught or not? or, as we were just now saying,"re- what they suppose to be goods although they are membered"? For there is no use in disputing about really evils; and if they are mistaken and supposethe the name. But is virtue taught or not? or rather, does evils to be good they really desire goods? not everyone seethat knowledge alone is taught? Men. Yes, in that case. That appears to be the Men. Iagree. truth, Socrates, and I admit that nobody desires Soc. Then if virtue is knowledge, virtue will be evil. taught? wlen. Certarniy. Soc. Then begin again, and answer me, What, ac- Soc. Then now we have made a quick end of this cording to you and your friend Gorgias,is the defini- question: if virtue is of such a nature, it will be tion of virtue? taught; and ifnot, not? Men. O Socrates, I used to be told, before I knew lVlen. Cercainly. you, that you were always doubting yourself and Soc. The next questionis, whether virtue is knowl- making others doubt; and now you are casting your edgeor ofanother species? spells over me, and I arn simply getting bewitched lVlen. Yes, that appears to be the question that and enchanted,and am at my wits'end. And if I may comesnext in order. \ enrure to make a jest upon you, you seem to me Soc. Do we not say that virtue is a good? This is a both rn your appearanceand in your power over oth- hypothesisthat is not set aside. ers to be very like the flat torpedo fish, who torpifies Ivlen. Certainly. those who come near him and touch him, as you Soc. Now, if there be any sort of good which is dis- ha',.enow torprfied me, I think. For my soul and my tinct from knowledge, virtue may be that good; but tongue are really torpid, and I do not know how to if knowledge embraces all good, then we shall be ans\\'er vou; and though I have been delivered of an right in thinking that virtue is knowledge? iniinite variety of speechesabout virtue before now, Men. Tiue. EDUCATIONIN ANCIENT GREECE 29

ir. And virtue makes us good? Soc. Seeingthen that men become good and useful r{en. Yes. to states, not only because they have know,ledge, but because they have right opinion, and that ner- i-c. But if the good are not by nature good, are ther knowledge nor right opinion is given to man by' -,-=. made good by instruction? nature or acquired by him (do you imagine either of r'ien. There appears to be no other alternative, them to be given by nature?) -'--ates. On the suppositionthat virtue is knowl- Men. Not I. . :.e, there can be no doubt that virtue is taught. Soc. Then if they are not given by nature, neither Soc. I will try and tell you why, Meno. I do not re- are the good by nature good? '.-::i the assertion that if virtue is knowledge it may Men. Certainly not. := :aught; but I fear that I have some reason in Soc. And nature being excluded, then came the :--cting whether virtue is knowledge:for consider question whether virtue is acquired by teaching? - . . and saywhether virtue, and not only virtue but Men. Yes. .:hing that is taught, must not have teachers Soc. If virtue was wisdom knowledge], then, as -- and for : ,::pieS? we thought, it was taught? Ven. Surely. Men. Yes. Soc. And conversely,may not the art of which nei- Soc. And if it was taught it was wisdom? '-:: teachersnor disciplesexist be assumedto be in- Men. Certainly. -.:able of beingtaught? Soc. And rf there r,vereteachers, ir mrght be taught: ven. Ti-ue; but do you think that there are no and if there were no teachers,not? :.::hers ofvirtue? Men. Tiue. Soc. I have certainly often enquired whether there Soc. But surely we acknowledgedthat there were .::e any, and taken great pains to find them, and have no teachersofvirtue? -:.er succeeded;and many have assistedme in the Men. Yes. ."arch, and they were the persons whom I thought Soc. Then we acknowledged that it was nor --^. most likely to know. . . . And these are the sort of taught, and was not wisdom? --:n from whom you are likely to learn whether there Men. Certainly. --? any teachersof virtue, and who they are. Please, Soc. And yet we admitted that it was a good? : rvtus, help me and your friend Meno in answering Men. Yes. - -: question,Who are the reachers? Soc. And the right guide is useful and good? Men. Certainly, Soc. lf neither the Sophists nor the gentlemen are Soc. And the only right guides are knowledge and ..achers, clearly there can be no other teachers? true opinion-these are the guides of man; for Ven. No. things that happen by chance are not under tlre Soc. And if there are no teachers,neither are there guidance of man: but the guldes of man are true : ;crples? opinion and knowledge. Men. Agreed. Men. I think so too. Soc. And we have admitted that a thing cannot be Soc. But if virtue is not taught, neither is virtue :tught ofwhich there are neither teachersnor disci- knowledge. :.es? lVlen. Clearly not. Men. We have. Soc. Then of two good and useful things, one, Soc. And there are no teachers of virtue to be which is knowledge, has been set aside, and cannot -:und anywhere? be supposedto be our guide in political life. l'len. There are not. Men. I chinknot. Soc. And if there are no teachers,neither are there Soc. And therefore not by any wisdom, and not be- ,:holars? cause they were wise, did Themistoclesand those Men. That, I think, is true. others of whom Anytus spoke govern states. This Soc. Then virtue cannot be taught? was the reason why they were unable to make oth- Men. Not if we are right in our view. But I cannot ers like themselves-because their virtue was not elieveSocrates, that there are no good men: And if groundedon knowledge. :lere are, how did they come into existence? lvlen. That is probably true, Socrates. -30 CHAPTER2

Soc. But if not by knowledge, the only alternative among statesmen someone who is capable of edu- which remains is that statesmen must have guided catingstatesmen.... - states by nght opinion, which is in politics what div- Men. That is excellent,Socrates. ination is in religion;for divinersand also prophets say Soc. Then, Meno, the conclusion is that virtue many things truly, but they know not what they say. comes to the virtuous by the gift of Cod. But we Men. So I believe. shall never know the certain truth until, before ask- ing how virtue is given, we enquire into the actual Soc. To sum up our enquiry-the result seems to nature of virtue. I fear that I must go away, but do be, if we are at all right in our view, that virtue is nei- you, now that you are persuadedyourself persuade ther natural nor acquired, but an rnstinct given by our friend Anytus. And do not let him be so exas- Cod to the virtuous. Nor is the instinct accomoa- perated; if you can conciliate him, you will have nied by reason,unless there may be supposedtobe done good service to the Athenian people.

DiscussionQuestions l. From where do you think virtue comes?Are we born with it or are we taught it? There is a movement in the schools today to teach character education. Do you think that virtue can be taught in schools?Why or why not? 2. Do you think that the Socraticmethod of teachingthrough questioningis effective with all studentsor only with some students?Explain your reasoning. 3. Socratessays that the unexaminedlife is not worth living.Through a seriesof ques- tions, Socratesencourages his studentsto examinetheir ideas.How can this type of self-examinationbe implementedin today'sclassrooms? 4. Do you agreewith Socratesthat everyone in the world desiresto do good? How would he explainthe bad and/or evil things that people do? Can educationin the good and the virtuous solveall of these problems? 5. ln Meno Socratespresents his philosophyof education. Explain his view of the teacherand the student,what he thinksthe curriculurnshould be and how it should be taught, and what he thinks is the purposeof education. For Further Research on the Internet A brief discussionof the life and works of Socrates.with linksto electronictexts. http ://wwwphilosophypages.com./ph./socr. htm o'.c re ek hi stori car events http :// *Tf,: ff:,"jj"'J:#$[5: l'IiJif +i,''' Suggestionsfor Further Reading Bruell, Christopher.On the SocroticEducotion. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers,lnc., 1999. Davies, Colin. "Socrates." In "Socrores(469-399 B.c.), edited by S. Mukherlee and S. Ramaswamy.New Delhi: Deep l- Deep PublicationsPvt., Ltd., 2000. Lutz, Mark. Socrotes'Education to Virtue: Leorning the Love of the Noble. Albany: State Universityof NewYork, 1998. May, Hope. On Socrates.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning,Inc., 2000. Scott, Cary Allan. Plato's Socratesos Educotor.Albany: State University of New York, 2000. Thylor, C. C. W Socrotes:A Very Short lntroducrion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Woodruff Paul. "Socratic Education." ln Philosopherson Educotion:New Historicol Per- spectives,edited by A. O. Rorty. London: Routledge,1998. EDUCATIONIN ANCIENTGREECE 31

Section Plato(427-317 e.c.) Do you think studentsshould be tracked:rccording to their ability into basic,vocational, ar-rd college preparator)'courses in high school? Well, Plato thought that each person (including women) should be givenall the ecl"rcatior.rthel,were capable of receiving and needed in order tcl do the job for which they were snited in the Republic.According to Plato, those who rr-rleclthe country should re- ceive education in pltilosophl' until thel were fifty yearsoldl

Plato'sLife and Family

We know about Plato and his family from the com- mentshe rnakesin his dialogues.Plato was born in 427 n.c..,the son of Ariston and Peric- tione, both of whorn 'uveredescended from distinguishedAthenians ol'royalty His father died when Platowas a few yearsold irnd his mother remarried.Plato was the 1'oungestof four children.In The Republic,he mentionshis brothers.Glaucon ancl Aclcimantus, and his sister,Potone, who becamethe mother of Speusippus,who succeededhis uncle Platcr as the headof the Academ)',the schoolof philosophvPlato e stablishcd in A thcns.r ln TheRepublic, Plato outlines the normai educationof a Greekbor', lr,hich he also received-learning to reaclancl write and study,the poets. Plato gre\,\-up in a citl' at \r,irr, the Peloponnesianwar beganbefore he was born and lasteduntil he rvas23 1,earsold. He served in the rlilitary frorn tl.reage of 18 untll the end o[ tl.relvar. Plato'sfarlily rvas prominent in Athenian affairsand he r,vasinfluenced by his uncles, Charmiclesand Critas. and their politicalviews. The demoralizationof Athens due to defeatduring thc uar-lccl to an oligarchy revolution. followed by a savagetyranny that finallr' g.lvc \\'a\- to the reestablishrnentof a democraticconstitution. During thrs tun-noil.Strtrrltes \\.rs fut t(r deathon a chargeof impietl'and corruptingthe vouth. Sonrc-scholars rriirintrrin that PLato servedas the "defenseattorney'' for Socratesduring his tri;rl Thc 1actthat he krst thc case.and his belovedlnentor, had a profor,rr.rclcf{ect trn hiur. mrrl

The Academy \\'hen Platoreturned to Athens,he foundedthe Academyin 387 B.cr.,the first institution rrf l.righerlearning in Greece. It becamethe intellectualcen[er in Grecceancl tl-re eqr-riva- lcnt o[ the first universityin the history of Europe.It continuedfor over 900 ,vearsuntil it 32 cHAPTER2

ri,asclisstrlr,ecl b;.Jr-rstin in 579,\.D.along lvith other pagirninstitutious.5 Thc ultimateob- .jectof all activitiesat the Academvwas to achievefinal philosophictruth. The merhodof teachingwas by questionand ansr.r'er,argument, and discussion.Plato did give somelec- turesbut his main method was oral discussionand dialogue(comparable to the rnodern claysetninar class).The subjectstaught irt the academvincluded philosophy, mathemat- ics, trstronomy,ancl geonrctryrnlt is intcrcsting to note that two \\'omen studentswere membersof the academy:the idea of collegiateco-education is apparentlyas old as the idea ol'a collegeitself. This. like otl-rerideas proposed b,v the school.provoked criticism. as higher educationfor u,omen went directly againstthe tradition of the times.t The Academywas a greatsuccess. (Aritostle came to PlatosAcademy in 367 B.c.at the ageof l7 and remaiuedthere until Platodied in347 t].c.) Platowrote the Menoand Protagorus around the same time as he founded the Academy; one can clearly see in the dialogues hon, much Plato u'as thinkir-rgabout eclucationand educationalissucs at the time.8(See the timelinelor Plato'slife in Figure2.3.)

Plato, the Philosopher Plato cledicatedhis lile to tl.revindication of Socrates'tnemory and teachiugs.He wrote thirty-lour dialogues;all the dialogues before The Rcltublicrvere Socratic teachir-rgs,the later dialoguesare Plato'steachings. Socrates u'as interestedin making men lead better lives:rnd asked sucir questions as: What is virtue? Whzrtis goodnesslWhat isjustice? and What is temperance?Plato went beyond these to question the conceptualmeaning of tlring-s,asking: \\/hat is a tree or triangle?\fr'hy clo we narne things the !\/a)/we do? It is the thing ln our mind, not the word with which we are concenled.Plato wrote metaphori- call,v;he engagedpeople in the processof phikrsophizingand discoveringthe truth (as Socratesdid) ratherthan sy'stematicallyexpounding his own views.

Later Life Platon.rade ihree trips to Sicilylrom 364-361 s.c-.for philosophicand politicalpurposes. Plato dreamedof founding an iclealstate with such citizensas philosopirer-kings,war- riors, farmers.and artisanslike thosehe had written about in TheRepublic. His disciples thourghthe 'nvouldstart this statein Sicil,r',but he retr-rrnedto Athens rvhen l.resaw the Lln- [arorablc political climatc.'' Plirto remirinedirt the Academy'teaching, u'riting, and living comfortablyuntil he diecl in 347 s.c. at the age of 81. Aristotle eulogizedhi.s teacher by sal.ingthirt Platcr "clearlr,revealed by his own life and by the methods of his words that to be happy is to be goLrcl.r .. I'- r)

Greece,Egypt, and Sicily

Figure 2.3 Plato's Life and Times al EDUCATIONIN ANC ENTGREECE ).)

Plato'sContribution to EducationalThought

Platowas one o[ the first to proposeequal eclucation for men and women basccltrn tircrr abilit,vto learn,not on their gender.He supporteda t,vpeo[ r'ocationalcclucation. cc]Lr.,r- tion to cclmpleteyour roie in life. For Plato,learning was nlore th:rnhaving knonlcclgc ,,1 the subject matter. It r,l-asthe comprehensiveprocess of the der,eloprnentol rntclicct etrlotions,and u'ill conductedaccorciing to the ciriids stagesof development.rrA g.,,,cl teacherhelps students discover knowledge for themselvesrhrough dialogue.

TheRepublic One of the astounding facts in the historl' of culture is that the first coherent rrcartisettn government and education which \L'epossess in Western civilization, Platos The Reptrblic, is the most profouncl. Plato'-spenetrating rnind revealed the probletls with which rnankind has struggled. consciously or uncclnsciousll',ever since it has had an rtrganized society and education. Plato treats the subject of edncation in The Republic as an integral and vital part ol'a r'vicler subject of the r,vell-beingof human socicnr In TJreRepublic, Plato tried to collstruct an ideal political svsrcm on the basis of edu- cation, shorving how people can achier-ejustice through echtcation.Plato outlined the na- ture o[ thc jr,rsttnan and the icleal state in u'hich nrirn must develop virtues. The ultimate aim of edttcation is to help people know the Idea of the Good, ll.hich is ro be virtuous.12 According to Pl:rto,a jr-rstsocie ty alu'ays tries to gir.c tlie best edtication to all of its menr- bers in accordance with their ability.

Plato'sPhilosophy of Education In The Republic.Plato sets up a theory' o[ whirt education means for botl.r the inc]ividual and the state, focusing on the important role of those who rnust carefull1.choose the ma, terial to teach the future guardians of the state. The purpose of education is to help the students to grou'and cievelop their character and abiiity to do good. Plzrtoscurriculur.n is carefully chosen to include training for the spirit (music) and training for the body (g,vrn- nastics), rvith more difficult acirdemic subjects added when the chilcl is developmentalh ready. Plato's educational theories have the practic:rl aim ol training for citizenship anci leadership; his chief interest is education for character.tl An important nraxlm prropost'd bv Plato is, "Tl.requalitv of the State clependson the kincl of education that the rnernbcrs (groups) of the state receive."

Notes

1. Jane Da1',Piatoi l.{rno tn Focus(Lonclon: Routleclge,1994), pp. 4-5. 2. T. M. Llare,Plattr (Oxford: Orforti lrniversirvPress. 1999). p. I13. -1. DaviclCooper, Plcto (Nen'Yorli: Routledge. 200f). p. f0. +. Hare.p. 105. 5. Dall p. 7. (r. ZharrgI-oshan. Platol Counse/()n EdLtcatllt(Lonclon: Routlcclgc. 19c)S). pp. I l,\ 7. Rabbi Solomon Frank. Ediic.llionoJ Wtnnen Accorr:lirrg &r Plalo (Lonclon: Rourlcrlqc.JO0rl). pp. 302-3. 8. Dall p. 1l !). Ibict.,p. Il'1-15; LoserlAlexci attcl Axa Trkho-God.Ar.istotic (lvlos.o\\ I)rrrgrrssl'ublLshcrs, l9()0), p. 27. 10. L. Gletrn Srnith and Joan K. Srnith, Lit cs in Educdtjon: A Nrrrrril ir r ol Pi ,pli ({l.l Lit.rs ( Nerv Ycrrk:St. Mirr- tins Prcss,1994). p. 25. 11. M1'ungjoonLcc. Piatoi Plrilosoph-r,o.f Education: If5 Inlpli(({iorsJ,rr (.liiirrt L(lu(otid1(Milri:ukee: I\[ar- qlletteUniversin', 1994). p. 4I. 12. Ibid , p. 52. Ll. R. C. Lodgc,Pirrtrrls Thcor') o.l Ethrcutiotr (L,rndon: Routlcdgc. 2tJi)0), pp. l2-1+. 6t. 34 CHAPTER2

Questions to Guide Your Reading

Write clown the ke1' subjects Plato includes in the curriculum ol'his schools in The Rcpublic. Is Plato in favor of the education of women? Why or rvlry not? Do vou agree with his argurnent? As you reacl,do you think that Plato is an advocate of liberal education or vocational eclucation? Try'to rnake a chart of the plan for education fclund in Book VII. List the ages of thc students and what subjects they rvill be taught at those ages.

READING2.3: THE REPUBLIC

by Plato

Personsof the Dialogue: Undoubtedly. Socrates, who is the narratorl Then we have found the desired natures; and now that we have found them, how are they to be Cephalus; Glacon; Thrasymachus; reared and educated? ls not this an inquiry which Adeimantus; Cleitophon; may be expected to throw light on the greater in- Polemarchus; quiry whrch is our final end-How do justice and in- and others who are mute auditors. justice grow up in States?for we do not want either to omit what is to the point or to draw out the argu- The scene rs laid in the house of Cephalusat the ment to an inconvenientiength. Piraeus; and the whole dralogue is narrated by Socrates, the day after it actually took place, to Come then and let us pass a leisurehour in story Timaeus, Hermocrates,Critias, and a namelessper- telling, and our story shall be the education of our son, who are introducedin the Timaeus. heroes. By all means. And what shall be their education? Can we flnd Book Il The Individual, a better than the traditional sort?-And this has The State, and Education two divisions, gymnastics for the body, and musrc (Socrates,Glaucon) for the soul. Jiue. Then he who is to be a really good and noble Shall we begin education with music, and go on guardianof the State will require to unite in himself to gymnastics afterward? philosophyand spirit and swiftness and strength? By all means. And when you speak of music, do you include lrceratureor nor?

Source: The Dialogues of Plato, translated by Benjamin Jorvett, Macmillanand Co: NewYork Copyright I892. EDUCATIONIN ANCIENT GREECE 35

I do. And literature may be either true or false? Book V On lVlatrimony Yes. and Philosophy (Socrates, And the young shouldbe trained in both kinds, Glaucon, Adeimantus) ---J rve begin with the false? I do not understand your meaning, he said. Let us further suppose the birth and education of LS You know, I said, that we begin by telling chil- our women to be subject to similar or nearly similar ---:n storieswhich, though not wholly destitute of regulations;then we shall seewhether the result ac- .1 -.--:h,are in the main fictitious;and these storiesare cords with our design. :: j them when they are not of an age to learn gym- Then, if women are to have the same duties as - :;tlCS. men, they must have the same nurture and educa- Very true. tion? That was my meaning when I saidthat we must Yes. :=:ch musicbefore gymnastics. The education,which was assignedto the men, Quite right, he said. was musicand gymnastics. You know also that the beginning is the most Yes. -lortant part of any work, especiatlyin the case of Then women must be taught music and gym- : . Juflg and tender thing; for that is the time at nastics and also the art of war, which thev must :ch the character rs being formed and the desired practicelike the men? ^-::ession is more readily taken. Yes Quite true. And il I said, the male and female sex appear And shall we just carelesslyallow children to to differ in their fitness for any art or pursuit, we - <:: dfl! casualtales which may be devisedby casual should say that such pursuit or art ought to be as- :E-scns,and to receive into their minds ideasfor the signed to one or the other of them; but if the drf- J -' --,: part the very opposite of those which we ference consists only in women bearing and men . -:;id wish tfrem to have when they are grown up? begetting children, this does not amount to a 1 \Ve cannot. proof that a woman differs from a man in respect Then the first thing will be to establisha censor- of the sort of education she should receive; and "- : cf the writers of fiction, and let the censorsre- we shall therefore continue to maintain that our .: . ? dfl)rtale of fiction which is good, and reject the guardians and their wives ought to have the same -.: and we will desire mothers and nurses to tell pursuits. :-= - children the authorized ones only. Let them By all means. t..^:cn the mind with such tales,even more fondly One woman has a gift of healing, another not; -,-=r rhey mould the body with their hands; but one is a musician, and another has no music in her -- :.: of those which are now in use must be dis- nature? - .- l?d. Very true. 3ut what do you mean, he And one woman has a turn for gymnastic and j stories said; and =: fault do you find with them? military exercises, and another is unwarlike and S -he narrative of Hephaestusbinding Here his hatesgymnastics? -- : --rer,or how on another occasion Zeus sent him Certainly. - -.i for taking her parr when she was being And one woman is a philosopher,and another is ----'-:: and all the battles of the gods in Homer- an enerny of philosophy; one has spirit, and another '-... tales must not be admitted into our State, is without spirit? -.:;er they are supposedto have an allegorical I nat ls atsotrue. -::-:ng or not. For a yOung person cannot judge Then one woman will have the temper of a -': :s allegoricaland what is literal; anything that guardian, and another not. Was not the selection of -'i -::eives into his mind at that age is likely to be- the male guardiansdetermined by differencesof this - -^-: indelibleand unalterable;and therefore it is sort? - - :: :nportant that the tales which the young first Yes. -::- .iJuld be modelsof virtuousthoughts. 36 oHAPTER2

Men and women alike possessthe qualities that Dialectic, then, as you will agree, is the coping make a guardian; they differ only in their compara- stone of the sciences,and is set over them; no other tive strengthor weakness. science can be placed higher-the nature of knowl- Obvrously. edge can no further go? And those \vomen who have such qualities are I agree,he sard. to be selectedas the companionsand colleaguesof And, therefore, calculation and geometry and men who have similar qualities and whom they re- all the other elements of instruction, which are a semble in capacity and in character? preparation for dialectic, should be presented to the Verl true. mind in childhood;not, however, under any notion And ought not the same natures to have the of forcing our system of education. . .

gently and earnestly and exclusively for twice the they were performing some heroic action, but sim- .rumber of years which were passed in bodily exer- ply as a matter of duty; and when they have brought cise-will that be enough? up in each generation others like themselvesand left Would you say six or four years?he asked. them in their place to be governors of the State. Say five years, I replied; at the end of the time You are a sculptor, Socrates, and have made rhey must be sent down again into the den and statues ofour governors faultless in beauty. :ompelled to hold any military or other office which Yes, I said, Claucon, and of our governesses ioung men are qualified to hold: in this way they too; for you must not supposethat what I have been ,vill get their experience of life, and there will be an sayingapplies to men only and not to women as far cpportunity of trying whether, when they are as their naturescan go. drawn all manner of ways by temptation, they will There you are right, he sard, since we have sand firm or flinch. made them to share in all things like the men. And how long is this stage of their lives to last? How will they proceed? Fifteen years, I answered; and when they have They will begin by sendingout into the country :eached fifty years of age, then let those who still all tJreinhabitants of the city who are more than ten survive and have distinguished themselves in every years old, and will take possessionof their children, action of their lives, and in every branch of knowl- who will be unaffected by the habits of their par- edge, come at last to their consummation: the time ents; these they will train in their own habits and :'iasnow arrived at which they must raise the eye of laws, I mean in the laws which we have given them: -.he soul to the universal light which lightens all and in this way the State and constitution of which ,\ings, and behotd the absolute good; for that is the we were speakingwill soonest and most easily at- 3attern according to which they are to order the tain happiness,and the nation which has such a con- State and the lives of individuals,and the remainder stitution will gain most. citheir own lives also; making philosophytheir chief There is no difficulty, he replied; and I agree cursuit, but, when their turn comes, toiling also at with you in thinking that nothing more need be said. rclitics and ruling for the public good, not as though

DiscussionQuestions Do you agree with Plato that "the young are not able to distinguishwhat is and what is not allegorybut whatever opinionsare taken into the mind at that age are wont to prove indelibleand unalterable"?Do you think that books shouldbe cen- sored?Why or why not? What is the policy in the schooldistrict rn which you hope to teach? Why rs this important to know? Plato is a strong advocateof the value of music in the curriculum. He mentrons:i:: : is educationof the soul.Whatvalue do schoolstoday placeon music in rhe c.-;:.:.::-- lum? Have you seen a change in your school district recently regardingrhe ;:---:--:.- tance given to music instruction,bands, and choruses?What rs resear:: ::-.... ^: regardingthe valueof musicas an areaof study and students'enjovmen: ,- : - :. 3. Cymnasticsis alsogiven an important placein the curriculumof ii,. ?=:-.-' - Sorle peoplethink that American schoolsemphasrze sports too nruch | ,- . :-- . rhink -.u Platowould reply to this criticism? - 4. What is the role of educationaccording to Plato'sThe Ret,-: . D: .:u lhink that today'scommunities are acceptingtherr responsibrlrtS for .on:r U-i'rg to the educa- tion of the youth as outlined by Plato? What are sonre paiir.Jral. areas needing improvement? 5. Think about how much Socratesthe teacherinfluenced hrs student Plato. Reflect on teachersin your past.Have any of them influenced) ou rna srmrlar',vay?Explain. 6. Compare and contrast the Athens of Plato'stime to con[emporary United States. What are some similareconomic, socral, political, and educatronalissues in both so- cieties,and in what way are the issuesvery dif,Qrenr? 38 cHAPTER2

Plato Jigsaw Cooperative Problem-Solving Groups a. Form Home Croups of 4 to 6 persons. b. Each member of the Home Croup drscussesthe Book of Plato's The Republic as- signedto the group. Use the questionsbelow to guide your discussion.See which aspect of Plato'sphilosophy of education is defined in the Book you read. c. At the signal,two peoplewill stay Home to sharetheir findingswith other groups. Two students will go to each of the other Expert Croups on the different Books of Th" R.^, Ro^^..1answers given in the other groups regarding Plato'sphilosophy ;r;#;;;;'Ll;" -""' d. Return to your Home Group. Each personin the Home Croup sharestheir findings from the other groups.See if you can construct a completesummary of Platos phi- losophvoIeducatron. r. Who is the studentaccording to Plato? ir. Who rsthe teacherand what is hrs/herrole? iii. What is beingtaught, or shouldbe taught? iv. How should rt be taught? v. Why is it being taught?

For Further Research on the Internet A brief biography of Plato with links to his life and works. http://www.philosophypages. com/ph/plat.htm Home page on Plato with Iinksto his dialogues. http://plato-dialogues.orglplato.htm http ://classics.mit.edu/Browse/browse-Plato.html Suggestionsfor Further Reading Cooper, David. "Plato." ln Fifty MajorThinkers on Educatton:From Confuciusto Dewey, editedby J. Palmer.New York: Routledge,2001 . Day,Jane M. Plato'sMeno in Focus.London: Routledge,1994. Frank, Rabbi Solomon."Education of Women According to Plato."ln Plato'sTheoryof Education,edited by R. C. Lodge.London: Routledge,2001. Hare, T M. "Plato." ln CreekPhilosophers, edited by K. Thomas. Oxford: Oxford Unr- versityPress, 1999. Lee, Myungjoon. "Plato'sPhilosophy of Education:lts lmplicationsfor Current Educa- tion." Doctoral dissertation, Craduate School of Philosophy,Marquette University, Milwaukee, 1994. Lodge, R. C. Plato s Theory of Educotion Edited by The lnternational Library of Philos- ophy.Vol Ylll, Ancient Philosophy.First publishedin 1947. London: Routledge,2000. Losev Alexei, and Axa-Thkho-God.Aristotle. Moscow: ProgressPublishers, 1990. Loshan, Zhang. "Plato's Counsel on Educatron." ln Philosopherson Education,edited by A. O. Rorty. London: Routledge,1998. Smith, L. Glenn, and Joan K. Smith. Lives in Education:A Narrative of Peopleand ldeas. 2nded. NewYork: St. Martin'sPress, 1994. EDUCATION IN ANCIENTGREECE 39

Section2.4: Arisrotle(384_322 n.c.) Otd knorv rhar we J,:: use Arislorles renr.rstLr rrr) time? allarl rhellte If you are a secor rdary'.English major, Aricrnrt^," lir^-^_", , r .r i r,. ...,i,g,,;;, you use l# :j:l:,lTlll)',':r.,u, biologv f ,,.;,_"., *1,*::::Te'i;ur., his genus, ,p..i,., "';'';;;";;;il;";T- ],:.. classificaiion.f,",i us u-serhe principles of his logic ,rd;;;."" ",, "t

Aristotle'sLife and Times

in the t:,:::.tt: ll,,l:," summerof 384B (.. u1 trrll ro.,vn,, ,.."a,,,,.r, !.v!u\/rrr4, rh^_ rr: ;;....'urUtCC. ili;,iifllS la- l::tr:;,l- r. renownect phaestis, physician.anctaIlLl ]risnls rnother, hacl ".111;j),iL11ri1..:,three..r,r,i-trree children,-^-^''^' tr,vo_..'.'.-'u'Lvv,bo1,5r'(')5 girl.qirl AristotleAri.t^,r^ 2n6lallct2a rvas intro 0uced' - to nrec,licineancl biol_ ageand rerelvect a goocl ::l,i:,r:l::.ly "au.otiuni,, andffi',T:::LH:r;T tlre studv ol thr.hunran grea,,ove ,or ff |fi:;tl**,*:*.1,::1,1,.,r;; science,bio,og1., t)':: who a scraw'1'r'outhurh with skinny spokc uith a lisir. n"rtt.J 1'u *irr, :l';;,;',;;;';,1i; l.gt nn.i faLher:ll1) filii5:::r" exlrensive_i i:."";'ryrings i::T:l;:i;:dred r,rheni:;i:,:l"he was stjlli i'l:;'j;,fi'::'x;: \.()rr.d !_.rn,.,-.^u.lu. "wds#;ll;il:,i' h'f,:ancl fl,:':i:sr1,le ilr:his * t rilr. ff Hi,

AristotleStudies with plato Proxenus u.a-sa lriend plato of ancl some ac srucr;w.itri prato atrhe Acacreml,i" iT;h;,".,hT;#;i1il life in Athen-s, Arh;;:l'T;;: bur n-e'erbe.u..," u" i,rr.,r,un. lJ;,ji abouttr'vent\/ Aristotle,;;;; ar rhe )'ears.Plaro was, b). f;r, ;i;';;osl_imporranr Acacrcm),for tle"sthought formarivc Aristotle,rvasa clevoted i.flue'ce on Arisro_ probabl;, pupifof orr," ,'r"rr'i.,tt,r,rr kne*,.ther":h,]. "rJlrl, srlrcrenlancl he platonic At tirst,Aristotle ot prrilosoDhv,,but"r,itrr"ir)"i;:il,.rater adh Acaclernys aip".i"ar..m,rhem. ,...ogJ,l::i,:j[ini:,i|.: brighresLstudent,but utr.r.nri.alrrrn,,o.ott .etu,o Li.t ;ngt_,,r";,"n m.rhcr,,ibr u',',',.ol,.l ffi apror,,u.cr ror.efoals{br abo'eijil'lTour ril:ifr,i",,ar:,;^.isrorle *:l*;l*i:l "fi complerion' broug;irn.*.,#liJll#[,:i:::f;i:::lffi,:"j*i*: He garherecr"niT,p ril rrr?, deenrecl ,;;;lu ," rr,, p,.'..t""*",.""r0 fault;rAristotle signi{ican,fy rejectecrwhat he U."rlfri philosoph;,ro complerion, r'"ii,,,lin... uoon not thathe [i1- ;lff,l,l:J"::i;.i;ffi;rF "' whichnia.,, ruture generarions or raisedphilosupitv to ,,;;;,J 'or,.r,.,i"- .hoTg philosophy," ..'lfl,rt'oto ,.r'.,rt',r. or- a'd thequestion of rvhoshourd r'....',1',1-,'i:lrcr *iJ';;l"lci :'"*' succeedhirn as the head or thc r:: "''r.:-:.:...:.r ; ;;;p,f ' r' -*tr_.\:i. lr:l ;*:;iTttl ' lt,l.*ffi iinu. rr. ifft*.l:} ' ,.,-,:,-,-- .,', "r...,"a.p''thias.;;il;;;;pre harJa craughter " r,.''',ai,,,,,.r .r,..'t {ristotle , . _',,- hacra sri' .amedNic._ 40 CHAPTER2

Aristotle, the Teacher

In 3-11or 342 n.c.,Philip II, king of Maceclonia,invitedAristotle ro becomethe rutor for his Vortng son, Alexancler.The educationAlcxander receivedfrom Aristotle n,asonitc soliclancl contributed greatly to the personalityof the future conqueror.Hon,ever, a fcu. r.earslater, in 336 u.c., Philip r,r'asassassinated ancl Alexancler becrrme the head of the state.'(See the timelineof Arisrotle'slife in Figure2.4.) Around 334 e.c.,Aristotle returned to Athensand, at the ageof fifty,founded a school calleclthc Lyccurnin the northeastsection of the city in a 200-y'ear-olclgymnasiurr.r.Silce he wasnot an Athettian,Aristotle could not buy the land.Aristotlels followers, like thoseof Plato. were called peripatelicsbecause they taught by walking around asklng questiols. Ari-stotleu'orked in the l-y'ceurnfor thirteen years,giving lecturesin the rnorningar-rd afte r- noon and leadingscholarly discussions at night lvhile clininswith friencls.-Aiistotle lcc- tured extensivelvotl suchsubjects as physics. astronorn)', zoology, botany, loglc, ethics, ancl metaphysics.Ile wrote lcttet's.poetr\, and extcnsivcliterary..w,orks in t[e foln of clia- logues.like Plato,which werepraised for their styleand eloquence. Aristotle \r-rote nearhr 150 differenttitles. but tnostof his rvritingswere losr and'uve have less thal one-fifth of his total u'ritings We havehis lccturenotes: although thcl,are a little clifficultro read,they.are Ye'r1'logical, orderlli anclrich in insight. They'are rnutiiatedand incompleteas the onlr. cdition found rvasl-ridden in a weil for a ccntur.r,ancl a hzrlf.6 Aristotles u'ritirtgscover evervbranch o[ human knorvledgeknolr,,n in his time. He thought that all things could be understoodas 1ni1i6,t,[ fornr and matter.He developecl tht: ftrurcaLtses of nature: rnaierial,e[['icier-rt, final, and fonnirl.Sciencc ll.as ro knou,thincs b;' their causesaccording to Aristotlc, and philosophv wzrsthe srud1,of the ultimate causesof all beings. Aristotlc 'lvasa gooclspeaker, a lucid lccturer,and a pcrsuasiveconve rsatignalist. I Ic I.radto leaveAtl.rens after Alexander the Greatdied clueto the poliricaltunnoil that clevel- opecl;son-re were chargingAristotle with impietl,as they haclcharged Socrates. Aristotle settle(l in tire citl- of Chalei-son rhe islanclo[ Eubola. Arisrorle died in the autumn of 322 8.c.. suffering from poor digestion.He was 62 ycirrsold anclar the heightof his inlluence.,

Aristo tle's Contributions to EducationalTheory

\ri:lotlcs contributions l() \\ cstern intellectualthor,rght include: his clevelopmentof thc science of biology: his development of the sy,llogismand thc scicnecof Logic.hi, cxplana- tirtn of r-irtue as tl.rcgolclcn mean in his Ethic-s,the founclatiorrof the stud1.of literary, cr.it-

EntersPlato's Academy Tutorfor Alexander the Great

FleesAthens

Travelsthroughout Macedoniaand Asia Minor

I Leavesthe Academvafter 4eerq-qeq Figure 2.4 Aristotle's Life and Times EDUCATIONIN ANCIENT GREECE 4I

icism begun in his Poetics,and a the coherentphiiosophy of educationl.re cler cltril.'cl in ThcPolitic.s. Philosopher,educator, and scientist,Aristotle was one of the greatestancl t.t.tost ir.rllr.t- entialthinkers in Westernculture. ln a number of his u'orks,Aristotle clcalt at lcngth rrith the subjecto[ education,exarnining education in relaticn'tto httman ar.rdcivic excci]ence in both the NicomacheanEthics and The Politics.For Aristotle, ethics and poiitics both study practicalknou,ledge, rvhich is knou'ledget}-rat enables pcoplc to act propel'lr ancl live happilyr In ThePolitics, Aristotle's educational theory sta[es that the good communiLyis basecl on rhe cultivation o[ rationality.If educatior-ris neglected,the cornmunity suffers.Aristotle statesthar the highestaim of educationis to producevirtuous men for the gooclof socie[1:" As eclucationcultivated both tl-rerational person ar.rdthe ratior-rillsociet)'. Aristotle recommendeclcompulsory public schools.Although his discussionof the ideal curricu- lunr is incornpletebecause solne pages of his rnanuscriptswere ncver recovered,the plan he proposesshows how important he felt the educationof youth was lor the good of the collmunl[\r.

Aristotle'sPhilosophy of Education Arisrotieconsidered educarion to be an especiaiiydifficult art or skill that belongedby na- ture to the sphereof ethicsand practicalwisdom. A methodologyhad to be usedthat en- cor.rrageclthinking and reflecting ancl then allorved {br practice of the skills. The liberal educationcurriculum rvould train men to be good citizensand rulers.but also to urakc good useof leisure.e The teacheris an expertrvho will take into coDsiderationthe succcssrvestagcs irt cd- r ucationwhich must be adjustedto the physicaland psychoiogic:rldevelopment of the in- dividual student: the body, appetite,and reasor.rrrrust be takcn successfr-rllyin hzrndas they develop.ro Aristotlesau'the stLldentas a human being,a "rationalanimirl" r'r'httSe fttuction is tcr reason.Aristotles ideal person practices behaving reasonabll'ancl properly until he or she can do so naturallvand rvithout effort.The resultis a happl' person,ancl happiness is the goirl of all human beings.Aristotle believed that nroral virtue is a matter of at,oidingex- tretnesin behavior and finding instead the rnean that lies betweenthe extrerncs.The airn of educationis to help n.ranshape hir.r.rself as a hunran being, clevelopinghis intellectual knowledgeand tnoral virtues,and at the same tinre conveyingto him the spiritual her- itageof the nation and civilizationwith which he is involved. "We arethe sum of our actions,"Aristotle tells us, "and thereforeour habitsmake al] the difference."

Notes

1. AlexeiLosev ancl Axa Tal

Questions to Guide Your Readin g-The Politics

I . \\rhat evidence from Thc Politics rvoulcl conr.ince you that Aristotle was an irdvocate of liberal education or vocational education?

2. Tri to outline Aristotles s)steln o[ education as ]'or-rread the {olloiiing selection. What are the age dir.isions ancl what is the subject matter taught at each age clivision? What does Aristotle think is the most irnportant thing to be learrnecl? 3. What kincl of education cloesAri-stotle recomme nd lor lvclrncn] What i-sthe rirtionalc for his policy? Do yitu agree or disagreewith his posirion? 4. Would Aristotle approve of the emphasis on sports in todal.s schools?Wh;,or why not? 5. After you reacl this selection, hor,r,you wor-rld suuunarizc Aristotic'-s vier',' of the role o{ the school?

READING2.4: THE POLITICS

There are three things that make men good and for these two must accord, and when in accord they virtuous: these are nature, habit, and reason. ln the will then form the best of harmonics. In the second first place, everyone must be born a man and not place, as the soul and body are two, we see also that some other animal; in the second place, he must there are two parts of the soul, the rational and the have a certain character, both ofbody and soul. But irrational, and the corresponding state, reason and some qualitiesthere is no use having at birth, for appetite.And as the body is prior in order of genera- they are altered by habit, and some giflts of nature tion to the soul, so the irational is prior to the ratio- may be turned by habit to good or bad. . . . We have nal. The proof is that anger and will and desireare already determined what natures are likely to be implanted in children from their very birth, but rea- most easily molded by the hands of the legislator.All son and understanding are developed as they grow elseis the work of education.We learn some things older. Wherefore, the care of the body ought to pre- by habit and some by instructron. cede that of the soul, and the training of the appeti- . . . All these pornts the statesman should keep in tive part should follow: none the less our care ofl it view when he frames his laws; he should consider must be for the sake ofthe reason, and our care of the parts ofthe soul and their functions, and above the body for the sakeofthe soul. all the better and the end; he shouldalso remember the diversitiesof human livesand actions... . ln such After the children have been born, the manner princrpleschildren and personsof every age which ofrearing may be supposedto have a great effect on requireseducation should be trained. their bodily strength . . . Also, all the motions to We have already determined that nature and which children can be subjected at their eady age habrt and reasonare required, and what should be a(e very useful . . . Such care should attend them in the character of the citizenshas also been defined the first stage of life. by us. But rve have still to consider whether the The next period lasts to the age of five; during training of early life is to be that of reasonor habit, this no demand should be made upon the child for study or labor, lest its growth be impeded; and there should be sufficient motion to prevent the limbs frorn Source: Ihe Politicsof Aristotle t>y Chase, D. P Publica- tion: London J. M. Denr L Sons;NewYork: E. P Dutton being inactive. This can be secured, among other t- Co. !928. ways, by amusement, but the amusement should EDUCATIONIN ANCIENTGREECE 43

:rot be vu{gar or tiring or riotous. The Directors of there is no agreement; lor different persons,starting iducation, as they are termed, should be careful with different ideasabout the nature of virtue, natu- .r,hat tales or stories the children hear, for the sports rally disagreeabout the practiceof it. :f children are designed to prepare the way for the There can be no doubt that children should be :usinessof later life,and shouldbe for the most part taught those useful things which are really neces- :ritations of the occupations which they will here- sary, but not all things; for occupations are divided :ier pursue in earnest... . Besidesother duties, the into liberaland illiberal;and to young childrenshould )rrectors of Education should have an eye to their be imparted only suchkinds of knowledgeas will be ::inging up, and should take care that they are left as useful to them r,,r,,ithoutvulgarizing them. And any ::rie as pclssiblewith slaves.For until they are seven occupation,art, or science,which makes the body .ears old they must live at home; and therefore, or soul or mind of the freeman less fit for the prac- :.. en at this early age, all that is mean and low should tice or exerciseof virtue, is vulgar; wherefore we :: banishedfrom therrsight and hearing.... call those arts vulgar which tend to deform the No one will doubt that the legislatorshould di- body, and likewise all paid employments, for thev -:ct his attention above all to the education of absorb and degradethe mind. . :uth, or that the neglect ofeducation does harm to The customary branches of educatron are four .::res. The citizen should be molded to suit the in number: (l) readingand writing, (2) exercises,(3) t::um of governrnent under which he lives. For each music, to which is sometimes added (4) drawing. Of .:.ernment has a peculiarcharacter which is origi- these, reading and writing and drawing are regarded - tv formed and which continues to preserve it. useful for the purposesof life in a variety of ways, ' as Now for the exerciseof any faculty or art a pre- and gymnastic exercises are thought to infuse --us training and habltuation are required; clearly, courage.Concerning music a doubt may be raised. '--z:efore, for the practice of virtue. And since the ln our own days most men cultivate it for the sakeof -:le city has one end, it is manifestthat educarion pleasure,but originallyit was includedin education , - : uld be one and the same for all, and that it should because nature herself as has often been said, re- := rublic, and not private-not as at present, when quires that we should be able not only to wor-k well : .::\,one looks after his own children separately,and but to use leisurewell, for I must state once again . .zs them separateinstruction of the sort which he that the first principle of all action is leisure.Both are - ^

we are now in a position to say, that the ancients before reason, and the body before the mind; and witness to us, for their opinion may be inferred from therefore boys should be handed over to the trainer, the fact that music is one of the received and tradi- who creates in them the proper habit of body, and tional branchesof education. to the wrestling master, who teaches them their Furthermore, it is clear that children should be exercises. instructed In some useful things-for example, in Of these states which in our own day seem to reading and writing--not only for their usefulness take the greatest care of children, some aim at pro- but also becausemany other sorts of knowledge are ducingin them an athletichabit, but they only injure acqurredthrough them. With a like view they may their forms and stunt their growth. But in truth, as be taught drawing, not to prevent their making mis- we have often repeated,education should not be ex- takes in their own purchases,or in order that they clusively directed to this or to any other single end. ma)' not be imposed upon in the buying or sellrngof And parents who devote their children to gymnas- articles, but rather becauseit makes them judges of tics while they neglect their necessaryeducation, in the beauty of the human form. Jb be seekrngalways reality vulgarize them; for they make them useful to after the useful does not become free and exalted the state in one qualit'y only and even in this the ar- souls.Now it is clear that in education habit must go gument provesthem to be inferiorto others.. . .

DiscussionQuestions-Tft e Politics l. Compare Aristotle's curriculum plan to that proposed by Plato in The Republic. Which seemsto be closer to the actual curriculum plan we have today? 2. Do you agree with Aristotle that anger,will, and desireare implanted in children from their very birth? Does this mean that it is impossibleto form a chrlds character for it is all a matter of heredity? 3. Why does Aristotle endorsea uniform public educationfor all?Would he support private schools?home schooiing?In what way could Aristotle be consideredthe first advocate of equal educational opportunity for all? 4. Do you think childrenare "molded" by their environmentor are their livesopen to individualchorces and experiences? 5. Aristotle saysthat we achreveour happinesswhen we fulfill our function. ls our function determinedby what we learn in school,or are we born with a predeter- mined function?How do we figure out what our function in societywill be accord- ing to Aristotle?ls this relevantto schoolchildren today?

Questions to Guide Your Reading-Nico machean Ethics What is the differencebetween moral and intellectualvirtues accordingto Aristo- tle? How doesthis distinctionhelp answer Meno's question,Can virtue be taught? 2.What is Anstotle's definition of virtue? Compare and contrast this to Socrates'defi- nition of virtue in Meno. 3.What are the two parts of the soul accordingto Arrstotle? Does modern science upholdthis dual understandingof the personor how would it definethe person? 4. Make a chart of the virtues Aristotle mentionswith the virtue in the middleand the extreme on one side and the deficiency on the other. For example: EDUCATIONIN ANCIENTGREECE 45

READING2.5t NICOTVIACHEANETHICS

Book II would have been of no use), we must examine the nature of actions; namely how we ought to do . :tue, then, is of two kinds,intellectual and moral; them; for these determine also the nature of the -:ellectual virtue in the main owes both rts birth states of character that are produced, as we have .-J its growth to teaching (for which reason it re- said. Now, that we must act according to the right - -:res experience and time), while moral virtue rule is a common principleand must be assumed-it ,::'nes about as a result of habit whence also its will be discussedlater, i.e. both what the right rule is - =ne ethike is one that is formed by a slight variatron and how it is reiatedto the other virtues.. . . i-,-m the word efAos(habit). From this it is alsoplain I mean moral virtue: for it is this that ls con- :-ar none of the moral virtues arisesin us by nature; passions in these there j:- cernedwith and actrons,and nothing that exists by nature can form a habit is excess, defect, and the intermediate. For in- rrrary to its nature. . . . Neither by nature, then, stance, both fear and confidence and appetite and -:: contrary to nature do the virtues arise rn us; anger and prty and in general pleasureand pain may -::ner we are adapted by nature to receive them, be felt both too much and too little, and in both : are made perfect by habrt. cases not well; but to feel them at the right times, Again, of all the things that come to us by na- with reference to the right objects, towards the '-'e we first acquire the potentiality and later ex- right people, with the right motive, and in the right - :ir the activity (this is plain in the case of the way, is what is both intermediate and best, and this :.ises; for it was not by often seeingor often hear- is characteristic of virtue. Similarly with regard to -= that we got these senses,but on the contrary actions also there is excess,defect, and the interme- : had them before we used them, and did not diate. . . . Therefore virtue is a kind of mean, stnce, - r-re to have them by using them); but the virtues as we have seen, it aims at what is intermediate. : get by first exercising them, as also happens rn For these reasons also, then, excess and defect .^? caseof the arts as well. For the things we have are characteristic of vice, and the mean of virtue; :- earn before we can do them, we learn by doing For men are good in but one way, but bad in many. .^em, e.g.men becomebuilders by buildingand lyre Virtue, then, is a state of character concerned with : :\'ers by playingthe lyre; so too we become just by choice,lying in a mean, i.e. the mean relativeto us, :::ng just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, this being determined by a rational pnnciple, and by : -:r.'eby doing brave acts. . . . that principle by which the man of practical wisdom It makes no small difference, then, whether we would determine it. Now it is a mean between two '-'m habits of one kind or of another from our very vices, that which dependson excessand that rvhich -rth; it makes avery great difference, or rather all depends on defect; and again it is a mean because :-e difference. the vices respectively fall short of or exceed what is Since,then, the present inquiry does not aim at right in both passionsand actions,while virtue both :rretical knowledgelike the others (for we are in- finds and chooses that which is intermediate. -,nc ,nnr i^ +^ know - ',,5 ^.4^, what virtue is, but in Hence, in respect to its substanceand the definition -jer to become good, sinceotherwise our inquiry which states its essencevirtue is a mean, with re- gard to what is best and rrghtand exLreme. But not every action nor every passionadmits of a mean; for some have names that already imply badness,e.g. spite, shamelessness,envy, and in the case of actions adulterv, theft, murder; for all of 46 cHAPTER2

these and suchlike things imply by their names that That moral virtue is a mean, then, and in wha: they are themselves bad, and not the excessesor sense it is so, that it is a mean between two vrce. deficienciesof them. lt is not possrble,then, ever to the one involving excess, the other deficiency, an: be right with regard to them; one must always be that it is such because its character is to aim at tha wrong.... intermediate in passions and in actions, has beer With regard to feelings of fear and confidence, sufficiently stated. Hence also it is no easy task rc courage is the mean; of the people who exceed, he be good. For in everything it is an easy task to finc who exceeds in fearlessnesshas no name (many of the middle, e.g. to find the middle of a circle rs nc: the states have no name), while the man who ex- for every one but for him who knows; so, too, anr ceeds in confidence is rash, and he who exceeds in one can get it once-that is easy-but to do this tc fear and falls short in confidence is a coward. With the right person, to the right extent, at the righ: regard to pleasuresand pains-not all of them, and time, with the right motive, and in the right wal not so much with regard to the pains-the mean is that is not for every one, nor is it easy; wherefore temperance,the excessself-indulgence. . . . goodnessis both rare and laudableand noble.

DiscussionQuestions l. Compare Aristotle's theory of virtue with that of Socratesand of Confucius. In what ways are they similar and in what ways do they differ? Do they supporr today'scurrent understandingof virtues as characterattributes? 2. Do you agree with Aristotle that there is a medium point for every virtue? Are theresome virtues for which thereis no excessor deficiency?Crve some examples. 3. What does Aristotle have to offer to the character education movement in the schoolstoday? Is it possiblefor the schoolsto help childrendevelop character in the way that Aristotle suggests?i.e., how can studentsbe giventhe opportunity to "be- come just by doingjust acts"?

For Further Researchon the Internet Ii r ks to h is phi losophi carthought http :// 3'ffi*i::$f;;T;:::JJff;::,:';J'h withrinks to his biographv andworks http:// Ii:-llfl:".'.il:n:ffi;:::i$Tll f.ffi;:::*:::n1:J,!::;xff lT,:ilil111lxn::5l;^';I#:;:[;' Suggestions for Further Reading Barnes,Jonathan. 'Aristotle." ln CreekPhilosophers, edited by K. Thomas. Oxford: Ox- ford UnrversityPress, 1999. Losev,Alexei, and AxaTakho-Cod. Ailstotle. Moscow: ProgressPublishers, 1990. Nightingale, Andrea Wilson. "Liberal Education in Plato's Republicand Aristotle's Po[itic." ln Educotion in Creek ond Ronon Antiquity, edited by Y L. Too. Lerden, Netherlands:Koninklijke Brill, 2001. Reeve, C. D. C. 'Aristotelian Education." ln Philosopherson Education, edited by A. O. Rorty. London: Routledge,1998. EDUCATIO\lr't A\C :'.- j===:= +-

CHAPTERACTIVITIES Linkingthe Pastto the Present

l. Design a lesson plan on a cnrrent issue using the Socratic Method. \Vrite thc r'ht,l. ..r son as a seriesof questions gettir.rgthe students to explore the different sides of l]1. r::Lir 2. Choose one o[ the follou'ing to debate q'ith a fellow student:

a. Do you think books should be censorecil b. Do you think students should be grouped according to ability? c. Do yr.rttthink vocational education is more important so that students catr 'get I iob'?

DevelopingYour Philosophy of Education

What will be the role of characterdevelopmer.rt in your philosoph,vof education?Will vou teachit as ir subject,model it asa teacher,ot leave it to the rcalr.nof the honreI ConnectingTheory to Practice

In your clinical experiencelind out how grouping is used in thc classroomand in courses.What criteria is used for grouping sludents?lntervieu' your teacherand ask him,/herto explaintheir philosophy'of grouping. Educators'Philosophies and Contributions :o Education

TABLE2.1 Philosophyand Contributions of GreekEducators

Role ofTeacher Viewof Curriculum Purposeor Goal Major iducator & Learner & Methodology of Education Contribution

I : nnhn The teacheris a Taughtmusic, poetry, To preparegirls to be Firstschool for girls,first mentorfor the girls dancing,and readingby cultured,married feministwho inspired who believesin the gettingthe girlsinvolved women manylater women educationof the and doingeach activity educators wholeperson l:crates The teacherdraws the To ask questionsin such To cultivatemorally SocraticMethod knowledgeout of the a way that students excellentpeople )x- student discoverthe knowledge withinand growin virtue

atu The teachershould Trainingof the spirit Helppeople know the The Republic.The first to tle's carefullychoose and (music),of the body Goodand be virtuous advocateteaching men len, censorthe material (gymnastics),and of the membersof the state andwomen basing their thechild is to learn mind(philosophy) educationon theirability n noton theirgender stotle The teacheris the Liberaleducation, To producevirtuous Virtueethics, also expertwho teaches intellectualand moral men for the goodof developedthe sciences studentshow to think virtuestaught through society of biology,logic, and and act virtuously dialoguewith the master literarycriticism teacher