A Historical Perspective for Classical Education

Education, as we all know, has become a reality which is inseparable from human life. Man is a species that experienced prolonged-childhood, in contrast to other species. Prolonged-childhood this is the way people used to maintain the continuity of his life as a species and the history proves (at least so far) that humans are the most successful species. During this prolonged-childhood, children are exempted from the obligation to maintain life, and dependent adults, namely parents. This advantage, in the form of energy and time to spare the child, is dedicated to learning, as a human cultural learning process which will be used as a means of survival guarantor and his group. Culture itself, not genes, which has made people so adaptive to any change in nature. For that education becomes a necessity for human existence on this earth.

Our current education, modern education, is a tool used to learn how to survive in this era. All education tailored to the needs of this age. The children now have been introduced early on with computers, because computers have become a new identity in this era. We also learn to obey the law (and also dodged him). We study economics to understand how the money spinning at this age. We also often hear jargon like a link-and-match who want college graduates to be directly absorbed by the industry. Indeed, education is now the golden child of this age. As a child a good education should prepare screws, nuts and oil to the world engine can run smoothly. Education teaching children how to fit students into this world. The children are provided with all the skills they will need in the world of work: accounting, engineering, medical science, law, and others. Education to address the skill needs of time-oriented.

Is there something wrong with this? Yes! Education has betrayed the original purpose, namely to prepare people to face the challenges of change in the future. Education no longer bring light the way for civilization, but have become slaves to maintain a time, a system status quo. What can be expected from this kind of education? We're all just going into the abyss like a runaway Juggernaut, to borrow a phrase Giddens, without being reminded. Education, as a servant of this era, the capitalist era, has been enslaved by the owner of this era, the owners of capital owners, to power. Education does not prepare us how to be human, but a means, becomes merely a "human resources".

You may protest that education today is far more advanced than in earlier times. In earlier times people can not make cars, planes and 'mobile'. Now, technological advances have facilitated the joints of our lives, thanks to education. Not so fast. If you say that education is better now, of course people in this age are better able to think critically. Critical thinking skills would make them able to think for themselves free from outside influence. Then to what the ad budget may be trillions of dollars spent each year to persuade people who should be able to "think critically". You might also argue that we now know more than antiquity. Remember, knowing more does not mean knowing them better. Can operate with MMS enabled mobile phones, voice mail, GPRS or whatever else his name does not make you a better human being, let alone more wisely.

Also with the demands of time, the current education not only prepares children to be human being, but also had taken the child from the joy of learning. How many children who can not wait to go to school for merely liked it. Not funny if a lot of kids who committed suicide as well as in Japan and Singapore because of pressure from the curriculum and parents are so intense. This demand is none other than the time demands of an increasingly competitive and the inability to survive means excluded.

Let us first see how the education in ancient Greece. Education in the era of education is not like today. Young children learn in the streets. Simonizes in one poem says, "The city teaches man". They learned geography by listening to conversations of traders who had just returned from the land side. They also learn various skills, such as blacksmith and carpentry, with attention, because at times it was people doing things in front of their homes. They learn to listen to debate politics with people in the agora (market), the price of goods, taxes, etc., and the Greeks are happy to debate. It seems that they learn in a way that is more fun than us. Next in Greece comes the Sophist who introduced new methods in education, the oratory and rhetoric. They take advantage of their eloquence argued to explain an issue. Unfortunately they are not servants of truth, but the servants themselves, who use their strengths to find the money and position. Until some time in between them comes Socrates in Athens, a clever argument but also interested in the truth. He was able to defeat the Sophist in the general debate in the market. Socrates, who got the nickname of the wisest man in Greece, changing the method of education by asking intelligent questions to the boys who followed him, to force them to think. And one of his followers, Plato, eventually established a school, which was nothing more than a get-together at a park named Academes, so that the school is named Academia. There they argued about the subject nature, the state and what occurred to them, continuing a tradition that has been constructed by Socrates. One pupil of Plato, Aristotle, also founded the school with the spirit of roughly the same, although with a different philosophy, called the Lyceum. The two schools is that underlie most of the thinking in the world today.

Roman era, after the Greek conquest, beginning marked by the decline of educational ideals. Education Graeco-Roman style became more pragmatic, which is only intended to give birth rather than thinkers, but only to become a servant ruler, something that was condemned by Plato. It should be recognized that engineering is growing rapidly in that period, marked by the development everywhere. But on the other hand the number of thinkers have petered out, only left on enlightened individuals such as Marcus Aurelius and Cicero. Finally Rome itself was porous, and the conquest of other nations only a matter of time.

Furthermore, as we know, since Rome fell to the barbarians, having a dark European. Education becomes the right of the church elite, who became guardians of civilization. Education was going through dormant for centuries. Platonic texts and Aristotelian banned for being pagan writings. Education is only directed at the theology, the core of biblical studies. Meanwhile, quietly and systematically, the ancient Greek intellectual property, especially Aristotle's school, moved to the Arab and finally incredible growth there. Arab world can be said to be a pioneer in the advancement of philosophy and science in those days.

Education finally back in Europe, especially in Italy, after the Renaissance movement. Renaissance itself is one of the consequences brought by the Crusades, which allows the migration of intellectual property back to the land of ancient Europe. The first university was standing around the year 1158 in Bologna, which centered on the study of law. After that followed in Paris with the study of art and theology. Europe was re-developed. Science and technology progress extraordinary, while the Arab world again bleak. The return of science baton from Arabic, slowly but steadily giving birth a new generation. A man named Copernicus, who subvert geocentric theory, start a revolution in Europe. Big names who were inspired by him following a breakthrough that never imagined before. And Europe (plus the U.S.) to date was a Mecca of knowledge.

An other developments occurred in Prussia (Germany embryo), which we will feel until now. In the period 1713-1786 was issued some legislation that requires the children to school, the nationalization of the school, banning private education (at home), certified teachers, the concept of learning hours (± 45 minutes-1 hour), courses, tuition, education subsidies , and exams. Education back again, like the ancient Roman era, a government servant. Education is dedicated to professionals, to meet the demand for professional workers in all sectors. Germany had developed into a nation known for professionalism so far. Science is reduced to a subject, set aside a holistic approach that characterizes classical education. The characteristics of this Prussian school model that is characteristic of modern education to the present, which brings professionalism, specialization and pragmatism. This educational model rather than go without criticism. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a poet and essayist of the United States, criticizing government policies that send about 9000 people to study in Germany, which aims to produce experts who will be driving development in the United States. He said that "a man should be a good human being before he became a farmer, carpenter and a good engineer."

You could say that I was a reactionary or laudatory temporize act (devotee of the past). But please consider further facts right now and honestly say whether this civilization toward a better direction. There progress here is to make our lives easier. But on the other hand we are also getting away from our nature as a complete human being. Life becomes increasingly artificial. And all this was going to bring us to destruction. Global warming, pollution, natural, species-species extinctions, and economic colonization is just a few examples of the problems on this earth. Our planet is dying. It seems not impossible that later caused his own doom by mankind.

Tags: Education, References