Education: The Formal Acculturation of the Young

1
EducationThe Formal Acculturation of the Young

• Mr. Oberholtzer
• The Epitome of Education
• K-212

2
Education

• Education is the formal way society acculturates
  the young.
• Free Public Education is the most important
  element in creating an American body politic.
• Education is critical to the survival of society
• Education has always existed, as long as human
  beings have been on the planet

3
Who is a Teacher?

• A Teacher is anyone who communicates information
  or skills so that another may learn.
• Anyone who possess knowledge can be a teacher
• Parents, friends, relatives, role models are
  frequently teachers
• Professional Teachers provide a more formal
  discipline to the process of learning and
  formally acculturate the young.

4
Educere

• Education comes from the Greek word educere,
  which means to bring out of.
• Education is part art, part science, expressive
  of the civilization it supports.
• Public Education is citizenship training society
  makes the investment in its future citizens
• Pedagogy represents the accepted strategies for
  teaching within the Education establishment.

5
Education in the Ancient World

• Early man provided instruction in survival skills
  person to person
• Education in the first civilizations was too
  complex to transmit person to person need formal
  institution to complete the process
• Economics and the rise of Trade stimulated
  education economics dictated what students would
  learn!
• Early students in Mesopotamia learned reading,
  writing, basic arithmetic, geography, languages
• Students learned vital skills for personal and
  societal survival

6
The Ancient Greeks Progenitors of the Western
Tradition in Education

• Greeks were interested in Pedagogy, the art of
  teaching.
• Know ThyselfGreeks believed this to be the
  most important
• Socrates was the greatest teacher in history
  provided the philosophical basis for systematic
  Western Philosophy.
• The unexamined life is not worth
  livingSocrates
• Question all assumptions seek the truth above
  all--Socrates

7
The Influence of the Greeks

• Socratic Methodmethod of teaching developed by
  Socrates where the student learns by answering
  questions and finding the answer himself
• Platostudent of Socrates, started the Academy in
  Athens, the first university in Western Europe.
  Featured the pedagogy of Socrates
• Aristotlestudent of Plato and tutor to Alexander
  the Great classified all knowledge into
  comprehensible units interested in logic, truth
  and ethics

8
Renaissance Education

• Rome borrowed from the Greeks when Rome fell,
  education in Western Europe ground to a halt
• The revival of trade and commerce during the
  Renaissance re-ignited an interest in education
• Mathematics, languages, history, geography,
  reading and writing dominated usefull skills for
  business!
• Education during the Renaissance emphasized the
  classics from Greece and Rome!

9
Education in America

• The Puritan Tradition dominant for the first 150
  years of American History
• Puritan Tradition revolved around drill,
  memorization and stern discipline ethics was
  taught, as well as religion
• The Puritan Tradition featured a dour philosophy
  Puritanism believed that the child was directed
  by Satan toward idleness and evil children had
  to be kept rigidly in line!

10
Progressive Education in America

• John Dewey (1859-1952), greatest American
  educator
• engage the childstimulate the intellect
  through problem solving and complete engagement
  learn by discovery rather than rote! Used an
  inquiry approach to mastering curriculum
• Dewey distained traditional methods of evaluation
  and grading measuring educative growth was his
  aim
• Dewey taught the power of critical thinking, just
  like Socrates!

11
Education Today in the USA

• Radical Liberalism refocused the content of
  curriculum in the 60s and 70s.
• Cultural Studies, Political Studies, Social
  Studies became prominent
• Emphasis on social awareness, sensitivity and
  problem solving legacy of the Vietnam War
• Deweys inquiry approach has rooted itself as the
  premier pedagogical tool in education

12
What is a Good Education?

• A good education is one that prepares a human
  being for successful integration into the world
• A good education entails a grounding in the
  fundamental skills like reading, writing, math
  and the ability to think critically
• To be educated means the keys to the world have
  been turned over to you. No door is locked, no
  dream unfulfilled an educated man has broad
  horizons the uneducated none.
• An education makes possible the maximization of
  lifes possibilities!