The Progression Of Organized Education In The Middle Ages

Arguably the greatest and longest impacting movement brought about by the forward thinkers of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was a cultural and intellectual movement that emphasized the human potential to attain excellence through direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of the classical Greek and Roman societies (Merriam-Webster). The scholars and believers in humanism sought to change the course of society away from the narrow pedantry of medieval scholasticism and utilitarianism. Humanism was a basic desire for every citizen to be able to speak with eloquence and read and write with clarity, so that common citizens were capable of engaging in the civic life of their communities (Gray). The movement also emphasized the value of a human being as well as the importance of rational thought rather than blind faith in spiritualism or superstition. It also pushed people to explore human desires and pleasures while also enriching their minds. The influential nature of humanism was far reaching and most notable for its effects on Renaissance art, literature, and philosophy.

Education has existed throughout history in one form or another. The process of passing down accumulated information from one generation to the next has been present in every human society, past and present. From the young listening to the stories of the elders around the hearths of the ancient world, to pupils being instructed in the alphabet in a one room schoolhouse on the American frontier, to the present day online teaching sessions; the tradition of teaching and learning has been a constant in the ever changing world. Education has been and continues to be used for many purposes, chief among them being the creation of an educated citizenry, the empowerment of that citizenry, and improvement of the

Rousseau thought that man was born weak and ignorant, but virtuous. It is only when man became sociable that they became wicked. (Cress, 80) Since civil society makes men corrupt, Rousseau advocated “general will”, more precisely the combined wills of each person, to decide public affairs. General will would become the sovereign and thus it would be impossible for its interests to conflict with the priorities of the citizens, since this would be doing harm to itself. Virtue came from the freedom of men to make decisions for the good of the

Education is the most vital part of man’s existence. The concept of education started in the ancient days and continues to the modern age. Education has existed before this current age, but modern education has been labeled as the most significant part of any possible profession. This assumption is not making waves in the United States of America only, but in the whole world wide. Despite the unique and distinct languages that exist throughout the world, young and developing minds still seek education and new knowledge as technology keeps changing. Education is the backbone and the platform in which we build and develop our own unique ideas that has become

Education has had three phases of development according, to Van Krieken, 2013. Each phase being associated with a set of beliefs about the nature and purpose of education. Firstly, the advent of the modern system from the mid-19th century to World War II, influenced chiefly by liberal humanist ideas. Secondly, post World War II expansion into the late 1970’s was influenced by social democratic beliefs. Finally, the increased marketisation of education which has been influenced by neoliberalism since the 1980’s (Krieken, 2013, p. 149).

Arguably one of the most important and most enriching periods in human history was the Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, a time in which many great thinkers used reason to birth groundbreaking ideas about science, religion, government, philosophy, and a wide range of other subjects. Prior to the advent of the Enlightenment, most ideas were built on “folk beliefs, authority, or religion”, especially notions of human nature. The change in methods of thinking that occurred also triggered an extremely important change in peoples’ concepts of human nature, which in turn inspired people such as John Locke and Montesquieu to invent novel forms of government. An understanding of human nature is required to form a government that provides for the needs of its people.

Jean Jacques Rousseau in On Education writes about how to properly raise and educate a child. Rousseau's opinion is based on his own upbringing and lack of formal education at a young age. Rousseau depicts humanity as naturally good and becomes evil because humans tamper with nature, their greatest deficiency, but also possess the ability to transform into self-reliant individuals. Because of the context of the time, it can be seen that Rousseau was influenced by the idea of self-preservation, individual freedom, and the Enlightenment, which concerned the operation of reason, and the idea of human progress. Rousseau was unaware of psychology and the study of human development. This paper will argue that Rousseau theorizes that humanity is

People all around Europe began to think in different ways because of the revolution in France. Different countries started to encounter thoughts about overthrowing their leaders as well. The French established groups and associations that talked about new ideas and constitutions.14 These meetings and ideas went against the will of the king and had never been thought of until the revolution began to occur. State-sponsored schools were brought about by the document, the Concordat (1801).15 The schools boosted the levels of knowledge and wisdom of the people and increased the king’s rage. Peoples’ actions of enlightenment were a great result of the French Revolution and shaped the way we live today.

Higher education’s journey began in Greece in 387 BC by Plato. The only thing offered at this first educational establishment was an advanced study in philosophy. From this basis, more higher education facilities began to be erected, from 387 BC to the 17th century .The ancestors of graduate education were constructed throughout Palestine, Babylonia, Indian, China and Korea. Most systems either taught religious aspects or philosophy. Like today, many higher education schools are still religious based, even though they offer numerous amounts of studies, they are still based around religion studies and incorporate it into every line of study at the university.

In contrast, Rousseau had a generally positive view on human nature though a rather negative view on modern society. He proposed that humans had once been solitary beings and had learned to be political. He believed that human nature was not fixed and was subject to changed. Likewise, he believed that man was good when in a state of nature, but was corrupted by society as shown in his quotation, "Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.” Also differentiating himself from other humanists, Rousseau taught that the sciences and the arts were not beneficial to man. Rousseau believed the general will must always be right and to obey the general will is to be free.

Rousseau, on the other hand, believed that education should be learned by nature. In Lecture 5, Dr. Norris had talked about Rousseau’s’ belief that every individual that is brought into this world is built innocent and it is through interaction with society, we bred evil and corrupt our own being (T. Norris, The Enlightenment,

During the time of the Middle Ages, life as a citizen saw little to no change. With the feudal system in place, people were born into different social classes like Lords, Knights, and Serfs. However, it was extremely difficult, if not impossible, to move up in one’s class. Once someone was born into a specific role in society, people believed that it was his or her fate to remain in that class. Also, society was not progressing. One example of this can be seen in the Black Death. This “Black Death,” or, “Bubonic Plague,” killed off nearly one third of the entire population. Civilians were stunned, and did not know why this event occurred, or how to solve the problem. Nobody could figure out how to stop the disease, because no medical advancements were taking place, and people were uneducated. Education in the Middle Ages was not available to everyone, so many people were illiterate, causing society’s growth to pause. It became clear that people needed to change their mindset in order for their lives to be better. This change came in the Renaissance time period, where a significant growth in many areas of life occurred. The positive growth was so impactful that P.J. O’Rourke, an American political journalist once said, “Not much was really invented during the Renaissance, if you don't count modern civilization.” People today look back on the Renaissance, and embrace how it is considered as a rebirth period. The Renaissance was a turning point for intellectual

The prologue which is the life of learning in general is basically talking about peace and the goals of higher education. This section is arising the question of what is education? Not in the sense of exact definition but how it affects the individual and society. This question has been asked for centuries, and even in modern times the answer is not obvious. Education has many grey areas when it comes to the question of its effects, long and short term. The authors Bonaventure, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Annie Dillard, John Henry Cardinal Newman, Richard Rodriguez, Thomas Wolfe, and Richard Wright all shed some light upon education with their works, “The Journey of the Mind into God”, “In Defense of the Poet Aulus Licinius Archias”, “An American childhood”, “The Idea of a University”, “Hunger of Memory”, “Young Faustus”, and “The Library Card”. Some of these passages are similar while some other passages are very dissimilar based on their contents and structures but they all give clarification of the same idea: Education is enlightenment, and through this enlightenment comes power, improvements and peace of individuals, societies and countries at large.

The Enlightenment can easily be coined as the most important and pivotal event in history, especially due to its massive impact on education. The influence on the education system of the 18th century created the organization of education that is known in the 21st century; the impacts of the Enlightenment will never end. New ideologies were drastically morphing society through the education institution, “...with the Enlightenment, people began to embrace new ideas about freedom of expression and new rational methods to investigate the world,” (Changes in Society). With the newfound freedom of expression, members of European society could begin to perform their own investigations, share their findings, and further educate themselves and others. The start of the Enlightenment sparked another Scientific Revolution, due to the new findings among the philosophers of

The Enlightenment era was a heavy influence on the French Revolution to find ways to govern people in society after the absolute monarchy of King Louis XVI. The beliefs of the Enlightenment, including Locke’s “natural rights”, Voltaire’s free society; and Rousseau’s social contract and general will, ultimately swayed ideas towards to understanding aspects of life and