Philosophy of Education

Education

Education is very important to a society’s development. Literacy is one of the most important goals of education. The ability to read and write is the foundation for learning, and it provides many benefits to a person. It also helps to eradicate poverty, and broaden participation in society. UNESCO’s World Literacy Report 2014 highlights the importance of literacy as an aim of education.

Lessons from Horace Mann

The early labor movement saw education as an avenue to social justice, and Horace Mann sought to bring all children together for a common educational experience. While he didn’t have much money, his frugal upbringing influenced his beliefs about education. Mann believed that schools could help students if their parents were not disciplined enough to teach them basic skills, including reading, writing, and arithmetic. However, he also recognized that building character was just as important as learning to read and write. He advocated for schooling as a way to teach punctuality and obedience to authority.

As a child, Horace Mann studied under some very poor teachers. Luckily, he gained admission to Brown University at age 20. While at Brown, he studied politics, education, and social reform. As president of the state Senate in 1835, he worked to improve Massachusetts’ infrastructure and establish an asylum for the insane.

Bourdieu’s philosophy of education

In Bourdieu’s philosophy of education, the educational process is not a mere vehicle for imparting knowledge; it is also a socially organized project. According to Bourdieu, schools create scholastic habits (or dispositions) that people acquire through experience. These habits are active in different fields of thought and action. They serve to transmit master patterns of culture that separate and differentiate individuals.

Bourdieu developed his theory of knowledge through philosophical and methodological works. The latter delved into various aspects of the sociology of knowledge and education. While his philosophical work was more focused on education, his empirical work was concerned with artistic production and was based on the annual lectures that he gave at the College de France. These lectures paved the way for his subsequent publications.

Bourdieu’s theory of practice has been applied to a range of educational research areas, including classroom learning, teacher education, and Higher Education policy. In particular, it has been used to understand the inequalities in educational systems and the role of power in educational practices.

Einstein’s view of education

Einstein’s view of education offers many important lessons for educators. The German theoretical physicist believed that education should not be overly structured and rote, but rather should develop the individual into an independent critical thinker. His philosophy of education emphasizes creativity and the importance of independent thought, as well as the opportunity to fail.

Einstein’s view of education is rooted in his own experience of learning. At a young age, he struggled with learning, despite being passionate about the science of physics. He became fascinated with the forces of nature and was determined to master calculus, an advanced subject that would baffle even the most brilliant mind. Einstein’s tutors eventually gave up on him, but he continued to learn by himself.

After he passed the entrance examination for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Einstein attended a secondary school that encouraged free thinking. He graduated from this school in 1896 and enrolled in a math and physics program at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. The lectures and tests made him hate school, but he managed to pass his final examination with the help of his friend Marcel Grossmann.