Rousseau’s Theory of Education

Rousseau lobbies against an raisingal system that tries to get word children concepts and facts before such time, as they would make use of them. He believes that a child should not dangle those studies, which meet his present needs, in order to run across that which he may acquire in later years. He claims that experience and emotion argon our real teachers, thereby reinforcing the theory that a child should not be educated in matters which are not pertinent to their current topographic point in life. He contends that a child should remain in sub ignorance of those ideas which are beyond his grasp (p686).In essence, Rousseau argues that the healthy spontaneous impulses of children were universe repressed by the adult demands for emotional restraint, intellectual precision and kindly conformity as abdicated by the social and educational practices of his time. Rousseau constructs a theory of education, starting with the influence of the childs natural environment, which sho uld prevail over the influence of rescript and social institutions. Rousseau advocates allowing children to grow and organise naturally, in direct opposition to the familiar methods of teaching. Children should be encouraged to develop their faculties through experience.This forms the basis for his fundamental article of belief of education. Rousseau argues that to be of use to a child, a concept mustiness be relevant to his age. Rousseau promotes involving the student in hands-on learning experiences, as oppose to the more traditional methods of instruction. Children pay little heed to verbal ex deviceation, nor do they remember them in his opinion. He stresses the importance of disco very(prenominal) as a learning tool. Ideas that seem difficult at the onset become less(prenominal)(prenominal) daunting when introduced using a hands-on approach. Simply stated, he proposes to teach his pupil through doing, using words only as a final recourse.I dont think Rousseaus innovation appealed to the peasants and urban workers in the eighteenth century. These people were hard workers who would have their children working to feed the family rather than wandering about the countryside learning. If their children had to be schooled, they most potential would have preferred they were subjected to the discipline provided by formal schools in towns and villages which were reference to appear. Not only did these schools provide a more Christianity based education but kept the children busy and out of the parents way.The people of this time were very focused on discipline and control of their children, allowing the child to explore and learn on their own was the opposite of traditional treatment of children at this time. throw in the rod and spoil the child was a catch phrase of the eighteenth century and was taken quite literally. Any indications of an independent nature in a child were beaten out them and asking questions was often viewed as a challenge to authori ty and children were expected to accept all association provided them on credence which was again the opposite of Rousseaus plan.Since Rousseaus plan was focused on education based on scientific principles it would go against many of their hardened Christian beliefs about how the world worked. The enlightenment may have been a big influence to Rousseau, but the peasants and urban workers of the 18th century were not particularly interested. For Rousseau to be properly understood we must examine his revolutionary ideas in terms of his relationship to the 18th century enlightenment.During this time a great premium was placed on the discovery of truth through the observation of nature, rather than through the study of compulsive sources, such as Aristotle and the Bible. Rousseau shared the enlightened view that society had reprobate natural man, the noble savage who lived harmoniously with nature, free from selfish want, possessiveness and jealousy. bingle main feature of the enli ghtenment was that nothing was accepted on faith or face value and he expected no less from his students, he would demonstrate his teachings and not expect them to accept just a verbal description.Rousseau stressed that feeling and sentiment were two very distinguished factors in the motivation of humankind. He emphasizes the need to live and develop in conformity with Nature. The child must be raised in a rural rather than an urban environment, so that he may develop in continuity with nature rather than in opposition to it. A childs character will mature in unity with nature if that childs natural curiosity is allowed to develop unhampered by the corruption of society. All of Rousseaus educational theories had roots in the enlightenment of the 18th century.