Origin of Age of Enlightenment - Essay Example

Topic Evaluate ways in which the European Enlightenment has influenced modern schooling. Introduction In the 17th and 18th centuries the intellectuals started a cultural movement which is referred to as the Age of Enlightenment. It started firstly in Europe then spread to the American colonies. It has rightfully been referred so because before that Europe was dwelling in the dim light of the middle ages. Then suddenly the human mind was enlightened by the light of knowledge and education which helped mankind to move forward. The main goal of the Enlightenment movement was the understanding of the world and the place of the human kind in it alone on the basis of reason and understanding without referring to the religious beliefs. It also aimed to reform the society by using reasoning and understanding of the phenomena’s by using scientific knowledge. It aligned majority of the thinkers on the lines of reason and understanding during the 17th and 18th century. It was also referred to as an ‘Age of Reason’ by Thomas Paine (Hackett 1992). It is still believed by many that the basis of modern concepts and thoughts lie in the age of Enlightenment. Science, skepticism and intellectual understanding was promoted during this era as opposed to the superstitious thinking and intolerance by church and state (Wilson 2004). Origin of Age of Enlightenment The Era of Enlightenment was sparked by the great philosophers and thinkers of that time. Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677),Pierre Bayle (1647-1706),physicist Issac Newton (1643-1727) and Philosophers Voltaire were the major proponents in originating the Enlightenment movement (Casey 2008). The revolutionary leaders of the Enlightenment movement hailed themselves as the courageous elites. They claimed to take the world out of the dark period of doubtful traditions and ecclesiastical tyranny due to which the historical wars took place. Education in the Age of Enlightenment The basic purpose of the movement of Enlightenment was to spread scientific knowledge and reasoning among masses and to take people out of the ignorance in which they were plunged in during the Middle Ages.The role of the educational system was very important in spreading the ideas and concepts of Enlightenment among the people. Continuous development took place in the educational system in Europe throughout the Enlightenment period and the French Revolution. The educational development increased and flourished rapidly during the Enlightenment period. Educational history prior to Enlightenment Period Before the period of Enlightenment, religious dogmatic believes and superstitious thinking was given value. The education was considered the sole right of males who belonged to the upper stratus of the society such as nobles, mercantile and professional class. With the spread of the scientific revolution traditional religious and superficial beliefs gave way to scientific thinking and reasoning. Novel and revolutionary scientific ideas were proposed by the philosophers such as John Locke proposed that sensation and reflection plays a part in obtaining knowledge. Locke later developed a theory which was based on the same idea that every human being are equal in the capacity of sensation detection and that education should be made public and reachable by all classes of the society. The roots of Pedagogy as science, also has its roots in the in the Age of Enlightenment. The education was considered a basic tool by the philosophers and thinkers of that time to fight against ignorance and superstition. It was considered a way to achieve an open-minded and egalitarian society (Farzaneh 2009). They fought against censorship and worked towards the practice of free speech. They wanted Declarations of Human rights and an easy and free access to education for all people. Spread and growth of Education system The education before the Age of Enlightenment was considered the divine right of only rich and noble upper class of the society. During the 18th and 17th century there was a significant increase in the literacy rate of Europe. The definition of literacy was different in that time than it is now in the modern age. It was measured then in the terms of people’s ability to sign their names. But this did not mean that those people could read as well. The women’s literacy rate was also affected at that time because most women could not write but could read to certain extent (Melton 2001). As compared to 17th century, literacy rate doubled in 18th century and it was more in the populated areas where there was mixture of different religious schools. The increase in the literacy rate might be due to the influence of the religious institutions because most of the schools at that time were controlled by clergy, missionaries and other type of religious organizations. The reason behind the motivation to increase the rate of literacy was it was the key to understand the words of God. With the advent of 18th century state started to pay attention towards the development of more schools because it dawned upon them that well educated people would be more useful to the state. Expansion of educational system resulted from the conflict between the crown and the church. The church and the state had made colleges and universities as tools to create dominance over one another. A particular educational institution was used to be a supporter of either state or church but never both (Brockliss 1987). In addition to this, the criteria for higher paying careers changed which attracted more and more students towards attending colleges and universities. The job criteria too became stricter for such professions as lawyers and doctors to prove their sound knowledge in the relevant field (Brockliss 1987). Culture of Printing The increase in literacy also resulted in the explosion of culture of printing. The increase in literacy and demand of books resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of books being published during the Age of Enlightenment. During the whole period of 17th century the interest of the people in the reading the religious publications and genres dropped to almost one-tenth by 1790. And people became more interested in almanacs (Melton 2001). The contemporary literature too kept on increasing as the century progressed. There was also a shift in the language in which the books were published. Previously large percentages of books were published in Latin but with the spread of the French language, there was a fair increase in the demand of the books in French throughout Europe (Darnton 1982). Spread of public libraries In the dark ages the libraries in Europe were only accessible to academies, aristocratic class and private owners. The prices of books were also very high during that period. The public libraries were the product of Age of Enlightenment. Funds for these libraries were provided by the state and were accessible by everyone without any fee (Greenhalgh, Worpoleet.al 1995). The public libraries open a gateway for common people to reach the popular literary works and encyclopedias (Darnton 1979). Development of Intellectual venues The venues such as clubs, coffee houses, academies and Mosanic lodges became alternative places where people used to exchange their intellectual views and could become educated, during the 18th century period. These places provided an opportunity to the general public to discuss political, philosophical and scientific views with each other. In Britain the first coffee house was developed in 1650 in Oxford and after that many similar places spread around oxford (Cowan 2005). Changes in the women education Though the overall literacy rate increased during the 17th century but there was difference in the type of education received by male and female genders. Girls received more informal education at home. But the trend changed during the 18th century and the number of girls being send to schools for formal education increased (De Bellaigue 2007). The publications by the women writers also increased in number during the Enlightenment period (Hesse 2001). Enlightenment period and its influence on modern education system The reforms and changes in the whole system of education left irreversible marks on the modern education system that is implemented today. It significantly impacted the American revolution (1775-1783) and the development of the policy of early education in United States. The French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau was one of the most influential philosophers of that time in the field of education. He was the strong proponent of individual freedom as opposed to the state institutions. His writings dominantly influenced the French revolution (1789-1799). He made eloquent contributions to the field of education through his writings. He believed that the children acquire learning best when they freely interact with their environment. The reforms in in the modern schooling during 20th century were anticipated by his thoughts about education. Influence on modern schooling The advent of 19th century carried itself the foundations of education from the Age of Enlightenment. The works of Jean R. inspired many educationists, thinkers and philosophers. A Swiss educator, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, was strongly influenced by him. Based on the natural world and the senses, he developed an educational method and established schools in Germany and Switzerland for the education of children and training of teachers. He opposed the previous view about the schools where strict punishments were given. He was in favor that schools should be an embodiment of security and love just like homes. He also believed that thought processing starts with sensation and the teaching methodologies should inculcate use of senses. Proceeding with this thought, he developed a teaching method called ‘object lesson’. It involved the exercises for learning form, numbers and language. The students determined and traced the forms of objects counted and named them. After that they proceed with exercises in drawings, writing, addition, and subtraction, multiplying, dividing and reading. He employed following principles in teaching; Start with concrete objects before the introduction of abstract concepts. Start with the immediate environment and surrounding before proceeding with the far and beyond. Start with the easy exercises before moving on to complex ones. Always move forward slowly, gradually and cumulatively and do not rush. These principles have largely influence the modern day schooling systems. The today’s educational system follows the pattern described by these principles. It has become well developed scientific facts that children’s learning become more efficient and stable if these principles are followed. His principles were later applied by Henry Barnard, the first U.S. education commissioner, in the United States in 19th century. He also worked towards the development of free public schools for all classes of students in America. A German philosopher, Johann Herbert , developed that the moral character is developed through education and inadequate education leads towards misconduct. Knowledge, according to him, leads towards the creation of ‘apperceptive mass’- a network of ideas- to which the new ideas keeps on adding. He developed a highly structured teaching technique which was based on five- steps; Preparation of pupils for new lesson. Presentation of new lesson. Association of the lesson with previously learned and studied material. Use of examples for the illustration and explanation of major points of the lesson Test of the pupils to check their learning of new lesson. This teaching methodology is now widely used in the secondary, elementary and higher level teaching and has positively influenced the learning techniques and teaching methodologies of the modern times. Friedrich Froebel was a German educator who created the kindergarten in 1837 in Blankenburg ,Prussia(part of Germany). He developed this on the educational philosophy that children have an innate ability for creativity. He believed that every child contained a spiritual energy and spark inside that helps the child to learn independently. He introduced a curriculum in his kindergarten which included songs, stories, games, gifts and occupations. The songs and stories facilitate child’s imagination through folk heroes and cultural values. Social and physical skills are developed through games. The gifts included the objects which presented different shapes which helps the child to understand the concept of shapes. Materials which can be used for building different activities were included in occupations. Examples of such materials are clay , sand, cardboard, sticks etc. The concept of kindergarten was brought by immigrants to United States. And it became a part and parcel of modern American school system. Slowly and steadily, kindergartens started developing in United States at different places and eventually became a permanent part of American Public school system. Now kindergarten is essential part of almost every modern day school. It has surely laid positive development influence on the learning abilities of children. It helps them to explore and experience their environment and learn without any stress and uncomfortable feelings. He based his ideas on the survival of the fittest theory of Charles Darwin. He encouraged the concept of unlimited competition in the field of education and wanted private schools to flourish and compete with each other, to attract more and more intelligent and bright students along with most capable teachers. With the advent of industrialization in America and in Western Europe, his concept of social Darwinism became very popular in the last half of 19th century. He emphasized the importance of scientific and skilled education rather than getting classical education, in the industrialized society. He developed curriculum that included lessons in five basic human activities; Those which are related to the self-support and preservation such as diet and exercising. Those which are needed to earns one living such as basic skills of writing,reading, computation and knowledge about sciences. Those which are needed for the life after marriage and parenting. Those which are needed to participate in social life and politics. Those which are needed for leisure and free-time activities. The ideas of Spencer were warmly welcomed and eagerly accepted by the people of United States. The education system inculcated his ideas in the educational system with fervor. The modern day schooling system follow the ideas of Spencer and the curriculum is now designed in such a manner as to educate the pupil in all of these areas of life and to make them capable to cope with all the phases of practical life in efficient and practical manner. The methods invented by Jean Itard, for deaf children in Paris also exercised a lasting influence on the development of teaching methodologies for special children in times to come. Conclusion The Age of Enlightenment, mark the era of light and education among the people who had been plunged into darkness and ignorance by the church and the crown. The Enlightenment movement by the great philosophers of the time took the people out of their deep ignorance and negligence. Their revolutionary ideas and inventions opened new dimensions of thinking and knowledge for the times to come. The modern day education system has been largely influenced by the ideas and techniques developed by those philosophers and thinkers. The world of children education and adult education today has been largely shaped up by the period of Enlightenment. The several techniques of teaching and the standard school curriculum can be traced back to the period of Enlightenment. Those have laid strong imprints on the modern schooling system today. Herbert Spencer, a British sociologist, strongly impacted the education system in mid-19th century. Bibliography Atkinson, D 2011, Art Equality and Learning, Pedagogies against the state,Rotterdam, Boston, Taipei: Sense Publisher  Brockliss, LW B 1987, French Higher Education in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Oxford: Clarendon press. Casey, C 2008 , Grecian Grandeurs and the Rude Wasting of Old Time: Britain, the Elgin Marbles, and Post-Revolutionary Hellenism"Foundations. Volume III, Number 1. Cowan, B 2005, Social life of Coffee: The Emergence of the British Coffeehouse, New Haven:Yale University Press. Darnton, R 1979, The Business of Enlightenment, Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Darnton, R 1982, The Literary Underground of the Old Regime, Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 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