I wonder why the 1st September hasn’t become yet an official celebration of John Amos Comenius, the author of “The Great Dedactic”, & the father of schooling as we know it. Without doubts his approach & the method were very progressive: textbooks with pictures, effective teaching according to age using from simple to more comprehensive concepts, practical application of education. As well Comenius supported the idea of making education available for poor children & women. He seemed to have foreseen the changes that would happen in a century & that he would have been well appreciated by those who would have launched a bloody wheel of the French revolution.
Education…Let’s ponder on the sense of this word & on the power it bears in itself. Antoine de Furetiere’s Dictionaire (1690) explains: “EDUCATION is a care that one takes to grow up, to raise children…a care to cultivate their Spirit either by science or by good manners…“. Some centuries after Grand Dictionnaire Universel by Pierre Larousse (1866-1877) states as follows: “Set of cares given at the young age or at more mature age too to develop physical, moral & intellectual faculties; it’s especially applied to develop the moral faculties…” And adds that a bad education can cause the ruin of many generations. At our century, when the universal schooling system is practised all over the planet, one can’t but agree with the mentioned consideration.
Strangely enough, we all are victims of general eduction. At early post French revolution times, in the beginning of the technical progress epoch the society was hungry for new & provocative, for all that could prove a man’s superiority over God. It gave a chance to John Amos Comenius & his harmful ideas to integrate easily in a devilish machine of liberty. One may be surprised with a thought that the general education might hurt & damage a personality. Well, we must state that. Not all of us at a tender age are ready to start schooling, to not of us fit for a general for-all approach, not all of us even need it. We all are different and have a personal biological time that is responsible for our development and different educational needs. The general education makes us be squeezed in artificial frames, causing a lot of troubles to a personal growth. Besides, even a good teacher is unable to give the proper attention to everybody. Certainly, there are good schools somewhere in the world that’ve managed to solve this problem & to provide perfect general education, but yet most of us suffer. Another problem of this system are subjects. We often get too much information that we will never use in our life, while the most essential we learn only with time & experience.
The modern education has a great impact on our mind. It grows people with standard thinking. It makes us cultivate standard habits & ways of life. No wonder that most of us start the Spiritual search at late age, having passed twists & turns of life nobody has ever warned us at school. And what would we replied to Mr. Comenius and his ‘The Great Dedactic” now at dawn of a post homo sapiens Age? “You’re mistaken, dear John. You’re sadly mistaken!”
Maria KethuProfumo
eternamenta 
Good points, Maria. I would have liked to go my own direction in school. I would have ended up a starving writer sooner.
Thanks, dear John! Well…what should happen, will happen. You were destined to become the writer. And here you’re! 🙂 Have a good return back home!
😀
Very interexting post. ..
Grazie, caro Pipazzovi! 🙂
A very interesting post, Maria. I agree with your comments to an extent, particularly as I have two special needs children, neither of whom fit easily into main stream schooling. I do need to add though, as someone who lives in a country where the general education provided to the “man in the street” is very sub-standard, it is very harmful if the general population doesn’t get a good primary education as they are not equipped to participate in our modern world and are virtually unemployable.
Thank you for your considerations, dear Robbie. You’re right. The modern education cuts both ways. On one hand it’s harmful but we can’t avoid it for we won’t be able to survive. There are points to ponder on. True?
I agree, it is very hard to find a one-size fits all system of education as everyone is unique and different. I suppose we must be grateful that, in developed countries, education is at least offered to all now including us women and the poor and underprivileged. It is more complex in developing countries for many reasons.
True. I guess that a combined model is still possible. You’re right that at least we still the right to choose how to build our life & what approach to choose. A good thing is that Internet already provides new forms of education such as distant education. I think it’s great. Besides self-education under the right supervision is still survived. 🙂 By the way, how it goes in the South Africa for native people? Do they like studying? Do they do it regularly?
Wonderful post, Maria!
Thank you! 🙂 🙂 🙂
useful reflection on modern education
with a hope for improved opportunity
of true knowledge & experience
for current & future students 🙂
🙂 Thank you for your mindful poetic comment, dear David.
Well, it’s true, most education seems substandard, and it’s not geared to specifics needs, parting from the premise every child is different.
No wonder as a child I hated school, I found my time there dreadful, boring, tedious, unimaginative, long, and what it seemed never ending, a place that the only two things I enjoyed was the 20 minutes break, and the long awaited ring-bell, announcing the end of the class day!
So I could go back to my own books, and passions. The school books for the most remained unread, until the week before final exams!
School resembled more like if you had enrolled into the Army for life, (or it seemed to me) and not a place of learning!
A place not enjoyed neither by the students, or the teachers if I recall.
Thank you Maria! 🙂
Very true, dear Mr. Brigido! Thank you for your mindful considerations! 🙂