EDUCATION THEORIES
Laurence's Diary
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| Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bucheinband.15.Jh.r.Inkunabel.jpg |
Understanding the past:
After explaining the current education systems around the world, SAM had a deeper understanding on how current schools work.
"Great! With the knowledge of the current education systems, we can now create our school of future!" exclaimed SAM.
"Do not be impatient SAM. You will need to equip yourself with education theories. Education theories form the basis of schools. They are also the philosophies which the schools or educators believe in when transmitting knowledge to students. Philosophies from past thinkers are like pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. They fit nicely with each other and form an image when completed. To design the future we must understand the past, thus it is imperative that we look into different philosophers' view on education before we paint the picture of our future schools." Mr Laurence replied.
With that, he took out an old diary.
"This was passed down to me from my ancestors. This is a rather special diary. It allows one to communicate with someone in the past. All you have to do is to write on this diary. You can use it to interview past philosophers to understand their views on education." Mr Laurence explained.
Grabbing a pen from his bag, SAM wrote "Hi, this is SAM." into one of the pages. The black ink slowly faded away. Within seconds, words started to form magically on the page. SAM stared intently as a sentence formed.
"Pleased to meet you SAM. I am Confucius."...
Who's on the interview?
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Confucius
(Chinese: 孔夫子 September 28, 551 BC – 479 BC) He was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy deeply influenced the lives and thoughts of people. He advocated different teaching methods for different students.
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Socrates
(469 BC–399 BC) He was a Classical Greek philosopher. He believed that learning is all about asking questions.
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Plato
(428/427 BC – 348/347 BC) He was a Classical Greek philosopher and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He highlighted arithmetic is the basic foundation for knowledge.
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Aristotle
(384 BC – 322 BC) He was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He believed that the education is a way of conduct and of actions.
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Mencius
(Chinese: 孟子; Born in 372 – 289BC) He was a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself. He believed that the mind cannot be opened unless the senses are stimulated and the heart shocked by extraordinary events.
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Bertrand Russell
(18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970). He was a British philosopher. He advocated the need for education to be practical on top of being idealistic.
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Jean Piaget
(9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) The works of Piaget help guide our thinking about the different ways a child thinks and learns at different stages in his or her life.