How education evolve Part 2

All begins to change dramatically during the transition to the second, industrial wave. There is a mass migration of peoples towards a new industrial centers, breaks up the Patriarchal family, the state becomes centralized and assumes a number of social functions. In these conditions, it becomes possible to obtain what was not available: there are schools, education is becoming more and more common.

Who prepares the education system really is?

Toffler wrote about the fact that at this time in addition to the obvious educational plan, there was another secret plan, which actually was the main task of learning.

So, the school of the industrial era the main subject was discipline. The main objective of this school — preparation of standard thinking person for work in a standardized production.

Considering the history of education, for example, in the UK, we see that in the schools the aim was not only to impart literacy, how to raise a generation of officials that would govern the country according to a standard plan and it was absolutely interchangeable. A public school could provide only standard, but all the evolutionary elements of education are connected with private schools.

In the twentieth century there are two major directions in the school system: the Prussian and the American educational model. If the Prussian model is based on strict adherence to uniform standards for all and discipline, it is the main principle of the American system – kids have to be happy (children must be happy). This approach shocked at the time, n in American schools was not in shape, the children were allowed to sit on desks, and the lessons were held in the museums where you could go and lying down to listen to a lecture about art.

Two of these models determined the vector of development of the educational system, and among the best teachers of the era is to be found in both directions.

Innovative pedagogy and alternative education

Also at this time the emerging new opportunities in teaching: an attempt of an individual approach to student and labor training. Among innovative teachers was the Austrian Rudolf Steiner. In 1907, he wrote his famous book “The Education of the child”, and in 1919 created the first Waldorf school, which was based on anthropomorphic ideas. The main principle of the pedagogical system of the Steiner — “all children are geniuses”, and the teacher’s task is to help this genius be exposed by using different methods. First of all, through the development of work skills (the child must learn to do things with their hands different objects from natural materials).

Another principle — “natural development” — proposes to rely on emotions to puberty, so that the new knowledge did not cause rejection in the child. Only after 12 years we can talk about “visual learning” when formed ideas about dignity, purpose and other abstract concepts. Also among the innovative ideas of Steiner education in accordance with the natural rhythms of the body, teaching units, special attention to the individual temperaments of students.

However, it is not a Waldorf school has identified the development of pedagogy of the XX century. In 1988 UNESCO named the four pedagogical geniuses of the era:

John Dewey, of the United States with his ideas of “pragmatic pedagogy”, when every action is perceived as a tool of development and knowledge. The goal of education for Dewey – education of the individual, who is able “to adapt to different situations” in terms of free enterprise. Being a supporter of a gaming approach to learning, Dewey introduced a card system for memorizing information, which is still used in teaching foreign languages.