MIDTERM HISTORY OF AMERICAN EDUCATION

Midterm History Of American Education

Midterm History of American Education

Traditional And Contemporary Philosophy Influence Educational Policies

Philosophy of education is a field of applied philosophy, drawing from the traditional fields of philosophy (ontology, ethics, epistemology, etc.) and its approaches (speculative philosophy, prescriptive, and/or analytic) to address questions regarding education policy, human development, and curriculum theory, to name a few. Put another way, philosophy of education is the philosophical study of the purpose, process, nature and ideals of education. For example, it might study what constitutes upbringing and education, the values and norms revealed through upbringing and educational practices, the limits and legitimization of education as an academic discipline, and the relation between educational theory and practice. (Cremin, 2005)

Philosophy of education can be considered a branch of both philosophy and education. The multiple ways of conceiving education coupled with the multiple fields and approaches of philosophy make philosophy of education not only a very diverse field but also one that is not easily defined. Although there is overlap, philosophy of education should not be conflated with educational theory, which is not defined specifically by the application of philosophy to questions in education. Only fragments of Aristotle's treatise On Education are still in existence. We thus know of his philosophy of education primarily through brief passages in other works. Aristotle considered human nature, habit and reason to be equally important forces to be cultivated in education. Thus, for example, he considered repetition to be a key tool to develop good habits. The teacher was to lead the student systematically; this differs, for example, from Socrates' emphasis on questioning his listeners to bring out their own ideas (though the comparison is perhaps incongruous since Socrates was dealing with adults). (Cremin, 2005)

Aristotle placed great emphasis on balancing the theoretical and practical aspects of subjects taught. Subjects he explicitly mentions as being important included reading, writing and mathematics; music; physical education; literature and history; and a wide range of sciences. He also mentioned the importance of play. (Cremin, 2005)

One of education's primary missions for Aristotle, perhaps its most important, was to produce good and virtuous citizens for the polis. All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.

Development Of Higher Education In The Colonies

The first colleges in British North America were, in chronological order, Harvard (1636), the College of William and Mary (1693), St. John's College, Annapolis MD (1696), Yale (1701), the College of New Jersey (subsequently Princeton) (1746), King's College (subsequently Columbia) (1754), the College of Philadelphia (subsequently the University of Pennsylvania) (1755), and Queen's College (subsequently Rutgers). Needless to say, all of these institutions were strictly for men, and primarily for white men. Some colonial colleges experimented with admitting Native American students in the 18th century, but none admitted African-Americans. Because opportunities for secondary education were sparse, boys often entered college at the age of 14 or 15. (Cremin, 2005) College faculties were generally very small, typically ...