EDUCATIONAL CONTRIBUTION OF

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
 

TEACHING PROFESSION
 
EDUCATION

       Education is derived from the Latin word “educare” or “educere” which

means to lead forth. It is defined as the process of acquiring knowledge,
habits, attitudes, interest, skills and abilities and other intangible human
qualities through training instructions and self-activity, and transmitting
these vital elements of human civilization to posterity.

TYPES OF EDUCATION

1.    Formal Education – refers to the hierarchically structured

chronological graded learning organized and provided by the formal school
system and for which certification is required in order for the learner to
progress through the grades or move to higher levels.

This corresponds to the following levels:

A.    elementary education

B.    secondary education

C.    tertiary education
2.    Non-formal education – refers to any school based educational
activities undertaken by the DECS and other agencies aimed at attaining
specific learning objectives for a particular clientele, especially the illiterates
and the out- of -school youths and adults, distinct from the outside the regular
offerings of the formal school system.

(B. P 232 Art. III Chapter 1 and 2 Sections 19 and 24)

3.    Informal Education- a type of education which can be acquired

anytime and anywhere. It is otherwise known as the education for all seasons.

ORIGIN OF EDUCATION

There are two theories concerning the exact origin of Education:

1.The Theory of Divine Creation advocates that when God, in the

beginning of time, created man according to His image and likeness and
commissioned him to multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have
dominion over all other creations

(Genesis Chapter 1). He equipped man with intellect and free will. But because
man chose to ignore God and disobey his will, the first couple was banished
from the “Garden of Eden” and severed the former relation between the
Creator and man.

Henceforth, the first couple multiplied, passing the knowledge acquired from

God to their offspring, until the time when their children inhabited the earth
possessing the intelligence they inherited from their parents.

These include the ability to communicate, read and write, knowledge in

science and arts, as well as other skills like hunting, farming, fishing, etc.

Finally, due to man’s superior intelligence and God given talents, scientific
advancements became part of man’s existence.

2.    The Theory of Evolution, on the other hand, believes that education

started when the very primitive man, basically savage, brutish and animalistic,
for he had just evolved from the lower primates, began his quest to find ways
and means to feed clothe, shelter and protect himself and compete with other
animals for survival (i.e. survival of the fittest).

Education at this point, says this theory was on its simplest form characterized
by the absence of reading, writing or comprehensive language.

The education was informal and learning was through observation and
imitation or apprenticeship for there were existing schools yet.

EDUCATIONAL CONTRIBUTION OF ANCIENT

CIVILIZATIONS
 

JEWISH – religious educations

1.          Synagogues – temple schools

2.          Bible and the Talmud

3.          Rabbis – teacher/priests

CHINESE – career oriented education

1.          Analects of Confucius

2.          Civil Service Examination (Han Dynasty 206 B.C)

a.          Flowering talent – whole day exam

b.          Promoted man – 3 days exam

c.           Entered scholar/fit for office – 13 days exam, and those who

passed became the ministers of the emperor
Every examination that an individual passed had a corresponding decoration
in his dress, in his household and certain privileges.

EGYPTIAN – practical and empirical education

1.          Hieroglyphics – ancient picture-writing system

2.          Papyrus – ancient paper

3.          Mathematics – value of pi = 3.16

4.          Engineering/Architecture -Pyramids, dams, dikes, palaces

5.          Geometry - land surveying and measuring

6.          Astronomy – positions of stars and other heavenly bodies to

determine tides, seasons, floods.

Calendars composed of 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, months of 30 days

with 365 days a year.

7.          Medicine – explored human anatomy

                 -Mummification of the dead

GREEKS – liberal and democratic education

1.    Olympic Games

2.    Mythology

3.    Democracy
4.    Philosophy

The Greek City States Sparta

-      Authoritarian government

-      Military city-state

-      Communal life

-      Military academy

-      at birth, the child is taken care by the mother, but at the age of seven he is
turned over to the paidonomus or a military drill master who will teach him
the art of warfare.

Athens

-             Liberal education

-             Freedom of thought, expression and religion

-             Education was a family responsibility

-             Every male child is given a paedagogus or a tutor who will train

-             Him to be a good and responsible citizen

 
 

Ancient Athenian Schools

1.    Palaestra – gymnastic school

Paedotribe – teacher of gymnastics

2.    Music school

Kitharist – music teacher

3.    Grammar school

Grammatist – teacher of letters

The Sophist were the wandering scholars who went to Athens, taught
Athenian boys but collected fees from them.

Protagoras was the most famous sophist who said that man is the measure
if all

things.

The Greek Thinkers flourished in order to counteract the influences of the

Sophists who were not Athenians.

Among them were:

Socrates (469-399 B.C)

 
 -             He advanced the idea of Gnothi Seauton or know thyself

-             He believed that knowledge is virtue and all virtuous actions are
based on knowledge

-             He introduced Socratic dialect method of teaching which is

composed of:

1.    Ironic (destructive) element

2.    Maieutic (constructive) element

Plato (427-347 B.C.)

-             He proposed that the society should be divided into classes of

people based on their talents and intelligence.

a.          Philosophical class – guardians or rulers of the society

b.          Warrior Class – protectors of the society

c.           Artisan or industrial class- workers of the society

-             He believed that education should be determined by the social

class where the person belongs
 -             He established a school called Academy

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

-             He was the paedagogus of Alexander the Great

-             He established a school called Lyceum

-             He believed that virtue is brought by doing not by knowing

-             He advanced the idea that man is a social animal and must use his
reason to attain his ultimate end which is the summum bonum or
highest/supreme Good.

-             He postulated that man is composed of two distinct but united

entities:

Body and soul the soul is composed of:

1.    Irrational element – appetites, desire, passions

2.    Rational element – intellect

THE GREEK UNIVERSITIES

University of Athens – world’s first comprehensive university

University of Alexandria – founded by alexander the Great in Egypt.

•     It had the most advanced library facilities.

The Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bibles ws

translated by 70 scholars in this university.

•     It had excellent products like:

1.    Euclid – in the field of Geometry

2.    Archimedes – in the field of Physics

3.    Eratosthenes – in the field of Geography and Astronomy

ROMANS – pragmatic and progressive education

1.    Latin Language

2.    The Laws of the Twelve Tables

3.    The Roman Senate

THE ROMAN SCHOOLS

 

1.    Elementary – school of the literature or Ludi Magister

2.    Secondary – school of the Grammaticus or Literati’s

3.    Higher education – rhetorical schools

Imperial Contributions to Education

 
 

1.          Vespasian (A.D. 69-79) – founded the Roman University and

Roman Library

2.          Trajan (A.D.98-117) – gave scholarships to poor but deserving

students

3.          Hadrian (117-138) – gave pensions for retired teachers and gave

more attention to Law and Medicine than to Philosophy.

4.          Antonius Pius (138-161) – exempted all Roman teachers from

taxation and military service.

5.          Constantine (306-337) – continued all the privileges, mentioned

above and legalized Christianity by virtue of the Edict of Milan an AD
313.

6.          Julian (361-363) – required that all teachers be licensed and be

given qualifying exams. He also eliminated Christian teachers from
Ronal Schools.

7.          Gratian (367-383) - subsidized all Roman schools, and created a

salary scale for teachers.

8.          Theodosius (383-395) – he nationalized all schools and

considered the establishment of private schools a grave punishable
by law.

 
EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCES OF
JESUS CHRIST
 

       Jesus was born ca. 4 B.C and was crucified 33 years after, approximately
AD 30.

In the short stay of Jesus Christ here on earth. He revolutionized man’s

concept of religiosity and theology.

His methods of teaching people were simple and direct and were intended to
touch man’s spirituality. However, his association with the outcasts of the
Jewish society and with the gentiles as well as His frequent attacks against the
established norms religious legalism of the Jews drew the ire of the religious
leaders of His time led to His crucifixion when He was 33 years of age.

But after three days, He rose from the dead to fulfill his promise of
redemption and everlasting life for all mankind.

The Teaching Methods of Jesus Christ

Parable – a short story, a weighty similitude used to convey instruction to

ignorant prejudices and inattentive hearers.

Ex. Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-33)

Conversational Method – an intimate, face to face direct natural personal

and informal method. It is a sort of questions and answer method.
Ex. John 3:1-11 between Jesus and Nicodemus Mat. 22:15-17 about paying
taxes.

Proverbial or Gnomic Method – Jesus, in his teachings frequently used

gnomes or proverbs, some were quoted from the Old Testament and others
were His own.

Ex. “For many are called but a few are chosen” Mat 22:14

EARLY CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

       Upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ, He commissioned His disciples to
“go into the world and preach the Gospel (Mathew 28:19), but they received a
lot of persecutions from the unbelieving world. However, when Emperor
Constantine of the Roman Empire proclaimed Christianity as the official
religion of the Roman world the Christians and their teachings became part of
the mainstream society, and the Emperor himself supported the church and
established schools.

By virtue of this support, the following Christians schools were established:

1.    Catechumenal – school for new converts

2.    Catechetical – school for leadership training

3.    Cathedral/Episcopalian- school for the clergy