Chapter 34 FORMAL DISCIPLINE AND RATIONALISM • Formal discipline or disciplinism and the aristocracy of reason or rational were two educational movements that dominated school during the eighteenth century up to the middle of the nineteenth century. Formal discipline arose in defense of classical education which could no longer be justified in terms of practical values. Rationalism was to place a check on the rise of popular or democratic education. FORMAL DISCIPLINE Formal discipline or disciplinism is the theory that the mind has a number of distinct and general powers of faculties,such as observation, memory, and will power, which should be strengthened by exercise. JHON LOCKE (1632-1704) The foremost champion of formal discipline. He believed that the process of acquiring knowledge is more important than the knowledge acquired. He believed that if one is trained to acquire knowledge in one area of learning, he can use the same training in acquiring knowledge in another area. He advanced the idea that the mind of child at birth is a bank tablet, a tabula rasa,,upon which are printed or inscribed all the experiences of the child acquired through his senses. A. AIMS OF FORMAL DISCIPLINE 1.FORMAL OF CHARACTER. In it's broadest sense,this involves the development of the whole man- physical, morally,and mentally. Physical, mental and moral powers are gained through rigorous exercises of the body, and for developing self-control. 2.GOOD HABIT FORMATION. To habituate pupils to think and act in effective and desirable ways,to form specific habits through discipline and to develop mental capacities through exercise in order to increase the powers of the pupils,rather than increase their knowledge. B.TYPES OF EDUCATION 1.PHYSICAL EDUCATION. This was for the vigor of the body. His formula for good health was: “plenty of open air, exercise,and sleep, plain diet ,no wine or strong drinks , and very little or no physical exercise, not too warm and straight clothing, especially the head and feet kept cold , and the feet often used to cold water and exposed to wet.” 2. MORAL EDUCATION. This was for the development of wise conduct , good breeding, and the control of desire by reason. 3.INTELLECTUAL EDUCATION. This was to develop the mental power to acquire knowledge, not to increase knowledge by itself. C.CONTENT TO BE STUDIED The disciplinists had a limited curriculum. They believed that the intellectual powers of memorizing and reasoning developed by offering the proper kind of subject matter could be used in mastering other subjects. In the elementary, drill subjects such as spelling, arithmetic, and grammar, and later history, geography, and elementary science were offered. In higher school, classical languages and mathematics, English, and in addition, drawing, geography, history, antomy , ethics, dancing ,and practical and fine arts as hobbies were studied. D.AGENCIES OF EDUCATION 1.The religious motivated elementary school 2.The humanistic secondary school 3. The humanistic college or University 4. The tutor. This was advocated by Locke but it was not much used.. E.ORGANIZATION OF GRADE LEVELS All the pupils had to pass through the three levels of schooling: elementary, secondary school, and college. F. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION 1.All Methods were based on the laws of habit formation : desirable habits of thinking and acting. 2.Drill and exercise. These were also used for habit formation. 3.Locke's three steps in learning:. a.Sense learning b.Memorization c.reasoning 4. Discipline was very severe. Corporal punishment was used extensively. But Locke used approval as a motivation for good behavior. G.FINANCING When democratic and popular education was advocated by the humanist reformers, pupils were admitted free in the vernacular elementary schools but be paid fees in the higher schools unless the schools were endowed.Tutors were paid by the parents of their pupils. H. OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO EDUCATION Formal discipline as an educational process is the outstanding contribution of this educational movement to Education. Even certain subjects like mathematics, especially geometry, were offered because of their value in formal discipline. Chapter 35 RATIONALISM Rationalism is the philosophical doctrine, which advocated that reason can be source of knowledge and that truth can best be established by a process of deduction from a priori principle independent of experience. The rationalist movement is usually referred to as the Age of Reason and sometimes known as the Age of Enlightenment. The movement believed that man by his reason could improve himself and his institutions . However,the rationalists were concerned only for the upper classes. They had no concern at all for the masses. A.AIMS OF RATIONALISM 1.INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM. To frees the individual intellect from all repression imposed by the shackles of religious, social ,and political authoritarian so that the individual can think by himself freely. 2.LIVING A LIFE GUIDED BY REASON. To enable the individual to control all aspects of his life guided by reason, avoiding the display of uncontrolled passion, vulgar feeling. 3. ARISTOCRACY OF INTELLIGENCE. To create an aristocracy of intelligence and talent to replace the aristocracy of family , position, church, and blood. B.TYPES OF EDUCATION 1.Aristocratic. The rationalist envisioned an education only for the upper class. They did not believe in universal or democratic education for the masses. 2.Intellectual training. Physical , aesthetic, and vocational education were neglected. 3.Social education. Manners, language, and taste were developed to the highest degree. C.CONTENT TO BE STUDIED All things reasonable were included in the curriculum and all unreasonable things were through out. Scientific and philosophical arguments were emphasized. Content included philosophy, science, art, literature, and social refinement, polished manners, formal etiquette, and codes of self- interest. There was no religion. D.AGENCIES OF EDUCATION 1.SECONDARY AND HIGHER SCHOOLS. They utilized the secondary and higher schools organized under the humanist movement. 2 .ENCYCLOPEDIA. This was a compilation of all knowledge about science and philosophy discovered up to that time. 3.FASHIONABLE SALONS. The ladies discussed in their salons what they read in science pamphlets and leaflets distributed. E.ORGANIZATION OF GRADE LEVELS The students went through the elementary, secondary, and college. • F.METHODS OF INSTRUCTION • 1.Sense- based. The rationalists believed that mental processes were the impressions made by objects upon the mind through the senses. • 2.Application of reason. The rationalists always applied the test of reason to every phase of activity or of life and rejected those that did not meet the test, so they neglected the emotional side of life, faith, and institutions. They considered reason as the sole means of enlightenment. G. FINANCING Since the recipients of this kind of education belonged to the upper class, they paid tuition fees. H. OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION The outstanding contributions of rationalism to education are the training of creative thinking and reasoning (logic) and the use of the inductive method in making generalizations. Chapter 35 NATURALISM NATURALISM was an education movement in Europe during the eighteenth century in which the child was to be educated in accordance with the natural laws of human development,free from all that was artificial. The child had to be educated to conform with the dictates of the state,the religious practices of the church, the ethical and moral standards of society, good manners and right conduct, social grace, and assimilation of the accumulated experiences of the race through books. JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU (1712-1778) A Frenchman, the outstanding champion of naturalism. His educational ideas were set forth in Emile (1762), one of the greatest and most influential educational classics. Rousseau set forth in this book how a boy should be educated. A. AIMS OF NATURALISM 1. Presentation of goodness and virtue. To Rousseau,an is by nature good and virtuous. He believed that God created man good and such goodness should be preserved. 2. Presentation of individual freedom. Rousseau also wanted to free the individual from the impositions of the state, the church, and the aristocratic society. To him,to be free was a right. 3. Creation of a new society. Another aim was to create a new society where there should be “simplicity, liberty, equility, and fraternity” for all, a society in which the individual could attain his fullest fulfillment as a natural man. B. TYPES OF EDUCATION 1. General education. Rousseau was opposed to specialization because, according to him, this would make some men dependent upon other men. 2.Democratic and universal education. Rousseau said that education is a natural right of all freemen and sinse all children are free and equal, they should receive the same kind or type of education. The rich and the poor should be educated together in the same way. 3. Moral education. Rousseau wanted to educate the child morally the natural way, that is, the child should not be punished by other people for his 4. Intellectual education. Rousseau did not approve the use of books in intellectual learning. The learner had to learn through the use of his senses. 5. Religious education. Rousseau felt that the learner should be educated about religion only when he reached fifteen years old when he was discern things about religion. The boy should learn divinity through its manifestation in nature, and a more plausible explanation about life. 6. Physical education. This was added by Johann Bernard Basedow who tried to play the theories of Rousseau and found that physical training for health was wanting inthe curriculum of Rousseau. 7. Industrialization. This was also added by Basedow for it's value in motor activity. C. CONTENT TO BE STUDIED 1. The phenomena as perceived by the learner through his senses. 2. Counting and weighing things, measuring distances, drawing, and singing. 3. Agriculture, carpentry, and other manual arts and the use of agricultural and carpentry tools. 4. Arithmetic and geometry not form books but from the childs experience. 5. Astronomy and geography by observing the heavens and observing the topography of the land. 6. The pupil studied human institutions and relations by the visiting prisons, hospitals, and participating in group work and other activities. 7. Also when the pupil approached maturity, he was introduced to religion not through rituals and ceremonies but through the conception of the logical organization and constitution of the whole universe. 8. Women were taught only singing, dancing, embroidery and home chores to please their men. D. AGENCIES OF EDUCATION 1.The home(family). The parents had to handle the education of their children at home. 2. The tutor. Tutorship was the best suited to the education plan of Rousseau. 3. Public authorities. The school probably were supported by the state. E. ORGANIZATION OF GRADE LEVELS 1. Infancy. B-5yrs. His feelings are dominant in determining his action. 2. Childhood. 5-12yrs. he cannot discern what is moral and what is immortal, and his feelings are still dominant. 3. Boyhood. His moral reasoning is emerging with his judgement, but his feelings are decreasing in dominance. 4. Adolescence. 15-20 yrs.the boy realizes that he cannot live alone, he has to associate with others. The sex urge becomes stronger. His ability to abstract, imagine, and reason is developing faster. F. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION 1. Child - centered. The child must be taught according to his nature. The order of nature; * Need *Activity *Experience *Knowledge Three modern principle of teaching: *Principle of growth *Principle of pupil activity *Principle of individualization 2. Discipline. According to Rousseau, discipline should not be imposed upon the child but it is the result of his action that should discipline him. G. FINANCING Since Rousseau advocated a tutorial system, the child must his tutor. H. Outstanding Contributions of be Education The three modern principle s of teaching: Principle of growth, principle of pupil activity, principle of individualization . The order of nature: Need, activity, experience , knowledge. Some comments about the Educational Ideas of Rousseau 1. The Educational Ideas of Rousseau are probably good during the time of childhood. Since he was against the use of books, his pupils could not acquire the highly complex knowledge of today, especially in mathematics and science. Rousseau's country must be a backward one. 2. Naturalism cannot be used in big classes as we have today. Since there would be no disciplinary restraint to be imposed upon the children and they are free to do their will, there would be a lot of noise, quarreling, and unruly behavior in the classroom. No learning can take place. Besides, since no disciplinary sanction could be encouraged to commit bigger and more serious crimes when they grow older. 3.Only the tutorial system is adaptable to naturalism which is a very expensive way of educating children. Only the rich can afford this type of educating children and so the poor will remain untutored.