(1) Professor Makoto Shichida (1929 - 2009)
Professor Makoto Shichida was born in 1929. He was a highly respected figure in Japan and has received numerous awards for his contributions in early childhood education. In 1978, Professor Makoto Shichida established the Shichida Educational Institute,Ltd in Gotsu City, Japan.
Professor Makoto Shichida actively wrote books in Japanese and English before he passed away on April 22, 2009. Recently, a movie was made to commemorate his dedication and research in right brain education.
(2) Maria Montessori (August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952)
was an Italian physician and educator, a noted humanitarian and devout Catholic best known for the philosophy of education which bears her name. Her educational method is in use today in public as well as private schools throughout the world.
"Scientific observation has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment. The task of the teacher becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and then refraining from obtrusive interference. Human teachers can only help the great work that is being done, as servants help the master. Doing so, they will be witnesses to the unfolding of the human soul and to the rising of a New Man who will not be a victim of events, but will have the clarity of vision to direct and shape the future of human society".
Dr. Montessori’s innovative approach was that “Education should no longer be mostly imparting of knowledge, but must take a new path, seeking the release of human potentialities.”
What followed worldwide has been called the "discovery of the child" and the realization that: "...mankind can hope for a solution to its problems, among which the most urgent are those of peace and unity, only by turning its attention and energies to the discovery of the child and to the development of the great potentialities of the human personality in the course of its formation.”
(3) John Dewey (October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952)
was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology. He was a major representative of the progressive and progressive populist[2] philosophies of schooling during the first half of the 20th century in the USA.[3]
Although Dewey is known best for his publications concerning education, he also wrote about many other topics, including experience, nature, art, logic, inquiry, democracy, and ethics.
In his advocacy of democracy, Dewey considered two fundamental elements—schools and civil society—as being major topics needing attention and reconstruction to encourage experimental intelligence and plurality. Dewey asserted that complete democracy was to be obtained not just by extending voting rights but also by ensuring that there exists a fully formed public opinion, accomplished by effective communication among citizens, experts, and politicians, with the latter being accountable for the policies they adopt.
Of the idea of God, Dewey said, "it denotes the unity of all ideal ends arousing us to desire and actions."
Dewey's philosophy has had other names than "pragmatism". He has been called an instrumentalist, an experimentalist, an empiricist, a functionalist, and a naturalist. The term "transactional" may better describe his views, a term emphasized by Dewey in his later years to describe his theories of knowledge and experience.
Epistemology, Knowing and the Known, Logical Positivism, and Democracy and Education.
(4) 中国现代教育之父 蔡元培 (1868-1940)
在中国现代史上，蔡元培不仅是追随孙中山先生的著名革命家，而且由于他毕生致力于中国教育改革，在理论和实践上极力倡导和推进现代教育，其理论建树和对教育制度的重大改革，深刻影响了我国20世纪上半叶的教育发展进程，成为当之无愧的我国现代教育之父。
蔡元培生活在鸦片战争后灾难深重的年代，目睹西方列强以武力瓜分中国的残酷现实，促使他较早地认识到，中国必须实行社会革命，推翻封建专制统治，建立以民为本的国家政权；必须变革传统的儒学教育，大力兴办以培养现代国民素质和发展现代科学技术为目标的新式教育。辛亥革命后，蔡元培出任南京临时政府教育总长，由此开始了对中国现代教育改造的漫长探索。
(5) Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel (or Froebel)(April 21, 1782 – June 21, 1852)
was a German pedagogue, a student of Pestalozzi who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique needs and capabilities. He developed the concept of the “kindergarten”, and also coined the word now used in German and English.
Friedrich Fröbel's great insight was to recognise the importance of the activity of the child in learning. He introduced the concept of “free work” (Freiarbeit) into pedagogy and established the “game” as the typical form that life took in childhood, and also the game’s educational worth. Activities in the first kindergarten included singing, dancing, gardening and self-directed play with the Froebel Gifts. Fröbel intended, with his Mutter- und Koselieder – a songbook that he published – to introduce the young child into the adult world.
(6) Raja Ram Mohan Roy (22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833)
was an Indian religious, social, and educational reformer who challenged traditional Hindu culture and indicated the lines of progress for Indian society under British rule. He is sometimes called the father of modern India. He founded, along with Dwarkanath Tagore and other Bengalis, of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, which engendered the Brahmo Samaj, an influential Indian socio-religious reform movement during the Bengal Renaissance. His influence was apparent in the fields of politics, public administration, and education, as well as religion. He is known for his efforts to abolish the practice of sati, the Hindu funeral practice in which the widow was compelled to sacrifice herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
Roy believed education to be an implement for social reform. In 1817, in collaboration with David Hare, he set up the Hindu College at Calcutta. In 1822, Roy founded the Anglo-Hindu school, followed four years later by the Vedanta College, where he insisted that his teachings of monotheistic doctrines be incorporated with "modern, western curriculum"; Vedanta College offered courses as a synthesis of Western and Indian learning.[19] In 1830, he helped Alexander Duff in establishing the General Assembly's Institution, by providing him the venue vacated by Brahma Sabha and getting the first batch of students. Roy supported induction of western learning into Indian education.He advocated the study of English, Science, Western Medicine and Technology. He spent his money on a college to promote these studies.
(7) Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (12 January 1746 – 17 February 1827)
was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach.
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss social reformer and educator, is known as the Father of Modern Education. The modern era of education started with him and his spirit and ideas led to the great educational reforms in Europe in the nineteenth century.
Pestalozzi believed in the ability of every individual human being to learn and in the right of every individual to education. He believed that it was the duty of society to put this right into practice. His beliefs led to education becoming democratic; in Europe, education became available for everyone.
Pestalozzi was particularly concerned about the condition of the poor. Some of them did not go to school. If they did, the school education was often useless for their needs. He wanted to provide them with an education which would make them independent and able to improve their own lives.
Pestalozzi believed that education should develop the powers of ‘Head’, ‘Heart’ and ‘Hands’. He believed that this would help create individuals who are capable of knowing what is right and what is wrong and of acting according to this knowledge. Thus the well being of every individual could be improved and each individual could become a responsible citizen. He believed that empowering and ennobling every individual in this way was the only way to improve society and bring peace and security to the world. His aim was for a complete theory of education that would lead to a practical way of bringing happiness to humankind.
Pestalozzi saw teaching as a subject worth studying in its own right and he is therefore known as the father of pedagogy (the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept). He caused education to become a separate branch of knowledge, alongside politics and other recognised areas of knowledge.
Pestalozzi’s approach has had massive influence on education, for example, his influence, as well as his relevance to education today, is clear in the importance now put on:
-The interests and needs of the child
-A child-centred rather than teacher-centred approach to teaching
-Active rather than passive participation in the learning experience
-The freedom of the child based on his or her natural development balanced with the self-discipline to function well as an individual and in society
-The child having direct experience of the world and the use of natural objects in teaching
-The use of the senses in training pupils in observation and judgment
-Cooperation between the school and the home and between parents and teachers
-The importance of an all-round education – an education of the head, the heart and the hands, but which is led by the heart
-The use of systemised subjects of instruction, which are also carefully graduated and illustrated
-Learning which is cross-curricular and includes a varied school life
-Education which puts emphasis on how things are taught as well as what is taught
-Authority based on love, not fear
-Teacher training
Pestalozzi’s influence over the spirit, the methods and the theory of education has continued into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and most of his principles have been assimilated into the modern system of education.
(8) Saint Thomas Aquinas, O.P., also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino; (Aquino, 1225 – Fossanova, 7 March 1274) was an Italian priest of the Catholic Church in the Dominican Order, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus (the Angelic Doctor) and Doctor Communis or Doctor Universalis (the Common or Universal Doctor).[1] "Aquinas" is not a surname (hereditary surnames were not then in common use in Europe), but is a Latin adjective meaning "of Aquino", his place of birth. He was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology, and the father of the Thomistic school of philosophy and theology, which is named after him. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy was conceived as a reaction against, or as an agreement with his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law and political theory.
Thomas is held in the Catholic Church to be the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood.[2] The works for which he is best-known are the Summa Theologica and the Summa Contra Gentiles. One of the 33 Doctors of the Church, he is considered the Church's greatest theologian and philosopher. Pope Benedict XV declared: "The Church has declared Thomas' doctrines to be her own."[3]
(9) Peter Abelard(1079 – April 21, 1142)
was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, theologian and preeminent logician. The story of his affair with and love for Héloïse has become legendary. The Chambers Biographical Dictionary describes him as "the keenest thinker and boldest theologian of the 12th Century".
http://www.iep.utm.edu/abelard/
Abelard's travels finally brought him to Paris while still in his teens. There, in the great cathedral school of Notre-Dame de Paris,[1] he was taught for a while by William of Champeaux, the disciple of Anselm of Laon (not to be confused with Saint Anselm) a leading proponent of Realism. It was during this time that he changed his surname to "Abélard", sometimes written "Abailard" or "Abaelardus". He was soon able to defeat the master in argument, resulting in a long duel that ended in the downfall of the philosophic theory of Realism, till then dominant in the early Middle Ages (to be replaced by Abelard's Conceptualism, or by Nominalism, the principal rival of Realism prior to Abelard). First, against opposition from the metropolitan teacher, while yet only twenty-two, Abelard set up a school of his own at Melun, then, for more direct competition, he moved to Corbeil, nearer Paris.
The success of his teaching was notable, though for a time he had to give it up, the strain proving too great for his constitution. On his return, after 1108, he found William lecturing at Saint-Victor, just outside the Ile-de-la-cite, and there they once again became rivals. Abelard was once more victorious, and now stood supreme. William was only temporarily able to prevent him from lecturing in Paris. From Melun, where he had resumed teaching, Abelard went on to the capital, and set up his school on the heights of Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, overlooking Notre-Dame. From his success in dialectic, he next turned to theology and attended the lectures of Anselm at Laon. His triumph was complete; the pupil was able to give lectures, without previous training or special study, which were acknowledged superior to those of the master. Abelard was now at the height of his fame. He stepped into the chair at Notre-Dame, being also nominated canon, about the year 1115.[2]
Distinguished in figure and manners, Abelard was seen surrounded by crowds — it is said thousands of students — drawn from all countries by the fame of his teaching. Enriched by the offerings of his pupils, and entertained with universal admiration, he came, as he says, to think himself the only undefeated philosopher in the world. But a change in his fortunes was at hand. In his devotion to science, he had always lived a very regular life, enlivened only by philosophical debate: now, at the height of his fame, he encountered romance.
(10) Confucius(traditionally 28 September 551 BC – 479 BC)[2]
was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period.
His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism (法家) or Taoism (道家) during the Han Dynasty[3][4][5] (206 BC – 220 AD). Confucius' thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as Confucianism (儒家). It was introduced to Europe by the Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci, who was the first to Latinise the name as "Confucius".
His teachings may be found in the Analects of Confucius (論語), a collection of "brief aphoristic fragments", which was compiled many years after his death. For nearly 2,000 years he was thought to be the editor or author of all the Five Classics (五經)[6][7] such as the Classic of Rites (禮記) (editor), and the Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋) (author).
Confucius is often considered a great proponent of conservatism, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows that he used (and perhaps twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political agenda of his own: a revival of a unified royal state, whose rulers would succeed to power on the basis of their moral merits instead of lineage;[16][17] these would be rulers devoted to their people, striving for personal and social perfection.[18] Such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and rules.[19]
One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules, Confucius's ethics may be considered a type of virtue ethics. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned argument, and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed more indirectly, through allusions, innuendo, and even tautology.
(11) Ancient Egypt Education System
Children in Ancient Egypt stayed with their mothers until the age of four. During these years, a strong respect for their mothers was instilled in the children. At the age of four, education of the boys was taken over by their fathers.
The trades in Ancient Egypt had levels of earnings and power associated with them. Sons typically followed in the same trade that their father practiced. Some children at this time attended a general village school while others attended a school designed for a specific career such as a priest or a scribe.
Schools taught writing, reading, math, and sports as well as morals and manors. At the age of fourteen, sons of farmers or craftsmen joined their dads in their professions. Those children whose parents had higher status careers continued their education at special schools usually attached to temples or governmental centers.
This higher level of education included learning what was called “Instruction of Wisdom.” The “Instruction of Wisdom” included lessons on ethics and morality. This higher level of education also focused on skills needed for higher status positions such as doctor or scribe. The educational track that a student followed was typically determined by the position that the father held in society, yet, students who showed ability were able to receive training for higher status jobs.
Very few careers were open to most women. While most women trained for motherhood and on how to be a good wife, some girls could train to be dancers, entertainers, weavers, or bakers. Only the daughters of wealthy nobles received an education in reading or writing. The majority of Egyptian women were trained at home by their own mothers.
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