The New Education – Elements That Make The Difference

Abstract

The whole movement of educational ideas is coming from the beginning of the century until now ( the new schools, the movement for aesthetical education, the interest for knowledge and optimal evolution of the child as represented by E. Key, the experimental and social education) and it has generated a new conception on education, fundamentally different from the one of the previous century. Its representatives, John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Edouard Claparede, Ovide Decroly, have promoted, compared to the traditional school, a child-based education, not an education focused on the educator, but one that is centered on the needs of the child that is on the path of development, not on the educational content, and this is generating an authentic Copernican revolution in education. Essentially, the difference between the classic education and the new one consists of a range of elements: the terminology, the finality of the education, the methods, child related concepts, the role of the teacher, the discipline, but also the new authors.

Keywords: Inclusive educationTeach for RomaniaTeach for alltrainee-teacherseducational serviceseducational leadership

Introduction

The element that has definitely marked the entrance in a new educational point of view is the written paper called The century of the child written by Ellen Hey and that has appeared providentially in 1990 and that has a standing ground the words that are so applicable even today, after 100 years: “To all the parents that have the hope they can shape a new man in the upcoming century. The fame that this paper has had in its time is not only due to the actuality of the ideas, but more than that, to the assiduity that the author proves by her attempt to promote, as well as the harsh critic that she is directing towards the schools and traditional teacher, a new educational system.

Problem Statement

Among the most important shortcomings that the authors is underlining, we can keep in mind the following: the tendency to repress the nature of the child, shaping people that are triggering at looking more alike one to another rather than differentiating one from another, that are more willing to keep and maintain rather than focusing on change and innovation; the very authoritative character of the education that was based on an excessive socialization, by means of exaggerated conducting. Talking about this educational shortcoming, Key is claiming that the activity of the teacher should be one of organizing the environment in such a way as to allow the free manifestation of the child, of protecting him by the damaging contacts. By doing that, the intervention of the teacher would not be a source of deforming its nature.

Its majesty the child does not have to be seen on other way but that of a free human being, who wants to act corresponding to his nature, outsider any constraint. Because of that kind of ideas, Key (1978) is considered one of the free education representatives, together with Lev Tolstoy. Pleading for respecting the child´s individuality, the Swedish teacher appreciates to the fullest the family role that should shape the child up to 15 years old, when he should start frequenting the school: “My first dream is that the kindergarten and also the primary school to be replaced by the family education” (p.89)

The future school is occupying a very important place in the analysis conducted by Key (1978). It will be, as per the author, a school for all and will continue the education of everybody, but this will occur following a special plan designed for each individual. The effort of the teacher will be one related to organizing, his main preoccupation being to ensure the best conditions for an active education, in which the personal observation of the pupils is mandatory and it does not substitute to the conferences and observations of the teacher. The author insists on the necessity that the pupil is helped to build up his own way of intellectual working, in an heuristic manner, “his most meaningful work will be to teach the pupil to make his own observations, to make his own homework, to get to find his own ways to use the books, dictionary, maps, to overcome the difficulties encountered and to obtain the moral reward of his own efforts: a bigger understanding, a force that is won!” (p.96).

The books will have a more dynamic and practical content and it is the school´s mission to put at pupil disposal the original volumes, so that the written works are known in a complete and direct manner. The author is pleading for that kind of library that we can call “getting back to the real library”. The library will be a bigger room, the most beautiful, the most important, and renting books will be the essential part of the didactic activity.

In the future school, the sense of beauty and practical activities are very important. The esthetical education will be done in a diffuse way, indirectly by architecture and decoration inside school, by works of art that will make the inside beautiful and that will create the possibility to admire the works with no constraints, by people taking their time and be free to admire whenever they want. About the schooling context, it fortunately needs to have also a garden, a dancing area and for games that truly frees the soul, for movements and sports. There will be no classroom but rooms that have complete material for tackling certain and different area with areas that are especially designed for each and one´s personal work. Visiting the museums will also be park of the educational process.

Disciplines that will be studied with need to be in accordance to the pupils’ ages. The school will do nothing more but presenting, not imposing to anybody. Going through those disciplines will be done also according to the seasons (for instance, mathematics will be taught on winter because it is suitable for the cold and pure air of this season).

Research Questions

From the E. Key perspective, the main research question is how to find that meeting point between the education and the child´s psychology and also which exactly is the position of the child, in the middle of the educational process.

Purpose of the Study

The finalities that the author is referring are of a different nature. What is essential is that the pupils are shaping the custom to make their own mind by using their free will. This way, conditions are created so that the young people and their families get rid of the profound fear of “being got through” because the truth underlined by Key (1978) related to the people appreciation is not the words, but the actions and the way they truly are (it can be easily noticed the inner state of the criteria, the impossibility to clearly emphasize this parameter in a different way rather by behavior). Finally, the purpose of education is to ensure the necessary grounds for permanent education, a valuable idea that was viable then and now. “The school cannot be other than a preparation for the young people to continue by themselves, throughout their whole life, the work of self-improvement” (p.102)

Having an insight regarding the educational activities and permanent education, E. Key is getting very serious when it comes to the non-directive education, which greatly diminished the role of the teacher at an age when the pupils cannot take their own control of their development.

Research Methods

This research explore the elements that make the difference in the context of new education with almost a century before. This study aims to become a being an exploratory fundamental research that reveals how visionary the new education was. The next researchers in educational area as John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Edouard Claparede and Ovide Decroly had developed their work on these principles.

Findings

From the beginning od this century until now, the entire movement of education ideas, “the new school”, movement of aesthetic education, the interest for knowledge and the optimal evolution of the child expressed by Key (1978), the experimental and social education) has generated a new conception on education, fundamentally different from the previous one. Its representatives, Dewey, Montessori, Claparede and Decroly, have promoted an education focused on the child, not on the teacher, which is centered on the needs of the young person in the process of shaping and not on the educational content, generaitng by this means, an authentic “copernican revilution” in the area od education.

Basically, the difference between the classic education and the new one consists of the following elements, as underlined by the promoters of the new education trend (Delors, 2000, p.216)

Conclusion

The comparative analysis is putting into emphasize a range of common issues that were of great interest to the new educational representatives, each one of them focusing primarily on certain types of issues, as followed (table 01 ):

• J. Dewey, issues as the practical activity, source of knowledge;

• Maria Montessori, issues as the child´s manifestation freedom, a fundamental condition of education;

• Ed. Claparede, issues as child needs satisfaction, a topic of functional education;

• O. Decroly, issues as the child´s interest, a main criterion when it comes to organizing the content and making the instruction.

References

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