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The New Education – Elements That Make The Difference

Table 1:

Characteristics Traditional education New education
Terminology Traditional conceptionEnclosed and stickler languageMechanical approachEncyclopedic visionDogmatic educationSchool centered attention New conceptionActive schoolFunctional educationRenewed schoolOrganic approachOpen and informal visionNew school – Child focused education
Finality of education Transmitting the “ objective” culture to the future generationsChild shapingObjective values: the Good, the Beauty, the Truth Transmitting the culture starting from the real strengths that belong to the childFacilitating the development of the inner strengths of the child, personal and subjective values
Methods Education from the “ outside” to the “ inside” Starting point: the objective system of the culture that consists of “ parts” that need to be taught Effort based educationPassive schoolEncyclopedia education from the “ inside” to the “ outside” the meeting point: the subjective personal part of the childinterest based educationactive schoolfunctional education
Conception about the child the child is flexible, can be maneuvered like the waxthe child has less value compared to the adultaction needs to be taken upon the childintelligence is the most importantthe child is following a predefined program that is beyond him, beyond his possibilities the child has a wide range of needs, interests, a creative energythe childhood has a very special valuethe child actsthere is an integral development of the educated ones, the program is gravitating around the child
Conception about the program content that needs to be taught to the pupils does not take into account their interests (objective culture)the program is idealist (decontextualized content) the interest of the pupils are determining the program (both the structure and the content)The program is a realistic one (the content is related to the environment that the child is belonging to)
Conception about the school artificially created environmentthe distance towards emotionsglorifying the school that existed in the pastsolving those artificial problemsThe school is concerned about the child´s future without thinking about his present natural social environment, where the child´s life is happening (school as a life environment)the children spontaneityhere and nowsolving the real issues of the childThe school is trying to bring to surface the real issues of the child
Teacher´s role the teacher is leadingthe teacher in the most important: he is the one delivering the informationthe teacher is active; he is the one performing in front of the child, he is the role model to be followed the teacher is guiding, is offering advice, is arising the need of knowledge that the child possesses. He is the kind of resource personthe child is the most importantthe child is experimenting, is open to active exercise
Discipline authoritative discipline (extrinsically to the person: rewards/punishments)external discipline based on constraint personal discipline (based on inherent interests) the discipline comes from the inside
Authors The tradition is lost from the very old times MontessoriDecrolyClaparedeFerriere,Cousinet, FreinetDewey
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