COMPARATIVE
STUDY OF WEST ATHENS SPARTA ROMANS AND ANCIENT CHINA EDUCATION SYSTEM
Western education system
By West we mean the European nations. In the era before
Christ, first the Greeks and later the Romans adopted a civilized life. Before
these two, they had passed through various periods in the Middle East and
Egypt, under whose influence education had taken special forms. In the Greek
and Roman civilizations, education was practiced according to the philosophy of
life of each. The people of Europe considered four elements as the basic
elements in their civilization, the Jewish, Christian, Greek and Roman derivatives
were the basis of their education.
Athen’s system of education
In the fifth century BC, the characteristics of Athenian
education were as follows.
Education was a private matter. In principle, it was
possible for all citizens to acquire it, but in practice only free citizens
were eligible for it, as a large class of slaves was deprived of it.
They could neither afford it nor could they spare time from
work. The purpose of education for free citizens was to prepare them for civic
responsibilities. The focus of education was on qualities such as aesthetic
training, military skills, physical prowess, and art and music skills popular
with the ruling class and to develop these skills in the youth. The elites of
this system of education assumed the duties of political, civil and military
leadership. Even music was considered essential for leadership.
Plato believed that music should be limited by law to its
military purpose. Education was the medium through which the relationships of
the ruling class were strengthened and their class power was maintained and
political power was blessed with independence. The more meritorious students
are given military and political fields and fine arts. There were opportunities
to gain fame in the field of aesthetics.
Athens was probably the first state where an educated class
of free citizens emerged, freed from menial employment, and with free time for
the pursuits of culture and civilization, the nobles and young men of the upper
class. The limitation is that Plato, Aristotle and
other influential Athenians also opposed democratic education. His educational
theory was that only the sons of nobles were entitled to a liberal education
and that the education of slaves should be limited to training in handicrafts
and manual labour. Plato did not include women in his teaching. Plato has
presented his educational philosophy in detail in his book Republic. He was a
supporter of the education of the ruling class only, which he divided into four
stages.
(a)
Exercise, music and literature education up to the age of eighteen
(b)
Military and physical exercise from the age of eighteen to twenty.
(c)
From 20 to 30 years, mathematics, geometry, science and knowledge for
intelligent and diligent students only.
(d) After 30 years, 5 years of philosophy
education only for those students who are successful in 4th level. After that,
they should be included among the heads of state.
Plato gave special importance to mathematics because it is
pure knowledge and prepares students for understanding a conceptual system of
universe/objects. The final component of his teaching is philosophy. Which is
necessary for a perfect philosopher ruler to know because it helps to
understand the realities of all things.
Aristotle
mentioned three levels of education.
Physical
education.
Character
education.
Education
of the intellect .
For the first type
of education Aristotle recommends physical exercises . Education of habits or
character for the second and third. The quality of character depends on
happiness . It is only in the desire for happiness that we are inclined towards
evil and we are deterred by the thought of sorrow. In fact, we need to be
trained from childhood so that we care about happiness and good things. It is
the right education. Aristotle also emphasizes the training of the good
citizen. Real training is what the soul wants.
The
question is what the soul wants ? since the soul itself is divided into
rational and irrational parts.
Therefore,
education should be of two types.
Its first
objective should be the welfare of the state which can be achieved by producing
good citizens. What differentiates humans from animals comes from social
relationships. Therefore, education should make him a good citizen and
moderate.
Aristotle sees the whole of life
as divided into two parts.
Work and Obligation.
War
and Peace.
The purpose of
education is to teach the difference between them, that is, to adopt work for
leisure and war for peace. Success in this can make life happy with spiritual
demands, i.e. the soul with the radiance of the true Creator.
Sparta's Education System
The Greek city-state of Sparta was a rival of Athens. His
education was different from Athenians. The Spartans were a numerical minority
within the geographical boundaries of their state. But due to the military
training and having strength , they could protect their geographical borders
and culture.
The purpose of education was to inculcate the qualities of
military importance, bravery, obedience and physical prowess. The training was
very laborious and rigorous. The boys were divided into small groups and one of
them was appointed as the leader of the group.
This method was later adopted in public schools and scouting
in England. The young men of Sparta were trained in physical endurance. It was
not necessary for them to read and write, but if they learned to read, they
read military stories and literature or such things were read to them. He used
to learn military music, songs and dances of Nar Jang. It was a military
education for both boys and girls, but girls received the same training at
home. Girls were also taught the manners of married life. The main reason for
making education compulsory for girls was that the Spartans were a minority in
the population and needed to recruit their vulnerable gender for military
service.
Rather than bear the burden of raising weak children, the
Spartans would leave them to the mercy of nature and often not survive them.
The practice of women's education in Western countries such as England also
took place in the second half of the 19th century when the doors of university
education were opened to women, although not on the basis of equal level or
rights with men.
In Sparta, a practice in boys' education was theft.
Especially the theft of food and drink items, young people under training would
steal things from farms, homes and dining rooms. According to them, stealing
was not a crime, but being caught while stealing was a crime. For which he was severely
punished.
Rome's
educational system
The first Roman emperors Aghtus established the the first library in Rome. The emperor, Vespasianus, established
a shrine at the Temple of Peace. From this, In the second century A.D. a decree obliged
the Milesians to appoint a fixed number of great orators and assistants to
teach Manichaeism, the number of each kind of teacher being proportional to the
population and political importance. The result of rulers interest in education
was that schools were opened in
different parts of the state. These goods did not last until the 3rd century
AD, after which Roman culture and education would decline due to rebellions and
conspiracies.
Before the 3rd century BC, education in Roman state was given at the revolution house. Education
was mostly practical. Writing and reading was also taught. After the defeat of the Athenians many Greeks were brought as slaves, some of
them were educated. They were assigned the task of teaching the children.
In the first century, regular schools were established in
which Latin literature and rules were taught. The Roma world was mostly
practical. So they established three types of schools.
(1) Literator School , The standard of education in the
school of primary education was very low. The teacher received a very low
salary.
(2) Grammar School. At the age of twelve or thirteen, boys
from good families were sent to them for education. The rules of the Latin
language were taught to them.
There were schools of
elocution, which were entered at the age of about 16. Along with the art of
rhetoric, students also familiarize themselves with different subjects.
The spirit of Roman education was different from the spirit
of Greek education. The importance of physical and moral training was the same
in both. Roman education was broad-minded while worldly benefit was prominent.
A taste for burning personal power did not protect the Greeks from decadence
and decline. Even though the Chinese did not attract the attention of the
Romans, they occupied a large area of land for a long time. Grammar schools
and Art of Speech schools were established in occupied cities.
The Education System of Ancient China.
Chinese culture had a special place in ancient
civilizations. Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, China was in chaos and
disorder. Chinese society was divided into two classes, the nobles and the
common peasants.
The number of nobles was limited and the population of
farmers was more. The elder son of the noble family was educated and trained in
the royal court while the younger boy was admitted to the district boarding
school.
In these schools famous scholars of the time taught .
Confucius (479 BC to 551 BC) belonged to one such school. Confucius was a
social reformer who himself had failed to attain high official positions. At
that time, the prostitutes in China were Confucianism and his disciples travelled
from place to place and advised the local rulers not to overtax and oppress the
people. The moral aspect of his teachings was very prominent. According to him,
the goal of the individual is to become a perfect human being possessing all
qualities. The collective goal is to have harmony in the family. Good
governance in the state and peace in the world. Confucian tried informal
dialogue or conversation method. He did not refuse to teach poor students.
The sons of poor
parents also got education from it and reached high government positions. The
school of Confucius fell under the dictatorship in 22 BC. China was ruled by the
Han dynasty. This reign lasted from 202 BC to 220 BC. During this time
Confucianism became the official religion and twelve years later the first
national university was established in China.
Academic fields were
established on the basis of classical books. Passing the exam in this syllabus
was made a condition for government employment. Education and government
service have been linked for centuries in China. Special attention was paid to
class customs and manners in the education imparted in the district boarding
school. Apart from this, classical literature and music were taught.
Proficiency in law was so encouraged in that schools.
Nagar attained the
highest position during this period. He came to be known as Legalist. When a
great empire was established throughout
China in 221 BC, the educational system became the goal of the empire .
In the following centuries, an intelligentsia emerged in
China and the Confucian school of thought was revived, ending the era of
legalism. A successor of Confucius was appointed moderator of teachings. The
criterion for joining the intelligentsia was academic superiority rather than
birth or wealth, which was measured by rigorous examinations.
King Wati established the system of public schools and examinations
in 24 BC. This system continued till 1905. In the history of education, this is
the only example of schools and
examination system that has lasted for so many centuries. The national
education system in China has existed for more than two thousand years.
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