NATURALISM IN EDUCATION

In the naturalistic system of education there is no place for class-room, textbooks, time-
table, formal lessons, curricula or examination. The ‘chalk and talk’ method has no
scope.

Naturalism has no faith in formal education. To the naturalists, formal education is

artificial and vicious. Good education can be had only by a direct contact with nature.

Emile, or On Education written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who considered it to

be the "best and most important" of all his writings.

It is a semi-fictitious work which detailed the growth of a boy Emile, presided by

Rousseau himself.

Emile is Based on Rousseau‘s ideals of healthy living.

The work tackles fundamental political and philosophical questions about the
relationship between the individual and society—how, in particular, the individual
might retain innate human goodness while remaining part of a corrupting collectivity.

The text is divided into five books: the first three are dedicated to the child
Emile, the fourth to an exploration of the adolescent, and the fifth to outlining the
education of his female counterpart Sophie, as well as to Emile's domestic and civic life.

1. Education for Infancy (1 to 5 years)

“All wickedness comes from weakness. A child is bad as he weak. Make him
strong and he will be good,” said Rousseau.

- For this period Rousseau advocates physical education

- The child should be made strong so that he will always keep a restraint upon
himself and will not be led into evil ways

This is a period of physical education, freedom and activity.

- The first education should be the free and unrestricted expression of the
natural activities of the child in his natural environment.

2. Education for Childhood (5 to 12 years)

The child at this stage lacks proper power of reasoning.

 - It is the most critical period of human life. When the infant grows into a child,
he has different needs. Games and other forms of amusement should be allowed
at this age,

Learn through experience, not through words.

- He cannot understand right and wrong. So, no intellectual training during this
period is to be given but moral training is to be given by example and through.
Necessity must be his teacher. Let him learn by experience and the results of
this own conduct.
- The child Émile is to learn through experience, not through words; he is to
bow not to the commands of man but to necessities.

3. Education for Boyhood (12 to 15 years)

It is also the period of acquisition of knowledge.

- This is the pre-adolescent stage and the period of intellectual education.

-The boy is now on the adult life. In this period curiosity develops and creates in
the boy an urge for knowledge.

-This is the time of learning, not from books of course but from the “book of the
world.”

- He should deal with these problems on this own resources, independent of the
authority or advice of other people. He should learn by his own efforts through
the observation of nature.

4. Education for Manhood (15 to 20 years)

This is a period of moral training, But no formal instruction in moral education is

to be given.

- Placed in the proper environment, human would learn things through direct
experience.

Émile is on the threshold of social maturity and the “age of reason.”

- At this stage the adolescent undergoes a new birth on account of the appearance
of sex desire. The adolescent has to learn at this stage the control of passions. In
this stage man should have moral and religious education.

5. Women’s Education

A woman should be the centre of the family, a housewife, and a mother.

 - The final book describes the education of Sophie, the girl who marries Émile

-Women should be taught sewing, embroidery and lace work. They should also be
taught singing, dancing and accomplishments.

men and women are not and ought not to be constituted alike in character and
temperament.

-Because her intellectual education is not of the essence, “her studies must all be
on the practical side.”

Rousseau argued that we are inherently good, but we become

corrupted by the evils of society. We are born good – and that is our
natural state. Through attending to nature we are more likely to live a
life of virtue. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was interested in
people being natural.
“What do you think is the best colour and why”?

Did everyone come up with the same answer?

● Why not?

● Is that okay?

What do you think when you hear answers that you don’t agree with or that are very different to your
own?

● What’s the best thing to do?

What is a Humanist?

The position of a humanist is that a person has control over his own behavior. The Humanist allows
a person freedom of choice, and is responsible for his own self-direction. Making one’s own choices
will lead to a progression of personal growth and a more positive view of oneself.

Many religions place a deity, a holy book, or a transcendental realm at the centre of their
thinking.

Humanists place human beings at the centre

They value all human beings, their differences, and that which we have in common

They value human life

They recognise our common humanity and our shared human values

They place human beings and human wellbeing at the centre when making decisions
about how they should live

They are optimistic about human nature and celebrate our many achievements

They believe human beings have the power and potential to do great things

HISTORY

Ancient world
The roots of humanism in China, India, Greece and Rome. Key figures from this period
include Aesop, Democritus, Epictetus, Epicurus, and Protagoras.

Renaissance
How the Dark Ages ended, and science and the arts began to flourish. Key figures
include Aphra Behn and Shakespeare.
The Enlightenment
The rise of reason and scientific thinking. Key figures include Immanuel Kant, David
Hume, Thomas Paine, Voltaire, Mary Wollstonecraft, Baron D’Holbach, and Denis
Diderot.

19th Century Freethinkers

A time of political and religious turmoil and the development of modern social science.
Key figures include Jeremy Bentham, Charles Bradlaugh, the Curies, Charles
Darwin, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy,George Holyoake, T H Huxley, Robert G
Ingersoll, John Stuart Mill, and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

20th century Humanism

Modern humanist thinkers and writers had an enormous impact on the last century. Key
figures include A J Ayer, Harold Blackham, Fenner Brockway, Joseph Conrad, E M
Forster, Sigmund Freud, Thomas Hardy, Julian Huxley, Margaret Knight, G E
Moore, Nehru, M N Roy, Gene Roddenberry, Bertrand Russell, John Maynard Smith,
and ‘Gora’.

The Main Beliefs of Humanism

Humanism is ethical. It affirms the worth and dignity of the individual and the right of every human
being to the greatest possible freedom taking into account the rights of others.

Humanists have a duty of care to all of humanity including future generations. Humanists believe that
morality is a big part of human nature based on understanding and a concern for others, needing no
external sanctions.

Humanism is rational. It believes in things that can be seen and proven. It seeks to use science
creatively, not destructively. Humanists believe that the solutions to the world's problems lie in human
thought and action rather than divine intervention.

Humanism believes that science and free inquiry should be applied to the problems of human welfare.

Humanism supports democracy and Human Rights. Humanism aims at the fullest possible
development of every human being. It holds that democracy and human development are matters of
right. The principles of democracy and human rights can be applied to many human relationships.

Humanism insists that personal liberty must be combined with social responsibility.
Humanism wants to build a world on the idea of the free person responsible to society, and recognises
our dependence on and responsibility for the natural world. Humanism has no set of firm beliefs, and
does not impose a creed upon its followers. It is thus committed to education free from indoctrination.

Humanism is a response to a demand for an alternative to the major organised religions. The world's
major religions are based on revelations that are fixed for all time. Humanism believes we get reliable
knowledge of the world and ourselves through observation, evaluation and revision.

Student-centered learning takes place when the teacher becomes a facilitator, taking
the focus from herself as the bearer of knowledge. The student takes on an important
role in this type of classroom. Lessons originate and develop from the interests of the
student. The child is able to showcase his creativity in this type of open classroom,
which increases self-esteem and a willingness to learn

A humanistic classroom is inclusive of everyone. This type of class seeks to support

both individuality and diversity by finding the similarities among children. Lessons are
developed not for the group, but for the individual. Diversified lessons give e ach child
a chance to succeed and receive positive reinforcement. Each child knows how it
feels to succeed, and stratification of students is eliminated. Each child learns at an
individual pace without labels and stereotypes that can stigmatize.

Open seminars provide a chance for the student's voice to be heard. Situating desks
in a circle, with the teacher joining the circle, gives everyone an equal voice. There
should be rules for the open seminar, such as respect of opinions and giving each
person a chance to speak without interruption. The seminar may focus on a question
from a student, a piece of literature, a current event or anything the class is studying.

Cooperative learning lets children work together to find solutions to problems. Each
child may have a specific role within the group to make use of his talents. The
teacher supervises each group of about three or four students to answer questions
and provide support. This type of learning allows the student to learn how to foster
peer relationships, an important skill to carry throughout life.