Page 271 - Encyclopedia Of World History

education 621

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting
of a fire. • William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

in democratic processes and as workers in the economy. the philosopher’s classic texts.Through efforts to educate
In early civilizations education was the responsibility of and strengthen political structures, Confucianism estab-
family members or tribal elders and eventually priests. lished its lasting influence.Though the implementation of
Survival skills, customs, and beliefs about the unknown Confucius’s ideas was not consistent even during his life-
were passed to each succeeding generation. time, versions of Confucianism dominated or influenced
The history of schooling focused on themes of gov- Chinese educational thought and practice and are still
ernments, bureaucracies, churches, and elites. It is crucial influential today.
to examine to whom schooling is available—the rich and
poor, male and female, urban and rural, racial and ethnic India
groups,and people of different levels of ability.The history While writing was a dominant part of the culture in
of education is therefore a study of social organization China, India depended more on oral forms of commu-
and change, as well as economics, politics, and religion. nication including prayers, hymns, and songs, which
between the fifteenth and tenth centuries BCE were
The Ancient World embodied in what later became known as the Vedic lit-
In preliterate societies education consisted of the trans- erature.The Vedas, the product of spiritual leaders of the
mission of essential skills and the orally preserved tradi- Indo-Aryans who had migrated from Central Asia, were
tions of the tribe or community. The continuance and sacred texts that represented complex religious and social
cohesion of the society depended on the ability of adults traditions. In the middle of the first millennium BCE,
to pass on to the next generation the folklore, the social priests and teachers became custodians of literature and
practices, and an understanding of the world of the tradition and public rituals. As a separate component
unknown. Children learned adult roles and the means of within the growing caste system, Brahman priests con-
personal and collective survival by imitation; it was only trolled higher learning through their monopoly of the
with the advent of the early civilizations, and their more Sanskrit language of the Vedas for the next two millennia.
complex and regulated social organizations, that teaching Education and instruction in religion were completely
became a specialized activity. The beginnings of educa- inseparable in the Brahman tradition. In the sixth century
tional systems lay in settled societies, regulation and law, CE a rival Indian religion, Buddhism, with a focus on self-
government administration, and religion. discipline and meditation, arose. It attracted popular
support for its opposition to the caste system and its
China acceptance of secular teaching.
Although civilization began with the settlement of people
in Mesopotamia, it was in China, despite invasions and The Middle East
divisions, that emphasis on nation and culture began. In the fourth millennium BCE, scattered settlements along
School and its famous examination system, a selection the fertile rivers began to assume the shape of cities.Tem-
device for scholar-officials, existed in China by the end of ples and king-priests emerged with the growth of organ-
the second millennium BCE. Schools and examinations ized religion, and with the invention of writing, which
were grounded in traditions, strong social codes, and a often used representational pictograms, came scribes and
respect for writing, which also played a part in the con- schools for training scribes. Throughout the complex
tinual attempts by China’s ruling dynasties to solidify history of Sumeria, Babylon, Akkadia, and Assyria runs
political power. Also important was the philosophy of the thread of the development of writing and forms of
Confucianism—a theory of ethics and practical politics schooling or training associated with writing and with
first formulated and advanced in the sixth century BCE the rituals connected with the worship of gods. Scribal
that promoted education, ceremony, and ritual based on schools spread to the Mediterranean as civilization spread