Ancient Philosophers and Their Impact on Education

Murphy (2006) discusses the impact the educational philosophers of ancient Greece have had on education today. These philosophers have laid the ground work for some of the most important beliefs and methods in education. Though their ideas were formed thousands of years ago, their beliefs still hold true. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all had a goal of creating a virtuous and morally good person through education. If asked, most teachers would say that one of his personal goals for teaching children is to instill a set of values in his students. Character education comes from the idea that it is the teacher's responsibility to teach what is right and wrong in addition to teaching basic skills of learning.

Socrates used the Socratic Method to draw out the knowledge the student held within. He believed that the teacher and the student both held knowledge and ignorance within themselves. His form of questioning was designed to release the knowledge from within the student so that he could find the answers he needed. This method of inquiry is seen in present-day classrooms as a teacher and student have dialogue about what is being learned. Many classrooms today are moving away from direct instruction and are relying more heavily on inquiry and questioning as a way of achieving learning goals (Murphy, 2006).

Another philosopher that believed in a type of character education was Plato. He was a student of Socrates and shared his teaching style of using dialogue to help students discover knowledge on their own. Plato felt that a good education would prepare students for his or her role in life. He felt that men and women deserved an equal education based on their ability to learn and not based on gender. Education would help people to understand what is good and therefore would create a just society. In today's schools, students are taught citizenship and leadership abilities to help them achieve goals in life. Plato believed that quality of life would depend on the education each person received. Today students are given a well-rounded education to produce individuals that will one day be leaders and good citizens (Murphy, 2006).

Aristotle was a scientist as well as a philosopher. He was a student of Plato. Plato had a heavy impact on Aristotle's thinking. In the beginning Aristotle followed closely what Plato believed, but eventually he began to develop his own thoughts and ideas. However, he agreed with Plato that a major goal of education was to produce individuals that were morally good and virtuous. He believed this was the key to a successful society.

Aristotle contributed many things to the educational world. He made great advancements in the study of biology, ethics, and logic. He viewed education as a way to allow people to act as they were expected to act and in turn to be happy. He felt the teacher held the key to this knowledge and would lead students to the correct way to live. He felt that a student must practice behaving properly until he could make those choices on his own. This is typically the way discipline and behavior is managed in the classroom today. The teacher must remind students constantly to practice what they know to be good behavior, with the idea that eventually the student will make the choice to behave properly on his own (Murphy, 2006)

The philosophers of ancient Greece made many contributions to education. The thoughts of these men still mold education today, though these philosophers lived many years ago. Teachers in training are asked to study the theories of these men as a way to develop teaching philosophies. These are examples of how the work of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle is still very valid and applicable to today's education.

Murphy, M. M., (2006). Education in ancient greece. In D. A. Stollenwerk (Ed.), TheHistory

and Philosophy of Education: Voices of Educational Pioneers (pp. 13-47). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.