The History of Teaching in Greece
The history of teaching in Greece might reasonably be called the history of teaching in the Western World, so profound was its influence. Much of modern education is based on the traditions and disciplines established by the early Greek teachers.
Other People Are Reading
-
The Facts
-
Education was an important part of life for wealthy children in ancient Greece. Though school was a privilege of the upper class, almost all children of leading Greek families began their education around the time of their seventh birthdays.
Middle-class boys might study for three to four years, while children from upper-class families might spend most of their youth being educated.
Though girls and boys were both taught, girls' education typically lasted for a much shorter time and focused more closely on domestic matters. Girls who were destined to become courtesans had more sophisticated educations than girls who were supposed to become wives and mothers.
Types of Education
-
There were several different types of education in Greece.
Private tutors, called sophists, were often hired by wealthy families to teach their older sons.
Educational discussion groups headed by a charismatic leader provided informal education to many upper-class men.
Small schools, usually focused on a particular subject, were also common.
Most young men also attended military training. Because they studied history, geography and other subjects as well as military techniques, their training furthered their educations significantly.
-
Famous Figures
-
The history of Greek teaching boasts several notable figures.
Socrates was a wandering philosopher who introduced a new way of teaching in which the teacher asked questions rather than answering them to teach students how to reason out their own answers. His teachings were so popular that he was charged with inciting the youths of Athens--and was convicted and executed.
Plato was one of Socrates' students. He preserved the teachings of Socrates by writing them down and founded the Academy in 387 B.C., one of the first organized schools in ancient Greece, in which he attempted to create an academic environment that reflected the Socratic method.
Plato's most famous student, Aristotle, was more methodical. His teaching method involved creating categories for various disciplines and using logic to understand their elements.
Influence
-
Though the golden age of the Greek Empire was fairly short, its education influence had great reach. Though Greece was captured and held by the Romans, the Roman captors appreciated the knowledge and educational programs of the country they had conquered. Roman families frequently employed Greek philosophers as teachers for their sons, spreading Greek education methods across the expanding Roman Empire. In this way, Greek education became the foundation of education in Italy, France, Germany, Britain and other European countries.
Significance
-
The Greek system of teaching introduced the importance of student participation in the education process.
Greek education also introduced the notion that education could be broken up into a series of subjects, each of which required a different approach and knowledge to master.
Modern logic and mathematics arose from teaching in ancient Greece.
-
