The noble savage goes to school

Anyone who thinks philosophy is nothing more than theoretical delusions with no direct impact on the world has never met Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The Genevan's thought is a good example of how ideas can transform the world, and his "Emile, or On Education ," published in 1762, profoundly influenced pedagogy in the last century.

This treatise on education opens with the typical Rousseauian argument: "Everything is right when it leaves the hands of the Author of things; everything degenerates in the hands of man" (Book I). Man is born endowed with natural goodness, his nature corrupted by living with others, who awaken the worst feelings in men:

“the first movements of nature are always right: there is no original perversity in the human heart; there is not a single vice in it that cannot be said how and where it entered.” (Book II)

This thesis has immediate effects when we think about children and the education they should receive:

“The primary education must therefore be purely negative. It consists, not in teaching virtue or truth, but in preserving the heart from vice and the mind from error.” (Book II)

A negative education that should be applied in the most crucial phase, from birth to 12 years of age: if men are born pure and without evil or vice, and it is in society that the source of moral corruption lies, we must avoid interfering in the natural development of children. And Rousseau applies the 18th-century word fetish to the educational domain:

“They tried all the instruments except one, the only one that can produce results: well-regulated freedom.” (Book II)

2 Negative education

How can we resist the call of freedom? It's difficult, and therefore unsurprising, that so many authors draw on the Rousseauian pedagogical tradition, and that Maria Filomena Mónica, among us, consecrated it with the expression "Rousseau's children ." One of these children is Paulo Freire, a Brazilian author often called "the Rousseau of the 20th century" who, in 1968, published one of the most cited academic books in the world: Pedagogy of the Oppressed .

As the date suggests, this book was written with the stated goal of social revolution: education should cease to be an instrument of domination and become an instrument of consciousness-raising , enabling students to acquire the tools to understand and understand their place in the world and, from there, transform it. Education should, therefore, be understood as a "practice of freedom" through which the oppressed learn to speak out and become agents of the educational process themselves.

This Rousseauian version of an anthropological nature applies fundamentally to adult education and is certainly familiar to all who participated in the adult education and training courses organized within the scope of the New Opportunities Program for almost two decades in Portugal.

A second pedagogical approach inspired by Rousseau's ideas is represented by education expert Peter Gray, whose famous book, " Freedom to Learn ," was recently translated into Portuguese. Gray, like all good authors, begins with an evolutionary perspective:

“At least two million years ago, our human genetic lineage began moving along an evolutionary trajectory that made us increasingly dependent on cultural transmission.”

Because of this shift, we have come to depend on the achievements of previous generations and have also become more dependent on our ability to cooperate and share with members of our group: “In short, we have come to depend on education.”

In this sense, we can say that "we are, first and foremost, the educable animal. We are educable to a far greater degree than any other species." And to say this means to say "that we have, built into us, instinctive impulses to acquire and develop the culture into which we were born."

From this natural predisposition, Gray draws a bold argument. Children are born with all the tools necessary to educate themselves, so a school institution like the one that exists today is not only unnecessary but counterproductive: it represses children's natural instincts for play and spontaneous learning.

Faced with the current school crisis, Gray believes that "the only meaningful reform would be one that puts children in control of their own learning." School should simply be a space that provides children with the materials and resources they need to exercise their natural learning abilities, without the need for discipline imposed by teachers and ensuring plenty of space and time for play.

In Portugal, these ideas are similar to the theses of pedagogue José Pacheco, whom we can learn more about in this episode of 45 Graus , and the famous Escola da Ponte . But their principles are far from consensual.

3 What is school for?

In 2011, Chinese-American Amy Chua published a controversial but wonderful book that can be read in a single day: The Battle Cry of the Tiger Mother . It begins:

Many people ask how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful children. They ask what these parents do to produce so many math geniuses and musical prodigies, what family life is like, and if they could do the same. Well, I can answer those questions, because I've done it all. Here are some things my daughters were never allowed to do:

• sleep at friends' houses
• go play at friends' houses
• participate in a school play
• complain about not participating in school plays
• watching television or playing computer games
• choose your own extracurricular activities
• have grades lower than the maximum
• not being the best student in all subjects except Gymnastics and Theater
• play an instrument other than piano or violin
• not play the piano or violin.”

I don't know if Amy Chua is familiar with Peter Gray's work, but the two couldn't be further apart. Contrary to the idea that children should be free to undertake their own education, Chua argues that the Chinese family method produces the best results:

Western parents try to respect their children's individuality by encouraging them to pursue their passions, supporting their choices, and providing positive reinforcement and a protective environment. In contrast, Chinese parents believe that the best way to protect children is to prepare them for the future, letting them realize what they are capable of, and equipping them with skills, work habits, and inner confidence—things that no one can ever take away from them.

In the British space, we find someone who has occupied a prominent place in the public space and who would agree with these words: Katharine Birbalsingh, considered the most rigorous teacher in the United Kingdom and who you can learn more about here .

Birbalsingh is the principal of Michaela Community School , a school known for its discipline and insistence on developing virtuous citizens. Cell phones are strictly prohibited in the school (and absolutely discouraged outside of school), students must walk silently in the hallways on their way to class, and must stand when an adult enters the room. Fascinating?

Birbalsingh believes that this rigor and discipline are necessary to develop virtuous and knowledgeable students, and the academic results speak for themselves. This is not a private school, and most of the students come from immigrant communities: yet another reason, according to Birbalsingh, to insist on rigorous education.

This pedagogical approach rejects the notion of the noble savage and the idea that children, left to their own devices, will naturally gravitate toward knowledge, beauty, and goodness. Instead, it departs from the ancient tradition found in the Greeks and maintained throughout Western history: we are not born good or virtuous beings; therefore, it is necessary, through education, repetition, and habit, to acquire the values that civilization cherishes.

This type of school is based on effort and hard work and, interestingly, ends up being close to the model advocated by those who believe that students from disadvantaged backgrounds should receive a more intensive education, even if this means longer school hours and fewer school holidays (which would be much more detrimental to poorer students). Only in this way could schools be the driving force behind a more economically egalitarian society.

Peter Gray's argument is quite weakened when confronted with these perspectives, but I still think his book is worth reading (except for chapters 3 and 4, of course). And I'll explain why next week, before we go on a well-deserved vacation.

New video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC1RJXAVKJU