child advocates transformed global perceptions of the nature of children and how they should be taught. Early American education began in a young country that had inherited strict religious traditions, rooted in methods where children’s young voices hummed, Adam’s “In fall, we sinned all” (Spring, 2008, p. 39) and where Puritan belief had led to a commonly held perception that children shared the sins of humanity and needed to have the devil purged out of them. In light of this early context, it is no small matter to consider the influence that early philosophers and educators such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke had on eighteenth century ideals concerning education. Rousseau’s belief that the child is inherently good and in danger of corruption from the outside world (Spring, 2008) contrasted starkly with early colonial beliefs. He endorsed that learning and the attainment of knowledge were for the individual’s benefit and not to be used as a tool of society to manipulate and use the child for societal purposes (Spring). Likewise, John Locke’s writings concerning education endorsed the idea that the child is shaped into an adult through education and the role of the teacher ought to mold children through careful education emphasizing performance and experience more than memorization (Chudacoff, 2007; Spring). Both Rousseau’s and Locke’s ideas initiated vast change in the methods of education (Spring, 2008) and in the perceptions of parents and society (Chudacoff, 2007). Traditional methods of instruction were discarded, and the organization of public education in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was greatly influenced by these philosophers (Rugg & Shumaker, 1969; Spring). In addition to education, these romantic views of childhood had a prominent role in initiating the study of child and adolescent psychology (Spring).
child advocates transformed global perceptions of the nature of children and how they should be taught. Early American education began in a young country that had inherited strict religious traditions, rooted in methods where children’s young voices hummed, “In Adam’s fall, we sinned all” (Spring, 2008, p. 39) and where Puritan belief had led to a commonly held perception that children shared the sins of humanity and needed to have the devil purged out of them. In light of this early context, it is no small matter to consider the influence that early philosophers and educators such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke had on eighteenth century ideals concerning education. Rousseau’s belief that the child is inherently good and in danger of corruption from the outside world (Spring, 2008) contrasted starkly with early colonial beliefs. He endorsed that learning and the attainment of knowledge were for the individual’s benefit and not to be used as a tool of society to manipulate and use the child for societal purposes (Spring). Likewise, John Locke’s writings concerning education endorsed the idea that the child is shaped into an adult through education and the role of the teacher ought to mold children through careful education emphasizing performance and experience more than memorization (Chudacoff, 2007; Spring). Both Rousseau’s and Locke’s ideas initiated vast change in the methods of education (Spring, 2008) and in the perceptions of parents and society (Chudacoff, 2007). Traditional methods of instruction were discarded, and the organization of public education in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was greatly influenced by these philosophers (Rugg & Shumaker, 1969; Spring). In addition to education, these romantic views of childhood had a prominent role in initiating the study of child and adolescent psychology (Spring).
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