Sichuan University Primary School West Zone Lei

Abstract: Locke, a British educator, put forward a kind of "gentleman education" for the education of British bourgeois children in the17th century. He expounded his understanding of "gentleman" through a letter of 6.5438+0.5 million words in "Random Talk on Education". "Elegant state can always win the favor of others, because when a person is doing something, his mood is integrated into the situation at that time. Locke's gentleman education has a long-term and far-reaching influence in Britain, and also has great enlightenment to China's education.

Keywords:: Enlightenment from the implementation of the educational purpose of gentleman education

Locke, a British educator, put forward a kind of "gentleman education" for the education of British bourgeois children in the17th century. He expounded his understanding of "gentleman" through a letter of 6.5438+0.5 million words in "Random Talk on Education". "Elegant state can always win the favor of others, because when a person is doing something, his mood is integrated into the situation at that time. We saw an elegant, friendly and careful person, which made us very unhappy. There is no one who does not like an open-minded state of mind that can control himself and all these behaviors. It is neither humble nor narrow, nor arrogant, nor contaminated with any major shortcomings. " Modesty and courtesy, elegant manners, good conduct, hard work, love of knowledge, ready to fight for the motherland with a gun, is Locke's standard gentleman.

Although Locke's life has been far away, and although the thought of gentleman education is still limited, Locke's good planning of training objects has something in common with the educational value of people-oriented and developing people in our educational reform. Our education helps people to establish a complete personality through education, such as rationality, emotion, creative imagination, compassion, curiosity, respect, self-realization of expectations, harmonious interaction with society and so on. , make people become the basic elements of a person. Therefore, it is more necessary to reread Locke's Random Talk on Education and read the enlightenment to the new curriculum reform in dialectical thinking, so as to promote the whole-person education.

First, about the purpose of gentleman education.

Locke spoke highly of the great role of education in human development, which is inseparable from his philosophical thought. From the standpoint of materialism, Locke put forward the famous "whiteboard theory", which holds that when people come to this world, the mind is like a whiteboard without any marks and ideas; All human knowledge is acquired by experience. According to this view, Locke believes that human development is determined by education, not innate inheritance. "The reason why humans are so different is because of education." [1] Education not only determines individual development, but also concerns the happiness and prosperity of the country.

Locke clearly pointed out that the purpose of education is to cultivate gentlemen. The so-called gentleman is a virtuous, knowledgeable, capable and polite person. This kind of person is the ideal figure of the British bourgeoisie who just came to power. They have the practical knowledge and skills needed to engage in capitalist industry and commerce, their manners meet the requirements of the upper class, their will is firm, their physique is strong, and they are new people with comprehensive and harmonious development of body and mind.

Locke firmly believes that the realization of the purpose of gentleman education cannot depend on the school, but must be carried out at home and implemented by parents or tutors themselves. This is because at that time, the school only paid attention to the teaching of classical knowledge and neglected the learning of practical knowledge. Not only can children not learn anything really useful at school, but they will also get into all kinds of bad habits in society. Therefore, Locke advocates that all families with conditions should hire excellent tutors to educate their children individually. "Tutoring can certainly make my son behave more gracefully and firmly than anyone else in the school, and at the same time know what is valuable and appropriate, which makes it easier to learn and mature faster." [1] On the one hand, this view meets the demands of the bourgeoisie for education, on the other hand, it exposes Locke's conservative thought of despising school education and attaching importance to family education.

Second, about the implementation of gentleman education.

In order to achieve the purpose of gentleman education, Locke designed a set of specific implementation methods, arranged educational contents including moral education, intellectual education and physical education for children, and put forward various educational requirements and methods in detail.

(1) Sports

Physical education plays an important role in Locke's educational thought and is regarded as the foundation of all education. In Random Talk on Education, Locke's first sentence is: "A healthy spirit lies in a healthy body, which is a short and full description of the happiness of the world." [2] He further pointed out, "If we want to be able to work and have happiness, we must first have health; We must be able to work hard and get ahead, and we must first have a strong body. " [3] The purpose of sports is to make children have a strong body, and its standard is hard work. Locke suggested that children should not wear too warm clothes, but should wear loose clothes and go outdoors more to enhance their resistance; Children's diet should be simple and light, moderate; Children should form the habit of going to bed early and getting up early; Take less medicine and don't abuse it. Locke studied medicine when he was young, which made his sports thoughts scientific. Many methods still have practical significance.

education in ethics

The cultivation of moral quality occupies the primary position in Locke's gentleman education. "Of all the qualities of a person or a gentleman, virtue is the first and the most indispensable." "Without virtue, I don't think he will be happy in this life and the next." [4] Locke pointed out that the cultivation of virtue education first lies in cultivating students' self-control and making actions obey rational guidance. Self-restraint ability is also an index to measure a person's mental health. Therefore, Locke suggested moral education for children as soon as possible. Children have strong plasticity and are easy to control, which is a good opportunity for self-cultivation; Rewards and punishments should be clear, and it is best to cultivate children's sense of reputation and self-esteem; We should insist on combining reasoning with practice. The cultivation of moral character needs not only rules but also practice. Only through repeated practice and practice can rules and requirements become children's behavior habits; We should set an example for our children, and so should parents and teachers. Besides virtue, Locke thinks that the second virtue of a gentleman is politeness. The purpose of etiquette training is to teach the secrets of life, make people popular and valued everywhere, and thus enhance the happiness of life. Locke pointed out that there are two kinds of impoliteness: coyness and shyness; Misconduct and arrogance. To overcome these two shortcomings, one should have confidence and the other should respect others. Rudeness, contempt, criticism and making things difficult are the most taboo in social intercourse. A well-educated and polite person is a person who is elegant and generous in speech and manners, not arrogant in treating people, and naturally and harmoniously gets along with others. "Anyone who knows how to make the other person feel comfortable, but doesn't have to grovel and lower his status, can be said to have got the real knack of dealing with the world, and will be welcomed and valued everywhere." [5]

(3) intellectual education

Intellectual education is an important part of Locke's gentleman education. He believes that learning contributes to virtue and wisdom, and can be used as "an aid to more important qualities" [1]. In Locke's view, virtue comes first and intellectual education comes second. The purpose of intellectual education is not only to impart knowledge to students, but also to cultivate students' attitude of loving and respecting knowledge; It is to develop students' ability, so that they can master the correct methods and acquire knowledge actively. In order to cultivate a gentleman with real talent and practical learning, Locke chose a lot of practical knowledge for his children, such as reading, writing, composition, Latin, French, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, geography, chronology, ethics, natural philosophy, history, law, shorthand, music, dance, painting, gardening, handicrafts, fencing and so on. Locke also put forward many concrete ideas about teaching methods. He suggested that teachers should stimulate children's curiosity, cultivate children's thirst for knowledge, arouse students' interest with vivid and interesting things, and impress students with novel things; Pay attention, keep students' attention, be amiable and make students feel comfortable; Teachers should also make students understand the usefulness of what they have learned and make them willing to learn; Teachers should teach step by step. "To start from a simple place, the less you teach at a time, the better. We can't teach the new material of that science until they fully master the material of our professor. " [2] Teachers should teach students how to learn, not let them memorize. "There is no better way than a good one to clear the way for a scholar, help him move forward and make it so easy for him to do any study ..." [3]

Third, the sequencing of educational content.

In the long-term development of education, academic performance has always been the focus of attention of teachers and parents, and it has also become a heavy shackle of today's education. "Examination is a magic weapon for teachers; The combination of separation and integration, the lifeblood of students "has become a stumbling block that restricts the cross-stage progress of education." "Under the pressure of the entrance examination, children have lost many precious things along the way, such as colorful childhood, precious friendship, and specialties to be proud of. It seems that in an instant, they entered a completely strange society, and those truths and knowledge were memorized in their minds. Here is no longer relying on rote memorization, but practical operation. How many children can't adapt at all, and they don't have a good attitude to adjust their position. As a visionary educator, Locke believes that "since students have no time and energy to learn everything, they should be allowed to learn what is most useful and needed for their future growth". Although Locke's view on the educational function tends to be pragmatic and thinks that the result must have practical value, his ranking of educational content has great enlightenment to us.

The topic involved in "Random Talk on Education": moral education. "Virtue is a part of the goal, which is difficult to achieve, but it is very valuable in education ... Only virtue is the real goodness ... The higher the virtue, the easier it is to achieve all other achievements." Mr Locke pointed out that a gentleman must possess four moral qualities: rationality, etiquette, wisdom and courage. And these moral qualities "should be formed as soon as possible, which will affect the child's life." Locke believes that children should be accustomed to obeying constraints and rationality when their spirit is the most delicate and easy to dominate, so as to avoid being difficult to correct in the future. Therefore, in school education, students' moral education can not be ignored, and the educational goal of emotional attitude and values put forward in the curriculum reform is to infiltrate moral education into the classroom. Therefore, teachers should use teaching materials to grasp emotional points, use class meetings to find good test sites, and use recess to do good training. Of course, it should be noted that teachers should not give students too many habits, otherwise too many tricks will confuse them, which is not conducive to the cultivation of habits

Intellectual education. Locke then talked about the topic of learning. But Locke put learning last, which is a good opportunity for us to reflect on the current educational process. For a long time, we have paid more attention to students' intellectual education than moral education and others. However, we can always see children who struggle late into the night with heavy schoolwork burdens, children who are busy in various training classes, children who are anxious before exams, and even children with mental illness. Arrogance, selfishness, arrogance, indifference to people, rudeness and lack of public morality have become the only achievements, and scoring is only the evil result of education. Mr Locke thinks that study is not the most important thing. Compared with moral education, it should be in the second place and can only be used as an aid to more important qualities.

Fourth, reflection on educational methods.

Sharp tools make good work. Educational methods are very important. Learning Locke's educational methods can better serve our education!

1, respect students' interests. Locke said: "The best time for children to learn anything is when they are in high spirits and want to learn." Teachers should respect students' interests and should not force them to study. For example, reading, he first reminded us that "never take reading as his task, and never take reading as a job." Once reading becomes a burden to children, they will immediately hate it, even though they used to like reading very much. Learning should be a game and a pastime, and it should be a reward after doing something else. He advocates attaching importance to children's interests, "because when children are in a good mood, their learning efficiency will be two or three times better", encouraging children to be full of curiosity. At the end of the book, the author points out that "everyone's psychology is the same as his face, and everyone has some characteristics that can distinguish him from others." "It is rare for two children to be educated in exactly the same way." The education of children should be based on their different characteristics. From Locke's argument, we can see that forced learning will damage children's enthusiasm for learning and make them very tired; Interest in learning is the starting point for students to love learning.

2. Cultivate a democratic and harmonious learning atmosphere. Locke argued: "As he (a child) grows older, he should gradually approach him" and "when he grows up, he will become your close friend". "We must treat them as people like us and have the same feelings and desires as us." . Locke's educational thought conforms to the educational law in this respect. Modern research believes that children who grow up in a democratic way are independent, good at getting along with others and can please others. Their emotions and feelings are healthy, and their personality development is comprehensive and normal. In order to educate students reasonably and effectively, we should respect them and let them enjoy their due rights.

3. Combination of rewards and punishments. Locke has his own unique views on rewards and punishments. First of all, he opposed stick education. Locke pointed out that "whipping children ... is the most unsuitable method in education." He believes that sticks will only cultivate slaves, and if used improperly, they will also lead to resistance! At the same time, he is not "cold" about rewarding popular substances. He believes that "this method encourages those bad hobbies that should be restrained and suppressed, thus laying the groundwork for future evil deeds." He believes that reasonable reward and punishment methods should achieve spiritual results! "The only real moral constraint is to be ashamed of doing something wrong and being punished." Therefore, when students do something wrong, they should learn to "treat it coldly". We hope that students will really realize their mistakes. The best punishment is to treat them severely and ruthlessly. At the same time, while arousing students' sense of shame, we should also protect students' sense of honor. In fact, children are extremely sensitive to reputation. They have known since childhood that it is a great and lasting thing to be respected by others, especially those who depend on them. Praise spreads, and its reward significance doubles. Children (perhaps earlier than we thought) are extremely sensitive to fame, which awakens their deep sense of honor and shame and touches their hearts. Once they know the meaning of respect and humiliation, it will be the most powerful psychological stimulus and become a real constraint.

4. role models.

In school education, the role of example demonstration cannot be underestimated. Locke's "whiteboard theory" holds that children's minds are like "a blank sheet of paper or a piece of wax", and they can make any style at will through the role of education. He claimed: "The impression you get when you are young, even if it is very small and the path is almost imperceptible, has a very significant and lasting impact. Like the source of a river, the water is very weak. A little manpower can lead it to other ways, which will fundamentally change the direction of the river and eventually flow to very distant places. " We know that children are easily influenced by the external environment and love to imitate others. If we put in front of them examples of people they know who are right or wrong, and explain why they are beautiful or ugly, such examples are more powerful than any preaching. Of course, as teachers, we can't ignore our role as role models. "If you think something he does is a mistake, but you don't do it carefully, then he will take your example as a talisman. At that time, it will not be easy for you to correct his mistakes in an appropriate way. As a teacher, we should set an example, infect students with ourselves and advanced people around us, and promote students' better development.

Locke believes that through the above education, children can be cultivated into gentlemen who are healthy in body and mind, noble in moral character, knowledgeable and gentle. Locke's educational thought has both anti-feudal progressiveness, compromise and conservatism. He opposed the feudal old education and put forward a set of brand-new gentleman education thoughts according to the needs of the British bourgeoisie at that time, aiming at cultivating talents needed by the development of capitalism. Compared with feudal and religious education, this is undoubtedly a huge historical progress. He advocates moral, intellectual and physical education for children, so that they can develop in an all-round and harmonious way. To this end, he arranged a lot of course content, highlighting the position of practical knowledge. He expounded various teaching methods, many of which are scientific, but still outdated.

However, the conservatism in Locke's educational thought is also very obvious. Locke designed a kind of labor education for the children of working people, which is completely different from gentleman education. He advocates the establishment of labor schools for poor children, so that they can stand on their own feet and lay the foundation for their future labor career. His whole theory of gentleman education revolves around how to cultivate bourgeois elites, and his educational purpose and content are also to meet the needs of the upper class, which brings great limitations to his educational thought. Nevertheless, Locke's position in the history of education can not be ignored. Many of his ideas were accepted by later educators and had a great influence in Europe. His masterpiece "Random Talk on Education" has been translated into many languages and widely circulated.

References:

1. Locke: Random Talk on Education (one of the famous series of foreign education), translated by Fu Rengan, People's Education Publishing House, 1985,

2. Xi Zhong Qi: "Good personality is the quality that young teachers should possess", Journal of Beijing Institute of Education, No.5, 200l

3. Geng: "Testing and Analysis of Primary and Secondary School Teachers' Personality", "Training of Primary and Secondary School Teachers (Primary Edition)", 1998, No.6.