Movers and Shakers in Education - Essay Example

Socrates believed in pursuit of the facts and truth. He campaigned for a liberal education in order to arrive at this truth. He was a proponent of the academic freedom. This concept is still enshrined in higher learning institutions nowadays in American education. The Socratic Method, which is a dialogue based technique of teaching, forces learners to think critically as well as deeply. It was and still is the best technique to test and teach students (Socrates 2). Socrates symbolized excellence teaching and an ideal tutor.

He once stated that there is no worth of living a life that has not been examined. Socrates lived through scientific explosions and intellectual knowledge. He witnessed the development of architectural splendor as well as unrivaled theater. Interpretation of the beliefs of Socrates and his contribution to educational thought was hampered by the abundance of writings whereby he had the leading role, but not a paucity of evidence. Some of these writings included dialogues by Xenophon and the Isocrates.

He also had the Evidence from Aristotle and Early Dialogues of Plato (Socrates 2). Plato’s early dialogue was the most intellectual challenging writing and it is due to this fact that it was regarded an educational ideal for so many years. Though he never propounded a theory or doctrine, his impact on education is notable and significant. First, the technique that was his trademark for performing dialectical exchanges with the interlocutors and outdoing them in verbal contest has occupied its place among the learning methods as the Socratic teaching technique in today’s American education.

This method is not only a technique of defeating opponents in a verbal contest but also a way of motivating interlocutors to scrutinize their sincerely held moral doctrines and beliefs (Socrates 3). Secondly, rather than placing education as a method of acquiring skills and information, he makes virtue the main aim of education. He indicates that it is not necessarily right to base a virtuous life on such things as habit, the didactic lectures of teachers or the unthinking approval of the societal values.

Teachers lecturing and the students passively gaining knowledge would not affect the human soul on its own. To emphasize this rejection of the teacher-centered form of education, he declares that he is not a teacher (Socrates 3). Socrates was reluctant to accept official learners or receive any form of payment from the interlocutors. He advocated for knowledge that would help people attain a good and virtuous life. He ranked success and honor to be the initial requirements, then pleasure and thirdly, knowledge.

He states that knowledge is the only thing that guarantees happiness. He asserts that virtue is knowledge (Socrates 4). Desiderius Erasmus on the other hand, was an influential humanist of the Renaissance. He widely influenced the children’s proclivity towards education especially in their tender age. He left human nature’s scientific inquiry and promoted teaching students important matters of life via literature. He also stressed the significance of a good teacher. He stated that the tutors should not be restricted by dogmatic interests ,instead they should have a wide outlook as well as knowledge base (Desiderius 3).

This Desiderius’