Rousseau’s errors: they persist today in educational theory
In this essay, the author contends that the approach to education described by Rousseau in Émile is not only impractical but is founded on four misconceptions concerning human nature and development. These are (1) the vulnerable-child child fallacy (that children must be protected from learning the...
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| Language: | English |
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University of Gdańsk
2015-09-01
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| Series: | Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji |
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| Online Access: | https://czasopisma.bg.ug.edu.pl/index.php/pwe/article/view/819 |
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| author | Peter Gray |
| author_facet | Peter Gray |
| author_sort | Peter Gray |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this essay, the author contends that the approach to education described by Rousseau in Émile is not only impractical but is founded on four misconceptions concerning human nature and development. These are (1) the vulnerable-child child fallacy (that children must be protected from learning the wrong things); (2) the stage-of-development fallacy (that children can learn only certain kinds of things at certain ages); (3) the lone-child-in-nature fallacy (that children learn best from interacting physically with nature, not from interacting verbally with other people); and (4) the controllability fallacy (that is is possible to know a child so well as to be able to control, through subtle means, what the child learns). The author’s own research indicates that the ideal environment for children’s natural, self-directed learning is very different from, in many ways opposite to, that outlined by Rousseau.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0836ec1d157a43459478190b111fbdce |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1734-1582 2451-2230 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-09-01 |
| publisher | University of Gdańsk |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji |
| spelling | doaj-art-0836ec1d157a43459478190b111fbdce2025-02-11T11:27:15ZengUniversity of GdańskProblemy Wczesnej Edukacji1734-15822451-22302015-09-0130310.5604/01.3001.0008.9212Rousseau’s errors: they persist today in educational theoryPeter Gray0Boston CollegeIn this essay, the author contends that the approach to education described by Rousseau in Émile is not only impractical but is founded on four misconceptions concerning human nature and development. These are (1) the vulnerable-child child fallacy (that children must be protected from learning the wrong things); (2) the stage-of-development fallacy (that children can learn only certain kinds of things at certain ages); (3) the lone-child-in-nature fallacy (that children learn best from interacting physically with nature, not from interacting verbally with other people); and (4) the controllability fallacy (that is is possible to know a child so well as to be able to control, through subtle means, what the child learns). The author’s own research indicates that the ideal environment for children’s natural, self-directed learning is very different from, in many ways opposite to, that outlined by Rousseau. https://czasopisma.bg.ug.edu.pl/index.php/pwe/article/view/819educational theoryprogressive educationRousseauself-directed educationSudbury Valley School |
| spellingShingle | Peter Gray Rousseau’s errors: they persist today in educational theory Problemy Wczesnej Edukacji educational theory progressive education Rousseau self-directed education Sudbury Valley School |
| title | Rousseau’s errors: they persist today in educational theory |
| title_full | Rousseau’s errors: they persist today in educational theory |
| title_fullStr | Rousseau’s errors: they persist today in educational theory |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rousseau’s errors: they persist today in educational theory |
| title_short | Rousseau’s errors: they persist today in educational theory |
| title_sort | rousseau s errors they persist today in educational theory |
| topic | educational theory progressive education Rousseau self-directed education Sudbury Valley School |
| url | https://czasopisma.bg.ug.edu.pl/index.php/pwe/article/view/819 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT petergray rousseauserrorstheypersisttodayineducationaltheory |