2.+Background

Background
Oral traditions transmitted knowledge orally from generation to generation, relying on the memory of participants to accurately preserve and pass on key aspects of culture. This was the dominant vehicle of knowledge conservation prior to the advent of writing in the 4th millennium BCE. Socrates abhorred writing, warning that it would (in the voice of Egyptian king Amnon in dialog with the god Thoth, creator of letters) “…create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality.” 1 Ironically, we only know of Socrates thoughts on the matter because they were written down by Plato, who also founded one of the earliest schools in western civilization, the Academy. Oral traditions were widespread in most of the world’s great religions, leading to the cross-fertilization of classic stories, such as the great flood or deluge myth that appeared in the Old Testament, the Koran, Greek Mythology and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Oral traditions persist to this day and can be found in such diverse vehicles as Appalachian folk tales in the United States and orally transmitted culture in Fiji, Mauritius, Suriname, Guyana and Trinidad (to name just a few). 1 __ Phaedrus __ Plato 2 []
 * Oral Traditions**

Socrates invented the Socratic Method, a “dialectical method, often involving an oppositional discussion in which the defence of one point of view is pitted against the defence of another” 1 with the questioner playing devil’s advocate in order to reveal flaws in the opponent’s argument. The Socratic Method has been employed widely in education throughout history and is still one of the most popular dialectical approaches to teaching and learning. [more from Andy?] 1 []
 * Socratic Method**

Historians draw a distinction between prehistory and history, with history defined by the advent of writing.1 The earliest known writing, Sumerian pictograms (which evolved into cuneiform script), dates back to the 4th millennium BCE. Although it is tempting to simplify its origins to a single place and time, scholars now believe that writing was invented independently in at least three places: Mesopotamia, China, and Mesoamerica. Recent discoveries point to evidence that writing was invented in Egypt and India independently of Mesopotamia.2 Ancient peoples had a different view of the origins of writing within their cultures: Egyptian religion attributed the invention of writing to the god Thoth (to the dismay of King Amnon – see Oral Traditions, above); in Mesopotamia the honor went to the god Enlil. With writing came literature, of which the Epic of Gilgamesh is the earliest known example (still studied by K-12 students today). Poetry, prose, fiction, histories, philosophy and more appeared once writing became an established practice. But widespread literacy eluded humanity until the industrial revolution made printed materials affordable to virtually all economic strata. The latest UNESCO survey (2004) puts global adult literacy at 82%, a tremendous increase from their finding of 56% in 1950. 3 Although surveys such as those conducted by UNESCO didn’t exist prior to the 20th century, it is a safe assumption that the current global literacy rates are the highest in history. Several factors have converged to make this possible, not least of which are the various revolutions in mass communication, publishing, the Internet and the tools and reach now available to schools across the world. 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing 2 [] 3 http://www.unesco.org/education/GMR2006/full/chapt7_eng.pdf http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/reports/2006-literacy/
 * Writing and Literacy**

In Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, education was strictly for the elite – boys in training to be scribes or priests. Chinese education was largely in ethics, ritual and music as exemplified in the philosophy of Confucious. Interestingly rote memorization, which has been criticized as a stifling, restrictive aspect of Chinese education was not the norm in Ancient China where individualistic development was stressed. In pre-Columbian America, Incan and Mayan educational practices are thought to have mirrored those of Egypt and Mesopotamia in educating males for the priesthood. In Ancient India, education was restricted to boys of the highest castes, but the advent of Buddhism and Jainism brought a more democratic education of all, regardless of gender or caste. In Ancient Greece, education was very different between the two main factions, the Spartans and the Athenians. Spartan education, befitting its name, was austere and restricted to a military elite class of males. Physical prowess was emphasized, as was the complete authority of the state. Athenian education was more informal, and decidedly civilizian in emphasis, however Athenian educational emphasis was also on the elite. Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum were among the earliest formal schools established, and reached a pinnacle of sophistication and depth unrivalled in the ancient world.
 * Education in the Ancient World**

Medieval education reflected the dominant tone of the time. Education in medieval Europe was elite, strictly religious (Christian), and mostly associated with cathedrals, churches, or monastaries. It was not until the medieval rennaissance of the 12th century, when urban schools began to form, that education was taken seriously and began to advance.
 * Medieval Education**

From the earliest times of civilization, apprenticeships were a way of passing on a set of skills or practice from one generation to the next. This process was formalized with the advent of guilds in the middle ages. Guilds formed the earliest universities in Europe, with the mastery of a given craft or trade resulting in a master’s degree. With the Industrial Revolution, the nature of apprenticeship grew in importance with the development of trade unions. In the 20th century, much of what had been individual apprenticeship evolved into vocational schools.
 * Apprenticeship**

The latin word ‘universitas’ was used to describe "associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or the towns in which they were located."1 The rise of these institutions grew out of medieval guilds, and the first European university began as a guild of students in Bologna which became The University of Bologna, established in 1088, which is still in operation today. In India, universities arose in the 4th century, teaching science, mathematics and astronomy. Many European universities began as monastic schools. The rediscovery of the works of Aristotle (from the Arabic libraries of Spain, made available to Christian Western Europe by the conquest of Spain) was a major catalyst in the evolution from purely theological institutions to the more secular direction of the newly established universities. Universities advanced the study of Law and Medicine as well as Theology and the Arts. Universities continued to spread throughout Europe despite wars and plagues. By the 19th century they had reduced the emphasis on religion and began to focus more on the sciences and engineering, a trend which was accelerated by the advent of the industrial revolution. Estimates of how many universities exist today range from 7,500 to over 17,000 depending on the definition (is a research institute a university? definitions differ). The terms ‘College’ and ‘University’ are often interchangeable, however one definition that seems to hold sway is that colleges’ focus is on post-secondary undergraduate degree goals, which universities, which including undergraduate study, also focus upon advaced degrees such as Masters and Doctorate programs. I'm not sure this is the whole picture. Our use of College and University is different from other countries and seems to be bureaucratic rather than curricular. In England for instance, colleges are for 16 to 18 year olds. They prepare students for entrance into Universities or into the trades. How would it be we handle this via footnotes or glossary. 1Marcia L. Colish, //Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 400-1400,// (New Haven: Yale Univ. Pr., 1997), p. 267. (via Wikipedia)
 * Universities**

From Wikipedia: **Mass education** refers to an [|educational] system funded and run by the state, usually free, that aims to ensure that all children in a society have at least a basic education. (that’s the whole article!) I think you will find that state funded and compulsory education started in Europe, the US and Canada and Japan in the mid to late 1800s (I think China did not have compulsory education until the mid 1900s). Before that the aristocracy had no interest in educating the underclasses. Churches such as the Church of England in the UK (Budhist Temples in Japan) provided education to those who could avail themselves of it. In the US and Canada the first mass educational system created "common schools." Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_education_in_England, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Japan, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_school for starters. Yes, education made available to the non-elite, consistent with the government mandate; and, post revolutions and at a time of expanding wealth and labor needs of industrial age.
 * Mass Education**

Autodidacts are the self-taught or self-educated among us. While some notable figures of history were autodidacts (Leonardo Da Vinci, Descartes, Thomas Alva Edison) it can occasionally backfire and produce monsters (Adolph Hitler). Most who practice autodidacticism actually practice a blend of formal schooling and self-directed learning. This book is squarely aimed at that swath of humanity, as Personal Learning Networks and Environments are all about self-directed teaching and learning.
 * Autodidacticism**

World wars, social upheaval, technological breakthroughs of unprecedented scale all served to change the landscape of education in the 20th century. New industries required new skills, and growing affluence meant a broader base of families able to pay for higher education. Advances in psychology, cognitive science and sociology came together in the advent of the major learning theories and progressive education. No single individual contributed more to the rise of progressive education than John Dewey. At first confined to a handful of progressive schools that sprang up across the United States, priniciples of progressive education were later widely adapted by public schools and included: “ activity programs, imaginative writing and reading classes, projects linked to the community, flexible classroom space, dramatics and informal activities, [|discovery methods] of learning, self-assessment systems, and programs for the development of citizenship and responsibility.” 1
 * Modern Education**

Child-centered education took root in the 20th century, led by luminaries like Maria Montessori and her Montessori Method of early childhood education. Social reconstructionist education arose in the Soviet Union and Israel where it was deemed important that children be educated in the dominant political philosophy. Slow to follow the opening of curriculum and philisophy that swept elementary (and to a lesser degree secondary) schools, colleges and universities began their modernization mid century, led by progressive institutions like Antioch College and Bennington College. After the mid-50’s, higher education had become so progressive that some deemed America’s colleges, particularly in the tumultous 60’s, to be “ungovernable”.

The 20th century brought many changes and new directions to education, regularly spawning new forms such as the Polytechnic institution and the Junior College. It also saw the global rise of public education, and dramatic increases in literacy rates around the world. The technological revolutions of the late 20th century also laid the groundwork for perhaps the biggest revolution yet in education – the advent of e-Learning. 1 Encyclopaedia Britannica online

This is such useful and rich information. I had some ah-has while reading it. Yay. So I wonder what kind of bridge we can make to show how our topic fits into this context? The way it looked to me was a coming of full circle back to the early traditions in the sense that technology -- done well -- affords access to all to great content and content specialists, and enables personalized learning to some extent even in large classroom (a la MOOCs). So to tie this in we can write in the technology era either as a continuation of Modern Education, or as a separate entry. And, flesh out the others.