Erasmus and Calvin's theories of education and language

Erasmus v. Calvin

An Analysis of the Theoretical Basis and Practical Effects of Education as Perceived by Erasmus and John Calvin and Subsequent generations

The roots of the public education systems in Europe and the United States of America are often though to lie in nineteenth century reform efforts, largely as an outgrowth of the Industrial Revolution and the sweeping societal changes wrought by the behemoth of progress. There is definitely a large degree of validity to this claim; the nineteenth century did see a massive growth in the number of public education institutions and a legal basis for their operations, including mandated attendance at public expense for many children who would otherwise have simply remained uneducated and illiterate for their entire lives. Changing literacy rates during the century, in fact, provide one major source of evidence that the nineteenth century in many ways gave birth to the concept of true public education.

Yet the principles and concepts upon which public education institutions, systems, and legislation were set up extend back several centuries further into the history of Western development, stemming from certain Enlightenment and Reformation ideals that in some ways even appear antithetical to the major political philosophies and social policies of the early age of industrialization. Specifically, the German theologian and scholar Erasmus and the famed French reformer John Calvin, most well-known for his work in the then-independent city of Geneva, were both instrumental in developing theories not only of the social imperative to provide education to all citizens, but also of developing theories of instruction and progression that were and continue to be highly influential.

Ideas on Education

Erasmus effectively and explicitly divided knowledge into two primary types: the knowledge of "truths" and the knowledge of "words" (Johnson & Reed 2007). The former type of knowledge, though itself concerned more directly with concrete knowledge and theory, was wholly dependent on the latter. Without a proper knowledge of language and an ability to use it, Erasmus argued, all ideas and knowledge of "truths" are essentially useless, as it is only through language that such ideas and knowledge can be understood by the thinker and communicated to others in an intelligible fashion (Johnson & Reed 2007). He also believed that the rules for language usage should be learned through reading and experience as much as possible, rather than by rote memorization and learning.

John Calvin also had an appreciation for the necessities of learning language and proper method to use it. He also placed a heavy emphasis on the necessity of religious learning, but not on the religious control of education (Gutek 2004). This distinction is hugely important and a direct result (and cause) of the time in which Calvin lived. Geneva's recent independence from the Holy Roman Empire at the time Calvin began his work there led to an interesting balance and intertwining of civil and religious forces, which were essentially inseparable in Calvin's schema. The educational practices he instituted in Geneva were marked by a reduced emphasis on discipline and an enlargement of personal freedom and egalitarianism in education, including the singing of psalms in French rather than Latin (Gutek 2004).

Both Erasmus and Calvin also placed a heavy emphasis on the importance of the learning Greek and Latin, and in reading both the classical works of authors in these languages and Biblical and religious texts, which were also originally written in these ancient languages, for the most part. These two languages were seen as completely necessary as a foundation for education by Erasmus, who claimed (quite rightly, at the time) that the whole of human knowledge deemed worthy and necessary of learning was written in one of these two tongues (Johnson & Reed 2007). Calvin was only slightly less insistent when it came to the primacy of these two languages, believing them not quite to be the alpha and omega of education but certainly essential to a developed understanding of human knowledge and of religion.

Historical and Social Discussion of Religion in Public Schools

The subject of religion in schools is one that has been at least somewhat controversial since the initial advent of public education, including in Calvin's own time. Throughout European and especially American educational history, the issue has gone through periods of greater and lesser controversy concerning a number of different specific topics. Generally, these can be divided into two categories: action and content. The former is often summed up, without much undue simplification, by the three words "prayer in schools." This issue has been under near-constant debate in the United States, and it actually bears very little on issues of educational theory. The problems that arise regarding content, however, are both more complex and more directly related to educational principles and theories. The teaching of evolution has been the source of much controversy in this regard, made famous both in the so-called Scope's Monkey Trial and in recent school board decisions in various districts in the United States over the past decade.

The actual teaching of religion in schools as part of a historic and social education is at once more imperative and more fraught with complications. There is no escaping the importance of religion, and specifically of Catholicism and Christianity, in the development of Western culture. The Bible is a foundational work -- arguably the foundational work -- of the Western canon, and political progress into the modern age was a direct result of certain religious actions. If teachers were not allowed to discuss specific religious beliefs, practices, and schisms when addressing historical and social development, Western history would come to be seen as a near-meaningless series of wars, rebellions, and divisions with absolutely no underlying ideology or philosophical progression.

That being said, there are certain pitfalls that must be avoided, in order to reduce the controversy created by teaching these concepts but more importantly to avoid any indoctrination, however, subtle into certain beliefs or belief systems. That is, educators should make absolutely no value judgments concerning religion in their teaching of religious history, and in courses specifically geared towards developing a scholarly understanding of religion efforts must be made to include theological beliefs and practices of non-Christian and non-Western religions. This can become somewhat touchy when religious history is part of a general course on Western history; however politically incorrect it may sound, the historical development of Buddhism, Hinduism, and even Judaism simply did not have the same impact on the development of Western culture that Christianity did. This does not make Christianity in any of its forms the "right" religion, and this must be made clear in public education settings, but it has been the dominant ideology since the last century of the Roman Empire, and such it must be understood itself for an understanding of Western history and culture to have any meaning.

Conclusion

Erasmus and John Calvin wielded enormous influence on the development of education. Their specific beliefs and emphases are not entirely apparent in modern education, but their theories and the systems the developed are. A return to certain other of their principles might also be warranted.