Rousseau\'s Opinions on How Young

¶ … Rousseau's opinions on how young children should be treated to ensure they are going to get a good education? How do his ideas differ from standard opinion today? What is your opinion of his suggestions?

Rousseau stresses the need for the young child to enjoy a 'natural' lifestyle, to prepare him for the rigors of the educational system later in life. Instead of constraining the child, Rousseau says that a child should be allowed to fully exercise his body and free will. This is in stark contrast to contemporary emphasis on preparing a child for entering formal schooling and socializing the child to interact with other children. Programs such as Head Start, preschool programs, and even Sesame Street and Baby Einstein are all examples of the modern belief that a child must begin his or her education as soon as possible. Today, the idea of developmental 'windows' where it is easier to learn information earlier in life, is strongly endorsed.

However, Rousseau's ideas have a great deal to recommend them in an age where there is often so much emphasis on children growing up as fast as possible that children have forgotten how to be creative and even to play. Rousseau would likely see the modern crisis of childhood obesity and inactivity as a result of constraining young children too soon and not allowing them to freely explore their environment with their bodies as well as their minds.

Chapter 2: What should be emphasized in early years of formal education? How are his ideas different from those that are most commonly used today? What is you opinion of his ideas? Are they practical?

Rousseau emphasizes the need for the 'natural child' to cultivate his or her physical and sensory capabilities. The child should learn by observation and his own experimentation in nature, until he or she is developmentally capable and eager for more conventional book learning. Learning through experience should come first; children should learn the theoretical principles behind what they observe later on. But today, children are encouraged to take an interest in reading and academic learning as soon as possible. They are often discouraged from running around, exploring the world and obeying their instincts, and instead are forced to go against those instincts. Children are compelled to obey adult rules and laws, and 'sit still and learn' when they are told to do so.

While Rousseau's belief about when children should learn to read seems fairly late, especially considering what we now know about the development of the human brain, his stress upon learning through doing seems valuable. Rousseau would strongly support having art, music, and hands-on aspects of education in the schools, which he would see as more in keeping with natural childhood inclinations. Although Rousseau was an idealist, many of his suggestions can be translated into more practical applications, especially in the natural sciences and the arts.

Chapter 5: How did Rousseau view women in general, as mothers and as wives? Which of his opinions are still fairly prevalent?