Negative Education (Essay Sample)

Negative Education

In modern times, educators have incorporated various progressive methods of learning and many visual tools in the attempt to make the classroom more attractive and effective. However, this started in the 17th century and before those teachers had traditional methods of teaching students. In those days, there was a counted number of schools if any. The schools acted as a form of terror for the students because the educators followed no methods and incorporated no visual aids hence each teacher had their method of teaching. Students were subjected to all forms of punishments which included corporal punishment and the use of rods as educators believed in the common notion ‘spare the rod, spoil the child.’ This form of education is what many refer to as bad education whereby students are forced to learn, and those who disobeyed their teachers faced serious consequences. The early educators had confined their teaching to the training offered by the governing classes in the community. Many emphasized that teaching is done in the native languages. This form of education continued for a while until some philosophers who changed it were born.

One of the most famous is Rousseau who introduced his theory of negative learning. His theory was motivated by his expulsion from school for committing what he described as a boyish act. His theory emphasized the importance of sensibility, and he believed that discipline, departure from nature and restraint of impulses caused the corruption of humanity by civilization. During his time education was described as authoritative and hierarchical and acted as a disruption of the connection between humans and nature. Educators were harsh and denied students any freedom of expression with disciplines and regulations. Here students were not given any chance to contribute to the education system and had to be contended with what was offered. There were denied any opportunity to express matter affecting them, and it is for this reason that Rousseau came up with the theory. Negative education is very harsh whereby students are exposed to all forms of education. They are denied their freedom of expression in that they lack a platform to express their feelings. According to philosophers this type of education is harsh and can lead to ineffectiveness of learning. When students are more afraid of the consequences than the outcome of their actions, they tend to be afraid to make new moves that can lead them to greater success.

Back then education cultivated students that they are civil and social and they turn out to be good citizens who have acceptable norms and behavior by the community. However, the decision and judgments of pupils became dependent on the judgment of their predecessors as the education system hindered free thinking which according to many scholars is the mother of all invention. Negative education today can be described as the form of education where students are granted minimal or no rights. They are in the system with the hopes of being modeled into good citizens. According to a recently concluded research, negative education has some impacts on the lives of the students. It limits them from innovation in that free thinking is not encouraged. Students are required to follow a set of standards and diverting from them can lead to punishment. It can also leave students with long term effects where they are always afraid of speaking their mind due to the fear of punishment. The use of a rod can leave permanent scars on the body of the individual. Most importantly, it hinders students from contributing to the education system where they could maybe have different opinions that can drive the system to be more effective. Contribution to the system is very important since it ensures that they shed light on the issues affecting them and contribute to making the learning environment more effective.

related articles