John Locke

John Locke

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About Locke

John Locke was born in England in the year 1632. He was known as the father of classic liberalism. He also had an influence on our founding fathers when they were creating our declaration of independence. As for his philosophies on education, one of his best known ones is tabula rasa. Tabula rasa means a clean slate. This is how Locke thought of children's minds, a blank sheet of paper. These blank minds learn different ideas and rules through different experiences. Locke also believed that the purpose of education was to produce students that would better serve his/her country. He thought that the education a person received would depend on their status in life. A common man would only need to learn the basics. Stuff like the Bible, basic manners, and basic reading and writing skills. But the more gentleman would have a more in depth education. As far as teachers go, Locke believed that it was one of the most important jobs a person could have. He said that they should be selected carefully and paid well.  

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His Theories Today

Lockes philosophies can still be seen in schools today. I've seen it first hand when I worked in a kindergarten classroom. All the kids that came into that class started as just a blank slate. You could see as we went along and taught these kids that they were just like sponges absorbing the information and making the foundations for their own thoughts. It was really incredible to be apart of this process. I personally thought it was so cool to help a kid learn to write his/her name. Every day they would get a little bit better till they could finally do it and then it was like fireworks went off for them. And I can say I taught them something that they are going to use for the rest of their lives. 

Locke thought that the purpose of education was to teach students skills that would help them serve society better. This is also true within our education system. As society evolves and jobs evolve with it what students learn is also different. Back when my grandparents were in school it was a necessary skill to know how to sow. They had classes just teaching skills for that. Now-a-days we have more computer based classes because the needed skills are different.

Locke also thought that quality of education was based on your role in society. This is true in some sense. The level of education you need to receive if you're a doctor is going to be much more thorough of that if you were going to be a teacher. Some things just require a more vigorous program is how I look at it. 

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Listen to Locke

Society today does not appreciate teachers like John Locke did. He said they needed to be selected carefully and paid well. I honestly think it is too easy to become a teacher and that sometimes the quality of teachers is not enough. But for the average pay of a teacher that's what you get. I think that teachers should be paid more to make education a more competitive field causing the quality of that education to rise.