EDUCATION IN SPARTA AND THE EXPECTATION OF A PROFESSIONAL TEACHER
INTRODUCTION
Spartans
believed in a life of 'discipline, self denial, and simplicity,' and so the
purpose of education was, simply, to produce an army. When babies were born,
soldiers came to check the child. If it appeared healthy and strong, they would
be assigned to a 'brotherhood' or a 'sisterhood,' however if the baby appeared
weak and small, the infant would be left to die on a hillside or taken away to
be trained as a slave. It was 'survival of the fittest' in Ancient Sparta.
The
Spartan law was written by the great lawmaker (Greek: νομοθÎτης, nomothetis)
Lycurgus. Plutarch mentions that Lycurgus (literally "wolf-worker")
wrote the laws in order to make the city state of Sparta invincible, the
Spartans fearless and law-abiding. It was a law-package with politico-military,
economic and social reforms. Although many historians dispute that Lycurgus
ever actually existed as a human being, at Sparta he was worshiped as a
demigod.
Boys
Male Spartan children were sent to military school at the age of six or seven. They lived with their brotherhood. School courses were very hard and painful for boys, and school was described as a 'brutal training period.'
Between
the age of 18 and 20, Spartan males had to pass a fitness test that consisted
of fitness, military ability, and leadership skills. If he didn't pass, he becomes
a person who had no political rights and was not even considered a citizen
called a perioidos. If he did pass, he would continue to serve in the military
and train as a soldier until he was 60, when the soldier could retire to live
with his family.
Girls
Girls were trained in their sisterhood, and were taught physical education. They also started school at the age or six or seven. It is unknown as to whether their school was as rough and hard as the boys', but some historians believe the two schools were very similar in their objectives, to produce a strong group of women.
At age 18, the Spartan girl also
had to pass a fitness test. If she passed, a husband would be assigned to her,
and she would be allowed to go home, however if she failed she would also
become a perioidos. A woman in Sparta things were very different for citizen
women than they were in other Greek cities, where women would stay home most of
their lives and be controlled by their husband. In Sparta, women had a lot of
free will and were almost as good fighters as the men.
SUBJECTS STUDENTS TAKEN IN ANCIENT SPARTA AND REASONS
In
ancient Sparta, reading and writing were not very important, so they were
taught as a secondary skill for both boys and girls. Education was very military focused for boys
and girls, so most of the skills they learnt in school were combative and war
centered.
The
boys learnt survival skills and other skills vital to being a soldier. Because
the Spartan government wanted Spartans to be tough and strong, they weren't
given enough food or clothing, so they were encouraged to steal, but if they
were caught they were beaten. That was the Spartan way: Lie, cheat, steal, and
get away with it, or else.
For girls,
school was also very similar. They were taught physical education, which
included wrestling, gymnastics, and combat skills. Spartans believed that
healthy women would produce healthy babies. Even though Spartan women never had
to join the military or the navy, they grew up to be very strong and very good
with combat skills.
EDUCATION
AND CULTURE IN SPARTA
Although
Athens and Sparta spoke the same language and were geographically close
together, their culture, values, educational system and teachers were very
different in 500–300 BCE. The purpose of Athenian education was to prepare boys
as citizens who were trained in the arts. Girls were not educated in a school,
but many learned to read and write at home. From ages 6 to 14, boys attended a
nearby primary school.
Books
were rare so teachers read passages, and then the students repeated the
passages until they were memorized. Teachers taught two subjects: the works of
Homer and how to play the lyre. Teachers also could choose to teach other
subjects (e.g., drama, art, reading, writing, math, public speaking). Sparta
and Spartan education was very different. The city-state was militaristic and
the purpose of education was to develop a well-drilled, well-disciplined army.
Boys entered a military school at age 6 or 7, living in a barracks with other
boys.
School was
designed to develop skills needed by soldiers, and while they learned to read
and write, those subjects were less important. By the age of 18–20, they were
required to pass a rigorous test of their physical fitness, military knowledge
and skills, and leadership. Their teachers were men with military experience
who lived with them, even if the teachers were married and had families. Life
for teachers was focused on developing a military force. Throughout history,
practices of the past have been embedded in current practice. As mediaeval
civilization became increasingly more complex, teaching methods and educational
institutions developed of a “different and highly original kind. Yet even at
the height of the thirteenth century the memory of the ancient models, and a
desire to imitate them, continually haunted the minds of the men of the time….
But above all it was the Renaissance of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
which left its mark on our education by its conscious, intentional return to
the strict classical tradition. Today, to a much greater extent than is
commonly realized, we are still living on the humanist heritage”.
THE EXPECTATION OF A PROFESSIONAL
TEACHER IN SPARTA
The
local residents of Sparta continually show their support for quality education
by providing and maintaining excellent school facilities and advanced
educational technology. The District also enjoys a great partnership with local
business and industry, which provide work experience opportunities,
professional expertise, financial support, and special classroom presentations.
The parents and
guardians in the Sparta Area School District have high expectations for their
children and take an active role in their education, as evident in the
parent/teacher organizations, booster clubs, service organizations, and
volunteers in each of the schools.
Teachers’
Professional Development has been realized a powerful approach to implement
child friendly activity based education for education in the twenty first
century. It has been realized the important of expectations of teachers in Sparta.
However,
Teachers initially were males, whether they taught as slaves or free men in
Athens in 400BCE or were priests teaching young men studying to enter the
priesthood in the Middle Ages. Until the late nineteenth century, teaching was
considered a part-time and short-term job. Young Greek teachers accepted
employment as teachers or tutors for a few years until they were able to
establish themselves in their lifetime career. Women in the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries taught for a few years before marriage and children – teaching was
considered “insurance” against future disasters (e.g., death or severe injury
to spouse; economic problems). Because the school year was defined by the
agricultural calendar, it was primarily a winter activity, and considered to be
temporary work. Fewer than 5 % of teachers taught more than 5 years.
But
now, teaching has become a major profession in Sparta as they seek to take
their educational system to the next level and aligned it with the modern
educational standard. Thus the expectation of a professional teacher lies on
what is being expected of a teacher and what the teacher is expecting from the
school and his/her students/pupils.
The
Expectations of a Professional Teacher: what the educational
system of Sparta expect from an employed professional teacher.
The following is what the Sparta
educational system demands from a professional teacher. They expect a
professional teacher to;
- Foster
an appreciation for reading and writing beyond their schooling
- Build
confident, conscientious, independent readers and writers
- Expose
students to multiple communication mediums to encourage digital
citizenship
- Develop
communication skills through the areas of reading, writing, speaking,
listening, word study, and literary analysis
- Respond
to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline
- Guide
students through the process from learning to read to reading to learn
- Teach
students how to think, not what to think
CONCLUSION
Education in Ancient
Greece
was vastly "democratized" in the 5th century BCE, influenced by the
Sophists, Plato and Isocrates. Later, in the Hellenistic period of Ancient
Greece, education in a gymnasium school was considered essential for participation
in Greek culture. There were two forms of education in ancient Greece: formal
and informal. Formal education was attained through attendance to a public
school or was provided by a hired tutor. Informal education was provided by an
unpaid teacher, and occurred in a non-public setting.
In some poleis, laws were passed to prohibit the
education of slaves. The Spartans also taught music and dance, but with the purpose
of enhancing their maneuverability as soldiers.
However, on the bases
of taking Spartans education to the modern standard of education which is to
educates the citizen all-round not just for the purpose of enhancing their
maneuverability as soldiers, teaching is now a valuable profession because
education is being regards as means of civilization and modernization in
Sparta, thus the expectations of a professional teacher is high in Spartan
education.
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nice one bro
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