What Role Does Childhood Play in Education?
As we continue exploring different aspects that make up the educational landscape, we have to inevitably focus on childhood as one of the main components. In fact, many philosophers see the child, not the teacher, as the central character and thus have extensively studied childhood as their main subject. This is the case of Rousseau who favored a child-centered education and of Kennedy who believed that the more we understand childhood the better equipped we will be to thrive as a society. While education is a lifelong task, it is in the early years that the foundations of formal education take place, therefore, it is critical to have a broad understanding of childhood from different philosophical …show more content…
For Kennedy, in order to study childhood one must look beyond the scientific aspect of it and attempt to interpret it through a more holistic lens. For instance, he emphasizes that the meaning of childhood and its implications varies widely within different cultures and historical periods, and it is also influenced by our own childhood experiences. He notes that “the adult is a “hermeneut” or interpreter of childhood. Through dialogue with the forms of life of childhood, the adult reappropriates, recreates, and re-constellates childhood as an element of teleology of her own life cycle” (Kennedy, 2000, p. 37). For him, in order to be effective, the philosophy of education needs to take into consideration both what adults know about children and what children can tell adults about the world. He links childhood and adulthood as an inseparable pair, where the stages complement each other, so the more adults are able to understand children, the more positive the development is which improves social …show more content…
Although learning how to read and gaining a sense for numbers sets a crucial foundation for the rest of the school life, the significance of early childhood education goes beyond the academic. An increasing number of studies continue to confirm that high-quality early childhood instruction has immediate and long-term positive effects on children 's cognitive and social development. I believe that by taking into consideration Kennedy and Rousseau’s ideas I can facilitate enriching educational experiences that nurture children’s natural curiosity and intrinsic motivation to
As we continue exploring different aspects that make up the educational landscape, we have to inevitably focus on childhood as one of the main components. In fact, many philosophers see the child, not the teacher, as the central character and thus have extensively studied childhood as their main subject. This is the case of Rousseau who favored a child-centered education and of Kennedy who believed that the more we understand childhood the better equipped we will be to thrive as a society. While education is a lifelong task, it is in the early years that the foundations of formal education take place, therefore, it is critical to have a broad understanding of childhood from different philosophical …show more content…
For Kennedy, in order to study childhood one must look beyond the scientific aspect of it and attempt to interpret it through a more holistic lens. For instance, he emphasizes that the meaning of childhood and its implications varies widely within different cultures and historical periods, and it is also influenced by our own childhood experiences. He notes that “the adult is a “hermeneut” or interpreter of childhood. Through dialogue with the forms of life of childhood, the adult reappropriates, recreates, and re-constellates childhood as an element of teleology of her own life cycle” (Kennedy, 2000, p. 37). For him, in order to be effective, the philosophy of education needs to take into consideration both what adults know about children and what children can tell adults about the world. He links childhood and adulthood as an inseparable pair, where the stages complement each other, so the more adults are able to understand children, the more positive the development is which improves social …show more content…
Although learning how to read and gaining a sense for numbers sets a crucial foundation for the rest of the school life, the significance of early childhood education goes beyond the academic. An increasing number of studies continue to confirm that high-quality early childhood instruction has immediate and long-term positive effects on children 's cognitive and social development. I believe that by taking into consideration Kennedy and Rousseau’s ideas I can facilitate enriching educational experiences that nurture children’s natural curiosity and intrinsic motivation to