When hypothesizing on the ends of education, Rousseau proclaims that the student should not accept any role other than that which he was destined to assume. Therefore, a teacher should educate the student in the business of living. After such guidance the student will "be neither magistrate, nor soldier, nor priest: he will be primarily, a man”(Soetard, 1994).
Living according to Rousseau transcends mere reason, which was revered at the time as an ultimate value and the end of education. Rousseau views man as both a feeling and rational individual; therefore, sensibility, sentiment, and passion are as essential in education as reason and logic. As a Naturalist, Rousseau placed great emphasis on the individual to assert their own authentic nature in order to arrive at a personal understanding of their role in society. However, because society is self-serving, reason, and therefore a systemic, formal education, is needed to enable a student to properly deal with other individuals. These beliefs on student-centered education had a great and lasting impact on common teaching methods.
Philosophic thought of the Enlightenment period, which occurred in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, centered on God, reason, nature, and man. The fundamental ideas resulting from this focus included a dedication to reason, a belief in educational progress, and a search for freedom in political institutions. Rousseau was himself a product of the Enlightenment; however, his views and teachings about Naturalism reflect the end of the Age of Reason.
During the 18th century, probably resulting from the general enlightenment of humanity, production became more efficient. A heightened sense of reason led to technological advances in farming and manufacturing, which in turn boosted production so that surpluses began to accumulate. The appearance of a surplus freed populations from constant need, thereby fostering an obsession to possess. Individualism and self-interests then led to the mass revolutions of the 18th century. Rousseau viewed the egoistic man as an alteration of the more natural self. Education, instead of developing the social man through arts and sciences, should according to Rousseau, develop the natural man, or who man was destined to be.
Rousseau’s most influential educational work, Emile, written in 1762, describes through narrative form an attempt to educate a "natural" child in society. The work is divided into five parts. The first four books of Emile involve the educational progression of a male student, with the last being dedicated to female education (The 5th book describes the education of Emile’s wife, Sophie, as being strictly practical in order to develop her innate nurturing tendencies).
The first book encompasses the education of a child from time of birth to the age when the child begins to talk. During this period, the development of sensory perception is emphasized. Rousseau stresses providing for only the real needs of the child instead of his every desire. The second book, which focuses on speaking age to age 12, stresses guidance through games free of scholarly content. The student in this period learns through experience, not words. Ages 12 to 15 are covered in the third book, wherein Emile studies from “the book of the world” by learning a trade and solving practical scientific applications with self-implemented tools. Finally, at age 15, the fourth book initiates the study of history and the social experience. Reflection on history and current societal norms after developing the creative thought processes through the previous stages of education will allow for the development of a natural morality. The student is then near the age of reason and social maturity. Emile marries at the end of his education and declares that his knowledge ends at necessity.
The book served not only as the cornerstone of an educational philosophy, but also expanded into “a treatise on man’s original goodness (Soetard, 1994). Rousseau, however, is contradictory in his approach to the nature of man and education. He stresses that man is inherently good and should therefore be left to an autonomous self-reliant freedom; however, he also asserts that learned knowledge is essential to cope in a self-interested society. To achieve this coexistent awareness, the student should not be isolated, but needs to face reality and be able to conceptualize individual experiences. According to Rousseau, isolation and repression of individual creativity can occur through the study of subjects such as science, which stress an acceptance of boundaries and rules. Consequently, an educator, through the presentment of life scenarios, must enable the student to carry out original thought. If the educator imposes their own will or the will of others on the child, sensory experiences would be manipulated, thereby commanding instead of fostering education. The use of “pre-digested” texts in education was also believed by Rousseau to cause the student to become reliant on the thought of others. Books are important to becoming knowledgeable of the world, but the child must be given the means to acquire that knowledge individually.
Emile was burned upon its initial publication by the French Parliament, who subsequently ordered Rousseau’s arrest. This forced Rousseau into exile. However, while continuing to write and eventually returning to France, the universal teachings propounded in Emile influenced a wide range of philosophers such as Kant, Voltaire, and Diderot, and countless pedagogues such as Dewey and Mann.
History of education. (n.d.). Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved from http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=117435&sctn=1.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1712-1778. (2001). The internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.utm.edu/research/iep.
Soetard, M. (1994). Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78). Prospects, 24, 423-437.