Through numerous fruitless consulting of authority, the figure of authority is depicted as unhelpful, ignorant and self-centered in the second half of the third book of Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel. Montaigne not only indicates similar possible problems of the authority as Rabelais does, but also provides corresponding solutions to such problems in his On Educating Children. I will argue that, basing on Montaigne’s solutions, one can convert unhelpful, ignorant and self-centered authorities in Gargantua and Pantagruel into ones that are so beneficial and significant that can effectively promote learning. Rabelais holds a totally critical and satirical attitude towards the contribution of authority to learning, but Montaigne, on the opposite, …show more content…
When discussing one specific kind of authority—children’s tutor, he states “same teaching and same degree of guidance for them all” (The Essays: A Selection, Montaigne, p.43). A tutor, who is ignorant of his students’ actual needs and provides uniform guidance according to tutors’ mind only, is in some degree making the same mistake as Pantagruel does previously; they both ignores the needs of people they are helping, and tries to force others according to their own mind and preconception. However, unlike Gargantua and Pantagruel, which merely raises the problem of the authority and does nothing about it, Montaigne goes one more step forward, by providing solution to the problem above. In response to the problem of “same guidance for all”, Montaigne suggests “It is good to make him trot in front of his tutor in order to judge his paces and to judge how far down the tutor needs to go to adapt himself to his ability.”(The Essays: A Selection, Montaigne, p.43). If Pantagruel were to accept the advice of Montaigne, instead of forcing Panurge to believe him – just like simply forcing one to trot at certain speed without considering one’s actual ability, he could have listened to Panurge more patiently and answered the question of marriage basing on logic, reasoning and Panurge’s personality, but not on …show more content…
In the first book of Gargantua and Pantagruel, Rabelais takes the whole eleventh chapters to show not only the naughty but also the unmannered and disrespectful behaviors of childhood Gargantua, for instance, “often spat in the collection plate” (Gargantua and Pantagruel, Rabelais, p.31); it is also said “Gargantua grew and was taught all the proper discipline, by his farther” (Gargantua and Pantagruel, Rabelais, p.31), which is certainly an irony. Gargantua’s Father is a form of authority to his Gargantua, but the identity of the parent determines the existence of spoiling, which is detrimental to the development and growth of the children. Montaigne also suggests that parents’ spoiling will slow down the process of learning — especially individual’s physical and mental development. (The Essays: A Selection, Montaigne, p.43). Just as he does in the previous example, Montaigne provides the solution, that “the authority of the tutor, which must be sovereign for the boy, is hampered and interrupted by the presence of his parents.” (The Essays: A Selection, Montaigne, p.47). Montaigne’s solution is to put the authority of tutor over the authority of
Institutional structures have the power to configure adolescent growth through repression and liberation. The capability that adolescents have to create their own destiny and choose their own social institution can be limited, but not impossible. In Trites article, “Do I dare disturb the universe?” the author argues that kids have personal power, whether they acknowledge it and use it to their own advantage or not. Michel Foucault declares that “Power is everywhere; not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere” (Trites). Power is inevitable, there will never be no such thing as power in this world; it will never diminish or fade. Trites also conveyed that, “power not only acts on a subject but, in a transitive
Consequently, the rational step taken is to deconsecrate schools into outwardly irreversible place of esteemed value of social order (Kozol, 3). He further noted many ways of opening the issue in complete observation of the class, which he believed can be attained by the quotation of many respected people’s word, such as Horace Mann who was diffident in articulating the real utility of public schools. Nonetheless, he also provided some other ways of embarking on this which he conscientiously noted that has exposed their conjecture of public schools as adults (Kozol, 4). Additionally, he said the best way of achieving this is by disseminating this purpose to students through dialogue as recommended by Doris Lessing (Kozol 4). Finally, he stated that there is no deceit of learning to be a responsive, affectionate or sympathetic person.
The author compares today’s school system to that of the past, which concerned itself with teaching students,
(STEWE-1) In order to gain knowledge, education is clearly a necessity and schools are what give us that education. In Montag’s society, school has just about no learning involved. The government has made it so that “‘School is shortened, discipline [is] relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages [have been] dropped, English and spelling [are being] gradually gradually neglected, [and] finally
In the first part of this extract, Montaigne considers how one can obtain the most reliable information on the New World. He wants to avoid creating stereotypes and prejudices, thus aspires to get the most accurate information. Lines 1-2 of this passage demonstrate Montaigne’s use of employing syntax to highlight his ideas. By describing his servant as ‘simple et grossier’ in the first clause of the sentence, Montaigne’s readers’ instinctive response to this description may be to assume that, due to his lack of education or status, his view may not be of much value. The references to great philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle throughout the essay could certainly be considered to make the opinions of a plain and ignorant man seem irrelevant. However, true to his style throughout ‘Des Cannibales’, Montaigne
There were certain aspects of learning that he emphasized more than the others. Not only did he focus on major works that the people should know but also on “…writing in verse and prose…” (3) Castiglione had the ideal image in his mind of exactly what people needed to be and the way they should act. When he said this, it was greatly respected because of his writing of his well-known conduct book. However, people began to veer away from this ideal of a needed education; it became a major change for society. Later on, in the Letter to the Parlement of Dijon concerning the reopening of a French Jesuit school, it was explicitly said that all men do not need an education. Some men need to do work that is not based off of education; they need to do the basics that make society properly function. “The study of literature is appropriate only to a small minority of men.” This statement explicitly says that an education is not for everyone, boldly going against Castiglione. (11) This was a bold statement to make, because it showed a drastic change in people’s point of view of a proper man. Along with saying not all people needed to be educated, there was also the vast criticism of the school system and the way it was teaching. The concepts being learned in school needed to be more readily applied into real life situations, and this did not seem to be the true goal. (8)
The late seventeenth century, when the enlightenment began, was a period of great turmoil, which persisted at intervals throughout the succeeding century. Reason had led many thinkers to the conclusions that kings and queens were ordinary mortals, and that conclusion implied new kinds of uncertainty. Society in this period worked by the means of well-defined codes of behavior. Religion during this period was still very important to many people. Moliere’s “Tartuffe” is a great illustration on how religion affected people at that time. Moliere was very brave to write this story based on how the Catholic Church was influencing and blinding people. Women also played a huge part of the enlightenment period and society during this time. Women of the upper classes occupied an important place in the Enlightenment society, presiding over “Salons,” gatherings whose participants engaged in intellectual as well as frivolous conversation (Puchner 7). In the literature that we have read, society overlook women capabilities and their logic thinking. The story that was a great example of this is “Tartuffe “and “The Love Suicides At Amijima”. Throughout these two text you can easily point out the difference between a man and a woman role in society. In this essay, I will dive into how society played a factor in “Tartuffe” and “The Love Suicides at Amijima”.
Education is meant to broaden the minds of incoming generations to the diverse cultures and aspects of the world. While its purpose is meant to open up horizons, it has also held up the task of oppressing opposing thoughts and judgments. Author James Baldwin exposes this truth in his article, “A Talk to Teachers,” as he chastises the education system’s contradicting actions inasmuch as the support of an all-encompassing education while scorning unconventional thinking. Baldwin’s purpose to confront the antithetical activity to hopefully change the system’s ways is attempted by persuading teachers who “deal with the minds and hearts of young people” that a paradox of education occurs when students develop a conscience--they become “at war” with society--is valid in that education should allow development for individual thoughts and varied opinions to challenge for the reconstruction of society’s oppressive nature.
While Gatto’s credibility leads the readers to subconsciously agree with all he writes, he over generalizes. While writing to students, he introduces bias by using words and phrases such as “wringer” or “deadly routine.” He generalizes by applying one thing to a whole subject matter. Gatto has only taught in Manhattan, but not everywhere in the United States. While many people may experience boredom, not everyone is diagnosed with it. Not all homeschoolers may be “happy,” as he states. The historical figures he mentions were not educated in the same way students are educated now; they were born of the selected type, genius or simply just lucky. He
Laurent Cantet’s Entre les murs is a contemporary French film based on the novel by François Begaudea. The film gives us an insight into the French education system and more specifically the life of François Marin – a high school literature teacher in France. Francois’ day to day life of being a school teacher in a working-class area of Paris is portrayed to us throughout the film and we are introduced to the struggle he faces of dealing with boisterous teenagers who are uninspired and unwilling to work. The film deals with the relationship between the teacher and the pupils and this relationship is determined by several factors. The pessimistic attitude of the teacher and the difference in social class between the teacher and the students are two of the main issues which affect François’ relationship with his pupils. Within the class there are many different cultures and many different backgrounds which at times causes unrest between the classmates and the teacher. The school is in the 20th arrondissement of Paris – an area on the outskirts of the city which is known to be a more working-class area. Throughout this essay I will focus on how Entre les murs represents the relationship between the teacher and the class through these factors of social class and the teachers attitude.
In “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education,” from the Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Revised Edition, Paulo Freire discusses two different types of education: “banking” and problem-posing. The banking concept of education is when teachers “make deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat” (318), and ‘problem posing’ is when the teachers and students are equal. Instead of being treated as human beings that have their own thoughts and ideas, students are treated as containers that are simply filled by a powerful being, a teacher. In school, teachers are dominants that provide knowledge to the students, the subordinates; the knowledge that students learn are limited to what they’re taught by teachers. Similarly, in Kurt Wimmer’s ‘Equilibrium’, Librians are treated as reservoirs for knowledge.
With this essay Gatto intends to get the proverbial wheels by changing the reader 's mind by presenting them his own view of the educational world.He argues that the public school system crippled children ,he writes on how schooling has made some non-useful changes in the past generation following the others. He touches base with what was the purpose of schooling and what effects it has on students and how they may benefit from schooling and also how it harms them in some way. He shares a great deal about his own experience of teaching and his student’s response; he also refers to some articles written on schooling by great authors.
Driss Chraïbi’s Mother Comes of Age is the journey a Moroccan woman into French enlightenment thought. The story is split into two parts; the first is from the point of her youngest son and illustrations the mother as naïve and childlike. The second part is told from the point of view of her older son and depicts the mother as an activist and critical of society. This story is set in Morocco during World War II. In this paper, I will discuss the “civilizing” mission of France during the Enlightenment Era, with regards to Driss Chraïbi’s Mother Comes of Age and it’s theme of modernity.
In regards to Montaigne 's statement on page 23 in Apology for Raymond Sebond, I would deduce that he was using the metaphor of nature and natural tendencies in opposition to man 's vain, self-seeking façade that displaces God the creator. Montaigne 's statement appears to (on the surface at least) value mans naturalistic tendencies and graces in a much better light than our own vain-striving presumptions that claim that our "competent utterances" hold the very answers to the "right" way in which to conduct oneself. Montaigne constantly uses the contrast of animals and humans with the former representing a more pure, natural existence that I assume is to be
In “The Banking Concept of Education”, written by Paulo Freire, the author analyzes the modern day education system by comparing students to “containers” or waste receptacles that are meant to be “filled” by the teacher, or the depositor. The idea that teachers are meant to teach and students are only to listen is the main problem is today’s society. The concept is that a teacher is deemed more reputable “the more she fills the receptacles” while students are better the more they “permit themselves to be filled” (Freire 1). In turn, the “banking” concept of education is born suggesting that education becomes only an act of depositing instead of communication between both students and teachers. When students are denied their creative freedom,