John Locke had a number of major influences on society in general, but his influences on education have stood the taste of time. His idea of Tabula Rasa, his introduction of empiricism, and idea of the use of all senses are all objectives that are used in schools today.
The idea of Tabula Rasa is basically defined as a "blank slate." Locke believed that everyone is born with a clean mind, a supposed condition that he attributed to the human mind before ideas have been imprinted on it by the reaction of the senses to the exterior world.
"Thus the first capacity of human intellect is that the mind is fitted to receive the impressions made on it; either through the senses by outward objects; or by its own operations when it reflects on them. This is the first step a man makes towards the discovery of anything..."
-John Locke (On Ideas as the Materials of All Our Knowledge)
In closing, John Locke was a very significant figure on how we educate children today. He gave us the idea of starting students with a clean slate, the use of the scientific method, and the essential use of all the senses. All these ideas are important aspects of today's classroom and will most assuredly be a continued use in the future.
The empirical way of teaching has brought about the use of the scientific method. First, students must observe a situation and decide if there is a problem. Secondly, make an educated guess, or hypothesis, of what will happen. Next, test this hypothesis. If it is true then draw a conclusion. If not, make a new hypothesis and test again. This is a very valuable way to learn. The students get to experience the whole situation and will in tern retain and understand this information better.
siders the new mind as white paper or wax. It is to be moulded and formed as one pleases. It is up to t
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