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Bertrand Russell

About Russell:

During most of his existence, Bertrand Russell had a passion for knowledge and training. “Education and the Good Life”, published in 1926, and “Education and the Social Order”, published in 1932, are his two most important works on the matter. In between completion of such two books, he co-founded “Beacon Hill School” in 1927 with his second marriage, Dora Black. During his lifetime, Russell kept on writing on schooling. He began to compose one chapter on the topic in nearly all of his books of social criticism.

His view on education:

The objectives of education are not fixed and unchanging. The objectives of education vary from one nation to the next because they are based on the real-world circumstances of each nation or society.

Catholics have distinct educational objectives than do Protestants. Different people have different ways of expressing their educational goals. The objectives of education are heavily influenced by political views. The goals of education in Russia will inevitably differ from those in the United States.

“Students should not be utilized for any other reason,” stressed Russell. “Their wellbeing should be the primary goal of school.” Just through education can intelligent, excellent people be produced. Bertrand Russell argued that pupils’ brains and personality cannot grow if the instructor is not warm and compassionate to them. No individual can be a competent teacher unless he has real compassion for his students and a sincere desire to educate them on what he personally thinks is valuable.

Russell’s Ideology:

Russell describes this process as a journey of personal growth. Self-improvement, however, is only attainable within and around society. Each person has a social self. Russell pushed for schooling to foster civic virtue and innovation. Russell has attempted to successfully combine individuality with socialism in this area as well.

Social advancement is necessary for personal growth, but not the other way around. “The manufacture of a productive citizen is not, on the surface, the same object as the nurturing of the individual mind,” stated Russell. “The person should reflect the world,” The development of a strong feeling of global citizenship will be the most important necessity in the nearish term, according to Russell. Knowledge, in his opinion, is not a goal in and of itself. It is a tool to achieve a goal.

Russell also brought up the debate between humanism and utilitarianism. He has made an effort to reach an amicable agreement in this respect. Human factors in education must be presented simply. Human aspects like history, literature, music, and the beautiful arts are just as vital as those with a practical application. Finer facets of life are developed through these disciplines.

Elements:

Vitality: Good health is a major factor in maintaining vitality. Therefore, developing excellent health is among education’s goals. Only a healthy physique allows for a mentally competent person. Mens sana in corpore sano, or a healthy mind in a healthy body, is the Greek ideal that Russell here exemplifies.
Courage: is a different virtue of character. All bravery is the absence of fear. Unfounded dread affects a large number of people, both knowingly or unknowingly. Fear should be eradicated from children’s minds via education. It is important to educate both sexes so they may live fearlessly. Fear should never be suppressed in any form. According to Russell, overcoming fear requires liveliness (good health) and esteem for oneself. A bold individual has a liberal, global (impersonal), and open-minded outlook on life.

Sensitivity: It is the third component of character development. Because one of our closest friends or family members is sad, we are likewise sad for him. However, there are times when we can relate to the suffering of people who are not close to us or in the room with us. As per Russell, this kind of conceptual sensitivity may be able to address several of the current problems of the present society. A substantial portion of the evils that emerge in the modern world would be eliminated if education produced sensitivity to abstract sensory input. Therefore, developing abstract sensitivity in students’ minds is one of education’s goals.
Intelligence: The fourth component of personal development is intellect. According to Russell, intelligence is the possession of knowledge as well as the likelihood of getting it. However, it really signifies the latter. According to Russell, intellect cannot be produced without information. It is important to provide pupils the time to consider.

Russell supports giving the kids independence since it is good for their psychological health and promotes their organic learning and expansion. “Rigid punishment for youngsters may result in mental stress and dysfunction.”

Predisposition in schooling also kills individuality and cognitive curiosity, which is another negative impact. Children’s anxiety over discipline might occasionally foster a negative attitude toward education. Russell is in support of personality and unstructured play-based discipline.