India and Persia are two fo the oldest civilizations known to man. Both of these civilizations have had a strong influence on many in the world today. This post takes a brief look at the system of education that each of these civilizations employed during their time.
India
In India, parents raised their children to be absolutely obedient. Children were also expected to demonstrate politeness, patience, and modesty. These were the traits that parents focused on when raising children.
India has had a rather stringent caste. There are four basic castes and they are the
- Brahmans-Priest and teachers
- Kshatriyas-Warriors
- Vaishya-Merchants and farmers
- Sudras-Peasant and laborers
You can see from the above list that it was the Brahmans who provided education to the other classes. This was done through a system that emphasized memorization. The students would memorize what the teacher said in a sing-song call and response style. Students simply did what they were told and never thought to ask why they were learning this way.
Only Brahmans received higher education. However, for those who went into teaching, there was no real preparation. As such, everyone taught in whatever manner they saw fight as there was no real philosophy of education.
Persia
The Persian system of education is relatively different from India’s. Early obedience of the children was not as important to Persians as it was to Indians. For example, children were not taught right from wrong in Persian culture until about 5 years of age. Also, children were not spanked until about 7 years old.
Persia also had a more militaristic outlook given that it was several times a world empire. As such, children were seen as belonging to the state. Therefore, at the age of 7, it was the state who educated the child and not the parents or some form of private tutoring. The government educational system was divided into three levels and was primarily a military training, which means it was focused on boys rather than on girls.
The first stage of education lasted form 7-15 years of age. This stage focused on physical training for war and memorizing proverbs. Memorization is a major characteristic of education in the past. This is looked down upon now but living in an age without books, paper, and or computer, memory was much more important in the past than today.
Stage two continued from 15 to the age of 25. This stage involved even more military training. Academics were never that important for the typical Persian. AS such, heavy emphasis on the physical aspects of military preparation was most important.
The final stage of education technically doesn’t end and went from 25 to the age of 50 when a soldier retired from the military. This implies that there was always some form of trying and educating happening within the military. The best soldiers would retire and then become teachers of the same system in which they had gone through.
Conclusion
Indian and Persian education had different goals. India’s education was focused on memorization and caste structure while Persia’s system was geared towards the maintenance and expansion of the state. These differing goals are reflected in how each nation educated their children