ON ROUSSEAU

557 Words

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Emile

Translated by Barbara Foxley

How to become (and raise) a free thinker

Rousseau implores us to educate the next generation as free thinkers and hard workers who help us push our society forward. Rousseau says that "plants are fashioned by cultivation, man by education". To grow these new age men (and women), Rousseau suggests a series of teaching styles and important lessons we all must know.

Rousseau starts off by introducing "the three masters of education" : nature, men, and other things. Nature can teach the basics of math, geography, and general skills for life. Watching men, children can pickup language, basic problem solving, and the "established custom" of living. Other things can both teach and inspire a young learner. It is also pertinent to raise a tough child through these masters. Things like swaddling and sanitary living are harmful for a child’s development. Amongst the master of nature: dirt, rocks, mud, and anything else found in nature is pertinent to making strong child who isn’t afraid of being dirty.

Children in Rousseau’s style of education can almost be summarized in one sentence: "teach him to live rather than to avoid death". Rousseau also says that "Emile shall have no head pads", meaning that injury is welcomed as a form of a lesson, rather than coddling. Rousseau strongly believes that children who can fail will be stronger. He says that "experience precedes instruction", meaning that the child who fails, then asks how to do it properly, will have a better chance at succeeding over another child who has just been taught and never failed. Another line says that "starting from opposite ends, without thinking of following the same road, he will unexpectedly reach their meeting place and this will be a delightful surprise". This line is in referral to when Rousseau and Emile are in the woods trying to find their way back. Instead of Rousseau leading the charge and leading Emile out, he allows Emile to get lost. This forces Emile into a safe yet real situation of problem solving and basic ingenuity through logic. This same mentality, if taught at a young age, helps the child grow into a smart and resourceful solutionist.

When Emile was written, during the french enlightenment era, change was in the air. Rousseau stressed that the next generation to fill the shoes of thinkers like himself must be unbound by the current status quo and openminded contemporaries. He says that the child "[should] not be tormented by any imaginary wants; he cares nothing what others think". He asks the parent to let their child "make their own map" with their "eyes their compass". Although Rousseau says that children should be free thinkers, he also says that children should not believe in wrong or confused ideas. He says to "not teach the child many things, but never let him form inaccurate or confused ideas". Along the lines of being a free thinker, Rousseau emphasizes enjoying the process of learning as well. He likens "a child gathering seashells" to "a man in love with knowledge".

The culmination of independence, an ability to fail, an enjoyment of learning, and an overall emphasized natural curiosity can create a generation of people in our world ready to expel hatred and false idols and propel our world into a more just and beautiful future.