Lives in Education: A Narrative of People and Ideas

pedagogy. In contrast, Protestant reformers, of whom Comenius is the most frequently and positively cited educational example, are seen as part of the early development of progressive methods and state (secular) systems of instruction. Actually, Loyola and Comenius were remarkable for their similarities, not their differences. Their Weltanschauungen (world views) were practically the same, notwithstanding the fact that Loyola had been dead for thirty-six years when Comenius was born. Both were devout Christians for whom church and state were fundamentally intertwined, and each combined intense zeal with thorough practicality. Their educational approaches were virtually identical and contained numerous elements of what is currently regarded as "best practice" in teaching. At the same time, neither Catholics nor Protestants favored secularization of instruction. Thus, although the Reformation was politically divisive, it was a positive force in educational development because Protestants and Catholics competed so ferociously to provide attractive and effective schools.

The Reformation did less for women and for equalizing educational opportunity than has sometimes been assumed. The emphasis on vernacular schools for all and classical schools for leaders was the basis for two- track school systems in all European countries. Inexpensive elementary, folk, or petty schools taught basic vernacular literacy and religion to common folk. Elite gymnasia, grammar schools, lycées and academies taught Latin and other university preparatory subjects to boys from families who could afford expensive tuition.

The democratizing influences of the American encounter, as we shall see in Chapters 6 and 7, challenged and ultimately altered this structure. The preeminence of schooling, as opposed to other possible ways of organizing instruction and learning, has remained for many a basic tenet. The centrality of religion is more controversial. The idea that a small elite should have access to more and different schooling than others has not survived as a reputable notion among many, although a few theorists continue to advocate it. Attitudes about this last item derive from basic assumptions about how humans learn, as we shall see in Chapter 6.

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