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Confucius aimed to educate people by guiding them to "the good life" (Gutek, 2011). In order to do this, people would have to follow the way.

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Confucius's philosophy of education relied on ethical theories. He wanted people to do what was right in order to live in harmony (Gutek, 2011)

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Confucius felt that although their are many things out of a person's control (family they are born into, social status, etc.), there are also things that can be controlled and therefore should be. He argued that people can control their own behavior and should do so in an ethical manner. By conducting yourself in this way you become a good person that is contributing to the common good of the society.

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Confucianism is still followed today.  He created his philosophy during a time of chaos and turmoil in the warring states of China.  The following principles can still be applied today considering our current political state. The modern Confucian principles include:
1) truly ethical persons are not isolated but are socially connected and politically involved in their society;
2) the community of scholars, the members of the academy, have a role in furthering the national and global discussion of public policies and in educating responsible government officials; and
3) communities- local, national, and global- rest on and rely on respected relationships between their members (Gutek, 2011).

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Confucianism in Current Educational Practices

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Confucianism in Current Educational Practices

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Confucianism can provide a multicultural view of the world by connecting the common traits of people and the cultural diversity of the world (Gutek, 2011).

The human concern can reach beyond the local level to reach a global level of concern for the common good of the world.

Gutek (2011) states "In education, Confucianism lends itself to a perennial outlook on life that reoccurs in each generation." This is to say that the importance of ethical behavior transcends time and should be applied in any and all situations.

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Although Confucius created his philosophy thousands of years ago, his ideals really never died. It is important that educators continue with ethical and moral education. This should be an underlying theme across all grades. Being a good person is important to our modern world. Accepting others, following the way, and doing good will never go out of style.

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Plato saw philosophy as a great search for wisdom. He originated Idealism which spread to the Western world.

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The creation of Plato's philosophy was a solution to the "conflict between order and despotism" (Gutek, 2011).

In idealism, the aim of education is to discover and develop each individual's abilities and full moral potential in order to better serve society.

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"For Plato, what is true is always true and did not change with time and place" (Gutek, 2011).

Plato argued that how something is done (method) is a means of finding truth.

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Plato followed Socrates, his mentor, and was heavily influenced by his philosophies.

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Plato's theory of education was rooted in his dislike for socioeconomic rivalry.

This still exists today in modern institutions. Most schools tend to agree with/reflect the current political group (Gutek, 2011).

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Considered one of the most brilliant minds of the Western world, Plato posed a question that is still a premise for education today.

"What is good, true and beautiful?"
This question is the basis for modern education to decide what drives content and what makes it purposeful (Gutek, 2011).

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Many people disagree with Plato's philosophical views, especially when it comes to education.  Plato felt that "life and education in a democracy" could not be both fair and right.

Many teachers in the United States will not accept Plato's views of democracy but the idea of educating students to be contributing citizens to society is still relevant today.

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Socrates, mentor to Plato, stressed the importance of critical thinking and the search for meaning.  Socrates would take his students to the Athenian marketplace where he would facilitate discussions of goodness, truth, and beauty (Gutek, 2011).

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Socrates believed that knowledge is the most important source to having a reflective life.

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The Sophists believed that a teacher could simply give their knowledge to students.

Socrates argued this and claimed that students have predetermined thoughts and ideas. He argued that it was the job of the teacher to pull the information from the students. He would do this by asking questions that would cause the students to think critically and reflect on their own beliefs and ideas (Gutek, 2011).

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One of the most famous instructional strategies for teaching critical thinking skills is the Socratic method. This is still used today and relies on the same premise of knowledge being the source of reflective life. The teacher asks challenging questions to students in turn causing the students to reflect on their own thoughts and ideas.

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Aristotle, a student of Plato who broke with his mentor's idealist philosophy, is called the father of both Realism and the scientific method.

Aristotle believed that to understand an object, its ultimate form had to be understood, which does not change.

Aristotle also was the first to teach logic as a formal discipline.

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Aristotle believed that all humans shared the ability to reason. This belief established an extremely important tradition in the philosophy of education. The tradition says that the "inherent rationality" of humans should be "cultivated and exercised" in education (Gutek, 2011).

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Aristotle believed that a person should be educated in the liberal arts and sciences in order to be a well-rounded citizen. Aristotle felt that specialized training vs. general education is not as beneficial to a person.

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The field of education still credits Aristotle for his contributions.  His organization of fields continues to be used today.  The liberal arts are widely embraced in today's society.  Students in the United States, k-12, are given a general education.  Some students even choose to go to a liberal arts college.

Aristotle's claim of the power of rationality has continued to impact education today. Many educators use this idea to cultivate intellectual thought (Gutek, 2011).

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Gutek, G. L. (2011). Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education. (5th ed.) Pearson,

Boston: MA