Starting from posting ya Lea at SekolahRumah mailing list about the phenomenon of school, I wanted to write a bit of my personal views about the theory of tabula rasa; that affects homeschooling model which we are living.
Tabula rasa is derived from Latin, meaning a blank paper. Tabula rasa refers to a theory which States that children born without content, in other words empty. This theory was influenced by the thinking of John Locke, from the 17th century.
A short piece of post ya Lea, who is a teacher, so I know that this tabula rasa theory has become one of the basic assumptions in conducting education in our schools at the moment. Assuming that the child is a blank paper, then the task of the teacher and the educational process is to fill the blank paper with information-information (lessons) that are important to children.
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In my personal view, the theory that view children as a blank paper is a very reductive. This resulted in the central process of learning (education) located in adults and passive conditioned kids (because they're just a blank to be filled in paper).
Knowledge of the theory of tabula rasa was intended to explain the phenomena of school children who are passive and main activities focus on teachers who teach the (fill in the blank paper). The involvement of the child cannot be considered too important, let alone the opinions and initiatives for children. If anything, it was all only a supplement to the main activities of yesteryear, namely fill in children.
More bother again, views about the "blank paper" was carried on in education, although students are HIGH SCHOOL level. HIGH SCHOOL level learning process is tantamount to elementary level, such as write a blank paper and the kids treat her like a blank paper (aka passive). That's the learning model is known and believed to be the truth, both by teachers and students.
Keep, the learning process by means of "write a blank paper" that continued until college level. Lecturer looking for easy way which only teach (knowledge transfer). Lazy professors to discuss, students also do not bother to do research and study before entering the classroom.
Then, until when "paper empty" it contains?
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To me, the kids are individuals with all of nature. There is indeed a part of the individual in children who have not developed as an adult. However, the individual was not a blank paper which passively accepting any influences from the environment.
When we look at the child as an individual, it will make the process of education that we are doing is different than if we view children as blank paper. With regard to children as individuals, we are involving children in the process of education for himself; We listen and pay attention to their opinions and making it an important in the educational process of the child.
Because of that point of view, I feel more agree with the view of Robert t. Kiyosaki (which seems to be rooted in the thinking of Plato) which stated that the essence of education is issuing a (potential), rather than fill children with pieces of information.
I think, that view is more appropriate. And such a view that became one of the spirit in our homeschooling.
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