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Ap European Education Dbq Essay

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During the Renaissance, Europe’s education system began to change overtime as it came to be challenged by new values and purposes. Education was seen as a way to acknowledge humanistic values through the focus of the classics. Teachings beyond the basics led to emphasis on social fancy, which was later overcome by religious morals that became more prominent. This system shortly came to be criticized for its failures and its insignificant need to people who sought a greater increase in laborers.
Before the Renaissance, education wasn’t as important to people, particularly during the the period of the dark ages and the Black Plague. It wasn’t until the rebirth of Italy, that humanist values began to emerge in schools. Referring to literature …show more content…

Michael de Montaigne, a French essayist and politician, detested the concept of the educational system making students learned but not good and wise. Thus he believed the material selected for schooling was improper, considering that only the best Greek and Latin books were chosen rather than those with true opinions. He claimed that students should not be taught a bias point of view, for it was failing in a moral sense and hence ineffective (Document 5). An English schoolmaster, John Brinsley, believed that students were not able to apply their learning effectively and had, “... little sense of the meaning and true use of learning ...” (Document 6). To Brinsley this was considered a waste of time and money for students that returned home “... almost as crude as when they went” to school. Brinsley and Montaigne both wanted to make changes to the education system and what they were teaching students. Unlike others, the belief of a social demand for “... more hard-working bodies than dreamy and contemplative spirits,” claimed that education wasn’t for everyone (Document 7). People argued that the majority of jobs that were in need of workers did not require people to be educated. As these challenges came to view, the values and purposes of education began to

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