Education in Mesopotamia
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Education in Mesopotamia
The civilization in Mesopotamia developed at about the same time as that in Egypt. So, Mesopotamia developed education quite similar to that of Egypt with regard to its purpose and training. It was practical and aimed to train scribes and priests. It was extended from basic reading, writing and religion to higher learning in law, medicine and astrology.
Generally, youth of the nobles were trained to become scribes, who later functioned either as copyists, librarians or teachers. Schools for priests were said to be as numerous as temples, indicating the thoroughness and the supremacy of priestly education. Very little is known about higher education, but the advancement of the priestly work sheds light upon the
extensive nature of intellectual pursuit.
As with Egypt, the priests in Mesopotamia dominated the intellectual and educational domain as well as the applied. The library formed the centre of intellectual activity, which usually operated in a temple under the supervision of renowned priests. Teachers employed memorization, oral repetition, copying of models, and individual instruction. The period of
education was long and rigorous and discipline was harsh.
Civilization in North China began with the emergence of the Shang era. Thus, complex educational practices began from a very early date. In fact, virtually every character (or letter) of the Chinese orthography was already formed more than 3,000 years ago. Ancient Chinese education was mainly secular in nature, although it at the same time, aimed to improve the morals of the youth to develop a sense of moral sensitivity and duty toward people and the state. Even in the early stages of civilization, harmonious human relations, rituals, and music formed the curriculum. Formal colleges and schools probably existed by 1000 BC. Apart from the major centres in the provinces, there were less-organized institutions, such as halls of study, village schools, and district schools. As for the methods of education, ancient Chinese learned from bamboo books and obtained moral training and practice in rituals by word of mouth and example. Rigid rote learning, which became the norm in later Chinese education, did not seem to be used then. Education was regarded as the process of individual development from within.
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