ROUSSEAU - KNOWLEDGE

<BODY> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=5><B><FONT SIZE=6>ROUSSEAU</FONT><BR> HISTORIAN OF THE HEART</B></FONT></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>What Can we Know?</B></FONT><P> Rousseau's belief in the natural goodness of man led him to outline an ideal of education that would preserve the child's natural virtue. The ideal education as outlined in "Emile" abandoned all forms of rote learning or compulsion. Instead, knowledge should be gained by doing and the stages at which knowledge is gained should be in response to the needs of the child. Education should preferably take place in a rural setting away from the corrupting influence of the city. The aim of education should be to produce happy individuals capable of leading satisfying lives as citizens of a free society. His views of education are reflected in a number of progressive notions in modern education.<P> <TABLE ALIGN=Left BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=2 CELLPADDING=1> <TR> <TD><IMG ALIGN=Left SRC="1409a.jpg" WIDTH="211" HEIGHT="200" ALT="ENVIRONMENT"></TD> </TR> </TABLE> Today, students are encouraged to interact with the natural environment in a variety of ways - from quiet contemplation to sensory immersion. Moreover, awareness of the environment is now regarded as an essential element of good citizenship. Australian education now sees "Study of Society and Environment" as a core learning area for all students.<BR clear=left> <BR clear=left><BR> <HR width=100%> <A HREF="http://www.creatorix.com.au"><IMG SRC="../creatorix.gif" WIDTH="85" HEIGHT="40" BORDER="0" ALT="Creatorix" align=right></A> </BODY>