the 16th to the 18th century: reform of illustrious

 

This period is framed by two important educational events: the beginning of publications of father Feijoo and closing 'the royal Institute' military pestalozzien. Reform educational, which place door on doctrinal and practical plans. It will work to revise the education as a whole. In other words, this reform will review, not only the theoretical content of education, but also the materials of nature practice. Most of the intellectuals of this time were great educators and politicians. Among other illustrious people reform, we can name: Feijoo and Sarmiento, because they had "a serious educational response to the problems of Spanish society" [4].

Benito Jerónimo Feijoo (1677-1764) published from 1726 to 1760: Theatre critic universal and erudite and curious letters. In this book, he tackles fiercely what undermined education and culture. It is as well that it detects and condemns mediocrity as being a failure and imperfection of the whole society. He summed up his thoughts in this declaration; "Me, a free citizen of the Republic, either slave of Aristotle or ally of the enemies, I would always listen to that experience and the reason will dictate me in preference to any authority private» [5]. It is a civic and provocative statement that will have its fulfillment in the objective of reform that it is fixed.

He envisaged the reform of University studies, subtracting it from the influence of Scholasticism. To do this, he proposed to change the study we did of simulas (logical principles), logic, metaphysics and physics that they treated metaphysically. He defended the importance and development of the physical sciences. Given the primacy that it accords to the experience and the criticism he made in Descartes, placed on an empirical line close enough of Novun organum Bacon and with net reminiscences of Vives.

Feijoo work can be described as test of a sound pedagogy that claimed configure society according to philosophical thought, requiring every man a rigor and intellectual honesty.

Fray Martin Sarmiento, real name Pedro José Gasende of Balboa, is "the largest representative of like Comenius pedagogic realism" [6]. Beside the various writings on materials: linguistic, botanical, history or literature, Sarmiento abounded the most on education, in "particularly concern the development of studies, from reform educational of the country, in which he saw the solution to the existing decadence ' [7].

Its teaching is based on two fundamental principles: the principle of rigorous graduation of education, which advocates the passage from the concrete to the abstract, the spiritual material; and the principle of the consequential and precise name in the vernacular of the objects you want to identify. This second principle gives emphasis to local languages which, because of their educational need, will enable citizens to translate knowledge in accordance with their cultural scheme of understanding. He went to reform school structure. So he delineated and demanded the school record that includes all information on the high: diseases, vaccines, although other indications and intellectual development.

If the first step of gradation ripened on intuition, «he felt that the real key to science and even the logic was in arithmetic and geometry» [8]. His concern for the method goes together with an interest in training and the selection of teachers. He demanded much of the teacher. For him, the latter must master what it gives to children. And it goes so far as to assign the responsibility for the failure of the student. Moreover, it is Miss charity to evade ethics of education as he said: «it is a work of mercy to teach one who does not know. One who knows not teach between in this business to have to eat is not a work of mercy, but injustice and dissatisfied gossip» [9].