AIMS OF PRIMITIVE EDUCATION

The basic aim of primitive education was security since the fundamental problem then was to stay alive, to protect oneself and his family from the destructive forces of nature, both human and divine. Fear, therefore, was the greatest stimulus for action, and also the earliest motive for education. Whether conscious of it or not the primitive man's educational aim was to prepare the young to secure himself and his family and to appease the gods or spirits that controlled his existence. His respect for trees, rocks, the sun, etc. gave rise to the earliest religion, ANIMISM.

The second aim of primitive education was conformity, since this was basic for social security. Conformity brought together families, clans and tribes so that they could conquer common dangers.

Primitive people have been able to survive by subordinating the interests of the individual to the interests of the group. Primitive education aimed at securing the continued existence of the group by restricting the activities of its members, unlike in complex democratic cultures where education seeks to achieve social security by increasing the intelligence, skill and freedom of all its members.

In ages past, education was simply enculturation, that is, the imposing of group characteristics upon children. For a member to deviate from the customs and beliefs of his tribe was unpardonable.

PRIMITIVE EDUCATION

To say just when education began is indeed difficult. Education is as old as life itself because prehistoric man must have passed on to his offspring, consciously or unconsiously, organized or unorganized, certain skills and attitudes that enabled them to survive.

When a primitive culture is contrasted with a civilized culture, marked differences will be noted:

First, primitive culture was relatively simple. Primitive man's activities were to feed, clothe, shelter and protect himself and those dependent on him.

Second, he had relatively narrow social and cultural contacts. His tribe was small and occupied a small area, but the life of the tribe bounded the world of his thinking and of his sympathies. Because of their limited cultural contacts, primitive people were extraordinarily conservative and prone to superstition. They clung with great tenacity to old ideas and ways of behavior. Belief in magic and the occult was universal among them. Their world was peopled with unseen beings, ghosts, spirits and deities. Illness, famine, storms, accidents and failure were attributed to actions of ill-disposed spirits. The safety of the group depended, therefore, on witch doctors and the faithfulness with which religious duties and ceremonies were performed.

Third, the organization of primitive life was tribal, not political, so that one function of education was to enable one to live with his relatives.

Lastly, the most significant feature was the absence from primitive cultures of reading and writing. They possessed arts and information but they lacked the methods by which these were collected and made available for use. They had stories, songs, implements and institutions but their educational activities were directed to the transmission of learning not to be learnes' development, the increase of knowledge, or the discovery of new skills.