Concept in Definition ABC
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
By Javier Navarro, on Feb. 2016
Teaching is a term that in its different meanings and contexts is related to the concepts of teaching, training or education. education. The word magisterium comes from the Latin magistri, who were the private teachers of the children of the Roman patricians, who were normally educated by slaves of Greek origin. It must be borne in mind that the Roman civilization felt a deep admiration for the culture Greek and educated Greeks were the ideal persons to train the children of the most wealthy.
The Magisterium of the Ancient Greeks and Romans
Although the word magisterium must be placed in the context of Roman culture, it was the Greeks who started this tradition. In fact, the Greek philosophical schools were founded with the figure of a great teacher who was surrounded by disciples who followed his teachings on various subjects (rhetoric, moral, philosophy or science). In Greece we find philosophers who exercised a teaching that was decisive for the history of the
thought, as it happened with the school Pythagorean, the Platonic Academy, the Lyceum of Aristotle or the schools promoted by the Sophists. This cultural tradition was assumed by the Romans and applied in public education or in the formation of elites. It should not be forgotten that the Romans institutionalized the school (schola) and other training centers such as the gymnasium.The teaching career
The term teaching is currently used to refer to academic studies aimed at preparing future teachers. Thus, studying the teaching degree is intended for the exercise of the teaching profession in the early educational stages.
Studying teaching is a decision with a clear vocational component, since the teacher must teach both students who want to learn and those who are not too interested in the knowledge
The teaching degree has some specializations (infant, primary, special education or in languages, among others) and is subject to a study plan, a pedagogy and a methodology of teaching.
The teaching process-learning Today it maintains the same fundamental idea as in ancient Rome, that is, to train children in the rudiments of reading, writing, socialization, physical education and culture in general.
On the other hand, the figure of the teacher and the idea of teaching go beyond the academic sphere, since the exercise of teaching can be carried out by an intellectual, an artist or a creator through his contributions to the whole of the society.
Photos: iStock - Steve Debenport / Christopher Futcher
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