4-2. Factors of Education
According to Khajeh Naseer, human's deeds, behaviors and thoughts are among those factors which make their personality in such a manner that when an action is repeated, it influences people's inner self and gradually forms permanent and firm disposition and becomes so hard that is not easily perishable and transitory. Therefore, one who lives thinking alwaysconcerning the Origin and Return day, his or her soul is affected accordingly and accepts those states consistent with such thought and effects. One of the other influencing factors on man's personality is a companion and playmate. Thus, it is up to all people to socialize and associate with those who are pure from evils and adorned with virtues.
On the basis of this, those, who seek perfection, should search for an anthropos teleios (the perfect man), associate with him and accept his speech so that they may reach perfection, because every being, who wants to attain perfection, should attain herself or himself to a more perfect being in order that he may enjoy his perfection. It should be noted in this regard that the highest companionship and association is the association with God, His name and his remembrance and surrendering to Him that gives a divine color to human's behavior and thought (Beheshti, Abuja'afari & 2000).There are many factors which are effective on one's education. Two most important factors in this field are 'heritage' and 'environment'.
Ghazali, following Islam, accepts the effect of heritage on human's education. He also refers to some Islamic traditions to mention the importance of individual heritage and its role in creating the personality backgrounds in a child. Therefore, Ghazali deems it necessary that a spouse should be righteous, pious, faithful and friendly. He emphasizes that people are not to give, as wives, their girls to ill-tempered, weak in faith men. That is because the consideration of these facts does not let reprehensible heritage factors affect the growth and development of a child's personality. On the other hand,
Ghazali also accepts the influence of environment on the education of people. The environmental factors can be divided into two groups: first) non-humanistic factors, which are divided into natural and supernatural factors. Second) humanistic factors, which are divided into family, school, community (group of friends), and individual factors. As for the natural factors. Ghazali does consider the instructional role of nature, and according to this, he has invited people to external (objective) Journey. Ghazali believes in the effect of supernatural factors on human's life, personality and education. He considers God as the basis and principle in man's life, the creation of his personality, and his education. Other things are considered only as some means or instruments. Ghazali also believes that true knowledge is the result of illuminative disclosure and intuition that he calls such knowledge, "God-given knowledge" and considers it as a divine gift. As for the other factors, Ghazali mentions the roles and duties of parents, teachers, friends, and students. Observing such duties and tasks may have very good influences on pupils and students (Rafiei, 2002). The principle that all philosophers and moralists have agreed upon is this fact that the ultimate aim or goal of seeking knowledge and education is a religious aim, and as Ghazali says that this aim is learning a knowledge which is useful in the hereafter and that encourages its learner to obey God and brings him to a certitude that is the source and origin of knowledge.
Khajeh Naseer also considered it compulsory for learners to obtain God's satisfaction, purify ignorance from themselves and others, and revive the religion and keep it through
promotion of good and prevention of evil in themselves and their relatives as much as possible (Ali & Reza; translation, criticism, and additions by Rafiee, 2005).
Ghazali has considered teacher as the successor of the prophet of Islam in guidance of people provided that he or she is adorned with some moral virtues including endurance, gratitude, trust in God, certitude, open handedness, contentment, tranquility of the soul, patience, humbleness, knowledge, truth, modesty, loyalty, dignity, and equanimity. If all of these admirable characteristics are available in a teacher, then he will be a light of the prophet's lights that deserves to be followed by others. Ghazali is of the opinion that those involved in instruction have undertaken a great work, then they should respect manners and duties of being a teacher (Ali & Reza; translation, criticism and additions by Rafiee, 2005).
Ghazali believes that nutrition, parents, school, companions, exercise, encouragement...etc., are effective in education (Howzeh- university Co-Operation Center, 1993, P.305).
According to Moulavi, interaction of humans is of the important foundations of education. People are affected by different factors such as parents, educators, teachers, friends, social and environmental conditions and situations. On the other hand, good or bad behaviors and actions of human beings make their dispositions, and their intentions, thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and inner things make their appearance. In fact, apparent deeds and behaviors and inner intentions and beliefs are always in continuous interaction until man's personality and character is created. Moulavi has mentioned
such interaction in different parts of his poems and writings. He has explained the influence on people by their educators, friends, companions, temptations, imaginations, thoughts, etc., and considering all of these, he has deemed it impossible that one can take the way of happiness without a guaranteed and secure model and example. Regarding good and bad thoughts, imagination and temptation to beauty, he believes that bad thoughts of humans make them sensitive, depressed, out of spirit, and disappointed- Moulavi was of the opinion that someone's speech, behavior, insight, and thinking make his real personality and character, and his personality structure is influenced by them. Sins cause man's spirit to decline. He also considered the decline and depression of spirit and the happiness and cheerfulness of one's spirit as a being influenced by actions and behaviors.. Man's spirit tends to egoism due to false imaginations and illusions, vanities, such as servility, eulogy, and flattering, and his heart gradually becomes sick and he violates (laws or traditions). The basis of all of these is baseless imaginations and invalid fancies. Even, it is peoples' vanities that have caused some wars, corruption, disgrace and all that they have been involved in (Beheshti, Abuja'fari & Faqihi, 2000, pp. 201-204).
Ibn Khaldun believes that there are different factors effective in man's education. These factors can be classified into three groups: social, psychological, and natural. Social factors are divided into life situation, social situation, job situation, and fanaticism. Psychological factors are divided into intimacy, habit, and imitation. Natural factors are divided into
weather, existence environment, and kind of food (Beheshti, Faqihi & Abuja'afari, 2001, pp. 95-108).
Motahhari (1997) introduces the following items as the factors of education :
Enforcement of will power and worship
Affection, the enforcement of the sense of seeking the truth
Meditation or watching over the self, and self-examination
Thinking (thought), affection to friends of God, marriage, striving in the way of God
Work (having an occupation).
Sa'di places much emphasis on the determinative role of inheritance and heritage on man, to the extent that he says, "An evil root will not thrive in a goodly shade. To educate the worthless is like throwing a walnut upon a dome. Though the clouds should pour down the water of life, you would never gather fruit from the branch of the willow. Waste not your time on low people, for we can never obtain sugar from the reed. The wolf's whelp will at length become a wolf, although it be brought up along with men. How can anyone form a good sword out of bad iron? 0 ye philosophers, it is impossible to convert a worthless wretch into a good man. The rain, in whose nature there is no partiality, produces tulips in the garden, but only weeds in a barren soil. A sterile soil will not yield spikenard, waste not then seed upon it" (Gulistan, chapter I, tale IV). In another tale, he says, "When nature has given capacity, instruction will make impression, but if iron is not of
a proper temper, no polishing will make it good" (Gulistan, chapter VII, tale I).
Sa'di believes that "a capacity without education is deplorable" (Gulistan, chapter VIII, tale LVI). He gives some examples of this, saying, "the education is the same, but the capacities are different; although silver and gold are produced from a stone, yet these metals are not to be found in every stone. The star Canopus shines all over the world, but the scented leather comes only from Yemen" (Gulistan, chapter VII, tale VI). Therefore, Sa'di concludes that "an education without capacity is thrown away" (Gulistan, chapter VIII, tale LVI). "A student without inclination is a lover without money; a traveler without observation, is a bird without wings; a learned man without works, is a tree without fruit; and a devotee without knowledge, is a house without a door" (Gulistan, chapter VIII, tale LXXI). In spite of this, Sa'di emphasizes the role of education in childhood and believes, "He who is not taught good manners in his childhood will have no good qualities when he arrives at manhood" (Gulistan, chapter XII, tale III). Sa'di likens a child to a piece of green wood that can be bent as much as we please, but when it dries, it cannot be made straight without fire (ibid).
Sa'di believes that good children are so important for their parents and society that "it is better in the opinion of the wise that a woman in labor should bring forth a serpent than wicked children" (Gulistan, chapter VII, tale X). Therefore, it is up to educators to teach wisdom to their sons. He counsels, "If you desire your name to be remembered, teach your son wisdom
and judgment" (Bustan, pp. 382-383). Sa'di places so much emphasis on intellect that he believes if such a son "lacks both these assets, you will die, and have no descendants" (p. 383). Sa'di admonished that it is up to the parents and educators to take care of their sons and bring them comport "so that their eyes are not fixed at others' hands, because he who shows no care of his offspring will see him cared for by others and roaming about" (Bustan, year, p. 384).
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