Edmund Burke's Education In A Burkian Society

Education in a "Burkian" Society The Enlightenment period was host to a variety of reforms spanning social structures and government infrastructures. There is no better example of these reforms than the French Revolution which Edmund Burke saw unfold and led him to write Reflections on the Revolution in France. Burke was strongly against these reforms and argued for tradition and rigid social structure. Had Burke written an education plan, like Rousseau's Emile, the pupil would be well prepared to function in a society and contribute to the greater good having learned his duty from his forefathers. In a world dominated by a "Burkian" education, people would be "inheriting privileges, franchises, and liberties from a long line of ancestors"
Both impress upon the child that "people will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors" (203). It is important to look at your ancestors as guides. They say that history is the best teacher and it is wise to learn from it. Burke could not agree more. He believes knowledge from one's ancestors should be used to the utmost advantage. The knowledge of a society rests upon its history. Citizens are called to act upon this knowledge and continue the passage of information down blood lines. Fathers and mothers are the most important teachers in both divisions and educate their children on their ways of
Instead, this child is given the opportunity to expand his knowledge. During these three years, his reason and intellect have far surpassed his reason and intellect at age twelve. Due to this, the complex institution of religion is introduced. The child learns that "religion is the basis of civil society and the source of all good and of all comfort" (214). Parents impart upon the child the benefits of religion. Quickly the child learns that religion can aid them in governing others as it maintains social orders and quells violence. Both are important to the posterity of any community, large or small. By introducing religion in Stage Three, instead of Stage Two, the child understands the logic behind religion and can use religion to aid in governing the working class, while himself becoming a believer. Also by being introduced at a later age, the child learns how he can use the church to aid in governing his