Learning from predecessors: Disclosing the inspiring potential of historical educators

Abstract

Biographers of the English Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965) describe him as an insatiable reader. From an early age he read classic books (Roberts, 2018: 16). Owing to his incomparable memory, later in life, he could quote many authors by heart in his numerous speeches. It is also said that many decisions in his political life can be traced back to influences from the books he read (Rose, 2015). One of the reasons to pay special attention to historical educators in an issue of this journal is our conviction that the study of past writers on teaching and learning may influence the attitude and decisions of teachers. In the case of Churchill, many books he read were not on politics. And yet it is clearly traceable how the works of, for example, Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and G.B. Shaw came back to him later in his political career. In the case of teachers, we assume similar processes may happen. All the books they have read will have influenced, in one way or another, how they perceive the world, and more specifically how they look at interpersonal relationships. What can be said about the influence of the reading of historical educators? And more precisely, does it make sense to use texts and stories from decades or even centuries ago in teacher education? Reflecting on this question, we can think about two approaches to the educational profession. The first is to see it as a matter of skills needed to adequately and efficiently facilitate the learning of the younger generation. Teachers and teacher educators will generally be convinced of the importance of skills. You need to practice how to prepare a lesson, how to tell a story, how to clearly instruct a class, and, last but not least, in this day and age you need to be able to efficiently use digital tools in your instruction. Many teachers, however, would say that practicing skills does not cover the whole story. Therefore, another approach to education is needed, which puts personal and professional formation in a different light. To give words to that approach, it is helpful to frame education as a practice that is embedded in a tradition. The word tradition relates to the