Michel De Montaigne On the Education of Children

The Dynamics of the "Education of Children" The purpose of Montaigne's "Education of Children" is to lay down the philosophical groundwork for a new and innovative way of teaching children. The purpose of this new system is to foster the child's intellectual growth as opposed to filling the child's head with facts that he regurgitates, but does not understand. In Montaigne's words, the education should put a child "through its paces, making it taste things, …

…use" by finding valuable education in all of those around him (114). Montaigne even goes so far as to assert that eventually "even the stupidity and weakness of others will be an education to him" (115). Overall, with the completion of the relationship between tutor and pupil the end result will be a reasoning, virtuous, educated and extremely wise individual who will be well equipped to deal with the world and who will be constantly bettering himself.