Of all the great educators who shaped the concept of education into what it is today, Plato’s name deserves special mention. Apart from being a philosopher, his fame also rests on being a mathematician and writer of philosophical dialogues. He was the most famous student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle.
Plato has contributed greatly to develop the fundamental principles of education. The first institution of higher learning in the entire Western world was founded by Plato. The name of this school was the Academy. Today we use the word ‘academics’ to broadly refer to college and university courses or studies. It might interest you to know that the word ‘academics’ was originated from the name of Plato’s school.

To put it simply, the Academy was a university for higher learning that included astronomy, physical science, philosophy and mathematics. In this age of Transnational Universities , Plato’s Academy is still relevant.In addition to being the founder of the Academy, Plato delivered lectures there. Historians are of the opinion that it made use of a method of teaching which combined lectures, seminars and dialogues. Plato’s ideas on education appear in his other well-known work named Laws. It was his final work which he was still working on at the time of his death……

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