Eduard C. Lindeman
Encyclopedia
Eduard C. Lindeman was an American educator, notable for his pioneering contributions in adult education
. He introduced many concepts of modern adult education in his book, The Meaning of Adult Education.
, one of ten children of Danish immigrant parents, Frederick and Frederika (von Piper) Lindemann. Orphaned at an early age, Lindeman gained work experience through jobs as stable cleaner, nurseryman, gravedigger
, brickyard worker, and deliverer of groceries while attending formal schooling only intermittently. At age 22, he gained admittance to Michigan State College with academic skills well below average in the areas of reading and writing abilities. Despite this, as an undergraduate he authored essays, poetry, editorials, and a four act play.
and 4-H
clubs, served on various commissions, filled the capacity of advisory editor, and was Chair of the American Civil Liberties Union
Commission of Academic Freedom
. His work transcended traditional subject borders and disciplines, labeling Lindeman as primarily a social worker turned philosopher. Soon after joining the New York School of Social Work in 1926, he published his major work on adult education, The Meaning of Adult Education. Between this accomplishment and his retirement in 1950, Lindeman published approximately 204 articles, 107 book reviews, five books, 16 monographs, and 17 chapters in other works. He edited four books, shared joint authorship of another, and gave at least 44 lectures of which some written record remains.
; Danish philosopher/educator/theologian Nikolai Grundtvig; and writer/philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson
. Being a friend and colleague of John Dewey, Lindeman shared with him a concern for social justice, a belief in the possibilities of education and human action, and a deep commitment to democracy
. His key assumptions about adult learners were:
Lindeman’s vision for education was not bound by classrooms and formal curricula. It involved a concern for the educational possibilities of everyday life; non-vocational ideals; situations not subjects; and people’s experience. He viewed education as life. The whole of life is learning, therefore education can have no ending. Lindeman felt our academic system to be in reverse order with subjects and teachers constituting the starting point and students secondary. In conventional education the student is required to adjust to an established curriculum; in adult education the curriculum is built around the students’ needs and interests. He believed:
It is interesting to note that Lindeman did not dichotomize adult
versus youth education, but rather adult versus "conventional" education. The implication is that youths might learn better, too, when their needs and interests, life situations, experiences, self concepts, and individual differences are taken into account. Lindeman further expressed his views by writing, "None but the humble become good teachers of adults. In an adult class the student’s experience counts for as much as the teacher’s knowledge...sometimes it is difficult to discover who is learning most, the teacher or the students."
At a testimonial dinner in 1953, the last year of Lindeman’s life, Malcolm Knowles
’ tribute letter addressed Lindeman as the one elder statesman in the field to whom the younger organizers of the new Adult Education Association have consistently and confidently turned for inspiration, moral support, and wise guidance.
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
. He introduced many concepts of modern adult education in his book, The Meaning of Adult Education.
Background
Eduard Christian Lindeman was born in St. Clair, MichiganSt. Clair, Michigan
St. Clair is a city in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,802 at the 2000 census. The city is located on the St. Clair River near the southeast corner of St. Clair Township.-Geography:...
, one of ten children of Danish immigrant parents, Frederick and Frederika (von Piper) Lindemann. Orphaned at an early age, Lindeman gained work experience through jobs as stable cleaner, nurseryman, gravedigger
Gravedigger
A gravedigger is a cemetery worker responsible for digging graves used in the process of burial.-Fossors:Fossor or Fossarius , from the Latin verb fodere 'to dig', referred to grave diggers in the Roman catacombs in the first three centuries of the Christian Era...
, brickyard worker, and deliverer of groceries while attending formal schooling only intermittently. At age 22, he gained admittance to Michigan State College with academic skills well below average in the areas of reading and writing abilities. Despite this, as an undergraduate he authored essays, poetry, editorials, and a four act play.
Professional career
Following college, Lindeman worked as an educator in variety of settings with young people and adults including the Chicago YMCAYMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
and 4-H
4-H
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...
clubs, served on various commissions, filled the capacity of advisory editor, and was Chair of the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
Commission of Academic Freedom
Academic freedom
Academic freedom is the belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy, and that scholars should have freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment.Academic freedom is a...
. His work transcended traditional subject borders and disciplines, labeling Lindeman as primarily a social worker turned philosopher. Soon after joining the New York School of Social Work in 1926, he published his major work on adult education, The Meaning of Adult Education. Between this accomplishment and his retirement in 1950, Lindeman published approximately 204 articles, 107 book reviews, five books, 16 monographs, and 17 chapters in other works. He edited four books, shared joint authorship of another, and gave at least 44 lectures of which some written record remains.
Educational philosophy
Lindeman drew much of his intellectual constructs from three principal sources: educational philosopher John DeweyJohn Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
; Danish philosopher/educator/theologian Nikolai Grundtvig; and writer/philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
. Being a friend and colleague of John Dewey, Lindeman shared with him a concern for social justice, a belief in the possibilities of education and human action, and a deep commitment to democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
. His key assumptions about adult learners were:
- Adults are motivated to learn as they experience needs and interests that learning will satisfy.
- Adults’ orientation to learning is life-centered.
- Experience is the richest source for adult’s learning.
- Adults have a deep need to be self-directing.
- Individual differences among people increase with age.
Lindeman’s vision for education was not bound by classrooms and formal curricula. It involved a concern for the educational possibilities of everyday life; non-vocational ideals; situations not subjects; and people’s experience. He viewed education as life. The whole of life is learning, therefore education can have no ending. Lindeman felt our academic system to be in reverse order with subjects and teachers constituting the starting point and students secondary. In conventional education the student is required to adjust to an established curriculum; in adult education the curriculum is built around the students’ needs and interests. He believed:
- Education should be coterminous with life
- It should revolve around non-academic and non-vocational ideas
- It should start with the lives of the learners
- It should look to the learner's own experience as its most valuable resource
It is interesting to note that Lindeman did not dichotomize adult
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
versus youth education, but rather adult versus "conventional" education. The implication is that youths might learn better, too, when their needs and interests, life situations, experiences, self concepts, and individual differences are taken into account. Lindeman further expressed his views by writing, "None but the humble become good teachers of adults. In an adult class the student’s experience counts for as much as the teacher’s knowledge...sometimes it is difficult to discover who is learning most, the teacher or the students."
At a testimonial dinner in 1953, the last year of Lindeman’s life, Malcolm Knowles
Malcolm Knowles
Malcolm Shepherd Knowles was an American Adult Educator, famous for the adoption of the theory of Andragogy—initially a term coined by the German teacher Alexander Kapp...
’ tribute letter addressed Lindeman as the one elder statesman in the field to whom the younger organizers of the new Adult Education Association have consistently and confidently turned for inspiration, moral support, and wise guidance.
Quotes
- Adult education is a co-operative venture in non-authoritarian, informal learning the chief purpose of which is to discover the meaning of experience; a quest of the mind which digs down to the roots of the preconceptions which formulate our conduct; a technique of learning for adults which makes education coterminous with life, and hence elevates living itself to the level of an experiment.
- What is Adult Education? (1925)
- Adult education will become an agency of progress if its short-term goal of self-improvement can be made compatible with a long-term, experimental but resolute policy of changing the social order.
- The Meaning of Adult Education (1926)
- Small groups of aspiring adults who desire to keep their minds fresh and vigorous; who begin to learn by confronting pertinent situations; who dig down into the reservoirs of their secondary facts; who are led in the discussion by teachers who are also seekers after wisdom and not oracles: this constitutes the setting for adult education the modern quest for life’s meaning.
- The Meaning of Adult Education (1926)
- Every social action group should at the same time be an adult education group, and I go even as far as to believe that all successful adult educationAdult educationAdult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
groups sooner or later become social action groups.- The Sociology of Adult Education (1945)
External links
- Eduard Christian Lindeman
- Informal Education: Eduard Lindeman - good overview of Lindeman's philosophy
- Eduard C. Lindeman Papers (at Columbia University)