For most of mankind s history and in indigenous cultures today, children learn by being around adults. The whole community educates the child by directly teaching, by letting the child observe, and by encouraging the child to practice on his or her own. Here the child is immersed in a world of people of all ages. Play is spent with those approximately the child s age. Education is not so limiting.
Apprenticeship is an offshoot of the community s education efforts.
Here a formal pairing of a youth with a skilled tradesman or practitioner allows for more intensive education. The tutor can be an outsider or the parent. In a few areas of our country one-room schoolhouses still exist. Here children of all ages are educated together. While one teacher is in charge, invariably the older students assist in teaching the younger ones.