ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the implications for modern education of the thought of Augustine, one of the greatest practitioners and theorists of pedagogy. It looks at the pear tree incident in Book 2 of Augustine’s Confessions, to see how the issue of peer pressure is raised. It is worth considering the turning points in the Confessions, the points when Augustine or someone else is turned towards God, and noting that they are practically all solitary, or shared with just one other person, not a group. In Augustine’s experience, education is debasing in its goals, its practice, and its content. Its goals are only to advance one in an earthly career, to bring success, not wisdom, and it fosters as well as stems from human pride. Education is most often a group activity, and as such it is subject to the temptations and challenges that infect and influence any group activity, as Augustine describes in the Confessions.
