Rousseau’s Thought of Natural Education and Its Contemporary Value

18世纪法国特殊的时代背景孕育了卢梭的思想，其以自然主义哲学和“性善论”为哲学基础，继承发展前人思想，形成独特体系。卢梭认为自然教育包含“自然的教育”“人的教育”“事物的教育”，目的是培养独立自强、自由平等、有伦理道德的“自然人”，需遵循顺应天性、重视实践、榜样教育和自然惩戒等原则，并将教育分为婴儿期、儿童期、少年期和青春期四个阶段，注重人的全面发展。当代教育面临应试教育弊端、教育内容与生活脱节、资源分配不均等困境，卢梭的思想有助于打破应试束缚，激发学生潜能，解决教育与生活脱节问题，促进学生全面发展。与杜威实用主义教育理论和蒙台梭利教育理论相比，卢梭更强调自然环境对人的塑造，虽有局限但独特性显著。在当代，卢梭自然教育思想能深化教育本质认知，适配课程教学改革，助力学生心理健康与个性发展，推动教育公平与社会和谐，启迪可持续发展教育，为当代教育改革发展提供了重要的理论指导与实践借鉴。The unique historical background of France in the 18th century gave birth to Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s thoughts. Based on naturalistic philosophy and the theory of “original goodness of human nature”, and by inheriting and developing the ideas of his predecessors, Rousseau formed a distinctive system of thought. Rousseau believed that natural education includes three aspects: “education from nature”, “education from people”, and “education from things”. The aim of natural education is to cultivate “natural men” who are independent, self-reliant, free, equal, and possess ethical and moral qualities. This education should follow principles such as conforming to human nature, emphasizing practice, using exemplary education, and applying natural punishment. Moreover, he divided education into four stages: infancy, childhood, adolescence, and youth, and placed great importance on the all-round development of individuals. Contemporary education is faced with various dilemmas, such as the drawbacks of exam-oriented education, the disconnection between educational content and real life, and the unequal distribution of educational resources. Rousseau’s ideas are helpful in breaking the shackles of exam-oriented education, stimulating students’ potential, bridging the gap between education and life, and promoting the all-round development of students. When compared with John Dewey’s pragmatic educational theory and Maria Montessori’s educational theory, Rousseau placed more emphasis on the shaping of individuals by the natural environment. Although his ideas have certain limitations, their uniqueness is quite remarkable. In the contemporary era, Rousseau’s theory of natural education can deepen the understanding of the essence of education, adapt to the reform of curriculum and teaching, contribute to the mental health and personality development of students, promote educational equity and social harmony, and inspire sustainable development education. It provides important theoretical guidance and practical reference for the reform and development of contemporary education.