English 'pedagogy' derives from Greek 'paidagōgía,' from 'paidagōgós' — originally a household slave who led children to school, from 'paîs' (child) + 'ágein' (to lead) — a word that began in servitude and rose to name the entire theory and practice of education.
The method, practice, and theory of teaching, especially as an academic subject.
From French 'pédagogie' or directly from Latin 'paedagōgia,' from Greek 'paidagōgía' (παιδαγωγία, the office of a pedagogue, education), from 'paidagōgós' (παιδαγωγός, a slave who escorted children to school), from 'paîs' (παῖς, child, genitive 'paidós') + 'agōgós' (leader, guide), from 'ágein' (to lead). The original pedagogue was not a teacher but a household slave who physically led a child through the streets to the schoolmaster — a humble origin for a word now denoting the theory and art of education. Key roots: paîs (παῖς) (Ancient
The original Greek 'paidagōgós' was a slave — typically elderly, often disabled — whose sole job was to walk a wealthy family's son to and from school, carrying his books and lyre. The actual teaching was done by the 'didáskalos' (teacher). The pedagogue's elevation from child-minder to educational theorist is one of the most dramatic status reversals in the history of the English vocabulary
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