Talk of Bildung is not necessarily abridged by the literal translation from one language or another, but rather, understanding that "educational building processes are intentional and driven to the concretion of expectations in one or more edges." Pro is that it is necessary not only dabble in semantics literature, but it is necessary to establish networks and links that can identify what it wants to reach, and then enter the data, and skills in conociiento a pattern of shared learning, and as I say beyond language learning always

Bildung is a word that opens up to many discussions of semantics....would you like to elaborate on what you mean by edges in your quote?

I mean, that processes should be conducted through concrete actions and limits, because if not mediate goals and went their own learning activities, never able to establish certain processes and significant.

Sorry for the bad english... i´m learning!

It's all quite suprising as I always thought that Bildung is translated from German just as education (or perhaps occasionally as formation (of character) or upbringing) without necessarily referring to the liberal arts. Moreover, as far as I know, the quote 'Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school' belongs to Einstein (see e.g. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins108304.html ).

I have read a bit about bildung because I really like Stephen's description. Unfortunately I haven't found this exact definition or description. But who cares. As an educationalist, I resonate deeply and profoundly with the description above and will from now on use bildung in this way in arguments about the deeper meanings of education.

PS the meanings I read ranged from simple education to a philosophical piece of 5 pages. I still vote for this description.

Artur - i did not know of einstein's formulation of this definition of bildung - thanks for this. Ellen Key was writing around 1900. She might have pre-dated Einstein? For me this definition indicates that that around and through learning concrete things other things become evident, maybe not immeiately, but later in the medium or longer time period, such as insight into the relational charavhter of learnig with and through others. But I would like to hear how others interpret this quote? For example, not everything that happens in the classroom has an immediated and measurable (evidence-based) effect.

I wonder if anybody knows the expression "Bildungsroman," wherein a novel recounts a character´s upbringing (example "Wilhelm Meister´s Apprenticeship" by Goethe). This term was coined in 1819, thereby dating the affix "Bildung" to a concept much earlier than Ellen Key´s. My experience of the word matches Artur Sergeyev´s.

Regardless of the semantic arguments I strongly believe that much of formal education is content centric. Many teachers believe they have taught when they have covered the content, that is, mentioned it in class. This leads to a group of students who memorize information for exams without gaining the practical ability to do something useful with this knowledge. Only when they apply the knowledge to solve real problems do they actually learn how to do something useful.

Unfortunately this problem is worse at the higher levels of education where professors tend to be subject matter experts rather than skill development experts.

The reality is that the best students are self-motivated and will succeed despite what we put them through and the mediocre students muddle through without developing the skills they need to be successful.

I like both the contributions of nelson and gregory ....the former meets my understanding that bildung is a journey and gregory that learning can short circuit and misunderstand learning if evrything become instrumental and low level taxonomy enterprise

The attribution of the quote is indeed murky but the interpretation of the latter appears to be quite clear: the education is more about getting the right *skills* for learning than the facts per se which one can easily find in the literature (and today also online).

Thanks for this important discussion. The concept of Bildung is difficult in Anglo-Saxon context. I would describe it as a two sided coin with a process side and an ideal side. Shortly it could be defined as becoming a human (as an ideal) or becoming as a human (as a process).

If I may suggest some reading I would like to refer to our recent book:

Siljander, P.; Kivelä, A. & Sutinen, A. (eds.) (2012.) Theories of bildung and growth: connections and controversies between continental educational thinking and american pragmatism. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. (https://www.sensepublishers.com/catalogs/bookseries/other-books/theories-of-building-and-growth/)

As for the classroom settings then the problem will become still more complicated. We learn only what we do. (Thinking is doing though!) The content is important but still more important is what we (students, pupils) do with the content. Perhaps this "how" is what remains when the content is forgotten? (Not only how to learn but how to do what ever.)

Thanks for this Eetu...I have read the introduction to the book link you have added. This looks a like a good book on bildung with a large section on how the American tradition of building has its roots in European thought form the 19th century. The introduction to the book also chooses to emphasis the connection between bildung and growth. the latter is a good metaphor for building and connects with traditional educational theories.

Actually I would like to add that I think that building is not a good translation for Bildung at all. To build is in German "bauen" (or erbauen, herstellen, konstruieren etc, but not bilden) and building is Gebäude or Bau. The German word Bildung comes etymologically from Bild, which means an image or a picture. The traditional translations are better but one sided: formation (hte most literal translation) is not autonomic enough, culture is too static, erudition has both of these deficits, edifying could be good, but for me growth is best because you can put there both process and ideal. (Even though it is one sided also, and it is too easy to misinterpret it as biological or economical or any such growth, so its perhaps better say: human growth.)

I have grown up with the term "Bildung" - which certainly does not translate into 'building' in English. "Bildung" is a ripening process, a personal, intellectual and emotional maturing...........even a spiritual one! It is the deep understanding of human nature and history which leads to wisdom. It leads to tolerance, inner generosity and a refined sense of values. It has grown out of the lessons learned in life (intellectually/academically and through experience). It is not limited to any one culture, but every person, steeped in his or her own culture, is able to develop his or her own "Bildung"

In a classroom setting, it involves, besides teaching content, allowing students to develop their own character by helping them discover their own strengths, admit their own weaknesses, sensitising them to their environment, society, norms and values, their responsibilities towards each other and the environment. I have always used the content of my subject (whether this was English, History or Mathematics) to initiate debates on matters of importance in a wider field than just our classroom - but also focusing on what each individual in our classroom needed and deserved.

"bilden" is a German verb meaning to shape or form or develop. "Ein Bildwerk" is a sculpture. "Eine Ausbildung" is the 'formation/shaping/sculpting' of a person in a certain profession, which involves the necessary content knowledge AS WELL AS the necessary practical competences. In other words, if I have only a degree in languages, I do not have a "Ausbildung", merely academic knowledge. If I have additional 'formation' in teaching (both theoretical as well as practical), I will then have a "Ausbildung" as a teacher.

In the same sense, I think, a "Bildung" is the formation which a person is undergoing (present continuous, as it requires the embracing of life-ling learning) by extracting the essence of all that he or she has learned (content knowledge) as well as experienced and reflecting upon these essences in order to develop/sculpt himself or herself as a person.

Maybe, it would be a good idea to add to this discussion another point. The term "Bildung" was first introduced in Prussia more than hundred years ago by W. Humboldt, who said that the process, a young person undergoes during growing up to an adult person, is a process of forming his/her own personality. He postulated that this be a process that not only needs time and learning and skills, but also active participation in social life. The young person was supposed to learn during that process that it is necessary to take responsibility, not only for him/herself, but also for the society. It includes automatically to develop the willingness to further learn and to act responsibly for the community.

dear michael - thanks for highlighting the role of social and civic responsibility. This reminds me of the current debate on how to develop 21st century skills - but this debate tends to be more short time cycle oriented and highly instrumental in reach. as you rightly note - bildung is the linking of the short time period of concerns with longer time period concerns. This is also the point in Monika's contribution - as I see it.