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Why did Jean-Jacques Rousseau believe that formal education could corrupt children?

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Fragment of a Roman fresco showing Socrates seated and draped in a white robe, with Greek text above, on a red background with visible cracks. — Philosophy of education Socrates, Roman fresco, 1st century bce; in the Ephesus Museum, Selçuk, Turkey.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that formal, societal education corrupted children because it prioritized artificiality and egoism over the child's original, pure nature. In his work Émile, he argued that society—and the formal schooling associated with it—estranges individuals from their natural state, making them "less pure" and more concerned with social status and vanity.12

Rousseau’s philosophy of naturalism posits that children should be protected from the "commands of society" and instead learn through direct experience and necessity. He believed that:12

Premature Instruction is Harmful: Overloading children with scholarly, verbal instruction at an early age hinders their development.12
Experience Over Words: Children should learn from the "book of the world" and concrete situations rather than abstract, book-based learning.12
Preservation of Nature: Education should aim to develop a child’s natural powers and sense organs, allowing them to become rational and moral while remaining true to their original nature, rather than molding them into artificial social roles.12

By isolating the child from societal influence, Rousseau sought to prevent the development of an egoistic nature, which he viewed as a byproduct of modern, artificial society.2