Education is a multi-dimensional process in the same way as a human is a multi-dimensional being. The dimensions of human development are divided into multiple but consecutive stages. Human development primarily depends upon the opportunity given to the people and the role they play in bringing their lives to improved conditions. Education must take into account various dimensions of human development and provide necessary interventions commensurate with various stages of development besides striking a balance amongst them. Of them, the most pertinent ones which need to be accorded priority during the initial years of schooling are such as the well-being, socialisation, spirit of oneness, artistic or aesthetic aspects, probity in life, moral values and spiritual health. Development of these virtues requires a conceptual framework with personal orientation to education where the focus remains on personal and social development.
The first important consideration in any educational process is to ensure the physical well-being which is at the base of the educational process. The human body is generally looked down upon as a somewhat inferior to the mind. It is, however, becoming increasingly clear now that the psychosomatic relationships are much deeper than what people generally realise. Physical education has got to play an important part in the wellbeing of individuals. The educational system should emphasise on physical education as it is a question of the basic well-being of the individual. Physical fitness programmes during the initial years of schooling should focus on a couple of things like regular cleanliness of body parts the right way, simple yogic exercises, correct postures, adequate nutrition and proper breathing, etc. The students need to be educated about the concept that “cleanliness is next to godliness”. Similarly, if the children are found to be breathing through their mouth, they must be taught to breathe in properly with a certain rhythm and regularity. There are a number of such issues that need to be addressed through physical education right from early days of schooling.
Nutritional inputs also become exceedingly important as they are critical for the development of both mind and body of the students. Lack of certain nutritional inputs at a critical juncture really deprives the body and mind of the child, resulting in producing a generation of dwarfed minds. Therefore, the most important thing along with physical wellbeing, cleanliness, yoga, games and sports are nutritional inputs. There is a growing tendency amongst children towards fast food which is leading to long-term health problems. They need to be educated about the value of good food which is healthy and affordable and the production of which helps in maintaining the ecosystem. The whole aspect of wellbeing is not receiving the attention that it deserves and therefore it should become a very important basis of our educational system.
The second aspect is socialisation. Social environment is quite critical to cognitive and affective development. Schools are the places where children become socialized. Schools provide the best platform to the children to participate intelligently and constructively in various social activities. In fact, it is only through human interaction that one can become an active member of the society. Children learn a great deal by way of interacting with each other. It is found that inter-learner learning is far more important in life than other types of learning. Schools need to create conditions to promote participation of children in activities where they not only learn about their peers but also about the society where they come from. The capacity to learn from surroundings is as important as that of learning from books. Proper socialisation enables children to learn different values, norms and behaviour which eventually help them develop as good citizens. Since socialisation is very important for children, it should become a part of the ongoing process of education through various interactive activities.
The third important aspect of human development is to become honest with oneself. Parents are invariably looking for schools that can transform their children into good human beings. Apart from academic attainments they want their wards to be truthful, tolerant, reflective and generous. It would be possible only when children are taught about the value of oneness of humanity. They need to be taught to respect everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, culture and religion. They should be moulded in such a way that they learn to treat every individual with dignity. This requires proper guidance and counselling as it helps overcome differences which sometimes may be based on certain myths, superstitions and unfounded beliefs. It could be done through good storytelling as they are considered simple and effective means to teach children that honesty is the best policy and that honesty begins with self and not the people around them.
The fourth significant aspect of human development is values that human beings seek to attain to ensure their acceptability in the society. There are two important sources wherefrom the values emanate. One, values based on universal perception like truth, honesty, integrity, character, self-reliant, perseverance, etc, and another based on constitutional imperatives like to abide by the constitution, to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country, to preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite culture, to protect and improve natural environment, etc. These values need to be considered as important as any other academic activities and therefore must be made an integral part of teaching and learning. In certain cases, they are accorded greater significance at senior level, but they are equally important at junior level too. Individually we may have certain perceptions about these values but they are not put into practice at social level with required seriousness. It is not simply a question of teaching them through a subject in the curriculum. It is a question of inculcating them in the form of values by their proper integration in the existing curricular provisions. Schools need to identify such spots of learning in their existing curriculum where values based on both universal perception and constitutional imperatives could be integrated.
The fifth aspect is the aesthetic sense of human personality that is the ability to appreciate unseen phenomena and perceive beauty which at times is found missing in schools. How often do we ask students to look up at night and get some sense of mystery, awe and the beauty of the universe? This has to be woven into the process of education so that children can be encouraged to look at things in a new way. For example, in Japan children are taken out to see cherry blossoms. Their goal is always to work within surrounding constraints. Japanese schools focus more on literature, art and music than most other countries. It is necessary to develop the capacity of the human mind to appreciate artistic sensibility and comprehend beauty. This aspect has got to be integrated into the whole educational system in the form of field work or project work without necessarily becoming a separate part of the formal curriculum.
The sixth aspect which requires urgent attention is introduction of thematic approach in teaching and learning. Our educational system tends too much stress upon the content of education and that too in an isolated way. Schools are not attempting to teach curriculum in an integrated manner. They continue to treat language, social science, exact science, maths and arts as separate subjects even at the elementary stage and not as a unified whole. Schools need to follow the thematic approach wherein different subjects could be organised around different themes and educational experiences could be so organised as to develop competencies and skills cutting across different domains of knowledge. They need to focus more upon the process of education and the process of developing the capacity to learn language, science, maths, social science, arts around chosen themes. This will serve the dual purpose to reduce the curriculum load and burden of school bags.
Currently, the course content is so heavy and so varying that the children have little time to do anything else which can promote creativity. The curriculum has to be revamped in such a manner that the teaching process develops creative activity around different themes. For example, while teaching photosynthesis the lesson could be planned in a manner that it not only ends up teaching science but it also develops language skills, mathematics skills, drawing skills, report writing skills, team spirit, peer group learning, including the idea of food-web and the role of photosynthesis in our ecosystem. This is possible by dividing the class into different groups and assigning each group different tasks right from drawing the picture of the plants, colour of the soil, the size of the leaves, the sun over the plants, the source of the water, writing down about the role of light, chlorophyll, water, cellular respiration, carbon dioxide, type of chemical reaction, balancing of equation, developing flow-charts, designing poster, etc. There is a need to give altogether a new orientation to teaching and learning by using a manageable thematic approach.
Finally, it is important to draw attention to the spiritual dimension which is more abstract, perhaps slightly difficult to define and attain at an early stage of schooling. Nevertheless, an attempt may be made to lay the basic foundation of life which is “to live and let live”. It involves ethical issues relating to every aspect of mother nature which calls for preservation and improvement of biodiversity. The whole development of life is the process of evolution. We are now in a stage where divergence between knowledge and wisdom is wide apart. Knowledge is growing but the growth of wisdom is not keeping pace. Children need to be trained to ask questions and seek answers about everything that they experience around themselves, including the self and the meaning of life to make them good citizens.
The writer is former Chairman, UGC. The views expressed are former.
