![\"vivekanand\"](\"https:\/\/patriotsforumindia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/vivekanand-150x150.png\")
<\/p>\nDr.Chinmoy Kumar Ghosh , Director, Distance Education , IGNOU<\/p>\n
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Introduction<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
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Swami Vivekananda had never taught in a school, college or a university but he was a teacher par excellence. It is said that, A poor teacher tells, an average teacher explains, a good teacher demonstrates, a great teacher inspires.<\/i> Swami Vivekananda was a great teacher and also a great educationist. There has been umpteen number of researches of very high quality on his thoughts on education.\u00a0 Erudite scholars and thinkers across the globe have expressed their views on Swamiji\u2019s concept of Education.\u00a0 Here we shall make an assessment of the relevance of his thoughts in the 21st<\/sup> Century.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Learning \u2013 the treasure within<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The cardinal definition of \u2018Education\u2019 given by him was, \u201cEducation is the manifestation of perfection already in man\u201d.<\/i>(1)<\/sup>Let us compare\u00a0 his views with the theme of the UNESCO Commission for Nature of Education in the 21st<\/sup> Century held in Paris in 1996. The topic of deliberation was Learning – the treasure within. <\/i>It was aimed at giving a direction to the nature of education during the 21st<\/sup> Century in the entire globe.\u00a0 The very topic of the seminar is an echo of the voice of Swami Vivekananda as reflected through the cardinal definition stated above.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Commission called for a paradigm shift in Education from teacher-centricity to learner- centricity.\u00a0 It reposes faith of a very high degree on the learner and thereby inspires him\u00a0 to be self reliant. This is very much in tune with Swamiji\u2019s message \u2013 \u201cYou see, no one can teach anybody. The teacher spoils everything by thinking that he is teaching. Thus Vedanta says that within man is all knowledge \u2013 even in a boy it is so \u2013 and it requires only an awakening, and that much is the work of a teacher. We have to do only so much for the proper use of their hands, legs, ears, eyes, etc. and finally everything will become easy\u201d.<\/i>(2)<\/sup><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The four pillars of learning <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The UNESCO Commission recommended four pillars of learning \u2013 Learning to know, Learning to be, Learning to do <\/i>and Learning to live together<\/i>.(3)<\/sup> We shall now analyse the relevance of Swamiji\u2019s thoughts\u00a0 on the basis of these four pillars of learning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Learning to know<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The learners of our country generally do justice to the dictum of Learning to know<\/i>.\u00a0 They have rich store of information, effectively much more compared to their counterparts abroad.\u00a0 But they falter when it comes to applying the said knowledge in real life situations.\u00a0 This is because of the fact that most of the knowledge is bookish and is accumulated from the teacher through the Chalk and Talk <\/i>method.<\/i> These are definitely well tested methods but application of knowledge in real life situations can happen only if it is imbibed and this is possible through practical experience or what is known as experiential learning.\u00a0 According to Swamiji \u2013 \u201cWe may talk and reason all our lives, but we shall not understand a word of truth, until we experience it ourselves.\u00a0 You can not hope to make a man a surgeon by simply giving him a few books. You can not satisfy my curiosity to see a country by showing me a map; I must have actual experience…Experience is the only teacher we have\u201d.<\/i>(4)<\/sup><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Learning to be<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The crux of the message Learning to be <\/i>is that the learners should learn to become themselves.\u00a0 Thakur Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa Dev, the spiritual Guru<\/i> of Swamiji used to say that we perform theft at the realm of our thoughts.\u00a0 The author had been to a seminar on the topic, \u2018Education for All\u2019 <\/i>where highly acclaimed scholars had come to participate.\u00a0 In course of the seminar tea was being served and a young boy who age was hardly six was made to undertake that job. It clearly indicates that the deliberation at the seminar would not have served the desired purpose. We need to orient ourselves to learn to be.<\/i>\u00a0 This also gets vividly revealed through Swamiji\u2019s concept of emancipation of women \u2013 \u201cEducate your women first and leave them to themselves; then they will tell you what reforms are necessary for them\u201d<\/i>.(5)<\/sup> He was very much against men taking decision on behalf of women.\u00a0 He felt that they should be given proper education so as to make them competent enough to think for themselves.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Learning to do<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Education must be able to help a learner develop his mental faculty.\u00a0 He should be able to think in a healthy manner.\u00a0 He should develop the spirit of inquiry. Swamiji said \u2013 \u201cThe present system of educating is all wrong.\u00a0 The mind is crammed with facts before it knows how to think\u201d.<\/i>(6)<\/sup>Perhaps we have belied the expectations\u00a0 of\u00a0 Swamiji by encouraging rote learning. The learners do acquire answering skills but they fail to develop questioning skills.\u00a0 This is possible only when we do proper justice to the pillar, learning to do.<\/i> The author had been to a school where the mathematics teacher of Standard III students was taking a revision lesson on \u201cMeasurement of length by metric system<\/i>\u201d and according to him the students had learned everything about the topic.\u00a0 They answered with exactitude when they were asked to tell the conversion factors between a kilometre and a metre or between a metre and a centimetre, but they could not reply to questions like \u2013 \u201cHow far is your home from your school<\/i>\u201d? or<\/b> \u201cWhat is length of your classroom<\/i>?\u201d\u00a0 or<\/b> \u201cHow many centimetres is my pen<\/i>?\u201d It was observed further that the students do not have the idea about how much is a \u2018metre\u2019. The teacher has not given them the desired exposure regarding the issue. This episode is a reflection on the lack of attitude among the learners as well as the teachers towards applying the acquired knowledge in practical situations. It shows that we need to orient ourselves to learn to do.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Learning to live together<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nothing perhaps can be more contextual with reference to our country than the fourth pillar, that is Learning to live together. <\/i>It is rooted in the spirit of tolerance, deeply impregnated in the traditions of our country. Here we have the IIMs, the IITs, research institutions like the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore or the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai which give us international pride. But on the other hand we have elementary schools where water will squeeze through the roof during the monsoon. We thrive along with these extreme ends of inequity. It calls for increasing the outreach of education and drawing proper strategy for educating the masses. Swamiji had said \u2013 \u201cThe great national sin is the neglect of the masses, and that is one of the causes of our downfall. No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed and well cared for\u201d.<\/i>(7)<\/sup>He also went to the extent of saying that, \u201dIf the mountain does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain. If the poor boy cannot come to education, education must go to him\u201d.<\/i>(8)<\/sup>Swamiji\u2019s message inspires us to think about a scheme like, \u2018Each one teach one\u2019. <\/i>It is indeed the duty of everyone of us who have received education and have occupied some place in the society to help uplift the downtrodden to the mainstream of education. Everyone may not be suitable for usual curriculum based education imparted at schools and colleges, they need to be channelized to vocational areas which would help them in earning their livelihood.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Conclusion<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We had considered the recommendations of the UNESCO Commission as the basis of the nature of Education in India in the 21st<\/sup> Century. We picked up examples to establish that Swamiji\u2019s thoughts come alive with every recommendation of the Commission. Those are so very relevant even today. The congruency of the recommendations can not only be seen in his sayings but also through his actions. The article is being concluded by summarizing the remarkable points of similarity between his thoughts and the concerns of UNESCO as under \u2013<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n References<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr.Chinmoy Kumar Ghosh , Director, Distance Education , IGNOU Introduction Swami Vivekananda… more \n
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