PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
“Values? In Education? Tell me more, please!”
INSIGHT #6
That day, after lunch. Prachana was feeling very low. One specific conversation with one of her newfound friends was very disturbing for her. Though she tried to argue a lot, she could not convince him that there was more to what he said. She went to the riverside and sat on a rock with her legs in the flowing water. She thought that could calm her. But it didn’t. Before sunset, she went back home. She kept telling herself,
“Why did he
feel like that? I am sure he has lost the plot of his life.”. Without her
knowledge, she was speaking loud this time. Hearing this, her mother got worried.
Mother asked “Prachana,
what happened? Who has lost the plot of life?”
Prachana said,
“It's nothing, Mamma. It seems I have started seeing the world”. Saying this,
she went to her room upstairs and tried to forget about it by reading some storybook.
All through
her dinner, though she acted as though she was alright, Mamma is always Mamma.
She said, “I know you are still concerned about something. Honey, things are
not always as it seems. By morning you will be alright. Now, go and have a nice
sleep. Goodnight”. She kissed or
Prachana’s forehead who smiled and hugged her Mamma.
Prachana woke
up hearing loud hollow snoring to see Sarvaa sitting in her chair with his head
bent backward with an open mouth. He opened his right eye and looked at
Prachana with a smile but continued snoring even louder. He wants Prachana to
get up and wake him up. When she went near him and almost touch him, he woke up
with a smile. Shocked, she fell back on the bed. Sarvaa laughed out loud.
“My Child! I
know why you are so much concerned about your new friend. And you are right.
You have started seeing the real world. Yes. Your friend indeed lost the plot,
but not of his life. He couldn’t understand the value aspect in education”.
Prachana
looked at him intently hoping to hear from him more about this new word ‘value’
connected with education.
Sarvaa
continued, “Look here. He thought Education is merely a tool or instrument to
do things with, such as to succeed in getting a job or provide one with a skill
to obtain extrinsic ends”.
Knowing
Sarvaa a little better by now, Prachana understood where he was getting to.
Sarvaa said “Child,
Education is essentially meant to reform you to become a better person. Better
in what? Not for doing bad things that make society bad or hurt others. It is
all about adding value to you for doing desirable things in a better way. The
knowledge and understanding you will possess once you get educated become, a
part of your personality. That will make you wise enough to understand what is of
ultimate value. That means….” Sarvaa stopped expecting Prachana to continue.
“Education implies
Value. Entirely! I got it” Prachana said with great confidence and excitement.
Sarvaa smiled
and said, “No! You are not entirely right!”. That response from Sarvaa surprised
Prachana.
Sarvaa
continued “Education implies value, for sure. But the same need not be true the
other way. All Values need not be educational. Like eating, relaxing, and
playing games are all valuable. But they are not educational”.
Prachana was
not fully convinced. She felt there was something more to it. Sarvaa anticipated
that.
“I love dancing.
I love swimming across that river out there. I run around and listen to birds.
I am lucky to have all that here. But what about those friends of mine who are
not as lucky as me. And they are so valuable for all Right? Don’t you think those
should be a part of education in Schools?”
Sarvaa felt
very proud seeing her empathy for her peers.
Handing over
a fluorescent green coloured card to her he said, “Child, You earned this. This
is the ‘Value’ Card for you to keep safely accessible easily when we talk about
the other two criteria”. A well-decorated calligraphically written word ‘VALUES’
was written in golden letters.
Sarvaa continued
“ Coming back to your question, yes. You are indeed right. But then, to ensure
that, there is another requirement which takes us to the second card, the Knowledge
Criterion”. He still had two more cards with him an Orange and a Royal Blue
one.
A satisfied
but still eager Prachana kept her right hand on her heart and bowed down to
Sarvaa with closed eyes. When she rose and opened her eyes it was all dark and
Sarvaa was gone.
End of Insight #6
Reference : R S Peter’s Analysis of ‘Education’.
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