13 MARIA MONTESSORI, RABINDARANATH TAGORE AND MAHATMA GANDHI

Learning Objectives

By teaching this lesson students will:

Learn the principles, applications and limitations of different philosophers of education.
Learn the contributions of Maria Montessori, Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi to education of children.

13.1 Introduction

Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was an Italian educator and doctor. She developed an innovative teaching technology for feeble minded children. According to her, children are free to learn at their own speed and in the way they designed to learn. With the help of didactic apparatus (self learning and self correcting), child’s senses were stimulated and trained in muscular condition. It is also called as individual learning or progressive learning. It is democratic in nature. In this system, there are no teachers. But Directress provides proper environment and materials at the right moment besides observing the child’s behaviour. So, child is more active than the teacher. Montessori insisted that it is necessary to train the senses before training the mind. Her method of education provides training of senses to identify sensation of weight, sound, colour, touch and temperature of a body.

13.2 Principles

The main principles of Montessori system are:

Principle of self education

Auto education is given through self corrective exercises like the didactic apparatus. It attracts the attention of the children and leads them to learn the powers of movements, reading, writing and arithmetic etc.

Doctrine of liberty

Freedom is the birthright of each individual and she advocates the spontaneous development of the child through full liberty.

Principle of individual development

Each and every child is unique and progresses at her own speed and rate. Every child differs physically as well as mentally. So provide the environment best suited for her individual growth and educate her individually

Principle of sense training

Sensory training is the key to intellectual development. The didactic apparatus sharpens the child’s senses.

Principle of training of muscles

Training of muscles enables the child to learn reading, writing and develop self confidence.

Principle of social training

Children learn to work with co-operation. They clean their room themselves, wash clothes, sweep the floor, dust the furniture, etc. They accomplish the work together and develop the feeling of socialism and responsibility.

Play method as the basis of education

The training of senses of the students take place through games. They use different instruments for learning in this method.

Principle of personality

The work of education is making the utmost growth of student’s personality. Under the direction of the teacher, the child is capable to develop her personality when she gets free atmosphere.

No place for fairy tales

There are no fairy stories for the young children because they tend to confuse them and make them feel difficult to adjust with the real world.

13.3 Applications

According to Montessori, “Education is the active help given to the normal expansion of the life of the child”. Each and every child has unique powers and potentials and this individuality must not be suppressed through collective teaching.

There are two different stages in the development of children. Children understand everything through their senses. First stage of the child extends from birth to six years and the second stage extends from seven to eighteen years. The intellectual development of children during this stage depends on their physical activities, sensory training through external stimulation and activities of daily life like brushing the teeth, combing the hair, putting on dress etc. By means of this education at the pre-school level, dull children became active and busy in learning and discovering.

During the second stage of development based on their sensory competencies they expand their formal skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic. Therefore Montessori education aims at imparting individual training to children so as to bloom their unique potential.

The different types of exercises provided in this school are as follows:

1.Exercises in practical life -Sweeping their rooms, dusting their furniture, washing their clothes, cleaning their nails, combing their hair etc . . .

2. Motor education-Walking, sitting, care of their own body, gardening etc.

3. Sensory education-Sensory training through various materials

Senses of eyes- how to identify the colours, showing the tablets of various colours, asking questions connected with colours
Smelling senses –to smell fragrant flowers, to smell anything etc.
Sense of taste- providing knowledge of various tastes, feeding of sour, sweet, hot, pungent and salty things
Sense of touch- touching various things

4. Education of reading, writing and maths-Writing is easier than reading. After providing training to various senses, reading writing and mathematics are easily learnt. In teaching of writing, the letters of the alphabet are cut out in sand paper and pasted on cardboard. The children are asked to trace them with their finger. In this way they gradually learn to manipulate a pencil. When the children trace out the letters, the teacher says them loudly with their proper sounds and tells them to reproduce the same. This prepares the children for reading. Then they are asked to draw lines, by using a metal frame on a piece of paper. Thus they learn the necessary control of pen. In teaching of reading, the child is given a card to say the word and when it does it correctly the child is asked to put the card under the object which it had said. For reading sentences also this method is followed. In teaching of Arithmetic, there is no originality. It is the same old procedure of teaching by means of coloured beads, printed shells and such other attractive materials as could be made available. Great emphasis of this education is that free discipline and self-control. The children are not given order or commands but are kept so occupied. They learn to work without making any noise; they learn good habits, order and obedience through work.

Montessori education makes the child to become confident, enthusiastic, independent growth and self-directed learners. They think critically and work together with boldness. Montessori education is very useful for teaching the students with learning disability. It helps the at-risk children who have deficiencies in sensory skills, motor skills, language development, perceptual development and social behaviour. It is helpful for treating the Alzheimer’s disease and dementia affected patients to improve motor skills and memory power. In the rehabilitation process, it is helpful to identify the strength and interests of the patients.

13.4 Limitations

More importance to the didactic apparatus and less scope for the child to express freely. Without the apparatus the teaching will not be effective
Less scope for the training of imagination. No scope for self-expression through activities like make-believe play.
Training of senses in artificial situation.
No emphasis on biological aspect and less on psychological.
It depends on trained teachers who posses extensive knowledge of child psychology.
Little scope for utilizing projects.
Very expensive to set up a Montessori school.
Stress on the development of individual child and less on social development.
Not provided for the gifted
Various subjects and teaching methods are not well integrated
No stories, poetry and drama in teaching
Only physical freedom and no mental freedom

RABINDARANATH TAGORE

13.5 Introduction

Rabindranath Tagore is one of the greatest poets of India. He is a philosopher and a great educationist. Tagore emphasised the development of all the innate faculties of an individual that leads to all-round development of the child’s personality. He condemned examination-oriented education and emphasised to provide education in natural surrounding and child should enjoy freedom. For this reason he selected a natural and secluded area near an open jungle place for the establishment of his ‘Shanti Niketan’.It was started in the year 1901 to give a new dimension for educational principles. Shantiniketan means abode of peace. He stressed that education should be according to the realities of life and any education neglecting life is useless. So education should involve both the nature and needs of man in a harmonious programme. Tagore had written that “Next to Nature the child should be brought into touch with the stream of social behaviour”.

13.6 Principles

Education is given in a natural environment so that they understand nature and it’s relation with the facts of human life.
Child should enjoy full freedom which leads to spontaneous self expression to let out their emotional out bursts, feelings, impulses and instinets .sympathy and joy that can be developed by intimate contact between nature and man.
Education should develop all capacities of children through creative works of art and craft, drawings, painting, music, dancing and leather work in the scheme of education in shanthinikethan.
Education should kindle the feeling of oneness in children. Tagore insisted in the education which will develop spiritual unity in the nation.
Tagore emphasised that Indian and western culture should be combined together and taught through education .Students should learn science and culture together.
Education should be practical .They learn by doing on their own experience.
Children should not be forced to receive knowledge through books but from original and natural sources.
The medium of instruction should be mother tongue
Indian philosophy and social ideals should find place in the curriculum
Education should not train children to be effective farmers, clerks or craftsmen, but develop them to be complete human beings
Independence is one of the principles of Tagore. The child is able to differentiate between what is right and wrong, natural and superficial, permanent or temporal, universal and individual and tuned to self guidance
Perfection must be inculcated in education. The prime aim of education is the child’s personality development. Every aspect of it must be stressed and nothing should be neglected
Universality implies the important aspect of an enduring faith in the universal soul, which exists within her. It is thus important to identify one’s own soul with the universal soul. One can search for this universal soul not only within oneself, but in every element of nature and environment. This search is achieved by knowledge, worship and action. Once this realization of the universal soul is achieved, it becomes easier to progress further.

13.7 Applications

Tagore emphasised physical, moral, spiritual, social and intellectual development of the child.

Physical development

Healthy mind lives in a healthy body. So he prescribed balanced diet for children
Training of different parts of the body as well as the training of the senses through free movements and joyous.
Physical activities like swimming, diving in ponds, climbing on trees, plucking fruits and vegetables and various types of games and sports in the natural phenomena are helpful for physical development.

Intellectual development

Making the child independent and think freely. The child should know, understand, apply, analyse, synthesise and evaluate the facts.
He condemned bookish teaching and suggested to follow more and more activities and experiences in the open fields where Nature teaches more than books.

Social development

“Service to man is service to God”. The aim of education is attaining social maturity.
“All are equal, all are brothers”. When the individual personality develops, the social personality also develops in this system of education

Moral and spiritual development

Education develops the character and self discipline which lead to the satisfaction of the mind as well as peace of the soul. It also teaches children tolerance, courtesy and inner freedom

Harmonious development

Education is one of the tools for the harmonious development of the child. It makes the child to become sociable and interact with others well.

Development of international attitude

Tagore insisted individual development and also advocated the development of society and whole human race
His vision was that an individual should develop to the fullest extent and then she should contribute her best to the promotion of international welfare.

· Development of all faculties

The chief aim of education is drawing out of all the latent faculties of the child. She is saved from the burden of books and inculcate self discipline, initiative and self experiences.
Child is more important than books, rules and teachers. The child’s self-development, self-experience and self expression can be strengthened by their own experiences
He discarded book learning and emphasised to provide education in natural surroundings. Child enjoys freedom to develop her mind and soul to the maximum in the environment of love, regard, sympathy and affection

13.8 Limitations

Establishing the school in solitary place under open sky amidst trees and plants.
Lack of qualified teachers.
Not feasible for universal application.
Scheme envisaged by Tagore could be applied in the advanced stage of study.
Emphasis of mother tongue.
Respected manual work.

MAHATMA GANDHI

13.9 Introduction

Gandhi, the father of nation, is a great philosopher. He introduced basic education in the year 1931. It develops an individual’s personality (knowledge, body and soul) through self sufficient education called basic education. The basic education enunciated by Gandhi was not meant to provide information but for the development of knowledge, body and the soul of the student. Basic education has vocational training as its basis. It is learning of any one of the jobs completely .Basic education is referred as ‘Craft-centered education. It is helpful for the life of an individual by providing an adequate training of any handicraft.

13.10 Principles

The objective of education is not only producing balanced and harmonious individual but also a balanced and harmonious society
Service for humanity is the core of his educational philosophy. Gandhi wants an ideal society that will help an individual to realize the highest aim of her life in a cooperative manner to search for truth.
Students learn as well as earn by doing some work in the school. It leads to economic independence and self-reliance for their life
Mother –tongue should be the medium of instruction. There is no place for English in education
The highest form of freedom comes through humility and self-control
Teacher should be a father and mother for her students
Gandhi emphasised the productive craft as the medium of education in order to achieve the objectives. All subjects should be taught through productive work. Gandhi recommended the principle of correlation. He wanted all knowledge to be correlated with craft.
It is a free, compulsory and universal education for the children of seven to fourteen. It is birth right of a child to get education.
True education must be taught through non violence.
He insisted the method of teaching as learning by doing, learning by living, service and participation, self experience.
Children acquire the social and civic training in basic education.
It is life-centred education and psychologically sound.
Education produces responsible and dynamic citizens

13.11 Applications

According to Gandhi education means an all-round drawing out of the best in child and man – body, mind, and spirit. “According to Gandhi “Literacy is neither the beginning nor the end of education. This is only a means through which man or woman can be educated”. Right education is that which draws out and stimulates the spiritual, intellectual and physical facilities of the children”. He advocated that education should develop the child’s individuality fully and harmoniously so that she is able to realize the ultimate aim of life which is Truth or God.

Self supporting

Education must enable the individual to earn his living independently and it must also enable her to stand on her own legs. Education supports her life in future.

Cultural development

Culture is the foundation and primary aspect. He advocated that along with vocational education, cultural advancement should also be achieved. He recommended Gita and Ramayana to be taught to the students to introduce the rich cultural and spiritual heritage.

Character building

The building up of character should be the end product of all knowledge .This is very important than teaching literacy.

All round development

Gandhi emphasised three H’s (HEAD, HEART, and HAND) instead of R’s. The proper co-ordination of body, mind and soul creates the whole personality.

Aim of deliverance

It means freedom from all kinds of slavery in present life. The soul has to be made free from worldly bondages by cultivation.

Cultivation of higher values of life

Gandhi emphasised the cultivation of moral, spiritual, social, ethical and aesthetic values through education. According to Gandhi the ultimate aim of education is to realize God and self-realization. All other aims are subservient to this supreme aim. Every child should grow into a divine human being by realizing Godliness in herself. “True education should result not in material power but in spiritual force. It must strengthen man’s faith in God and not awaken it.”

13.12 Limitations

Understanding of the concept of basic education is not clear.
Too much emphasis on the self-supporting aspect of basic education may lead to the condition where the students will be exploited by the striving teacher.
Based on unsound psychological foundations, it ignores cognitive and affective aspects of child’s development
Not appreciated by the rich and learned people of our country.
Teaching of academic subjects through craft was not appreciated. Natural association cannot be made between the chosen craft and all the subjects.
Lack of qualified teachers.
Subordination of secondary education and higher education to primary education.
Not tested the scheme of education at the national scale.
Failed to understand the problem of basic education by the Indian administrators.
Not teaching English to the students.
Failed to provide adequate staff and equipment.
No standard text books.
Emphasis on manual work in basic education.
No interest is shown by the urban people.
Not suited to the period of industrialisation- Knowledge of science and technology assumes far more important than the skills in craft.
Not concerned with the general pattern of national education existing at that time

13.13 Conclusion

Right education stimulates the innate faculties of an individual and helps in all-round development of the child’s personality. It is necessary to provide the environment best suited for the child’s growth and development.

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