“What should be the main purpose
of education?” I ask a colleague who’s a
mother, to answer the question spontaneously.
She does, “to be a better human being.”
Where does one find real
education – the one that transforms the body, mind and soul? It’s found in the spaces of your heart that
are filled with light, and reaching there may need help! Family is often has the strongest influence, one’s
faith and sometimes the odd ‘good’ teacher with the midas touch, if you are
lucky. It is, however, still rare to
find transformative education that addresses all dimensions of the human
being, in an organized set up such as schools and colleges. But perhaps the
time has come when this is set to change, and a new era is stretching its way
to reality as more and more institutions try to live the essence of true
education.
Integral Education, is more than all-around education, it has an integral approach. Knowledge is whole, we divide it into ‘subjects’ to ease the acquisition of knowledge. The human too, is an integral being, the physical, emotional, and mental dimensions are interconnected. This means that the dimensions of the individual not only have to be addressed but also their integral nature, has to be understood. Understanding the inherent connectedness of knowledge and the child’s own inherent interests is easily facilitated through hands on, interdisciplinary, theme based project work.
Needless to say, this is not easy
when the vast framework of organized education is still in old moulds. Firstly it needs committed educators who are
constantly working on themselves, striving to become better people and better
teachers. It’s both a privilege and
challenge, as the teacher is expected to facilitate self-discovery and
self-discipline, rather than merely disseminate information. The child is not
seen as someone to be shaped into a pre-set mould but a ‘soul in evolution’,
someone in whose journey you get to hold their hand for a while. They do their
own walking, but perhaps you can point to the light. Giving the child attention
is important and that is why schools inspired by the principles of Integral
Education strive to keep numbers small. Creating a friendly environment of ease,
naturalness and approachability for the child, in contrast to ‘factory mode’
schooling certainly helps! This is
important to ensure physical, mental and emotional space for the child, where a
child’s inherent nature can be observed and nurtured.
One of the key aspects of
Integral education is help the child go deeper within herself to find inner
treasures while developing powers of the mind and qualities of the heart. This is practically possible in schools by
organizing regular classes geared to develop faculties of concentration,
imagination, memory, creativity, while developing deeper values of compassion,
care, calmness, honesty. Periods of
silent reflection can be interwoven with regular activities, thereby changing
the feel and fabric of regular classes.
Integral Education seeks to transform
the individual from within, it strives to create a link to the bridge that takes
the child to a whole new level of being. A paradigm shift in education for the new age!
- Harvinder Kaur
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