According to Lee Mitgang, experience and new research suggest that heeding the following five lessons could help propel many more districts toward the goal of having strong leadership in every school: 1. a more selective, probing process for choosing candidates for training is the essential first step in creating a more capable and diverse corps of future principals. 2. aspiring principals need pre-service training that prepares them to lead improved instruction and school change, not just manage buildings. 3.specially in their first years on the job, principals need high-quality mentoring and professional development tailored to individual and district needs. (The Making of The PrinciPal: Five Lessons in Leadership Training by Lee Mitgang)
The education
field is finally embracing school leadership as an essential ingredient in
reform, worthy of investment in its own right.
Facing pressure to have all children meet high standards, states and
districts increasingly are recognizing that successful school reform depends on
having principals well prepared to change schools and improve instruction, not
just manage buildings and budgets.
It is the principal, more than anyone else,
who is in a position to ensure that excellent teaching and learning are part of
every classroom. In fact, leadership is
second only to teaching among schoolrelated factors as an influence on
learning, according to a six-year study, the largest of its kind, which
analyzed data from 180 schools in nine states.
The report by researchers from the Universities of Minnesota and Toronto
further noted: “To date we have not
found a single case of a school improving its student achievement record in the
absence of talented leadership.” (ibid p 6)
Stanford
University’s Linda Darling-Hammond, a leading education scholar and national
reform voice, emphasizes the profound impact good leaders have on teaching
quality: “It is the work they do that enables teachers to be
effective — as it is not just the traits that teachers bring, but their ability
to use what they know in a high-functioning organization, that produces student
success. And it is the leader who both recruits and retains high quality staff
— indeed, the number one reason for teachers’ decisions about whether to stay
in a school is the quality of administrative support — and it is the leader who
must develop this organization.”[1]
As Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Educational Policy in
Washington, D.C., put it: “Leadership only succeeds if the leader brings other
people along into the same vision, and they are all able to work together and
trust one another. A school that’s in
deep trouble is going to take years to change, and it has to be a continuous
process with continual supports. And that means it can’t be one person, but a
group of people who are dedicated enough to stay with something for a long
period of time.”[2][3]
The core
functions of this more instruction-focused, collaborative conception of school
leadership? A recently published review by The Wallace Foundation identified
these five: ( ibid p7)
•
Shaping a vision of academic
success for all students;
•
Creating a climate hospitable
to education;
•
Cultivating leadership in
others;
•
Improving instruction; and
• Managing people,
data and processes to foster school improvement.6
The Minnesota-Toronto research found that the average school experiences changes in
principals every three or four years, and this leadership churn can do
measurable harm to student achievement.[4] Turnover has
dollars-and-cents consequences too, says John Youngquist, director of
principal-talent management for the Denver Public Schools, which has teamed
with the University of Denver to build a nationally recognized principal training
program: “There is a real cost to bringing in new principals every year, and if
we can lower the number of principals we’re bringing in by increasing their
tenure through better support and preparation, then dollars become available
that we can reallocate.”[5] (ibid p8)
‘All too often, training has failed to keep pace with the evolving
role of principals. This is especially true at most of the 500-plus
university-based programs
where the majority of
school leaders are trained. Among the common flaws critics cite: curricula that
fail to take into account the needs of districts and diverse student bodies;
weak connections between theory and practice; faculty with little or no
experience as school leaders; and internships that are poorly designed and insufficiently
connected to the rest of the curriculum, and lack opportunities to experience
real leadership.13 [See Q&A on the status of university-based training
programs, p. 16]’ ibid p8
‘Such programs frequently select candidates based mainly on paper
evidence of their educational background. The process often fails to probe for
evidence of a candidate’s ability to work well with teachers or in challenging
school settings. It reveals little about
a candidate’s resilience, integrity and belief in all children’s ability to
learn – qualities central to a school leader’s eventual success.14 And many programs fail to
screen out applicants whose primary motive is not to lead a school, but to get
the salary bump or promotion that goes with an advanced degree.’ (ibid p9)
The key attributes of exemplary programs identified in the Stanford
research, gives us some guiding points which are listed here:
•
The program requires coursework
in:
vision for learning : school culture : instructional
supervision : Management of resources and operations : ethical practice : political,
social, economic, legal and cultural contexts.
•
all required courses are
logically and sequentially organized and specifically aligned to state and
professional leadership standards.
•
all required courses
incorporate project-based learning methods as the comprehensive approach to
instruction that include adequate opportunities for students to practice an
array of skills in real school contexts.
•
all required courses explicitly
link successful completion of coursework to current performance expectations
for school principals.
•
all required courses implement
well defined formative and summative assessment measures for use by faculty,
the candidate, and peers to evaluate candidate performance.
(Source: Principal Preparation Program Quality Self-Assessment
Rubrics: Course Content and Pedagogy and Clinical Practice, 2009, education
Development center, inc. The rubric was
produced with funding from The Wallace foundation : www.wallacefoundation.org)
***
The role of the principal is important in
functional areas such as
administration,
planning,
finance,
student welfare,
reporting,
compliance,
role as
decision-maker and
as educational leader in the
enhancement of school infra
improvement in quality learning.
a bridge between the teachers, the children
and the community and regulating authorities. He is a leader who has to manage
several fronts including:
1.
Setting Vision, Mission,
Objectives, Value system, setting the path and inspiring all to it
2.
rules and regulation, planning,
expediting
3.
Personnel Management: team building.
4.
Student Management
5.
Finance Management
6.
Administrative Management
7.
General Management
8.
Curriculum Management
9.
Teaching Responsibilities
10. Logistics
the authority of the principal vis-a-vis the autonomy of the teachers,
compliance with government and aspirations
of the students, teachers and parents,
most modern western ideas and technologies
viz a viz Ancient Indian integral and spiritual education
These are some of the paradoxes he has to
balance.
Though the
role of principal is changed and intensified in recent times there is a great
gap in updating and integrating in his training, support and follow up
mechanism. There is need of ‘a
fundamental rethinking of the content, structure, delivery, and assessment of
leadership learning. ‘ ( Knowledge Exchange: Note on Leadership Training of
School Principals p2)
The training is to include as per
RMSA, administrative skills, team
building skills, teacher motivation, academic accountability, and to develop
aesthetic sense among students. In additional to the above the following items
are also considered to be added in the training: parameters of running a school,
audit and leave rule, leadership and team work. This has been proposed for 2
Principals per educational district and
proposed for 8 weekends total 16 hours course.
•
Discovering self
•
Self-Management &
Development
•
School – Management
•
Behavioural anchoring
•
Developing a positive
attitude
•
Commitment to work
•
Stress Management
•
Time Management
•
Preparation of Institutional
plan and its effective implementation.
•
Conduction of SMDC, PTA, SBC
etc. Meeting.
•
Supervising the civil works.
•
Initiation to promote
innovative best practices among teachers.
•
Community mobilization for
development and smooth functioning of institution.
•
Active Learning Methodologies
•
Enable them to address issues
like Discrimination, Corporal punishment,
•
Teacher, Student/ Parent
relationship etc. (ibid p3)
What are
statistics about the teachers in India? we have some data available. (from ‘Trs
Guidelines Plan’ : ‘Planning for Teachers, Headmasters/Principals and Master
Trainer Training : Section-A : 1. Rationale
of the Teachers Training Planning )
‘Of the total school teaching force 66
percent were engaged in primary and upper primary schools (grades I to VIII)
and 34 per cent in high/higher secondary schools (grades IX to XII).As per the
selected educational statistics (2006-07), the strength of the secondary school
teaching force was 1173030 and out of this 89 percent were trained teachers.
The subject-wise distributions of teachers are 37.6 percent in languages
(regional languages, English, Hindi, Sanskrit and other languages), 18.2
percent in science, 12.5 percent in mathematics, 12.4 percent in social
science, 3.2 percent in computer, 5.74 percent in physical education and 10.1
percent in other subjects. On the basis of academic qualifications the
composition of teaching force is 55.56 percent graduate trained and 32.38
percent Post Graduate and above (seventh All India Educational Survey, NCERT).
The share of male and female teachers is 61.86 percent and 38.10 percent
respectively.’
From above data following points can be
noted:
Major teaching force is in primary and
secondary (66%) and only half of that in higher secondary and junior college
i.e. 11th and 12th.
Number of teachers are far more for
languages but much lesser for science mathematics and (almost one third of the
language), physical education, computers (one sixth of the first category or
even lesser than that) etc. The ratio of science and maths teachers to
languages itself shows the missing point and the need of integration in the
training needed.
‘On the basis of academic qualifications,
the composition of teaching force is 55.56 percent graduate trained and 32.38
percent Post Graduate and above (seventh All India Educational Survey, NCERT).
The share of male and female teachers is 61.86 percent and 38.10 percent
respectively.’ (Ibid p1)
there are around 586 training colleges for
secondary education (government, private aided and private unaided). There are
five Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs), constituent units of the NCERT.
250 existing Secondary Teacher Education Institutes (STEIs) 29 of these have
designated as Institutes of Advanced Studies (IASEs) with an additional mandate
of developing into centers of excellence and research. The upgraded STEIs are
called Colleges of Teacher education (CTEs). As per the NCERT Report August
2009, there are 104 CTEs in the country. There are five Zonal Institute of
Education and Training (ZIET) at Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Gwalior, Mumbai and
Mysore for in-service training, refresher courses, workshop and induction
courses and research activities of KendriyaVidyalay’s teachers.
Expenditure on education as percentage of
GDP was 3.95 percent and out of this the share of primary, secondary and higher
education were 1.42 percent, 0.94 percent and 0.44 percent respectively. Based
on Analysis of Budgeted Expenditure on Education, 2000-01 to 2002-03, MHRD
Government of India).
(The corresponding figures in year 2020
are :……………………..)
‘Teacher education by and large is conventional
in its nature and purpose. The integration of theory and practice and
consequent curricular response to the requirements of the school system still
remains inadequate. Teachers are prepared in competencies and skills which do
not necessarily equip them for becoming professionally effective. Their
familiarity with latest educational developments remains insufficient.
Organized and stimulatory learning experiences whenever available, rarely
contribute to enhancing teachers' capacities for self-directed lifelong
learning. The system still prepares teachers who do not necessarily become
professionally competent. ...Teacher education is currently facing quality concern problem. In
the developed world, the quest for greater student learning and worker
productivity has prompted much attention to teaching and teacher education.’
(Ibid p2)
To what extent the research outputs and
the outcomes of innovations are utilized by the system. ‘Researches on teacher
education have been and are being conducted in universities, national level
institutions and other establishments but their utility for the teacher
educator or the classroom teacher remains rather low. Majority of the
researches are undertaken to obtain a degree and hence the focus on its possible
utility and relevance gets misplaced. The situation is compounded by
non-availability of appropriate dissemination mechanisms, like journals,
publication of findings in different forms and opportunities to the target
group to get an access to these. Institutional capabilities and resources need
to be augmented, enabling them to undertake relevant researches. Preparation of
teacher educators can no longer be completed without adequate grounding in
various aspects of research. Researches must respond to policy issues,
curriculum issues, evaluative procedures and practices, training strategies,
classroom practices etc. Researches, innovations and surveys must become
anintegral part of the training programmes of teacher education institutions
irrespective of the stages. The trainees need to be familiarized with
innovations in general and innovative practices in teacher education in
particular.’
RMSA has fund allocation for master
trainers but it is observed that there is much to be done to clearly understand
how should be master trainers, what is criteria and content for their training,
how they should plan teachers training and so on.
Master Trainer Needs to Know the following.(Ibid
p6) After the content analysis, the following procedures shall be helpful to
the trainers:
• Discovering training needs of the teachers
• Training Technique
• Supervision/Observation skills
• How to design training programme
• Adult Learning
• Needs Assessment
• Understanding Comparative Education System
• Final Considerations
• Self and re-assessment
In traditional pedagogy,
the teacher decides what the students need to learn and the curriculum is
developed apart from the learner. This does not suggest that students should
not be involved in generating objectives and learning experiences, only that
the initial curriculum has already been established.
Self−Concept- self−directed, learner encouraged to
be able to identify and articulate what they want to learn in dialogue with the
teacher. Experience - Not the one way transfer of data and information from
teacher to the student but to share the wealth of experience and wisdom into
the learning environment, a teacher is more often a facilitator in a mutual
learning environment. the focus is on experiential methods such as small group
activities, role playing.
Readiness to Learn- students
should be involved in generating objectives and learning experiences, the
learner takes a much more active role in deciding what will be taught and when.
more learners are able to identify their own needs. the content of educational
programs is directly related to both the learner's interests, life situations
and working capabilities. Orientation to learning: not to
have a subject−centred orientation to learning but a problem centred
orientation: this means to take a problem or a project and then have cross
disciplinary project based experiential model where preferably in a team
learners will engage themselves to solve the problem or complete the
project.
lesson planning skills would the teacher
trainees like to learn? What are the teacher’s strength and weakness in the
following areas?
• Writing
• Objectives
• Developing Materials
• Pacing Lessons; and
• Sequencing ideas and Techniques.
Accommodation of objectives and practical
reality over theory is very important and there must be an effort to assimilate
theory to practical application and facts.
Micro-reaching allows the teacher trainee
to practice any one skill and then combine it with others. The steps in
micro-teaching are as follows: Planning---Teaching---Feedback---Replan—Research---Re-feedback.
There has to be a Module based Training and modules provide a guideline to the
teaching-learning process to achieve the objectives.
Following template is used for Selection of Master Trainers under RMSA
Programme which is quite useful ( ibid p11 to 16)
|
Project Name |
|
|
Subject for Training |
|
|
Implementing Partner |
|
Mandatory Criteria for Selection
Must possess the following
knowledge, skills and attitude at the minimum levels mentioned below (On a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest,
5 being the highest, for e.g; 1 being not very confident – 5 being very
confident):
|
|
Knowledge |
|
Skills |
|
Attitude |
|
|
MA
degree (preferably with minimum 2 yrs of experience in teaching) B.Ed
(preferably with minimum 2 yrs of experience in teaching) Understands
the secondary educational structure and system clearly Good
understanding of teachers training issues Understanding of the RMSA objectives |
|
Clear communication skills; Good leadership skills Assertive yet friendly Networking ties especially with
the school administration and local Educational department; |
|
Open to
feedback & learning; Friendly/Welcoming; Informative
(Can easily suggest or recommend) Confident(4 |
Applicant
Details
|
Applicant
Name |
|
Age: |
|
Current
Position |
|
|
|
Qualification
|
|
|
|
Contact
Details |
|
|
Selection Form: (To be filled in by the
selection committee)
1.
Please encircle Yes or No.
|
Knowledge:
•
Meets the criteria of
experience in previous experience •
Has a general understanding
of the secondary education and NCF 2005 •
M.A/M.Sc/M.Com degree,
equivalent or higher(Please state the degree)
•
Previous Training experience
(Please explain) |
Yes/No Yes/No Yes/ No Yes/ No |
On a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest, 5 being
the highest, please rate the potential Master Trainer in the boxes below:
|
b.
Skills •
Networking skills Communication skills •
Knowledge/ information on the
topic •
Flexible / willing to learn •
Leaderships skills •
Training skills |
|
c. Attitudes • Friendly/Welcoming • Confident • Open to feedback & learning
• Informative/able to share information |
Recommendations------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:
Signature of Interviewer:
***
The professional development of school principal By Isaac Mathibe
gives us some further insights as the author has done survey of many
researchers in this subject of educating principals and summarised their
conclusions : some of them as given here:
According to Reitzug
(2002:3), ‘professional development may take different forms such as training,
on-site processes, networks and professional development schools. Principal is
a human resource manager, and has to set up mechanisms for nurturing and
unfolding of educators’ Lenyai
(2000:3) wrote that the educator is the keystone in the multiple arch of
education. ‘Eliminate the finest buildings and the most wisely developed
curriculum but leave the learner with an intelligent, cultivated and humane
educator and the educational process may continue satisfactorily. Provide all
the material necessities without the educator or the wrong kind, and the
results would be catastrophic …’ That is a poignant observation.
Terry (1999:28) advocates
to develop a multiple-strategy approach to enable educators to fulfil their
roles effectively. Jones, Clark, Figg, Howarth and Reid (1989:5) say such
programs are like the oxygen that helps principals to survive. The following
characteristics are recommended for a training program:
• It
should be integrated with educational goals to improve education.
• It
should be guided by a coherent long-term plan;
• It
should be primarily school-based;
• It
should be continuous and ongoing, providing follow-up support for
further
learning; and
• It
should be evaluated on the basis of its impact on school development
and
effectiveness (Madge, 2003:9; Westchester Institute for Human Services
Research,
2004:3).
Reitzug
(2002:3) said that training is the traditional and still dominant form of
professional development which includes direct instruction, skill demonstration,
workshops and presentations, instruction by an expert or experienced employee
on job processes in an organisation (Grobler, 2002:323). Higgs and Higgs
(1994:43) said that education and training are about the use that people make
of their knowledge and skills, their value to them personally in their living
and thinking and they are what the acquisition of knowledge and skills had done
to their minds, their attitudes, values, ideas, motives and intentions. Training
involves providing employees with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to do
a particular job effectively and efficiently (Cronje, 2004:207).
Greenfield
& Ribbins (1993:260) said that the ultimate training of a leader would
be a kind of philosophical withdrawal to look at the larger issues in fresh
perspective … a deeply clinical approach to the training of administrators is
needed … our training is disjointed, reflection is separated from action,
thinking from doing, praxis from the practical.
To
develop sophistication, credibility, know-how, integrity and vision in
principals, is aim of training (Stuart,1988) He lists the following points
about training aimed at professional development:
• People
become ready to learn when they recognise a deficiency in their
own
performance level;
• People
want learning to be problem-based leading to the solution of a particular
problem
facing them as individuals;
• People
want to be involved as equal participants in planning, carrying out
and
evaluating learning;
• People
want to be treated as people, enjoying mutual respect with the
trainer;
• People
bring with them to the learning situation their unique:
– Motives
for wanting to learn;
–
Previous learning experiences [good and bad];
–
Learning styles and pace of learning; and
–
Self-confidence and self-image.
Training
involves direct instruction, skill demonstration, and Jones (1989:102) lists
the following forms of training:
• One-day
conferences;
•
Single-session activities;
• Short
courses over a period of time;
• Formal
meetings by subject specialists; and
•
Membership of working groups.
on-site
learning augments flexible delivery mechanisms since on-site learning processes
are characterised by:
•
Acquisition of skills and knowledge in the midst of action;
•
Collective action; and
• An
outstanding experience of the learning process itself (Raelin, 2000:3).
on-site
learning processes include joint work that entail
shared
responsibility for tasks such as teaching, curriculum writing, assessment
development,
as well as creating interdependence and co-operation
among
educators. In addition, through mentoring programmes experienced
principals
guide activities of other principal [as in the case on Consultant
Heads in
the United Kingdom]. For example, mentoring and coaching are
often
used to match novices with veterans, enabling veterans to share their
knowledge
and expertise with the initiates (Middlewood, 2003:5; Westchester
Institute
for Human Services Research, 2004:3). Grobler et al. (2002:325) on-site
learning processes involve:
•
Enlarged and enriched job responsibilities;
•
Coaching;
•
Mentoring; and
•
Committee assignments.
It is
also noted that most often principals find themselves isolated and alone
in the
school situation.
Bush
(2003:4) notes that formative and summative evaluations were
conducted
with the following specific objectives:
• To
establish the felt needs of participants, consultants and facilitators
before,
during and after the programme;
• To
establish whether, and to what extent, the programme builds on the
ten
principles set out in the NCSL’s Leadership Development Framework;
• To
establish the quality of programmes as perceived by participants and
other
stakeholders;
• To
examine the impact of the programme upon participants and their
schools;
and
• To
assess sustainability of this programme of leadership development.
Vision of
the school
Motivating
others
Interpersonal
relationships
Leadership
skills
Performance
management
Monitoring
and evaluation
New
Vision Programme enhances management and leadership development.
Consequently,
Bush (2003:13) notes that participants in the programme indicated
that
after being in the programme for 18 months they are:
• More
reflective
•
Reviewing their approach to leadership and management;
•
Focusing more on the big picture;
•
Improving their people management skills; and
•
Improving their leadership qualities and skills.
Anderson
(1992), as cited by Legotlo (1992),
indicates
that a school management and leadership development programme
should:
• Develop
course work and practicums for school budget planning and
management;
•
Orientate beginning principals to districts;
• Give
beginning principals feedback;
•
Facilitate peer-group problem solving and idea sharing; and
•
Facilitate regional in-service.
In a
study of twelve management development programmes conducted by the
Joint
Education Trust [JET] on training offered by non-governmental organisations
[NGOs] it
was found that all 12 programmes offered by NGOs
provided
some form of training to principals (ETDP SETA, 2002; Heystek,
2003:10).
The content of some of the training programmes included:
•
Personnel management: developing a personal vision and mission, leadership
skills,
stress management, change management;
•
Organisational development: vision crafting for the school, drawing up a
mission
and development plan, inspiring and staff motivation, conducting
a SWOT
analyses and strategic planning;
• Skills
development: delegation, problem-solving, conflict management and
resolution,
aligning constituencies, team building, human resource management,
employee
appointment and induction, financial management
and staff
appraisal;
•
Administrative management: computer literacy, timetabling, activity planning,
improved
record keeping, effective resource management and the
planning
of duty rosters; and
•
Management of curriculum delivery: managing the classroom and quality
assurance
procedures (ETDP SETA, 2002).
Purposeful
sampling was used to select 600
respondents
(200 principals, 200 Heads of Department, and 200 educators)
in
Bojanala East and Bojanala West Regions of North West Province to investigate
practices
that necessitate and precipitate professional development of
school
principals. A questionnaire with a set of 10 (ten) general questions was
provided,
and respondents were afforded the opportunity of selecting [according
to
instructions] their responses to the given questions.
Results
and discussion of the empirical study
The
responses were arranged according to mean score ranking as in Table 2.
Table 2
indicates a high mean score for item 1 at 4.51 and standard deviation
at 0.57.
It appears that management takes capacity building seriously,
and
affords the staff opportunities for professional development. However, the
lowest
score is on item 3 with its mean at 3.96 and standard deviation of
0.15.
From the data analysis and interpretation, it was concluded that management
is weak
when coming to the issue of change management, and it
does not
provide intervention strategies to assist educators cope with changes
in the
school. The following discussion — based on Table 2 — will further elucidate
elements
necessitating professional development of school principals.
Principals
should ensure that schools have functioning linkages with their
external
environments.
The
pre-eminence of participative leadership and management in organisational
development
is based on the assumption that empowering people
may
result in a more responsive, more flexible, and ultimately more effective
organisation
(Ang, 2002). Participative leadership is more than a willingness
to share
influence, it entails formal patterns of participation through which
stakeholders
are not only objects for organisational development, but active
partners
for the daily operations in a school. The shift to participative leadership
in
institutions is both inevitable and necessary since issues that are
faced in the
workplace are too complex to be solved by a few people in authority.
Principals
should be skilled in change management
Mabale
(2004) notes that change is not an event, but rather it is a process
which
unfolds as individuals and organisations grow in knowledge and expeProfessional
development
533
rience.
According to Van der Westhuizen (2002), there is a dualism in the
concepts
‘learning organisation’ and change management: firstly, learning
occurs in
the organisation, and secondly, the organisation learns from changes
that
happen in its environment. It is to be borne in mind that a learning
organisation
is not static, but it is a dynamic entity that always positions itself
in terms
of its clients’ needs. To explain the functioning of a learning organisation,
Dawson
(1993) provides the following analogy of a frog:
… If you
put a frog in a pot of boiling water it would immediately try to
scramble
out. However, if you put the frog in a pot of cold water and gradually
turn up
the heat, the frog would become groggier and groggier,
until it
is unable to climb out of the pot. The frog would sit there and boil
because
the frog’s internal apparatus for sensing threats to survival is
geared to
sudden changes in the environment, not slow incremental
death.
This often happens when modern organisations react only to
dramatic
changes in the environment, ignoring gradual processes that
may be
bigger threats …
Change
management cannot be done in isolation and experts who understand
change
processes should be invited to assist the school to deal with change
(Mathibe,
2005). Major change is painful and it requires different ways of
behaving,
thinking and perceiving.
The
following characteristics of
team-work are noted:
• Inspiring commitment to the
school’s mission which gives direction and
purpose to its work;
• co-ordinating the work of the
school by allocating resources, roles and
delegating responsibilities within
structures that support collaboration
between the schools and its
partners;
• being actively and visibly
involved in the planning and implementation of
change;
• emphasising quality and
enhancing realistic expectations in the work
roles; and
• being enthusiastic about change
and innovation, but judicious in controlling
the pace of change (Mathibe, 2005).
References
Anderson M E 1992. H elping
beginnin g school manage rs su cceed. Oregon School
Study Council/University of
Oregon/Eugene, OR, 30.
Ang A 2002. An eclectic review of
multi-dimensional perspectives of employee
involvement. Employer, 14:192-200.
Bush T 1995. Theories
of educational management. 2nd edn. London: Chapman.
Bush T 2003. New visions or empty
vessels: the National College For School
Leadership induction model for new
school managers. Paper presented at the
Education Management Association
of South Africa Conference, Nelspruit, 12-14
March.
Bush T, Coleman M, Wall D &
West-Burnham J 1996. Mentoring and continuing
professional deve lopment. In:
McIntyre D & Hagger H (ed s). Mentors in schools:
Developing the profession of
teaching. London: Fu lton
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**
Considering the research problem
that guided this study, we observe that most principals that
answered the survey assumed that
they had training needs mainly in what regards the following
dimensions: Curricular and
pedagogical management, Educational projects management, Financial
management and
Interpersonal management. It should be stressed out that 88,0% of the
headmasters pointed out training
needs in “Elaboration of the training and updating plan for teaching
and non-teaching staff” (dimension
human resources management). Findings show clear evidence
that the respondent, all broadly
experienced school principals, lack specific training in several of the
dimensions that the job implies,
meaning that the long years of experience are not enough to
guarantee the ability to find
solutions to the challenges of contemporary society.
In the face of these results, we
present some suggestions that we expect will be considered by the
participants of the study: i)
attendance of post-graduation courses in the field of School administration
and management, Curricular and
pedagogical management, Educational projects construction and
Conflicts management (other areas
of expertise could also be considered); ii) annual identification of
specific training needs for the
faculty staff, including non-teaching staff, in order to create an annual
plan of training; iii) the establishment
of partnerships with academic institutions, ensuring the efficient
realization of the training
courses envisaged by the annual training schemes; iv) the sharing,
discussion, and analysis of their
management practices with other school principals; v) the individual
reflection and, later, with other
school principals, on the impact of decisions on the teaching work
dynamics and the students learning
process; vi) the realization of school meetings around a particular
theme, where pupils, parents, and
guardians are called to intervene and participate in the finding of
solutions.
As leaders, they “need
to pay attention to change and be
able to predict it and react when it shows, always regarding the
interests of the organization;
they have to affirm themselves as real actors of change and
reconstruction of the
organizational culture of the school they lead” (Barreto, 2009, p. 86)[16].
Findings resulted in the
conclusion that most of the 25 principals that were subject of this study had a
vast experience on the job, for 15
of them exercised it from between 19 to 30 years and five of them
for more than 30 years. If we
match this evidence with the text of the article 42 of the Presidential
Decree number 16/11, of 11
January, which states that school principals are nominated by the
Province Governor, under proposal
of the Provincial Director of Education and for a period of three
years, renewable for equal terms,
we can state that 20 of the 25 principals have been obtaining the
renewal of their service commission
by the Province Governor, after approval of the Education
Provincial Director. This reality
leads to two questions:
1 In the exercise of a leadership
position, the length of service influences the quality of the
performance, bringing a supplement
of professional competencies and abilities that have an
impact on the success of the
relationships between the educational community and within the
teaching and learning processes?
2 Could a large length of service
in the exercise of the same position lead to situations of
implementation of routines and crystallization of practices?
Considering the research problem
that guided this study, we observe that most principals that
answered the survey assumed that
they had training needs mainly in what regards the following
dimensions: Curricular and
pedagogical management, Educational projects management, Financial
management and
Interpersonal management. It should be stressed out that 88,0% of the
headmasters pointed out training
needs in “Elaboration of the training and updating plan for teaching
and non-teaching staff” (dimension
human resources management). Findings show clear evidence
that the respondent, all broadly
experienced school principals, lack specific training in several of the
dimensions that the job implies,
meaning that the long years of experience are not enough to
guarantee the ability to find
solutions to the challenges of contemporary society.
In the face of these results, we
present some suggestions that we expect will be considered by the
participants of the study: i)
attendance of post-graduation courses in the field of School administration
and management, Curricular and
pedagogical management, Educational projects construction and
Conflicts management (other areas
of expertise could also be considered); ii) annual identification of
specific training needs for the
faculty staff, including non-teaching staff, in order to create an annual
plan of training; iii) the
establishment of partnerships with academic institutions, ensuring the
efficient
realization of the training
courses envisaged by the annual training schemes; iv) the sharing,
discussion, and analysis of their
management practices with other school principals; v) the individual
reflection and, later, with other
school principals, on the impact of decisions on the teaching work
dynamics and the students learning
process; vi) the realization of school meetings around a particular
theme, where pupils, parents, and
guardians are called to intervene and participate in the finding of
solutions.
***
Verma (2000) , In “Comparative study of the educational thoughts of
Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo Gosh and their relevance in the context of
National Policy of Education 1986, States that both the two great educationist
emphasized the overall development of the child, who is our future.
Sanyal, Indrani and Ganguli Anirban (2011) in “Education
Philosophy and Practice” state that Sri Aurobindo’s integral education focus on
the development of a child in different aspects into a comprehensive whole. Sri
Aurobindo’s integral education is based on the ethos of Upanishads. The chief
aim of Upanishadic education was to transform an individual into a higher being
by imparting education. Sri Aurobindo viewed the Upanishad’s education as the
only way for the real development of humanity.
In this research paper, it has been highlighted that integral education
based on Upanishadic education is a true way to develop humanity. Human being
is the noblest creation in this world. A man should continue for striving hard
for the manifestation of totality in him.
Wexler, Judie Gaffin (2011) : In “Evolving Dimensions of Integral
Education” describes the concept of Integral education and discuss a case study
of California Institute of Integral Studies which is based on ancient Indian
education system of Upanishadic age at higher education level. In this case
study, it has been highlighted that incorporation of spirit is essential for
the development of a student and the faculty. With the statistical data, she
proved that exercise of spirit cannot be neglected as human being is facing a
hectic change due to globalisation.
The paper describes the Integral education, which is essential for
integrated growth of a student i.e., development of his spirit, psyche and mind
for facing the complexities of the world. For solving the complexities of
modern life, education system should be comprehensive as per ethos of integral
education and directives of Upanishads. In life, only acquisition of objective
knowledge based on exteriorized aspect of human life will not be enough. If man
does not enlighten himself by inner wisdom then his acquisition of knowledge
will be incomplete. That’s why it is essential that an integral approach must
be adopted for outer and inner development of human being.
Sharma (2012) : Studied Swami Vivekanand educational thoughts. As
per Swami the aim of life is not to acquire many degrees rather to know the
people and serve the country. The main aim of education should be to awake
human from ignorance and to enlighten him through knowledge. Swami’s education
theory incorporates equality, cooperation, love, peace and mutual
understandings. Swami Vivekananda emphasized the rule of mentor and
concentration in education.
Saha and Majhi (2013) : They studied the educational philosophy of
Sri Aurobindo. Aurobindo’s integral education is a holistic approach comprised
of developing moral, social values, philosophical, spiritual values in
students. He was a firm believer in child centred approach i.e., education
should be imparted according to the needs of the student by providing him full
liberty. He advocated practice and observation.
T Pushpnathan (2013) : He extensively studied the educational
philosophy of Rabindra Nath Tagore. As per Tagore the main aim of education is
self- realisation which means to recognise oneself the part of universe. The
other aim of education is harmony between man and nature and universal
brotherhood. His educational thoughts are based on Srimad Bhagwat Gita and
Upanishads. Tagore emphasised on physical development, mental development and
independence of an individual.
Rukhsana Akhtar (2014): She studied on, “Sri Aurobindo Ghosh:
Pioneer of Integral Education”. She applied historical and philosophical method
for this research paper. If a learner studies through the principles of
integral education, then he will be useful not only for self or family but the
entire humanity. Such persons promote humanity and are forerunner for evolving
humanity.
Sengupta (2014) : Studied the educational thoughts of Vivekananda,
Rabindra Nath Tagore and Sri Aurobindo. He studied the influence of Upanishads
on the educational thoughts of these three renowned educationists. Sri
Aurobindo discussed the importance of a teacher as facilitator; Swami
Vivekananda emphasized the role of concentration for self-exploration.
Svetasvata Upanishad emphasizes the role of pursuit of knowledge. These entire
three great educationists were influenced by our Upanishads.
Deshmukh and Mishra (2014) : They studied the educational
philosophy of Sri Aurobindo which did not consider that the study to develop
physical, mental and psychic aspect is enough but a student must enhance
knowledge, love, power and beauty also. All these integrated elements are called
integral education. First method is that mind of a student must be consulted
for developing his personality and shaping growth. Second, student should be
taught from known to unknown and learning is conditioned by his environment.
Third, nothing can be taught to a student.
Akhter (2015) : He studied Sri Aurobindo’s integral education.
According to Sri Aurobindo, main aim of integral education is holistic
development of mind, body and soul. Aurobindo believes that education should
inculcate in a student moral values, humanity and character building. Integral
education transforms a man to superman and awakens his consciousness. He stated
that yoga must be an integral part of education. Integral education enhances
harmony, knowledge and will power in a human being.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1. To study the concept of Integral Education as proposed by Sri
Aurobindo.
2. To study the physical aspect and its practice in Auroville
Schools.
3. To study the spiritual aspect and its practice in Auroville
Schools.
HYPOTHISES
H1 Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Education is relevant in Indian
Education system.
H1 Growth of physical aspect of students in both schools is same.
H1 Development of spiritual aspect of student in Mirambika School
is higher than the Mother International School.
OPERATIONAL TERMS USED IN THE STUDY
Auroville
In the mid-1960s, The Mother personally guided the foundation of
Auroville an international township endorsed by UNESCO to extend further
humanity in Tamil Nadu near the Pondicherry border. It was to be a place “where
men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive
harmony above all creeds, politics and nationalities.” It was inaugurated in
1968 in a ceremony in which representatives of 121 nations and all the states
of India placed a handful of their soil in an urn near the centre of the city.
Auroville Schools
In Delhi there are two schools (Mother International and Mirambika)
prominently which are directly setup by Sri Aurobindo society, based on
Integral Education.
Integral
Integral means “total” and addresses the totality of the whole person.
It develops a sense of integrity, harmony and beauty in all aspects of
humanity. With an innovative combination of classroom and activity based
learning, students will be taught a whole range of skills, aptitudes and abilities
that will help to process information into knowledge that can be applied in
life. When successful, such type of education allows children to become
responsible and creative citizen who strive for excellence and are committed to
the progress of themselves and their community.
Integral Education
Integral education is an educational process through which students are
provided a dynamic group learning environment. It encourages conscious decision
making, personal introduction, self-discovery, innovation and respect for
individual differences and cultures. Educationist thought that to increase the
effectiveness of education, it is important to choose a new educational model
that seeks to develop responsible, creative, and conscious contributors to a
global community. Integral education is a project-based model of education that
encourages the joy of learning for its own sake.
Physical
“All education of the body should begin at birth and continue throughout
out life. It is never too soon to begin, not too late to continue”.
Physical education, three principle aspects :-
1. Control and discipline of the functioning of the body.
2. An integral methodical and harmonious development of all the
parts and movements of the body and
3. Correction of any defects and deformities.
Spiritual
“A perfect self-expression of the spirit is the object of our
terrestrial existence. This cannot be achieved if we have not grown conscious
of the supreme reality; for it is only by the touch of the absolute that we can
arrive at our own absolute”.-Sri Aurobindo
Sample
Population of the present study is comprised of 650 students of two
Auroville schools viz. Mirambika and Mother International School located on Sri
Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi. This population belongs to 12-15 years of adolescent
age group. The population of Mother International School is comprised of 540
students, in which girls and boys are 302, 238 respectively. Whereas Mirambika
School’s population is comprised of 110 students in which girls and boys are 63
and 47 respectively.
Variables
In this study following variable are delineated
a. Dependents variable : - Students of Mirambika and Mother
International School.
b. Independent variables :-
1. Physical aspect of Integral Education.
2. Spiritual aspect of Integral Education.
Tools Used
Q-Sorting techniques by Thurstone Method
STATISTICAL TECHNIQUE USED
Critical Ratio applied to find the difference in school students of
Mother International and Mirambika in respect of two aspects of integral
education (Physical and Spiritual).
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Physical aspect of Integral Education
Interpretation of physical aspect
The critical Ratio of ‘Physical Aspect’ of Integral Education is 3.22,
which is not significant at 0.01 levels and 0.05 levels. The table value is
3.94 and 6.90. It means there is no significant difference between these two
schools in respect of physical aspect.
On comparison, the mean of Mother International School is higher than
the Mirambika School. It means that students of Mother International are better
than Mirambika in physical aspect of integral education.
Spiritual aspect of Integral Education
Interpretation of Spiritual Aspect
The Critical Ratio of Spiritual aspect of Integral Education is 11.11
which are significant at 0.01 levels and 0.05 level. The table value is 3.94
and 6.90. It means that there is significant difference between these two
schools in respect of ‘Spiritual Aspect’. On comparison the mean of Mirambika
School is higher than the Mother International School in Spirituality aspect of
integral education. Students of Mirambika School are doing better.
CONCLUSION
In this study researcher finds out the philosophical concept of Integral
Education of Sri Aurobindo and its two aspects of integral education i e:
Physical and Spiritual and its practice in Auroville schools. Both the schools
are based on the philosophy of Integral education of Sri Aurobindo. The Mother
International School is affiliated to CBSE for academic purpose but Mirambika
School is not affiliated to any Board rather adopts its own curriculum. Through
Critical Ratio, it has been found that there is no significant difference
between the two schools in respect of physical aspect and in mean difference
students of Mother International Schools are doing better than students of
Mirambika School. There is significant difference prevails between two schools
in spiritual aspects of integral education. In mean difference also Mirambika
School is doing better in spiritual aspect then Mother International School.
The educational implications of two aspects of integral education in
Auroville Schools are given below:
1. More liberty and choice should be given to students in respect
of learning methods, choice of subjects and friendly relations be developed
between teacher and students.
2. Free mind learns more effectively than an environment of formal
relation and fixed schedule.
3. Teaching by play way method is more effective and fruitful,
result oriented than the classroom technology.
4. Educational institutes must understand that each individual
comes in to life with an evolutionary purpose and unique potential, so
education should be imparted as per that potential and interest of the student.
5. Now days, in competitive era, schools are concentrating only on
Mental Aspect of Integral Education and forgetting the other four aspects of
Integral Education viz. Physical, Vital, Psyche and Spirituality. A man cannot
become human without including all the five aspects of Integral Education. So
all the schools should prepare their curriculum and other extracurricular
activities by incorporating the Integral Education.
6. It promotes learning by doing method instead of chalk and duster
method.
7. Integral education is not marks oriented of students but they
want to make a child a good human being.
8. It is a project based model of education to develop interest and
creativity in the students.
9. It gives qualitative and skilled based education so that
children will be skilled in their interest area. They will not face
unemployment problem.
10. Integral education prepares students for forthcoming problems
in life.
11. Integral education takes care of individual differences. It
imparts education as per individual interest and potential. Here students
acquire knowledge according to their pace, time, speed and individual speed.
12. It lessens the suicide cases among the students.
13. It develops original thinking, creativity and personality of
the student.
14. Integral education do not believe in cramming rather emphasize
on true knowledge.
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( from Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Education: Practice of Physical and
Spiritual in Auroville Schools | Original Article: Sunita
Yadav*, Rajeev Rattan Sharma, in Journal of Advances and
Scholarly Researches in Allied Education | Multidisciplinary Academic Research)
**
Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Indian Culture (SAFIC) organized an
E-Conclave in order to bring the representatives of various Schools in India
following the Integral Education system for an interactive discussion. In this
program organized on 23 October 2020, the representatives of various schools in
India implementing Integral Education participated to discuss following:
-how are the principles of IE are put into practice into the existing
system
-what innovative teaching learning practice are being implemented for
the accomplishment of the IE aim
-what has been the impact of the IE practice
-what are the challenges faced in implementing IE principles
-what level of success has been achieved so far
-what is the way forward
There are all different types of people working together in a team. Some
are driven from their vital energy, some are more physically oriented, and
others are more mentally involved. The problem comes when one kind of
leadership, fail to acknowledge the approach of people with other type of
dominant life energy and totally discard their option or don’t make them a part
of the discussion, simply because of the expected variation in thoughts.
This sometimes creates a Yes-man kind of environment, as all core
members are similarly opinionated, and diversity in outlook is not entertained.
This can be a huddle in the progress and creativity.
Learning to co-exist and function in an inclusive manner with dissimilar
types of people, where everyone is given a platform and their voice is heard,
is inevitable.
As a leader, even if you are not too sure, but if your team member is
confident, sincere and ready to put in efforts in their approach to yield the
desired results, leadership needs to put trust in them and encourage them to
try a new way out.
There need to be a fearless working environment, where failure of a
strategy does not make the executer a failure, and failures are taken as
challenges and not as disappointments
A culture needs to be developed, where the challenges are discussed
openly and brainstorming happens by welcoming different diverse perspectives
where leaders also share and embrace personal condensed experiences, without
judgments.
One-pointed clarity that the goal of the teachers is Service! This is
the one of the utmost pious roles, and demands penance, self-refinement and
surrender. A teacher is nothing but a Yogi.
Transformation can be very well facilitated with the help of environment
& influence. Methodology can be always flexible, depending on the
circumstances.
Three aims to keep in mind are Free progress- freedom to be oneself,
Self-discipline-Control that comes from within and not from outside, & the
development of will-power.
Four most important values to be cultivated in the Teachers, Parents and
Students are Love, Trust, Freedom & Silence.
Children need to learn the importance of facing the consequences of
their actions and developing their own power of description between right and
wrong.
Parents and Teachers need to ensure that they do not cut away the time
and learning experience, necessary for a child’s growth by hurrying it up or
impatiently correcting it, rather children must be promoted to learn and evolve
in the moment, by completely undergoing that experience, in the supportive
presence of the adults.
Children must be treated with respect and there need to be a culture of
effective dialogue and two-way communication with them and the adults; their
consent should be taken while making choices and decisions for them.
Being in touch with our own self and acting out from there is the most
important thing as leaders and educators.
Education needs to be Enjoyable and Engaging instead of seeking approval
and external validation.
The Joy of the students for learning is the best feedback and a mirror
of their inner growth & outer learning.
Teachers & parents need to be absorbed in what absorbs their
children.
Explore the possibility of “no teacher-no learner classroom”. Only the
flame of inner light needs to rise higher.
The most important thing for a teacher is to know the background story
of each and every child in the classroom.
Guidance needs to come in accordance with the temperament of the child.
Children should always feel invited and welcomed. There should not be
any interference in their creative expression.
It’s important not make any thing compulsory by force rather giving
multiple choices & alternatives to the children.
Children don’t have the critical thinking, analyzing and reasoning
skills like adults but they have the capacity to observe very minutely and the
flexibility to change more rapidly than adults.
We are here to do what others can’t do; because they have no idea it can
be done. And make matter ready to manifest the spirit.
We are here for opening the way of the future for the children of the
future! Anything else is not worthy to be done, other than this.
Remember, it’s not because of us, but despite of us!
Common Challenges and New Areas to be Explored
-----------------------------------------
How to Facilitate INTEGRAL Education (IE) in middle school and secondary
school with non-flexible syllabus and board exams?
Do we need to get rid of ‘the competition’ and ‘the compulsory’ or they
can go hand in hand with IE?
Self-reflective and concentration practices
Designing an effective structure for parental involvement.
How is the experience and parental reaction for ‘no school uniform,
except for the sports’; ‘no formal exams until class 7th ’ and ‘no books
till class 4th, except languages’ ? What are the challenges that you are facing
with this?
How effective is the practice of Satang in the assembly? How are you
able to make the adolescents interested and participative? What are the
challenges that you are facing with this?
How can we measure the impact of IE practices on the children and the
teachers?
How to check if children are happy, grounded and self-motivated?
How to ensure that the team is motivated enough?
Can DIYAS like model be followed in every school where some of the most
empathetic teachers are made the point of contacts or facilitators of IE?
Do you have any data to elaborate how IE students are able to excel in
the highly competitive outside world?
How do you maintain a highly demanding system, to prepare innovative
teaching methodologies and artistic environment for creating psychological and
aesthetic beauty?
How to maintain a daily, rigorous and unbroken physical fitness routine
especially for the middle school and secondary students? What are the
prerequisites for the coaches-How do they prepare their lesson plan? How do you
ensure the progress of all children at physical level?
How to manage the problem of Teacher is to Student ratio imbalance? Is
it possible to get effective results with significantly high teacher::student
ration, like 1::45? What could be the solutions?
How do you build rapport with the child on day to day or weekly basis so
that a bonding at personal level is developed with every student? How to ensure
or monitor that it’s effectively done by the teachers? Is there any structure
been developed by any of the IE school that can be helpful for the rest?
Would you like to elaborate on how you are roping in the alumni teachers
and students in imparting IE to the current students and parents?
Meera Singh, talked about measuring happiness and creativity quotient in
the students- it would be lovely to learn more about this.
How your school counselor is working on Indian psychology, Integral
Psychology based intervention and research?
Importance of Adventure camps, Excursions and Field Trips and how to
handle problems like possibilities of accidents during the same?
How to make teachers and students interested in project method of
education, so that it’s not completed as a formality, but rather real skill
building takes place for most of the students? How to make assessment based of
project based methods of learning?
How correct is this idea that “Anger is not present in the being of a
child”? Should this be our purpose to ensure complete omission and avoidance of
emotions like anger, fear, jealousy, etc? Or our purpose should be to develop
self-awareness in the children to identify and articulate their emotions
including Anger and ultimately learning to reject it and surpassing it, instead
of suppressing it.
“Subtraction is reductionist, Addition is progressive” Is this correct
thing to teach because this might not be the case most often?
How can IE, SEL & Value Education be made a part of the main stream
subject curriculum in middle school and secondary?
Lavlesh Bhanot, SAS Chandigarh, raised some very significant questions
life- if there is no quest in the teachers & the parents- how to make it a
personal journey for the teachers and parents first?
Whats the role of IE in the light of the Technological Singularity
What IE has to offer when it comes to handling the problems of present
day teens with early maturity rate, great effect of social media, materialistic
life style and addictive behaviors?
How can we explore the use of the combination of Psychology, Life Skills
and IE?
How to take IE online?
Chinmayie Pawan from Auro Mira, talked about including various aspects
of Psychology in the methodologies and Psychological Training for the teachers,
would you like to elaborate upon your methodology for it? Are their
psychologists on board?
Strategies & Recommendations to be Explored in Detail
Making a shift towards Inclusive Education and creating sensitization,
orientations; breaking the stigma and providing equal opportunity to all.
R. Sharadamba, talked about the importance of tracking problematic behavior,
and academic skills in the child and providing early interventions like special
education, counseling
The need for documentation, working on individual students, recording
the progress, and feedback.
Life skills training, and workshops for psycho-education
(vital-management) like Self-Awareness, Psychological Need, Creative Needs,
Emotional Awareness, etc.
Ensuring Physical and Mental Health of the Teachers and the Staff
Psychological Training for the teachers
Day Care service
How to make teachers actively engage in IE & expand their level of
Consciousness?
Ensuring quality time spent by the teachers with the students (specially
middle school and secondary)
Making children aware about duties and rights as a responsible citizen
Interdisciplinary learning for e.g. Music+ Art+ Math.
18 guide books published for Lesson planning. & Value.Education.
(class 1-8, 20 activities per class)
Well-structured Teachers Training, Regular Orientation and Mandatory
Teachers Manual
Ongoing workshops throughout the year, for staff and administrators
Reality checks on how much are we living what we are showcasing on our
websites and public presence.
Teachers to be free to create their innovative LP & Methodologies,
while Children need to be free to put the ideas of their teachers down and
propose their own ideas. They should be also allowed to choose alternative
response faculty.
Aha School, Auroville (Arati, Deven, Shaaline) research work done in the
area of Body activity based experiments
Sustainability based education- waste management, water management,
clean energy use.
Hardik Kakkad from Neevam Amravati shared Extensive Feedback filled by
the parents for each and every child.
He also talked about having a dedicated Research team for carrying
forward long term research projects related to the application of IE, it would
be nice to learn more about it.
Developing a culture to celebrate birthdays – as the best time to remind
oneself of his maturity level & what roles he needs to play hence forth and
what are the areas he need to contribute in the world out there.
Working with fresher-s so that they are easily trainable.
Role of the teachers as being the spokesperson of IE for the parents.
Imparting authentic ancient Indian knowledge to the students through
Bhagwad Gita, etc.
Conducting youth camps is a great idea in the school.
**
These systematic conditions contribute to
poor preparation, lack of commitment, and inadequate knowledge of chosen areas
of occupational interest on behalf of students. Additionally, campus cultures
are frequently focused on peer development within extracurricular and social
activities instead of academic endeavors. Not surprisingly, the industry has
been brought under scrutiny from legislators, parents, and policy makers along
with classroom educators (Arum & Roksa, 2011; Barbezat & Bush, 2014).
The integral model may prove beneficial during what appears a necessary
revisioning of a Western educational system that principally utilizes
increasingly outmoded practices. Given the focus of this article, I will not be
addressing key contributions by Haridas Chaudhuri (1913-1975), who in
significant ways expanded, updated, and implemented integral education with an
emphasis on higher education in the West. Readers interested in an introduction
to Chaudhuri's developments in this area should refer to his writings on
education (Chaudhuri, 1974) and integral consciousness (Chaudhuri, 1977 &
1979) as listed in the references section. Additionally, other prominent
perspectives embracing the term “integral” will not be addressed herein. While
acknowledging sizable contributions to an integral worldview through models of
human consciousness as well as syntheses of major disciplines of human
knowledge from Jean Gebser (1905-1973) and Ken Wilber (1949-), in my view it
should not be overlooked that the methodology and definitions unfolding from
integral yoga and its expanded perspective on whole-personhood precedes these
other perspectives by decades. Kaslev (2007) goes so far as to posit that later
perspectives and formulations employing the term integral “came about as the
result of the former (and not just through superficial and intellectual
influence)” (para. 22). Lastly, the integral yoga and subsequent developments
in education of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother have no direct Zulaski: A Complete
Integral Education: Five Principal Aspects INTEGRAL REVIEW – July 2017 – Vol. 13,
No. 1 22 connection to Sri Swami Satchidananda, the spiritual teacher who
registered the name “Integral Yoga” in the late 1960's before launching the
first “Integral Yoga Institute” in 1970. Potential audiences of interest may
include current and future students, teachers, curriculum and policy designers,
and other administrators in the discipline as well as those interested in human
development and potential. Sources primarily consulted in this paper are three
booklets of compiled writings from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother entitled,
Education: General Principles, Education: Teaching and Education: Learning,
which were all published in 1972. Integral Education and the Unique Purpose of
the Whole Person The model of integral education offered by Sri Aurobindo and
the Mother emerges from a spiritual worldview and proposes a comprehensive
whole-person approach, defining the value and purpose of learning as being
central to self-fulfillment. An educational process is essential for
accompanying learners toward identifying and coming into relation with their
Psychic Being. The Psychic Being is the embodied divine principle, “the earthly
half of the eternal, evolving part of the human soul, manifest as light in the
heart of each person” (Julich, 2013. p. 83), serving to guide one toward their
highest personal ideals and evolution as a human being. It is this evolutionary
aspect of the soul that influences one in realizing one’s svabhāva, or the
unique and intrinsic state of being, and actualizing the svadharma, that
individual's own path of purpose, individual lifecalling, and true
self-unfoldment. These two concepts are key components within the integral
vision of pedagogy, providing an expansive scope for orientation,
interpretation, and adaptation by educators while valuing personal as well as
communal enrichment and fulfillment. Five Principal Aspects In Education:
General Principles (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972 a), the Mother informs us
that in order to be “complete”, an integral education must possess “five
principal aspects relating to the five principal activities of the human being:
the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic, and the spiritual” (p. 8).
These innate human attributes are acknowledged as being fundamentally holistic,
humanistic, and divine and must all be addressed to achieve a complete integral
education. Being interrelated, they require cultivation individually and
collectively. The remainder of this section elaborates on and briefly discusses
each of these principles in the order cited above.
Education of the physical.
In traditional education, a near exclusive
prominence has been attributed to the cognitive and intellectual models of
acquiring knowledge; “essentially, an exclusively or eminently intellectual
approach perpetuates the ‘cognicentrism’ of mainstream Western education in its
assumption that the mind’s cognitive capabilities are or should be the
paramount masters and players of learning and inquiry” (Ferrer, Albareda, &
Romero, 2005, p. 311). As such, recognition and inclusion of the physical body
in the learning process, in higher education in particular, has been considered
at best recreational and ancillary; playground recess and competitive sports
are familiar activities disconnected from learning outcomes present in the
classroom. There is a miscomprehension of the essential co-relationship between
the mind and body as mutually important vehicles in both acquiring and
generating valid knowledge. Thus, the cultivation of a mind-body
interrelationship within a whole-person framework is often neglected. Zulaski:
A Complete Integral Education: Five Principal Aspects INTEGRAL REVIEW – July 2017 – Vol. 13,
No. 1 23 Integral education honors and engages the learner's unique human body
and its higher potentials. The Mother dismisses an embodied education as a
secondary or recreational consideration for learning in her admission that the
physical aspect of learning needs to be rigorous and methodical in its
undertaking. She elaborates that an education of one’s physical body is
comprised of three principal aspects, “(1) control and discipline of functions,
(2) a total, methodical and harmonious development of all parts and movements
of the body and (3) rectification of defects and deformities…” (Ghose, A. &
Alfassa, M., 1972 a, p. 10). Implementing a consistent and individualized
pedagogical approach in response to the recognition that the body is habitforming
in its nature is advocated. According to the Mother, these habits “should be
controlled and disciplined yet…supple enough to adapt themselves to the
circumstances and the needs of the growth and development of the being” (Ghose,
A. & Alfassa, M., 1972 a, p. 9). Sensitivity to circumstance and creative
adaptation is thereby advised for proper development of the physical aspect.
The physical aspect is a necessary and foundational component of the integral
model. Somatic, kinesthetic, expressive arts, martial arts, athletics, dance,
and other embodied practices can aid in developing realms of knowledge informed
by our unique physical intelligences. These intelligences play an essential
role in student health, well-being, and creativity which ultimately influence
self-efficacy.
Education of the vital.
The following aspect is that of the vital,
which seems to share some common characteristics with the emotional,
instinctual, or libidinal operative processes. The Mother defines one’s “vital
being” as the “set of impulses and desires, of enthusiasm and violence, of
dynamic energy and desperate depression, of passions and revolts” (Ghose, A.
& Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 10). It is divided into two distinctive yet
equally important categories, varying in both goal and process. The first
categorical distinction invites one “to develop and utilize the sense organs”,
while the second requests the learner “to become conscious and gradually become
master of one’s character and in the end to achieve its transformation” (Ghose,
A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 11). These two categories—sense organs, through
which one receives information from the environment, and reflective
self-examination, whereby one considers one’s reactions, thoughts, and
experiences from an internal perspective—provide learners with a spectrum of
sensorial, perceptual, and contemplative information. This allows for a more
comprehensive, holistic ontology from which to engage in the lived experience.
These categories will be revisited and further elaborated on when we discuss
the education of the mind. A vital education is intended to encourage
consideration, self-reflection and an honest evaluation of one’s internal,
energetic, and emotional processes. To provide one example, Mother advises
entering “into the heart of your grief: you will find there the light, the
truth, the force and the joy which the pain hides” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa,
M., 1972b, p. 4). Prescriptions for how to engage with the vital aspect are
meaningful, since she interprets that “with the collaboration of the vital, no
realization seems impossible, no transformation impracticable” (Ghose, A. &
Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 10). This aspect is considered as that dimension most
challenging to entrain, necessitating sincerity, patience, discipline,
endurance, and volition. The requisite perseverance and intention are necessary
to enter into one’s personal vulnerabilities and encounter the transformative
authenticity to which they are connected; this is the all-important practice of
coming to truly know oneself. Zulaski: A Complete Integral Education: Five
Principal Aspects INTEGRAL REVIEW – July
2017 – Vol. 13, No. 1 24 Vital impulses in
the form of desires are energies that greatly contribute to shaping and
establishing behavior patterns which in turn may eventually solidify into
bodily habits. Being so, the Mother advocates for beginning the training of
this aspect in the learning process as soon as developmentally possible to best
avoid the generation of lesser habits. She elaborates that one is to then
“acquire control over one’s movements so that one may achieve perfect mastery
and transformation of all the elements that have to be transformed. Now, all
will depend upon the ideal which the effort for mastery and transformation
seeks to achieve” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972 a, p. 11). Thus, in
developing sufficient knowledge of the relationship between vital processes,
bodily responses and behaviors, and mental reflectivity, one achieves a fuller
capacity for alleviating deficiencies. This capacity is aided and enhanced by
the observance or formulation of ideal ways of being. As mentioned in the
introduction, a concern with the development of the Psychic Being as the inner
guide on one’s path to realizing their personal ideal is a central component of
an integral approach to educating, to drawing out learners’ highest ideals.
Having addressed that the vital dimension interrelates with and reinforces
one’s physical aspect, I will now consider how these two aspects become
necessary for the training of the mind.
Education of the mind.
A range of cognitive faculties are
detailed in regard to an education of the mind in integral education. These
include our instruments for attaining knowledge (here being interpreted more
broadly than mental, cognitive, or intellectual attainments), memory,
progression from object-based to abstract-concept relations, gestalt,
contemplation, inspiration, intuition, and imagination. Sri Aurobindo
contributes a considerable and ordered series of insights on these faculties.
He declares that the first consideration for the teacher should be to interest
the learner in “life, work and knowledge”, instructing in such a way that will
be simple and organic, while effectively examining our “instruments of
knowledge” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 7). This study of
instrumentation is undertaken to assist the student in his or her mental
development, “to give him mastery of the medium” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M.,
1972c, p. 4). As a component of this medium, Aurobindo advises that exceptional
training be afforded to memory and that early developmental sharpening of the
mental faculties should begin with the observation, comparison and
classification of objects, before gradually transitioning to more abstract
words, concepts and ideas. This transition toward abstraction naturally entails
advancement of the imagination. Sri Aurobindo is explicit in classifying the
imagination as that aspect which is―in addition to self-generating mental
imagery and thought-forms―able to acknowledge and admire those emotive and
spiritual resonances of existence. He imparts that “Imagination…may be divided
into three functions, the forming of mental images, the power of creating
thoughts, images and imitations or new combinations of existing thoughts and
images, [and] the appreciation of the soul in things…the emotion and spiritual
life that pervades the world” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972c, p. 16). He
affirms that honing imagination is as crucially important for mental
development as guiding the physical senses and comparative analytical
faculties. Overall, Sri Aurobindo provides a thorough introduction to how the
student may skillfully perceive, classify, and recall the world around him or
her, how this pertains to his or her personal understanding, how this comes to
inform his or her internal mental generative processes, and finally, what it
may reveal about his or her individual purpose, communal responsibility, and
spiritual orientation. Zulaski: A Complete
Integral Education: Five Principal Aspects
INTEGRAL REVIEW – July 2017
– Vol. 13, No. 1 25 Equally as thorough
in her written comments on the mental aspect, the
Mother lays out five principal phases
detailing a comprehensive approach to refinement of the mind that impart
a willful, yogic approach to its education.
The five phases she identifies include: 1.
Development of the power of concentration, the capacity of attention. 2.
Development of the capacities of expansion, wideness, complexity and richness.
3. Organisation of ideas around a central idea or a higher ideal or a supremely
luminous idea that will serve as a guide in life. 4. Thought control, rejection
of undesirable thoughts so that one may, in the end, think only what one wants
and when one wants. 5. Development of mental silence, perfect calm and a more
and more total receptivity to inspirations coming from the higher regions of
the being. (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 12) Despite the above
division of phases, the Mother advocates that the goal is a more fully realized
overall comprehension. She states that students should endeavor to “understand
instead of learning” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972b, p. 7) and discloses
that “reason is not the supreme capacity of men, one has to go beyond it”
(Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972b, p. 18) before offering some insights as to
how to transcend our reasoning capacities. She submits that through ample development
of concentration, the compulsion to think actively is not appropriate in all
instances since mental “vibration” can be made to cease and an “almost total
silence [is] secured. In this silence one can open gradually to the higher
mental regions and learn to record the inspirations that come from there”
(Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972b, p. 11).
She further advises that gaining time for
effectively completing tasks through developing concentration correlates to
one’s will or volition; when this force is added to one’s concentration or
focused attention, they possess the recipe for genius, which she determines is
an irresistible agency. In addition to gaining time via concentration and
recording inspirations originating in mental stillness, the Mother advocated
students learn about history—consequential events in time that have already
occurred—as a way to frame the present and begin cultivating the intuitive
faculty in preparation “to live for the future” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M.,
1972c, p. 2); it is in and for the future that learners will make their
greatest contributions. The following aspect begins to deal even more directly,
deeply, and personally with that future, and by what means the Integralists’
educational model informs it.
Education of the psychic. Albeit more concise than the other aspects outlined prior, the
Mother’s written comments on the psychic education provide novel and profound
considerations for educators. Revealed in these comments are some insights into
the Psychic Being and those related areas of Self and path. She presents a
refreshing and progressive view in postulating that “with psychic education we
come to the problem of the true motive of life, the reason of our existence on
earth…the consecration of the individual to his eternal principle” (Ghose, A.
& Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 13).
Integral education emphasizes
comprehension of and concern with a personal and unique contribution that is
inherent in each individual. This is an individual's svadharma, introduced
earlier. Accordingly, the Mother also refers to the svabhāva by clarifying that
“it is through the psychic presence that the truth of an individual being comes
into contact with him and the circumstances of his life” (Ghose, A. &
Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 13). She determines that to presence the psychic in
one’s life, it is contingent upon him or her to eradicate selfishness and
beyond this, in progressing toward a spiritual way of life, one must become
truly selfless. This focus on a spiritual way of being comprises the final
principle of a complete integral education.
Education of the spirit.
The spiritual aspect in integral education
is designated as being of the utmost importance. Sri Aurobindo states that
one’s “highest object, [is] the awakening and development of his spiritual
being” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 3).
One way in which this awakening is
nurtured is through the educational process, which aims to allow one’s spirit
eventual full facilitation of his or her mature and multi-faceted self. In the
literature, the Mother distinguishes the principal of spiritual education as
“an education which gives more importance to the growth of the spirit than to
any religious or moral teaching or to the material so-called knowledge” (Ghose,
A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 3). Furthermore, she determines the highest aim
of education is “the manifestation of Truth…[to] make matter ready to manifest
the Spirit” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 5). The development and
advancement of the learner’s material embodiment is a necessary component for
inviting the spirit into full participation, which is the intended result and
encouraged outcome for student learners as they proceed to enter into
society-at-large. According to the Mother, a fully realized integral education
should endeavor to position the “legitimate authority of the Spirit over a
matter fully developed and utilized” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p.
4). This level of participation and realization is deeply interrelated with
each individual student’s conscience—that inner orientation that provides
guidance and morally positions one in their life. As an educator, assisting
students with identifying and coming into relation with their true selfguidance
is not a matter of conveying concepts to the mind alone. The Mother states that
“there is only one true guide, the inner guide, who does not pass through the
mental consciousness” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972c, p. 22). Aurobindo
clarifies that at the outset, the approach to offering moral guidance should be
to “suggest and invite, not command or impose. The best method of suggestion is
by personal example, daily converse and the books read from day to day” (Ghose,
A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 20). The few instances provided begin to
illuminate behaviors that are appropriate to influence and shape the character
of the student so that they may find their own path in alignment with a personal
inner truth arrived at in the course of their learning and development. From
Aurobindo’s perspective, each person is ultimately imbued with his or her own
individual and unique path and purpose. For integral educators, placing
impositions or mandates on the individual student is ineffective and
potentially harmful. According to Sri Aurobindo, “to force the [individual]
nature to abandon its own dharma is to do permanent harm…” (Ghose, A. &
Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 18). The role of a complete integral education is
bringing this purpose to light; as per Aurobindo, “the task is to find it,
develop it and use it. The chief aim of education should be to help the growing
soul to draw out that in itself which is best and make it perfect for a noble
use” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 18). To be in alignment with an
education complete in the five principles then, Mother states that teachers
should assist students in coming to greater self-understanding by guiding them
to “know themselves and choose their own destiny, the way Zulaski: A Complete
Integral Education: Five Principal Aspects INTEGRAL REVIEW – July 2017 – Vol. 13,
No. 1 27 they want to follow” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972c, p. 1). To
know oneself essentially means, according to the Mother, “to know the motives
of one's actions and reactions…To master oneself means to do what one has
decided to do, to do nothing but that, not to listen to or follow impulses,
desires or fancies” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972c, p. 1). She advises on
the appropriate approach to taking steps toward this self-mastery and states in
regard to this determination that “if you decide to do something…in life, you
must do it honestly, with discipline, regularity and method” (Ghose, A. &
Alfassa, M., 1972b, p. 21). The personal destiny which is to be undertaken by
each student can be informed and inspired by a divine agency. This agency is
acknowledged as one of the primary five principles of a complete integral
education, correlating to the spiritual dimension of human life. Supramental
Education In the integral yogic tradition, the Supreme evolutionary
consciousness of creation is known as the Supermind, which Aurobindo has also
referred to as supramental consciousness or truth consciousness. It may be
conceived of as an integrated truth-consciousness (or gnosis) and possessing an
unlimited transformative power that humanity and all of life has the potential
to access.
According to Sri Aurobindo: “The
supramental consciousness is not a fixed quantity but a power which passes to
higher and higher levels of possibility until it reaches supreme consummations
of spiritual existence” (Ghose, 1989, p. 539). This pure plane of consciousness
is identified as a concept that will manifest in the field of education, aiding
in the advancement of all living beings. The Mother states that the Supramental
agency is “the true solution of the problem of suffering” and applies through
it reconsiders ignorance, suffering and even death as components of “a
transformation, a total transfiguration of matter brought about by the logical
continuation of Nature’s ascending march in her progress toward perfection”
(Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 16). This evolutionary thrust of the
Supermind emanates as a transcendent phenomenon, progressively infusing both consciousness
and material substance with divine creative potential, and it is determined to
thereby usher forth “a new species…a new force, a new consciousness and a new
power. Then will begin also a new education which can be called the supramental
education…” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M., 1972a, p. 16). Considering that all
life is undergoing transition in the evolutionary continuum, an integral
worldview provides learners with an awareness that informs that search for
individual destiny; a complete integral education is in congruence with this
search. The Mother clarifies, “If you want to understand the true reason why
you are here, you must remember that our aim is to become as perfect an
instrument as possible expressing the Divine will in the world” (Ghose, A.
& Alfassa, M., 1972b, p. 1). In this way, one allows oneself to receive new
evolutionary creative energies so as to participate in their manifestation on
all levels of existence, through one’s whole being. The perfection of this
individual being is the true purpose of engaging in a meaningful and
comprehensive integral education, since according to Mother, “when you want
your physical being to be a perfect instrument for manifesting the supramental
consciousness, you must then cultivate it, shape it, refine it, add to it what
it lacks, perfect what it already possesses” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M.,
1972b, p. 1). Sri Aurobindo and the Mother affirm that since we are always in
the presence of Zulaski: A Complete Integral Education: Five Principal Aspects
INTEGRAL REVIEW – July 2017 – Vol. 13, No. 1 28 and derived from the Supreme, all of our actions
should be conducted as a reflection and offering to this principle. Aurobindo
imparts that “one must keep constantly in mind…that you are a representative of
the Supreme Knowledge, the Supreme Truth, the Supreme Law and you must apply it
in the most honest way you are capable of…” (Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M.,
1972c, p. 10). That each and every person is an instrumental representative of
the Supreme generative force with potential to undergo total
self-transformation and contribute to and participate in the transfiguration of
all life and matter is a penetrating affirmation. The gravity of this
perspective places a sobering responsibility on those educators choosing to be
aligned with or informed by this worldview and by the pedagogical approach
effected from it. Conclusion Sri Aurobindo and Mother Mirra Alfassa recognized
the breadth and depth of wholepersonhood as a fundamental expression in
alliance with tenets from a venerable metaphysical philosophy. Out of their
modern formulation arose a comprehensive educational model placing priority on
each learner’s unique make-up and purpose as it unfolds during
self-fulfillment. The alignment and interrelationship between the five
principal aspects conceptualized in both frameworks honors personal reflection
and integration, as well as adherence to methodology, process, and
self-awareness. Educational communities are rightly questioning the efficacy of
reductionist and cognicentric approaches exemplified in traditional pedagogies.
These conventional biases begin in early education and remain prevalent on
college and university campuses, ultimately inhibiting student engagement. The
“complete integral education” as outlined by the “Integralists” precedes other
correlative contributions and provides a thorough foundation for advancing
alternative methods in education. Integral education places holistic learner
development at the forefront while assisting in selfdefinitions of personal
purpose in accordance with values and ethics enveloped in a sacred, yet
inclusive, worldview. This worldview acknowledges both an individually unique
and collectively interrelated wholeness, offering a much-needed alternative to
antiquated educational paradigms that privilege intellectual proficiency over
whole-person wisdom. Even if educators reject a sacred perspective and do not
wish to consider learners’ uniqueness as being divine or ensouled, it should
hardly discount the need to examine how to adequately engage, enrich, and guide
those learners toward their fullest potential. The potentials in holistic
wisdom, drawn from a wider wealth of competencies, will prove essential in
cultivating students’ responses to dynamic and evolving global crises. References
Arum, R., & Roksa, J. (2011). Academically adrift: Limited learning on
college campuses. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. Barbezat, D.,
& Bush, M. (2014). Contemplative Practices in Higher Education: Powerful
Methods to Transform Teaching and Learning. San Francisco, California:
Jossey-Bass. Zulaski: A Complete Integral Education: Five Principal Aspects
INTEGRAL REVIEW – July 2017 – Vol. 13, No. 1 29 Chaudhuri, H. (1974). Education for the whole
person. New Thought, 57(4), 50-55. Chaudhuri, H. (1977). The evolution of
integral consciousness. Wheaton, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House.
Chaudhuri, H. (1979). Integral consciousness. An Integral View, 1(1), 6-7.
Ferrer, J., Romero, M., & Albareda, R. (2005). Integral transformative education:
A participa cipatory proposal. Journal of Transformative Education, 3(4),
306-330. doi:10.1177/1541344605279175 Ghose, A. (1998). Essays in philosophy
and yoga: Shorter works 1910-1950. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Publication Dept. Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M. (1972a). Education: General
principles. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Society. Ghose, A. & Alfassa, M.
(1972b). Education: Learning. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Society. Ghose, A.
& Alfassa, M. (1972c). Education: Teaching. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo
Society. Julich, S. (2013). A new creation on earth: Death and transformation
in the yoga of Mother Mirra Alfassa. Integral Review: A Transdisciplinary &
Transcultural Journal for New Thought, Research, & Praxis, 9(3), 80-93.
Kazlev, M. (2007). Redefining integral. Essay posted to Integral World:
Exploring theories of everything. Retrieved from
http://www.integralworld.net/kazlev13.html Ryan, J. (2005). The complete yoga.
Revision, 28(2), 24-28.
(From Zulaski: A Complete Integral Education:
Five Principal Aspects INTEGRAL REVIEW – July 2017 – Vol. 13,
No. 1 26)
Aurobindo’s spiritual adventure began in earnest after a meeting
he had with a yogi named Vishnu Bhaskar Lele. The two spent three days together
in a solitary room during which time Lele told him, “see the thoughts entering from the outside. Fling them back, do
not let them enter.” The result of this was that Aurobindo had
a change of consciousness in which he experienced, in his own words, the
“divine Silence”
Sri
Aurobindo was the first among the Indian leaders to declare and work for the
aim of complete Independence of India. In 1905, Bengal was divided, and Sri
Aurobindo left Baroda and, invited by the nationalistic leaders, he joined at
Calcutta the newly started National College as its first Principal. It was here
that Sri Aurobindo, while working secretly for the revolution,chalked out also
a plan of outer action. This plan consisted of the programme of passive
Resistance, Boycott and Swadeshi, which was later adopted as the policy of the
struggle for freedom. It was here again that Sri Aurobindo wrote powerfully and
boldly for Bande Mataram, and later for Karma Yogin; through his writings, he
electrified the nation and surcharged the people with a new energy which
ultimately led the nation to her freedom. It was, therefore, significant that
when India attained her liberation in 1947, it was on the 15th August, the
birthday of Sri Aurobindo.
The
pioneering work that Sri Aurobindo did for the liberation of India was
evidently a part of his larger work for the entire humanity and for the whole
earth. For him, the liberation of India was an indispensable part of the new
world-order. Moreover, the practice of Yoga, which he had started in 1902, led
him, even while in the thick of intense political and literary activity, to
major realisations of the Brahmic Silence, Nirvana, and also of the universal
dynamic Presence of the Divine. And, in 1908, when he was in Alipore jail
during his trial under the charge of sedition, he received through numerous
experiences and realisations the assurance of the liberation of the country and
also the knowledge of the initial lines on which his own future work was to
proceed. For he saw that even in the field of Yoga something was still lacking,
something radical that alone would help resolve the problems of the world and
would lead mankind to its next evolutionary stage. And so, in 1910, soon after
his acquittal from the jail, he withdrew to Pondicherry to concentrate upon
this new research work, to hew a new path.
In
1910 he left politics to work solely for the fulfillment of his vision of human
unity through the spiritual development of the system he called “Integral
Yoga”. Aurobindo was critical of the popular interpretations of yoga and
spirituality, and felt that they were incomplete, being based almost
universally on a model of spiritual development that had the ascent of
consciousness (or a radical separation of consciousness from the body) as its
goal. To Aurobindo only a complete divinization of the body and world would
fulfill the hidden meanings of the ancient Vedic wisdom, which he felt it was
his mission to uncover for mankind.
Sri Aurobindo has explained the nature of this work, the nature of the
Supermind, the necessity of its descent, the process of this descent and the
dynamic consequences of this descent or the solutions of the problems of
mankind, in his voluminous writings most of which were written serially in the
philosophical monthly, Arya, which was started in 1914, immediately after the
first arrival of The Mother from France to Pondicherry. Some of the most
important of these and other writings are: The Life Divine, The Synthesis of
Yoga, The Ideal of Human Unity, The Human Cycle, The Foundations of Indian
Culture, Essays on the Gita, On the Veda, The Upanishads, The Future Poetry,
The Supramental Manifestation upon Earth, and the epic Savitri.
When
Sri Aurobindo withdrew in 1926 into his room for concentrating in the required
way on the ‘Supramental Yoga’, Mother organised and developed his Ashram. In
1943, a school for the education of children was founded, and after the passing
of Sri Aurobindo in 1950, Mother developed that school into an International
University Centre, where numerous original and bold experiments of education
were carried out under her guidance. This educational work was a part of Supramental
Yoga, and we have rare insights into education and yoga in the volumes entitled
Questions and Answers, which contain conversations of the Mother that took
place in her classes. In 1958, Mother withdrew to her room in order to come to
terms with the research in the problems related to the supramental
transformation of the physical consciousness at the cellular level. In 1968,
Mother founded Auroville, an International city as a collective field for the
material and spiritual researches required for realising human unity as a part
of the supramental action on the earth.
The concept of Integral Yoga
The
Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo (which he also referred to as synthetic,
Supramental, or purna yoga) advocated a total transformation: physical, vital,
mental, and spiritual. In the big picture which he envisioned, moreover, this
transformation was for the purpose of not merely individual, but cosmic,
salvation. The liberation of the individual was, for Aurobindo, an illusion;
what was required was the divinization of the totality of the cosmos, and to
literally bring the Kingdom of God on earth. Liberation of the spirit from the
cycle of birth and death was not sufficient for the perfection of man’s
spiritual realization, he felt; rather, the very cells of the body must be
brought into contact with the divine light. The rare phenomenon of the divine
body (jyotir maya deha – “radiant or luminous body”) was to be the goal of all
yogic endeavour. Until that was achieved, said Aurobindo, realization was not
perfect.
Unfortunately,
spiritual consciousness is often conceived as a denial of material life and
concerns of collective life. In Sri Aurobindo’s, however, there is no
fundamental opposition between Matter and Spirit. True integrity, according to
them, implies rejection of no element in human personality and no denial of
anything that can contribute to the full flowering of faculties of personality.
Again,
according to Sri Aurobindo, psychic and spiritual development cannot be
effected without effecting high level development of the body, life and mind,
and that the perfection of the body, life and mind can be attained only when
the powers of psychic and spiritual consciousness are bestowed upon the
instruments of the body, life and mind.
As
far as the supramental education is concerned, the supramental education will
result no longer in a progressive formation of human nature and an increasing
development of its latent faculties, but in a transformation of the nature
itself, a transfiguration of the being in its entirety, a new ascent of the
species above and beyond man towards superman, leading in the end to the
appearance of a divine race upon earth.
If
these three aspects of higher education are to be conducted properly, one must
take great care to ensure that methods of religion are not introduced. Religion
implies normally the methods of belief or dogma, performance of rituals and
ceremonies, and prescriptions of certain specific acts, which are considered to
be religious as distinguished from profane.
National System of Education
The
contemporary scene of India compels everyone to turn to education as the
central key to the road to regeneration. Unfortunately, our educational system
is suffering from long-standing negligence and maladies and unless drastic steps
are taken to bring radical and revolutionary changes, it would be futile to
expect education to perform any miracle.
Sri
Aurobindo firmly believe that the question is not between modernism and
antiquity, but between an imported civilisation and the greater possibilities
of the Indian mind and nature, not between the present and the past, but
between the present and the future. He pointed out that “the living spirit of
the demand for national education no more requires a return to the astronomy
and mathematics of Bhaskara or the forms of the system of Nalanda than the
living spirit of Swadheshi, a return from railway and motor traction to the
ancient chariot and the bullock-cart.” He, therefore, spoke not of a return to
the 5th century but an initiation of the centuries to come, not a reversion but
a break forward away from a present artificial falsity to India’s own greater
innate potentialities, which are demanded by the soul of India.
Synthesis of East and West
The
twentieth century has been an unquiet age of ferment, chaos of ideas and
inventions, clash of enormous forces, creation, catastrophe and dissolution
amid the formidable agony and tension of the body and soul of humankind. In the
21st century we need to turn to a new orientation that we require in the field
of education.
After
centuries of experiments, materialism is giving way to the pressures of new
discoveries which require exploration of the physical and spiritual domains. It
has now become clear that the knowledge of the Spirit and knowledge of Matter
need to be blended and synthesized, and in doing so, all that is intermediate
between Spirit and Matter has all to be perfected and brought into unity in
complete integration. All this has to be done both at the collective level and
at the individual level,
The
major question, he pointed out, is not merely what science we learn, but what
we shall do with our science and how too, acquiring the scientific mind and
recovering the habit of scientific discovery, we shall relate it to other
powers of the human mind and scientific knowledge to other knowledge more
intimate to other and not less light-giving and power-giving parts of our
intelligence and nature. Again, he pointed out the question is not what
language, Sanskrit or another, should be acquired by whatever method is most
natural, efficient and stimulating to the mind, but the vital question is how
we are to learn and make use of Sanskrit and the indigenous languages so as to
get the heart and intimate sense of our own culture and establish a vivid
continuity between the still living power of our past and the yet uncreated
power of our future, and how we are to learn and use English or any other
foreign tongue so as to know helpfully the life, ideas and culture of other
countries and establish our right relations with the world around us. He argued
that the aim and principle of a true national education is not to ignore modern
truth and knowledge, but to take our foundation on India’s own being, own mind,
and own spirit.
As
against the idea that the modern European civilisation is a thing that we have
to acquire and fit ourselves for, and so only can we live and prosper, and it
is this that our education must do for us, he argued that the idea of national
education challenges the sufficiency of that assumption. He pointed out that
India would do better, taking over whatever new knowledge or just ideas Europe
has to offer, to assimilate them to its own knowledge and culture, its own
native temperament and spirit, mind and social genius and create there-from the
civilisation of the future.
Concept of integral education
Sri
Aurobindo’s concept of integral education finds its full relevance in the
context of what he has called the Evolutionary Crisis, a crisis that occurs in
a species at a time when some kind of mutation is imminent.
Integral
education would not only aim at the integral development of personality, but it
would also embrace all knowledge in its scope. It would pursue physical and
psychical sciences, not merely to know the world and Nature in her processes
and to use them for material human needs, but to know through them the Spirit
in the world and the ways of the Spirit in its appearances. It would study
ethics in order, not only to search for the good as the mind sees it, but also
to perceive the supra-ethical Good. Similarly, it would pursue Art not merely
to present images of the subjective and the objective world, but to see them
with significant and creative vision that goes behind their appearances and to
reveal the supra-rational Truth and Beauty. It would encourage the study of
humanities, not in order to foster a society as a background for a few luminous
spiritual figures so that the many necessarily remain for ever on the lower
ranges of life, but to inspire the regeneration of the total life of the earth
and to encourage voluntary optimism for that regeneration in spite of all
previous failures. Finally, it would encourage unity of knowledge and harmony
of knowledge, and it would strive to foster the spirit of universality and
oneness.
An
important characteristic of integral education is its insistence on
simultaneous development of Knowledge, Will, Harmony, and Skill as also various
parts of the being to the extent possible from the earliest stages of
education. And since each individual child is unique in the composition of its
qualities and characteristics, its capacities and propensities, integral
education in its practice tends to become increasingly individualised. Again,
for this very reason, the methods of education become increasingly dynamic,
involving active participation of the child in its own growth.
The
knowledge of the secrets of the process of integral education is largely
contained in the Veda and Upanishads, and what we find missing there has been
the special subject of study and experimentation in Sri Aurobindo. It is in the
light of all this that we can speak today with great assurance of the concept
and practice of integral education and of the synthesis of the ancient secrets
of the reign of Spirit over mind, life and the body and the modern secrets of
utilisation of the life in perfecting the instrumentality of the body, life and
mind.
Considering
that India has seen always in the human being a soul, a portion of the divinity
enwrapped in the mind and body, a conscious manifestation in Nature of the
universal self and spirit, he concluded that the one central object of the
national system of education should be the growth of the soul and its powers
and possibilities as also the preservation, strengthening and enrichment of the
nation-soul and the normative needs of its ascending movements. Not limited to
these two, Sri Aurobindo put forth in its aim also the raising of both the
individual soul and the national soul into the powers of the life and the
ascending mind and the soul of humanity. He added “at no time will it lose
sight of man’s highest object, the awakening and development of his spiritual
being.”
Education for humanity
According
to Sri Aurobindo, there is within the universal mind and soul of humanity the
mind and soul of the individual with its infinite variation, its commonness and
its uniqueness and between them there stands an intermediate power, the mind of
a nation, the soul of the people. In his concept of a national system of
education, Sri Aurobindo aimed at taking account of these three elements so
that national education would not be a machine-made fabric, but a true building
or a living evocation of the powers of the mind and spirit of the human being.
According
to Sri Aurobindo, one favourable factor, which is likely to help contemporary
humanity, is the contemporary dissatisfaction that has arisen with materialism,
on the one hand, and on the other hand, with asceticism, which has been
negating the meaning and purposefulness of the material world. After centuries
of experiments, materialism is gradually giving way to the pressures of new
discoveries, which require exploration of the psychical and spiritual domains.
Similarly, centuries of experiments in the spiritual fields have shown that the
neglect of material life and neglect of collective welfare result in poverty or
bankruptcy and even in economic and political slavery. As Sri Aurobindo pointed
out:
It
is therefore of good augury that after many experiments and verbal solutions we
should now find ourselves standing today in the presence of the two that have
alone borne for long the most rigorous tests of experience, the two extremes. …
In Europe and in India, respectively, the negation of the materialist and the
refusal of the ascetic have sought to assert themselves as the sole truth and
to dominate the conception of Life. In India, if the result has been a great
heaping up of the treasures of the Spirit, — or of some of them, — it has also
been a great bankruptcy of Life; in Europe, the fullness of riches and the triumphant
mastery of this world’s powers and possessions have progressed towards an equal
bankruptcy in the things of the Spirit. … Therefore the time grows ripe and the
tendency of the world moves towards a new and comprehensive affirmation in
thought and in inner and outer experience and to its corollary, a new and rich
self-fulfilment in an integral human existence for the individual and for the
race.
Mental Education
In
regard to mental education, the processes and methods can best be determined by
understanding the mind. Mind is concerned largely with the activities of
understanding, and all understanding is a discovery of a centre around which
the ideas or things in question are held together.
Mental
education is a process of training the mind of students to arrive at such
central conceptions around which the widest and most complex and subtle ideas
can be assimilated and integrated.This point marks the climax of the mental
development as also a clear sign of the limitations of the mind. Having reached
there its office is to fall into contemplation of silence and to open to the
higher realms of experience, to receive clearly and precisely the intuitions
and inspirations from those higher realms, and to give creative expression to
them.
To train the mind on these lines, there are five phases of the
programme:
1.
Development of the power of
concentration and attention;
2.
Development of the capacities of
expansion, wideness, complexity and richness;
3.
Organisation of ideas round a
central or a higher ideal or a supremely luminous idea that will serve as a
guide in life;
4.
Thought control, rejection of
undesirable thoughts so that one may, in the end, think only what one wants and
when one wants;
5.
Development of mental silence,
perfect calm and a more and more total receptivity to inspirations coming from
the higher regions of the being.
Multiplicity of ideas, richness of ideas, totality of points of
view – these should be made to grow by a
developed power of observation and concentration and by a wideness of interest.
Care should be taken to see that the central ideas are not imposed upon the
growing mind – that would be the dogmatic method, which tends to atrophy the
mind. The mind should grow towards central ideas which should come as a
discovery of the mind made through rigorous exercise of the rational faculty.
Stress
should fall not only on understanding but also on criticism and control of
ideas; not only of comprehension, synthesis, creativity, judgement,
imagination, memory and observation, but also on critical functions of
comparison, reasoning, inference and conclusion. Both these aspects of human
reason are essential to the completeness of the mental training.
Thinkers
alone can produce thinkers; and unless teachers are constantly in the process
of building up great thoughts and ideas, it is futile to expect a sound or
vigorous mental education.
An
atmosphere vibrant at once with ideation and silence, an atmosphere surcharged
with synthetic thoughts and most integral aspirations and an atmosphere filled
with the widest realisation and a harmonious unity – such an atmosphere is
indispensable for perfect mental education.
Education for creativity
A
constant attempt should be made to present each topic to the student in a
challenging way so as to stimulate him and create his interest in the topic. To
find new and imaginative methods, to compile materials from various sources, to
introduce new concepts and new interpretations in various subjects, to develop
new subjects, and above all, to attend in detail to all the psychological
faculties and their development in such a way that the mental education does
not veil the soul – this, in brief, should be the endeavour and its spirit.
We
have to recognise that different children react to various activities of
education differently. There are children who feel a powerful attraction
towards creative activities such as arts, music, dance, composition of poetry,
drama, etc. They should, of course, be given freedom to pursue these valuable
activities. But there are instances where children who do not have this natural
inclination towards creative activities are also compelled to be engaged in
these activities. This is entirely unacceptable.
It
may also be noted that there are children who do not easily respond
either to the activities of creativity or activities of production, but who are
deeply reflective and to whom abstraction of thought and clarity and beauty of
ideation constitute a fascinating project. We must recognise that a deep
exercise in ideation and organisation of ideas is a very active engagement. It
is a great activity of concentration.
At
the same time, an exclusive pursuit of ideation without devoting any attention
whatever to creative or productive activity may lead to a lopsided development
of personality. The remedy is not to make things compulsory, but to counsel
children, to motivate and suggest to them how gradually various kinds of activities
can be blended together for a harmonious development.It may also be noted that
there are children who are deeply interested in activities of self-sacrifice or
of purifying their base emotions, or of the worship of the noblest ideals of
life. Sometimes they may show no interest in arts or in crafts and often
teachers complain of their dullness or their lack of concentration in studies.
But a good teacher should ask himself if the child in question is not inwardly
engaged in what may be called activities of “purification”.
Vital Education
Vital
education aims at training the life-force (that normally vibrates in emotions,
desires and impulses) in three directions: to discover its real function and to
replace its egoistic and ignorant tendency so as to become the master by
willingness and capacity to serve higher principles of the psychological
constitution; to subtilise and sublimate its sensitivity which expresses itself
through sensuous and aesthetic activities; and to resolve and transcend the
dualities and contradictions in the character constituted by the vital
seekings, and to achieve the trans-formation of the character.
The
usual methods of dealing with the vital have been in the past those of
coercion, suppression, abstinence and asceticism. But these methods do not give
lasting results. Besides, they onlyhelp in drying up the drive and dynamism of
the life-force; and thus the collaboration of the life-force in self-fulfilment
is eliminated.
The
right training of the vital then is much more subtle and much more difficult,
needing endurance, endless persistence and an inflexible will. For what is to
be aimed at is not the negation of life but the fulfilment of life by its
transformation.
First,
the powers of the senses have to be developed, subtilised and enriched. Next,
there are inner and latent senses which are to be discovered and similarly
developed. Third, the seekings of these senses have to be trained to reject
grossness and coarseness and to enjoy the finer tastes and higher aesthetic
experiences. Finally, there has to be a deeper and piercing observation of the
desires, passions, ambitions, lusts, etc., their risings, revolts and
contradictions, and an attempt by various methods to separate out in each
movement the elements that contribute to the concord and harmony from those
tending in the opposite direction, and to eliminate the latter from the very
nature and fibre of our psychological constitution.
The effective methods of this last aspect are:
To
instil in the child, as soon as possible, the will towards progress and
perfection;
Rational
arguments, sentiment and goodwill, or appeal to the sense of dignity and
self-respect according to the nature of the child in question;
To
insist on the idea that the will can be developed, and that no defeat should be
taken as final;
To
demand from the will the maximum effort, for the will is strengthened by
effort;
Above
all, the example of the educator shown constantly and sincerely.
Vital
education is greatly aided by stress on different kinds of fine arts and
crafts. Sri Aurobindo has pointed out that the first and the lowest use of Art
is purely aesthetic, the second is the intellectual and the third and the
highest is the spiritual. He has even stated that music, art and poetry are a
perfect education for the soul; they make and keep its movements purified, deep
and harmonious. He has added, “These, therefore, are agents which cannot
profitably be neglected by humanity on its onward march or degraded to the mere
satisfaction of sensuous pleasure which will disintegrate rather than build the
character. They are, when properly used, great educating, edifying and
civilising forces.”
A
great lesson in vital education is to develop the will of the individual and to
encourage the exercise of the will in which what is valued most is not the
result but application and doing one’s best.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
On
the subject of physical education, it must be mentioned that the physical is
our base, and even the highest spiritual values are to be expressed through the
life that is embodied here. Sariram adyam khalu dharmasadhanam, says the old
Sanskrit
Of
all the domains of education, physical is the one most completely governed by
method, order, discipline and procedure. All education of the body must be
rigorous, detailed and methodical.
The
education of the body has three principal aspects: control and discipline of
functions of the body; a total methodical and harmonious development of all the
parts and movements of the body; rectification of defects and deformities, if
there are any.
Physical
education must be based upon knowledge of the human body, its structure and its
functions. And the formation of the habits of the body must be in consonance
with that knowledge.
The
child should be taught right from the early stage the right positions, postures
and movements.
A
similar training should be with regard to the choice of food. The child should
develop the taste that is simple and healthy, substantial and appetising. He
must avoid all that merely stuffs and causes heaviness; particularly, he must
be taught to eat according to his hunger and not make food a means to satisfy
his greed and gluttony.
The
child should also be taught the taste for cleanliness and hygienic habits. It
is important to impress upon the child that he is not more interesting by being
ill, rather the contrary. Children should be taught that to be ill is a sign of
failing and inferiority, not of virtue and sacrifice.
A
very important problem in respect of integral education arises from its
insistence on proper synthesis between freedom and discipline. Since education
is a creative process, and since compulsion and creativity cannot go together,
freedom has to be a very important instrument of education. The ideal condition
is obtained when discipline becomes the child of freedom and discipline is
transformed into self-discipline.
Instructional procedure
Sri
Aurobindo speaks of three principles of teaching, and when implemented, they
provide a sound basis of a system of natural organisation of the highest
processes and the movements of which the human nature is capable
In
brief, the three principles of teaching are as follows in Sri Aurobindo’s own
words: “The first principle of true teaching is that nothing can be taught. The
teacher is not an instructor or task-master, he is a helper and a guide. His
business is to suggest and not to impose. …The second principle is that the
mind has to be consulted in its own growth. The idea of hammering the child
into the shape desired by the parent or teacher is a barbarous and ignorant
superstition. It is he himself who must be induced to expand in accordance with
his own nature. … The chief aim of education should be to help the growing soul
to draw out that in itself which is best and make it perfect for a noble use. …
The third principle of education is to work from the near to the far, from that
which is to that which shall be. … A free and natural growth is the condition
of genuine development. …”
There are, according to Sri Aurobindo, three instruments of the
teacher: instruction, example, and influence. The good teacher will seek to
awaken much more than to instruct; he will aim at the growth of the faculties
and the experiences by a natural process and free expansion. He will not impose
his opinions on the passive acceptance of the receptive mind; he will throw in
only what is productive and sure as a seed, which will grow under the benign
fostering within. He will know that the example is more powerful than
instruction. Actually, the example is not that of the outward acts but of the
inner motivation of life and the inner states and inner activities. Finally, he
will also acknowledge that influence is more important than example. For
influence proceeds from the power or contact of the teacher with his pupil,
from the nearness of his soul to the soul of another, infusing into the pupil,
even though in silence, all that which the teacher himself is or possesses. The
good teacher is himself a constant student. He is a child leading children, and
a light kindling other lights, a vessel and a channel.
Principles
and methods of education advocated by Sri Aurobindo have a profound bearing on
psychic and spiritual education. These two domains bring into the picture all
that is central to value-oriented education, and to higher and profounder
elements of human psychology. Sri Aurobindo have advocated new methods that are
free from those of dogmas, rituals, ceremonies, prescribed acts. Spirituality,
according to Sri Aurobindo is a vast domain of the inmost soul, of the immobile
silence, of the higher objects of the higher psychological exploration. The
justification for psychic and spiritual education rests upon three important
considerations: (a) education should provide to the individual a steady
exploration of something that is inmost in the psychological complexity of
human consciousness; (b) the most important human question of human life is to
consider the aim of human life and the aim of one’s own life and one’s own
position and rolein the society; and this question can best be answered only
when the psychic and spiritual domains are explored and when one is enabled to
develop psychic and spiritual faculties of knowledge; and (c) the contemporary
crisis of humanity has arisen because of the disbalancement between the
material advancement on the one hand and inadequate spiritual progression, on
the other. If, therefore, this crisis has to be met, development of psychic and
spiritual consciousness should be fostered.
Another
important point that should be noted is that a great care should be taken to
get the development of the child in such a way that in spite of the growth of
knowledge, the student does not lose freshness and sense of wonder and mystery.
This indeed is the most difficult part of the work of the teacher.
If
we make a deep study of the experiments in education guided and conducted under
the inspiration of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, it may be said that there are
three important features that come to the forefront and which may help us to
define what may be called “New Education”:
1.
Learning by practice;
2.
Search for meaning and unity of knowledge; and
3.
Unending education and perpetual youth.
New
education insists on the development of the mind, life and body; it aims at
development of these instruments for the discovery of the inner psychic being;
it proposes to utilise mental, vital, physical perfection as instruments of the
perfect manifestation of the inner and higher realities. The effort is to make
the body supple, strong, agile and beautiful; the vital is to be trained to
become dynamic, disciplined, obedient and effective; the mind has to be
cultivated to be intelligent, observant, concentrated, free, rich and complex.
But at every stage the paramount importance is to be given to the needs of the
psychic and spiritual growth.
An
unprecedented kind of experiment in education was launched by Sri Aurobindo and
the Mother, when in 1943, a school came to be established at the Sri Aurobindo
Ashram at Pondicherry in South India. It was expanded into Sri Aurobindo
International Centre of Education in due course, and the writings of Sri
Aurobindo and the Mother on education have influenced greatly the innovative
processes of education in the country, and they have also received wide
attention from the world at large. Mention may be made of the Mother’s small
but great book on education as also to a series of “Conversations” and “Questions
and Answers” which have been published by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
Humanity
today is in the grip of Anna, Prana, Chitta,
--Physical, Vital and Emotional
desires
So are the thought sensations :
Manas
But beyond Manas is Buddhi and beyond Buddhi is THAT
So the mirror has to cleaned …Yatha
darsho malench
Chitta has to be cleared of
disturbances from lower levels of prana
Education is that which liberates
Education
starts even before the birth and continues till death
Experiential : not theoretical
Project based : mentored
Working in teams : develop harmony
Free form : not compartmentalised,
not in snippets
Right and left side of brain used
effectively : Whole Brain thinking
Physical – Vital- Mental- Psychic-
Spiritual : all kosha
Connecting oneself to roots :
Swabhava and Swadharma , to own Culture,
to family, community and Nation
Thinking originally, laterally and
linearly, creatively
Passage from Intellect to Intuition
The arts have long been valued for
their aesthetic contributions to education, and studies have been conducted to
demonstrate their contribution to academic performance in an attempt to justify
their inclusion in the curriculum. Art integration involves learning core
content subjects (math, reading, language, science, social studies) through the
arts (drama, dance, music, visual arts). The focus of this qualitative pilot
study was to examine and describe how the arts are integrated with curriculum
concepts to promote cognitive development.
Title: Art Integration and Cognitive
Development Journal Issue: Journal for Learning through the Arts, 9(1) Author:
Baker, Dawn, University of South Carolina- Columb 2013
“The aesthetic side of a people’s
culture is of the highest importance and demands almost as much scrutiny and
carefulness of appreciation as the philosophy, religion and central formative
ideas.” Sri Aurobindo
She creates and creates and is not
exhausted, not tired… The excess of ornaments, filled and crowded details on
every corner and turn of a structure, details of designs, ………No vacant space, there is no pause.
“All art
reposes on some unity and all its details, whether few and sparing or lavish
and crowded and full, must go back to that unity and help its significance;
otherwise it is not art. “
Art is a means of meditation, for religious ritual and its preparation, for
Creativity enhancement, Therapy for
psychosomatic ailments, Means of soul finding and building, Means of national unity and regeneration, for
Harmony of different beings and parts of self.
Aesthetic education
Intellectual education
Spiritual education
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBrYUlOYK0U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdUFqkX2d6I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0NN7SMjaaw&authuser=0
demonstration digital mandala as above
[1] The Wallace Foundation, Education
Leadership: A Bridge to School Reform, 2007, 17. This publication presents highlights of a
2007 national conference hosted by the foundation shortly after
the publication of Darling-Hammond’s report, Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World, on improving
principal training. Darling-Hammond has
served on The Wallace Foundation’s board of directors since 2009.
(Both reports are available at www.wallacefoundation.org.)
[2] Interview with Jack Jennings, January 25, 2012.
[3] The Wallace Foundation, The
School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning, The
Wallace Foundation, January 2012, 2. Also see Bradley S. Portin et al., Leadership for Learning Improvement in Urban
Schools, Center for the Study of Teaching
and Policy, University of
Washington, 2009, for an excellent description of shared leadership and working
with instructional teams. Both reports
can be downloaded at www.wallacefoundation.org.
[4] Seashore Louis et al., 173.
[5] Interview with John Youngquist, January 31, 2012.
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