Mentioning Rabindranath Tagore,
The first thing that comes to mind is his literary masterpiece" "The Collection of Birds".
His role in the innovation of educational ideas was overshadowed by his reputation as a poet. Few people know that he is also a pioneer in the field of international education. In 1901, when Tagore was 40 years old, he was at the crossroads of his life. Since then, a generation of literary artists have thrown themselves into the education industry, with the dream of "freeing children from prison".
Why it is "rescued from prison" comes from Tagore's childhood learning experience. After Tagore entered school, the heavy homework and various corporal punishments made him very disappointed in the school education. To him, the school was like a hateful mixture of hospitals and prisons of cruelty.
Based on his own memories of his student life, Tagore first founded a school in Santiniketan, India, to experiment with children's education. This is where his educational ideas were first practiced.
Tagore's idea of harmonious education
"We come into this world to receive it, not just to understand it, and we may become powerful by having knowledge, but we will certainly attain perfection by harmony. The most intelligent education is such that it not only gives us intellectual information, but also keeps our lives in harmony with all existence. ”
01
Harmonious humanity
Tagore's theory of human nature has always been permeated with the idea of harmony:
Man has the nature to pursue inner perfection. Tagore once said that life should be "born like a summer flower, and die like the quiet beauty of autumn leaves."
Respect the value of self and individuality. Tagore once said, "Don't step on my mind." Tagore believed that the school education system in the past stifled children's personality and nature. [2]
02
Harmonious educational purposes
Tagore's educational teleology is based on the "people-oriented", and he pursues the educational purpose of conforming to the natural nature of children so that children can develop in an all-round way.
In his attack on the shortcomings of education at that time, he compared the school to the construction of factories and machines, and the teacher was the part of the machine in the factory, which Tagore believed was a soulless education, and he wanted to rescue these children, "in order to free the human soul from the cover, we must spread this element of light in our education."
03
Education should be in harmony with nature
Tagore believed that education should adapt to human disposition and should be combined with nature to harmonize nature and human nature. He admired the forest schools of the past in India, so he built his school in the land of peace. At the school he founded, students took classes outdoors around nature. Tagore wanted his students to feel free in the learning environment of the school. Because by the time he found himself unable to think and feeling claustrophobic within the four walls of the classroom, he himself had dropped out of school. [3]
04
Education should be in harmony with society and life
Tagore opposed the separation of education from society and life. Drawing on the essence of the connection between European education and national life, he suggested that schools do some social and life affairs within their capabilities. After visiting Russian schools, he praised the connection between Russian schools and society and life: "They run schools not to let students pass examinations or to make them researchers, but to cultivate well-rounded talents."
05
Education should be in harmony with culture
Tagore believed that education should, on the one hand, carry forward its own national culture, and on the other hand, promote world cultural exchanges, so that the two can be harmoniously unified and develop together. Focusing on comprehensive cultivation, music, art, and poetry are the sources of inspiration and cannot be ignored. Advocate a diverse and unified cultural model, promote the culture of the country, but do not rest on its own.
Explore the schools founded by Tagore
Tagore's educational thought has four basic principles: naturalism, humanism, internationalism and idealism.
In 1901, Tagore established the purpose of this primary school, in Tagore's own words, the most apt: "The highest education is not only to provide us with information, but to make our lives in harmony with all existence." ”
Later, in 1921, he founded the International University Viva Bharathi, "Where the whole world can find nests (Yatra visvam bhavatyekanidam)". Visva Bharati is committed to cultivating students' love of nature, imparting knowledge and wisdom in their native language, providing freedom of mind, heart and will, an atmosphere of nature, and ultimately enriching Indian culture. [4]
Both the original Santaniketan and later Visva Bharati were based on these principles.
Tagore has developed a unique curriculum that blends art, human values and cultural exchange. On Visva Bharati's campus, you can feel the harmonious presence of education from every brick, every tree, every building, every curriculum, every activity.
"Children have an active subconscious,
It has the ability to collect food from the surrounding air like a tree."
In Visva Bharati, you can see Tagore's "summer flowers" and you can also find "autumn leaves", "open-air classrooms" that have continued from Tagore's time to the present day, learning in nature and conforming to nature's educational model. Of course, the "open-air classroom" is not the same as field learning, but the blackboard is placed under the tree, and the teacher and student are either square or round, or constructed a heart-shaped disc sitting on a hand-woven mat under the tree, or lecturing, or reciting. During breaks you can climb and run under the mat.
Tagore emphasized the learner's contact with nature. Therefore, in addition to this way of attending classes, nature walks and hikes are also part of the curriculum, with a particular focus on natural phenomena. Visva Bharati encourages students to track the life cycle of insects, birds and plants. In addition to these daily subjects, there is also an emphasis on vocational education. The flexible curriculum takes into account changes in the weather and seasonal festivals created by Tagore for the kids. [1]
And Visva Bharati's lush green and aesthetic layout of the campus is a testament to Tagore's belief that a close connection between man and nature should be a fundamental principle of education.
Chaitya is a small house built of mud and coal tar (similar to a typical Bengal thatched hut) used to display students' artworks, while Taradhwaj is a circular mud house built around palm trunks with palm leaves extending onto thatched roofs. [1]
In education, Tagore advocated all-round development, individualized development, and diversified development.
At Visva Bharati offers courses in the humanities, social sciences, sciences, fine arts, music, performing arts, education, agricultural sciences and rural reconstruction. Among them, its art academy, Kala Bhavan, is widely regarded as one of the best art academies in the world.
Here students have complete freedom, in keeping with tagore's monumental quote "Where knowledge is free", so Visva Bharati's studio is open 24 hours a day.
Tagore placed great importance on art education and was one of those who supported and integrated different art forms. He has invited artists and scholars from other parts of India and around the world to live here every day and share their culture with Visva Bharati's students. He said: "Without music and fine arts, a country lacks its highest form of national self-expression, and the people cannot express it."
Visva Bharati has teachers and students from all over the world, and like its motto "Yatra visvam bhavatyekanidam the world can find a nest", Visva Bharati is a center of cultural exchange in the world, tagore believed that the world can only be unified in diversity, and Indian civilization can shine in diversity. The original santiniketan sowed the seeds of internationalization, with one englishman out of just five teachers. Visva Bharati grew into an "international university", starting with Three Britons, Andrews, Pearson and Elhurst, as well as the French scholar Sylvan Levy. Subsequently, the famous Orientalist Of the German University in Prague, Moliz Winternitz, dr. Vy Lesni of Charles University... Also here. Tagore also received a large number of books from France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic and other European countries. Here, the meaning of "world" continues to deepen.
Tagore's educational philosophy is advanced
More than a hundred years later, Tagore founded a school from a primary school with only five students to an international university of a few thousand people, and its educational philosophy has never been outdated, and it still has reference significance to this day.
For example, starting from the concept of "harmonious humanity", Beijing 21st Century School pays attention to "people-oriented", advocates student-centered, and pays attention to and adapts to the individual differences of each student. In the 21st century, we should fully implement the concept of whole-person education, implement the shift system, accept and respect the different talents of each student, and let each student give full play to their own advantages and become a living and concrete "person".
Junior high school students will be guided by professional guidance teachers after entering the school and receive an exclusive personalized class schedule. Students can choose different types of courses of different difficulty and different types according to their grades and interests. Personalized class schedules allow many students to find their own shining points and become different stars.
Starting from the concept of "education and harmony with nature", Adecote Zhejiang Middle School has built the school on the mountain, which is located in Jinhua Pujiang, adjacent to the Guanyan Mountain Scenic Area, covering an area of more than 1170 acres, and the point-like land reserves a large number of mountain forests, farmland, streams and mountain ponds, with a greening rate of more than 70%.
An international school that grew up in nature,
Put the child in a place with wide sunlight.
——Li Yuan, President of Adcote in Zhejiang
Adhering to the educational philosophy of "Learning through the Outdoors" of the alma mater, combined with the advantages of the natural environment, in the future, students will have a lot of time to carry out outdoor activities in Zhejiang Adcote, and explore the mysteries of nature as the seasons change.
Education and culture are harmonious, according to Jingling statistics, 23 of the 74 international schools in Beijing have the goal of cultivating international talents based on Chinese culture and looking at the world.
brief summary
Today, whether from the perspective of the school environment, philosophy, or goal, some of the principles and pursuits of education proposed by Tagore are very worthy of deep consideration and reference. The international education of children should be as Tagore said, "Visva Bharati is like a ship carrying the most precious treasure of my life".
References:
[1] https://www.thebetterindia.com/66627/santiniketan-rabindranath-tagore-bengal/
[2] https://www.ixueshu.com/document/4da86022a3a9794259a3b96f8a74a581318947a18e7f9386.html
[3] http://bhoomimagazine.org/2018/02/06/rabindranath-tagores-philosophy-on-indian-education/
[4] http://visvabharati.ac.in/file/Vision-and%20Mission-020321.pdf
Image source: The URL from the above reference source