Shantiniketan: Tagore’s Idea on Education
Introduction
Shantiniketan is a neighbourhood in Bolpur city established by Maharshi Devendranth Tagore in 1863 and later expanded by his son Rabindranath Tagore as a formal institution. It is now known as Viswa-Bharti University.
To Tagore, the school appeared like a prison. While other students would focus on what the teacher was teaching, his mind would usually wander away. His idea of education is mostly influenced by his own school days. Classrooms in Shantiniketan were under the skies, so even if a student’s mind wanders, it would dwell on the cosmos. He believed that by having classrooms in the open and under the trees, the students would be closer to nature and would learn from the environment.
In 1901, Rabindranath Tagore established an experimental school in Shantiniketan called the Brahmacharya Ashram with five student and five teachers.
Rabindranath Tagore’s Idea of Education:
Tagore believed that the colonial school were robot-producing factories which made students fit for nothing but cogs in the wheel of colonial administration. Instead of teaching facts, Tagore believed in experiential learning and active engagement of the student with the world. This was an aim to build oneness amongst them, to educate them on international understanding and universal brotherhood.
Along with the idea of experiential learning, Tagore also shared Gandhi’s emphasis on the rural development and, to some extent, the vision of traditional Ashram and guru-shishya relationship which is very prevalent in the system of Shantiniketan.
Tagore’s aims for education reflect in Shantiniketan. He believed self-realisation is an important aim of education. He greatly emphasised on the growth of the imagination, creative thinking, curiosity and alertness of the mind of the child.
Along with the development of mind, Tagore believed it is important that a child develops physically as well and hence yoga, game and ports are an integral part of Shantiniketan.
Impact of Shantiniketan on Education in India:
Shantiniketan as a model of education was very different from the rest of the educational institutes during that time. The European model of education was being adopted that focused more on the textual and exam-oriented knowledge imparted in closed classrooms. Shantiniketan, unlike the regular schools, taught much more than just the facts. It emphasized on oneness by developing concepts like fatherhood of God and brotherhood of all creatures on land.
Current Status of Shantiniketan:
Over the years, Shantiniketan, currently known as Viswa-Bharti University, has adapted to the changing times but the basic ideology of education and living has still remained the same as Tagore had imagined. The students are still taught in the open, close to nature. They celebrate seasons in Shantiniketan instead of celebrating festivals.
Shantiniketan has given us many scholars like Amartya Sen, Satyajit Ray and even Indira Gandhi for a short while, right before she was sent off to Europe.
Bibliography:
1. Grade Stack Courses. (2019). Tagore’s Shantiniketan — Civilizing the Native, Educating the Nation — Everonn — CBSE Class 8th Complete Course. [online] Available at: https://gradestack.com/CBSE-Class-8th-Complete/Civilising-the-Native-/Tagore-s-Santiniketan/14841-2939-2495-study-wtw [Accessed 9 Sep. 2019].
2. TSCHURENEV, J. (2017). Women, Early Childhood Education, and Global Reform Movements: New Perspectives on Colonial and National Education in India. Berlin.
3. Pal, S. (2019). #Travel Tales: Exploring Tagore’s Santiniketan, an Abode of Learning Unlike Any in the World. [online] The Better India. Available at: https://www.thebetterindia.com/66627/santiniketan-rabindranath-tagore-bengal/ [Accessed 9 Sep. 2019].
4. PreserveArticles.com: Preserving Your Articles for Eternity. (2019). What were Rabindranath Tagore’s views on Education?. [online] Available at: http://www.preservearticles.com/history/tagore-on-education/6831 [Accessed 12 Sep. 2019].
5. PreserveArticles.com: Preserving Your Articles for Eternity. (2019). Contribution of Rabindranath Tagore in Education. [online] Available at: http://www.preservearticles.com/education/contribution-of-rabindranath-tagore-in-education/4763 [Accessed 12 Sep. 2019].
