On Education
THEME/S
TEACHING
To love to learn is the most precious gift that one can make to a child, to learn always and everywhere.
*
It is an invaluable possession for every living being to have learnt to know himself and to master himself. To know oneself means to know the motives of one's actions and reactions, the why and the how of all that happens in oneself. 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.
To give a moral law to a child is evidently not anideal thing; but it is very difficult to do without it. The child can be taught, as he grows up, the relativity of all moral and social laws so that he may find in himself a higher and truer law. But here one must proceed with circumspection and insist on the difficulty of discovering that true law. The majority of those who reject human laws and proclaim their liberty and their decision to "live their own life" do so only in obedience to the most ordinary vital movements which they disguise and try to justify, if not to their own eyes, at least to the eyes of others. They give a kick to morality, simply because it is a hindrance to the satisfaction of their instincts.
No one has a right to sit in judgment over moral and social laws, unless he has taken his seat above them; one cannot abandon them, unless one replaces
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them by something superior, which is not so easy. In any case, the finest present one can give to a child would be to teach him to know himself and to master himself.
July 1930
There is one thing that I must emphasise. Don't try to follow what is done in the universities outside. Don't try to pump into the students mere data and information. Don't give them so much work that they may not get time for anything else. You are not in a great hurry to catch a train. Let the students understand what they learn. Let them assimilate it. Finishing the course should not be your goal. You should make the programme in such a way that the students may get time to attend the subjects they want to learn. They should have sufficient time for their physical exercises. I don't want them to be very good students, yet pale, thin, anaemic. Perhaps you will say that in this way they will not have sufficient time for their studies, but that can be made up by expanding the course over a longer period. Instead of finishing a course in four years, you can take six years. Rather it would be better for them; they will be able to assimilate more of the atmosphere here and their progress will not be just in one direction at the cost of everything else. It will be an all round progress in all directions.1
10 September 1953
1. Oral comment noted by a teacher and later approved by the Mother for publication.
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Personality Traits of a Successful Teacher1
2. In the matter of self-confidence, must also have a sense of the relativity of his importance.
Above all, must have the knowledge that the teacher himself must always progress if he wants his students to progress, must not remain satisfied either with what he is or with what he knows.
3. Must not have any sense of essential superiority over his students nor preference or attachment whatsoever for one or another.
4. Must know that all are equal spiritually and instead of mere tolerance must have a global comprehension or understanding.
5. "The business of both parent and teacher is to enable and to help the child to educate himself, to develop his own intellectual, moral, aesthetic and practical capacities and to grow freely as an organic being, not to be kneaded and pressured into form like an inert plastic material."(Sri Aurobindo, The Human Cycle)
Published June 1954
1. These comments were written by the Mother after she was shown the questionnaire submitted to the Centre of Education by a training college for teachers.
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Never forget that to be a good teacher one has to abolish in oneself all egoism,
10 December 1959
What you should do is to teach the children to take interest in what they are doing that is not the same thing as interesting the students! You must arouse in them the desire for knowledge, for progress. One can take an interest in anything in sweeping a room, for example if one does it with concentration, in order to gain an experience, to make a progress, to become more conscious. I often say this to the students who complain of having a bad teacher. Even if they don't like the teacher, even if he tells them useless things or if he is not up to the mark, they can always derive some benefit from their period of class, learn something of great interest and progress in consciousness.
Most teachers want to have good students: students who are studious and attentive, who understand and know many things, who can answer well good students. This spoils everything. The students begin to consult books, to study, to learn. Then they rely only on books, on what others say or write, and they lose contact with the superconscient part which receives knowledge by intuition. This contact often exists in a small child but it is lost in the course of his education.
For the students to be able to progress in the right direction, it is obvious that the teachers should have understood this and changed their old way of seeing
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and teaching. Without that, my work is at a standstill.1
16 December 1959
Regarding the questions that will be put to the students I would ask the teachers to think with ideas instead of with words.
And, a little later, when it becomes normal for them to think with ideas, I shall ask of them a greater progress, which will be the decisive progress, that is, instead of thinking with ideas, to think with experiences. When one can do that, one really begins to understand.
Sweet Mother,
You have asked the teachers "to think with ideas instead of with words". You have also said that later on you will ask them to think with experiences. Will you throw some light on these three ways of thinking?
Our house has a very high tower; at the very top of this tower there is a bright and bare room, the last before we emerge into the open air, into the full light.
Sometimes, when we are free to do so, we climb up to this bright room, and there, if we remain very quiet, one or more visitors come to call on us; some are tall, others small, some single, others in groups; all are bright and graceful.
Usually, in our joy at their arrival and our haste to
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welcome them, we lose our tranquillity and come galloping down to rush into the great hall that forms the base of the tower and is the storeroom of words. Here, more or less excited, we select, reject, assemble, combine, disarrange, rearrange all the words in our reach, in an attempt to portray this or that visitor who has come to us. But most often, the picture we succeed in making of our visitor is more like a caricature than a portrait.
And yet if we were wiser, we would remain up above, at the summit of the tower, quite calm, in joyful contemplation. Then, after a certain length of time, we would see the visitors themselves slowly, gracefully, calmly descend, without losing anything of their elegance or beauty and, as they cross the storeroom of words, clothe themselves effortlessly, automatically, with the words needed to make themselves perceptible even in the material house.
This is what I call thinking with ideas.
When this process is no longer mysterious to you, I shall explain what is meant by thinking with experiences.
1 June 1960
When you think with words, you can express what you think with those words only. To think with ideas is to be able to put the same idea in many kinds of words. The words can also be of different languages, if you happen to know more than one language. This is the first, the most elementary thing about thinking with ideas.
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When you think with experience, you go much deeper and you can express the same experience with many kinds of ideas. Then thought can take this form or that form in any language and through all of them the essential realisation will remain unchanged.
It is not through uniformity that you obtain unity.
It is not through uniformity of programmes and methods that you will obtain the unity of education.
Unity is obtained through a constant reference, silent or expressed, as the case demands, to the central ideal, the central force or light, the purpose and the goal of our education.
The true, the supreme Unity expresses itself in diversity. It is mental logic that demands sameness. In practice, each one must find and apply his own method, that which he understands and feels. It is only in
this way that education can be effective.
13 October 1960
The school should be an opportunity for progress for the teacher as well as for the student. Each one should have the freedom to develop freely.
A method is never so well applied as when one has discovered it oneself. Otherwise it is as boring for the teacher as for the student.
It really is a problem to know how to create interest in the students, whether in games, athletics
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or gymnastics. Even our own enthusiasm dwindles when we see their lack of interest in everything.
The interest of the students is proportionate to the true capacity of the teacher.
12 July 1961
X asked me some time ago whether I would like to work in the Free Progress classes. At present I am teaching in classes where what is called the "old way" is used.
Mother, tell me whether I should remain where I am now or whether I should work in the Free Progress classes?
The old method of teaching is obviously outdated and will be gradually abandoned throughout the whole world.
But to tell the truth, each teacher, drawing his inspiration from modern ideas, should discover the method which he finds best and most suited to his nature. Only if he does not know what to do may he join his class to those of X.
Mother, would you please define in a few words what you mean essentially by "free progress"?
A progress guided by the soul and not subjected to habits, conventions or preconceived ideas.
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concern about the irregular study and attendance of the students in the Free Progress classes. In the teachers' opinion, only a few students were doing satisfactory work. As a solution, they suggested a more strict organisation of classes. The Mother commented:)
First for the teachers:
I am satisfied with the figures indicated in the report. In spite of What one might think, the proportion of very good students is satisfactory. If out of 150 students, there are 7 individuals of genuine value, it is very good.
Now for the organisation:
The classes as a whole may be reorganised so as to fulfil the needs of the majority, that is to say, of those who, in the absence of any outside pressure or imposed discipline, work badly and make no progress.
But it is essential that the present system of education in the new classes should be maintained, in order to allow outstanding individuals to show themselves and develop freely. That is our true aim. It should be known we should not hesitate to proclaim it that the whole purpose of our school is to discover and encourage those in whom the need for progress has become conscious enough to direct their lives. It ought to be a privilege to be admitted to these Free Progress classes.
At regular intervals (every month, for example) a selection should be made and those who cannot take advantage of this special education should be sent back into the normal stream.
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The criticisms made in the report apply to the teachers as much as to the students. For students of high capacity, one teacher well versed in his subject is enough even a good textbook, together with encyclopedias and dictionaries would be enough. But as one goes down the scale and the capacity of the student becomes lower, the teacher must have higher and higher capacities: discipline, self-control, consecration, psychological understanding, infectious enthusiasm, to awaken in the student the part which is asleep: the will to know, the need for progress, self-control etc.
Just as we organise the school in such a way as to be able to discover and help outstanding students, in the same way, the responsibility for classes should be given to outstanding teachers.
So I ask each teacher to consider his work in the school as the best and quickest way of doing his Yoga. Moreover, every difficulty and every difficult student should be an opportunity for him to find a divine solution to the problem.
5 August 1963
If the children, even very small, are taught to put things in order, classify objects by kind, etc. etc., they like it very much and learn very well. There is a wonderful opportunity to .give them good lessons of arrangement and tidiness, practical, effective lessons, not theory.
Try and I am sure the children will help you to arrange things.
Love and blessings.
14 December 1963
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The students cannot learn their lessons, even when they have their books.
One must have a lot of patience with young children, and repeat the same thing to them several times, explaining it to them in various ways. It is only gradually that it enters their mind.
It is very difficult to choose games which are useful and beneficial for a child. It asks for much consideration and reflection, and all that one does unthinkingly may have unhappy consequences.
Mother,
Sometimes I have personal talks with my students. Some of the good students give so much importance to money that it gives me a shock. They want to he doctors to earn more" I am thinking whether I can have a debate in Hindi Sabha on "Whether money is the most important thing in life". Will it give them a chance to think seriously? I wonder.
Yes, try it is very much needed. Money seems to have become the Supreme Lord these days. Truth is receding in the background; as for Love it is quite out of sight!
I mean Divine Love, because what human beings call love is a very good friend of money.
Blessings.
13 June 1964
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For giving true education you have said: "Get out of conventions and insist on the growth of the soul." I can write two pages on this, but actually I do not understand it at all. When I teach the Ramayana I can lay stress upon the surrender to the Divine or such matters, but when I take up grammar or some other aspect of literature, what can I do?
The contradiction comes from the fact that you want to "mentalise" and this is impossible. It is an attitude, an inside attitude mostly but which governs the outside as much as possible. It is something to be lived much more than to be taught.
28 October 1965
The education we are given here at present differs little from the education that is given elsewhere. This is precisely why we should try here to educate the latent and spiritual faculties of the student. But how can we do this in school?
This cannot be done by any external method. It depends almost entirely on the teacher's attitude and consciousness. If he does not have the Vision and the inner knowledge himself, how can he transmit them to his students?
To tell the truth, we rely mainly on the all surrounding atmosphere charged with spiritual force,
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which has an effect even if it is not perceived or felt.
20 April 1966
In the context of your recent messages to the school emphasising the future: As a language teacher I have been laying great stress on the Ramayana and the songs of Kabir, Mira, etc. and the stories of the Upanishads and the Mahabharata. Please tell me what to do. If I stop them as belonging to the past, how to replace them? If I continue them, shall I not be going against your current?
Not at all, it is the attitude that is important.
Even in the lower classes I lay stress upon the stories of Indian literature. We have no vision of the future and if we discard all these as things of the past, then what will remain in the literature?
The past must be a spring-board towards the future, not a chain preventing us from advancing.
As I said all depends on the attitude towards the past.
As I can see for myself, the best would be to give up teaching and writing and go back to purely physical work and wait for the advent. But that would mean finding fault with you, because it is you who gave me these works against my apparent wishes.
And I continue to give you the work. If you feel that a change is needed it can be in the attitude giving more
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importance to What is to be said and realised and using the past as a preparation for the future.
This is not a very difficult thing to do and I am quite sure that you will easily do it.
With love and blessings.
17 April 1967
If we are to have a new system, what exactly will this system be?
It will be put into practice in the best way possible, according to the capacity of each teacher.
25 July 1967
It is very difficult to understand what exactly you want in the field of education, but from what I can understand it seems that all we are doing is pretty useless. Hindi poetic literature has some higher things, but what are those heights in comparison to what you want? If we. want to learn good language and proper usage, we have to read stories and novels which are of a very low type because they portray human life as it is.
The difficulty comes when I have to do what I know is not what you want, and I have no courage to throw myself completely into your hands.
Your difficulty comes from the fact that you have still the old belief that, in life, there are some high things and some low things. It is not exact. It is not the things or activities that are high or low, it is the consciousness of the doer which is true or false.
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If you unite your consciousness with the Supreme Consciousness and manifest It, all you think, feel or do becomes luminous and true. It is not the subject of the teaching which is to be changed, it is the consciousness with which you teach that must be enlightened.
31 July 1967
All studies, or in any case the greater part of studies consists in learning about the past, in the hope that it will give you a better understanding of the present. But if you want to avoid the danger that the students may cling to the past and refuse to look to the future, you must take great care to explain to them that the purpose of everything that happened in the past was to prepare what is taking place now, and that everything that is taking place now is nothing but a preparation for the road towards the future, which is truly the most important thing for which we must prepare.
It is by cultivating intuition that one prepares to live for the future.
18 September 1967
Ordinary classes belong to the past and Will gradually disappear. As for the choice between working alone or joining the "Vers la Perfection" classes,1 that depends on you. Because to teach and to conduct a class one must move away from theory and intellectual speculations
1. A group of classes based on the Free Progress System.
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to a very concrete application which has to be worked out in all its details.
Learning to teach While taking a class is certainly very good for the would be teacher, but certainly less useful for the students.
To join "Vers la Perfection" is a kind of training which may be very useful for a beginner, who can easily learn the practical side of teaching there.
The choice is yours.
6 October 1967
(Concerning a choice of textbooks for a mathematics class)
The French book is the only one that seems possible to me the others are forbidding and make you disinclined to work.
But I would not advise giving this French book to the students. They do not really need books. The teacher or teachers should use the book to prepare lessons that are adapted to the knowledge, the capacity and the needs of the students. That is to say that the teachers should learn what is in the book and transcribe it and explain it to the students, bit by bit, a little at a time, with plenty of explanations, comments and practical examples so as to make the subject accessible and attractive, that is, a living application instead of dead, dry theory.
3 December 1967
Some teachers have said that there is a conflict
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between the needs of the individual's progress and those of the progress of the group of which the individual in question is a member. How to reconcile and resolve this conflict?
It has been contended that if the individual remains more or less with his group, he gets the advantage of sharing the group's experience, of group discussions and of a collective study.
All that is useless if the individual can progress at his maximum the group will necessarily benefit by it. If the individual is submitted to the possibility and capacity of the group, he loses his chance of total progress.
22 December 1967
I have observed two contradictory kinds of ideas in myself: one kind in favour of individual work, another in favour of group work.
Isn't it possible to divide the class time into two parts (equal or unequal according to the need) and to try out both systems? This would give diversity to the teaching and provide a wider field for observation of the students and their capacities.
I have read with satisfaction what you say about your work and I approve of it for your own work.
But you must understand that other teachers can conceive their own work differently and be equally right.
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I am surprised at your criticism of Y, for it does not correspond to what I know of him and his attitude.
I take this opportunity to assure you that spiritual progress and the service of Truth are based on harmony and not on division and criticism.
25 November 1968
Is it possible to teach the ideal to those who do not understand it, and how can it be taught to them? Are we, instructors and teachers, worthy of this formidable task?
What we want to teach is not only a mental ideal, it is a new idea of life and a realisation of consciousness. This realisation is new to all, and the only true way to teach others is to live according to this new consciousness oneself and to allow oneself to be transformed by it. There is no better lesson than that of an example. To tell others: "Do not be selfish," is not much use, but if somebody is free from all selfishness, he becomes a wonderful example to others; and someone who sincerely aspires to act in accordance with the Supreme Truth, creates a kind of contagion for the people around him. So the first duty of all those who are teachers or instructors is to give an example of the qualities they teach to others.
And if, among these teachers and instructors, some are not worthy of their post, because by their character they give a bad example, their first duty is to become
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worthy by changing their character and their action; there is no other way.
4 November 1969
What qualifications do you consider essential for an instructor or a teacher in the Ashram? Isn't it better not to do this work if one feels incapable of doing it well? For then it is the children who suffer because of us, isn't that so?
Whatever imperfections the teachers and instructors here may have, they will always be better than those from outside. For all who work here do so without remuneration and in the service of a higher cause. It is clearly understood that each one, whatever his worth or capacity, can and must progress constantly to realise an ideal which is still much higher than the present realisation of humanity.
But if one is truly eager to do one's best, it is by doing the work that one progresses and learns to do it better and better.
Criticism is seldom useful, it discourages more than it helps. And all goodwill deserves encouragement, for with patience and endurance, there is no progress which cannot be made.
The main thing is to keep the certitude that whatever may have been accomplished, one can always do better if one wants to.
The ideal to attain is an unflinching equality of
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soul and conduct, a patience that never fails and, of course, the absence of any preference or desire.
It is obvious that for one who teaches, the essential condition for the proper fulfilment of his task is the absence of all egoism; and no human being is exempt from the necessity of this effort.
But, I repeat, this effort is easier to make here than anywhere else.
5 November 1969
You must have lived what you want to teach.
To speak of the new consciousness, let it penetrate you and reveal to you its secrets. For only then can you speak with any competence.
To rise into the new consciousness, the first condition is to have enough modesty of mind to be convinced that all that you think you know is nothing in comparison to what yet remains to be learnt.
All that you have learnt outwardly must be just a step allowing you to rise towards a higher knowledge.
16 December 1969
The attitude of consciousness which is required [of a teacher] is an inner certitude that, in comparison with all that is to be known, one knows nothing; and that at every moment one must be ready to learn in order to be able to teach. This is the first indispensable point.
There is a second one. It is that outer life, as we know it, is a more or less illusory appearance and that
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we must constantly keep a living aspiration for the Truth.
19 December 1969
Progress lies in widening, not in restriction.
There must be a bringing together of all points of View by putting each one in its true place, not an insistence on some to the exclusion of others.
True progress lies in the widening of the spirit and the abolition of all limits.
22 October 1971
The teachers have to grow into the needed consciousness, emphasis should be on the actual experiences of work and there should be no difference in the child's mind between work and play all should be a joy of interest. It is the teacher's job to create that interest.
If the interest is there, the right work will follow.
1 November 1971
How are we to teach the children to organise the freedom that You give us here?
Children have everything to learn. This should be their main preoccupation in order to prepare themselves for a useful and productive life.
At the same time, as they grow up, they must discover in themselves the thing or things which interest them most and which they are capable of doing well.
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There are latent faculties to be developed. There are also faculties to be discovered.
Children must be taught to like to overcome difficulties, and also that this gives a special value to life; when one knows how to do it, it destroys boredom for ever and gives an altogether new interest to life.
We are on earth to progress and we have everything to learn.
14 January 1972
Yesterday You wrote: "There are latent faculties to he developed. There are also faculties to he discovered."
What is the role of the teacher or the instructor in the discovery of these faculties?
The teacher should not be a book that is read aloud, the same for everyone, no matter what his nature and character. The first duty of the teacher is to help the student to know himself and to discover what he is capable of doing.
For that one must observe his games, the activities to which he is drawn naturally and spontaneously and also what he likes to learn, whether his intelligence is awake, the stories he enjoys, the activities which interest him, the human achievements which attract him.
The teacher must find out the category to which each of the children in his care belongs. And if after careful observation he discovers two or three exceptional children who are eager to learn and who love progress, he should help them to make use of their energies
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for this purpose by giving them the freedom of choice that encourages individual growth.
The old method of the seated class to which the teacher gives the same lesson for all, is certainly economical and easy, but also very ineffective, and so time is wasted for everybody.
15 January 1972
You have written: "If after careful observation, he [the teacher] discovers two or three exceptional children who are eager to learn and who love progress, he should help them to make use of their energies for this purpose by giving them the freedom of choice that encourages individual growth."
Do You mean that freedom of choice should he given only to exceptional children? What about the others?
I said we should give freedom of choice to exceptional children because for them it is absolutely indispensable if we truly want to help them to develop fully.
Of course this freedom of choice can be given to all the children, and after all it is a good way to find their true nature; but most of them will prove to be lazy and not very interested in studies. But, on the other hand, they may be skilful with their hands and be willing to learn to make things. This too should be encouraged. In this way the children will find their true place in society, and will be prepared to fulfil it when they grow up.
Everyone should be taught the joy of doing well
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Whatever he does, whether it is intellectual, artistic or manual work, and above all, the dignity of all work, Whatever it may be, when it is done with care and skill.
16 January 1972
For the exceptional children, do You think that we should turn their energies towards their special talent or is it better to direct them towards a total development?
It depends entirely on the child and his capacities.
18 January 1972
You have written: "The teacher must find out the category to which each of the children in his care belongs."
How can we distinguish the categories of children?
By watching them live.
To be able to classify the children one must find out about their nature by observing their habits and reactions.
The teacher must not be a machine for reciting lessons, he must be a psychologist and an observer.
19 December 1972
Should we put the children of each category
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together?
That has both advantages and disadvantages. The grouping of students should be made according to the resources at our disposal and the facilities we have. The arrangement should be flexible so that it can be improved upon if necessary.
To be a good teacher one must have the insight and knowledge of a Guru with an unfailing patience.
19 January 1972
You have said: "The first duty of the teacher is to help the student to know himself."
How can we help a student to know himself? For that, isn't it necessary for us to have attained a higher level of consciousness ourselves?
Oh, yes indeed!
The attitude of the teacher must be one of a constant will to progress, not only in order to know always better what he wants to teach the students, but above all in order to be a living example to show them what they can become.
(After five minutes' meditation) The teacher should be the living example of what he asks the students to become.
Is that the only way of teaching the students to
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know themselves?1
It is the only right way. You see, a teacher who tells them, "You must not lie" and yet lies himself; "you must not lose your temper" and loses it himself what would the result be? The children will not only lose confidence in the teacher but also in what he teaches...
When we attempt to organise the children into categories based on their capacity for initiative, we see that there is a mixture of levels of achievement in various subjects. That makes the work very difficult for certain teachers who are in the habit of taking ordinary classes in the old classical way.
We are here to do difficult things. If we repeat what others do, it is not worth the trouble; there are already many schools in the world.
Men have tried to cure the ignorance of the masses by adopting the easiest methods. But now we have passed that stage and humanity is ready to learn better and more fully. It is up to those who are in the lead to show the way so that others can follow.
21 January 1972
How do You conceive the organisation of our
1. Oral question and reply.
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education, to enable the children to discover their capacities and then follow the path of their individual development?
This is what we are trying to do here. But doing it well depends on the teacher, on the trouble he takes, and on his power of psychological understanding. He must be capable of recognising the character and possibilities of the student, so that he can adapt his teaching to the needs of each individual.
22 January 1972
Should the teaching be classified by subject? Is that the best way?
Classification by subject is important when one wants to study one or several subjects in depth, once an overall grounding that is useful for everyone has already been provided equally to all: for example, reading and writing, speaking at least one language correctly, a little general geography, a general outline of modern science and a few indispensable rules of conduct for group or communal living.
For a detailed and thorough study of one subject the appropriate age depends on the child and his capacity to learn. The precocious ones can start at the age of twelve. For most it will be more like fifteen and even seventeen or eighteen.
And when one wants to master a particular subject, especially a scientific or philosophical subject, on must be prepared to spend one's whole life learning;
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one must never stop studying.
I come back to the same question. What do You mean exactly by "categories of children"?
Do these categories correspond only to their character or also to their interests?
The categories of character.
In assessing the possibilities of a child, ordinary moral notions are not of much use. Natures that are rebellious, undisciplined, obstinate, often conceal qualities that no one has known how to use. Indolent natures may also have a great potential for calm and patience.
It is a whole world to discover and easy solutions are not much use. The teacher must be even more hard working than the student in order to learn how to discern and make the best possible use of different characters.
23 January 1972
Yesterday You mentioned rules of conduct. What are the rules of conduct You consider indispensable in our community?
Patience, perseverance, generosity, broad-mindedness, insight, calm and understanding firmness, and control over the ego until it is completely mastered or even abolished.
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Mother, this is not exactly what I wanted to ask. What I understand by "rules of conduct" was "manners ".
Manners belong to the moral rules of ordinary life and have no value from our point of View.
You have spoken of arranging students according to categories of character In our present state of ignorance, if we try to impose a classification, would it not be something very arbitrary and even a dangerous game for the growing child?
Naturally, it is better not to take arbitrary and ignorant decisions. It would be disastrous for the children.
What I have said is for those who are capable of recognising characters and assessing them rightly, otherwise the result would be awful and more harmful than the usual mechanical teaching.
24 January 1972
To be able to do what You have asked of us, isn't it the teacher's first duty to do an intense and sincere yoga instead of acting in a hasty and arbitrary manner?
Certainly!
What I have written is an ideal to be realised; you must prepare yourselves to be able to do it.
To be able to adopt this method, the teacher must
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be a discerning psychologist and that requires time and experience.
You have said that the teacher must be a discerning psychologist, a Guru. You know very well that we are far from being all that. The teachers being what they are, how should the system of education be organised in order to improve our way of teaching?
By doing what they can, knowing that they have everything to learn. In this way they will gain experience and do things better and better. That is the best way to learn, and if they do it in all sincerity, in two or three years they will become experts and will be truly useful.
Naturally, work done in this way becomes really interesting and makes the teachers as well as the students progress.
25 January 1972
Should we also have categories for the teachers as we do for the children according to their way of teaching, of seeing things, and their affinity for certain subjects?
For that, the teacher who organises the studies must be a discerning psychologist, observant and full of good will, knowing that he too has to learn and progress.
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The true attitude is to take life as a field of perpetual study, Where one must never stop learning and think that one knows everything there is to know. One can always know more and understand better.
If the children want to do practical work from the age of nine in the field of electronics or technology, should they be encouraged?
Yes, of course.
You said the other day that there were teachers who were not capable, and that they should stop teaching. What is the criterion for assessing the capacity of a teacher?
First, he must understand, he must know what we want to do and understand well how to do it.
Secondly, he must have a power of psychological discernment in dealing with the students, he must understand his students and what they are capable of doing.
Naturally, he must know the subject he is teaching. If he is teaching French, he must know French. If he is teaching English, Geography, Science, he must know what he is teaching.
But the most important thing is that he must have psychological discernment.1
31 January 1972
1. Oral reply.
Page 78
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