IDEALISM IN EDUCATION

IDEALISM  IN  EDUCATION

Meaning:

Idealism . contends . that . spiritual . aspects . are . the . chief . aspects . of . human . life. . Natural . or . scientific . facts . of . life . are . subordinate . to . spiritual . one. . Idealism . began . with . ‘Socrates . and . Plato’

·         The . prominent . idealists . in . the . western . world . are . : . Plato, . St. . Augustine, . St. . Thomas . Aquinas, . Rene . Descartes, . Berkeley, . Kant . and . Hegel, . T.P. . Nunn . etc. .

·         Further . Froebel . and . Pestalozzi . are . prominent . idealistic . educational . philosophers. .

·         In . modern . period . Swami . Vivekananda, . Mahatma . Gandhi . and . Aurobindo . Ghosh . are . prominent . idealists. .

Various . forms . of . Idealism

1.      Personalistic . Idealism . : . Also . called . subjective . idealism . was . given . by . Berkeley. . He . accepts . only . the . existence . of . mind. . As . each . person . considers . an . object . in . one’s . own . way; . the . attributes . which . are . transformed . into . the . objects . are . very . much . personal . and . thus . subjective. .

2.     Absolute . Idealism . ; . Thus . kind . of . idealism . was . given . by . Fitche . and . Hegel. . In . absolute . idealism . only . self . (soul) . is . the . absolute . reality. . All . events . in . the . universe . in . the . universe . are . governed . by . some . absolute . laws. . So . only . absolute . laws . are . real. . Progress . in . this . world . is . result . of . thesis, . anti-thesis . and . synthesis . i.e. . as . soon . as . a . view . point . comes . into . light . its . contradiction . also . comes . to . the . scene- . (Thesis . & . anti-thesis). . Then . these . two . ideas . are . synthesized . into . one, . then . it . is . again . opposed . and . it . goes . on. .

3.     Objective . Idealism . : . Plato . is . the . originator . of . this . kind . of . idealism. . He . proposes . that . spirit . is . independent . of . realization. . If . god . is . real . he . will . always . real. . Whether . anybody . considers . him . real . or . not. .

4.     Phenomenal . Idealism . : . Kant . is . the . first . exponent . of . this . kind . of . theory. . According . to . him . our . knowledge . about . physical . and . metaphysical . world . is . only . the . phenomenon . of . the . reality. . Original . or . absolute . reality . is . beyond . our . capacity. .

Characteristics . and . Principles . of . Idealism

1.      Classification . of . Substance . : . The . idealists . have . classified . the . universal . substance . into . various . groups . :

·         They . are . matter, . diversity, . otherness, . motion . and . motionless . according . to . Plato. .

·         Kant . has . given . four . groups . : . attribute, . result, . system . and . association. .

·         Vaishishka . (India) . has . classified . them . in . to . matter, . action, . attribute, . special, . general . and . common.

·         Descartes . has . given . two . only . nature . and . soul . or . inanimate . and . animate. .

2.      Supremacy . of . ideas . over . objects . : . Source . of . knowledge . are . ideas . not . objects. . Mind . or . soul . is . the . ultimate . reality . while . objects . which . can . die . out . are . myths. .

3.      Classification . of . the . World . : . idealists . have . divided . the . world . into . two . forms . – . Material . i.e. . unreal . and . spiritual . i.e. . real. .

4.      Superiority . of . Men . to . Nature . : . it . is . man . who . has . higher . power- . intelligence. . He . can . rise . up . higher . and . higher . and . attain . divinity . guided . by . a . Guru. .

5.      Nature . of . Mind . and . Epistemology . : . Mind . is . a . living . being . as . well . as . rational . It . has . its . independent . existence . away . from . the . body. . So . knowledge . obtain . through . mind . is . real.

6.      Values . and . Role . of . Soul . : . The . aim . of . human . life . is . to . attain . divinity . through . spiritual . progress. . These . spiritual . values . are . permanent . and . they . never . change . of . time. .

7.      Self-Realization . : . Self-realization . is . the . method . of . attaining . divinity. . The . purpose . of . man . is . to . know . his . God, . to . follow . his . wishes . and . to . leave . this . world . to . attain . divinity. .

Education . Implications . of . idealism

Aims . of . Idealism . :

i.                   Beautification . of . Personality . : . The . aim . of . education . should . be . to . develop . the . personality . of . the . child . by . creating . congenial . environment . and . by . raising . his . will-power . through . accepted . ideas . and . ideals. .

ii.                 Development . of . Spirituality . : . Real . self . is . spiritual . self . which . is . to . be . developed . by . education . by . giving . him . moral . and . social . training . and . by . arousing . his . spirituality. .

iii.              Moral . and . Intellectual . Training . : . Truth . is . that . which . is . established . by . mind. . The . aim . of . education . is . to . train . the . child . morally . and . mentally . together. .

iv.               Preservative, . Transmission . and . Advancement . of . Culture . : . The . aim . of . education . should . be . to . conserve . culture . if . it . is . true . and . transmit . it . for . the . benefit . of . the . next . generation. . Culture . should . also . be . enriched . by . scientific . and . technology . achievement. .

v.                 Creation . of . an . ideal . Society . : . Education . aims . at . reforming . the . society . by . creating . spiritual . environment. .

 . Curriculum . in . Idealism . : . Idealists . consider . thoughts, . feelings, . ideas . and . values . more . important . than . the . child. . They . like . to . give . knowledge . of . permanent . value . to . the . child. . So . they . give . more . importance . to . humanities . than . physical . and . biological . sciences. . Idealism . stresses . on . three . values . truth, . goodness . and . beauty . determining . three . types . of . human . activity . intellectual, . moral . and . aesthetic. .

The . following . arrangement . of . the . curriculum . is . recommended . by . Idealist

Value	Subject/ . Activity
Truth	It . is . represented . by . intellectual . subjects . or . activities . like . humanities, . languages, . social-sciences . and . physical . sciences.
Goodness	This . include . subject . like . ethics, . metaphysics, . religion . etc.
Beauty	Aesthetics . subjects . or . activities . like . art . and . poetry . etc . related . to . this . part . of . the . curriculum

Ross’s . scheme . for . a . complete . curriculum . in . the . light . of . idealism . is . as . under:

Education
Spiritual . Subject . or . Activities	Physical . Activities
1.       Intellectual 2.      Moral 3.      Religious 4.      Aesthetic	1.       Care . of . Body 2.      Skills

 . Method . of . Teaching . : . Any . teaching . method . can . be . chosen . according . to . the . demands . of . the . situation. . Due . to . this . reason . :

·         Socrates . adopted . question-answer . method

·         Plato . followed . discussion . and . debate

·         Aristotle . used . inductive . deductive

·         Herbert . advocated . instruction . and . lecture.

·         While . Frobel . stressed . play . way . method.

Status . of . Pupil: . Idealism . does . not . take . the . child . for . granted. . It . considers . him . more . than . a . body. . The . pupil . is . in . a . process . of . self-actualization . and . education . is . a . necessary . condition . for . this. . His . spiritual . development . is . achieved . through . self-realization. .

Status . of . Teacher . : . The . status . of . a . teacher . is . very . high . almost . equal . to . God . in . Idealism. . The . main . role . is . to . develop . child’s . personality . in . right . direction . through . self-realization. . So . he . himself . must . know . the . essentials . of . this . theory . and . practice.

According . to . Idealism, . main . functions . of . a . teacher . are . :

i.                    The . teacher . must . assume . the . role . of . a . Guru

ii.                  The . teacher . must . understand . his . pupil . thoroughly.

iii.                The . teacher . should . present . high . standards . of . behaviour . and . conduct . them . before . his . pupils. .

iv.                The . teacher . should . have . a . deep . knowledge . of . his . subject.

v.                  The . teacher . should . employ . thought . provoking . techniques . and . thereby . encourage . his . pupils . to . think . for . themselves . in . his . subject.

Discipline . : . Idealism . keeps . the . child . under . control. . If . he . does . anything . wrong, . he . is . immediately . punished . but . for . good . deeds . there . is . no . reward . as . good . deeds . are . prerequisite . for . spiritual . development. . The . teacher . is . supposed . to . develop . habit . of . self-discipline . by . exemplary . behaviour . . . Participation . in . social . activities . is . also . recommended . as . it . develops . spirit . of . sacrifice. .

Criticism . of . Idealism

Limitations . and . Weaknesses . of . Idealism:

i.                    Concepts . like . ‘spirit’, . ‘mind’, . ‘soul’, . ‘the . cosmos’ . etc. . inherent . in . idealism . have . little . relevance . in . classroom . teaching.

ii.                  The . idealism . in . education . stresses . imitation . of . models, . but . younger . generation . prefers . invention . and . originality . rather . than . imitation.

iii.                Idealism’s . emphasis . on . gaining . knowledge . is . likely . to . turn . educational . institutions . as . information . –monger’s . workshops. . School . curriculum . becomes . overload . with . obsolete . knowledge . sometimes. .

iv.                Scheme . of . education . based . on . idealism . by . and . large, . pays . less . attention . to . physical, . industrial, . social . and . electronic . environment . of . today.