Philosophy of education and teaching: A few fundamentals for consideration
Teachers must also be able to effectively communicate with both the parents and the students in order to ensure that there are no misconceptions or confusions about the children�s education. A good teacher is aware of any special needs that certain children may have
Colonel (Retired) Sardar Hassan Kabir, afwc, psc, MBA
The terms Education and Teaching are complimentary to each other that hold unique relations with regard to the development of knowledge.. The word philosophy comes from the Greek word philosophia, which literally means love of wisdom dealing with every branch of knowledge that principally focuses upon nature, universe and human affairs, such as, existentialism, moral values, reason, act of mind and art of language. The goal of philosophy is to search for the truth and delve into the root of the being through the process of learning, for example, how one acts (ethics), what exists (metaphysics), how we know what we know (epistemology), and how we should reason (logic), but this doesnt mean to erect a wall between the modern and traditional disciplines of science and humanities. Philosophy is exposed with an intellectual mechanism, which helps getting into the depth of any problem of the society or human beings. Thus, philosophy is not a mental faculty, which is unintelligible and inaccessible. Nor is it a precious jewel to be deposited in a safe, and alien to common people or any discipline. Philosophy significantly occupies a chunk of day-to-day affairs of any human beings or society expressly or tacitly. It demands to apply to our conscience, commitment, attitude, psychology and responsibilities. Philosophy interpreted in the sense is the sustained, systematic, reflective thinking about concepts and beliefs in any subject to see what is clear and reasonable to believe about it, and why. Platos educational philosophy was the vision of the ideal republic, where the individual was best served by being subordinated to a just society. He looked at them [philosophers?] to act as guardians of the city and care for the less able. Education would be holistic, including facts, skills, physical discipline, and music and art, which he considered the highest form of endeavor.
Teachers are those who remove the children from their mothers care and raise them as the wards of the state with great care and provide them with the best education at various levels. Teachers are the ideals of the society, who must understand the vision as well as the philosophy of education. Every teacher must be a philosopher because they deal with education and its problems, and because its methods are similar to those of philosophy.
3. I worked as principal of a Cantonment Public School and College. This experience of mine was an unique and diversified in the field of education and teaching that prompted me to articulate those in a little frame. Hence, this short article will make an endeavor to highlight a few fundamentals, which our teachers and students may instill in their perceptions and considerations while taking teaching as a profession.
As mentioned earlier, an individual serves the society and becomes one of the wards of the state. A mother gives birth to a child, and she is great for its creation. The child is the gift and sacrifice of a mother for the society, the state, and the humanity. The society and the state are responsible for providing it with education. Education in the largest sense is the act or experience that has a formative influence on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the process by which the society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another.
A few words may be quite facile and eloquent but bear a lot of underlying significance about understanding present day education and teaching. Better money, better education --- is a wrong philosophy, which is being practiced in various societies in this era. I believe that the time is changed, the situation is changed, and the approach and spirit is also changed in the society. My question is whether education has become a commodity or not? Then comes the question: is teaching now a mission or an industry? If it is an industry, there is a room for barter trade. When education gets commercially-benefiting priority, or becomes a grade- awarding ceremony, people may not single them out to question whether they would deserve so. Here may be raised the issue of conscience which contradicts, and in many cases, contradiction overshadows conscience. And thus conscience becomes controversial. We hide ourselves from conscience either ethically or physically. Now, should teachers commit a vice by promoting the undeserving students by any means to a higher grade, or educate them as the future wards of the state? If the teachers hide themselves in the den of controversy, the students will become the by-product of dynastic syndrome, and the societies of the nation as a whole will fall into a controversial mood. How then can our glowing past be manifested and how can the nation be seen with a spring of hope in the days to come? Should you not show through a lighthouse a beacon of hope for a future enlightened nation? Here, there is an answer; Yes, you can make it. That philosophy of education and teaching is being talked about today.
There are many schools of thoughts as to what constitutes an ideal education. Parents need to pay their attention to the education of their children. Teachers must be completely devoted to their students education. Students must have faith in their teachers and in the education they are receiving. Students, parents and teachers are the key elements in a model education. A good relationship among the three parties is essential to a realistic and objective education. Parents who are not involved in their childrens education only impede the efforts made by the teachers and students to create a good education. For perfection in the educational system, parents have to play an active role in involving themselves in education. Parents who dont include themselves in their childrens education arent always informed about the students progress, arent aware of the current curriculum, and dont have any idea of the students strengths and weaknesses in school. A parent actively involved is kept informed and is sometimes included in the decision-making process. Parents who play an active role are kept informed of the progress made by their children. They know the curriculum and can assist the children significantly in their nightly studies. They can also discuss their childrens feelings about education and develop a friendly and educative relation between themselves.
The cardinal concept of philosophy lies in si et non (yes and no). So devoted teachers are essentially important for truth finding education. The teacher is just about the most important of the three parties necessary to create a model education. Teachers have the responsibility of forming good relationships with both the students and the parents. Teachers must also be able to effectively communicate with both the parents and the students in order to ensure that there are no misconceptions or confusions about the childrens education. A good teacher is aware of any special needs that certain children may have and is able to help those children adjust to the curriculum accordingly. Although it may seem obvious, teachers need to be patient and empathetic when dealing with their students. The vast majority of the teachers already possess these qualities. Many students, however, have complained of teachers that appear to have no time for their students. Teachers with an unenthusiastic/apathetic attitude relay a negative feeling back to their students and that can create problems in the classroom. As mentioned earlier, people usually wont become teachers if they are uninterested in providing an excellent education to their students and they should not be. This category of teachers must be eliminated from the field of education. The final ingredient necessary for creating an ideal education is the student. Students need to be inquisitive, enthusiastic, and eager to learn in the classroom. Students who like, and feel comfortable with, the education they are receiving are more interested in going to school regularly and in continuing their education after graduating from high school. Students need to be encouraged by themselves as well as by the teachers and parents. Students have the responsibility of completing their assigned projects on time, being attentive and willing to learn in the class, and they must govern their own study habits and methods of working. A student has to have their priorities straight so that they know not to neglect their studies.
There are two other important elements in the arena of education, which are mostly neglected in our society at the implementation level. Those are basically education management related. They are the society and the institution including the management committee. The Society must take certain responsibilities to provide an educative environment. The institution including the management committee provides policy guidelines which will be obeyed by all other elements in the education system. It would be pertinent to mention here that the underlying principles of tripartite responsibilities strictly followed in the cantonment public schools and colleges largely account for the growing demand of these institutions across the country. The prevailing system as a whole reflects a rich tradition of mutual accountability, where each of the three parties ----- students, parents/guardians and the institution including the teachers and governing bodies --- is geared up to carry out their individual as well as common responsibilities to reach the desired goal. A key factor in the whole system of education in these institutions seems to be the constant vigilance of the central committee as well as the local governing bodies about sustaining the hard-earned traditional academic atmosphere, where the pursuit of knowledge through strict discipline for individual as well as national well-being is a common motto.
An ideal education cannot be achieved with one or two pieces of the puzzle missing. All three pieces --parents, teachers and studentsmust be in place in order for the puzzle to be complete. The three components work together. For instance, a teacher and a student alone cannot work effectively toward the goal of a perfect education. The childs parent (or parents) must be in communication with the teacher to know how the child is doing academically. The parent must also communicate with the child in order to know how the child feels it is doing and to know how the child feels about its progress. The child, the parent, and the teacher must work together in order to create and maintain a perfect educational system. The institution including the management and the society should also maintain a harmonious relation with those three elements standing as an umbrella beneath which all move in a healthy environment. Thus, Cantt Public Schools and Colleges can be the model for others. However, this is about the philosophy, where all elements should bear in their perception and which can help to produce good citizens for a good nation, who are believed to be ultimately representing an enlightened Bangladesh.
The writer was commissioned in Bangladesh Army in 1981. He graduated from Defence Services Command and Staff College and Armed Forces War College, NDC, Mirpur
