Opinion
Raising people of substance
School as a design for formal education needs a careful examination as we discuss the importance of community programmes in fulfilling some of the vital aims of education.
Education, as John Dewey put it, is a social process- ‘a process of living and not a preparation for future living’‘. In this view, educators look to act with people rather than on them. Their task is to educe, to bring out or develop potential. Such education is:
- Deliberate and hopeful – in the belief that people can ‘be more’;
- Informed, respectful and wise – a process of inviting truth and possibility;
- Grounded in a desire that all may flourish and share in life – a cooperative inclusive activity that looks to help people to live their lives as well as they can.
Beyond fostering understanding and an appreciation of emotions and feelings, it is also concerned with change – ‘with how people can act with understanding and sensitivity to improve their lives and those of others’.Education then is the wise, hopeful and respectful cultivation of learning undertaken in the belief that all should have the chance to share in life.
Educators set out to create environments and relationships where people can explore their, and other’s, experiences of situations, ideas, and feelings. This exploration lies, as John Dewey argued, at the heart of the ‘business of education’.
Scientifically speaking, every organism is on a continuous process of learning, unlearning and relearning. When an organism stops learning, it begins to die.
Education then is for Life. A life where each one can be more, do more and collectively make the world better than before. Schools, therefore, need to differentiate between schooling and education.
School curriculum designed on the principles of social constructivism* leads towards creative philanthropy that guides thought and action towards making the world a better place.
Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It's important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It's the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.
Care, concern, and commitment are attributes of an evolved state of being.
The history of human civilization bears testimony to man’s journey from the gross to its finest form in each aspect of existence – the physical, social, the psychic and the spiritual. This evolutionary journey across ages is man’s greatest hope. Hope in the ever-evolving state of collective consciousness – Hope in humanity – Hope in love. Love, that inspires to preserve, conserve and nurture the experience of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. It is through this experience that one hears through the heart and sees through the soul!
Restlessness to safeguard and share this unique awakening through all that is abstract, subtle, inspiring and mystical, draws the initiated to reach out beyond barriers of time and distance, unconditionally, to enrich the other. (Science supports this with reason and logic with endocrinology giving answers to why doing good makes one happy!).
And in pursuit of happiness, an exciting and meaningful journey of Volunteerism begins.
What is Volunteerism?
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others,” said Mahatma Gandhi.
While the world over, leadership academies are working out strategies galore towards making a difference to one’s nation, the truth is that Volunteerism is the social capital of every nation.
Serving others, or a cause, selflessly, or taking action against wrongdoing, is an integral part of a civilized society’s responsibility towards its young as part of their education, since ancient times. It continues to be so in various forms within the formal/ informal course curriculum from the primary school level to the tertiary levels of a learning programme. It needs belief and creativity to design and implement curricular intents towards their logical goals.
“Volunteering …is a state of mind,” says Thich Nah Than, the Vietnamese monk who nurtures peace and mindfulness through communities across the world.
A student volunteer follows a code of conduct which is intrinsically motivated. While the young learner initiated into being a volunteer has to be born into this avatar through an ‘inspiration that changes one’s life or frame of mind’ which could be a process through practice or an ‘epiphany’- when the ‘ unique ‘ experience connects you with another as well as your deeper self and you discover your true self. Perhaps, this is what Maya Angelou means when she says “If you’re always trying to be normal, you’ll never know how amazing you can be!”
Each one of us has a personal secret garden tucked away in the innermost layers of our consciousness, which is nourished and nurtured by our innate interest or affinity towards a certain component of our life engagements and experiences. The garden blooms when we are able to establish connect with that ‘element’ within us and provide opportunities for expression in congruence with the external world. Ken Robinson, in his book ‘The Element’, explores several life stories of those who recognised the ‘element’ they were in and let their secret garden bloom. “We are all born with tremendous natural capacities, and that we lose touch with many of them as we spend more time in this world…Too many people never connect with their true talents and therefore don’t know what they’re really capable of achieving. In that sense, they don’t know who they really are”.
The inward quest to seek oneself out may lead to an external connect with a cause that draws one out to serve beyond self-enhancement. One lends one’s time, talent and energy to an agenda that imparts fulfillment to one’s larger purpose of life.
Subsequently, one joins the flow of a movement or creates a channel of flow towards a movement which could be in service of any cause under the sun. Therefore, volunteerism, for an inclusive society, is important in order to channel energies of all sections of the society to contribute to building evolved communities with sensibilities, sensitivity, refinement, dignity, and self-esteem.
Schools design community programmes that enable ‘agenda-setting, policymaking, decision making, and representation’ in recognition of volunteerism. While ‘Knowledge Volunteerism’ is a need towards recognising sovereignty of communities to ensure community rights over traditional resources’, the role of volunteering in the promotion of art and culture envisages a conceptual understanding of ‘art and culture’ vis-à-vis the belief, customs, traditions, rituals, values and core competencies, knowledge, skills and attitudes of the members of a society -diverse societies – of a world in transition from the old to a new order of a new millennia. The role thus blends with that of an ‘environmentalist’ who is as focused and determined to preserve, conserve and nurture the rarest of the species of fauna and flora as the informed application of research towards experimentation and innovation to yield a range of hybrids to keep the ecological balance of the myriad living styles of a people and their respective habitats.
Children need to be inspired to create their own stories of hope; to be inspired and to emulate higher-order practices of community service. In Mother Teresa’s words: “There is a tremendous strength that is growing in the world through… sharing together, praying together, suffering together, and working together.”
Students become creators not only of their own destiny but start shaping their world contributing richly through their head, heart, and hand when they connect and empathise. Stories of students building apps to manage traffic, conserve energy and create prototypes to purify the air, empower the weak, eradicate poverty, hunger, and disease, conserve natural resources, endorses a hidden curriculum that enables understanding of political science, geography, sociology, technology, history and economics for a larger cause.
It is important to have a shared understanding of the concept of community to further this discourse: Individuals that share an interest, a belief or an attitude in common. The smallest social unit in the context of a child, a school going student, could be a family and in terms of a shared interest in the context of an educational institute could be the shared curriculum.
Praying together, singing together, cleaning and washing what has been dirtied by one’s own self and watering plants in the vicinity are community projects that start at a very early age. Vertical alignment of older and younger children working together enables empathy in the most effective way.
Celebrating festivals and expressing gratitude as a community (such as Grandparents Day, Labour Day) goes a long way in building leadership and citizenship skills from an early age.
Storytelling – across age groups – as the circle of influence widens beyond grandpa, grandma, mother, father, and child to a social circle of friends is the most imperceptible impactful community programme that connects across age levels to learn from and share with each other. Community Kitchens, which is sadly not as prevalent in schools as was a couple of decades ago, is an effective means to enable respectful relationships. Any community work where the members share ideas, strategies, labour and create a meaningful product which has a shared value is the most fruitful exercise in education that empowers people and transforms communities.
On a larger canvas, leading Sustainable Development Goal 4 – Education 2030, we work towards Education is a human right and a force for sustainable development and peace. Every goal in the 2030 Agenda requires education to empower people with the knowledge, skills, and values to live in dignity, build their lives and contribute to their societies.
There is nothing that raises self-esteem in a child more than when they are engaged in solving larger problems, doing something for another! Martin Luther King said, “Everyone can be great because anyone can serve… You don't even have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve… You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love…”
Schools have a responsibility beyond enabling excellence – it is to raise people of substance – people empowered with ethics, epistemology, and aesthetics, leading themselves and the world to be better now and ever. Here’s what Albert Schweitzer, who studied medicine solely with the mission to alleviate disease and hunger in the Congo, said to his students:
“I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”
“Never before has man had such a great capacity to control his own environment, to end hunger, poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy and human misery. We have the power to make it the best generation of mankind in the history of the world…or make it the last ”*… in the schools of today.
About the author:
Shashi Banerjee is Principal, Shiv Nadar School, Noida. Ms. Banerjee is a member of the first standing committee of the National Council for Teacher Education, NCTE, GOI, instituted in March 2019.
