EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF RABINDRANATH TAGORE

        (B.Ed. II Year - Knowledge and Curriculum)

HISTORY

BORN                                           :    7th May , 1861 , Kolkata

FATHER                                       :    Debendranath Tagore

MOTHER                                     :    Sarada Devi

OCCUPATION                             :    Poet, playwright, essayist, composer, painter

NOTABLE 

WORKS                                       :    Gitanjali , Jana Gana Mana, Rabindra Sangeet 

AWARDS                                     :    Nobel Prize in Literature, 1913

CONTRIBUTIONS TO 

EDUCATION                               :     1.      Established a school known as Shantiniketan in 1901.

                                                           2.      Founder of Vishwabharathi.

                                                           3.      Bengali poet and philosopher of education

DIED                                            :    7th August 1941, Kolkata

TAGORE'S PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE

•                  Indian in spirit
•                  An Idealist
•                  A naturalist
•                  An Individualist
•                  A humanist
•                  A patriot
•                  An Internationalist

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF TAGORE

    "THE HIGHEST EDUCATION IS THAT WHICH DOES NOT MERELY GIVE US INFORMATION BUT MAKES OUR LIFE HARMONY WITH ALL EXISTENCE"

BASIC EDUCATIONAL THOUGHTS OF TAGORE

        * For children he wanted the child to enjoy his/her own experience and activies

        * He wanted education to be natural in content and quality and function of education is to bring the child's mind in contact with nature

        * Child should learn freely and spontaneously from nature.

        * He advocated that education has its only meaning and object in freedom.

        * As for the role of teacher, he stressed striving for higher mental accomplisments.

        * According to him, a teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning himself.  The teachervshould come to the level of students to enable him to communicate with them.

        * He insisted that education should develop all capacities of children besides the intellectual.

        * He gave prime place to arts and crats,drawing and painting, music, dancing and leather work in his scheme of education because children's real abilities and skill, thoughts and feelings cannot be shown in mere language of words.

        * He also advocate for the communion of man with man.  He believes that man is a social animal and he has to live in groups and practice social virtues.

        * Tagore's humanism goes far beyond the limits of one's nation.  He insisted on the education        which will bring in the unity of mankind and internationalism.

AIMS OF EDUCATION

        Tagore emphasized moral, spiritual,intellectual and physical development as the aims of education.

    

        * He emphasized the development of good character and self-discipline leading to satisfation of  mind and peace of soul.

        *  According to him, education's aim is not only to promote bookish knowledge but inculculate in the child independent and free thinking.

        * A person should know the facts and also be able to understand , apply, analyse, synthesise and      evaluate them.

        * He also emphasised on healthy, physical development of children especially in early years.

METHODS OF TEACHING

        * Tagore opposed the rigid type of education.

        * He insisted children to learn in free natural conditions.

        * Children should be taught practically and not theoretically alone.

        * Children should be encouraged to pursue education according to their interest.

        * The central point in educational activity  is that joy should pervade all sort of activities.