LOGICAL MEANING OF EDUCATION

In the following lines, we are annoying to create the meaning of education more clearly by explaining its constituent issues in better details:

• Not restricted to knowledge imparted in Schools:

Education cannot be limited to the processes of giving knowledge to children in the schools only. Its program goes on from birth to till death. In other words, every one learns something or the other throughout life by different experiences and activities. All of these counted in Education.

• Education as the Development of Child’s Innate Power:

Education is developing the native endowments of a child rather than something forced into the mind from outside of the children.

• Education as a Dynamic Process:

 Education is not static but a self-motivated process, which develops the child’s activity and mind according to changing situation and times.

• Education as a Tri-polar Process:

1). John Dewey regards:

                                     Education is a process of development.

According to John Dewey education has two features:

1)    Psychological and (2) Sociological.

He declares that the development of a child does not take place just in vacuum. It takes place through the society in which the teacher and the child both live together in school life. Thus, it depends more on society, which will determine the aims, contents and methods of teaching. Thus, the process of education contains three poles, namely, (1) The teacher, (2) The child, (3) The society. These three features actively cooperate in the efficient and successful working of the educational process.

THE CYCLIC PROCESS OF EDUCATION

Education should be a continual repetition of these cycles. Each lesson in its minor way should form an eddy cycle concerning in its own subordinate process. Longer periods should issue in exact attainments, which then form the starting-grounds for fresh cycles. We should drive out the idea of a mythical, far-off finale of education. The pupils must be continually enjoying some fruition and starting anew, if the teacher is inspiring in exact proportion to his success in satisfying the rhythmic cravings of his pupils.

An infant's first romance is its awakening to the apprehension of objects and to the appreciation of their connections. Its growth in mentality takes the exterior form of occupying itself in the co-ordination of its perceptions with its bodily activities. Its first stage of precision is mastering spoken language as a tool for classifying its contemplation of objects and for strengthening its apprehension of emotional relations with other beings. Its first stage of generalisation is the use of language for a classified and enlarged enjoyment of objects.

This first cycle of intellectual progress from the achievement of perception to the acquirement of language, and from the acquirement of language to classified thought and keener perception, will bear more careful study. It is the only cycle of progress which we can observe in its purely natural state. The later cycles are necessarily tinged by the procedure of the current mode of education.

There is a characteristic of it which is often sadly lacking in subsequent education; I mean that it gets complete success. Finally of it the child can speak, its ideas are confidential, and its perceptions are sharpened. The cycle achieves its object. This is much more than can be said for most systems of education as applied to most students. But why should this be so? Definitely, a new-born baby looks a most unpromising subject for an intellectual progress when we remember that the difficulty of the task before it. I suppose it is because of nature, in the form of surrounding circumstances, sets it a task for which the normal development of its brain is exactly fitted. I do not think there is a particular mystery by the fact of a child learning to speak and think as a result all the better; but it has to think about.

Into further education, we have not sought for cyclic process in a finite time their course and their own limited sphere get a complete success. This is the end of an exceptional nature in the natural cycle for infants. Later, we start a child on a topic, say Latin at the age of ten, and the hope of a uniform system of formal training to achieve success at the age of twenty. The natural result is failure, both in the interest and acquisition. When I speak of failure, I compare our results with the brilliant success of the first natural cycle. I do not think it's because our tasks are inherently too hard when I remember that a child's cycle is the most difficult of all. This is because our tasks are defined in a natural way, without rhythm and without intermediaries’ success and without concentration stimulus.

The whole being of the infant is engrossed in the practice of its cycle. It has nothing else to divert its mental development. In this respect there is a striking difference between this natural cycle and the subsequent history of the student's progress. It is perfectly obvious that life is a very different and that the mind and brain naturally develop so as to adapt themselves to the many-hued world in which their lot is cast. Still, after making allowance for this consideration, we will be prudent to preserve some measure of concentration for each of the subsequent cycles. In particular, we should avoid a competition of diverse subjects in the same stage of their cycles. The fault of the older education was unrhythmic concentration on a single undifferentiated subject.  Our modem system, with its emphasis on a preliminary general education, and with his easy tolerance of the analysis of knowledge in different subjects is a collection unrhythmic equally troublesome waste. I am importunate that we shall endeavour to weave in the learner's mind a harmony of patterns, by coordinating the a variety of elements of instruction into subordinate cycles each of intrinsic worth for the immediate apprehension of the student. We must garner our crops each in its due season.

A Little Accurate Definition of Education

There are several different definitions and meanings of education as in MEANING, AIMS AND PROCESS OF EDUCATION, guide us to the conclusion that education should have a complete definition. therefore, education may be defined as a psychological, conscious or unconscious, purposive, sociological, scientific and philosophical process, which brings about the development of the individual to the fullest extent and as well the maximum development of society in such a way that both enjoy maximum happiness and prosperity.

To cut a long story short,

Education is the development of individuality according to his needs and demands of society, of which he is an essential part.

In the First article MEANING, AIMS AND PROCESS OF EDUCATION, observations of different educators highlight the following special features of education:

• Education is both, independent as well as bi-polar in nature.

• It is a unbroken process.

• It is knowledge with experience.

• It is progress of particular aspects of human personality or a harmonious integrated growth.

• It is conducive for the good of the human being or the welfare of the society.

• It is a broad-minded discipline or a vocational course.

• It is stabilizer of social order, an instrument of change, conservator of culture and social reconstruction.

MEANING, AIMS AND PROCESS OF EDUCATION

In general speaking, ‘Education’ is utilized in three senses: Knowledge, Process and Subject.When a person achieves degree up to certain level we do not call it education. As example as if a person has obtained Master’s degree then use education as a very narrow sense and call the person has attained education up to Master level. In the second sense, education is utilized in a sense of discipline. As for example if a person had taken education as a paper or as a discipline during his study in any institution then we utilize education as a subject. In the third sense, education is used as a process. In actual fact when we talk of education, we talk in the third sense that is education as a process.

By going through the text you will be able

• To make out the meaning and concept of education

• To classify the narrower and wider meaning of education

• To describe the analytical meaning of education

• To know the aims and scope of education

Etymological Meaning of Education

In English the term “Education” has been derived from two Latin word Educare (Educere) and Educatum. “Educare” means to train. It again means to bring up or to lead out or to draw out, propulsion from inward to outward. The term “Educatum” denotes the act of teaching. It throws light on the principles and practice of teaching. The term Educare or Educere mainly indicates development of the latent faculties of the child. But child does not know these possibilities. It is the teacher or the educator who can know these and take appropriate methods to develop those powers.

If we mention certain definitions of education of great educators of the East and the West, we may have a clear picture of the nature and meaning of the term education.

According to Swami Vivekananda:

Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man. Like fire in a piece of flint, knowledge Exists in the mind. Suggestion is the friction; that brings out.

Mahatma Gandhi said:
By education, I mean an all-round drawing on the best in children and the body, the human mind and spirit

Rabindranath Tagore opinion about Education:

The highest education is that which does not only give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.

Rigveda opinion about Education:

Education is something, which makes it an autonomous man and self- less.

Upanishada opinion about Education:

Education is one whose end product is salvation.

Plato’s point of view:

Education develops in the body and soul of the student all the beauty and all the perfection of which he is capable.

Aristotle defines Education as:

Education is the creation of healthy mind in a healthy body. He develops the faculty of man especially his mind so that he can be able to enjoy the contemplation of the supreme truth, goodness and beauty.

Rousseau’s point:

Education is the development of the interior of the child.

Froebel shares his idea about Education as:

Education is enfoldment what is already wrapped in the germ. It is the process by which the child is the internal-external.

Pestalozzi’s thought about Education:

Education is the harmonious and progressive development of all the powers and faculties of physical mandate, intellectual and innate morality.

J.F.Herbert shares his thinking about Education:

Education is the development of good character.

John Dewey writes in his book to clarify the Education as:

Education is not a preparation for life, but rather life. Education is the process of life through continuous reconstitution experiments. It is the development of all the capabilities of the individual who will allow him to control his environment and fulfill its possibilities.

T.P.Nunn thought about Education:

Education is the complete development of the child's individuality so that it can make an original contribution to human life to the best of its ability.

From all above discussion it is now clear that since the times of Plato to the modern times of John Dewey and Gandhi, various educationists have cleared education in different ways. Speaking frankly, the field of education is so vast and varied that to give an exact definition of education about which all educationists agree is very difficult. We sew that some educationists have defined only one feature of education whereas the others emphasize its other phases. The reason of this difference of opinions is that different educationists, most of whom are philosophers, have different outlooks about the aim of life. According to Idealists, the aim of life is spiritual development. As such, they regard education as a spiritual process, which aims at bringing together the soul and the creator leading to self-realization. Pragmatists think about education as a process of social progress. Because of this difference in the philosophy of life, different educationists define education differently. The fact is that the real concept of education is not related solely to any of the above mentioned views. It is more than either of them. In a real logic, education is a kind of synthesis of all the above viewpoints. In this sense, education includes the individuals, the environment,  the society, the social fabric and the prevailing customs. Hence, the definition of education ought to be a very comprehensive and all-inclusive one.

Meaning, Nature and Scope of Education

Education is never ending. It starts with the birth of an individual and then it goes on till the last day of the individual. Education makes an individual a real human being. It is an essential human virtue. Man becomes man through education. He learns something at every moment and on every day. Education equips the individual with social, moral, cultural and spiritual aspects and thus makes life progressive, cultured and civilized. About education

P.O. Bannerji said: "It is the development of the power of adaptation to an ever changing social environment."

Gone are the days when education was the right of a privileged few. Now all have the equal right to be educated as education has become sine quo non of civilization.

Etymological Meaning of 'Education'

Let us understand the word 'Education' etymologically:
First view is that the word 'education' is derived from the Latin word 'Educatum' which means 'to bring up' or 'to nourish'.

Second view is that the word 'education' is derived from the Latin word 'education' which means 'to find out', or 'to draw out'. Naturally here in the process of education, 'effort is to draw out' rather than 'to put in'.

Third view is that the word education comes from the Latin word 'Education' which means the 'act of teaching or training'.

Concept of Education: Indian Views

1.            According to Rig Veda:
                                  "Education is something which makes a man self-reliant and selfless."

2.            According to Upanishads:
                                  "Education is that whose end product is salvation".

3.            The well known Indian Economist Kautilya says:
                                  "Education means training for the country and for the nation."

4.            The Indian, Philosopher Shankaracharya considers education as:
                                 "The realization of the self."

5.            Swami Vivekanand considered education as:
                                "The manifestation of divine perfection of existing in man."

6.            According to Vedantic view point:
                              "The essence of man is spirituality. We need an education that quickens, that kindles the urge of spirituality inherent in every mind."

7.            According to Mahatma Gandhi:
                             "By education I mean an all round drawing out of the best in child and man-body, mind and spirit."

8.            Guru Nanak said:
                               "Education is self-realization and service of-the people."

9.            Aurobindo Ghosh puts forth his view on education as:
                               "Helping the growing soul to draw out that is in itself".

10.          Rabindra Nath Tagore says:
                           "Education means enabling the mind to find out that ultimate truth which emancipates us from the bondage of the dust and gives us the wealth; not of things but of inner light, not of power to.”

11.          In the words of Zakir Hussain:
                            "Education is the process of the individual mind getting to its full possible development. It is a long school which lasts a life-time."

12.          According to Swami Dayanand:
                             "Education is a way for the formation of character and right living."

13.          In the words of University Education Commission Report (1948-49): 
                          "Education to the Indian traditions, is not merely a means of earning a living; nor it is only a nursery of thought or a school for citizenship. It is initiation into the life of spirit, a training of human soul in the pursuit of truth and the practice of virtue. It is a second birth, divitiyam janma."

14. According to the Report of Indian Education Commission  (1964-66);
                        "Education ought to be related to the life, needs and aspirations of the people and thereby made powerful instrument of social, economic and cultural transformation."