New & Old Perception of Education & philosophical Perspective
It is a well know fact that lexicographically “education” means to enable one to know at least three R’s (as per old classic perception) i.e. Reading Writing and Arithmetic. But idiomatically education is a continuous social action and process, which depicts the society. As it has come into being only to meet the social needs/requirements of the society, it is made to correspond with its characteristics. The agriculturists society would stress upon the study of agriculture that of an industrialist one, on the know-how of industry. Similar is the case with the ancient and modem societies.
Old Concept of Education
The old concept of education is very simple. In those days needs of the society were very limited. It was depicting the traditional sentiments of the society. Therefore, the concept of education was limited. To gain the skills of writing, reading, arithmetic and adopt the customs of their fore-fathers, were the main contents of their education. The teacher used to be considered as the highly qualified individual and the student to be totally ignorant. The students were never supposed to be able to make any addition or alteration in the saying of their teachers. So far the disciplines are concerned firstly they were extremely limited in number and secondly their contents were confined to information and theories and ideas. The best form of education would be to memorize the facts/events and reproduce (verbally) the same. Other academic activities i.e. co-curricular activities were considered useless. The main task before them was to replenish their brains with information only. However, the whole of the education was restricted to the four walls of the school. It had quite a separate world away from all the other environments. Employment would never be the responsibility of education. Its nature was always purely literary and the students/disciples would be nothing more than imitators.
Modern Concept of Education
The modern education is totally in contrast with the old theory. This is quite comprehensive, useful and it is covering all aspects of a student’s life. Education, hitherto is .not the name of only teaching/learning. It is an indicator to and torch-bearer of the physical, psychological, aesthetic, financial, and social urgencies of student’s personalities. Notwithstanding several other responsibilities, it is obligatory on the educational institutions to take care of the physical health of the students, arrange for the satisfaction of their aesthetic taste, fulfill their psychological needs and teach them the manners of leading a social life.
Simultaneously, arrangements may also be made for innovative and variable activities, so that the students with the help of their experiments may gain sound comprehension of these principles or concepts. It means that the school should be able to represent the society in reality and they may come closer to each other.
In the fields of science, arts and educational methodology, the nature of education has quite a distinct position. Here all sciences and humanities are being given due importance and they are equally regarded useful. None of the disciplines is considered to be superior to the others. Handicraft is no less important than any mental and intellectual engagement. The importance of professional and vocational education is increasing day by day. Artisans, engineers, lawyers, philosophers, doctors, traders, artists, and writers all are important and respectable.
The student is being considered a minor scholar in the modern educational system. The teacher is only an advisor and guide. It means that education has become a bilateral project where the students and teachers move forward and undergo multifarious experiments together. Tremendous stress is laid on comprehension and practical activities instead of learning by heart and memorization. Instead of exhausting their mental potentiality on theoretical issues, stress is laid to solve them practically. The students play an active part in this type of education. To nourish the creativity of thought and flourish the balanced personality of the students are the foremost objectives of education.