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(Mysore University)

With the advancement of science and with the changes that are coming in the political and economic fields, a profound change is visible in the scope and methods of education as well. There is a conflict between the traditional system of education and the so-called 鈥榩rogressive鈥� systems of education. But a blind change in the scope and methods cannot bring about any real progress. The ideas underlying the old system and the new ideals must be examined. Such an examination and formulation is of particular interest to us, as we are now in the throes of a new era of educational practice and ideals. With the advent of the British, a change was introduced in our system of education; or rather a new system of education was introduced, so as to provide the Government of the day with officials to carry on its work. The old Indian traditional system was given up because it was not economically profitable. A change came about later with the institution of universities in our country in order to provide higher education, more particularly the new scientific education. But this change, since it was exotic and came from above, has led to an impasse now. We are today faced with a number of contradictions in our educational system. On the one hand there is the cry that vast masses of our citizens are not even literate, and on the other there is the feeling that education has become too cheap and too common. We want our men and women to be educated, but we are unable to absorb in our economic system even the infinitesimal minority that is being educated. From politics and economics Gandhiji has now turned his attention to education. The Wardha Scheme is on the anvil. With Provincial Governments in the hands of the Congress organisation, it may not be long before the Wardha Scheme becomes an accomplished fact. Yet it is now that we must examine carefully the underlying ideals and the theories of the several systems of education. And here it will help us greatly if we try to understand the philosophy of education formulated by a leading educationist and philosopher of our time, Dewey.

What is the aim of the traditional system of education? It aims at preparing the young men and women for the future responsibilities of life. This is done by making them acquire the information and skills that have been worked out in the past. The chief business of the school has thus been to transmit the information and skills to the new generation. But as the subject-matter, as well as the standards of proper conduct, is from the past and given as a finished product, the students have to be docile and receive passively. This is seen particularly in the countenance of the school organisation at present with its text-books, examinations, rules of order, seating arrangement, etc. "The traditional scheme is, in its essence, one of imposition from above and from outside. It imposes adult standards, subject-matter, and methods upon those who are only growing slowly toward maturity," writes Dewey in his "Education and Experience."

One of the great impediments to the progress of thought and culture in our country now is the general opinion that truth and knowledge are finished products which are merely to be "learnt" from our elders and ancients. Instead of knowledge being a process of "discovery," it has become, by the traditional method, a process of "assimilation."

What are the aims of the "progressive" systems? At the bottom the "progressive" systems of education in the West are negative in character: they are opposed to the traditional system. Since the latter was defective, the opposite aims were stressed. Dewey formulates the philosophy implicit in the "progressive" systems as follows: "To imposition from above is opposed expression and cultivation of individuality; to external discipline is opposed free activity; to learning from texts and teachers learning through experience; to acquisition of isolated skills and techniques by drill is opposed acquisition of them as means of attaining ends which make direct, vital appeal; to preparation for a more or less remote future is opposed making the most of the opportunities of the present life; to static aims and materials is opposed acquaintance with a changing world." Thus, largely, the ideas underlying the "progressive" movements are negative, rather than positive and constructive.

To build up a sound system of education, we must turn to the fundamentals, and formulate the essential aims of education, and determine the best method to achieve them. According to Dewey, the fundamental point in education is the relationship between education and personal experience. Whatever may be the view about the aims of education adopted, education can take place only by influencing a person鈥檚 experience, so that his later experiences may bring about certain results conducive to the development of his personality and of the group in which he lives. In order to be able to do this, the educationist must take account of three things: the individual鈥檚 previous experiences; his present needs and demands; and finally, the values of life, individual as well as social, so that the individual, as he grows, may contribute his best to the society in which he lives. Thus, education must influence the individual by influencing his experience. Dewey restates Lincoln鈥檚 famous saying about democracy by speaking of "education of, by and for experience."

All genuine education thus comes about through experience. But this does not mean that all experiences are genuinely or equally educative. If there is an equation between education and experience, it will be idle to talk of any system of education. Any and every experience will then be educative, and there would be no need for any education specially as such. An experience will be "mis-educative" if it arrests or distorts the growth of further experience. The experience, which engenders callousness, lack of sensitivity and responsiveness, will impoverish an individual's further experiences.

This 鈥榤is-educative鈥� experience instead of stimulating the individual will make him fall into a groove and lead him into stagnation. This might result, not only because of the nature of the experience but also because there is a lack of organic connection between his many experiences. The fundamental drawof authoritarianism in education, as in politics, is that it leads to degeneration. So long as we believe that education consists merely of the transmission of knowledge from generation to generation there will be an impoverishment and stagnation. The zest for discovery disappears. In a similar way education will be a futility if the experiences engendered in the school are out of relation with the individual鈥檚 experiences in the home and in society. The child must be made to realise the relationship between the different experiences; otherwise, he is apt to think that what he learns in the school has no scope or application at home and in his life in general. One is astonished to find the negative attitude of a large number of children and adults towards numbers and arithmetical processes. Civilised life will be impossible without a knowledge of numbers. But because arithmetic is taught as a skill unrelated to life, individuals acquire a negative attitude towards it and thus lead a life poorer in content.

If education is based on experience, then it is necessary to indicate the character of the experience on which it must be based. Dewey formulates the principle of "continuity of experience" or "experiential continuum." Our experience is a sort of stream. Any experience that we have at a given moment will depend not only on what we encounter at the moment but also on the previous experiences that we have had. Further, this present experience will affect and modify our subsequent experiences in some way, whether we wish it or not. Thus the present experience will depend on our past experiences and will affect our future experiences. But this principle of experiential continuum, though of vital importance in education, does not give us a criterion for discriminating among the different experiences.

Undoubtedly every experience that we have helps in our growth, but the question is whether the growth in a particular direction promotes or retards growth in general. "Does this form of growth create conditions for further growth, or does it set up conditions that shut off the person who has grown in this particular direction from the occasions, stimuli, and the opportunities for continuing growth in new directions?" Thus we might say that the principle of continuity of experience contains within it a criterion as well-the criterion that that experience which conduces to continuing growth is the one that satisfies the principle. Though every experience affects for better or worse the quality of our further experiences, the principle of continuity is satisfied if the experience is such that instead of arresting or retarding the further growth, it arouses curiosity, strengthens initiative and induces one to proceed further.

The quality of any experience has two aspects: how it affects the individual at the time he lives it, and how it affects his later experience. The educator must bear in mind both of these; otherwise the experience might become 鈥榤is-educative.鈥� As for the immediate aspect of an experience, it must be agreeable to the pupil. It must not repel him and induce in him a negative attitude. Then there is the second aspect. As Dewey puts it, "no experience lives and dies to itself." It should not only be enjoyable, it must be such that it sets up in the individual a need for such further desirable experiences. He must yearn to lead a richer and fuller life in the direction of that experience.

To secure these two conditions the educator should first of all find out the nature of the experiences his pupil has gone through till the moment. The situation that he sets up must be related to this 鈥榓pperceptive mass.鈥� Consequently, he must know how to utilise the surroundings in which the individual is living: the area, the vocational and cultural level of his home and group. Unless these are utilized, there is bound to be stagnation. Here one might remark as to why the present educational system has failed so disastrously in our country. The text-books and apparatus do not fit in with the surroundings of the children even in the urban areas. And they are completely foreign to the children in our rural areas. Gandhiji has tried in the Wardha Scheme to overcome this fundamental defect. There is absolutely no doubt that the scheme will succeed in bringing about a marvellous change in the rural areas as he is emphasising the need for the educator to make use of the surroundings of the child in imparting education.

The second fundamental principle in Dewey鈥檚 philosophy of education is the principle of 鈥榠nteraction.鈥� An experience involves a situation on the one hand and the particular individual on the other. It is only if the two interact that any experience can occur. The kind and degree of interaction between the two determines how fruitful the experience has been. Since the individual is what he is at a given time, the situation must be altered or modified so that it induces the fullest response from him. Thus the educator can regulate the situation, the objective conditions, so as to suit the given individual. As Dewey remarks, the phrase, 鈥榦bjective conditions,鈥� covers a wide range. "It includes what is done by the educator, and the way it is done, not only words spoken, but the tone of the voice in which the words are spoken. It includes equipment, books, apparatus, toys, games played. It includes the materials with which an individual interacts, and, most important of all the total social set-up of situation in which a person is engaged." At present the powers and purposes of the pupils are not reckoned, All the emphasis is placed on the information to be imparted and the skills to be taught. This is based on the assumption that they are intrinsically desirable. But there is no subject with inherent educational value at all times. Certain subjects that are useful in the later stages will have absolutely no educative value in earlier stages. It was because this principle of interaction was ignored that certain subjects and certain methods were supposed to have intrinsically cultural values, "There is no such thing as educational value in the abstract." An experience will become non-educative if it is not adapted to the needs and abilities of the individual: that is, if there is no interaction.

Then there is the other aspect of the principle of interaction: responsibility for selecting objective conditions carries with it the responsibility for understanding and assessing the needs and abilities of the individual at the given time. The educational situation set up must be in conformity with the individual鈥檚 talents, needs, and attitudes at the given time, Otherwise it will miss its purpose. Either it will be too easy and dull and boring, or too difficult and beyond his reach in which case it will engender lack of interest and possibly even despair. Assessing the individual鈥檚 talent and temperament is no more a mystic formula. The researches in psychology have established the laws of growth in individuals. Their abilities and personality traits can be measured. So it is today possible to adjust the curriculum as well as the methods to suit the individual and his level of growth. There is also another point. Today we teach the boy some subjects and skills, having in view adult standards. We educate him for the life to be. If the principle of interaction is to be satisfied, education should be based on the present needs of the individual. It is only then that the learner will be able to actively participate in the experience. As Dewey puts it, education should enable the individual to extract 鈥榓t each present time the full meaning of each present experience.鈥� It is only thus that we can prepare him to do the same thing in the future.

Thus, the principle of interaction ensures that the experience is at the level of the pupil, and the principle of continuity ensures that the experience is such that it leads to a desire to lead a richer and fuller life. This principle of continuity is today being distorted. In the traditional system of education the principle of continuity of course obtains. The primary school prepares the individual for the secondary school, and the secondary school prepares him for the University. But the preparation in its true sense means preparation for a deeper and more expansive life. The question is: Do the experiences at a particular stage in the system of education enable the individual to adapt himself to the life conditions? More education might mean a greater insight into more problems of life. But there are certain problems in our lives, problems relating to the society in which we live, the profession or vocation we adopt, our family life and our own individual development, which are common to all, and to face which every individual must be prepared. An orientation towards these problems must be induced at each stage in education, elementary, secondary and University, so that each individual, wherever he happens to drop off, will be in a position to face them and enrich his life and the life of the group in which he lives. This is the important function of education, for it is not the mere acquisition of information and skills which matters.