Aristotle said, “The purpose of education is to ensure the flourishing of the individuals characterised by the ‘goodness’ of character and ‘goodness’ of intellect.” In Sanskrit, we say, “Vidya Dadati Vinyam,” meaning that education brings humility.
Unfortunately, character building has taken a back seat. The entire focus seems to be on maximising the academic performance, compelled by the overall eco-system. The race for college admissions in a fiercely competitive environment and shrinking employment opportunities has left very little room for the youth to pair their passion and interest with the need to build a strong character. Life skills, critical thinking, the appetite for risk, and adaption to a multicultural environment are among the top hiring characteristics in most of the top organisations. However, it has not deterred the uni-directional focus on the high academic score. Ron Miller, one of today’s significant thinkers on holistic education, puts it succinctly, “Education today is not a collaborative art of mentoring and nurturing the young, but a frenzied scramble to succeed according to some external measure of success.” Read more
Article first published in Impakter (www.impakter.com ).
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