Educational Ideas of Rabindranath Tagore – B.Ed. Notes

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Are searching for a short note on the Educational Ideas of Rabindranath Tagore? Here in this post, you will get a note on the educational ideas of Tagore for B.Ed. pursuing trainees. Here we will discuss Tagore’s educational views and ideas on five broad aspects of education.

Short Notes Educational Ideas of Tagore for B.Ed. - PDF

Short Notes Educational Ideas of Tagore for B.Ed. – PDF

Tagore was born on 6th May 1861 in Bengal in a prosperous family. He was a poet, dramatist, philosopher, and painter. He got the Nobel Prize in 1913 for Gitanjali. He established Vishwa Bharati on 22nd September 1921 whose aim was to create a synthesis of the east and west. He died in 1941.

Basic Principles of Tagore’s Philosophy of Education

The philosophical principles of Rabindranath Tagore on education are discussed below.

  • Principle of freedom:
    • According to Tagore, freedom means the child’s own experience and activities.
    • He was the favor of giving maximum freedom to the children to display their emotional outbursts, feelings, impulses, and instincts.
  • Principle of Creative self-expression:
    • Tagore believed that mere intellectual development was not the only function of education because a large part of man cannot find expression in the mere language or word.
    • For the education of the whole man, his emotions and sense must also develop along with intellect. Therefore, Tagore has given arts, crafts, music, drawing, drama, etc, a prominent place in his scheme of education.
  • Active communication with nature and man:
    • According to Tagore, God reveals himself through nature more effectively than through manmade institutions.
    • Hence, the education of the child should be under natural surroundings with all its beauty, colors, sounds, forms, and such others so that he/she develops a love for all things around him/her.
  • Education as Enlightenment:
    • True education brings self-realization and enlightenment., it seeks to unfold all that is good and noble to individuals.
  • Education as a Developmental Process:
    • Education according to Tagore, is an all-around development of human faculties for the attainment of a full life.
  • Education as a Harmony:
    • According to Tagore, “That education is highest which not only imparts information and knowledge to us but also promotes love and follows feeling between us and the living beings of the world.”
  • Mother tongue, the medium of Teaching:
    • Tagore has emphasized the mother tongue as the medium for the child’s education.
    • Any nation can impart the best education in the medium of its mother tongue.
    • Eternal values cannot be attained by a foreign language, their obstacles to self-expression and the development of creativity.
  • Principle of Internationalism:
    • Tagore was an ardent prophet of world unity.
    •  He believed in world brotherhood.
    •  He established “Vishwabharati”, the international university, where he expressed his faith in the intercommunication of mind and heart as the basis for world harmony.

Educational Ideas of Tagore in Broad Aspects of Education:

Below Rabindranath Tagore’s Ideas of Education in five basic aspects are given in short. You learn the educational ideas of Tagore regarding Aims of Education, Curriculum of education, Method of Teaching, Teacher, and Discipline. Tagore’s views on Students are also discussed in this post.

See Also: Educational Ideas of Gandhi

Tagore’s Ideas for Aims of Education:

1. Physical development:

  • Training of different organs and senses alongside a healthy body and natural development.
  • Opportunity to play.

2. Intellectual development:

  • Opposed bookish education for intellectual development.
  • Direct knowledge from nature.

3. Moral and Spiritual development:

  • Importance of inner development.
  • Increase the values of patience, peace, self-discipline, and inner freedom.

4. Social development:

  • Development of social qualities, so that he/she can contribute to the progress of society.
  • Importance of social service.
  • Opposed narrow mentalities.

5. Development of international understanding:

  • Tagore desired that through education an international understanding should be developed in a child and he/she should be bound by the international community.

6. Development of ability to adjust:

  • To acquaint a child with the real situations, social conditions, and environment of life and to enable him/her to adjust to them.

Educational Ideas of Tagores Towards Curriculum:

1. Subjects:

According to Rabindranath Tagore following subjects should include in the curriculum of education.

  • Literature and languages.
  • Mother tongue, other Indian languages, and other foreign languages.
  • Mathematics.
  • Natural sciences such as botany, zoology, physics, chemistry, and general science.
  • Health education.
  • Social sciences like geography, history, civics, economics, and sociology;
  • Agriculture and Technical subjects.
  • Arts, Music, Dance, etc.
  • Philosophy, psychology, and religion.

2. Activities and Occupations:

  • Dancing
  • Dramatics
  • Music
  • Games and Sports
  • Drawing and Painting
  • Excursions
  • Agriculture and Gardening
  • Regional study
  • Laboratory work
  • Social service.

3. Actual living and Community Service:

Tagore stressed that education should be imparted in natural surroundings with all its beauty, colors, sounds, and other manifestation.

Tagore’s Views on Method of Teaching:

The educational idea of Tagore is to make the teaching method favorable to the real circumstances of life, real facts of nature, and the real-life of society. The teaching method should be according to the natural needs, interests, and emotions of a child.

Teaching Methods suggested by Tagore are:

  • Teaching while traveling
  • Discussion method
  • Activity method
  • Heuristic method
  • Direct method
  • Self-study and experiment method
  • Question answer method.

Educational Ideas of Tagore on Discipline

  • Tagore was against traditional school discipline.
  • He considered discipline as a moral value or ideal.
  • The natural or spontaneous discipline which he termed self or inner discipline.
  • Was in favor of giving freedom to children.
  • Believed in the self-imposed discipline.
  • Discipline with happiness.

Tagore’s Educational Ideas on Teacher

Tagore gave an important place to teachers and asked them to carry out the following activities –

  • The teacher should believe the children with great love and affection, sympathy, and empathy.
  • Instead of emphasizing on bookish learning, the teacher should provide a conducive environment to the child so that he/she engages himself/herself in useful and constructive activities and learn from his/her own experiences.
  • The teacher should always be busy motivating the creative capacities of the children so that he remains busy with constructive activities and experiences.
  • The teacher should be celibate, solitary, knowledgeable, thoughtful, unique personality and great.
  • The teacher should have the qualities of service, renunciation, cooperation, bliss, dutifulness, etc.
  • Tagore termed harsh teachers as Jail wardens.

Tagore Ideas on School

  • School should be similar to the Ashrama as prevalent in ancient India.
  • Should be located away from town.
  • In the sweet and peaceful lap of nature.
  • In solitary place, under the open sky, in forests and fields with trees.
  • School should be related to the complete life and all its aspects.
  • There should be a massive building in which teachers and students live together (Residential school).

Role of Students According to Tagore

  • Described children as divine light.
  • Expected some necessary qualities from students –
    • Politeness in behavior
    • Order and cleanliness in conduct
    • Obedience to rules and order
    • Cleanliness of body and environment
    • Discipline in personal and social life
    • Isolation from faulty things
    • Attachment to beauty
    • Free thinking
    • High ambition
    • Experience of inner power
    • Celibacy
    • Inner control
    • Meditation
    • Self-experience
    • Scientific outlook

Above I have given a short note on the educational ideas of Tagore in broad aspects of education and also Tagore’s basic philosophical principles of education. This note is specially made for B.Ed. pursuing trainee.

Also, please note that this is just a note for B.Ed. pursuing students which will be very helpful for their exams. this is not written by a professional. The objective of this note is to help B.Ed. trainee or students in preparing for their exams.

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