Maria Montessori Discovery of the Child Introduction When, at the age of fourteen, Maria Montessori was advised by her parents to become a teacher (it was practically the only career open to women at that time) her reaction was categorical: anything but that! Yet she was to become one of the most celebrated educators of all time. Her name came to be associated with a new method of teaching which has gained a world-wide following. Maria first thought of becoming an engineer because of her deep interest in mathematics, but finally decided to study medicine. That was easier said than done, for in the Italy of those days only men atte

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Introduction You need to keep finding yourself, a little more each day, that real, unlimited Fletcher Seagull. He's your instructor. You need to understand him and to practise him.1 A great secret of learning is expressed in these words spoken by Jonathan Livingston Seagull to his pupil, Fletcher Seagull. It is a universal dictum, for almost every profound and meaningful tradition, be it of East or West, form itself around this basic question: "Who am I?" Answering this question is the very object of education. It is this simple but essential quest that forms the essence of Jonathan Livingston Seagull,

Premchand My Elder Brother Introduction Premchand, the famous Hindi writer, always brings home his message by his penetrating accounts of situations and his authentic delineation of characters. In the story that follows, Premchand gives a simple example of our book-oriented and examination-oriented educational system by portraying the interaction of two brothers. The story is told with an abundance of wit, yet contains a serious denunciation of the way in which children in our schools are stifled, how they are denied the real joy of learning and of combining work and play. The elder brother is a victim of the examination system, and cons

Instruction and New Awareness Introduction Instruction is generally considered to be one of the teacher's most important tasks and verbal communication is its usual mode. The good teacher cultivates verbal communication to high degrees of subtlety and complexity. His power of ideation is so refined that words flow from him effortlessly, communicating difficult ideas with precision and expressiveness. Striking phrases formulated in inspired moments illumine the minds of pupils with ease and joy. He can expound the same idea in several different ways to suit the preparedness and intelligence of his pupils. A good teacher is a sponta

Hermann Hesse Magister Ludi Introduction In Hermann Hesse's novel Magister Ludi, set in Europe in an unspecified future, we encounter an imaginary elite educational institution called Castalia, a community devoted to the mind, whose carefully selected members are given a unique opportunity to develop their diverse creative and intellectual capacities. Every facility imaginable is placed at the disposal of the budding Castalians, who are protected from all worldly pressures and assured a basic allotment of food, clothing, and shelter. In return for this they sacrifice all desire for material rewards and fame. In Castalia there are no titles or

Paulo Freire, courtesy Paulo Freire Institute Critique of the Teacher- Student Relationship in the "Banking" Concept of Education Introduction At the very least, education implies change. At its highest, education implies rapid evolution, revolution or transmutation. The greater the perception of present inadequacies and imperfections, the greater the spur for radical change or transmutation. The stage through which we are passing in human history is marked by crises in which the perception of human inadequacies becomes increasingly acute. We are dissatisfied with ourselves, both individually and co

The Mother To Parents Teachers and Pupils Introduction The Mother was born in Paris on February 21, 1878, in a very materialistic, upper middle class family. She completed a thorough education of music, painting and higher mathematics. A student of the French painter Gustave Moreau, she befriended the great Impressionist artists of the time. She later became acquainted Page-510 with Max Theon, an enigmatic character with extraordinary occult powers who, for the first time, gave her a coherent explanation of the spontaneous experiences' occurring since her childhood, and who taught her occultism during two long visits

-19_The Parrot^s Training.htm Rabindranath Tagore. Drawing by Satyajjt Roy The Parrot's Training Introduction This unusual story drives home its message by a kind of literary reductio ad absurdum. It is a satire, full of wit and sarcasm, and can be regarded as a preface to a revolution in education. Rabindranath Tagore dreamed of creating a garden of learning where children would command the centre of attention. During his own school days he had experienced the deadening effects of the formal system of education, and his soul had rebelled against its imprisonment within school walls. He ultimately rejected the school and educated himself, and he discovered a teach

A Story of Initiation Introduction India has a great tradition of initiation. Initiation means a beginning, but in the context of education it means a marked beginning, and in the context of spiritual realization (which is also an educational process) it means a rebirth, a departure from the past and an entry into a series of austerities and liberations. The following story relates to spiritual initiation, but its message is relevant to our search for the qualities characteristic of the good teacher and the good pupil. The story speaks of a certain teacher, Mahatma Junun, who was celebrated for his spiritual attainments. Its origin is not

Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Piercing the Veils of Darkness Introduction The story of Helen Keller's formative years is a wonderful example of the peculiar alchemy wrought by the coming together of perfectly matched teacher and pupil, each fulfilling the other. Anne Mansfield Sullivan was a young, aspiring teacher when she met and started working with the little blind and deaf girl who, under her awakening touch, was transmuted into one of the greatest persons of her time. Born in 1880 in Tuscumbia, a little town in northern Alabama, USA, Helen Keller was a perfectly normal child until the age of two, when an illness per