Tulsi Prajna 1993 01

SR No.: 524573
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Parmeshwar Solanki
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati
Publication Year: 1993
Total Pages: 156
Language: Hindi
Classification: Magazine, India_Tulsi Prajna, & India
File Size: 9 MB

Page 57

Developing Awareness in Teachers Towards Values
51 responsible for such a fall in our value system. Not one kind of teacher - the primary, secondary, college or university teacher - all kinds of teachers. But primarily it is the elementary school teacher who can be held responsible for value erosion to a great extent. The situation is so dismal and alarming that if matters continue going further in the direction in which they are going now, there is going to be a steep fall from which we shall never recover. It is quite unfortunate that on the part of teachers no serious efforts are being made to recover from the fathomless bottom. Their failure to conceive the value aspect in life and work, and running after things which were their last concern in the past, is so alarming. The race is on and as a result the net output is the production of types rather than the authentic persons. Consequently, there is a crisis of confidence through-out the nation. How to stop it is a matter of great conern for all of us, for without that our freedom. happiness and progress are at stake.
During the third century B.C.Plato considered both, the primary and secondary education to be of great importance. Therefore, in his Republic he laid down schemes (curricular activitics which would not only lead to physical growth but shape the soul as well. In his scheme of Early Education which was meant for the primary stage, he listed two kinds of activities for the children - music and dancing, which would take care of the physical as well as moral growth. Do our primary school teachers keep in view these two aspects of child's growth in their minds? Are they really aware of the dismal situation which is rampant throughout the country? Have they ever tried to give a serious thought to this kind of problem?
It seems to me that if the teachers are unaware of the situation and do not know how to inculcate values, it is quite likely that they themselves are not aware of, about their own activities, output and even thinking, which is mainly responsible for shaping their personality. In this respect a few important pre-requisites leading to self-awareness are discussed below, so that the teachers may look into themselves and understand themselves better than those who do not know them at all.
Pre-requisites to Self-awareness
Every teacher must know his pupils well. For that he first needs to know himself quite thoroughly. Unless the teacher develops self-awareness, he will neither know himself nor his pupils. Therefore, let us try to understand the meaning of self-awareness. The simple meaning given to the term is to have the knowledge about oneself. But is it so simple to have all the knowledge about oneself? People normally go on reacting from the outer surface of their minds or consciousness and never try to understand themselves distinctly. It happens because they never try to know the causes of their reactions — hate, love, anger, dislike, etc. Krishnamurti remarks that ‘in order to know oneself — to be aware of what is in our consciousness from day to day, from moment to moment, when faced with a life's challenge, is by itself, kowledge, complete, infinite, timeless.
January-March 1993