2nd SEMESTER ASSINGMENT

 

Q. What is education and democracy? Bring out a relationship between education and democracy. What is the role of freedom and discipline in education? 

Answer:     Education is the act or process of importing or acquiring particular knowledge or skills as for a profession. It is a degree, level or kind of schooling. It is the result produced by instruction, training or study. It means a discipline and development by means of study and learning. It is development of  the abilities of the mind, learning to do or practice, training in art.

                     Democracy is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representative from among themselves to form a governing body such as a parliament. It is the active participant of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life. It is the protection of the human rights of all citizens. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.

Education and Democracy : An introduction to the philosophy of education is a 1916 book by John Dewey. Dewey sought to at once synthesize, criticize and expand upon the democratic educational philosophies of Rousseau and Plato. Rousseau’s philosophy overemphasizes the individual and Plato’s Philosophy to society. Dewey viewed the mind and its formation as a communal process. Thus, an individual is a meaningful concept only when regarded as an important part of his or her society and the society has no meaning apart from its realization in the lives of its individual members. There is a close relationship between democracy and education. In democracy, education is given primary importance. Education fosters a democratic temper in the minds of people. Democratic values like liberty, equality, fraternity, justice, dignity of individual, co-operation, sharing  of responsibility etc. are applied to education to make it more effective, meaningful, relevant and useful. Democracy in order to be a reality and a way of life has to be introduced from the very beginning of education and its values need to be practiced in educational institutions. No one should be exploited. It is the absence of distractions based on class, caste, creed, birth, religion, language or possession of many. Everyone is guaranteed fundamental rights and equality of opportunities is given for the fullest development of personality. There is no domination of any individual or group over another.

Role of Freedom and Discipline in Education

Freedom of education is the right for parents to have their children educated in accordance with their religious and other views, allowing groups to be able to educate children without being impended by the nation state.

     Discipline is the practice of training people to obey rules or codes of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. A control gained by enforcing obedience or order. A training which corrects the mental faculties or moral character.

     Freedom and discipline are two words that are not usually used together at least in regard to children. Freedom and discipline cannot be given together. It  is generally understood that children can only behave when strict discipline is imposed on them. But according to Maria Montessori freedom and discipline go hand in hand. In traditional schools discipline is imposed by the teacher/adult into the child. His own motives and feelings do not matter. He must do only what the teacher says. Teacher control through commands and orders for which discipline cannot be achieved. In the beginning the child needs to be trained in discipline with our help and care. The child needs to experience the freedom move at his own will and to choose his own activities. It is to train the child how to control the muscles and co-ordinate his movements and mentally and emotionally as he practice thinking through problems choosing  how to spend his time and experiencing how others react (both positively and negatively) to his actions. This freedom requires a set of limits, just a few simple rules for what is and is not acceptable behavior which must be explained to the child in a way that makes sense to him. At first it is necessary to guide the parents not to enforce their limits and their natural consequences but over-time we can hand over more freedom and responsibility to the child waiting until he is ready to accept it only way is through practice. An individual should learn by trial and error. It is in this way through freedom that the child learns in his own way. He learns how to discipline himself how to control his body and movements and how to think and how to be responsible person, who is respectful of himself and others.