Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:44:36 -0000
To: am-global@earthlink.net
From: Ganesh_Deva
Subject: Re: Wrong Way to Teach Children #2
Baba
(Note: This is the second letter in this series. A link to the first letter is appended below. - Eds)
Namaskar,
On 7/11/12, Ranjiit Deva wrote:
"In the general society, there are three main ways that parents and educators force learning onto child learners:
(a) Offer students money and gifts for studying and achieving academic attainment;
(b) Punish students in various ways if they do not study by employing fear tactics or taking away their favourite food and dessert etc;
(c) Give the allurement of prestige, professional status, or guarantee a bright future.
These are the common ways that parents and educators pressure or force students to study.
But, according to Baba, this is not the way to motivate students."
My Comment:
The inability of the present system of education in materialistic countries to harness a child's desire to learn is then capitalised on by the mass media and corporate institutions.
Big business, advertisers, the television and film industry - along with so many pillars of the pseudo-culture world - understand well that children have an inherent desire to learn. When the schools fail to harness this desire, these businesses, marketers, & the media jump in and fill the gap. Big business employs crafty and psychological methods to arouse a thirst of learning within students to learn about their own products, while education fails to develop a thirst for true knowledge.
In turn, kids and students memorise commercials, advertisements and become living and breathing advocates of those brands etc. And not only that, those kids become faithful customers and their families spend huge sums of money buying those products and paying for that type of entertainment. Along the way, the school system fails to instill within students a desire to learn classical knowledge and practical skills. This misstep by education gets converted into a "boon" for big business. Youths become active followers of corporate brands and pop media, and simultaneously they disregard their formal education.
So it is a complete switchover. The present system of education fails to inspire children to learn and instead forces them and offers monetary incentives. In the end, the students have no real interest and ultimately forget what they were taught. They cannot retain their classroom knowledge. Whereas, marketers and corporations successfully goad children to learn everything about their films, pop songs, slogans, video games, logos, and more. Businesses awaken a thirst within children to learn about their company products, and they need not directly pay any money to children. They learn about it on their own and retain all that information.
The whole scene is backward. Education fails to awaken a thirst for knowledge and fails to teach children what should be taught; while, businesses inspire children to learn about their company brand and their pseudo-culture gimmicks and gadgets.
Here again is Baba's teaching.
Baba says, "Education must awaken the thirst for knowledge in the students’ minds. The students themselves will create environmental pressure by persistent demands for answers to queries like: What is the answer? Is it correct? The longing, “I wish to know...I wish to understand and assimilate the entire universe” should be created. Such a thirst for knowledge should be created in the minds of students...So a tremendous thirst for knowledge must be awakened in the students’ minds. They will constantly pry their teachers, their parents and their neighbours with questions like: Why is this so? What is that? Why does that happen? Why does this not happen? etc. They are ready to assimilate the entire universe." (Prout in a Nutshell - 18, Talks on Education)
Baba furthermore gives this guideline:
Baba says, "Society will gain no lasting benefit if teachers force students to swallow knowledge like quinine pills instead of awakening the thirst for knowledge in the minds of young children, or for that matter in the mind of any student." (Human Society-1, Education)
Namaskar,
Ganesh Deva
To: am-global@earthlink.net
From: Ganesh_Deva
Subject: Re: Wrong Way to Teach Children #2
Baba
== RE: WRONG WAY TO TEACH CHILDREN #2 ==
(Note: This is the second letter in this series. A link to the first letter is appended below. - Eds)
Namaskar,
On 7/11/12, Ranjiit Deva wrote:
"In the general society, there are three main ways that parents and educators force learning onto child learners:
(a) Offer students money and gifts for studying and achieving academic attainment;
(b) Punish students in various ways if they do not study by employing fear tactics or taking away their favourite food and dessert etc;
(c) Give the allurement of prestige, professional status, or guarantee a bright future.
These are the common ways that parents and educators pressure or force students to study.
But, according to Baba, this is not the way to motivate students."
My Comment:
The inability of the present system of education in materialistic countries to harness a child's desire to learn is then capitalised on by the mass media and corporate institutions.
HOW BIG BUSINESS CAPITALISES
WHERE EDUCATION FAILS
WHERE EDUCATION FAILS
Big business, advertisers, the television and film industry - along with so many pillars of the pseudo-culture world - understand well that children have an inherent desire to learn. When the schools fail to harness this desire, these businesses, marketers, & the media jump in and fill the gap. Big business employs crafty and psychological methods to arouse a thirst of learning within students to learn about their own products, while education fails to develop a thirst for true knowledge.
In turn, kids and students memorise commercials, advertisements and become living and breathing advocates of those brands etc. And not only that, those kids become faithful customers and their families spend huge sums of money buying those products and paying for that type of entertainment. Along the way, the school system fails to instill within students a desire to learn classical knowledge and practical skills. This misstep by education gets converted into a "boon" for big business. Youths become active followers of corporate brands and pop media, and simultaneously they disregard their formal education.
So it is a complete switchover. The present system of education fails to inspire children to learn and instead forces them and offers monetary incentives. In the end, the students have no real interest and ultimately forget what they were taught. They cannot retain their classroom knowledge. Whereas, marketers and corporations successfully goad children to learn everything about their films, pop songs, slogans, video games, logos, and more. Businesses awaken a thirst within children to learn about their company products, and they need not directly pay any money to children. They learn about it on their own and retain all that information.
The whole scene is backward. Education fails to awaken a thirst for knowledge and fails to teach children what should be taught; while, businesses inspire children to learn about their company brand and their pseudo-culture gimmicks and gadgets.
BABA'S GUIDELINES ON THE ROLE OF EDUCATION
Here again is Baba's teaching.
Baba says, "Education must awaken the thirst for knowledge in the students’ minds. The students themselves will create environmental pressure by persistent demands for answers to queries like: What is the answer? Is it correct? The longing, “I wish to know...I wish to understand and assimilate the entire universe” should be created. Such a thirst for knowledge should be created in the minds of students...So a tremendous thirst for knowledge must be awakened in the students’ minds. They will constantly pry their teachers, their parents and their neighbours with questions like: Why is this so? What is that? Why does that happen? Why does this not happen? etc. They are ready to assimilate the entire universe." (Prout in a Nutshell - 18, Talks on Education)
Baba furthermore gives this guideline:
Baba says, "Society will gain no lasting benefit if teachers force students to swallow knowledge like quinine pills instead of awakening the thirst for knowledge in the minds of young children, or for that matter in the mind of any student." (Human Society-1, Education)
Namaskar,
Ganesh Deva
Note 1: LINK TO INITIAL LETTER ON THIS TOPIC
PRABHAT SAMGIITA
"Tumi a'ma'y hrdaya ma'jhe eso go priyo madhurata' ma'khi..." (P.S. 747)
Purport:
Baba, please come in my heart and saturate my entire being with the showering of Your sweetness, O' my dear most. Baba please remove my all impurities and negative samskaras - and whatever other stains that accumulated over the ages. Please inundate my entire existence with the showering of Your love and divine grace.
Baba, thoughout this entire universe, these seven lokas, nothing is beyond Your reach. Everything is within You. Because everything resides in You, that is why You know all my merits and demerits - whatever I have. By Your grace, today I am surrendering whatever is mine unto You. With the only desire that You please look towards me with Your compassionate eye, eyes full of karuna'. This wee-bit of grace I long from You.
Baba, since ages, since many lives, I have been crossing through the negative path, path of dogma. You graciously awakened my samvit (spiritual awareness), now for the first time in my life, I have understood my mistakes. And I rectified them, by Your grace. Baba, all my actions, my entire being, my whole heart, everything I offer at Your lotus feet. I do not want to keep anything as my own, from this moment forward. With this pointed mind, I am doing sastaunga pranam to You. Please accept it...
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