Shribascha Nayak
Idealism is the oldest and most widely discussed ideology of education. It is also considered a vision. Plato, Socrates, Shankaracharya, Guru Nanak, Mahatma Gandhi, Radhakrishna, Vivekananda, Froebel, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Saminanda Meli, etc. philosophers gave importance to idealism. Plato is the originator of idealism. Idealism means ‘ideal’ or ‘idea’. Every human being possesses a psychic power. This mental energy controls all his activities. According to prominent idealism Plato, ideas are what is in the human mind. This concept is so simple that it is not changeable under any circumstances. Concept is real and eternal. Supposedly, a student has an idea about a teacher that a particular teacher is his role model and that he is the best teacher. The emergence of this concept means that the teacher’s behavior, demeanor, speech, teaching style, and nurturing inspire the learner. If the student mentally believes in his idea that a particular teacher is his ideal teacher, in such a situation he closely follows every action of the teacher. There is no doubt that the subject taught by an ideal teacher will touch the heart of the student, even the teacher’s speech will touch the heart of the student. The main reason for this is the ‘perception’ of the student towards the teacher. Here ‘good’ is the idea of the learner. Time may come, the teacher may not have an earthly body, but the idea of him in the mind of the student never fades away. Similarly, the flower may perish but not its beauty, or the flute may decay but the sweet note of the flute never fades. Idealism is the oldest view. According to the idealists, the spiritual nature of man is supreme. Since man possesses divine qualities, man always emphasizes eternal truth. They think Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram. To get rid of the world of illusion, it is desirable to follow the path of God. In the creation of God man is different from all other creatures, so He remains unique in society. Elevation of individuality in life is the basic mantra of this philosophy. The mental, or spiritual, is a greater reality than the physical. For example, if all brass glitters like gold, it does not mean that the brass is gold. All the glittering things on earth are not gold. There should be an idea that what is the intrinsic quality of earthly things? Idealism creates belief in the universal mind. According to idealists, the only truth in the world is God, man is God’s creation, man has divine power, ideals and values are more important than earthly things, self-knowledge is the real life which is true and eternal. These views are referred to as the basic principles of idealism. Through this education, the mental, physical and spiritual development of the students, public education, truth, the search for Shiva Sundar, physical development, simple life, high emotions, creativity development and moral development are the main goals. Idealism has always given importance to those courses which provide a person with semantic knowledge and experience. Among the many schools of thought, idealism holds that the search for truth can only be found through reason, divine knowledge. According to the aims of idealism education, its curriculum is completely different from all other educations. It has its uniqueness. Remembering that learning is an intellectual activity, the learner will be able to grasp this unique curriculum. Themes are fixed to build good character and ideal society. According to idealism, the education system includes language literature for intellectual knowledge, geography, history, ethics, ethics for morality, music and dance for beauty, religious scriptures for religious development, sports for physical development, exercise, art for mental development, immaterial and neutral thinking. The idealistic education system has always given teachers the best place in the society. In this system, teachers are the backbone of the society and they are the creators and fortune-tellers of the students. He creates a suitable environment for the student, dispels the darkness of the form of ignorance through his profound knowledge, advises him to become a virtuous path and shows him the path to liberation nirvana. In education, both are linked in a unique way, so that teaching and learning are effectively represented. Sometimes the teachers teach the students through strict discipline and sometimes they become good friends of the students, imparting education and forming their character and all-round welfare. According to idealists, teachers are synonymous with Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwar. Although idealism does not have any specific method of education, different philosophers have different methods of teaching. But idealistic teaching methods have always given importance to teachers. It is always teacher-centric. At its core, the classroom is called the temple of spiritual learning. This is where the meeting of the human mind takes place. While Socrates accepted teaching through questioning, Plato gave importance to teaching through discussion, similarly, Aristotle in the method of introduction, Froebel in the method of sports, Pestalozzi in the practice and regular method, Herbert in the method of discussion and Hegel in the method of logic. Apart from this, in the opinion of some other philosophers, although there is no specific method of teaching idealism, but in the opinion of different philosophers, the teaching method is different. But idealistic teaching methods have always given importance to teachers. It is always teacher-centric. At its core, the classroom is called the temple of spiritual learning. This is where the meeting of the human mind takes place. While Socrates accepted teaching through questioning, Plato gave importance to teaching through discussion, similarly, Aristotle in the method of introduction, Froebel in the method of sports, Pestalozzi in the practice and regular method, Herbert in the method of discussion and Hegel in the method of logic. Apart from this, in the opinion of some other philosophers, the lecture method was also shown as a means of teaching. Idealism is the oldest and spiritualistic ideology. His thinking is behind the best of human beings. According to this argument, India is the land of idealism. But in the current situation we have to fight to survive. We are educated but we lack knowledge. We read the text but did not gain knowledge. Everything has changed over time. We have become consumers of science. Now we are going to unravel the mystery of the earth’s creation, we are thinking about reaching space and building a house on the surface of the moon, the bullet train is running but sadly and ironically, we still do not know our ideals. Today, we are living in a maze of problems. There are problems in politics, problems in economy, problems in trade, and social problems, so life has become difficult in these problems. Due to the lack of unity, family conflicts have become global conflicts today. We have to fight to survive. We have to solve the problem and move forward but we do not know the technique of solving the problem because we are educated but we lack knowledge. Therefore, in the midst of such adverse conditions, idealism education is absolutely necessary. There is no doubt that if the principles of idealism are properly applied in the field of education, peace, harmony, and a sense of unity and friendliness will be created in the society, thus its full form will definitely show a new direction to the directionless path.
(The author is a Lecturer in Commerce at Brahmanjharilo Mahavidyalaya, Cuttack).
