4S) Internship Abstract (5-Mar- 2018) Bharghava Shyam

Name: A.N. Bharghava Shyam
Name of the Supervisor: Amman Madan
Name of the Guide: Kaustuv Roy

Arts, Aesthetic and Authentic Education

I have taken education as an art, with aesthetic teaching and authentic learning. I meant education as Enlightening experiences which makes conscious on our daily experiences. Art as a creative skill to solve some mechanical problems in life. Aesthetics as concerning with beauty without judging while teaching. And authentic as a undisputed origin of the source in learning

Extended abstract:

Introduction-Brief introduction to the key concepts covered in the study:

Empirically tried to understand Education as an art, which focus on aesthetic teaching and authentic learning in the primary school setting of an alternative School through the observations and interpretations. Authentic means undisputed origin, authentic learning focus on origin of subject. The source of Science is observation, language source is expression, mathematics source is logics and pattern, social sciences source is understanding individual and society.  These are focused on student’s phenomenological aspects in the curriculum. Authentic learning will happen also through aesthetic teaching. Aesthetics means concern with the beauty, aesthetic teaching focuses on beauty without judging the student, but by guiding and facilitating them. In internship I tried to dis-cover these phenomenal aspects of the curriculum, and how this school is working/helping students learning the subjects. I tried to focus on source of these subjects, student’s observation (Science), expression/communication (language), understanding others (social) and teacher’s logic and pattern (Math’s).  

Statement of objectives of the study:

1)      To know how aesthetic teaching helps in authentic learning of the students in an artistic manner
2)      To know expose and experience myself to/in the alternative ways of education
3)    To know how this institution is managing the social (relating with society) plane responsibilities and phenomenal (relation with oneself) plane responsibilities through the education.
4)      To explore and develop my innate capabilities of self for learning the social and phenomenal things and for teaching to the children.

Brief description of the setting and methodology:

My internship place is an alternative school, working on the philosophy of J. Krishnamurti. This school concerns on education to discover a whole way of living, by balancing outer world and inner world in an informal way. Outer-world focus on objective things like qualification, social status, benefits, etc. and inner-world focus on subjective things like personal feelings, taste, emotions, etc.

Education means enlightening experiences, components of education is teaching and learning. I have taken Education as an Art, art means a creative skill, with aesthetic teaching and authentic learning. Teaching means as make-realizing and learning means as dis-covering. Art Education will be there in informal setting of education, because “Truth is a pathless land”. In Formal setting there is lots of chance to get alienate, because they mostly focus on outcome/marks than work/learning, in casual setting we may not bother about outcome/marks and work/learning also, but in informal setting we will focus on both learning/marks. I heard this has informal culture. Learning as an inner thing and marks/outcome are the outer things. I am looking for that school fin which they manage social (outer/objective) plane and phenomenological (inner/subjective) plane.

Description of the findings/outcomes and reflections from the study:

I found aesthetic teaching and authentic learning there in this school particularly in junior school (2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th classes). There I found informal setting in education. There teachers are mostly focusing on instincts of the students/children intelligence, observation and consciousness without judging them, but they are correcting them, they are giving freedom with responsibilities, that means this school is consider the individual priorities.

By seeing this school environment, I am feeling that, there the class is like nest for learning (not like cage for learning). If the education is mainly on symbolic learning then education will become dangerous, because it will become mechanical work, which focus on outcome only, we don’t know the value of that, we may get temporary pleasure, but not satisfaction in life.

Thank You.