4S) Internship Draft Report (8-Mar-2018) Bharghava Shyam

Internship Project Report

Semester- III

Topic: Arts {Aesthetic and Authentic} Education

Name: A.N. Bharghava Shyam

Admission Number: MAE15007

Declaration:

I declare that my internship work entitled “Arts, Aesthetics and Authentic Education” is a record  of observations, interpretations and experiences done by Bharghava Shyam under the supervision and guidance of Mr. Amman Madan. I am submitting this internship report for academic purpose only.

Acknowledgement:

First and foremost I am thankful to my university for putting internship as part of our academics. I am grateful to my mentor Mr. Amman Madan for guiding and supervising my internship. I do appreciate for sharing his knowledge, questioning me, guiding me into the right path of my internship.

I do express my Heart felt gratitude to all participants in the internship site those are children, friends, teachers, management, etc. for their support in completing my internship “Arts, Aesthetic and Authentic Education” in alternative school particularly in junior school.

Rationale for this internship:

I am very much interested in doing an internship with Art {Aesthetic/authentic} Education. I learnt about different ideologies of "Rousseau, Rabindranath Tagore, Aurobindo, Gandhi, John Dewy, Swami Vivekananda and Jiddu Krishnamurthi” on education in my two courses “Curriculum Studies” & “Teacher and Curriculum”.  I am very much fascinated those ideologies, which has aesthetics and authentic practices of education. When I experienced and understood (Anubhuti) the glory of that Education through literature and lectures from my courses, my thoughts driven me to experience (Anubhavam) that art {aesthetic/authentic} education through this opportunity of internship.

Abstract:

This Paper tries to explain 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).

Key Words: Education, Art, Aesthetic, Teaching, Authentic and Learning.

Introduction:

I have taken education as an art, with aesthetic teaching and authentic learning. Here I mean education means as enlightening experiences, makes conscious on our life experiences, art as a creative skill to solve some mechanical problems in life. Aesthetics means concern with the beauty without judgmental attitude in the teaching, but by guiding and facilitating the children.

I went into the 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.

Literature review:

John Dewey says that now a day’s abstract knowledge are acting as a substitute for the direct experiences E.g. Showing Bangalore map to child as a substitute for Bangalore visit. Through sugar coating, repeating knowledge & by contrast effects, which has rewards and punishments from institution. We are making the child to believe that, this symbols are powerful/respectful things than experiences. He also says how we can history, science, art in authentic/aesthetic manner. History can be taught in the form of narratives, science can be taught through the empirical observation of nature and human, etc. and children are natural artists arts can be taught by developing his/her own innate abilities. After all this experiences if you introduce map/symbols, then the map/symbols will guide child in learning more effectively. (Dewey, 1902)

Here symbol learning making children opposite to curriculum that means children are not learning authentically, map learning is only implausible learning.

Aurobindo is saying about authentic education in “Human mind” perspective. In Human mind there is natural tendency to learn, there is no need to impose the knowledge for knowledge sake on children. Eyes will see, ears will hear, heart will beat without any permission from you and others, like that brain also seeks knowledge naturally without any permission from you/others. There is no need to force knowledge on mind. Mind has his/her own consolidated growth and responsibilities. Human Mind has four ultimate powers, which are traditionally calling as “Antahah Karana”. “This Antahah Karana (Power of Mind) has four thing

1)    Manas – Sensory data- Translating of collected data/actions to mind

2)    Bhuddi- Memory- To record everything in the mind

3)    Chitta- Intellect- Real instrument to think.

4)    Aham- Ego- Process of I Making in the mind (We make universal self- I)

If we develop these child innate things, then there is “Nothing can be taught”.  (Aurobindo, 2003)

It talks about how we can develop authentic learning, It helped to know source of the knowledge. 

Jean Jacques Rousseau says that the source of child (Humans) learning is from nature, man (Human) and things (Experiences). But these 3 things contradict with other for the most of the time became of man’s hypocrisy. Children are naturally good, adults are meddle and destroying their innate goodness. We need to protect the child innate goodness from this hypocrisy and unnecessary knowledge. Children are naturally good learners, observers, investigators, artists, etc. we (adults) need to develop their innate characters instead of destroying it. They need to know their personal capacities. They can learn naturally nature promotes them don’t act as a meddle for their development. Rousseau explained how children from nature by making an imaginary role Emile. He complete his education through experiences. (Rousseau, 1911) 

Mahatma Gandhi in his Nai-thalim says that, this westernisation made us helpless (Helpless- made us to depend on literacy training itself) & godless (Godless- characterless). This westernisation is made of discontent in the form of civilization, without any remedy for that civilization. Now civilization became a disease. Civilization made us to depend on resources, instead of self and humans. Later resources production might be less, but self and humans have unlimited, creative knowledge about self (Bio-graphics), This Nai-thalim help us to discover the self-realization through “Swaraj”. Swaraj means literally self-rule. This Swaraj rest in 3 principles that are Swadesh, Sarvodaya & Satyagraha.

1)    Swadesh: It is spirit in us which restrict us (our psyche) to immediate surroundings for service. It is a near and far helping process to ultimate human kind.

2)    Sarvodaya: It means welfare/upliftment of all, through Ahimsa (Non-Violence). Ahimsa means looking for the truth of others (whole universe). We need voluntary suffering for attaining the Sarvodaya.

3)    Satyagraha: It means grasping/asking the truth of the situation and being. For grasping the truth with self-suffering.

This Swaraj is a process of willing ness to suffer our self, giving profit to others. Nai-thalim consists bodily activities which consists of 3H (Heart, head & hand) coordination. Swaraj helps in character building, than literacy training. Learning through authentic experiences (Gandhi, 1937)

Rabindranath Tagore talks mainly about “Freedom” in education through Freedom of will, freedom of heart & freedom of mind. Tagore is saying that modern institutions are like cages/prisons to trap on the net of westernization. The institutions are treating children as mini-adults and forcedly implementing the abstract knowledge when though they are ready. In his institutions are like nests, openness, they make an environment by that the children will study based on their interest.

Children are like flowers they want openness, surprises. But adult mind is a ripe fruit it is closed, flower will surely will become fruit gradually, when you force flower to become fruit, the flower will die. Here child innate characteristics observance, questioning are flowers are dying because of this closed institutions.

His freedom principles (Freedom of Mind/Heart/Will) are developing the child for emancipation.

1)    Freedom of mind: It is the ability to arrive at independent decision

2)    Freedom of will: It helps in making authentic goals and aspirations

3)    Freedom of Heart: It helps in becoming creative in your relations than world.

For this we need to make an environment with openness, it makes children very active. It makes children’s learning minimum from textbooks and maximum from nature. For this adults need to be constant conscious while doing their works. (Tagore)

He says western enlightenment was focusing on the material things, and our indigenous enlightenment is focusing on emancipation.

All literature is saying that child needs empirical knowledge to learn education than abstract knowledge, this art {aesthetic/authentic} education gives only experiences to child instead of abstract knowledge. Then the children can learn more effectively with hope in life.

Objectives of this arts {aesthetic/authentic} education internship:

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 plane and phenomenon plane. Social plane includes how individuals relate with society and phenomenal plane relates with one’s own self.

4)    To explore and develop my innate capabilities of self for learning the social and phenomenal things and for teaching to the children.

Internship Methodology:

Internship site:

The valley school Bangalore. The reason behind this my objectives & this school structure are slightly similar.

Internship design in the site:

My internship is mostly based on observation and interpretation and reflection model of different experiences in the alternative kind of educational system particularly in the junior school from 2nd to 4th classes. I tried help the students and teachers in an appropriate way which they and I are comfortable.

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

I found aesthetic teaching and authentic learning there in this school particularly I experienced in the junior 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th classes. Here students are arranged in mixed age group in all 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th classes. There the students have 7 seven periods and 11 subjects in which 5 are indoor subjects and 6 are outdoor subjects. Five activity based theory subjects are English, Hindi, Kannada, Environmental science and Math’s are general subjects by comparing with normal mainstream schools, remaining six subjects are library, Games, Nature-walk period, Art-village visit, Yoga and Land-care as completely experiential based subjects without theory.

For Language: (While saying story) in all classrooms I observed this pedagogy.

While teaching language stories they are focusing on students authentic expressions without judging this story is best and other is least. The teachers are saying ¾ of the story and asking the students to complete and write in notebook, and listening the stories without any judgment.

For Mathematics (While teaching multiplications): I observed this all classrooms

The teachers are bringing seeds and small pebbles to make them to learn multiplications. They are teaching multiplications in the name of repeated additions. The students are counting the seeds by arranging according to the multiplications, example- 3 times 2 they are putting seeds and saying the answer 6.

For Environmental Science: (While teaching about rivers)

The teachers are asking about sources water, making the students save the water while washing their plates at lunch time, guiding the students to make the Cauvery River project in their classrooms. I observed this in all class rooms  

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. Here students are calling teachers as Aunt’s and Anna’s.  By seeing the environment and observation in school, there no student have fear on teacher, but they give lots of respect to teacher.

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. By seeing their group activities, I am felt that, their friendship will live for longer time, through the activities I got many friends and friends also experienced this. I feel because of nature they are more active in nature.