The original source of the word education is the Sanskrit word ‘shas’, which literally means rule or chain. However, in the evolution of civilization, education in its modern epistemological form is no longer a chain, but rather an open window for desired and positive changes in human behavior. This eternal tool for individual and collective transformation has been given various titles by the world’s greatest thinkers over the ages. In the eyes of the wise Socrates, education was the elimination of lies and the unparalleled development of truth. On the other hand, the world poet Rabindranath Tagore brought a mystical universality to the definition of education; according to him, true education does not only provide information, but also develops human life in harmony with the universe. Albert Einstein, the godfather of modern science, also tuned in to this tune. He believed that education is not the name of absorbing information, but rather the nurturing ground of the mental capacity for independent thinking and innate curiosity. In Einstein’s view, the spiritual essence that remains in a person after forgetting everything taught in the institutional structure called school is actually the real education. Facing this eternal contemplative philosophy, it is time for us to think very seriously today – what should be the infrastructure of our basic or primary education.
If we weave the timeless theories of the world’s best thinkers, philosophers and psychologists into a thread, then a wonderful and humane outline of ideal primary education emerges before our eyes. Rabindranath’s aesthetics, Nazrul’s communism, the irrefutable logic of Socrates and Aristotle, or Einstein’s scientific curiosity – the main goal of all was to free the child from the mechanical mold. The way Einstein saw education as an exercise to activate the mind, the practical application of that idea can be achieved through the Socratic question-and-answer method at the primary level. There, the teacher will not make the child memorize any ready-made answers, but will throw such intelligent questions that, while unraveling the tangle, the child will break the mistake with his own logic and discover the truth. This must be linked to Rabindranath’s philosophy of liberation from the ‘cage education’, which the modern world is also embracing with utmost respect today. Children’s minds are naturally inquisitive, so their classroom should be in the open courtyard of nature. If they grow up in the cycle of plants, soil, birds and seasonal changes, forgetting the textbook complexities of science, geography or literature, then only learning will be permanent. The ‘forest school’ or outdoor learning prevalent in the Scandinavian countries of Europe, especially in Finland, is basically a modern global transformation of Rabindranath’s philosophy.
​An ideal primary education system should not have any artificial rankings, strict grading or the toxic pressure of intense competition. French philosopher Rousseau, Maria Montessori or the father of the kindergarten system, Friedrich Froebel, have all shown that the best means of a child’s natural development is learning through play. Education will not be a bitter pill or a cause of fear, it will be an absolute gift or an endless festival of joy for the child. Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has given a living testimony to this truth in his autobiography ‘Home in the World’. He has frankly mentioned that the strict grading and discriminatory ranking system of St. Gregory’s School in Dhaka could not help in developing his innate talent. Later, the free environment of Santiniketan, free from competition, genuine proximity to nature and free freedom to ask questions, developed his latent thinking power to the fullest. This historical experience proves that a fearless and joyful environment is the best catalyst for the development of a child’s intellect at the primary level, rather than artificial competition.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle once warned that educating the mind without educating the heart is not really education. The same tone was echoed in the communist manifesto of our national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Our primary schools must be the cradle of that indiscriminate equality, where there will be no artificial walls of rich and poor or religion and caste. The curriculum should include opportunities for stories, plays or collective work that will sow the seeds of empathy, compassion, non-communalism and gender equality in the subconscious mind of the child from childhood. The main aim of primary education should be to create ‘pure people’ with honest and humane qualities, rather than just giving the society a gift of degrees and clever flattery. Because education is not just a battle of pens and notebooks or a blind rat race for GPA-5, it is a balanced combination of a child’s intellectual, physical and mental development. Following the famous philosophy of the ancient Roman poet Juvenal – a healthy mind in a healthy body – it is the demand of the time to take painting, music, dance, pottery and sports seriously in the core curriculum in primary education. In the mirror of worldview, primary education is not a factory for acquiring financial knowledge or a factory for producing clerks. It is a process where an ideal teacher will give each child full freedom to develop with his individuality and diversity. The education that teaches the child to ask questions, teaches him to love his surroundings and teaches him to believe in his own strength – that is the real and desired primary education in the light of worldview.
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