Subject Matter Knowledge

Subject matter knowledge refers to a teacher's comprehension of a subject when compared with that of a specialist. How comfortable am I with this subject? Can I answer students' questions accurately and in a relaxed manner? For example, think of recent events that have captured our headlines:

• The Human Genome Project has resulted in the discovery of the genes that cause cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease, and researchers are closing in on the elusive genetic causes of breast cancer.
  
• The Hubble telescope has sent back a series of amazing pictures of the universe.
  
• The Mars probe has resulted in a series of remarkable pictures, detailing facts about its surface.
  
• Astronauts walk in space as if it were the natural thing for us all to do.
  
• Computer technology is opening new vistas that are as startling as they are ingenious.

On and on it goes, almost as if knowledge that has been forced below our level of consciousness has burst through restraining barriers and, as if to make up for lost time, has exploded before our eyes. Students, in the midst of this marvel of discoveries, have a unique opportunity to acquire learning that will shape their future as never before.

We're not concerned here with how you teach a particular subject, but with your knowledge of the various subjects. Our focus is to urge you not to be content with the basic facts and information of a subject. Rather, acquire familiarity with the ideas, facts, and concepts of a subject, and how they are organized. In other words, know the basic ideas of a subject, and how these ideas are "put together." Try to keep up with the results of current research. What seems to be essential here is that you should know more than the facts of a subject; you should understand how facts and ideas interrelate, and what they mean for truly understanding the subject (Borko & Putnam, 1996).

Teaching as an Art and Science

You must know your subject, which implies that you grasp not only the material that you currently are presenting in class, but also the core of the subject, and what researchers are discovering at the frontiers of the discipline. In an age devoted to empirical research, you'll find yourself doing independent study to prevent personal obsolescence. You don't want to plead ignorance on too many of your students' questions.

You, and any teacher, will avoid such work unless you like your subject and enjoy interacting with students. To devote hours of study beyond the demands of duty requires a commitment to a discipline and the company of the young, both of which can be provocative masters. You have already made a commitment that reflects a love of study and pleasure in working with youth. These categories actually mirror two basic themes that are at the heart of this book: the teacher as a professional and the teacher as a person.
Musing about the art of teaching, Cohen (1992) described the lives of five veteran secondary school teachers and concluded that common to them all was a passion and enthusiasm for the subjects they taught. Particularly interesting was her finding that they were not locked into any single teaching style. They had developed their own unique and, for them, effective styles, which they constantly modified. In many ways, they never lost the perspective of a novice: always wanting to try something new, to seek constantly for improvement. As Cohen noted, they were "originals." These innovative, flexible teachers undoubtedly performed as artists in their classrooms.
Considering teaching strictly as an art, however, is too limiting. Given the knowledge that we have acquired about the nature of instruction and about the methods of inquiry into any discipline, we should explore the notion that teaching also be considered a science.
You'll find that you, knowingly or not, adopt-and adapt-the scientific method in your work. You'll adopt the role of experimenter as you try new instructional methods and classroom procedures (even something as simple as changing the seating arrangement). A quick rundown on your role of teacher-as-scientist will include the following four steps:

1. Identifying the problem. You must decide exactly what you want your students to learn.
   
2. Formulating a logical series of steps to reach a goal. You'll decide not only which topic to present but how you'll do it.
   
3. Gathering the data. You'll conclude just what student behavior is to be assessed and then the best means of measuring it.
   
4. Interpreting the data. You'll judge if your students' performance has achieved the desired goal.

By following the "scientific method" in instruction and by your involvement at various levels of scientific inquiry, you'll act as a scientist: you'll identify objectives, devise strategies, gather and evaluate their data, and communicate their results.
Thus, teaching is both art and science, a needed combination for today's changing classrooms and for enacting effective teaching-learning interactions.

Out-of-School Influences

A natural outgrowth of developmental contextualism is the concern that educational psychologists have expressed about out-of-school influences that act decisively on students' learning. Educational psychologists have traditionally focused on those forces that are directly related to the classroom and school (instructional techniques, time-on-task, etc.), but now the time has come to adopt a broader perspective. Understanding the wellsprings of students' achievement demands that we know more about their lives beyond the classroom. What do we know about their families, their peers, their socioeconomic circumstances, and their cultural setting? It's becoming increasingly clear that all of these influences can play a significant role in motivating students to study and achieve in school.

In a recent survey of nine high schools involving about 20,000 students, Steinberg (1996) concluded that school is only one influence that affects what students learn and how well they do on tests of that learning. For example, the existence of differences in ethnic groups was the most important finding: Asian students outperform whites, blacks, and Latinos. Initially thinking that Asian students might believe that academic success correlated closely with out-of-school success, that is, there is a "payoff" for academic success, Steinberg was surprised this wasn't the case. All students believed that doing well in school would have a payoff. The students actually differed, however, in their belief that failing in school would have negative consequences. The Asian students clearly felt that poor academic performance would definitely and negatively affect their future. Non-Asian students didn't share this belief, with black and Latino students not really believing that doing poorly in school would hurt their chances for future success.

Another of the findings related to the students' home: Parents exert a profound and lasting effect on their children's achievement in school by three things they do:

1. Deliberately or casually, they communicate specific messages to their children about teachers, schools, and learning. Their children quickly learn whether school is or isn't important, and whether they should expend much effort there.
   
2. Parental behavior sends clear and unmistakable signals about the importance the parents place on schooling. Disregarding notices from the school, not attending parental functions, refusing to volunteer in school activities, all paint a stark picture for children-"School just isn't that important, no matter what I may say."
   
3. Their parenting style encourages, or discourages, engagement in school. Interestingly, Steinberg found that such parental activities as checking homework or encouraging children to do better in school were not the most significant forms of parental engagement. What seemed to make a real difference was the actual physical presence of the parents at school: attending school programs, participating in teacher conferences, joining in extracurricular events, and so on.

Quite obviously, not all students will be fortunate enough to have cooperative parents, and you'll work with students from different types of families. Families change, and as they do, they exercise different effects on a child's development-some significant, others not so (Scarr, 1992). For example, children who remain in an intact family, or who experience the death of a parent, or who go through a parental divorce-even though the experiences are quite different-all undergo changes that must affect development. You can see the need to carefully consider the out-of-school influences of students to better understand their classroom behavior.

Student Diversity in the Classroom

Another topic that more and more educational psychologists are addressing in their research and practice is the diversity of students in schools today. Psychologists, for more than a century, have been interested in individual differences, but today more attention is being given to how schools can accommodate differences in ability, race, ethnicity, regional origin, family makeup, gender, and sexual orientation so that all students have opportunities to learn.

Developmental contextualism, popularized by Richard Lerner (1991), provides a rationale for recognizing and capitalizing on the richness and diversity of students' backgrounds. It also incorporates recent research relating to cultural constructivism, which means that students use the particular environment around them to construct their own worldview. Developmental contextualism attempts to analyze and understand development in the light of the multiple levels of interactions between individuals and their environments. That is, all students' characteristics, psychological as well as biological, interact with the environment (the context in this theory). Context is an inclusive term that attempts to portray the complexity of students' backgrounds by identifying four major forces of development:

1. The physical settings through which your students move, such as the home, classroom, and workplace.
   
2. Social influences, such as students' families, peers, and significant others.
   
3. The personal characteristics of students, such as physical appearance, temperament, and language fluency.
   
4. The influence of time, that is, change brought about by the sheer chronology of living; to put it simply, the longer we're able to survive, the more changes we experience.

Consequently, the crucial element in learning and development is the changing relationship between the complexity students bring to the classroom and a multilayered context (school, home, peers, etc.). If you think about this deceptively simple statement, you can appreciate the need to study teaching, learning, and development from many different perspectives. For example, consider what's going on with students. The genes provide a blueprint that is passed on to the cells, tissues, and organs of the body, influencing the growth of such widely divergent growth features as brain development and temperament, to name only two. On the other hand, the intricate and involved layers of the context, ranging from family to peers to schools and to the wider social sphere, simultaneously weave their networks of influence. Simple explanations? Hardly. What is needed is a perspective equally as intricate as the behavior it attempts to clarify. As Lerner (1991, p. 31) noted:

The revised understanding of what constitutes the basic process of human development brings to the fore the cutting-edge importance of continued empirical focus on individual differences, on contextual variations, and on changing person-context relations. Nothing short of these emphases can be regarded as involving scientifically adequate developmental analysis of human life.

Constructivism

Constructivism

A quiet, yet dynamic change in both instructional theory and practice has been emerging in many classrooms of America, a change called constructivism. Simply put, constructivism means that students construct their own understanding of the world. We're not talking about some simple change in a teaching technique but, rather, the way we think about knowledge acquisition and the assessment of that knowledge (Brooks & Brooks, 1993). Think about it for a moment. If students construct their own understanding, what does this imply for the teacher's role? One immediate conclusion is that anyone who thinks "teaching is telling" is sadly mistaken. Shuell (1996, p. 743) has neatly summarized the meaning of constructivism:

The learner does not merely record or remember the material to be learned. Rather, he or she constructs a unique mental representation of the material to be learned and the task to be performed, selects information perceived to be relevant, and interprets that information on the basis of his or her existing knowledge and existing needs. In the process, the learner adds information not explicitly provided by the teacher whenever such information is needed to make sense of the material being studied. This process is an active one in which the learner must carry out various operations on the new materials in order for it to be acquired in a meaningful manner.

The two key words here are active and meaning. Learners don't just sit there and copy what's put on the board or told to them. They take their own knowledge-that enormous reservoir of personal experiences they have accumulated in their lives-and interpret this new material according to what's in their reservoir.

Have you ever wondered why, when you're in a class with many others like you, and you're all subjected to the same lesson, lecture, or reading material, your answers to the same questions can differ greatly? Let's admit at the start that differences in attitude, motivation, and attention are all at work, but a major reason for the differences lies in the way that you, with your special knowledge, interpreted the material. You took in the material through your personal filter of experiences and constructed your understanding of it in light of your exclusive network of knowledge. You stamped your own meaning on the material.

As you can imagine, different interpretations of constructivism have arisen. The basic distinction to keep in mind is between those who believe that the individual alone-each student-constructs meaning (often referred to as individual or psychological constructivism). Others argue that individuals in a social situation-each student in the class, influenced by peers, home, and so on-construct meaning (often referred to as social constructivism). These distinctions are spelled out in detail in Chapter 2 when we analyze the works of two of the greatest psychologists of the twentieth century, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky (Cobb & Yackel, 1996).

To enhance your understanding of constructivism, let's examine two classes who are studying the opening of the American West. One teacher has the class read the chapter that includes the Battle of Big Horn. The teacher then summarizes the chapter and indicates the important points to be remembered. He then gives them time to write an essay about the battle, telling them to "get their facts straight." Finally, he tells his students that they will be tested tomorrow.

The second teacher has also prepared carefully and decided that this era in our history is too exciting to be restricted to text reading. She comes to class and poses a problem for her students. "I want you to assume that Custer, although critically wounded, survives the battle. He then has to stand trial for his leadership and the decisions he made leading up to and during the battle." The students are told to use all the sources they want, and to discuss the feeling of the country and the political climate of the times.

We trust you can see how the teacher who understands that students construct their own meanings will adopt different techniques in the classroom. Teachers who follow a constructivist pathway often do the following:

• Wrap their teaching in a cloak of problems for their students, problems that are real, meaningful, and age-appropriate.
  
• Use their students' perspectives to interpret their responses and solutions, that is, take into account such important variables as cognitive level, home experiences, and motivation.
  
• Know that their students' responses reflect their current level of understanding.
  
• Accept the conflicts and confusion that initially accompany the search for meaning.

More about constructivistic approaches to instruction and learning will be discussed later, but let's now turn to the issue of student diversity.

Educational psychology

Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Educational psychology is concerned with how students learn and develop, often focusing on subgroups such as gifted children and those subject to specific disabilities. Researchers and theorists are likely to be identified in the US and Canada as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists. This distinction is, however, not made in the UK, where the generic term for practitioners is "educational psychologist."
Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology. Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialities within educational studies, including instructional design, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and classroom management. Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences. In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks.

Educational psychology involves the study of how people learn, including topics such as student outcomes, the instructional process, individual differences in learning, gifted learners and learning disabilities.
This branch of psychology involves not just the learning process of early childhood and adolescence, but includes the social, emotional and cognitive processes that are involved in learning throughout the entire lifespan. The field of educational psychology incorporates a number of other disciplines, including developmental psychology, behavioral psychology and cognitive psychology.

RESEARCH

RESEARCH:   a way of examining your practice…   Research is undertaken within most professions.   More than a set of skills, it is a way of thinking: examining critically the various aspects of your professional work.  It is a habit of questioning what you do, and a systematic examination of the observed information to find answers with a view to instituting appropriate changes for a more effective professional service.

DEFINITION OF RESEARCH
  When you say that you are undertaking a research study to find answers to a question, you are implying that the process;  1. is being undertaken within a framework of a set of philosophies ( approaches); 2. uses procedures, methods and techniques that have been tested for their validity and reliability; 3. is designed to be unbiased and objective .  Philosophies  means approaches e.g. qualitative, quantitative and the academic discipline in which you have been trained.  Validity means that correct procedures have been applied to find answers to a question. Reliability refers to the quality of a measurement procedure that provides repeatability and accuracy.  Unbiased and objective means that you have taken each step in an unbiased manner and drawn each conclusion to the best of your ability and without introducing your own vested interest. (Bias is a deliberate attempt to either conceal or highlight something).  Adherence to the three criteria mentioned above enables the process to be called ‘research’.  However, the degree to which these criteria are expected to be fulfilled varies from discipline to discipline and so the meaning of ‘research’ differs from one academic discipline to another.  The difference between research and non-research activity is, in the way we find answers: the process must meet certain requirements to be called research. We can identify these requirements by examining some definitions of research.  The word research is composed of two syllables, re and search. re is a prefix meaning again, anew or over again search is a verb meaning to examine closely and carefully, to test and try, or to probe. Together they form a noun describing a careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to establish facts or principles.  Research is a structured enquiry that utilizes acceptable scientific methodology to solve problems and create new knowledge that is generally applicable. Scientific methods consist of systematic observation, classification and interpretation of data. Although we engage in such process in our daily life, the difference between our casual day- to-day generalisation and the conclusions usually recognized as scientific method lies in the degree of formality, rigorousness, verifiability and general validity of latter.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF RESEARCH:  Research is a process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information to answer questions. But to qualify as research, the process must have certain characteristics: it must, as far as possible, be controlled, rigorous, systematic, valid and verifiable, empirical and critical.  -Controlled- in real life there are many factors that affect an outcome. The concept of control implies that, in exploring causality in relation to two variables (factors), you set up your study in a way that minimizes the effects of other factors affecting the relationship. This can be achieved to a large extent in the physical sciences    (cookery, bakery), as most of the research is done in a laboratory. However, in the social sciences (Hospitality and Tourism) it is extremely difficult as research is carried out on issues related to human beings living in society, where such controls are not possible. Therefore in Hospitality and Tourism, as you cannot control external factors, you attempt to quantify their impact.  -Rigorous-you must be scrupulous in ensuring that the procedures followed to find answers to questions are relevant, appropriate and justified. Again, the degree of rigor varies markedly between the physical and social sciences and within the social sciences.  -Systematic-this implies that the procedure adopted to undertake an investigation follow a certain logical sequence. The different steps cannot be taken in a haphazard way. Some procedures must follow others.  -Valid and verifiable-this concept implies that whatever you conclude on the basis of your findings is correct and can be verified by you and others.  -Empirical-this means that any conclusion drawn are based upon hard evidence gathered from information collected from real life experiences or observations.  -Critical-critical scrutiny of the procedures used and the methods employed is crucial to a research enquiry. The process of investigation must be foolproof and free from drawbacks. The process adopted and the procedures used must be able to withstand critical scrutiny. For a process to be called research, it is imperative that it has the above characteristics. 

FOUNDATION OF EDUCATION THROUGH RELIGION: SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S VIEWS

Why religion forms the very foundation of education becomes clear in Swami Vivekanand's following words: ‘In building up character, in making for everything that is good and great, in bringing peace to others, and peace to one’s own self, religion is the highest motive power, and, therefore, ought to be studied from that standpoint. Swamiji believes that if education with its religious core can invigorate man’s faith in his divine nature and the infinite potentialities of the human soul, it is sure to help man become strong, yet tolerant and sympathetic. It will also help man to extend his love and good will beyond the communal, national and racial barriers.

It is a misinterpretation of Vivekananda’s philosophy of education to think that he has overemphasized the role of spiritual development to the utter neglect of the material side. Vivekananda, in his plan for the regeneration of India, repeatedly presses the need for the eradication of poverty, unemployment and ignorance. He says, We need technical education and all else which may develop industries, so that men, instead of seeking for service, may earn enough to provide for them-selves, and save something against a rainy day. He feels it necessary that India should take from the Western nations all that is good in their civilization. However, just like a person, every nation has its individuality, which should not be destroyed. The individuality of India lies in her spiritual culture. Hence in Swamiji’s view, for the development of a balanced nation, we have to combine the dynamism and scientific attitude of the West with the spirituality of our country. The entire educational program should be so planned that it equips the youth to contribute to the material progress of the country as well as to maintaining the supreme worth of India’s spiritual heritage.

Another important aspect of Swamiji’s scheme of education is women’s education. He realizes that it if the women of our country get the right type of education, then they will be able to solve their own problems in their own way. The main objective of his scheme of female education is to make them strong, fear-less, and conscious of their chastity and dignity. He observes that although men and women are equally competent in academic matters, yet women have a special aptitude and competence for studies relating to home and family. Hence he recommends the introduction of subjects like sewing, nursing, domestic science, culinary art, etc which were not part of education at his time.

ConclusionThe exposition and analysis of Vivekananda’s scheme of education brings to light its constructive, practical and comprehensive character. He realizes that it is only through education that the uplift of masses is possible. To refer to his own words: Traveling through many cities of Europe and observing in them the comforts and education of even the poor people, there was brought to my mind the state of our own poor people and I used to shed tears. When made the difference? “Education” was the answer I got.’

He states it emphatically that if society is to be reformed, education has to reach everyone-high and low, because individuals are the very constituents of society. The sense of dignity rises in man when he becomes conscious of his inner spirit, and that is the very purpose of education. He strives to harmonize the traditional values of India with the new values brought through the progress of science and technology.

It is in the transformation of man through moral and spiritual education that he finds the solution for all social evils. Founding education on the firm ground of our own philosophy and culture, he shows the best of remedies for today’s social and global illness. Through his scheme of education, he tries to materialize the moral and spiritual welfare and upliftment of humanity, irrespective of caste, creed, nationality or time. However, Swami Vivekananda’s scheme of education, through which he wanted to build up a strong nation that will lead the world towards peace and harmony, is still a far cry. It is high time that we give serious thought to his philosophy of education and remembers his call to every-body-‘Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.’

VIEWS OF SWAMI VIVEKANAND ON EDUCATION

Introduction

Swami Vivekananda (1863 – 1902), a great thinker and reformer of India, embraces education, which for him signifies ‘man-making’, as the very mission of his life. In this paper, which purports to expound and analyze Vivekananda’s views on education, an endeavor has been made to focus on the basic theme of his philosophy, viz. the spiritual unity of the universe. Whether it concerns the goal or aim of education, or its method of approach or its component parts, all his thoughts, we shall observe, stem from this dormant theme of his philosophy which has its moorings in Vedanta.

Vivekananda realizes that mankind is passing through a crisis. The tremendous emphasis on the scientific and mechanical ways of life is fast reducing man to the status of a machine. Moral and religious values are being undermined. The fundamental principles of civilization are being ignored. Conflicts of ideals, manners and habits are pervading the atmosphere. Disregard for everything old is the fashion of the day. Vivekananda seeks the solutions of all these social and global evils through education. With this end in view, he feels the dire need of awakening man to his spiritual self wherein, he thinks, lies the very purpose of education.

The Goal or Objective of Education
Vivekananda points out that the defect of the present-day education is that it has no definite goal to pursue. A sculptor has a clear idea about what he wants to shape out of the marble block; similarly, a painter knows what he is going to paint. But a teacher, he says, has no clear idea about the goal of his teaching. Swamiji attempts to establish, through his words and deeds, that the end of all education is man making. He prepares the scheme of this man-making education in the light of his over-all philosophy of Vedanta. According to Vedanta, the essence of man lies in his soul, which he possesses in addition to his body and mind. In true with this philosophy, Swamiji defines education as ‘the manifestation of the perfection already in man.’ The aim of education is to manifest in our lives the perfection, which is the very nature of our inner self. This perfection is the realization of the infinite power which resides in everything and every-where-existence, consciousness and bliss (satchidananda). After understanding the essential nature of this perfection, we should identify it with our inner self. For achieving this, one will have to eliminate one’s ego, ignorance and all other false identification, which stand in the way. Meditation, fortified by moral purity and passion for truth, helps man to leave behind the body, the senses, the ego and all other non-self elements, which are perishable. He thus realizes his immortal divine self, which is of the nature of infinite existence, infinite knowledge and infinite bliss.

At this stage, man becomes aware of his self as identical with all other selves of the universe, i.e. different selves as manifestations of the same self. Hence education, in Vivekananda’s sense, enables one to comprehend one’s self within as the self everywhere. The essential unity of the entire universe is realized through education. Accordingly, man making for Swamiji stands for rousing mans to the awareness of his true self. However, education thus signified does not point towards the development of the soul in isolation from body and mind. We have to remember that basis of Swamiji’s philosophy is Advaita which preaches unity in diversity. Therefor, man making for him means a harmonious development of the body, mind and soul.

In his scheme of education, Swamiji lays great stress on physical health because a sound mind resides in a sound body. He often quotes the Upanishadic dictum ‘nayamatma balahinena labhyah’; i.e. the self cannot be realized by the physically weak. However, along with physical culture, he harps on the need of paying special attention to the culture of the mind. According to Swamiji, the mind of the students has to be controlled and trained through meditation, concentration and practice of ethical purity. All success in any line of work, he emphasizes, is the result of the power of concentration. By way of illustration, he mentions that the chemist in the laboratory concentrates all the powers of his mind and brings them into one focus-the elements to be analyzed-and finds out their secrets. Concentration, which necessarily implies detachment from other things, constitutes a part of Brahmacharya, which is one of the guiding mottos of his scheme of education. Brahmacharya, in a nutshell, stands for the practice of self-control for securing harmony of the impulses. By his philosophy of education, Swamiji thus brings it home that education is not a mere accumulation of information but a comprehensive training for life. To quote him: ‘Education is not the amount of information that is put into your brain and runs riot there undigested, all your life.’ Education for him means that process by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, and intellect is sharpened, as a result of which one can stand on one’s own feet.

Method or ProcedureHaving analyzed the goal or objective of education, the next question that naturally arises is about the method of imparting education. Here again, we note the Vedantic foundation of Swamiji’s theory. According to him, knowledge is inherent in every man’s soul. What we mean when we say that a man ‘knows’ is only what he ‘discovers’ by taking the cover off his own soul. Consequently, he draws our attention to the fact that the task of the teacher is only to help the child to manifest its knowledge by removing the obstacles in its way. In his words: ‘Thus Vedanta says that within man is all knowledge even in a boy it is so and it requires only an awakening and that much is the work of a teacher.’ To drive his point home, he refers to the growth of a plant. Just as in the case of a plant, one cannot do anything more than supplying it with water, air and manure while it grows from within its own nature, so is the case with a human child. Vivekananda’s method of education resembles the heuristic method of the modern educationists. In this system, the teacher invokes the spirit of inquiry in the pupil who is supposed to find out things for himself under the bias-free guidance of the teacher.

Swamiji lays a lot of emphasis on the environment at home and school for the proper growth of the child. The parents as well as the teachers should inspire the child by the way they live their lives. Swamiji recommends the old institution of gurukula (living with the preceptor) and similar systems for the purpose. In such systems, the students can have the ideal character of the teacher constantly before them, which serves as the role model to follow.

Although Swamiji is of the opinion that mother tongue is the right medium for social or mass education, he prescribes the learning of English and Sanskrit also. While English is necessary for mastering Western science and technology, Sanskrit leads one into the depths of our vast store of classics. The implication is that if language does not remain the privilege of a small class of people, social unity will march forward unhampered.

Fields of StudyVivekananda, in his scheme of education, meticulously includes all those studies, which are necessary for the all-around development of the body, mind and soul of the individual. These studies can be brought under the broad heads of physical culture, aesthetics, classics, language, religion, science and technology. According to Swamiji, the culture values of the country should form an integral part of the curriculum of education. The culture of India has its roots in her spiritual values. The time-tested values are to be imbibed in the thoughts and lives of the students through the study of the classics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Gita, Vedas and Upanishads. This will keep the perennial flow of our spiritual values into the world culture.

Education, according to Swamiji, remains incomplete without the teaching of aesthetics or fine arts. He cites Japan as an example of how the combination of art and utility can make a nation great.

Swamiji reiterates that religion is the innermost core of education. However, by religion, he does not mean any particular kind of it but its essential character, which is the realization of the divinity already in man. He reminds us time and again that religion does not consist in dogmas or creeds or any set of rituals. To be religious for him means leading life in such a way that we manifest our higher nature, truth, goodness and beauty, in our thoughts, words and deeds. All impulses, thoughts and actions which lead one towards this goal are naturally ennobling and harmonizing, and are ethical and moral in the truest sense. It is in this context that Swamiji’s idea of religion, as the basis of education should be understood. We note that in his interpretation, religion and education share the identity of purpose.

PERSONALITY

Etymologically, the word ‘personality’ is derived from Latin word ‘Persona’ which means the mask or dress which the actors used to wear in Greek drama. But it is a narrow concept of personality because ‘persona’ is something external in nature and it does not include inner traits.

            Psychologically speaking personality is all that a person is. It is the totality of one’s behaviour towards oneself and others as well. It includes everything about the person, physical, emotional, social, mental and spiritual make-up. The term personality signifies something deeper than mere appearance or outward behavior. It has been defined by so many psychologists in so many ways according to their own points of view. Some of these well known attempts at defining personality are presented below:

1. Watson. “Personality is the sum of activities that can be discovered by actual observations over a long enough period of time to give reliable information.”

              In this manner Watson gives emphasis upon the behaviour of an individual and says that personality is nothing but the useful effect one makes upon the             person coming into his close contact.

2. Morton Prince, accepting the role of both heredity and environment, defines it as-

“Personality is the sum total of all the biological innate disposition, impulses, tendencies, appetites and instincts of the individual and the dispositions and tendencies acquired by experience”.

3. Allport. After evaluating 49 definitions of personality, Allport summarizes his own concept in the following words:

“Personality is a dynamic organization within the individual of those Psycho-physical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment.”

4. Freud is of the view that there are three major constituents of personality:-

a)      Id: Id is immoral, illogical and unconscious. It is the sum total of natural and general tendencies that cannot be satisfied in the society.

b)      Ego: Ego is the social self. It is sum total of consciousness, will power, and intelligence and reasoning. It has relationship with id as well as with super ego.

c)      Super ego: It is known as moral self. It is higher and ideal part of personality. Its function is to warn about its defects and wrong actions.

               Freud further says that if there is a balance between id and super ego there will be well adjusted personality and if there is no proper balance between id and super ego there will be maladjusted personality.

5. R.B.Cattell. “Personality is that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation.”         
6. Eysenck. “Personality is the more or less stable and enduring organization of a person’s character, temperament, intellect, and physique, which determine his unique adjustment to the environment.”

            In this way, for understanding the concept of personality, the evolution of an ideal definition still needs further research. Infact, the concepts like personality are difficult to be explained as they have the identity like sound, electricity etc., the impact of which can be felt but the real nature of them is always a matter of secrecy. Something about them can be known by their utility or describing some of their characteristics and distinguishing features.

Distinguishing Features and Characteristics of personality

The results of various experimental studies and observations have led to the identification of the following characteristics of personality:

1.        Personality is something unique and specific. Every one of us is a unique person in oneself. However, the uniqueness of an individual’s personality does not mean that he has nothing to share with others in terms of traits and characteristics of personality. He may have certain characteristics which he may share with others and at the same time many others which are unique to him.

2.        Personality exhibits self consciousness as one of its main characteristics. Man is described as a person or as having a personality when the idea of “self” enters into consciousness. In this connection Bhatia (1968) writes:                                               We do not attribute personality to a dog and even a child because it has only a vague sense of personal identity.

3.        “Personality”, as stated by Allport (1948):  It is not only the assumed, the external and non-essential but also the vital, the internal and the essential. It includes everything about a person. It is all what a person has about him. Therefore, it includes all the behaviour patterns, i.e. cognitive, conative and affective and covers not only the conscious activities but goes deeper to the semi-conscious and unconscious also.

4.        Personality is not just a collection of so many traits or characteristics. For instance, by only counting the bricks, how can we describe the wall of a house? Actually personality is more than this: it is an organization of psychophysical systems or some behaviour characteristics and functions as a unified whole. Just as an elephant cannot be described as pillar only by examining its legs, an individual’s personality cannot be judged by only looking at his physical appearance or sociability. The personality of an individual can be assessed only by going into all the aspects that comprise his totality.

5.        Although the personality of an individual remains stable to a large extent, it cannot be static, it is dynamic and continuously in the process of change and modification. As we have said earlier, personality is “everything” that person has about him. It has all that is needed for his unique adjustment to his environment. Personality is sometimes subjected to disorganization and disintegration, leading to severe personality disorders on account of factors and conditions like severe anxiety, stress, traumatic experiences, prolonged illness, infections, and damage to the brain and nervous systems.

6.        Every personality is the product of heredity and environment. Both these contribute significantly towards the child’s personality. A child is not born with personality but develops with continuous interactions with his environment. Therefore, not only heredity but also factors like constitutional make-up, social and cultural influences as well as experience and training etc. all affect one’s personality.

7.        Learning and acquisition of experiences contribute towards growth and development of personality. Every personality is the end product of this process of learning and acquisition.

8.        The personality of an individual can be described as well as measured.

9.        Personality should not be taken as synonymous with one’s character. Character is an ethical concept. It represents a moral estimate of the individual, while personality as a psychological concept is a more comprehensive term which includes character as one of its constituents.

10.    Personality may be further distinguished from temperament which can be termed as a system of emotional disposition. This system of emotional disposition represents only the affective side of one’s personality and so personality must be taken as being much beyond one’s temperament.

11.    Personality should also be viewed differently from the ego or the individual self. The word ego is generally used for that unified part of one’s personality which in ordinary language we call “I”. However, as the psychoanalytic view of personality advocated by Freud explains, it is only a small aspect of one’s total personality. Personality, therefore, stands for more than what the ego carries.

12.    Every person’s personality has one more distinguishing feature that is, aiming to an end or towards some specific goals. Adler clearly asserts this view and is of the opinion that a man’s personality can be judged through a study and interpretation of the goals which he has set for himself and the approaches he makes to the problems he faces in his life.

            Thus personality is a complex blend of a constantly evolving and changing pattern of one’s unique behaviour, emerged as a result of one’s interactions with one’s environment and directed towards some specific ends.

VALUES

 Introduction

Values relate to the aims of human life. For the achievement of the aim, men frame certain notions and these notions are called values. According to its verbal meaning value signifies that quality of an individual of thing which makes that individual or thing important, respectable and useful. This quality may be internal or external or both. John Dewey (1948) explains the term value as – to prize, to esteem, to appraise, to estimate. According to him values means to cherish something.

Axiology the branch of philosophy deals with values. Philosophy, education and values are intimately related to the branches of knowledge. To be more specific “Education is Value Enterprise.” Values guide the behaviour and conduct of individual. They help in framing goals and direct actions towards achieving the goals. Values are the moving spirit in our lives.

  Concept

Values is derived from Latin word ‘Valerie’ –strong and vigorous. According to Oxford dictionary ‘value’ means ‘worth’. Values guide individual’s physical and mental health as well as promote social welfare. They serve as guiding principles of life. They are part of the philosophy of a nation and of its educational system.

  Meaning of Values

The values may be defines as

1.         Psychological meaning – Anything that satisfies our need or desire is valuable.

2.         Biological meaning – It is the characteristic of a thing of activity which helps in conservation and furtherance of our life.

3.         Ethical meaning – All those things or activities are valuable which help in making our soul perfect.

4.         Philosophical meaning – Value signifies neither a thing nor an individual, but a thought or a point of view. Everything which is useful to a individual becomes valuable to him.

           Definitions or values

·       Values are conscious or unconscious motivators and justifiers of the actions and judgments.                                                         

- T.W. Hipple

·       Value is considered to be judgment concerning the worth of an object, person, group or situation. Value judgment contains evaluating rating terms such as good, bad, moral, immoral etc.

-M.P. Hung

·       Values are the ideas, beliefs or norms which a society or a large majority of a society’s members hold.

-Kane

·       Values belong wholly to the inner world of the mind. The satisfaction of the desire is the real value, the thing that serve is only an instrument. A value is always and experience, never a thing of an object.

-D.H. Parker

·       Anything which satisfies a human want becomes hereby a value.

-Henderson

·       The term value means the relative prominence of the subject’s interest or the dominant interest in personality

-Allport

·       Any object whatever it be, acquire value when any interest, whatever it be, is taken in it, just as anything whatsoever becomes a target when anyone whosoever aims at it.

-R.B. Perry

·       Values means whatever is actually liked, prized, esteemed, desires, approved or enjoyed by anyone at anytime. It is the actual experience of enjoying a desired object or activity.

-Edger Brightman

·       A value is what is desired or what is sought. Value  may be operationally conceived as those guiding principle of life which are conducive to one’s physical and mental health as well as to social welfare and adjustment and which are in tune with one’s culture.

-N.T. Ram

LEARNING TO TRUST YOUR INTUITION

LEARNING TO TRUST YOUR INTUITION

It is said that "life is what happens when we've made other plans." If this is so, then it doesn't make much sense to keep demanding life be a certain way. It doesn't make sense to go through life traveling down the same tunnel of expectation when we know that often brings disappointment. It is an act of self-love to stop hanging on to the way it is supposed to be. It is this hanging on that causes us to be buffeted about by the unwelcome surprises in life.

When we jump to the level of the Higher Self, we are greatly relieved to find the guarantee that we have been looking for. And that guarantee is this ... No matter what life decides to hand me, I'll handle it!

Do you see the peace this assurance of our inner power brings us? We can never control life in any other way. Yes, life is filled with surprises. But with the inner knowing that we can handle anything life hands us, we don't have to worry about the future any longer. We can get on with our life with a feeling of freedom and adventure. We can even begin to enjoy the mysteries, instead of feeling threatened by them. Wherever life takes us, we'll be okay!

Developing this kind of trust requires our constantly using our Spiritual tools. Even when we think we have the hang of it, new situations arise that bring up our need to control. But the more we find ways of dwelling in the house of our Higher Self and trusting the Grand Design, the easier it is for us to let go of our need to control.

There have been many times when I haven't understood why certain things have happened in my life. Much later, however, the great miracle of it all was revealed to me. I didn't understand why my first marriage didn't work out; I later learned that there was much I had to learn about becoming whole and, for me, being on my own was a necessary step. I didn't understand why I got cancer; I later learned how much a life-threatening illness teaches us about enjoying life in the present.

It certainly is up to us to take some action. And, we can begin taking more appropriate action in life when we learn how to listen to our innate intelligence, our intuition. Whether we are aware of it or not, the Higher Self is constantly sending us valuable messages that can guide us to where we need to go for our highest good. Our task is to learn how to tune into these messages.

In Western society, we are taught to think logically, not intuitively. Logical thinking is very important. It helps us get through our everyday mortal existence. For example, it helps us know that 2 + 2 = 4, an essential concept to understand when we are paying our bills! But logical thinking is very limited. It uses only part of our brain.

When we add intuitive thinking to logical thinking, we expand enormously our inherent capability of living life in an incredibly powerful manner. We realize that we have available to us much more wisdom and guidance than we thought we had. The logical mind draws on the teachings of the physical plane; the intuitive mind draws on the teachings of the Spiritual plane. When the two are combined, the resources for guiding us into the future are unlimited. We certainly are much more than we thought we were!

Since we have not been trained to use the intuitive part of who we are, the question is, "How do we tune into these powerful messages that are coming through to us?" Every morning as you contemplate your day, ask your Higher Self three questions...

"Where would you have me go?"

"What would you have me do?"

"What would you have me say, and to whom?"

Ask these questions with a sense of trust that your inner wisdom and power will come forth. Then consciously turn it over and go about your day. As your day progresses, listen to any inner messages that you are given. These are messages from the intuitive mind. Then start going where your energy wants to take you. Sometimes you just get the "urge" to call a friend, or a business contact, or whatever. Those urge is your intuition speaking. Again, see where these urges are taking you.

In the beginning you may hear nothing. But eventually, you will pick up on the guidance coming through. Some of it may make no sense to you consciously. But it will make sense to your Higher Self. Trust that. I have found that when I listen to my intuition, I am led to places that I would have never gone had I listened only to the logic of my rational mind. And the results have been magical.

Remember that our minds, when governed by the Lower Self, aren't capable of imagining the grand possibilities that are there for us. It is important that we learn to tune into a part of us that has much greater vision, the Higher Self.

People ask me how to know if it is their intuition speaking when they are being guided or when it is the Lower Self disguising itself as the Higher Self. My answer is that, in the beginning, we need to play with it a bit. Experiment with little things. If you get an internal message to call so and so and it makes no sense, call anyway. See what happens. Or go somewhere where you are being "led" to go. Or read a book that seems to jump out at you in the bookstore or online. And so on.

 

One clue that it is a message from the Higher Self is that it has a purpose for good. When we know that the action we are being led to take is a positive one, then we know we are probably on the wavelength of the Higher Self.

Another exercise that has been very helpful to me comes from Ram Dass, one of my favourite spiritual teachers. When I know I will be faced with having to make a decision, instead of lamenting, "What should I do?” the more peaceful approach is simply to say, "I wonder what Susan is going to do?"

When I say, "I wonder what Susan is going to do," in a sense I become the observer rather than the decision maker. I distance myself from the drama. I trust that "Susan" will be led by the wisdom within her and I put the issue out of my mind. Later I find myself living into the answer - easily and effortlessly.

 Remember, as soon as you leave the Lower Self behind and surrender to the events surrounding your life, you are free to enter the Higher Self where the fear, upset and disappointment disappear and new opportunities for a beautiful life are constantly placed before you.

Reference: Susan Jeffers, http://chettourhorizonsforteaching.blogspot.in/search/label/What%20Makes%20a%20Good%20Teacher%3F