| A Nine-point Master Plan for Value Education to be symbiotically embedded in the educational system |
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| 1. Man's essential qualities are the most welcome qualities of sympathy, compassion, kindliness and brotherhood. These are so because from one point of view his essential core is itself divine and from another point of view man is the child of God created in His own image. It is necessary to tap these qualities of Man in each one of his dealings as a member of the family, of the Nation, of the World. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. To do this there is no better way than to delve into the biographies of as many great men of the world as possible - scholars, saints, innovators, leaders, reformers, religious heads, social workers, scientists, devotees of the Lord, writers, poets, thinkers, philosophers, performers of the arts, managers, administrators, entrepreneurs, and professionals. At every level of education of the student, Biography should form part of the compulsory portion of his studies, as one more subject like Mathematics and Social Sciences. It is not enough to be just part of his study of Language or Literature. As he rises up in the levels, study of biographies under Biography could become more and more detailed. Ultimately when he completes his education, maybe as a professional, doctor, engineer , manager or what-have-you, he should be able to say that he has specialised in (or has put in a certain amount of intensive study in) certain biographies, not necessarily directly related to his profession or calling. For instance, it could be Mahatma Gandhi, J.N. Tata, St. Francis of Assissi, Abraham Lincoln, Mother Theresa, U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, Benjamin Franklin, Cecil Rhodes, Madam Curie or Guru Nanak, or scores of others. Lessons from Biography could be the greatest lessons that a child picks up. So the fundamental difference between the present-day curriculum and this proposed curriculum is that in every class from the 4th standard (or grade) to the 12th standad (or grade) there would be one more compulsory subject called 'Great Lives' or 'Biography'. To that extent, the load from the other subjects has to be reduced. It does not matter. We are teaching too much too badly, anyway -- and in India at least, we are surviviing, because, we are doing that to too few. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| February 20, 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Copyright Ó V. Krishnamurthy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||