Issue 10 - July 2006

Question: What is the significance of history in the education of the young?

It all started with a feeling that the legacy that Krishnamurti had left us in the form of his vision of education was something precious that had to be conserved, explored and shared.

Scholarly research into the philosophy of education abounds with accounts of contributions of several educational and social leaders to the understanding and practice of education.

I have been asked to contribute to the Journal which is now marking the first decade of its existence, and I am happy to do so because of my involvement in the work of the Foundations, which, of course, can be seen at so many levels as part of the world of education.

It's a sun drenched Wednesday morning and fifteen freshman and twelve sophomore high school students sit as one large group in a circle.

The Brain Sciences have made dramatic progress in the last two decades.

As you mellow, the urge to compromise hits oftener, but latecomers continue to annoy me.

Long before a child sees that the world is made up of books and classrooms he is aware that he can do the most amazing things with his hands and feet.

There is a parable of a passer by who encountered three workmen cutting stones on a vast building site.

I would like to share my concern for the teaching and future of my subject, as also to suggest the basis of the way that I would proceed, should I get the opportunity to teach again.

Like the wandering minstrel of yore, Agastya International Foundation's Mobile Laboratory (ML) trundles in and out of schools in villages of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

It is not bigotry to be certain we are right; but it is bigotry to be unable to imagine how we might possibly have gone wrong.

It is a great privilege to be involved in editing Krishnamurti's works.

Why do we want our children to read? I refer to the wide range of books in fiction and non-fiction, which are perused by children and young adults from ages six to eighteen.

Children in India traditionally grew up listening to stories.

Pre-conventional, Conventional and Trans-personal Stages of Development Recent psychological studies in human development suggest an interesting three-stage model of development: pre-conventional, conventional and trans-personal (or post-conventional).

A paramount objective of education is to help children develop their ability to think for themselves and to learn to use this ability in responsible ways.

A distinctive feature of holistic education is nurturing the spirit.

As a teacher, house parent and a parent, not necessarily in that order, I have often wondered at the seemingly irreconcilable differences between an energetic, impulsive, complaining, 'immature', angst ridden adolescent and the staid, 'mature', orderly adult.

What does health mean to young people? They are active and energetic and rarely lack in physical vitality.

We are apt to feel, in the cut and press of daily life and in the fulfilment of our responsibilities to the school and to its students, that our lives are caught up in minutiae: ongoing lesson preparation, correction of papers, assessment, examinations, meetings and administrative decisions.

Career Choice, a critical juncture The choice of a career is and will always be one of two most critical decisions in the first few years of one's adulthood -- rivalled only by the choice of a mate.

The meaning and purpose of work Work is as old as the history of mankind.

Philosophy, perhaps more than any other academic discipline, is thought to deal with intellectual things, or 'ideas'.

We see around us three kinds of attitudes related to the body.

As Merlin was to young King Arthur, so every adult must become to every child.