Education in the Modern Era (by Ashutosh Gautam)

Since ancient times, edu­ca­tion, in one way or another, has been the basis of human devel­op­ment.  However, in modern times, the meaning of edu­ca­tion has changed dras­ti­cally.  The fore­most and fun­da­men­tal ques­tion upon us is “What is edu­ca­tion?”.  Is it limited to teach­ing chil­dren arith­metic, or does it go beyond that?

In my opinion, edu­ca­tion is an impor­tant tool with the help of which you (I say “you” because we are all edu­ca­tors in one way or another) can impact and develop the char­ac­ter of a human being in a for­mi­da­ble way.  That is why it becomes very impor­tant for us to not only provide an aca­d­e­mic edu­ca­tion, but to also impart good morals, values, and ethics to our stu­dents and chil­dren to ensure that India has solidly ethical and morally mature young­sters coming up through the pipeline to serve our country well in the future.  This is the need of the hour!  We must not delay.

If our desire is to erad­i­cate igno­rance from our society, it is then our respon­si­bil­ity to educate our chil­dren in such away that they can better under­stand their respon­si­bil­ity towards society and other human beings in a deeper way than aca­d­e­mics.  A more holis­tic approach is needed.  A care for the soul and the heart, not just the mind.

A bril­liant brain can unfold the mys­ter­ies of the uni­verse, but a caring heart can pave the way to God.

Thank you,

Ashutosh Gautam, Teacher of Senior High