September 7: “All of our problems have to be solved nonviolently.” –Gandhi (Harijan, April 30, 1938) Almost as an afterthought, but no less powerful for that, Gandhi points out that the schools of his conception, Nai Talim, would, not surprisingly, teach nonviolence to its pupils. As seriously as the schools of Mussolini and Hitler took violence as… read more
Posts by Stephanie Van Hook
“Novelty in New Education”–Daily Metta
September 6: “I admit that my proposal is novel. But novelty is no crime.” –Gandhi (Harijan, September 18, 1937) A controversial element in Gandhi’s vision for primary education was that it should be self-supporting. Students, as they learn a craft, should be able to earn the funds necessary to cover the costs of schooling, instead… read more
“The value of an education”–Daily Metta
September 5: “It is not literacy or learning which makes a [man], but education for real life.” –Gandhi (Harijan, February 2, 1947) Education has undergone a dramatic shift in recent decades. Where it once served to expand the mind, it has become a tool to expand the wallet and the ego. An education seems to… read more
“Taklis and the Art of Education”–Daily Metta
September 4: “The principle idea is to impart the whole education of the body and mind and the soul through the handicraft that is taught to the children.” –Gandhi (Harijan, June, 11, 1938) The takli is a little handheld spindle that has ancient origins. It is not quite what is known as a ‘drop… read more
“Dignity in Education”–Daily Metta
September 3: “I hold that, as the largest part of our time is devoted to labour for earning our bread, our children must from their infancy be taught the dignity of such labor.” –Gandhi (Young India, September 1, 1921) Nai Talim, or new education, besides having an emphasis on character-building and local-regional languages, put value… read more
“The language of freedom”–Daily Metta
September 2: “Is it not a sad thing that we should have to speak of Home-Rule in a foreign tongue?” –Gandhi (Hind Swaraj, Chapter 18) Gandhi did not reject multi-lingualism or even multiculturalism (he himself was still learning Indian languages at the end); he rejected that some languages, and hence cultures, should feel superior to… read more
“Primary education–a first glance”–Daily Metta
September 1: “The foundation that Macaulay laid of education has enslaved us.” –Gandhi (Hind Swaraj, Chapter 18) Thomas Babington Macaulay went to India on what was in his eyes, a “civilizing mission” to reform their system of education to create a class of civil servants for the British Raj. For him it may have… read more
“Maria Montessori and Gandhiji”–Daily Metta
August 31: “I discovered that the law of Love could be best understood and learned through little children.” –Gandhi (Speech at Montessori Training College, London, 1931) Gandhi and Maria Montessori were great admirers of one another. In her interview with Gandhi, around October 9, 1931, Gandhi told her that his friends in India say that… read more
“A child’s big question”–Daily Metta
August 30: “Times change and systems decay. But it is my faith that, in the result, it is only nonviolence and things that are based on nonviolence that will endure.” –Gandhi (Harijan, April 29, 1939) Mahatma Gandhi is a big name, not only to understand and from whom to learn, but when you are five… read more
“Where there is hatred, love”–Daily Metta
August 29: “We must, therefore, purge ourselves of hatred.” –Gandhi (Quit India Speech, August 9, 1942) In St. Francis of Assisi’s famous prayer he begs, “where there is hatred, let me sow love.” This comes immediately after his plea, “make me an instrument of thy Peace.” Gandhi contextualizes this for us in nonviolent action and… read more
