... for they have their own thoughts - Multiworld India

262005 Goa, India5discussion on taleemIndia is heir to a long and rich tradition of learning.As part of this tradition, we have the pathbreakingcontributions of Gandhi, Tagore,Aurobindo, Krishnamurti, Vinoba Bhave, etc.These have, in turn, stimulated, inspired andemboldened a number of individuals andorganizations to strike out in significant, revolutionaryexperiments that cry for documentationand sharing.Many of these experiments in stimulating genuinelearning have been carried out in isolationand have at times been lonely and difficultjourneys. But they have succeeded in escapingthe deadening conventions of modern universalhomogenizing education and have enhancedthe meaning, joy, uniqueness andutility of learning.On the other hand, mainstream schooling hasnot travelled much from the days that colonialoverlord Macaulay set it up. His intention was tocreate a generation of clerks whose only learningcame from books. That basic system of‘education’ has continued without muchchange uptill now. Macaulay’s system hasbecome the basis of what is now called ‘factoryschooling’ since it is based on mass producingindividuals who are fed the same conceptsthrough the same text books year after year,while the world outside has changed long timeago.This chapter contains lively excerpts, discussions,interviews and documentation of some thinkingon learning that has successfully exorcisedMacaulay’s ghost.