Dr Kamlesh Patel (Daaji), born in 1956, a Padma Bhushan awardee, is a global leader and guide of Heartfulness. His inspirational vision of education is extremely child-centric. He says that as teachers and parents, our role is to let children discover interests and help them develop the power of observation and inquiry from an early age. Adults play the role of gentle guides who provoke observation and thinking rather than only feed existing knowledge to the child. How we talk to the child matters, piquing her curiosity, and respecting her need for self-discovery. Daaji goes on to say that in addition to the materials and prepared environment, the state of mind of the adult matters the most. Are we as adults calm and poised, and do we have the patience to wait for the child to discover on her own? Self-development of the caregiver is equally important.
The free-spirited adult who is a learner himself will naturally guide the child towards exploration. Hence, investment in training and self-development of teachers is an important criterion for schools and colleges. A happy parent makes a happy child, likewise, a happy teacher makes a happy student. Teachers need to be aware of theories in education, child development and child psychology, apart from their subject matter. They also need to work on developing the attitudes of patience, active listening, encouragement, experimentation and questioning to be able to guide the students in that direction. Students learn by observing rather than by being told what to do.
