The right kind of education consists in understanding the child as he is without imposing upon him an ideal of what we think he should be. To enclose him in the framework of an ideal is to encourage him to conform, which breeds fear and produces in him a constant conflict between what he is and what he should be: and all inward conflicts have their outward manifestations in society. If the parent loves the child, he observes him, he studies his tendencies, his moods, and peculiarities. It is only when one feels no love for the child that one imposes upon him an ideal, for then one’s ambitions are trying to fulfill themselves in him, wanting him to become this or that.
If one loves, not the ideal but the child, then there is a possibility of helping him to understand himself as he is. Ideals are a convenient escape, and the teacher who follows them is incapable of understanding his students and dealing with them intelligently; for him, the future ideal, the what should be, is far more important than the present child. The pursuit of an ideal excludes love, and without love no human problem can be solved. If the teacher is of the right kind, he will not depend on a method, but will study each individual pupil. In our relationship with children and young people, we are not dealing with mechanical devices that can be quickly repaired, but with living beings who are impressionable, volatile, sensitive, afraid, affectionate: and to deal with them, we have to have great understanding, the strength of patience and love. When we lack these, we look to quick and easy remedies and hope for marvellous and automatic results.
If we are unaware, mechanical in our attitudes and actions, we fight shy of any demand upon us that is disturbing and that cannot be met by an automatic response, and this is one of our major difficulties in education. (Extract with edits from ”The right kind of Education” by J. Krishna Murti)
Which of the following currently reflects the intention of the author of this passage?
Correct Answer :
The right kind of education for a child cannot be without love, care and understanding
Solution :
The correct option is The right kind of education for a child cannot be without love, care and understanding.
Step-by-step Explanation:
1. Analyzing the Passage's Main Theme:
The passage emphasizes that proper education involves understanding a child as an individual without forcing them to conform to arbitrary ideals or parents'/teachers' personal ambitions. Key quotes highlighting this include:
- "without love no human problem can be solved."
- "If the teacher is of the right kind, he will not depend on a method, but will study each individual pupil."
- "...to deal with them, we have to have great understanding, the strength of patience and love."
2. Evaluating the Options:
- Option 1 ("The right kind of education for a child cannot be without love, care and understanding"): This directly aligns with the author's primary assertion that dealing with sensitive, impressionable children requires love, patience, care, and deep individual understanding.
- Option 2 ("True education should be governed by a tendency to conform a child to our ideals"): The passage explicitly refutes this, stating that forcing a child into an ideal breeds fear and inward conflicts.
- Option 3 ("The teacher should focus on how a child should be according to his/her methodology, hope, or expectation"): The passage states that the teacher who relies on fixed methods/ideals is incapable of understanding the students.
- Option 4 ("Parents and teachers should work together collectively to guide a child on what she/he should do as per their ambitions"): The author criticizes imposing personal ambitions onto a child.
Thus, the option that correctly reflects the author's true intention is that the right kind of education cannot exist without love, care, and understanding.
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