The Role of the Arts in Tagore’s Concept of Schooling

  • Irena Lesar
Keywords: Shantiniketan, art education, education of the senses, education of the intellect, cultivation of feeling

Abstract

The present article focuses particularly on the role and significance of the arts in the process of primary schooling in Tagore’s school. He defined education as that which is one with life, and he believed that only education can give us real freedom. It is therefore essential that in the process of education we achieve the all-round development of the individual for
harmonious adjustment to reality. The arts should be an essential part of life and of education, as it is only through the arts that it is possible to express one’s experience and recognition of the harmonious connection between the universe, the individual reality and immortality, in addition to their being a source of pleasure. Only the arts (and nature as a teacher)
enable the development of the entire personality, as well as the perception of reality and truth. Tagore thus understands the role of the arts in the life of the individual as a key factor in the formation of his/her personality, contributing to humanity.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Das Gupta, U. (2015). Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) a Biographical Sketch. Retrieved 15.03.2015 from http://www.parabaas.com/rabindranath/articles/pTagore_Biography.html

Elmhirst, L. K. (1961). The Foundation of Sriniketan. In R. Tagore & L. K. Elmhirst (Eds.), Rabindranath Tagore Pioneer in Education: Essays and Exchanges between Rabindranath Tagore and
L. K. Elmhirst (pp. 18–43). London: John Murray.

Forrest, M. (2011). Justifying the Arts: The Value of Illuminating Failures. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 45(1), 59–73.

Gall, D. A. (2015). A Dialectic of Disinterested and Immersive Aesthetics: Santiniketan Art Education and Labour Translated. International Journal of Art & Design Education, 34, 132–144. doi: 10.1111/jade.01769

McCarthy, K. F., Ondaatje, E. H., Zarakas, L., & Brooks, A. (2004). Gifts of the Muse. Reframing the Debate About the Benefits of the Arts. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation.

Nussbaum, M. C. (2006). Education and Democratic Citizenship: Capabilities and Quality Education. Journal of Human Development, 7(3), 385–395.

O’Connell, K. M. (2003). ‘Rabindranath Tagore on education’. The encyclopaedia of informal education. Retrieved 15.03.2015 from: http://infed.org/mobi/rabindranath-tagore-on-education/

Pritchard, M. (2014). A poem in a medium not of words: Music, dance and arts education in Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan. Arts & Humanities in Higher Education, 13(1–2), 101–114. DOI: 10.1177/1474022213491344

Jalan, R. V. (1976). Tagore – his educational theory and practice and its impact on Indian education [A dissertation presented to the graduate council of The university of Florida in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of philosophy]. University of Florida. Retrieved 25.07.2012 from https://archive.org/details/tagorehiseducati00jala

Ghosh, R. (2012) A Poet’s School: Rabindranath Tagore and the Politics of Aesthetic Education, South Asia. Journal of South Asian Studies, 35(1), 13– 32, DOI: 10.1080/00856401.2012.648900

Singh, R., & Singh Rawat, S. (2013). Rabindranath tagore’s contribution in education. VSRD International Journal of Technical & Non-Technical Research, IV(VIII), 201–208.

Strunkel, K. R. (2003) Rabindranath Tagore and the Aesthetics of Postmodernism. International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society, 17(2), 237–259.

Tagore, R. (1917). The Personality. New York: Macmillian Company.

Tagore, R. (1961). A Poet’s School. In R. Tagore & L. K. Elmhirst (Eds.), Rabindranath Tagore Pioneer in Education: Essays and Exchanges between Rabindranath Tagore and L. K. Elmhirst (pp. 44–65). London: John Murray.

Tagore, R. (1961). The Art of Movement in Education. In R. Tagore & L. K. Elmhirst (Eds.), Rabindranath Tagore Pioneer in Education: Essays and Exchanges between Rabindranath Tagore and L. K. Elmhirst (pp. 101–111). London: John Murray.

Tagore, R. (2012). Moje življenje, o njem vam pripovedujem (uredila in uvod napisala Uma Das Gupta). Ljubljana: Modrijan.

Visva Bharati Alumni. (2015). Retrieved 15.03.2015 from http://visva-bharati.ac.in/Alumuni/Contents/alumuni_contents.htm?f=../Contents/famous_alumni.htm

Winner, E., Goldstein, T., & Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2013). Art for Art’s Sake? Overview. OECD Publishing. Retrieved 20.11.2014 from http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/ART%20FOR%20ART%E2%80%99S%20SAKE%20OVERVIEW_EN_R3.pdf
Published
2015-09-30
How to Cite
Lesar, I. (2015). The Role of the Arts in Tagore’s Concept of Schooling. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 5(3), 111-128. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.131