Fr Mathew Thankachen O.Praem. –
Education and health, two predominant apostolate undertaken by the Catholic Church globally and with special reference to India is founded upon the mission and vision Christ embodied as a visible sign of the kingdom of God.
In this brief write-up, I will not attempt to substantiate biblically that Jesus was a ‘teacher’, rather his ‘content and methodology’ coincide with modern education that India adopted under the NEP (National Education Policy) and all the more in the school curricula of S.S.A (Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan/ Sarva Siksha Abhiyan). As a teacher, I had the opportunity to undergo both ‘teacher-centric’ education and ‘Child-centric’ education.
The modern ‘Child-centric education’, like every system, has its own drawback and is based on the attitude that Christ had towards children.
In Mark 10:13-16, He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”. Here, we find the backbone of the content of modern education as a “person-centered, rather than merely the traditional mode of “knowledge-centered”. Our system won’t deny “knowledge acquisition at a time the nation established ‘Knowledge bank”. Here, the role of the teacher is just to “draw out” (Educe ere”) of the Divine light (Eluxere) embedded in the child. Hence, the name,” child-centered”. Although the methodology suggested is ‘play way, debate, discussion, search, collation, collection, etc.”, the core of the method a modern teacher employs should be centered on the inborn talents of the students that may vary from one another. Such self-awareness of the “core” (cardio = heart) is seen in most of the teaching of Jesus.
For instance, in the ‘woman caught in adultery”, (Jn.7, 53-8, 11), we find how Jesus employs this ‘self– awareness’ method, stimulating a radical decision and action on the accusers and the victim. Now, both are freed from “hate and envy”.
Modern teachers are called ‘catalysts’. It is worthwhile to note the most important goal of Indian education according to the Vedas was a movement from “darkness to light” (Thamasoma Jyothirgasamaya). It is only this awareness of the self, “Aham Brahasmasmi” that the “dignity of the person (garv) begins in a child.
If the first phase of teaching is the development of a “wholesome personality centered on spirituality’, the second phase is to involve the ‘cosmos around’ in view of human welfare. Jesus himself was an ‘innovator’. His father was a ‘Carpenter’ (Techon in Greek) from which the word ‘Technology’ derives.
To my linguistic interest, I found the Malayalam word for ‘Carpenter’ is “Thachan”), a corrupted pronunciation of ‘Techon’. Thus by family tradition, Jesus is the Technician and innovator. Also, His teachings had such novelty that the people of His time asked, “From where did he get all this knowledge” and “He doesn’t teach like other teachers, he teaches with authority”.
Jesus’ teachings were not limited to any ‘classrooms’. He took his followers outdoors like wheat fields, mounts eremos) boat, sea shore etc.
He took his students’ imagination to the ‘eco-spirituality of the beauty of the ‘Lilies of the field” and ‘birds of the air”.
Some of the values of the Kingdom of God were translated into ‘social agenda [‘like ‘justice, equality of man and woman, etc. The evils that prevailed in His days became the ‘syllabi’ of his education through the teaching of parables and stories, the best method of teaching.
In the teaching modules of SSA, the teacher is not expected to give answers unlike in the traditional method. Questions and counter questions from the students are encouraged to promote ‘creative thinking and decision making”. “Individual works and group works “are encouraged to promote “creativity and sociability”.
Various awareness debates and media presentation is done in the class and extracurricular activities through the creative initiative of the teacher. Jesus too used this method. He never directly answered any queries of the disciples. His question began, “What do you think…?” On many occasions including paying tax to the Roman emperor, His “creative skills of counter questioning was such that most of his opponents asked him no more questions.
Enabling students to “creative, critical, analytical thinking” is essential for a healthy democracy”. In his Method, Jesus preferred ‘individual and collective collaboration”. While he entrusted Peter with the core responsibility of his teaching he selected 12 Apostles to form a group for teaching and continuity of his school of thought.
Thus we find many principles of modern method and content of teaching as lived, taught, and proposed by Jesus Christ, the Teacher par exultance, the history has ever seen.