In The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Gandhi tells us his own theories on education—learn multiple languages, strengthen your body, and mind your handwriting. He thinks children learn best from their parents and strives to teach his own kids—but says he neglects their literary training.
He also believes teachers should practice what they preach—so his students took up spiritual studies and learned about liberty. What would it be like to have had Gandhi as your teacher? We're pretty sure it'd be a different experience.
Questions About Education
- What languages does Gandhi think students should learn? What advantages are there to speaking multiple languages? Are there any reasons why someone shouldn't become multilingual?
- What does Gandhi think about the importance of good handwriting? Is his advice outdated in an age of tweets and text messages? Why or why not?
- Who should teach kids—parents or professional teachers? What advantages and disadvantages are there to parents being teachers? What about if the teachers are professionals?
- What does Gandhi think about the educational value of conversations versus textbooks? What reasons does he give for his position? What do you think, and why?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Education should include spiritual and political training.
Education should stick to subjects that everyone can agree on.