Chi-Toku-Tai : జపాన్ విద్యావిధానంలో అద్భుతం ||Chi-Toku-Tai, Japanese educational Marvel ||
Investment in education yields both private and social returns. Private returns, like wages, accrue to individuals. Social returns accrue to society. Textbook economics suggests that private returns rise with one’s level of education, but social returns peak at the elementary levels. For when educated people follow rules such as queuing, using washrooms, washing hands, protecting public property, etc. the collective returns from such actions generate a huge social value such as cleaner, healthier and disciplined societies.
Education is everything that expands our capabilities — as individuals and as society. The novel coronavirus pandemic has given us an opportunity to re-evaluate how our schools should expand our capabilities. While academic prowess in math, science and language is essential, what about the issue of household chores? Or connecting with the community or nature?
Does learning household chores expand one’s capabilities? For if people do not know how to keep their spaces clean, cook their own food, do their laundry, it just needs a shock like a COVID-19 pandemic to occur and for a society dependent on the labour of others to feel incredibly disrupted. Add to it shortages of essential supplies and overstretched public resources, and social disruption is inevitable. So, how can we prepare for the future? The answer: through our elementary schools.
Can we learn from another country? Yes. Probably, Japan.
In 2011, pictures from tsunami-hit Japan went viral, with locals patiently queuing up for rations amidst massive devastation. Throughout the novel coronavirus pandemic, schools and public spaces have remained fairly open in Japan due to people’s responsible behaviour. As India prepares to re-open its schools along with the newly adopted New Education Policy, we can borrow some insights from the Japanese system.
Non-cognitive elements
Japan ranks among the top in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which evaluates students on their prowess in core academic subjects. However, another important aspect of the Japanese curriculum is its emphasis on non-cognitive elements. Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) explains ‘Chi-Toku-Tai’ as the defining features of Japanese schooling. Chi, which translates to ‘know’ lay an emphasis on building strong academic abilities. Toku, translates to ‘virtue’ and refers to mindfulness, self-discipline, and cooperative abilities. And last, Tai, translates to ‘body, and refers to physical and mental well-being.
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/japanese-education-spells-holistic-development/article35595326.ece
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