The social function of education and the teacher as an agent of social change

Education is a potent instrument of change. For the realisation of a country's aims and targets a steady change in the fields of knowledge, skills, interests and values of the people is necessary. If such a change on the grand scale is to be achieved without violent revolution, the only one instrument that can be used is education. Of course, this is not a magical instrument. Rather it is a difficult one which can only be used through dedication strength of will and sacrifice.

Education is both retrospective and prospective. It is both a conservative one as well as a progressive one. Through education the culture is transmitted from one generation to the other. In the words of Prof. Brown "Education brings changes in behaviour and if its main functions are to remain mere transmission or enrichment of culture, it will fall short of its role in a dynamic society. Education must also provide situations at all age levels but within the maturity and ability of the individual to stimulate a creativeness of mind which can explore new horizons and bring the vision of the future into a living reality." Prof. H. C. Dent also declared that a national system of education has two vital functions to perform; 1) a tradition preserving function and 2) a growth facilitating function. Society is getting complex day by day and especially in times of social flux both these functions become extremely necessary.

Naturally education has to execute a great deal of social functions and in performing these social functions, the role of education itself has great implications. Education always plays a twofold role in performing its social functions-primarily it simplifies the environment and brings order in it and secondarily it purifies and idealizes the environment.

A complex civilisation cannot be assimilated in toto owing to its complexities. Naturally it requires to be fragmented and then the pieces are to be assimilated cautiously in a gradual and graded way. It is the primary duty of the school to simplify the environment and to select the fundamental features of that environment so that the young students can identify them and respond accordingly. A progressive order is thus established. In this process, those factors get more importance which serves as means of gaining a clear insight into more complicated things. But all that exists into the outside life cannot be imported into our school life. This is not possible. So we must have to eliminate the evil features of the environment that exist. We are, thus, to select the best only and use it exclusively. At the same time, we should also try to reinforce the power of this best. This setting up of a wider and balanced environment in the school is extremely necessary. This is because in the school there is a heterogeneous combination of the students who belong to different races, communities, religious and family background.

They always suffer from a tendency of justifying their own race, language, community or speech. The school has to take cautious step to eliminate this tendency and instead train the children to practice tolerance towards other communities, races or languages, and religions. The school should carefully eradicate all types of caste, creed or colour bars. The students must live there in a healthy environment of active co-operation and fellow feelings.

It should always be remembered that the school is a miniature society, a miniature community. It should always encourage active communication with the outer world. Naturally the educational system of a country should always be shaped in accordance with the sociological and philosophical condition of that country. This is more important in a democratic country. In a democratic system of government people must have the scope to live in a democratic way. Otherwise such democratic system is simply meaningless. But such democratic system should begin from the school level because the school is the second home where our young boys and girls get their primary education of co-operative living and learn tolerance to each other. So all types of cooperative activities should begin at the school first like the School Panchayat, School Co-operative Society of store, Mock Parliament etc. and the students should also be given a fair hand in the administration of the school. This will encourage the students to fill enthusiastic and all of them will come forward willingly to en-shoulder any responsibility.

At the same time the school authority should also arrange camps like social camps and different social services in nearby neighbourhoods. This will encourage the students to develop the habit of social service as well as will teach them the need of doing such services out of their own. The school should also celebrate parents' days and arrange different types of exhibitions in the school premises. The school authority should call the parents and guardians of the students very often in the school and discuss different problems with them openly. The parents and guardians should also try to understand the difficulties that the teachers are facing and should also try to extend their co-operative hand to them. They should, rather must, try to improve the intellectual standard and calibre of their own sons and daughters who are reading in the school. In fact, both the educationists and the teacher should come forward and join their hands to make the education a really joyful thing so that they can go for it with great pleasure and enthusiasm.

In fact, it is only the teacher who can exercise the most powerful influence over the community and can bring the really necessary change for a better tomorrow. Prof. Ottaway also opined that the teachers in the schools can have the most powerful influence in the community if they choose. The Mc-Nair Report on Teachers' Training categorically stated that "It is a truism to say that every teacher, is however humble a capacity he or she may be serving, is directly and vocationally involved in moulding the shape of things to come." Naturally, it is the duty of the teacher to think always about the multifarious problems of the society with all intelligence at their work and only they can find out the real solution, of those problems which the other members of the society are to follow honestly. It cannot be denied that the Teachers' Professional Organizations and their unions always remained the most orthodox pressure groups and their views are generally honoured by both the public opinion as well as by the government of all the countries of the world.

Question arises what is the real task of a Teacher. The answer is obviously teaching the students and imbibes them with greater mental spirit by imparting knowledge to them. His duty is to educate his students-but, to quote Edmund. W. Gordon: "to educate for change, to educate through change-to educate for orderly planned revolution, if necessary to educate through more disruptive revolutionary action." Considering from that point of view the teacher always enjoys the most powerful position of the real agent of social change.

Unfortunately in India the position of the teacher presents a rather heart breaking picture. Teachers in India have not yet been able to emerge as a real agent of social change for various reasons. For this Sri S. P. Ruhela and K. C. Vyas have made the effective unenlightened, uncommitted professional organizations and the dismal condition of the Teachers' Training Institutions responsible for this backwardness of the teacher's role in India. They have openly alleged that the Teachers' Training Institutions still continue to be disgusting educational slums, concentration camps where the teachers are very poorly socialized, trained and motivated to think or act creatively or innovate."

The problem of factionalism and inaction are also there. If these malpractices are eradicated and adequate measures are taken with all earnest for improvement, it is sure, the teachers in India will emerge as the perfect agent of social change in the country and can achieve the all-round development in every walk of our social life.     

Article contributed by: Melvin D' Mello