SCHOOLS IN THE FOREST.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12085, 14 August 1917, Page 8

SCHOOLS IN THE FOREST.

INPIAN INSTITUTION FOUNDED BY SIR RABINDRANATH TAGORE. MUCH OF MODERNITY MINGLED WITH IDEALISM. "The greatest teachers in ancient India, whose names are still remembered, were forest-dwellers. By tho shady border of some sacred river or Himalayan lake . . students flocked round them and had their lessons of immortal life in the atmosphere of truth, peace aud freedom of the spirit. . . . In the modern time my turn has also come to dream of that age, towering above all ages of subsequent history in the greatness of its simplicity and wisdom of pure life. . . I came to live in the Shantiniketan sanctuary founded by my father and there gradually gathered round • me, under the shades of sal trees, hoys from distant homes." Thus does Sir Rabindranath Tagorc himself describe the origins of the BoJpur School (Skantiniketan, the House of Peace), where about 150 Indian boys of all castes, some from rich homes and some from poor, some as much as eighteen years of age and some no more than six, aro gathered together for an education, which is at _ once surprisingly modern and yet reminiscent of India's antique world. To take that which is modern first: The school is given quite an unusual amount of freedom in the management of its oun affairs. There are courts constituted by tho boys for the punishment oi nnnoi offences against the laws which they have themselves made. Most of the discipline of the school is maintained by (means of these courts, and it is noticeable that there is no complaint on tbe part of the boys in regard to tho judgments which are there pronounced. Football is the favourite game; and s'nee plenty of space is available about the school buildings, it is possible for the boys of all ages to have their separate games. _ Tho keenest interest is taken by all in the football match between Past and Present Boys. Sbantiniketan is not behindhand in athletics, as can be seen by its records in the iilterschool sports of tho district, in which its representative's have carried off the chief prizes for .several years in succession. Nor, in the matter of staff, is it below the standard of even the most modern of secondary schools, since there are as many as twenty resident teachers, some of whom have their families living with them. After light food in the morning, and a bath in the forest wells, the boys begin their class work about seven o'clock, and at 11.30 there is a principal meal. During the heat of th e day the scholars stay in their rooms, working at their lessons, the teachers sitting with them to give help if needed. Classes begin again at two"o'clock and continue till 4.30 or 5, the cool of the evening being reserved for games, after which, at a, suitable interval, comes an evening repast. In all these arrangements- there is nothing that would appear singular to the staff of a boarding school in western countries, except such a transposition of the hours allotted to class work, preparation and food, as is necessitated by the difference of climate.. Even the fact that most of the are given in the open air, except during the "rains," does not take the student of modern educational theories into wholly new regions. But in speaking of this practice ono of the masters—Mr W. W. Pearson, presumably an. American—who gives an account of the school in a small volume " Shantiniketau," published by Macmillan), suddenly lifts the veil and reveals something of tho Orient. "Each boy brings with him to the various classes his own square piece of carpet for sitting on, and the teacher sits either under a tree or in the verandah of one° of the dormitories. This open air class work has its great advantages., for it keeps the minds of the boys fresh in their appreciation of nature. I remember in the middle of ono class 1 was suddenly interrupted in the middle of my teaching by one of the hoys calling my attention to the song of a bird, in the branches overhead. Wo stopped the teaching and listened till the bird had finished. It was spring time, and the boy who had called my attention to the song said te- me, ' I don't know why, but somehow I can't explain what I feel.when I hear that bird singing.' I could not enlighten him, but I am quite suro that my class learnt more from that bird than it bad over done from my teaching, and something that they would never forget in life. For myself, my ears were opened, and for several days I Mas conscious of tho songs of the birds as I had m ver been before." The practice of story-ioiling by -the teachers has a greater hold upon this little community than' it would exercise upon the young people of a western school. After th<-> games, and before the evening meal, there is an hour which is spent in this way, or perhaps in a lantern lecture, or in some form of amusement got up by the boys themselves. There are several magazines for the older and for the younger boys, which have an intermittent monthly existence, but which "quicken into life when the anniversary of their birth comes around, and then a grand celebration takes place. One of the dormitories is taken possession of for tho occasion, and decorated with the green branches of trees, and if it happens to be the season of lotuses, a. profusion of lotus buds and blossoms fills the meeting place. One of the teachers is elected to be the chairman for the evening, and a special seat of honour is prepared for him. Over his bend there hang, like the sword of Damocles, ropes of flowers, so that he looks like a queen of the May. and round his nock hang garlands as though hi.» were a lamb prepared for tho sacrifice." The various contributors read their own stories poems and essays, and exhibit illustrative pictures. The chairman for the evening or, when he is present, the poet himself (Rabindra-

nath Tagore appears to be generally thus described) criticises the writings and indicates in what way they may be improved. Says the founder of the school, l< One •thing is truly needed to be a tea/dhor of children—it is to be like children," and this idea permeates the House of Peace. Tbe teachers live in th© dormitories with the boys and share with them their daily life. Sometimes when a cla-ss comes last in the afternoon, the scholars ask to go out! to a neighbouring village on the river and have their lessson by the way. When this happens, they are supremely happy. The usual hour for bed is from 9 to 9.30, but on moonlight nights many of the boys take long walks with their teachers, and in this way the bond between master and pupil becomes deep and strong. Truly, as the writer of this account of the school says, Bengal is the land of poetry and imagination. Shantiniketan was founded by Maharshi Deveudranath Tagore as an ashram, or religious retreat;. and when his son Rabindranath chose it as the site for a school, he knew that the atmosphere of tbe place was admirably suited to the growth of his own ideals. He says that he had iu mind "a. school which should. be a home and a temple in one." The actual temple is a building open to the light and air on all sides. In it there is no image and no altar, for the founder of the ashram declared that "in Shantiniketau no image was to be worshipped and no abuse of any religious faith was to be allowed.'' On the occasion of a service, the boys in their coloured shawls seat themselves, some on the steps outsidej and some on the white marble floor, in an attitude of meditation. To hear for the first time a Sanskrit prayer chanted by the scholars of Bolpur is an experience not easily forgotten. But their most characteristic religious observances are not those of a congregation. Iu the early morning and evening a period of fifteen, minutes is set apart for meditation. When the bell for worship sounds, each boy takes his piece of carpet out into the open field or under a. tree; tbe subject of his thoughts is left entirely to himself. That many boys thus form the habit of daily silent worship is onoUorh. One of the special features of the school is the singing of Rabindranath Tagore's own poems. To Avhat extent, and in what ways, the personality of the poet himself is shaping the human lives of these young Indian scholars, it is not easy to say. It may be that the mental traits thus developed, acting upon a naturally docile' race, will overshadow their freedom of thought in years to come. But one thing is certain, that Rabindranath Tagore himself holds this school and its surroundings among the chief jewels of his trea-sure-house." Hear tbe poet speak:— Tho stillness of her shades is stirred by the woodland whisper; Her amlaki groves aro aqtiirer with the rapture' of loaves. She dwells in us and around us however far we may wander. She weaves our hearts in a song: making: us one in music. Tuning- our strings of love with her own fingers, And we over remember that she is our own, the darliue; of our heart.