“By education I mean an all-around
drawing out of the best in a child
and man; body, mind and spirit.”
Mahatma Gandhi

Education came to mind today when I received a picture quote of a Gandhi quote. It reads: “By education I mean an all-around drawing out of the best in a child and man; body, mind and spirit.” (See larger picture quote below)

This quote struck a chord in me since advice on education I give students, if asked, is: 1) Experience is the best educator; 2) Most of what you need to know is already in you; 3) Learn how to learn;

My advice is based on my own experience. Although I have an extensive formal education most of what I had learned is from life experiences. Taking risk, making mistakes is all part of learning.

The notion that we have much knowledge in us that we need to draw out of ourselves is not new with me or even Gandhi. It is an ancient truth that we need someone to remind of us once and awhile. However, during these days it has become very difficult to do this since ‘more’ no longer means a deeper understanding but more information and more doing. We live in an age of TMI, Too Much Information and not enough understanding of what we already know. In the East they say “Listen Inside”. In the West education often means looking outside, not listening inside.

Learning how to learn does not fit into formal education’s drive to test and evaluate of what a student knows. It cannot be measured. However learning how to learn requires a holistic approach of education of “body, mind and spirit.”

An educational revolution, in my mind, is needed to break down the old structures of education, let the imagination loose and to draw out of everyone the best in “body, mind and spirit.”

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