Page:SELECTED ESSAYS of Dr. S. S. KALBAG.pdf/143

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countries, where a reasonable living standard is assured, education aims at a "fuller" life. If the above premise is accepted, teaching of skills becomes the primary functions of education. Why teach science at all? Traditionally, craftsmen passed on their skills to their own children and also perhaps apprentices. These in turn became self-reliant craftsmen. Is this what we want to do now? The craftsmen passed on to their wards strictly limited skills. With a sort of inbreeding of knowledge within separate crafts and guilds, there was no progress, only stagnation. Without the why and how, there was only limited innovation. Lastly, the choice of skills was limited to those relating to a particular trade only and so utilization of knowledge from other skills did not take place. What we should now aim at is to teach skills used in an endless variety of acts. The intention is not mainly to teach crafts but primarily to develop physical, manipulative and mental faculties. The selected crafts will serve as carriers for these skills. A skilled carpenter with a steady hand, an ability to visualize, having a good judgement, could easily be trained as a welder or a plumber or a mason. Given the intellectual capacity, he would be perhaps a better experimental scientist than if he had not developed his craft skills. As explained earlier, the teaching of skills, through a variety of jobs done, will give a wide enough base of experience, on which the science subjects could be taught so that, the learner has an insight into what he has been practicing and knows the whys and hows. He would therefore be encouraged to develop further on his own and make his contribution howsoever small to the fund of human knowledge. The teaching of skills and science will thus complement each other and produce the desired self-reliance and confidence. • Rural Development Through Education System 130