A Place of Study

Places of ‘Study’

Schools, Colleges, Universities, Academies, Alma Maters, Multiversities – all these educational institutions come into your mind when you are asked about places of study. But what is a place of study? Just a place where we can gain knowledge? No.

Home – Schooling

Knowledge can be gained anywhere. In the olden days, children were home-schooled. They were taught moral values, their family profession and survival skills. But, at home, their knowledge was adulterated by prejudices and superstitions that their adults believed and passed on to their children. Also, a continuous form of schooling wasn’t there, which made it impossible for the children to gain an uninterrupted insight into things they were taught.

Single Gurukuls

Then came the concept of common-schools or gurukuls. A teacher established a small school of philosophy, and taught based on his own set of skills and thoughts. Students from different backgrounds received the same knowledge, so there was uniformity. However, the students were biased based on their caste and creed. Also, all the prejudices and beliefs of the guru were passed on to the students. For example, Dronacharya, who taught Pandavas and Kauravas was partial to only the Ksatriya and Brahmin Clans. He dismissed and abused Karna, believing that he was from other caste. This kind of prejudice, made the students narrow-minded in a gurukul run by a single guru and also the guru could teach at most two or three subjects or skills.

Gurukul Ashrams

After the single gurukuls, there came a concept of Gurukul Ashrams, where a group of teachers taught students from different backgrounds and imparted different sets of skills to them. This had several advantages. There was no single prejudiced belief in the teaching. All the gurus agreed on a common belief, which broadened the perspective of their teaching. There was very little chance of narrow-mindedness and students benefitted getting to choose to learn from a number of subjects and skills that were available at the gurukul ashram. However, there still was a disadvantage. Children were sent away from home and grew away from the bonds of family. This effected their relations and they became more detached from the family life and the society itself.

Modern Places of Study

Modern Schools and Educational Institutes are perhaps the best places for a child to gain knowledge. These are the places of ‘Study’, where the Student can learn from studying, observing and developing his own philosophy of thoughts, rather than accept them from a teacher. Students are nowadays encouraged to think freely and out of the box, enabling them to gain wider knowledge through curiosity. Students are now able to stay with their family or at least visit them more often, helping them to understand the ties of a family and society more.

Knowledge isn’t the only purpose of a place of study. They are also places where a student can

1.        Learn discipline

2.       Develop Social Skills

3.       Enlarge Experience

4.      Gain Exposure

5.       Observe the behaviour of others

6.       Learn to adjust with different people

7.       Develop tolerance and brotherhood

8.       Understand a common set of moral values

9.       Choose what he wishes to learn

10.    Develop his own professional interests and career

Even though, we wake up grudgingly in the morning and go to schools or colleges, we always learn something new every day. All through the curriculum, we are challenged in our exams, we have fun during celebrations, we gain confidence through participating in competitions and we gain maturity by helping and supporting each other and making friends. And all through this, we develop a better character and become a better person than before.

So a place of study, isn’t just a place to study. It is a place where we can learn, grow and understand better. It is a place that inspires us to have a better aim and score a better goal in life.