Gandhi's learning outside of law school was stressed more than the education he received because it was familiar and an extension of the home - physical, intellectual, and spiritual development - all of which is attained outside of an educational institution. Gandhi's concept of a person being educated is someone who is at a complete balance with self-development in all aspects of the human personality and not what he learns in books.
If you pay close attention, most of Gandhi's account regarding learning and teaching is outside of a classroom, where he strikes curiosity about the world around him and his desire to improve it. Gandhi's attachment to a lot of physical development through productive activities like walking and meditating allowed for physical development. Alongside, experiences should cater to the intellectual development of a person. Through work experience and social stimulation, a person is able to develop their personality. Aside from physical and intellectual development, the learned process should stimulate the spiritual aspects of a person as well.
Mainly, Gandhi's take on education is solely about the preservation and the appreciation of culture. One doesn't need a book to learn how to preserve and appreciate culture. Education should hold the capability to pervade all aspects of human behavior. In order to preserve culture, one must be able to maintain virtues and the ability to be selfless. What Gandhi learned socially and culturally during his time in London (away from the classroom), he brought to the forefront of politics. This suggests that Gandhi advocated verbal and social learning over textbook - Children do not learn with books because they process what is understood through observation. Rather, they learn by the examples of their teachers' (i.e., parents, siblings, elders, observations of strangers, etc.) virtues and attitudes.
I also found it significant that Gandhi seemed to place more of an emphasis on learning which occurred outside of the classroom setting. Concerning his father, whom he greatly respected, he addresses how he was a very wise man (even holding a very prominent position in their society), yet he had never truly received an adequate amount of schooling. Gandhi relates how he was instead a learned man of experience. It is definitely important to accrue some basic knowledge of history and the world at large, but sometimes, it might be of an even greater benefit to be slightly more knowledgeable of the reality in which one is a part in order to provide a greater or more influential impact.
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