Objective: To analyze the concept of the educated person as the essence of Tagore’s philosophy of education. Research Questions: Who is an educated person? What is the teacher’s role? What is a conducive atmosphere for learning? Perspective: Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), the Bengalee Nobel Laureate for literature in 1913, was a poet, musician, artist, dramatist, short story writer, novelist, above all, an educator. His collected works, comprised of 29 volumes, are unique in diversity and depth. Tagore, however, dropped out of school at age 13. He argued that the typical schools could have crippled his creative growth. In order to experiment with his ideas, he opened a school in 1901 at Santiniketan, near Calcutta (India) which still bears his legacy as Visva Bharati University. Who is an educated person? What is the teacher’s role? What is a conducive atmosphere for learning? Tagore always expected the students to be educated persons. The teacher can lead them to grow in, around, and with nature. The nature, he emphasized, facilitates the conducive atmosphere for learning.

Method: Tagore’s educational writings and his other works overlap. His poems, parodies, short stories, or dance dramas have direct implication for educational theory and practice. However, I have selected his autobiographies, children’s literature, lectures, essays, and educational works for this study. 1. In his two autobiographies, Tagore referred to how his childhood experiences helped shape his educational views. I have explained how his ideas emerged out of his painful school experiences. 2. His children’s literature reflects his insights about child’s nature. I have interpreted his poems and stories as a framework for this study. 3. I have analyzed his views about the educated person in the spirit of how he practiced his own methods. 4. The paper will be supplemented by his (a) pictures and art works, (b) reflections of the distinguished teachers and students of his institution, and (c) book illustrations.

Findings: In his Hibbert Lectures in Oxford in 1930, the 69-year-old Tagore reflected about the growth of his philosophy of education as the growth of his own life. The schooling should be geared toward helping grow the educated person. Such a person is creative, productive, and appreciates the heritage. In Tagore’s school, the students, as a way of life, observed brahmacariyya that refers to using hard bed, eating natural food, and wearing simple clothing. The simple life style, Tagore articulated, help foster the educated mind through developing creative, humane, and self-reliant qualities.