Oppresive Learning

“Education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world,” wrote Paulo Freire in his critically acclaimed book, “Pedagogy of The Oppressed.” Written in 1968, it was apt for a very turbulent and transformational period in the West. 

The period of “flower power”, George Harrison, Timothy Leary and later Steve Jobs found themselves immersed in Indian philosophy. An egoistic material perspective was challenged for the very first time post WW2 in the West. Fundamentally the education system was found to be boxed in with self-serving propaganda, with no room for self-discovery. Thus the education philosophy post WW2, in most colonized countries, was re-written to align with a new political horizon. Most of these countries needed conformity to establish political stability and continuity. Therefore the learner became a victim by default. The entire thinking and nurturing process got muddled and was replaced by a mind that acted as a vessel to be filled. Social scientists like Bloom with his theory of “Mastery Learning” further added credibility to this process.

Freire commented further that, “liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferals of information.”  Critical and Creative thinking which is fundamental in a knowledge based society, cannot be achieved if the learner is merely seen as an empty vessel that needed to be filled in. 

    

In Pedagogy of The Oppressed, Freire expounds, “For apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis, individuals cannot be truly human. Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.”  Freire’s concluding statement clearly explains the role expected of the learner and its consequences.  Being a Vedantist  himself I am not surprised his perspective in “teacher-learner relationship” goes beyond “imparter-receiver of knowledge” and  to a “facilitator of thinking-constructor of knowledge” paradigm. 

Extrapolate this thought towards the creation of a knowledge based society which would eventually lead to a civil society. May seem very Utopian but I believe it is very much possible.

The current specialized and compartmentalized approach to education stifles a holistic thinking process. It does not allow the beholder to go beyond the pre-conditioned box which ultimately establishes a comfort zone, from which the beholder finds it difficult to step out. 

Establishment of “critical literacy” would be in the right direction as suggested by Marx, where a literature should not be read merely for syntax understanding but going beyond to decipher both its content and contextual cause and consequences within multiple frames.  Hagel’s concept of “Political Consciousness” thus very much influenced Marx’s perspective.

Interestingly this principle is very much based on the Advaita Philosophy a branch of Vedanta Philosophy established by Adi Shankarachariyar (788CE – 820CE) in India. The basis of this philosophy hinges on the principle of “non-duality”, whereby the seeker and the sought are one and the same, merely separated by a veil of ignorance. So either as seeker or knowledge acquirer, one is expected to embark on self-knowledge with the guide of a “Guru” (or teacher). Thus the role of the Guru is to facilitate thinking rather than an imparter of knowledge. Eventually the seeker is expected to detach himself/herself from the Guru to journey on alone.

Thus a parallel can be drawn here with Freire’s contention in “We make the Road By Walking”, that “The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.”

Teachers play an important role in shaping the future of a society and nation building. If learning becomes oppressive than the nation faces the brunt of becoming an enslaved entity.

The Culture of Reading

Where’s the launch tonight? - The Hindu 

Earnest Hemingway once said "All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they really happened and after you are finished reading one you feel that it all happened to you and after which it all belongs to you."

But sadly virtues of a good read seem missing today in most developing economies. Economic pursuits have completely hijacked the minds of these disdained. Whilst one maybe materialistically rich but falls frought intellectually. The very foundation of a civil society is a knowledge based society and a knowledge based society is formed by a well read society.

A society without humanity is a soulless entity. How can we inculcate humanity when people shy away from reading.

Interestingly I gave my students an assignment to comment and state their thoughts on a speech given by Frantz Fanon on "Reciprocal Bases of National Culture and the Fight for Freedom". I wasn't surprised when one of my student actually said that the entire speech sounded Greek to him both the language as well as its content. When I ask the same student what was the latest book he read, and he quipped, a management text book that he was forced to read to prepare for his examination last semester. Any other book I asked and he said never in the last 7 years. Ironically most of his classmates echoed the same sentiment.

They have never heard of Hemingway nor Dan Brown. JK Rowlings, yes but they watched the movie instead.

Technology is often faulted for this predicament, but I beg to disagree. Technology is merely a tool to facilitate life. So reading need not be conventional but it can be digital as well. This reminds me to an old saying, " You can lead a horse to the water, but you can't make it to drink."  Only if there is a thirst for knowledge the reading culture can flourish, otherwise the use of extraneous forces would be futile.

Whether it is science or spirituality the attitude of the mind called "scientific temper" is essential in human progression. It is not about a singular subject as History, Geography, Mathematics or Biology but it is a whole spectrum of thoughts that culminates from curiosity.

Einstein aptly put it. "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed."

Getting people in particular the younger ones to appreciate reading has become a personal quest to many passionate knowledge facilitators.

I would like to share a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, "Where The Mind Is Without Fear."

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. 

 

This poem was written during the struggles of independence in India, it shows how knowledge can help to shape the destiny of a nation. The power of knowledge via reading has become even more relevant today in a globalized citizenry.  

Revisiting Frantz Fanon

“Sometimes people hold core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit with the core belief.” So wrote Frantz Fanon in his book, “Black Skin, White Mask”.

I was first introduced to Fanon in 1983 by my lecturer Mr. Rajah Rasiah (now Professor) as an undergraduate. Reading Fanons thought provoking book “Wretched of the Earth” totally changed the perspective as to how I perceived the western world and their agendas. It was truly an indepth critical analysis of the cause and effect of colonization by the western world. Colonization did not only hold a grip in a physical sense but its psychological overbearing had a much more damaging effect.

Suddenly I was forced to relook and reflect on my own presumptions about my existence. Though I must say that this revelation actually put me into further state of confusion and at times I really wanted to erase it from my mind because it was easier that way in moving on with life based on known preconditioned belief.

Today in recollecting Fanons thesis, its resonance seems not only louder but the impact has become more complex and sophisticated. 

In “Wretched of the Earth” Fanon goes on to say, “Each generation must discover its own mission, fulfill it, or betray it, in relative opacity”. This is a very strong assertion. He is not being apologetic, nor being an apologist. But looking at the socio-political development taking place from the Middle East to South East Asia and from Africa to South America one wonders who are the agent provocateur? Are the current conflicts self-induced with genuine struggle or is there a puppet master orchestrating an artificially induced cause.  Of course Fanon had justified the use of violence to end injustice. But history has proven time immemorial, violence do indeed breed violence.

Fanon when on to say, “The basic confrontation, which seemed to be colonialism versus anti colonialism, indeed capitalism versus socialism is already losing its importance. What matters today, the issue that blocks the horizon, is the need for redistribution of wealth. Humanity will have to address this question, no matter how devastating the consequences may be”. 

Though Fanon propounded this in 1959, but looking at the state of imbalance today his concerns are very much relevant. Sadly nothing much has changed since. I would believe it only got worse with the emergence of new breed called “resident colonialist”, an elite group with power and wealth within a particular society lording over their own people. Thus the vicious cycle continues only now the perpetrators are within.

Frantz Fanon’s famous quote, “What matters is not to know the world but to change it”, is something that I would hold close to my heart. If only everyone takes the initiative to do the right thing, the world would definitely be a better place to live. 

Changing The Mind set of a Conformist

Rights and wrongs - The Hindu

From the Arab spring uprising to the awakening of complacent minds of Malaysians and Singaporeans, we see a sea of new awareness  emerging. But questions often arises whether these developments are mere superficial reaction based on onsite emotion or has it a deep meaningful expectation.

Judging from the outcome as in the case of Egypt, their inability to move on after ousting President Hosni Mubarak speaks very little on the maturity of the people in managing their initial success. Even the youth uprising in the late 1970's in Iran against the Shah was very quickly hijacked by Muslim fundamentalist with their own agenda and eventually turned the country into a dictatorial rule under Ayatollah Komeini.

So why would a society jump from the frying pan into the fire below? This can be answered by looking at three entities ie. the motive, the motivated and the motivator. 

Very often the motive is always an independent variable in the equation. The motivated are naturally drawn to react because they would have been on the receiving end. But it would be the motivator that plays a greater role in fueling the cause. Ironically the motivated and the motivator have completely opposite agendas. However must be noted the motivators usually have a upper hand, whereas the motivated are merely used as a pawn in a selfish pursuit. 

The motivated, usually the masses who's emotions are easily manipulated to conform to a preordained outcome, sets the action in motion. Why does the masses succumb to such a predicament? Ultimately it is due to the ignorance on "rights" by these  people.

The basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, often held to include the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law. 

However it is sad to know that in most developing and under developed countries, political patronage dictates the boundaries of "rights". Thus an entire generation and subsequent ones are made to believe that the bubble that surrounds them is real. But when the bubble bursts, these very same people would start to seek a new bubble, because they believe that it is natural to live within a bubble, not realizing that the sky is actually the limit. 

Until such time when society comes out of this "bubble mentality" it won't matter, even a revolution is not going to change the lives of the ordinary.

"From Poverty to Power: How Active Citizens and Effective States can Change the World": by Duncan Green is truly inspiring in educating people to have an enriched perspective before they embark on any any revolutionary journey.

Wretched Oppression

Many faces of oppression - The Hindu

From the founding of the Americas to the rape of the tropical rainforest today, natives of respective region had endured not only marginalization but total annihilation in certain boundaries. Who would be responsible or who should be responsible for this calamity?

Blaming the powers that be seems to be the most convenient way of transferring the accountability. But many fail to see the that the root cause of this degradation is a culmination of reckless actions by various stakeholders including the insatiable and often hedonistic consumers.

The Doctrine of Discovery (Romanus Pontifex) a decree awarded by Pope Nicholas V to King Alfonso V of Portugal paved the way for Columbus later, a passport, to "take possession" of land, its people and resources on behalf of the King and Queen of Spain. Thus this led the way to modern day raiding as we know. The reason has always been the same but the perpetrators used different reasons at different times, the conquistadors used God as a motive, and today "development and progress" seem the obvious excuse. 

Jumo Kenyatta the founding father of Kenya once said "When the missionaries came to Africa we had land; they had the Bible. They asked us to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them they had our land; we had the Bible."

The name of GOD yet once again has been used by mortals to serve his own agenda.

At least the Bible gave hope, and through hope attempts were made to regain what was lost hundreds of years later. But today coercion and aggression is used instead, for non compliance it may mean extermination leading to extinction. 

 

Regardless of the cause, the consequential damage has inflicted the same since time immemorial. We were thought to believe that society had progressed, where championing of humanity was a prime focus. But if that were to be so than the current predicament should not happen. Over the years the injustice done to indigenous people around the world has grown at  catastrophic proportion. Does this mean that society has actually regressed? 

Maybe society has become so self immersed that anything that happens outside their own comfort boundary is not recognized as their own concerns. Thus the self fulfilling prophecy that "I do no wrong" absolve the society from taking responsibility to the maligning of this unfortunate people who are the actual "son of the soil" where the rest of us are actually contemptuous migrants. 

   

Law of Morality

Manava Dharma Shastra or Law of Manu written by Sage Manu (circa500BC), was one of the first known proponent of Ethics and Morality that governs not only an individual but it also comprehensively covers governance itself. Sage Manu prescribes 10 essential rules for the observance of dharma (path of righteousness ): Patience (dhriti), forgiveness (kshama), piety or self- control  (dama), honesty (asteya), sanctity (shauch), control of senses (indraiya-nigrah), reason (dhi), knowledge or learning (vidya), truthfulness (satya) and absence of anger (krodha).

Manu further writes, "Non-violence, truth, non-coveting, purity of body and mind, control of senses are the essence of dharma". Therefore dharmic laws govern not only the individual but all in society.

Socrates (469-399BC) on the other hand says “A system of morality which is based on relative emotional value is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true.” 

Socrates ethical wisdom stems from the principles of Platonism (teleological character), hedonism (happiness), cynicism (action) and stoicism (EQ and self- knowledge). Socrates believed the best way for people to live was to focus on self-development rather than the pursuit of material wealth. 

So the concept of morality it seems is as old as civilization itself.  What have we learned?…..Not much….Man continuously make mistake, and they justify  that they have the right to make mistakes  and it is the moral duty of the society to allow for such mistakes, and  eventually making the society to be apologist for this ill.