Sunday, June 05, 2005
Undeserved Knighthood
“What man?? Backbenchers, why are you eating your nails? Did you not have lunch?”, quips our beloved ED “sir” in the midst of a particularly enthusiastic lecture.
Well, professors are a respected lot, like doctors, “elders”, or is it more like politicians?
The customary “Good Afternoon” where the entire class stands up, the yes sir, no sir, sorry sir?
Your guru for academic salvation, your guide supposedly... is also the examiner, the grade-awarder, the fail-grade-giver , the attendance-taker... unfortunately, an instrument of oppression.
Lets face it, most of us have slept during classes as back-benchers. A particularly illustrious friend dared to embrace slumber sitting right in the first bench. Now this is supposed to be a great disrespect to a person of high stature like our "sir", so our prof expectedly asks this guy to leave.
On second thoughts, however, this slumber is a silent question, a repudiation, an expression of discontent, where the body expresses itself when the mind cant.
Does the prof really deserve the pedestal in the classroom he is entitled to. Or rather, does anyone deserve to be placed higher than others? Should respect be enforced, regulated?
Did you ever wonder why Gandhi is never called sir? Why Rabindranath Tagore gave up knighthood?
These people never demanded respect. We respect them because we appreciate them. And appreciation is always deeply felt.
Well look around and you will come across with a class of people who are “supposed” to be high on respect, although the very “supposedness” makes them all the more hated. Some examples are our politicians, government officers, the high-nosed, high-flying corporate and the list goes on...
I feel the person who is elevated is not an oppressor, but a victim rather. A victim of disrespect, of hatred, all in the name of a respected profession.
Our professors are, unfortunately, victims of an oppressive reality, where they don’t even know what hit them. They really don’t deserve the disrespect that they get as a consequence of the unrealistic expectations placed upon them.
Neither the professor, nor the student is really responsible for this sad state of affairs, but rather the classroom environment, the academic pressures of “curriculum”, which allows neither the freedom to teach nor to learn. Which makes it extremely difficult for a teacher to connect with his students.
There is an ego-factor, induced by the design of the classroom which doesn’t allow the teacher to share a honest relationship with his students.
Students view their professor as someone who will, by some miracle, cast learnings on them. It is true that there are a few gifted communicators who can perform this magic, but it is unreasonable to expect this of anyone.
True learning is what happens within the individual, as a result of reflections arising from practical experience. This is not to say that workshop and labs should be included in our curriculum. They actually make life more difficult, as you spend more time doing things that don’t have any perceptible purpose.
It is this culture of factory-schooling which discourages questioning, and turns a sincere student, in pursuit of truth through his chosen stream, into an economic unit, a slave of the “system”.
Questioning, revolting and complete rejection of blind faith, is a prerequisite to learning. Making mistakes is an inseparable part of it.
This system of education, by the way, was conceived by a German philosopher named Fichte in order to create obedient soldiers and voiceless workers. A major objective was to build a national consensus accepting the views of the elite families and the “leaders” of the society. The motive was to serve the interests of warfare.
In today's scenario, the warlord has been replaced by the corporate imperialist, who uses money as a currency of control. After all, democracy creates the need for innovative ways to fool people.
And what would be better than using money as a tool? Such a fantastic method of making people dependent without their realising it.
Oppression is always cyclic, where the victim is quite often the perpetuator as well. The only way to break this cycle is to start questioning, not just the system, but ourselves. Our own values. To rebel against the dependence on blind faith.
No one can force me. It is me who forces myself.
We don't need no education We don't need no thought control No dark sarcasm in the classroom Teachers leave them kids alone Hey teacher leave them kids alone All in all it's just another brick in the wall All in all you're just another brick in the wall
--Pink Floyd
Further Reading:-
Ivan Ilich--”Deschooling society”
John Taylor Gatto(Just do a google)-- His article, “the public school nightmare” unearths the conspiracy behind “national education”
Krishnamurti
John Holt--“Why children fail”
Well, professors are a respected lot, like doctors, “elders”, or is it more like politicians?
The customary “Good Afternoon” where the entire class stands up, the yes sir, no sir, sorry sir?
Your guru for academic salvation, your guide supposedly... is also the examiner, the grade-awarder, the fail-grade-giver , the attendance-taker... unfortunately, an instrument of oppression.
Lets face it, most of us have slept during classes as back-benchers. A particularly illustrious friend dared to embrace slumber sitting right in the first bench. Now this is supposed to be a great disrespect to a person of high stature like our "sir", so our prof expectedly asks this guy to leave.
On second thoughts, however, this slumber is a silent question, a repudiation, an expression of discontent, where the body expresses itself when the mind cant.
Does the prof really deserve the pedestal in the classroom he is entitled to. Or rather, does anyone deserve to be placed higher than others? Should respect be enforced, regulated?
Did you ever wonder why Gandhi is never called sir? Why Rabindranath Tagore gave up knighthood?
These people never demanded respect. We respect them because we appreciate them. And appreciation is always deeply felt.
Well look around and you will come across with a class of people who are “supposed” to be high on respect, although the very “supposedness” makes them all the more hated. Some examples are our politicians, government officers, the high-nosed, high-flying corporate and the list goes on...
I feel the person who is elevated is not an oppressor, but a victim rather. A victim of disrespect, of hatred, all in the name of a respected profession.
Our professors are, unfortunately, victims of an oppressive reality, where they don’t even know what hit them. They really don’t deserve the disrespect that they get as a consequence of the unrealistic expectations placed upon them.
Neither the professor, nor the student is really responsible for this sad state of affairs, but rather the classroom environment, the academic pressures of “curriculum”, which allows neither the freedom to teach nor to learn. Which makes it extremely difficult for a teacher to connect with his students.
There is an ego-factor, induced by the design of the classroom which doesn’t allow the teacher to share a honest relationship with his students.
Students view their professor as someone who will, by some miracle, cast learnings on them. It is true that there are a few gifted communicators who can perform this magic, but it is unreasonable to expect this of anyone.
True learning is what happens within the individual, as a result of reflections arising from practical experience. This is not to say that workshop and labs should be included in our curriculum. They actually make life more difficult, as you spend more time doing things that don’t have any perceptible purpose.
It is this culture of factory-schooling which discourages questioning, and turns a sincere student, in pursuit of truth through his chosen stream, into an economic unit, a slave of the “system”.
Questioning, revolting and complete rejection of blind faith, is a prerequisite to learning. Making mistakes is an inseparable part of it.
This system of education, by the way, was conceived by a German philosopher named Fichte in order to create obedient soldiers and voiceless workers. A major objective was to build a national consensus accepting the views of the elite families and the “leaders” of the society. The motive was to serve the interests of warfare.
In today's scenario, the warlord has been replaced by the corporate imperialist, who uses money as a currency of control. After all, democracy creates the need for innovative ways to fool people.
And what would be better than using money as a tool? Such a fantastic method of making people dependent without their realising it.
Oppression is always cyclic, where the victim is quite often the perpetuator as well. The only way to break this cycle is to start questioning, not just the system, but ourselves. Our own values. To rebel against the dependence on blind faith.
No one can force me. It is me who forces myself.
We don't need no education We don't need no thought control No dark sarcasm in the classroom Teachers leave them kids alone Hey teacher leave them kids alone All in all it's just another brick in the wall All in all you're just another brick in the wall
--Pink Floyd
Further Reading:-
Ivan Ilich--”Deschooling society”
John Taylor Gatto(Just do a google)-- His article, “the public school nightmare” unearths the conspiracy behind “national education”
Krishnamurti
John Holt--“Why children fail”
