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Thursday, April 04, 2013

School Is Not Synonymous with Education

School Is Not Synonymous with Education
April 3, 2013
Kabir Vega Castellanos*

HAVANA TIMES — I recently saw a documentary expressing opinions on
education. But whose opinions were these? The teachers themselves.

I wish that many children and young people in Cuba could see it. It
reminded me of all my old feelings, as I realized the objective cruelty
of school.

I think the documentary is Argentinean, though in it are interviewed
professionals from several Spanish-speaking countries. "Education Is
Prohibited"(La Educación Prohibida) shows how education emerged, its
evolution in different periods of history and what it has become.

One result: formerly 98 percent of children were interested in learning
and would pick up a book to read at home, while today this figure is
only 10 percent. One of the people interviewed said that when Monday's
come around, most children think: "What a shame. Now I have to go to
school!"

But what's worse is that most teachers feel the same.

"School is not synonymous with education" said these teachers. I was
most impressed when one teacher said: "Everyone talks about peace, but
no one is educated for peace. Teaching is based on competition, and
competition is the beginning of any war."

It's absolutely true that one has to compete all the time in school, and
we're always ignoring that we our individuals, people with different
interests. I was quite surprised to learn that in countries considered
"developed," there's also a great deal of dissatisfaction with the
education.

The documentary explained that human beings learn naturally, out of need
and curiosity, but that school ends up killing both qualities among
students, who are forced to merely repeat and memorize for a passing
grade, without the slightest interest in what they're doing.

Other respondents said people only learn when they're enjoying what
they're doing.

Everyone's conclusion was that the real purpose of education isn't to
help us understand life and all the difficulties that lie ahead.

The goal of schools is to develop a docile and obedient citizen, to turn
them into puppets of corporations and the state, additional widgets in a
monstrous machine – in "socialist" as well as capitalist countries.
Those aren't schools, but factories.

At the end one teacher speaks with great emotion. You can see she can't
contain her tears. She said, "Love is all that a child needs, and that
everything else, what they need for the world, comes on its own.
However, a child who hasn't received love is hardly capable of giving."

The film is dedicated to "all children and young people who want to grow
up in freedom."

I guess we have a long way to go for thoughts like these to be taken
into account in Cuba, but just the fact that there are people thinking
and expressing these things and that we can now see them here (though
not on TV) is already something hopeful.
—–
(*) Kabir is a young Cuban who was not allowed to attend his senior high
school because of his long hair.

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=90555

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