Educating the Students Politically…

For most of us education has little to do with politics. Some even argue that education is a neutral process. This view is contrary to the desired results we expect from our students in the long run. By and large, all of us agree that education is not only alphapatization or memorization of some theories and vomiting them in the examination. On the contrary, education is as a process of holistic development of a person – for instance, Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore opined that it is a process of character-making besides technical and entrepreneurial skills. The post-colonial educationists, such as Paulo Freire (a Brazilian educationist and philosopher) expressed that education necessarily is and has to be political for a simple reason that knowledge is developed in communion and not in isolation. When students come together to learn and discuss with their teachers they come with their own bundle of knowledge and for the most pick-up things apparently untaught. Politics need not necessarily be party politics. For example, a teacher who dialogues with his or her students is a democrat; the one who imposes his or her ideas forcefully is a despot. The students make a political option even when hardly know anything about party politics. For a holistic development of a person, to be responsible citizens, it is very important that we educate students politically. I think it could be done by following three informal strategies or attitudes.

1. Respect Students’ Uniqueness and Knowledge

The root cause of social unrest, violence, and vandalism can be traced back to lack of respect for the dignity of the other person, his or her freedom to be different from oneself or a mob. If we, teachers, learn to respect the students regardless of their performance we teach them indirectly yet powerfully to respect their fellow companions as well. In choosing to respect we take a democratic stand politically. In a multi-religio-cultural-linguistic country like ours tolerance is a necessary and indispensable virtue. When a student feels that he or she is respected, accepted and appreciated despite his or her differences and abilities he or she is most likely to be tolerant and democratic at heart. This is impossible without the conviction there are only differently abled and none is disabled.

2. Dialogue with Students

It is quite true that ours is a competitive world. What is new today can be outdated in a matter of a few days. If we carefully analyze there is less intra-personal communication but more communiqués, dos and don’ts. Students are in a kind of perpetual movement from one tuition to another. Amidst high level of performance in schooling, emotional frustrations and hopelessness are also growing alarmingly. When teachers dialogue with their students they can help them see the broader picture of the world and vive sense of purpose to all that the students do. Motivating them by being with them and dialoguing with them helps them see the social situations critically and make a political option later as responsible citizens.

3. Encourage Questions

Questions are the manifestations of human curiosity to know and if necessary to bring about a change or difference. Questioning is the source of knowledge. Discoveries, regardless of their impact and worth, are the outcome of human ability to question. Revolutions have their origin in a single concern, a question intriguing the minds of some men and women. The knowledge of a society is not pre-packaged but constructed time and again questioning the ‘well-established-near-not-myths.’ Teachers must encourage students to raise questions and appropriate their study. For example, a good history teacher cannot but ask and face questions regarding the many historical events, their impact and authenticity. Encouraging the students to question would prepare them as active agents of political change later on. They will be conversational than confrontational.

Everyone unanimously agrees that education (knowledge) is power, a key to empowerment and socio-political change. However not all of us feel the necessity to educate our students for their future role as responsible citizens. We cannot distance ourselves from politics; of course we can from party politics. Politics has got implications far beyond our imaginations, from womb to tomb. Presence of a critical political consciousness in the present young generation would end the epidemics of corruption, poverty, inequality, violence and oppression. The role of teacher is, therefore, a more crucial, responsible, noble and indispensable for the humanization of our world.