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'E' for education, 'M' for misery

Published : Wednesday, 18 October, 2017 at 12:00 AM  Count : 386
Ahmed Tahsin Shams
An age-old maxim is known to the most: "There is nothing more uncommon than common sense". And, the system which perfectly paves way for this 'uncommon' notion is Bangladeshi education system. Here, teachers and job recruiters often face the crisis and therefore scream, "Have you lost your common sense?"

Chronologically speaking, students in Bangladesh are not solely responsible for such crisis; rather firstly, parents, and secondly schooling could be placed on the dock of the court before blaming the students for being in poverty of 'common sense'.  

Deconstructing the usable definition of the most common word: 'common sense', it can be said that the phrase means -- having the ability to think, judge, decide, and act accordingly. Now, does it sound so common? Rather, the action of the word demands high intelligence to perform 'common sense'.

Parents frame a child's brain with full of paradoxes since their early ages. Whatever is taught to a kid, hardly faces practical implication. For instance, everyone is known to the less used advice on earth: "Honesty is the best policy", because the yesterday's kid, today comes to know that they have flats and cars, more than once or twice in the capital Dhaka, and his or her father is a government jobholder! This is not the end. The same parents, for their sons and daughters, passionately wish to buy medical admission question papers.

However, creative thinking, to think liberally, or such thinking, which can be executed, is rarely practised in Bangladeshi education system: whether at home, or at schools. Students study and they do not know why they are doing it. Let's do a hypothesis. Ask any kid, "Why do you go to school"? The majority might answer, "Because of my parents wish..." or "Otherwise dad will scold me..." or "to play with my friends". Let's focus on the third point: 'play'.

Aristotle became nothing but a name in this context as his words, "Enlightenment through entertainment" is very less at use in Bangladeshi education system. Blame will not go to any particular person in authority or faculty, rather their thinking, which is also a product of the system, and this thinking can be coined as, without a hitch, 'imprisoned in age-old dogmas'.
To what extent today's students are given liberty to exercise what they learnt in their practical lives? To what extent teachers encourage students in their writing or speaking classes to watch one of their favourite films and write on it, or mimic their favourite characters, which would develop their public speaking ability?

What do we mean when we actually utter innovative change in the teaching methodology? What could be our approach as guardians and teachers regarding educating the next generation? What steps actually we took so far to present
education as entertainment? Yes, fumble more before answering these questions!
Let alone school-graduates, our university certificate grabbers (or buyers) certainly lack, to a great extent, what is expected from a graduate. For instance, hardly students are made acquainted with research works; whereas, students are judged on their research publications or proposals for higher degree scholarship in many developed countries.

There could be an 'economic' excuse behind this. Most students belong to the 'economic' struggling class and they just need a job just after graduation to support their family. Well, this is another paradox.

Suddenly, a graduate comes to know that he has to earn 'money', whereas, he was never taught what money is. He never got the subject 'money' as he was indulged into quantum physics or culture studies. All of a sudden, he becomes prey to the peer pressure, mostly done by family members. The same family used to scold  him during his teenage -- "Money is not for teens. Here is your tiffin"!

Let's make another hypothesis. Soon, the recent Rohingya issue will get space in textbooks, at least in graduation level for the courses like Bangladesh Studies, History, Sociology, or Political Science. But, the question is -- how many universities have attempted to take their students to the Rohingya camp for academic assignment purposes? This is what is known as 'practical learning'.

The age of memorizing information has gone to grave. Most of the urban students' pockets are weighty with 'smart' phones. The age to evolve as 'think-tanks' has been waving since years, yet unheard, unnoticed by our so-called education policy makers.
There pops up another head, known as 'knowledge'. Using information to create a new concept is knowledge, rather vomiting others' views. The last-second hypothesis is, most schools in Bangladesh, if surveyed, would turn out as synonyms to 'haunted house' for kids.

Let's not forget the reason of the teaching methodology of 'ABC', where "A for Apple", "B for Ball', and "C for Cat" -- designed in a way so that kids can easily remember as these notions are not unknown, rather most friendly to them; whereas in Bangladesh, to be specific in 'adorsholipi', Bangali kids learn: 'A' for 'Ajogar' (Python), 'I' for 'Idur' (Rat), and 'E' for 'Eagle'.  Such frightening animal imageries for kids lead straight to the point mentioned earlier: school is synonymous to 'haunted house'!        

It's not high time, we have already missed the train that travels towards knowledge. Miles to go before the next generation falls asleep. Yet, optimists believe, it is never too late.

The writer is Lecturer, Department of English Language and Literature (ELL), Notre Dame University Bangladesh (NDUB), and Editorial Assistant, The Daily Observer







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