No Education: No Freedom, No Opportunity

(October 1 - 13, 2006)
By Rianne Tecson

Rianne Tecson

“It is the reformer who is anxious for the reform, and not society, from which he should expect nothing better than opposition, abhorrence and mortal persecution.”

-- Mahatma Gandhi

The decision to join the months-long “No Education: No Freedom, No Opportunity” seminar organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation was a rather quick one. Armed with only my desire to finish my post graduate studies and the knowledge I had gathered over the years from my job as a journalist, I decided to participate in the seminar to learn things I may not acquire in the four corners of my classroom.

And learn I did. And much more.

The fact sheets each participant submitted early on in the online seminar already gave me an idea as to how educational systems in other countries worked and how, despite the fact that our country’s own educational system leaves much to be desired, we are still better off.

The virtual interaction was also another thing. It allowed me to get a picture of what the figures provided in the fact sheets really meant. Based on the essays of the participants, I came to a conclusion that somehow, we were all advocating for the same types of reforms – less government intervention, decentralization, more financial allocation, curriculum improvement, teacher training, etc. – but to varying extents.

Our online discussions, lengthy or otherwise, allowed participants to explain why, albeit ideal, some reforms being pushed by other participants just could not work in their country and vice versa. Despite these differences, the discussions eventually paved the way for us to agree on what exactly it was that we really wanted to happen as far as education was concerned.

When I was informed of my acceptance to the onsite seminar at the Theodor-Heuss -Akademie in Gummersbach, Germany, I honestly didn’t have an idea what to expect. But somehow, I had this feeling that I would be bombarding my head with more questions and be desperately seeking answers for those, or even just simple clarifications.

The working groups, plenary and informal discussions and visits that spanned 12 days provided me with information I wouldn’t have gathered just by listening to hours and hours of lectures, interview after interview, or reading one paper after the other. (The exchange of ideas and information was just so valuable that I couldn’t fight the urge to write down each and every word being said or written.)

There were, however, a few that things I was particularly interested in.

The visit to the concentration camp in Buchenwald was a very powerful – both physically and emotionally – experience. Viewing the short film about the camp’s history somehow gave me an idea how a single day could have seemed like a lifetime for the over 250,000 prisoners from all over Europe.

Walking around the camp itself was a different experience altogether. It was overwhelming to be inside rooms you know used to be where approximately 56,000 prisoners lost their lives, brutally if I may add. As we left the camp and ventured into the city, I asked myself whether it was really necessary for society to bear such atrocities before it rises to become free and empowered. Maybe, for some.

Being able to sit in one of the classes at the Marie-Curie-Gymnasium in Dresden made me realize that how long you keep students in the classroom doesn’t really matter. Even if you hold classes for one full hour, if it doesn’t motivate the students to think critically, and if it will just let them echo what has been written in textbooks, substantial learning will never be possible.

Sometimes, we only need to play an outsider-looking-in role for us to appreciate methods and procedures we thought were just formulated to give us a hard time. Based on my Marie-Curie-Gymnasium experience, I saw for myself how asking open-ended questions to students was a lot better than just letting them fill in the blanks or making them answer yes or no type questions.

Our discussions on what reforms we would want to be initiated vis-à-vis early childhood education also highlighted the need to let each and every stakeholder play an active role in coming up with an effective curriculum.

Getting quality early childhood education should be every parent’s paramount concern, considering that it is at this stage where children, impressionable as they are, get to explore their learning capabilities. Parents should actively participate in their child’s curricular and extra-curricular activities; teachers should possess more than just the minimum qualifications, and the curriculum should be specially crafted to cater to the peculiar needs of schoolchildren at this stage.

There should be no compromises on the amount and quality of investment that stakeholders should put in to come up with an efficient early childhood education system.

The brain drain discussion was also another topic I was particularly interested in. Somehow, I was hoping there could be other reasons to justify the flight of professionals to other countries. It turned out, there isn’t – it’s all basically the same story, whether you come from a poor or developed country.

Seeking better opportunities in places other than your own is largely because of the financial rewards it gives. But others go beyond financial considerations and look at personal and professional growth.

The sad thing here, however, is that the problem is too glaring and yet the government’s efforts to make these people stay seem not enough. Or perhaps we are just weighed down by other concerns we deem more important for our survival.

It may all boil down to the choices an individual makes, but the decision to leave wouldn’t be that easy to make if only there were more opportunities that would convince these professionals to stay.

Brain drain isn’t just about blaming people for leaving the country in exchange for lucrative jobs elsewhere. It’s also about the government’s inaction to come up with realistic and doable solutions to the problem.

On a lighter note, the entire seminar was a totally new experience for me – new faces, new places. I initially felt a little anxious and excited when I learned I was going to Gummersbach, Germany. Anxious because it was my first time to travel outside the country (which partly explained why I was excited) and to participate in a seminar which I had very little knowledge of.

After frantic exchanges of e-mails and text messages with my fellow participants, I said to myself there’s no reason for me to worry about (still, I armed myself with reading materials from the online seminar and a stash of English-German translations printouts; I was bracing for the worst). Indeed, there wasn’t. Days into the seminar, I did what I felt I was supposed to do — explore that side of the world, learn as much as I could and enjoy the whole experience. And I did.

“Education is not to reform students or amuse them or to make them expert technicians. It is to unsettle their minds, widen their horizons, inflame their intellects, teach them to think straight, if possible.”

-- Robert M. Hutchins