Another Brick in the Wall

Another Brick in the Wall

Syed  Jamal Shah

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! Teachers! 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

                                                      (by Pink Floyd)

C

old evening night of December, beside heater while taking Mocha coffee at office lounge, Assad Hisham opened Pandora’s box that “Learning ethics begins from home, shaped by elder’s, individual embraces according to norms of society, being polished by secondary institutions, essential needs are considered as key ingredients to cook manners, Today's fashion is in battle with old days of school, horse sense is missing, psychologists are also experimenting by one way or other and composing their own knowledge, it is beyond the common man altitude  to scale the relation of education and attitude issue”. In addition, He beamed, and said that ‘we people are seeking for answers in a fool’s paradise and bringing knives to a gunfight’.

                   “An elevating response to something or someone is called Attitude”. According to psychology, Attitude has three main components A, B, C.A for ‘Affective’, B for ‘Behavior’ and C for ‘Cognitive’, these factors drives the wheel of attitude. Affective component involves person sentiments/feeling towards object e.g. she is scared of scorpions. Behavioral is that influences, how person act e.g. she will avoid scorpion and scream, if she gets one, Cognitive involves person knowledge or belief e.g. she believes that scorpion venom is fatal.

                    He locked his horn again, debate started again from the slogan of coaching academy “Changing Educational Attitudes”, he argues that it is not as easy as ABC, how they can bring transformation in one’s attitude. Attitude is something on which mankind is still unable to revolutionize it, in progressive mode and manners. Although, human beings get first installation of learning from primary institutions, this installation is further updated by secondary institutions. Social Institutions are reflected as mainstream carters of change in affective domain, institutional impacts drag the morality of individual from one pole to another, effects of social institution are densely interwoven and conquers individual approach by numerous ways. Now and then, the Fashion of approach is practice in smarter ways as comparatively practiced in old days of school.

              Going back to basics, “Education is cycle of giving and receiving logical commands”, Allan Bloom once said, Education is movement from darkness to light. According to Jean Piaget theory of cognition, ‘the principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done’. Jean Piaget theory is focusing on development rather on learning, because development will enable children to think and reason. Further he adds that “when you teach a child something you take away forever his chance of discovering it for himself”, and classroom activities, social interaction and developmental base curriculum can enhance the acute and creative thinking of students.

           Going back to the salt mines, Assad Hisham is an Educationist with immense experience and exposure in his respective field. In the middle of talks, one of our colleague added fuel to fire by raising this point that poor education will produce exacerbate attitude’s and healthy education will produce healthy attitudes acceptable to society, healthy educational institutes keep it their foremost duty to ignite the positive potential and moral energy of students for the betterment of society, providing challenging environment for the understanding of facts and equipping them with apparatus to serve humanity. Such schools, install the habit of asking, inquiring and searching in students to find new avenues for problem solutions and lighting up their dark side of attitudes that there are still people in the world, they are longing to hear your solutions and resolutions. Identically, these doctrines give hope to students to seek and extract best in every matter. By all means, Underprivileged educational organizations, kill the vigor of students and enslave them in the prison of pessimism, in consequence, the belief of pessimism becomes the vibrant resident of behavior and promoting them towards worst situation of morality.

                     In the battle of giants, holding attitude at bay, its true up to some extent but social causes are the catalyst for altering behavior, causes are the consequences of social evils and tensions residing in Public sphere of individual, and Similarly, it also effects the morality standards set by the watch dogs of society. Our world owns diverse cultures and multiple religions, practiced by people regarding many views. it is fact that people do moral judgments within cultural ideologies and deliver decisions on sensitive issues. For this reason, parents/guardians need to choose school which reflects their dogmas and hopes for their children. According to Schwartzwald & Leslau, 1992, “The difference between these schools is not only in the material that is taught, but also in the values that are advocated”. Usually, the one who takes moral judgments do not desire for social approval.

                    Yakoob a certified trainer by USAID and British Council on teaching methodologies and Schooling suggests that working on teacher skills and knowledge is somehow an ordinary phenomenon and being preached by several organizations working for education, almost all of them keep this phenomena as foremost significant ingredient for teacher development, but mostly they ignore or give little consideration to “Teachers’ Attitude”. In serious business attitude matters, as it affects the behavior of holder. He shared that being in the field of trainings from last ten years, he has seldom seen this element in training curriculum. There should be proper program, essential for “capacity building of teachers” that enhances attitudes positively.

        Idealist philosopher Plato in his book “The Republic”, theory of education, emphases on four things Wisdom; Courage; Temperance or Self-Control and Justice. These four elements collectively enrich the capacity of any students, if taught to him/her in right pattern. The function of education there is to prepare the masses for the achievement of Peaceful world.

      Bartend Russell clearly states that Vitality, Courage, Sensitiveness and Intelligence are the foundation of an ideal character. These four elements could create such qualities in men and women which could make them excellent. First to create and develop curiosity in children which is essential for intellectual development. Second it is the duty of the teacher to provide the motivations to the children which can awake curiosity in them and make them able to the level so that they can satisfy their curiosity. Some other qualities are necessary in the pursuit of knowledge which are: Open mindedness, Patience, Concentration, Faith in Acquisition of Knowledge, Exactness and Perseverance.

                   For the improvement of educational outcomes, Educationist need to focus on raising teacher’s qualification level, improving curriculum, better textbooks, maintenance services in academic centers and encouraging salary for teachers. Educational outcomes can be obtained in true manner if state policymakers kept said things in good terms with functioning machinery of education. In contrast, some of private schools are rational in supposed amendments to ameliorate to student’s standards but their fees are like highway robbery, beyond common man pocket.

           To achieve milestones in educational system once and for all, other fishes to fry is that First, Skill Based Learning, to know the interest of students, Policy makers should allow skill based training like mobile engineering course, handicraft item, basic computer courses etc. such trainings will ensure self-employment. Second, Teacher Training, teacher should be trained in behavior to understand duties as well as the rights of students and teachers. Third, Educate Parents, educating parents is equally important as student, another it will improve chemistry of understanding between parents, schools and student’s.

                We cannot teach an old dog new tricks, Education is hope for a millions of middle and low-middle class, expecting that after receiving education, they will be able to reap the result’s in such ways, financially sound jobs, authoritative power, elite status and neo-luxury. Middle class of society strongly believe that through education they can cross the bridge of odds and even in world; fire of misery, poverty and helplessness below the bridge cannot burn them now, and expecting to do best in their art. Hope against hope, In the diverse world of today, one can easily understand the level of education and its advantages. Education is important but attitude is essential. Changing attitudes of students through education is possible, if the watchdogs of education wish to go extra mile in their art, they must be conscious about the relation of education and attitude, and presume that students are architect of future and leaders of tomorrow’s society. Alert, Teacher must have heart of gold and every student will love them.