A Wonderful Dialogue with a Student...Read and Think

A student sent to me a piece of his work. Below my note to him which is followed by his beautiful writing. I am very proud to know him and to guide his thoughts and maturity... H.K.

A famous Armenian novelist begins one of his popular novels by these words... "While the prudent stand and ponder, the fool has already crossed the river."

Dear student,

What you have is wonderful...I knew that when we were confined within the 319 walls...But now I can write more freely... I can think without censoring my thoughts ... I can act jovially... The societal walls that existed have been shattered and I am not accountable to admin...to teachers...or even to students...In one word, I am liberated of the 319 walls...

If the admin, the teachers, the students - or anyone, disagree with what I say and write...all they can do voice or write their disagreement.

I agree with you about the walls...

People gossip - admin, teachers, students alike - to create walls and safeguard their positions.

People create walls to demarcate their interests and profits...

People are greedy and that are never satisfied with what they have...The more junk they buy and accumulate the more junk they want...

Your writing is beautiful...The wall disgraceful...but real...

Think more and CREATE more...You are intelligent and artistic...Shatter the walls with your artistic gifts, talents...

I am very happy that I will not demean your thoughts and writing with a mere grade...Your thoughts are priceless...Your thoughts are genuine...You writing very conducive and full of passion...Think and think more and thing again...Your thoughts will liberate you from the junkful textbooks and teaching...

Liberate yourself from the junk of the classroom and think freely...Create with your art a new world where people are not separated by walls...where people coexist and create a world where world-hug is possible...

I love your maturity and I am sure you will do GOOD thinks in life...

I will not attend the graduation...do not feel welcomed...by the students, by the teachers and by the admin...

All the best to you...and keep in touch.

H.K.

Here are excerpts of his correspondence and his writing...

On Mon, Mar 31, 2014

 Also, I am sending you something I wrote for a class assignment. It talks about Islamophobia and biases.

I would like your feedback on it. I put a few Allusions and puns in it, I want to see if you get them. I am 100% sure you will.

The Blinding Wall

  In the renowned fantasy book-series, A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin has created a vast fictional world that seems to parallel our own. In the continent of Westeros, there exists a colossal, 700-feet tall wall that keeps the barbaric “wildlings” out and away from the land of the more sophisticated folks of the kingdom. Every man in the kingdom knows that this massive fortification is the only thing preventing the outbreak of the cannibalistic, inhumane, feral, brutal, and ruthless culture of the wildlings.

                Actually, the wildlings are more similar to the kingdom folk than one can imagine. In fact, the wildlings even descended from the same ancestors. The wildlings are equally cultured. They both have generally accepted codes of conduct, they both have hierarchies among people, and they both despise each other. The only real cultural difference is that the wildlings do not have a concept of hereditary nobility.

                So why do the people of the kingdom live this lie? The answer is: The wall. The wall prevents them from ever seeing the wildlings, ever realizing that they aren’t the murderous cannibals they thought. It provides suitable environment for the spread of the disease - that is, rumours. A rumour that defames wildlings emerges, spreads like wildfire, and with the wall preventing the passage of any truth, combined with the perpetual human hunger for a feeling of greatness, this rumour is accepted as the absolute truth. They think the wall protects them and their way of life, but they are blind to the fact that it poisons their minds; they love their wall. 

                But such walls don’t only exist in fictional stories. Neither do they have to be massive physical constructs. After years of thinking conservatively, humans ingeniously created an unconventional wall. This new type of wall still protects one’s precious way of life from any outside influence by poisoning his or her mind, but does not require any materials at all, since it isn’t physical. This wall is generally known as prejudice. When this wall is put up, all reason goes out the window. It warps people’s minds, making them biased; making them draw conclusions about things they do not know. It coerces them from seeking out the truth, yet, it satisfies their ego.

This wall seems to be extremely effective in protecting the traditional Western culture from that of the “radical” Islamic countries. The westerners do not seem to want anything to do with these “misogynists”, “suicide bombers”, “terrorists”, and “jihadis”. The wall keeps their fanatical religion, their absurd practices, and their way of clothing away from the Western world. In summary, it prevents them from bringing, in the words of Bill Maher, “that desert stuff,” that is their culture, to our world.  

                Despite all of this talk of a horrible Middle Eastern world, when a prominent Western man like Jon Stewart walks the streets of Iran, he doesn’t get blown up to pieces by a bomb. A woman is allowed to go outside, work, and hold a position of power. People choose to talk about the big soccer game while drinking coffee, rather than discuss their new bombing strategy. In reality, they are the same as the Westerners; they are civilized human beings. 

                Viewing with an objective eye, one might realize that many Westerners live with a huge misconception about the Middle Eastern world. Why don’t they just realize that they are wrong and see that Middle Easterners aren’t the demonic figures they thought they are? Their wall keeps them from seeing the Middle Easterners for who they are. It makes it near-impossible for them to consider the possibility that they are wrong. To make it even more difficult to see objectively, the so called “Fair and Balanced” news channels use their FOX-like cunning to feed the population lies that make them feel superior, lies that defame all others, and lies that are accepted as the truth by all that are impaired by this wall they put up. The result of this is hatred for anyone who is brown-skinned. An Arab man gets treated with extra caution and suspicion at an airport. His children are bullied and abused at school, forever deemed “terrorists,” as if they themselves were responsible for the terrorist attacks, and his wife cannot shop for groceries without receiving threats and hateful looks.

All of this ludicrousness is because some people are scared to tear down their wall and get over their prejudice to see things with an objective eye. As long as it makes them feel safe and superior, they have to reason to do anything but love their wall.

P.S.

By the way, this piece was inspired by Basil Johnston's Modern Cannibals of the Wild. 

On Mon, Mar 31, 2014

Mr Kevork, 

Please let us know when you will be here. I know that I... and..... are especially eager to see you again. 

I do understand what you mean by the admin and the teachers not functioning properly and as expected ... I never really thought hard whenever you discussed "teaching styles" in class. But, now that you are not teaching us, I now see that there is definitely a huge difference in your's and[ ....] the majority of teachers at the school for that matter.

The way you taught us, it didn't feel like I was preparing to do a test, it felt like the entire class legitimately was combining their efforts to learn. I enjoyed coming to class. 

And you, you taught to make sure that the students ultimately LEARN. Now it seems like the teachers aren't enthusiastic about their subject. Like all they want to do is half-heartedly "teach" and "test", with little to no regard for whether students actually learn. As if their job is to just follow some "guidelines for teaching" set up by the school board and not "thinking out of the box." To put it in your words, "they want to stay inside the bounds of the classroom."

Sorry if I am ranting, I am just a bit frustrated. I am sure this phase will pass.

I hope everything is well with you.

Keep in touch sir.

Dear Student,

I love your "rant"...It is music to my ears...

H.K.

...And later he wrote....

Hello mr kevork
I was wondering what you thought of my thoughts I sent to you regarding your email on the black history month thing.
I did not hear back from you so I was wondering whether you even received my email at all. It could just be a technical glitch.
Anyway, how have you been? And do you still plan on not attending the graduation.
I'm very jealous of the amazing weather you are getting in California!

Dear Student,

Do not be "jealous" of California, though it is beautiful...

I did not write soon enough...because of all the vicious happening in the world...Read the blog and you will see what I mean...But you were always in my mind and I wanted to respond...and here we are...

I hope I did not disappoint you.

I love your writing...With your art create the means to shatter ALL the walls and herald PEACE ON EARTH...

Mr. Oakes, whose life you celebrated in the school recently, used to say..."They are allowed..." in stead of judging others say..."They are allowed"... This is my footnote to your celebration...I am sure it was not mentioned there...but, ..."they are allowed..."

H.K.