Hegel - Socrates - Mr. Oakes - Hi-Hey Sir and Sky is the limit...

Two Young Friends Chat with Me...and I hope,
                            The dialogues will flourish into polylogues...
Sometimes it does...At times miracles happen...and at times even the blind will see and the mute will talk...
I KNOW THAT EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE...and I always hope for the rose-raining-dawn...
I am sure it will happen...I am sure it will rain rose and I am sure people will live in harmony...and the schools will herald the rose-raining-dawn...
All this will happen...I am sure of it...Because I believe in ALL of you...

Hi Sir, 

I hope you're doing well. I'm sorry that I haven't written to you in so long. I am constantly reading the blog and learning something new every post but l don't know why I never ended up writing to you. 

Anyways, I'll be honest and say that I don't know much about the happenings in Tiananmen Square besides there being a large massacre of protestors. I knew about how the Jews were distinguished and later persecuted by seeing if the males were circumcised or not but I had no clue that the reverse happened in Turkey with regards to the Muslims and Christian Armenians. It is so depressing to hear that things like this happened in the past and even more so that they continue to happen in the present. This has got me thinking lately and I think the reason for this has to be education, or rather lack of education. The youth of today are the future of tomorrow and that's where the focus has to be because it's when kids are young that they develop the most. That's the most likely chance to shape their minds to improve this world and promote peace and unity. 

Here's where I'm going with this. Throughout elementary and high school, we always had history courses and religion courses. I'm a very religious person praying every day and going to mass every Sunday, but in my honest opinion, the religion courses we took throughout high school were rather useless. Back in my parents' time, their religion classes were purely about prayers and acting respectfully and responsibly and the religion class was nowhere near the 75 minutes classes are now. Nowadays, we never learned any new prayers in those courses. They were all focussed on self reflection and stuff like that. Don't get me wrong, self reflection is important if you want to become a better person or improve at anything but that's not something we needed a paid teacher sitting there giving us assignments, or even worse, make us watch a movie and write about it. Everybody reflects a different way yet we were forced to write and draw about it. I personally hated doing that. Whenever I had any free and quiet time, I would always be reflect on what I had done recently and ways to improve myself and others around me. Some days, I had no free time. Other days, I had hours of free time a day. I didn't need a teacher to give me an assignment and force me to write something within the confined walls of the classroom. It really restricts your freedom and imagination being forced to sit down and write and you've said that a million times yourself. Somebody can be having a bad day(s) yet there is no accommodation for that. The worst part of it all is that we would get marked on these self reflections. 

My question then is why continue with this method? Just in high school, we had 4 mandatory religion courses and 1 mandatory history course, with the opportunity for more as an elective. Yet after having 4 years of religion courses, the only useful religion course was the world religions course because we actually learned something new about all the different cultures and then had a trip to the various religious places of those religions to experience that culture. The other 3 years were completely useless. In that 1 history course, we learned about the 2 world wars. Why wouldn't we have learned about these wars back in elementary school like it used be a decade or two ago? Why did we have to spend all of elementary school learning about how Ontario and Quebec used to fight? We could have easily learned everything I just mentioned in just elementary school leaving high school for new, more complicated topics. 

Here's what would have been a much better use of our time in high school and it would have benefitted the whole world altogether. We should spend more time learning about what happened in the world over the past 50 years, or even just the past 10-20 years. By it being more recent, there would have been more interest in it. It would have had a much greater effect on us. It could be anything from wars like the Rwandan Genocide or the Balkan war, both in the late 20th century, to the Sumgait Pogrom like you mentioned. Even if we didn't go into detail, just knowing what happened where and when would have been so beneficial rather than telling us that the world is perfect like they teach us. I would have suggested spending just a week or two on one specific happening for only half the time of the religion class and it would have had a much greater spiritual effect on all of us, especially if we touched upon things that happened throughout the whole world. In a multiculturally diverse society such as Canada, learning a bit more about everybody's roots, where they come from and what they or their family have been through would go a long way to forging stronger relationships, benefiting society as a whole. Even if this just started in Canada, it would eventually spread throughout the world, especially with the use of today's social media and internet. 

Few days ago, in a group, we were talking about general knowledge, after a “Jeopardy” game…that we watched on the TV, and I admitted that most of my knowledge of history and geography and world religions and classics came from my high school years … I knew the 100 Years War, the 30 Years War, Unification of Germany, Unification of Italy and basically all European history. I learned the Middle East inside out…Because the Mediterranean is the basin of World Civilization and birth of World Culture…

When I immigrated to North America I was surprised about the apathy towards learning and the lack of interest in literature and religion, history and geography…It made me smile always when I attended the “trials” in philosophy class…They were extremely superficial and negated everything that philosophy stands for…that is, questioning the veracity of everything, the meaning of human existence, and religion and… These “trials” were more pomp and ceremony rather than philosophy…Where the teachers felt good about themselves and where students do not learn to challenge the very core of the value system…where students must rehash the teacher and regurgitate the book…and where they are sorely missing the learning experience.                                                                                                                            …When students roamed the hallways and asked; “Sir, what is truth?” or “What is reality?”… I was amused…I wanted to say…“There is no truth” or “reality does not exist”…But I was careful and dismissed them most of the time…so as not to antagonize the teachers…so as to avoid trouble…so as to remain in my part of the school with my math and Gregorian Chants…

Dear young friend,                                                                                           I agree with most of your assertions…In order to teach, the teachers must arouse the curiosity of the kids, fire up their imagination and assure them that “there are no limits…” and in order to learn, we must be ready to question and to challenge and to destruct and construct…and restructure and remodel…Not just admire whatever already exists…

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel initiated Hegelian Dialectic

The best way to learn is to follow Hegelian dialectic…with thesis-antithesis-synthesis… Debate in a civilized way and come to a better comprehension and better understanding of the nature of things and synthesizing for the moment in order to initiate a new rung of thesis-antithesis-synthesis… and  this methodology will ultimately lead to questioning-challenging-learning…and arriving at a higher truth…

Listen and heed to Socrates

Socrates insisted  that through questions and answers we will arrive at knowledge…Now we call this the Socratic method…But in our high schools essentially we treat the kids as empty bags…through the years we dump into the bags some facts…and eventually get satisfied that the bag is full enough and …celebrated the graduation of the bags…

Your assertions are to the point and relevant…But unfortunately I could not make a dent on the system …I could not change their ways … I alienated myself in my attempts to change…I made tones of non-friends and very few, I should say – only ONE, friend…Ross was one of a kind and he understood me…He understood the system and the need of the kids -students… He wanted to challenge and wanted to rebuild…but he was alone and at times he was scarred and withdrew in the cocoon of the Chapel…

Ross Oakes ...The Chaplain and my only friend...at my last post

I want to write and say so many things…memories and facts are crowding my brain and my thoughts are becoming incoherent, may be non sequitur  too…But let me mention in passing…When I studied English Literature (four-years-honour) I had a course where King James Bible was a required reading…and I read it…all Western culture and literature is based on it…flows from it…But none of the English Departments that I have seen has any reading of the Bible as the basis of their department and their existence…

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”   1 John 3:16

Once an AP Calculus student wanted to study and write AP Economics Exams…He talked to me and I suggested that he approach his economics teacher…The economics teacher refused to adopt and encourage him…He returned to me…and besieged me to help him…I did. He studied Macro and Micro AP Economies and I helped him in his progress since I have an Economics Degree too from university…And surprise, surprise! He did better in Economics than he did in Calculus… I wanted to help…I wanted him to be challenged…I wanted him to soar…and I was not going to trim his wings and halt his flight…I was a teacher and I assumed that it is my duty…Despite the fact that I was the Calculus teacher and not involved in Economics…But I could not allow myself the luxury of not-helping-him…I could not forfeit my calling…   

Adam Smith and the "Invisible hand"

The English Department in my last school initiated AP English when I initiated AP Calculus. They folded it up after ONE semester. The reason…? “It is too much work…,” they said…! 

•  Once I got tired and bored of teaching AP Calculus…I suggested to one of my senior teachers to teach the course…He agreed…I gave him the graphing calculator, the books and all relevant material to be prepared during the summer…The very next day he came to me and said …“I don’t want to do it. It is too much work...” And, as long as there was demand in our department for AP Math…I got stuck with it…I did not mind the load…It was a sweet burden…and an opportunity to engage the young kids…to dream and to imagine and ask for more…

I hope you, my young friend, and people like you will be able to do better than I and my generation did…I hope you will be more successful where we failed…

And recently another student wrote:

Hey Sir,

Lately I haven't been trying to improve in my habits like doing my homework more often and studying, but I've been having a hard time. I feel like the reason behind these troubles is my lack of drive. I know what I should be doing but I find it really difficult to either get up and do what I'm supposed to do or continue to do it. In all honesty it makes me pretty worried and scared because if I don't fix my problem then I don't feel like I will be able to attain my goals. I'm not too sure what to do to fix it and I was wondering if you have any ideas or advice.

All of the rambling above is a partial answer to your question…But there is more … I think you are lacking in motivation because your imagination is not “fired” up and your teachers and parents have allowed you to drift … The teachers told you that you are a bag and almost full to graduate and your parents told you that you are very smart and you can do all and you got conceited because of that…and now you are drifting and not certain how to repair things…You are having  “a hard time” because of your “lack of drive”…                             
This lack of drive comes from the system and the teachers and the parents too … I am not sure what their expectations are, but I have noticed that you are very much interested in arts and music…and I am guessing that parental expectations and your aspirations are in huge conflict…I am assuming that you do not want to study what your parents…expect you to… and here the system(the school) and the teachers come into play…

The system failed you…and the teachers did nothing to flare up your imagination…So you forgot that “everything is possible” and that “there are no limits…”

Suggestions…

·        Go with your heart…Do whatever you like to do…Follow and study your passion. I am not sure what that will be, but I suspect that art, literature and music will be a part of it…

·        Take your time and during the summer lull think things over…and do not be afraid and ashamed of following your heart…

·        To get back to studying requires discipline…So allocate few hours a day and follow that regime. A daily routine is very important. Set some time…3 hours or so…and everyday force yourself to engage in that routine…till it becomes a pattern and till you redeem yourself from the apathy of the moment…

My dear young friend,

I know that you are wise and intelligent. Its only few days left…You can do it…For few days force yourself…and tell yourself that you are doing all that for YOURSELF…and you are definitely worth it…

I am proud of you and I know that you can do it…

Once this is over…look things over and re-evaluate the situation during the summer months and decide for yourself what to study later in higher education, in university …Fire up yourself to your passion…and remember always that “there are no limits…” that your imagination is the horizon…Go for the rainbow on the horizon of your imagination and you passion will provide the rest…

Only your imagination will hinder your flight....Soar and enjoy the horizon

All the best…and keep in touch if you have time.