I say the best way to tackle the political conundrums facing the Maldives is through education. Did I hear you scoff? Yes, everyone knows education is the key, but (again) no one's doing anything about it. Still, you are wondering how I could help break the deadlock, eh dear reader?
Here is a thought: what if a pressure group was formed to force the relevant education departments to enact a subject that covers Maldivian politics. We could call that subject Maldivian Citizenship. Still wondering about how this will help, are you not?
One of the many reasons why political parties cannot exert enough pressure on the government is because of their precarious existence due to the belay of the bill of the political party system. Since opposition activities are being (deliberately?) kept in limbo, creating a subject for teaching the political system of the Maldives (including the rights of citizenship) is the perfect workaround. The present regulations pertaining to the establishment and running of educational institutions do not prevent the teaching of politics or subject-matter related to politics. Even if there were regulations which prevent teaching subjects which present political distention, one can always stick to educating students about the constitution and the Law (including the implications/insinuations of all articles and clauses therein).
What say thee?
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8 comments:
Book List 2007:
1. Political Conundrums.
- workbook, meanings book, text book.
2. Exerting Pressure on the Government. Author: MDP
- exercise book, activity book.
3. Constitution and the Law. Author: Maumoon.
4. Primary English Program.
- basic reader, workbook, text book
5. Webster's Dictionary for Blogs.
( A good book-list = Education = Key)
There is nothing wrong with our educational syllabus o booklist! They are alright.
It is just the mistake of people who teach and people who lead education!
crazysuja: huh? ..........
mithaa ulhey enmenge there in ves kuda koh ves visnenee mi shafiee ah .
Shaafiee:
There is no doubt that education will go a long way in helping us find solutions for some problems. I think here lies the liberal optimism of human rationality and morality. But, rationality can be a 'slave' (to borrow Hume's term) to irrational passions, and morality to immoral passions. A very simple example might be smoking: as far as education goes we ought to not smoke. But educated specialits on its dangers keep doing it. The question is how to find a solution for this apparent 'slavery' of rationality and morality to passions. Well, it is not clear whether morality is even amenable to rationality. That debate has not ended once and for all. The debate goes on. I think the 'is/ought/how' problem is relevant here: education may tell us what is the case, or what ought to be done, but how to do in spite of us (human beings) seems to be a more difficult question. As I said elsewhere, I think human beings' utter complexity (some say our nature and others say its just nuture) might be a reason for this difficulty.
annonymous@4:21:
Rationality and morality can be very vague yet, in circumstances, specifically applicable to precise contexts. Which is the predicament faced by educators: that one cannot teach specific aspects of rationality and morality insofar as to develop foundational principles, pertinent to the contexts of situations, as could be done in subjects such as mathematics.
Nonetheless, we can always try and increase the number of educated individuals towards the goal of their sum constituting a majority. Already, the end-goal of most of the present schemes of education is teach a bunch of kids and hope one or two will be exceptional, both by description and/or modus operandi. Meaning, the difficulties of scintillating the human psyche have already been accepted and provided for. We need to implement an effective political education programme which successfully attains exceptional individuals by educating the mass.
Shaafiee:
Yes, I agree that rationality and morality can very vague, and that logical precision does not hold in many areas the way it does in, for example, mathematics. Such apparent inapplicability of strict rationality to morality is a huge problem: we have different normative systems (e.g. Islam based on God, Kantian ethics based on Reason, etc.) Thus, this is again the difficulty I identified in the previous comment. But, I went a step further, questioning even if we find a normative system agreed in principle by all (as some may argue, for example, that employing Habermasian reason we may find), will we act on that agreement, and if we do not, how do we make us act? I think, it is to this latter problem, Marx's 'change the world' remark should be applied.
Yet, I am very sympathetic with Kantian optimism – your suggestion in the second paragraph – of educating people for finding solutions for our problems.
anonymous:
You're on the money there. Kant's theories should definitely be part of the subject-matter for the study of politics - even if it be as a foundational programme. More people should understand the philosophical foundations of optimism, thereby knowing how to use the concept.
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