BEING-RESPONSIBILITY TO EDUCATE

Various thinkers have different perspective on the relation between men and society, by addressing the question why only men needs society but no other creature? Albeit different concepts have emerged to address the question, to me from modern perspective, we form society to precede the phrase, called “survival of the fittest.” Darwin celebrate the fame of introducing the given phrase in the realm of science, albeit he may refused to foresee that this of his biological theory likely to outstrip biological science alone and make negative impact to our social science as well. This concept of survival appears to be the slogans of many modern men, who acquired certificate and degree from High Schools, colleges and Universities, without deeper acquaintance to its value. In fact this is where the challenge lies for Christian parents, teachers, lecturers, professors and intellectual ones, to take up the responsibility to give Christian meaning in education without violating academic discipline.  

We should not forget the essence of Christ teaching that we form society not to combat each other or deepen our world view into brute competition but to love and to help one another, knowing that we the human are too weak to survive alone. However, to ascend “a fittest” concept the objective of education in all possible way require a noble way to redefine and to re-inculcate.

1 Being and Responsibility

The term “being” is more relevant term than just the “men” for present context as the term “being” take ones beyond physical appearance and helping them to unveil the meaning of men mystery. While the term “men” often is identify with physical appearance alone which create tension in the mind by realizing its finitude of the very self, subsequently disrupt our hope in the face of death. The fear of death abusively kidnapped our minds and lead into a-thinking for self, security, and attainment of maximum pleasure in life time by ignoring the means. But when we refer the term “being” it takes our existence from finitude to authenticity, the authenticity to transcend self and to accept the given reality of our very existence, which helps our mind and conscience to see the needs to fulfill self-responsibility for the well-being of society that stood beyond ego. 

Acceptance of authenticity does not limit ones responsibility as a being, but it horizon our concept to transcend the boundaries which is created ignorantly in the past i,e. the boundary to protect identity, the boundary to choose education of other interest rather than self-interest etc. The need to eradicate this restrictive tradition from our mind is the responsibility of Kuki current generation. If you allow your mind to travel back to our history to have a brief glance to Kuki social parlance, you will certainly realized how evil is the boundary that one creates to fulfilled individual political project and how evil the men are who impose their dreams upon others. It is evil because wisdom does not subject herself to bloom under limited space, as wisdom belong to those who has a heart of persistency in perusing her, crossing all the boundaries and obligations made by men. However, we cannot move backwards in time to correct our foolhardy and ignorance deeds toward the exploitation of social system, yet we have a present moment which is enough to correct self by prospecting the future and accept a sense of responsibility to correct one another. Teacher has the responsibility to educate students, Parents has the responsibility to co-operate and understand the potential and ability of their children’s, leaders has the responsibility to see the needs of his/her people ect. By accepting this given responsibility only we can experience the paradise of unity and the flavor of its fruit.

The current needs of our society dictate us to play our own individual responsibility loyally for our well-being, without much throwing destructive jargons to critique others work, but with much appreciative and constructive critique to elevate ones inventive and noble work. For we are still juvenile to accept critique from different schools of thought albeit we think we are matured and open to accept any form of critique, our history is the witness for this claimed. By enticement, appreciation and reminding a responsibility of self and others, we can only horizon our thoughts and able to march forwards.

2 Being and Education

Being is conceived and represented as an authenticity to transcend self, who can devotedly engage in taking the responsibility by limiting individual need. As individual freedom has more absorbing meaning when ones practice it to restrain self from doing what they wanted to do. Being is bequeathed with the nature of curiosity, creating wonders and questions in his/her mind unless they found the object to satisfy the queries, but at the same time being is also endow with the nature of ignorance and indolence, once it is chained by the spelt of this two redemption is afar fetch, for she have experienced the bliss to enjoy from where home coming is as hard as suicide. Therefore, to make education interesting and entertaining is the greatest responsibility of all being towards one another, especially for those who have matured experience in educational field before “being” attain the experience of ecstasy in ignorance.

However, if we allow our mind to glance the social landscape of our society, the sadistic picture one can draw from it is old, odd and even tenacious of being reliance to naive traditional philosophy about education, our mind are still governed with the ideas that science is the only qualify subject that can rescue one from the future perils. Filling this wrong ideas in mind some used coercion upon the young minds to pick science alone when they pass HSLC. Their interest lies not on what potential and interest their kids or their junior has but it works for them as long as their progenies are submissive to their commands. The worst part is even the student has thrown themselves to a confusing space as the wave is too strong to retaliate for the branded kids who just learned how to crawl. They keep battling in their mind to choose whether what their intuition tells them to do where they found themselves so qualify and excellent or whether to walk along with public opinion even if they are not too good at it. Sadly majority of the students are engulfed by the wrong choice they made. The sorry pride that one has in science betrayed them either forfeit them on the way, as their caliber have never been made for it, but made for something better than science. This of philosophical error which one impose over another must be eradicate from our psyche by spelling away the one sided vision one installed in mind, because education by nature has no boundary and no limits, it is rather simple and dynamic in its  nature, therefore it would highly depends on how one should implement this for self.    

In fact life and knowledge are todays so complex that only by free discussion can we pick our way through error and prejudice to the total perspective which is truth. Let men, let even teachers, differ and debate, out of such diverse opinion will come intelligent, and relativity of belief which will not readily fly to arms; hatred and war come largely of fixed ideas or dogmatic faith. Freedom of thought and speech would go like a cleansing draught to neuroses and superstitious of contemporary Kukis mind. By practicing the habit of discussion, debate, we will realize the value of education, understanding its value is same as understanding the potential of education for ones liberty.

3 The Ethics of Conviction and A Responsibility to Educate

I borrow the phrase, “ethics of conviction and responsibility” from Max Weber; however unlike him I shall be implementing this in different sphere. Weber used the phrase more vigorously in political realm which in the end he suggested the needs to forcefully integrate deontology of Kant and the Consequentialism of Jeremy Bentham, which in his own term he described it as a “vocation for politics” from the forcefully integrated theories. This of his argument is not certainly our concern, our concern is more on the needs of self-conviction to educate and provide knowledge to those who required and to those who has a potential to educate.

However to move further the term conviction required our concern to examine, conviction is a term that able to synthesize both ethical egoism and ethical altruism. To define abruptly, “egoism” is the idea of being selfish and always putting your own needs first without regard for the needs of others. For instance Adam Smith (1720-1790) who elevate egoist theory and took the view that intentionally serving your own interests will bring benefits for all, therefore, free market and competition would ensure that businesses kept their prices at competitive rates, helping to make customers better off as well as the business owners. Through selfish action everyone is better off, therefore, capitalist selfishness is the key to universal happiness and prosperity for all. In contrary to egoism stood “altruism,” the term is derives from the French ‘autres’ which means ‘others.’ Altruistic, actions are selfless; they are done for the sake of other people and not for any personal gain, perhaps even sacrificing your own needs and desires for the sake of others. Albeit both theories has faced maximum amount of criticism, one can still came up with the concept to bridge this two different contradictory approached. Ethically, I felt a conviction to educate is the benefit of both the theories, as from the perspective of egoist you are educating other for the benefit of your head, as educating help you to improve your knowledge  and at the same time helping you to see your knowledge deficiency. From the point of altruism you are helping for helping sake even if you are not gaining anything. Albeit unending analysis and discourse can be done on this course I shall call off the argument here, as, it is beyond the scope of this topic. However what I attempt to convey is conviction is a key to educate for the well-being of the cosmos, without which people are possibly to be drifted away by ignorance.              

In continuation to above discussion and examining the needs of our Kuki society, the apparent crisis is no other than a heart of conviction, a conviction to educate the people. So, the required is to establish a sphere where every being may able to access the demand knowledge, let that sphere be the classrooms where every child acquired a foundational knowledge for higher knowledge, let the sphere be Collages, where young ones acquired knowledge to critical thinking, even the Universities where learning precede the structure alone and venture to hermeneutical world to interpret things for himself or herself and added each benefit to horizon personal worldview, finally, ignoring not theological seminaries, where one is equipped to understand God’s command and revelation more rationally. Let the teachers, Professors be more ingenious in expressing value where the students may have a sense of humbleness before wisdom even when they steps out from academic circle. I deeply felt in my bond that the University student todays lack the touch of academic value which is one of the precise reason why majority of them could not implement their knowledge in a way he or she should, except using those acquired degrees for competitive exams. It may be perhaps most of the teachers inculcate the same knowledge that is agglomerated for syllabus as it is, without making a clear objectives of his/her own or not able to provide a clear and simple interpretation of the subjects for the students to understand, in other words they lack a scientific method of simplicity, factuality and experiment etc that can lingers in students mind. Let everyone of us be the master of what we learned, this will be only possible when educated being will take up the responsibility to share his/her knowledge with conviction.

Assessment

Education is the only opium to held illiteracy; poverty, social violence and class distinction, learning and sharing are the only prerequisite to have this opium. Let the people come and questions the prudence, let education be made public as much as possible, let the teachers, scholars use a method of simplicity to the extreme that even the illiterate men may found no complexity in understanding it, only than knowledge may not cease from growing in our society. By practicing the method of simplicity, knowledge will no longer be a threatening to our head nor will it fade away from our psyche, it will rather enhance its individual mind to perceive the best thing for the wellbeing, than revolution will no longer end with violence, as everyone would already have wisdom to choose the greatest good for society.

However one must first learn to voluntary himself by accepting a grater challenge which our existence provides, that is a responsibility to educate others by transcending self when necessity dictate, even in the absence of inspiration. The hope one should frame in his mind shall not be a fast positive result to his work, neither shall live with the expectation to witness the result of his Good Samaritan work during lifetime. But he/she must learn to maintain the leap of hope that someday his work will have an immense impact to our society that may unsettle irrationality from peoples mind. Accepting the responsibility to educate one another is one way of reforming our society and one way of saving peoples from superstition.