I sat perplexed as I try to adjoin the words coming out of the teacher’s mouth in order to get a sum of sense from the content of the lecture. A series of ‘what ifs,’ ‘buts’ and ‘maybes’ float around my head which were never realized due to the unrelenting doubt I possess with regards to my comprehension ability. Remembering the quiz regarding the day’s topic expected next meeting, I narrowed my eyes and puckered my brows at my pen. It was a battle with my grade as a price; and at that moment, I knew I lost. With no other choice left, I began to inscribe the transcript of the teacher’s speech on my notebook. Drowning at the sea of words being thrown at mid-air, I surrendered the purpose of learning and just continued to gather and weave letters into a bundle of mess for me to retain.
The teacher arrives. The teacher speaks. The teacher leaves. This is the unfaltering routine I have witnessed for seventeen years—an education of using one-way communication with students perfecting the role of being mere receivers. For the sake of achieving high grades, I accepted it and even adapted to it. I am a product of oppression; taught to passively receive what was said, memorize what I write and repeat the existing knowledge. I was oblivious that I was being deprived of a clearer perspective on my own reality and engagement to the world; and restrained from flourishing to my fullest potential. I was unaware that little by little, I was processed to be dehumanized.
I was scared. I feared deviation thus I went through with the norm of how formal education is implemented. This instance has led me to behave and think accordingly; a subtle similarity of that of a puppet whose actions are dictated by the one in authority. The only difference is how it doesn’t possess a working mind that is made dysfunctional by the system. According to Feire, “By requiring a man to behave mechanically, mass production domesticates him. By separating his activity from the total project, requiring no total critical attitude toward production, it dehumanizes him. By excessively narrowing a man’s specialization, it constricts his horizons, making of him a passive, fearful, naïve being.”
Removing the freedom of a person to think critically is just the same as extracting his soul, his inner being. We become robots; merely pawns of those with great power to do this and that. In the end, we systematically go through the sequential education with no breakthrough for the reason that we use the same methods and focus on the same goals set by society. But we are not robots. Our motivation should not come beyond our own self. We should be taking control of our lives, becoming autonomous; mastering our craft, enjoying its “flow;” and gearing towards helping everyone work, making them a part of a higher purpose. This is the trend standing out above the lengthy educational timeline of mine; which is also the most important and crucial of all. The motivation should not be extrinsic by getting something from others in doing it. It should be intrinsic, by getting something from ourselves in doing it (Pink, 2009). Doing is how “we organize,” “how we think,” and “how we do.”
I know there are a lot of anomalies in every aspect that comprises education—from lousy unprofessional teachers to neglected school facilities. However, these are common realities of every school and department which point to the usual cause—lack of funds. Now, what’s more crucial for me is the system itself resulting to absence or lack of critical perception of students; because this may or may not be caused by the lack of money but the lack of a flexible and conscious spirit.
The body of knowledge is evolving and ever-changing. It does not merely exist as what it is. It conforms. It incorporates. And, I believe, this can only be achieved through dialogue—a teacher learning from the students, the students learning from the teacher. One thing that I learned is to never stop wondering, to never stop questioning. That’s where critical consciousness is born and can be found.
We should wake up and arise from being a slave of the systematic thought. We should start to think and act like human, which we already are. To end, “We needed an education which would lead men to take a new stance toward their problems, one oriented toward research instead of repeating irrelevant principles. An education of “I wonder,” instead of merely, “I do.” (Freire, 1973)
