Hossam Badrawi Official Website
Dr. Badrawi writes in Al-Masry Al-Youm
Renouncing violence and hate speech from the entrance to education
The young man said: How can we put the foundations of the concepts of human rights in education, Doctor?
I said: There is no place where all citizens gather for 14 consecutive years, such as at home, school and university, i.e. 18 years within a framework that has walls, a specific time and place, in which we, as a state, have the right to create a large part of his convictions and build his conscience, with the influence of the media, especially television, on them. .
Unfortunately, after the end of this time, the extremists who are not capable of pluralism and who do not believe in citizenship graduate to us, so we must be doing something wrong.
Dr. says. Taha Hussein in the book “The Future of Culture in Egypt.” Literacy is not the same as the illiteracy of reading and writing, but the illiteracy of reading, writing and understanding, because if we eradicate the illiteracy of reading and writing without understanding, whoever reads and does not understand is liable to be controlled by those who think for him. The issue is not reading and writing, but rather a matter that includes a depth of understanding, the ability to choose and make decisions, and to distinguish between right and wrong.
The issue, my children, is the ability to choose the right thing after accumulating knowledge over the years, and getting used to practices that the young man sees as normal, and sometimes heroic, and which are full of violations of human and animal rights, which Islam was the first religion that advocated preserving it.
The young man asked again: What is new in education in this regard?
I said: Education is cross-border, so there is no such thing as Egyptian, Arab, or foreign education, civic education and religious education. Education is based on one foundation, and development is based on a scientific approach. In the last ten years, technology has become a major imposition in education in the whole world. And the most influential in its means and methods of communicating knowledge to students. Knowledge is available to everyone at no cost.. The role of education has changed from simply transferring knowledge to the minds of students to coexisting with students in school and university, which means that the issue has become not a new approach to education but a model for coexistence within the framework of the educational institution.
We are talking about the skills of the twenty-first century, shaping conscience, and creating the climate in which a healthy personality grows. But before that, we have to agree on what normal character we seek. What identity do we want, what values do we have to instill?
Why did you mean this entry? .. Because this entry says that we can develop education and use the means of development and succeed in a superior manner, but the innovator, the scientist, the creative and the genius may also come out of our institutions, but at the same time he is extremist in thought, violent and murderous. So the issue is not about introducing a human rights curriculum to prevent extremism, but rather a way of life within the educational institution from which this young man or woman emerges, able to distinguish between right and wrong, and to live within a framework that respects the rights of others without the excessive violence that exists in modern societies. Forging of conscience takes place in educational institutions, in the family, in the media, in the atmosphere of general culture and the arts. Education now we all agree that it is neither a learning nor a curriculum, but rather new things overlap in it, such as toys, electronics, the use of the Internet, access to unlimited knowledge, YouTube and others.
All this technology is available to young people without any control on our part, and whoever tries to stand up to its use will surely fail. But in fact, we must think about how to use the tools of the age to create a conscience that allows tolerance, acceptance of pluralism, acceptance of others, and peace with oneself and others.
So, the goal is not to obtain a certificate, nor merely to receive knowledge, or even to obtain knowledge, because it has become available to anyone who wants, but the goal has become to build an integrated personality for the citizen.
Those responsible for education, like those responsible for religious discourse, are part of society. From my point of view, they should not be assigned alone to change or establish new rights or bring about a fundamental change in their view, because they may not be able to get out of the circle of their convictions and concepts rooted in their conscience over time.
We need a look from outside their institutions, and I am not talking here about religious dialogue or the media only, but rather courage in proposing, and standards that the whole society must participate in changing.
Another young man said:
And what do you say wisdom and experience?
I said: First: that there is no educational system that rises above the level of its teachers, so if we are talking about a curriculum that is taught and an awareness of rights that is taught to modern generations and to create a future and a personal industry, then our goal must be focused on those in charge of the educational process, such as teachers and administrators, because they facilitate the student’s access to knowledge In the educational institution, we must define our goal to raise the level of the teacher and the level of education together.
The second wisdom says: To improve the level of education, a climate must be created for the learner. If the environment for education is ugly and lacking in beauty, do not expect the learner to love beauty or to be clear.. Also, if the climate is full of lies and dishonesty, then we should not expect education to rise to a higher level. We think he will be alone.
The third wisdom reminds us of what separates man from other creatures, and what God has placed in man that distinguishes him from them.. The answer is imagination, dream and accumulation of knowledge.
If we ask ourselves: Who are the most imaginative people in society? We find that they are children. In childhood, the first four years are the most important in the school years. In fact, I say that the first nine months in the mother’s womb may have an impact, and this leads me to wonder: Where does the imagination of our children go?
If we reflect on what we offer our children, we will find that violence is filled with violence, as most games are full of violence, and most movies are full of violence, even cartoon films are full of violence. It is very difficult to change this sentiment without a cultural vision.
For example, religious education in which the student spends fourteen years of study in schools, then four years in university, and no Christian sits next to him and no girl sits next to him… Is it acceptable for these to be citizens with him who have the same rights?!.
If there are policies, they should be applied to the community
All, because I should not have a path that allows for oneness of thought, and another path that allows for a plurality of thought, for the message must change, for I have not yet encountered a message that combines the two approaches. We want more creativity in introducing mechanisms that dwarf extremism and accept the different.
It is very easy to say, but very difficult to implement, and for millions of teachers to learn and apply it in their institutions. We must show real seriousness in dealing with this matter. Without activating these new concepts and incorporating them into new technologies, it is very difficult to expect a new generation that is more creative, more genius and less extreme.
