Russian Talk Show
Russian Talk Show
Two days ago I watched a talk show called “Vzgliad” (a look at something) on a Russian satellite program. This talk show is usually about political issues. The invited expert was Aung San Suu Ki, the Nobel Prize winner of the world for 1991 and the leader of democratic movement of Burma (Myanma), a country between Thailand and India. The topic of the show was “Forms and methods of educating to basic principles of democracy.”
The show started with the following word of the invited expert: " We, in Burma, have tendency at education of children to use threats. I very much have asked you to not do it. In our country we threaten children, teaching them to do or to not do something instead of explaining to them so that they have understood it. Such approach to training by intimidation now has got so a wide circulation, that the heads who govern us, do not try to explain any things to simple people, and instead of it for the control above them use threats. It is a part of our culture, and that part which we should change. Let's teach our children, explaining them. It is our duty; our duty consists in teaching our children to feeling of validity and compassion ".
Her words testify to that big value which active workers of democratic movement give to use of formation in business of construction and strengthening of a democratic society. In this short fragment Aung San Suu Ki states a number of simple, but deep ideas. A position concerning politics and the governments grow out training, instead of congenital. Education of children in authoritative style frequently promotes occurrence of the governments, which operate the state from a position of force and are not accountable to the citizens. Non-democratic values can have deep roots in culture of a society. Racism, extreme nationalism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance in an equal measure threaten stability to the new as well as to the stabilized democratic countries. And, at last, Aung San Suu Ki states an optimistic idea that if the present way of life causes damage to a society, it can be changed. Education has key value for realization of these changes.
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