Education and War
Education and War
Introduction
Designing educational system means setting up the future of a society. Although schools are not the only factor in the development of every person’s ideas and set of values, it is maybe the most important one. We tend to consider what we’ve learned at school to be true and scientifically proven. We dismiss or at least doubt any information that is not in accordance with the truth we remember reading clearly a long time ago in our school book and repeated by the teacher over and over again.
Since educational policy in the world is mostly in the hands of the state and political structures, it is being used to promote their specific goals. Every political system uses schools and education of new generations to secure its long-lasting future. In the school system, the basic ideology of the society is almost never questioned. It is rarely a subject of school debates even if specific education system tends to promote students critical thinking about all other topics. It is common to use public schools to indoctrinate young generations with something a society considers to be its basic values, despite the obvious fact that these values are in reality subject to changes.
The position of education is particularly delicate in the societies affected by military conflicts. As editors of Education and War point out, “no aspect of education is untouched by war; school structures, curriculum, pedagogy, access, outcomes, and personal and emotional ties to schools and colleagues are reconsidered in the wake of violence and political upheaval”. Most modern wars have had deep impact on schools and curriculums. In many cases education was the first victim of an aggressive political regime and became an important instrument for the preparation of war. Some situations indicate that war for schools continues even after the weapons are put down. It is impossible to thoroughly elaborate such a complex problem in just a few pages so I will try to
Introduction
Designing educational system means setting up the future of a society. Although schools are not the only factor in the development of every person’s ideas and set of values, it is maybe the most important one. We tend to consider what we’ve learned at school to be true and scientifically proven. We dismiss or at least doubt any information that is not in accordance with the truth we remember reading clearly a long time ago in our school book and repeated by the teacher over and over again.
Since educational policy in the world is mostly in the hands of the state and political structures, it is being used to promote their specific goals. Every political system uses schools and education of new generations to secure its long-lasting future. In the school system, the basic ideology of the society is almost never questioned. It is rarely a subject of school debates even if specific education system tends to promote students critical thinking about all other topics. It is common to use public schools to indoctrinate young generations with something a society considers to be its basic values, despite the obvious fact that these values are in reality subject to changes.
The position of education is particularly delicate in the societies affected by military conflicts. As editors of Education and War point out, “no aspect of education is untouched by war; school structures, curriculum, pedagogy, access, outcomes, and personal and emotional ties to schools and colleagues are reconsidered in the wake of violence and political upheaval”. Most modern wars have had deep impact on schools and curriculums. In many cases education was the first victim of an aggressive political regime and became an important instrument for the preparation of war. Some situations indicate that war for schools continues even after the weapons are put down. It is impossible to thoroughly elaborate such a complex problem in just a few pages so I will try to