Liberalizing education: Liberating ourselves, liberating each individual

February 27, 2019

Liberalizing education: Liberating ourselves, liberating each individual

NGUYEN THI TU HUY – PHAN VAN THANG

Article published in Nghe An Cultural Magazine, February 26, 2019, author: Nguyen Thi Tu Huy – Phan Van Thang:

“Editor’s note: What can be done to change our current stagnant and outdated education system? That is the question that must be answered, the task that must be performed by every Vietnamese person. There are many solutions but it is still basically hopeless because there seems to be no penetrating insight and no way to do it that is truly wise and strong enough to turn the situation around. Anyway, every responsible opinion is a valuable brick to rebuild the country’s outdated and outdated education system. In that spirit, VHNA introduces an exchange on the topic of Liberal Education between journalist Phan Van Thang and Dr. Nguyen Thi Tu Huy from Hoa Sen University – City. Ho Chi Minh.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Tu Huy

Phan Van Thang:  Dear Doctor, in recent years, there have been many intellectuals and educators in Vietnam calling for Vietnamese education to follow the philosophy of liberal education. Most recently, the largest public universities such as the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City also declared their educational philosophy as liberal education. As a researcher of philosophy and education, how can you generalize the connotation of the concept of Liberal Education and its transformation in history?

Nguyen Thi Tu Huy:  We can briefly talk about the origin of the concept as follows: The concept of liberal arts originated in ancient Greece in Europe. Education during this period wanted to create free people, thanks to broad knowledge and the ability to reason logically. By the Middle Ages, liberal arts were taught in two parts: the three faculties of Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic. The four faculties are Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy and Music. Europeans call these the 7 liberal arts, they have value in developing comprehensive human intellectual abilities.

After the Middle Ages, the institution of liberal arts in schools gradually disappeared in Europe. But currently, European education is designed in the spirit of liberation, that is, teaching people the ability to use knowledge to freely choose and decide.

Americans turned liberal arts education into a specialty of higher education in this country. Its purpose remains within the European tradition: comprehensive education and humanistic education. Education aims to create free people who understand themselves, understand society and the world, and are responsible to the community. College teaches students how to think, not just the content of thinking, teaches students how to learn, not just the content that needs to be learned. That means teaching students the ability to critically and creatively, not just memorize and apply. However, Americans have pushed to build liberal arts programs taught in the first two years of university or to establish liberal arts universities with programs, specific to liberal arts education. launch.

Today, Europe in general does not have liberal arts universities or liberal arts programs in universities like the American model, but the teaching methods of lecturers and the learning methods of students in universities always follow the spirit of openness. Students do not learn by heart, but they learn to understand, criticize, and create. They read works with critical thinking, they read to agree or disagree and are always taught how to find points that can be criticized or need to be reconsidered in each document, each author, and each movement. save…

Phan Van Thang:  So, what is liberation? Who to liberate, for whom?

Nguyen Thi Tu Huy:  To answer your question, it can be said in a very simple way: Liberate yourself, liberate each individual. For whom? For each person himself, and from there, for the community, for society, for the country, and humanity. When each individual is liberated, when each individual has enough knowledge to freely decide and choose what is right and good for themselves and the community, then it can be believed that a society is structured. Made up of such individuals, there will be a fundamentally good society. Of course, society always has its problems, but there are societies founded on good principles and there are societies founded on anti-progressive principles.

However, for Vietnamese education today, to answer the question: “Who to liberate, for whom?” is not a simple thing at all. The complexity is shown here: The problems of education, which we have been discussing for many years, can only be solved when we have enlightened educational leaders. If Vietnamese education wants to change, want to break through, and want to develop on par with the world, we need to have liberal education managers who know how to work according to liberal methods and lead. education in a liberal spirit.

Regarding the question “liberation of what?”, I would like to recall the concept of “éducation libératrice” (liberal education) used by Paulo Freire in the book “Pédagogie des opprimés” (Education of the oppressed). picture). In this book, Freire talks about education for oppressed people who do not accept this fate, so they study to liberate themselves, and also liberate their oppressors. Freire’s conception of liberal education is unique in that he sees the power of liberation as belonging to the oppressed, who are strong enough to liberate themselves and their oppressors. Liberation here is understood as unleashing human potential, unleashing human potential abilities, and turning those abilities into strength. Liberation in this sense is understood as liberating oneself and liberating others. From this idea, Freire formed the concept of a liberal education in which the roles of the participants in the educational process are interchangeable: teachers and students can both play the role of education, and both sides educate each other through the teaching and learning process. Dialogue becomes the main teaching method of liberal education. Students do not passively receive, but actively dialogue with the teacher. And this method helps students’ abilities to be unleashed.

Applying Freire’s meaning, I imagine liberal education as an education that liberates personal abilities and social potential so that all can develop together in the best way, synchronously, not destroy each other. That means the development of one person does not destroy the development of another person, personal development does not destroy social development. This is a sad phenomenon happening in our contemporary Vietnamese society: individuals enrich their assets, while simultaneously destroying social morality, destroying the environment, and destroying progressive values. … A liberal education will contribute to overcoming this phenomenon. Its purpose is to train people who know how to harmoniously combine their personal development with promoting the development of society and making society better, more equitable, and more humane. more literary.

In addition, it can also be understood that to achieve self-liberation and liberation for others, people must be enlightened. Enlightenment in Kant’s sense: being able to use one’s intellect independently. And if you want to be able to independently use your intelligence, you must have two things: knowledge and courage. An individual who has knowledge but does not dare to use that knowledge has not reached the state of enlightenment.

Phan Van Thang:  I think that the word liberal education will open the path to cultural and ideological liberation. What about you?

Nguyen Thi Tu Huy: I completely agree with you on this. Certainly so. 

Phan Van Thang: Returning to Vietnam’s education system, have we not aimed at the goal of liberating/not liberating thinking in the past few decades, not promoting human creative capacity?

Nguyen Thi Tu Huy: No! If we were honest, we would have to answer “no.” There are liberal efforts in some individuals, in some families, in some departments in some schools, and some organizations. But our entire education system is not designed according to the spirit and methods of liberalism.

Phan Van Thang: In an exchange with Nghe An Culture, Professor Tran Van Doan said that Vietnamese education does not have a philosophy. Really?

Nguyen Thi Tu Huy: I agree half with Professor Tran Van Doan. Vietnamese education does not have a progressive philosophy that can create free people with the creative capacity and the ability to meet the development of the times. However saying that Vietnamese Education does not have a philosophy is not entirely accurate. The philosophy based on which our education system has operated for nearly a century now in the North, and from 1975 until now nationwide, is the philosophy aimed at creating people who are tools for a system political system. But it needs to be added that, it is at this point that I truly appreciate the Vietnamese people, and the organizations in Vietnam, who have tirelessly worked for a long time to keep education as genuine education. , which means training people who do not accept being tools.

Phan Van Thang: Is Liberation alone enough for a comprehensive and sustainable foundation for educational development in today’s modern context?

Nguyen Thi Tu Huy: Of course, it’s not enough. We can imagine the liberal spirit as the foundation on which each person must build personal value with the knowledge and skills of a certain field, and contribute to society with the knowledge they possess. existence and the knowledge and values ​​that we will create.

If education wants to develop, it must update the extremely rich and changing knowledge that is created every day in countries, especially developed countries. At the same time, a developed education must contribute to the ongoing process of knowledge production in the world, its mark, and its intellectual products in the world’s intellectual treasure. This is the goal of a developed education. And to achieve this goal, its basis and foundation is the spirit of liberation and liberal methods.

Phan Van Thang: With the current situation, what difficulties will there be when building and developing education according to the philosophy of liberal education?

Nguyen Thi Tu Huy:  If you allow me to speak frankly and honestly, I will say that our most basic difficulty is that we lack leaders who have a liberal spirit and understand the value of value and meaning of liberal education. Vietnam’s education lacks capable leaders and liberal methods. Difficulties will be resolved when we have a leadership team with a liberal vision.

Phan Van Thang: To liberate education, what do we need to do?

Nguyen Thi Tu Huy: This question is very relevant. But who are “we”?

If “we” are all those participating in education: managers, lecturers, teachers, staff, students, pupils…, then the answer will be as follows:

– For educational leaders: it is necessary to develop policies and programs for liberal education at different levels: university, high school, elementary school, and preschool.

– For lecturers and teachers: teaching in a liberal spirit and method.

– For pupils and students: learn using liberal methods and skills.

If “we” were all Vietnamese people, the answer would be:

– State leaders must have policies to develop liberal education. And this is for the good of the entire people and the good of the country. Education is a national policy, this slogan is always true. If state leaders at all levels can do this, they will truly make great contributions to the country and the people.

– Every Vietnamese person, from their perspective, with the means they have, supports and practices liberal education, from family to school and the whole society. In particular, journalists, due to the characteristics of their profession, have more advantages than other social sectors in promoting and building community awareness of the importance of liberal education.

Phan Van Thang: What are the prerequisites to build a liberal education?

Nguyen Thi Tu Huy: To have a liberal arts department, or a liberal education program, in a certain university, that school needs to have a Board of Directors that supports liberal education.”

But, to build a liberal education system, returning to the idea mentioned above, it is necessary to have a Ministry of Education with a liberal spirit and liberal policies. However, that is not enough, it is necessary to have political institutions suitable for liberal education. Based on these political institutions, the Ministry of Education can deploy liberal education throughout the entire education system, in appropriate aspects.

Phan Van Thang: Thank you for this exchange. We are basically on the same page. However, I still find that truly having a liberal education in the current context is extremely difficult. That difficulty comes from institutions and mechanisms, from the inertia of society, from an education system that is too worn out and outdated, from our conservative and dirty culture, and each dignitary, and each person. everyone, including us.”