Final paper for AH5005.001 Radical Philosophy Seminar: Jacques Ranciere (course instructor: John Baldacchino)
The essay is my personal impression of intellectual equality in the context of Singapore as an island state.
Anecdotes[1]
“Drill practice is a very effective method to forge bonding among the students.” The teacher-in-charge of the scout troop told the art teacher who was also a scout leader. The scouts met up to polish their marching skills systematically every Saturday for a period of three months. As predicted, the troop marched better after each practice. Eventually, their moves were unmistakably uniform under the command. Together with other uniform groups, the troop performed a marvelous marching on the day of the National Day Parade in front of the whole school. The principal was pleased. Teachers and the rest of the students stopped making fun of the scouts as drill idiot anymore. The scouts were very proud to be a member of the troop.
As the level coordinator, the American colleague of the art teacher told the department in the art departmental meeting, “Instead of showing examples, we should go through the theories with the students. They are to explore on their own an individual interpretation of the design elements and principles we talk about in class.”
At the end of the semester, the American teacher together with the department head dominated the group marking session. All his students excelled in the final art project because they were all able to interpret the design elements and principles on their own astonishingly well. Students under other teachers, somehow, didn’t perform as well. The American teachers commented his students, “Initially, they didn’t get what I was telling them but eventually they all get it. We have to be patient with the students.” His classes top the overall performance in the whole level.
Years after Ranciere denounced the Socratic Method as a threat to universal teaching[3], a group of teachers in Singapore leaped with joy and the other with fear when they were provided with an alternative pedagogy other than the Old Master’s. The former believes they finally see the light to break away from the Old Master; the latter see this as a threat to their own practice, their adaptability to change is put on stake.
The essay is my personal impression of intellectual equality in the context of Singapore as an island state.
Anecdotes[1]
“Drill practice is a very effective method to forge bonding among the students.” The teacher-in-charge of the scout troop told the art teacher who was also a scout leader. The scouts met up to polish their marching skills systematically every Saturday for a period of three months. As predicted, the troop marched better after each practice. Eventually, their moves were unmistakably uniform under the command. Together with other uniform groups, the troop performed a marvelous marching on the day of the National Day Parade in front of the whole school. The principal was pleased. Teachers and the rest of the students stopped making fun of the scouts as drill idiot anymore. The scouts were very proud to be a member of the troop.
***
As the level coordinator, the American colleague of the art teacher told the department in the art departmental meeting, “Instead of showing examples, we should go through the theories with the students. They are to explore on their own an individual interpretation of the design elements and principles we talk about in class.”
At the end of the semester, the American teacher together with the department head dominated the group marking session. All his students excelled in the final art project because they were all able to interpret the design elements and principles on their own astonishingly well. Students under other teachers, somehow, didn’t perform as well. The American teachers commented his students, “Initially, they didn’t get what I was telling them but eventually they all get it. We have to be patient with the students.” His classes top the overall performance in the whole level.
Many years later, one of the students told the art teacher during one of the casual talks, “You know, it’s very easy to get good grade under the American teacher. He used his picture to explain art theories to us but we all did’t have a clue what he was talking about. Then, one day, he praised the sketches done by one of this guy in class and we all know then what he was looking for. So, we all do the similar stuff and he was very happy. So, we get very high marks in the final exam.”
***
Due to the opening up of national educational policies, the school where the art teacher worked planned to introduce to the students a new track to their high school education: the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP). Only the highly qualified students are eligible to be chosen for the new track. All teachers involved in the IBDP were to go for training. Experienced IB teachers from the local international schools were invited to share their teaching experience and pedagogy. Socratic questioning was introduced to the teachers in the sharing and everyone in the school was very excited and to a certain degree hesitated to embrace the new idea.
The American art teacher and the art department head told all the art teachers in school regarding this new direction, “That’s what we have been doing all along. I told the principal and the rest of the school that we are the most prepared department for the IBDP.”
The American art teacher and the art department head told all the art teachers in school regarding this new direction, “That’s what we have been doing all along. I told the principal and the rest of the school that we are the most prepared department for the IBDP.”
***
A student asked the art teacher upon the completion of his final art project, “Now that I am done with my project. I am wondering if you have the solutions to all the problems I encountered along the way but refrained from telling me.”
“Well, sort of.”
“But you can’t tell me the answer. I have to search for it myself.”
“True. There are many ways to solve a problem and each leads to very different outcomes. I can only give you advice based on what you have done.”
“How do you know if the way I choose would work? You verify my process based on what you have seen from the past?”
The conversation continued.
The art teacher used to believe that he was giving his students the freedom to work and the full ownership to their art projects. At the end of the two years, most of his students found their own languages and could carry on decent artistic conversations. However, the art teacher realized later that there is a constant resonant of his own voice in his students. He had somehow reprogrammed his students through the many discussions and reaffirmations through out the whole process.
***
On Intellectual Equality
When the priority of education is reduced to mere rigid assessments and academic performance, the essence of education would inevitably be sacrificed. Students see school as an open door prison where they can never escape. They are trained to master the skills of regurgitation to survive their never ending terms, willingly; they are to memorize knowledge that they might not need later in life; they are being inculcated to follow civic instructions through curriculum imbedded beneath the endless academic and non-academic activities. Once they are seasoned by the system, they realize that it is not that bad an idea after all. School life is equivalent to incubation for the students where they can be programmed with needed skills in order to survive outside later. When they finally broke out of their cocoons, they can immediately execute their assigned social duties with no delay. Human society is like the kingdom of ants and bees. Human beings are a mere screw that ensures the smooth running of the state apparatus.
“There is no need to search for one’s identity. What we need to do is to look for one out there.” One of the architectural students form the National University of Singapore responded to a questionnaire on identity searching[2]. His or hers implication was to fit in. Social duty defines a person. You are what your occupation is. The student elaborate that the space and duty one occupies defines the very person. In other words, one can have multiple identities at the same time pending on one’s social role at the specific moment; a person can be father, son, subordinate, supervisor … all together on a single being.
Years after Ranciere denounced the Socratic Method as a threat to universal teaching[3], a group of teachers in Singapore leaped with joy and the other with fear when they were provided with an alternative pedagogy other than the Old Master’s. The former believes they finally see the light to break away from the Old Master; the latter see this as a threat to their own practice, their adaptability to change is put on stake.
“… And we understand why stultification is all the more profound, the more subtle, the less perceptible, the coincidence. This is why the Socratic Method, apparently so close to universal teaching, represents the most formidable form of stultification. The Socratic method of interrogation that pretends to lead the student to his own knowledge is in fact the method of a riding …” (Ranciere, 2007, p. 59)
None of them saw the problem imbedded within the Socratic Method as Ranciere. If Ranciere is right, does it mean the teachers from Singapore are stultified? Ranciere also stated every human being posses the property of intelligence hence there ought to be intellectual equality. Perhaps, social and cultural milieus indeed determine the very vantage point of a person even though Ranciere himself thinks otherwise. The education system in Singapore developed its vision and mission based on western canon but with local political considerations in mind. It is a hybridization tailored for the need of the island state. Within its milieu, the nation of Singapore shaped an education system from an instrumentalist rational. It is this very system that contributed to the endurance and prosperity of the nation. Between security and freedom, most Singaporean would put their votes on the former.
None of them saw the problem imbedded within the Socratic Method as Ranciere. If Ranciere is right, does it mean the teachers from Singapore are stultified? Ranciere also stated every human being posses the property of intelligence hence there ought to be intellectual equality. Perhaps, social and cultural milieus indeed determine the very vantage point of a person even though Ranciere himself thinks otherwise. The education system in Singapore developed its vision and mission based on western canon but with local political considerations in mind. It is a hybridization tailored for the need of the island state. Within its milieu, the nation of Singapore shaped an education system from an instrumentalist rational. It is this very system that contributed to the endurance and prosperity of the nation. Between security and freedom, most Singaporean would put their votes on the former.
Education is, in fact, more than mere information transmission. Twelve years of mandatory education is to nurture good citizens. Ones who know the possibility of alternatives but still choose the available options out of personal will as they believe there is nothing more suitable out there. Ones who need not worrying about global financial crisis as the government already has things taken care of and they could enjoy their holiday trips overseas and without worrying about losing their job after the trip. Ones who have no doubt that there are still possibility of purchasing new vehicle to parade their social status even though the roads are getting more congested each day and the COC[4] is forever high. Ones who subscribe to the notion of creativity within predetermined boundaries as they believe to be able to create under restriction is more challenging. Ones who are proud to announce to the world that they choose to stay because there is no place like home: a meritocratic society.
No one has relationship to the truth if he is not on his own orbit (Ranciere, 2007). Perhaps only Singaporean would know what is best for them and to obtain the best means endurance and sacrificing. Some things can wait. Humans are born with equal intelligence, indeed, but extrinsic factors determine where this person belongs. Students would say, “I know, I have to endure all the nonsense: study to excel in examinations, report to National Service, get a well pay job so I can have a better life … I am okay.”
What stated above are not uniquely a Singaporean phenomenon. There are traces of similarities in the education systems around the world. Ranciere celebrated Joseph Jacotot’s triumphant over stultification in his book The Ignorant Schoolmaster ten years ago, the world education systems still remain much the same with the Old Master running the machine. Perhaps change needs time. It will definitely be a long lasting linger before dawn arrives, if it ever comes.
(1728 words)
Reference:
Ranciere, J. (2007). The ignorant schoolmaster: Five lessons in intellectual emancipation (K. Ross, Trans.). Stanford: Stanford University Press. (Original work publishes 1991)
Footnotes:
[1] These are selected stories of personal account as an art teacher in Singapore from 1997 to 2006.
[2] The research was done in the spring of 2007.
[3] Universal teaching – to learn something and to relate to it all the rest by this principle: all men have equal intelligence. (Ranciere, 2007, p.18)
[4] COC=Car Ownership Certification. Base on the type of vehicle, the buyer needs to pay an extra S$20,000 to S$30,000 for a new car in order to certify his/her ownership of the car. The amount to pay for the COC is also varies each month. In another words, it is a system the Singapore government implements to control the number of new vehicle being released each month.
[2] The research was done in the spring of 2007.
[3] Universal teaching – to learn something and to relate to it all the rest by this principle: all men have equal intelligence. (Ranciere, 2007, p.18)
[4] COC=Car Ownership Certification. Base on the type of vehicle, the buyer needs to pay an extra S$20,000 to S$30,000 for a new car in order to certify his/her ownership of the car. The amount to pay for the COC is also varies each month. In another words, it is a system the Singapore government implements to control the number of new vehicle being released each month.
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