Schooling the world

Schooling the world is a film that tells the story of how modern, western education has changed the ancient culture of Ladhak. Ladhak is located in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Its people have cultivated a way of living, a culture over centuries. Life in Ladhak is interdependent, people connecting with each other, people connecting with the land, animals, soil, the air, weather, the stones, food, rivers, mountains, snow, they are all connected into the tightly woven fabric of life.

In the last generation this intricately woven fabric of life has changed, there is a tear in it. The new generation seeks education and schooling, like the kind available in the western part of the world. They aspire to the wealth of western nations and see education of the kind seen in modern, western, industrialized, technologically infused societies as the avenue towards a more 'prosperous' way of life. Few Ladhaki children speak the native language, in fact, they are punished if they speak Ladhaki or Hindi in school. Not only do they see westernized schooling as a pathway to 'success', they seek western culture as a replacement of their own.

This is saddening. Watching Helena Norberg-Hodges film Ancient Futures, it is evident that the Ladhaki way of life, as cultivated over generations and centuries, is complete. It is whole and wholly connected. It is sustainable and prosperous. It is as successful, in my mind, by all measures. Yet, there is a departure from it, a fast movement to get away from it.

This raises many questions one of which is: What does it mean to 'educate' people of an ancient culture? Aren't they already educated? Doesn't their way of living ensure connection with life, shelter, food, community, sustainable living, happiness, wholeness, language, cultural pursuits, spiritual growth and more? Isn't that what education is ultimately aimed at doing anywhere in the world? Then why this draw, this desparate race towards westernized education? Does that education fit that culture? Does it fit its children?

The bigger question the film raises for me is what it means to re-imagine education and culture so it is contextualized, relevant and significant to life? What does it mean to consider a culture, a context of life, a set of values, the needs for a sustainable, harmonious life and then understand a particular child in such a context to craft just the 'right' education for them? Can we craft education is that is here and now? That is as much about creating a culture that is right and responsive as it is about teaching? Can we take a hard look at where we are headed in our cultures and as we do that, consider each child in the context of the culture we need going forward?

Its a tall order isn't it? I know. But we must try. That is everything we can do.