What crossed your mind when you saw this title? Chains? Gates? Locks, bolts, and keys? Armed men standing at the door? Prison inmates stinking and looking at you, wishing you would pass them your plate of poorly cooked beans and say you’re too sick to eat it? Or the writ of another philosopher? I do
Listening To Listening and Other Voices
If people don’t listen to you, could it be because you have nothing interesting to say? “Most people don’t listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply” says Stephen R. Covey in his bestseller book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. Listening, according to Covey, can be reflective (done
School- The refuge from the annihilation of prison walls
“He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” – Victor Hugo. Ignorance and illiteracy are the biggest nemesis to mankind, that pave the way for many social evils. The statement by Victor Hugo is a thought provoking one and arrests the mind into critically evaluating it. The statement is open to many interpretations, which
Being taught to be lesser: education, inequality, and society
“He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” – Victor Hugo. It’s hard, on first appearances, to pick a fight with Victor Hugo’s pronouncement on the power of education. The novelist advances an apparently simple idea about the role education plays in seeking the good life and avoiding one of the worst of all
The Unravelling Thread
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about injustice is crime shows on Netflix. They usually deal with the very personal crimes of people driven by greed, jealousy, fear or obsession. And of course there is always the hero of the show, who is willing to go outside protocol and convention
A Haunting, Elusive Justice
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CONTENTS OF THIS ARTICLE MAY NOT BE SUITABLE TO A YOUNGER AUDIENCE. “INJUSTICE ANYWHERE IS A THREAT TO JUSTICE EVERYWHERE.” Martin Luther King Jr. “The rape was happened on a Friday night in February 2008. […] Where he came back home intoxicated [and] physically assaulted me over a period
Shipwreck
Waking up to complete darkness, I couldn’t remember a thing, and I had a horrible headache. As I lay there, staring at the wood ceiling, I snapped out of my daze and finally realized where I was. I was in the bottom deck of a ship. Staring at the ceiling started to get boring, so
An Open Letter to You, Timeless
Dear fellow educators of anywhere and anytime in the world, “He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” So Victor Hugo uttered. Unless, that is, if you are opening a door for the world’s next big bad wolves, or in this case, for the big bad monetary wolves. That, painfully, would have you open
Sacrifice
Every creature cares for their young, it is a natural instinct to shield and keep alive offspring. To each his own – the birds build nests for their eggs or chicks, provide for them till they are able to fly on their own; the lioness protects her cubs, keeps them safe from her pride and
Fortunate Son
I was born fortunate; fortunate that my city, state, and country were safe, that my parents were educated and employed, that my friends and I could spend as much time as we wanted idling and running and playing and thinking and rebelling without any repercussions besides our parents getting annoyed. I was fortunate that my
Our technology, smartphones: Out of our ‘reach’ and damaging our society?
‘While technology is important, its what we do with it that truly matters’- Muhammad Yunus Rolling down the transparent glass window of my mother’s six year old car. Bliss. The wind caressed my face with ease, exposing my baby hairs flowing wildly in natures breeze. The smell of the crisp fresh air swooped into the
The why behind schools
A school that instils the right type of values that governs the choices of each young person can give foundation and structure to what may seem like a chaotic world. If a school can tap into the desires of each young child, encouraging them to nurture their unique gifts and talents for the wider good,
Quicksand
I caught a glimpse of them from my bedroom window. Two lonely boats, shipwrecked on the beach of my town. It was a shock. No one had ever been seen on that beach since that horrifying day two years ago. I still struggle to talk about it. I lost my brother that day. He had
The Case for Open Borders in the United States of America
You have to understand, that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land” Excerpt from “Home,” a poem by Warsan Shire For better or for worse, the United States plays a “special” role in global politics. In some parts of the world, America is revered as a
Is Education A Right Or Privilege?
Education is what many children are forcibly put through, whether this is in school, at home or online. A high percentage of these children, aged 4 to 18, probably do not think that they need it. They complain about their lives, thinking they deserve better. However, in parts of the world where education is an
Education As A Way To Go Out Of The Darkness Into The Light
We learn what is bad and what is good from the youngest age, through education. Education is, for sure, the highest value of modern society. The level of tendency for well-educated people to ask for, and demand, their rights is significantly higher, compared to non – educated people. Hence, we can say that education is
Priorities
“The law of nature instructs most animals to cherish and educate their infant progeny. The law of reason inculcates to the human species the returns of filial piety.” – Edward Gibbon “I’m busy, Mum! I’ll call you back later,” I said, trying my utmost to bury the annoyance in my tone with a soothing voice
Speak Before Others Make You Dumb
There is hardly any doubt that the trend in vogue among most of us is to pretend to be a high-muck-a-muck, in every possible or impossible subject and, in turn, come out to be an asinine panjandrum and nothing else. Surprisingly and alarmingly enough, the very human tendency of exhibitionism has earned the current currency
Does Education Lead to a Crime Free Society?
Victor Hugo’s famous quote: “He who opens a school door, closes a prison” optimistically implies that an educated man who has honest means to support himself and his family will not fall into a life of crime. While education was a way out of destitution in Hugo’s 19th century society, does it guarantee producing law-abiding
Liberty or Bondage?
An open door is a highly symbolic image, with nuances of meaning. It exemplifies opportunities, thresholds and beginnings in this journey of life. The image of a school is indeed a powerful one that is synonymous with tutelage, liberty and inspiration. Victor Hugo, in this profound quote insightfully captures the paradoxes that characterize social life,