WHY I SHOULD NOT FAIL?
TYBA 2019
‘Why is academics important to you?’ asked my hostel mate while taking a puff from his cigarette. As a student of sociology, three words came out of my mouth instantly – ‘for upward mobilization.’ This conversation terminated when I told him that my grandfather was the first person to receive formal education in our family and how education has been the only source for making a living.
‘To excel’ is a norm for children from every average middle-middle class Indian family. As I belong to one such family, I would like to share my reflections on this topic while analyzing it from the theories of Paul Mitchel Foucault and Norbert Elias respectively.
The Hierarchization of Knowledge
‘पढ़ाई - लिखाई नहीं करोगे तो गाव जाके हल जोतना |' (‘if you don’t study sincerely, you’ll be sent to the ancestral village to till the farms’) - humorously or otherwise this was a sentence which frequently resonated in my ears throughout school life. I was a very bad student, especially worse in mathematics. I am mentioning math explicitly here because it is considered to be the highest form of academic discipline. Someone who is decent in mathematics is considered as an intelligent student. If someone is excellent in mathematics, he is considered a genius. But if someone is an ‘F’ grade student, he is an imbecile. This is a subject which is responsible for labelling a ward as intelligent or dull.
Foucault also shows the concern for such hierarchization of knowledge. In general, we see that high importance is given to Physical Sciences and they are considered as the highest form of knowledge as opposed to Social Sciences. In the Indian education system, it also becomes the central factor to gauge the intellectual capacity of students.
The Sane and the Mad
It is worse for those who can’t score even after studying. They are looked down upon and then sent to get ‘tested for some mental problem’. After a point they are bestowed with a new label- ‘dyslexics’, the student with disability. The medical fraternity provides a title for those who can’t find out the geometric proof, solve algebra and calculus problems (which prove to be of no use in real life). On the other hand, some individuals solve these equations like a calculator but fail the test of life. Ludwig Boltzmann, Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing, these people have two things in common- they were all mathematicians and they all successfully committed suicide (Baez, 2009).
This kind of treatment of student creates a sort of ‘gigantic moral imprisonment’ in the mind of the child. Furthermore, leading to a ‘repressive form of control’ or a limit to what he can do and what is out of his capability. Finally, this subject is called upon to judge itself. Therefore, it is essential to not judge a fish by its inability to climb but rather, its ability to swim. Accepting individual differences is the key which helps in reducing pressure on the individual ‘to excel’ in a field which he is not pathologically inclined towards.
Discourse of Success/ Excellence
We as young adults have been socialized in a manner that makes us confused on ‘do we really need to excel?’ Some parents are so kind that they do not explicitly mention what they want out of their children. They tell their children to have a sense of ‘individuality’ while studying but a ‘collective’ orientation towards other facets of social life. This means that they can harshly compete with their cohort in order to gain higher marks but should not have negative emotions towards classmates in other pursuits. The problem with this is that when someone is made to compete with others and aspire to get the ‘first rank’, he will surely have a feeling of competitiveness, and subtle forms of hatred and jealousy (only if the need ‘to excel’ is pressurized by socialization). The reason behind this is that he/she will have to replace someone to get the first position.
The need for achieving power or status in the ‘parental discourse on excellence’ can be analyzed aptly using Foucauldian perspective because his analysis of discourses is done by peeling the layers away rather than trying to find some ultimate truth.
Power and Parenting
The ideas of Foucault and that of Indian parents intersect in one more area, which is power. According to Foucault's understanding of power, power is based on knowledge and how one makes use of knowledge. On the other hand, power reproduces knowledge by shaping it in accordance with its anonymous intentions (Foucault, 2008). Power (re-) creates its own fields of exercise through knowledge.
There is a commonality in the aspiration of the Indian middle class- they want their children to become IAS, IPS officers or other high bureaucratic offices. This stems from the traditional knowledge which says that ‘knowledge is power.’ In the general sense the only inconsistency with theirs and Foucault’s take on power is that, for the middle class the knowledge is a means to the ends, i.e. studying enough to excel and clear the UPSC exam. But obviously knowledge does not only entail bookish knowledge in order ‘to excel’ in the real world.
Elias’s History of Manners
अल्पाहारी ब्रह्मचारी विद्यार्थी पञ्चलक्षणम् ||
The quoted shloka from ancient Indian Sanskrit texts has prescribed five “must have” qualities of a good student. Literal translation of the quoted text is as follows:
Perseverance of a crow (1), concentration of a swan (2), light/alert sleeper like a dog (3), frugal eater (4), readiness to staying away from home for learning pursuits (5)-are five indicators of a good student (Umankshi Bhatt, 2009).
Self-control is essential to excel. Self-control makes us more humane, because we are not ruled by the instincts. Self-control is the key to the civilizing process and development. Development is a subjective term and so is, ‘to excel.’ Hence, Elias makes it clear via his works that regulation of impulse is one of the main ingredients in order ‘to excel’.
Religions and History of Manners
Ashrams are four age-based life stages discussed in Indian texts of the ancient and medieval eras, one of them is Brahmacharya. It is in essence the period roughly between adolescence to adulthood and refers to a lifestyle characterized by sexual continence or abstinence. Brahmacharya is a very strong commitment. Because adolescence is the period of extreme sexual desire for all genders and controlling it seems truly unbelievable- but in order ‘to excel’, monks practice this. This is only possible if the person is intrinsically motivated to join the ashram and not because his parents told him to. In this context ‘to excel’ means to achieve oneness with god and get freed from the cycle of life and birth.
This concept is not only prevalent in Hinduism but is very popular in various denominations of Christianity in the West. Norbert Elias talks about this kind of civilizing process by tracing the history of manners. The text called the History of Manners, throws light on how regulating impulses leads to arousal of anxiety. Because of no or less outlet through control on passion and violence. This control eventually ends up into boredom and restlessness. Finally, sensibility of individuals increases and judgement becomes finer and more nuanced.
The Civilizing Process: Lengthening Independency Chains
When I read The Civilizing Process, I found the chapter on ‘Lengthening Independency Chains’ especially interesting. I could instantly relate to the concept of ‘webs of interconnectedness.’ When the competition ‘to excel’ reaches a certain level, the number of social functions also increase, the web of actions becomes organized, strict and results in self-compulsion on the individual ‘to excel’. Norbert Elias engages with the example of the ‘emergence of the King, the restrictions on Nobles and the King’s monopoly over military forces.’
In this section we’ll try to understand the situation of a student who is pressurized ‘to excel’, while drawing parallels to Elias’s idea of ‘Royal Mechanism’. For example, Ram (a hypothetical individual) is the eldest child in a household who has recently secured a high paying job at a multi - national firm. The first part of ‘emergence of a King’ can be understood by placing Ram within the society (his family). This material success usually makes people think that Ram is excelling in life. But in reality, it is the hard work of Ram, the ‘appropriate figuration’ and certain ‘structure’ that has provided this opportunity which lead him to acquire the job and the higher status.
The emergence of the king brings about changes in the whole society (the family). Let us examine the society as the family of Ram. He has two younger brothers, Shyam and Lakshman. Lakshman as the youngest brother can be seen as the ‘warrior’ as in Elias’s example. As Lakshman is the youngest amongst the three, he is at a less responsible stage because he does not have the same pressure from the competition, the chains of dependence are short and therefore he can engage with his passion (and aggression).
Second in line is Shyam who is neither too young nor too old. He can be seen as the Noble in Elias’s example. He is in the situation where his absolute focus is demanded by the elders (parents as society and Ram as the King). In order to achieve the same pedestal of ‘excellence’, Shyam has to increase emotional and self- control. He is being trained to handle the reins as he is getting ready for the world that is going to be his (from becoming a Nobel to the next King). Finally, if Shyam does not become successful in getting a good job then he will be seen as a disgrace to the family.
Conclusion
Throughout the article we can observe that ‘failing’ is not an option given by society to anyone. Starting from the scaffolding provided by the medical fraternity to accommodate the underperforming math student, the muddled style of Indian parenting, the self-control imbibed since the formative years of development, how religions have helped in the development of manners and finally how people feel pressured to excel through the ‘webs of interconnectedness’. In all these concepts, one essential component to notice is that pressure ‘to excel’ is sometimes necessary, sometimes coercive and sometimes even liberating. Therefore, one should seek to genuinely sit back and ponder upon, ‘why am I doing this?’, ‘why should I not fail?’ then he/she will find the reason behind doing what he/she is doing and will make sure to get better in their respective fields.
References
1. Abraham, A. (2014). An Adarsh Balak's Chemistry Test [Image].
2. Baez, J. (2009). Dangerous Knowledge | The n-Category Café. Retrieved 7 January 2020, from https://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2009/12/dangerous_knowledge.html
3. Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984. (2008). The history of sexuality. Penguin. ISBN 9780141037646. OCLC 709809777.
4. Umankshi Bhatt, R. (2009). Five Qualities of A Good Student. Retrieved 7 January 2020, from http://reveda.blogspot.com/2009/05/five-qualities-of-good-student.html
Comments
Post a Comment