Friday, October 16, 2009

Education and Madrasssa and mujaddara

"Yet, this massive investment – which will make KAUST, on day one, among the richest 10 universities in the world – is a drop in the bucket. Even if successful, KAUST will serve few lucky students while the majority of the Saudi and Arab youths will still be victims of a system that teaches students what to think instead of how to think." I agree with one sentence (or two), and take issue with the last sentence. Enough about these cliches about Arab education and madrassas and such. The problem is largely the nature of Arab regimes: if Arab regimes were different, we would not be speaking about this educational system. And if the Western educational system is so based on critical thinking, why do we have submissive and conditioned masses everywhere. Also, Lebanon has a more open educational system and is importing the lousy "University of Phoenix"-style universities--and this is what is meant by private universities in the Middle East--, and we don't see that much of a difference. (thanks Olivia)