How does a nation learn? Dr. Ronald Mendoza's remarks on Dr. John Rees's lecture

Last 8 February 2019, Dean Ron Mendoza served as one of three reactors at the Senator Edgardo Angara Memorial Lecture held in San Beda University. Over 500 academics, students and reform advocates attended the lecture which was delivered by Dr John Rees of Notre Dame University Australia. Titled “Inclusive Education: Transforming Lives and Building Nations?” Dr. Rees focused on the main question, “How does a nation learn?”
 
Dr. Mendoza drew on the Ateneo Policy Center’s ongoing research on economic and political reforms and he emphasized the conjointed issues of social justice and inclusive development. His full remarks are noted below.
 
 
Reaction to “Inclusive Education: Transforming Lives and Building Nations?” by Dr John A. Rees
 
R.U.Mendoza, PhD, Ateneo School of Government
8 February 2019

1. In today’s world which is racked by populism, historical revisionism, fake news, and democratic institutions under stress, Dr Rees poses a critically important question: “How do nations learn?” In order to answer this, we need to dig deeper into the concept of education and learning itself .

2. This lecture is thought provoking from a development perspective, and given the Philippines’ present development status. The country is set to be one of the fastest growing countries in Asia (and the world) – yet our growth does not seem to translate into aggressive poverty reduction. In the lingua of economists, we failed (and continue to fail) to achieve “inclusive growth”.

3. Growth without inclusion produces highly unequal societies. And unequal societies also tend to be easily divided. Deep fissures in Philippine society go well beyond issues of wealth disparity however – they also  have to do with lingering issues of social justice. Large parts of the population remain “marginalized” in important ways. Farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous people, and the mass numbers of poor families in both urban and rural Philippines largely do not participate in our economy in an empowered way – and neither are they fully empowered and organized politically.

4. Instead, many are mired in patron-client relationships that fuel the rise of traditional politicians and political dynasties. “Poverty amidst plenty” is probably the most troubling form of poverty persistence, and that’s what we have in the Philippines right now. We almost have a tale of 2 different countries – on the one side the problem is traffic and slow internet speed, while on the other side the problem is conflict, poverty and where to get the next meal.

5. What is the role of education here? Dr Rees offers three lenses we can use to begin to understand possible pathways to economic and political inclusion – and education is probably one of the most important levers.

6. Dr Rees notes: “Understanding the idea of ‘learning’ and the endeavour of ‘education’ through the lens of capability, I have proffered a threefold answer:

• via a commitment to pluralism;
• a holistic understanding of well-being; and
• the pursuit of enabling power.

7. Pluralism is an important building block for democratic societies – but more so for the Philippines given our history. Peace in our own backyard of Mindanao is a national goal that we hope will no longer prove elusive. Demonstrating to the world that Christians, Muslims and IPs can build a prosperous and inclusive BARMM is one of the principal challenges of this generation – involving not simply those in BARMM but the entire nation as well.

8. Our ability to build a cohesive society and address longstanding social justice issues in Mindanao will spell the difference between peace and conflict in that region – and education will certainly play a key role here. At a recent forum on countering violent extremism I just learned that up to 60% of Abu Sayaff surrenderees admitted that it was the treat of clan war that forced them to join ASG. And many surrenderees had never seen nor experienced a city with 24 hour electricity.

9. So the challenge for education is not merely as means to empower citizens among the poorest and least developed Philippine provinces in BARMM – but also to restore a culture of inclusion and hope that will counteract the divisive and corrosive culture of bad governance, conflict and extremism that that will need to be unrooted there.

10. Dr Rees also mentioned the need for inclusive education to be rooted in a holistic understanding of humanitarianism – against the “globalization of indifference” that threatens to tear apart people within and across countries. We do not need to look far to see that this same indifference threatens our nation today.

11. For instance, perhaps over 2 million Filipinos work abroad due to lack of jobs that could bring out their full potential as well as bring them home closer to their families. Furthermore, indigenous communities often face the brunt of underdevelopment despite their entitlement to vast tracks of land. Land reform and agricultural modernization are still largely incomplete and failed to correct the longstanding imbalances in the agricultural sector. And of course the poor in both urban and rural settings continue to be targeted by a vicious anti-drugs campaign that is decidedly anti-poor, and targeted at small time users, while there is less evidence that large manufacturers and smugglers are caught and held accountable.

12. If the Americans and European populists have their migrants, we appear to have our drug addicts. Dr Rees noted that “Arguably, the most significant collateral damage done to a society where populism of this kind is ascendant is the loss of hospitality in favour of an intention to exclude and, in its uglier forms, to expel the Other.” Clearly, there can be no inclusive education as long as we feed populist division – and in important ways, education also offers the key to solving these divisions.

13. Education for empowerment of the poor and the marginalized is critical – but we need more than this. Education for the already powerful—but still grossly ignorant—is also critical. Some of our nation’s policies fly in the face of empirical evidence and facts. Learning through inclusive evidence-based discourse is something we need to be better at, as a nation.

14. The more inclusive learning we have yet to achieve has to do with the type of institutions we build—in the very nature of our democracy and economy, and whether and to what extent we continue to tolerate inequality, injustice or patronage. In a sense, we educate ourselves and our nation through the type of country and the nature of citizenship we are building.

15. This led me to ask the question – What country do we want to be? Along these lines, Dr Rees mentioned the third lens for inclusive education -- the need to pursue “enabling power”. For me, enabling power has to do with ending patron-client relationships, ending political dynasties, and promoting a more egalitarian and merit-based society. Inclusive education is at the heart of this.

16. Dr Rees is right to emphasize our Catholic commitment to humanitarianism. And I applaud him for noting how: “Catholic universities are well-placed to become, or to continue to be, exemplars in all three pursuits toward the attainment of an inclusive society.” He also added: “Education strategies can thus have a transforming effect on the wider contexts that house them. Indeed, the practise of inclusion at a school level has the potential to generate a ripple effect outward to society as a whole. […]  ‘Inclusion in school is inclusion in society. Without social inclusion in a school setting, there is no concomitant inclusion in the community, the workplace, and the home’…”

17. I cannot agree more – having an education is one thing. The way we educate and learn together as a nation is quite another. The latter is going to be key to end our nation’s divides, which includes a form of “inclusive ignorance” – by many poor citizens deprived of formal education; and by many elite who remain ignorant of the consequences.

18. Let me end with a quote from James Baldwin, an American novelist, playwright and social critic who wrote: “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” I add to this the fact that inclusive education is still our most potent weapon against injustice, inequality and populism. +AMDG