I was supposed to work on the grant proposal today, but I chose to meet new friends instead. One of them seemed familiar, as if I had met on some other occasion but I gave up on finding answers, and so did he. He told me he was studying for his Master's degree in Sociology Education. Damn! I don't know why I was surrounded by Sociology people. It felt like a cruel rebuke because I didn't dare to study that major even though I wanted to. It all happened because I hoped for a good future, which I thought narrowly define as a major that guarantees a well-paid job.
Anyway, my new friend is already in his second year. He has almost finished his thesis with the theme of sociology education that gives students a sense of empathy for others. I'm very interested in that education because I'm crazy about Paulo Freire, the hero of the amazon nation against the evil corporations destroying the forest. My friend is working on exploring various theories that would enable him to create a curriculum that would engender empathy.
After explaining, I asked him a question about whether he was optimistic about Indonesian education, and he replied NO. I was stunned, so what is he writing now? And more importantly for what?
Although he also admires Paulo Freire, he seems to forget that education is politics. The state builds an education system that can perpetuate its power. I can't imagine how the curriculum can accommodate the value of empathy? Is it just limited empathy? Empathy that does not lead to rebellion. But how can we empathise but not be angry and moved by oppression? I don't think that's empathy.
I don't know what got into him that he also said himself that what he wrote would probably never be read by anyone. This is where I feel sad. Academia seems to be a world of its own, dreamy, detached from reality. Academia seems to be a playground of ideas and one can live with their nonsense.
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