A Reflection on the Social Dimensions of Education

By Josiah Rei Balbuena

BSEd-English Student

The very first thing that I learned in the Social Dimensions classes was that whole deal with Michel Focault and his perspective on “knowledge is power.”  After that, everything seemed to follow a distinct pattern, as if every other theory out there fell into a structure of its own. Having realized that there exists a structure in our society and how it perceives things such as education, the work-force, politics, and other such things, I just couldn’t help but connect all the other discussions we’ve had in class to the structure that we’ve been encouraged to see. Maybe it’s a good thing that I’ve managed to pick it up so quickly, even if it can be a little presumptuous for me to do so. But I’ve also realized that it can also backfire quite easily, as I might create a one-track mind of looking at anything and everything as having a structure to blame for all the problems.

Whenever we are engaged in a discussion or confronted with a question that digs deep into why this has been going on for so long or why we agree with the opinion of the professor (such as those times when we are asked why exactly we study, or why we instinctively use English when answering questions given by someone of higher authority, or why we choose to believe that having communities function the way they are right now), it just made us look like we’re just dodging a question we find so difficult to answer. I can’t help but feel like every question is confronting more than just our beliefs, but the structure that we have been taught and trained to fit into. As a professor who really made it clear that his goal is to challenge our beliefs, both as future educators and human beings, and to pass on the torch that we must be able to see the structure that exists within the society and have the intellectual capacity to discern whether it needs changing or not. I believe that this has been made truly clear. There is a sort of higher calling that demands for us to become aware of these situations and of these concepts. Because without these concepts, it feels like we’re missing out on what could be the first steps to creating the solutions that hold back the forward progress of our society. What seemed like was centered on bettering one’s skills in the field of education had become an in-depth look at the status of how things run in the world we know. 

One of the things I truly appreciated picking up in this class is that one must have conviction in one’s answers, in one’s beliefs. People are so determined to find the safe and absolute answer that no one bothers to risk their necks or their pride to get somewhere substantial, or at least anywhere where they are not currently in. This is what I meant when I stated that maybe if everyone were opinionated then it’d be a good thing, that it’d be a little bit more beneficial despite the fact that it is dangerous. The way I see it is how I picked up on Cesar Milan’s philosophy in his experience of training dogs: “It’s better to deal with an aggressive dog than a terrified one.” I relate this idea in the sense that if everyone had something to offer, then we can all take it as a cooperative output and reach a middle ground where everything is considered and the outcome becomes a collaborative effort instead of having only one idea or opinion and everyone seemingly too meek to contribute anything to the table. In a way, my point may somehow delve into themes of conflict perspective where people must engage against each other if necessary but not to completely overthrow everyone else so as to come out that one may appear superior to the other.

Another thing that really made me reflect on is the impact of culture. It acts like such a wild card that kind of complicates everything in the field. Everything could have been much simpler and concerns could just be reduced to how education must be valued and sounded off to communities, or how students must cooperate with each other or with their superiors. But with the cultural aspect of things and with multiculturalism in play, things get a lot harder and more sensitive as we must stretch our patience of learning and teaching in an entirely new degree. We must be aware of where our actions bring us and be sensitive enough as to avoid jeopardizing the essence of our teaching with the mistake of overlooking someone’s cultural aspects. When time passed I soon learned that this really shouldn’t be the main concern and that in doing so would just be whining about something that cannot be possibly undone. Everyone has a bit of culture in their life and as much as I like to think that it is an impediment to the learning process in a learning environment, I am really desiring to be deprived of a higher knowledge that cannot be taught so conveniently. A trading and learning of culture can bring about a different impact in an educational undertaking. Being flexible to adjust to a different culture and practicing the patience to learn and explore the extent of theirs while also learning and relearning one’s own culture can tie in a greater number of various life perspectives one might think. Picking up a patriarchal culture can lead to theories and studies on gender equality and oppression. Comparing between individualistic lifestyle and close-knitted qualities of different family cultures can tell a lot about what both lacks and needs more of the other. Picking up on cultural traits that desires excellence in every degree imaginable can bring about concepts of a global standard. It can bring about how we should fight for our own culture’s standings for it to become the standard of globalization. For the betterment, it can bring about cooperation to reach new heights as cultures intertwined with each other.