Three malaises by Charles Taylor and its relevance or irrelevance for Kenyan society and education

The three malaises as identified by Charles Taylor as afflicting American society are namely; individualism, primacy of instrumental reason and loss of freedom at political level. To him he deemed as what ails the American society and goes ahead to propose remedies. In the Kenyan society which is striving to attain a middle level economy and an education system commonly known as 8-4-4 which connotes the number of years spent in each level namely primary, secondary and university. Our system of education can be termed a “culling” process or “obstacle race” whereby those who have access to the best facilities and opportunities are graded the same by the national examination which seals their fates.

The malaises identified find some relevance in Kenya and we shall examine each with corresponding examples of what is currently happening. Let’s start with the malaise of individualism which can be described as an attitude where the self triumphs without recourse to the means employed. The means could involve crooked ways but this is tolerated as what counts is the individual “makes it” in life. The apex described is characterized by attainment of lots of material wealth in terms of houses, cars, holiday destinations, club memberships and social amenities used for example schools and hospitals.  An individual who has attained the apex of individualism is allowed to flaunt their wealth. Our education system tends to favor individual students who score high test scores and this fosters the attitude that success is never collective means. There is emergence of a crop of leaders who flaunt their wealth whose means of acquisition is shaky spells doom for our society as individuals’ disregards societal ideals. The youth are demanding for unrestricted freedoms as it’s considered a precondition for attaining the individual’s desired success. Such notions as unrestricted freedom are dangerous in the society as we need people to use freedom responsible for the good of self and others.

The second malaise on primacy of instrumental reason is very recent phenomenon in our country. Instrumentalism is using reason as a means to attain certain end considering maximum utility as the fulcrum. Under this malaise we can start with the notion whereby the young people who are joining university are pursuing degrees based on the perception of which degrees has the most rewarding in monetary and prestige terms in the society. The pressure to pursue certain fields can be dictated by certain forces like the parents, friends and society. A recent study on youth trends in east African identified the generation “Y” as the most flight risk employees as they are perennially in search of “green pastures” and don’t espouse work ethos at all. Ethos like solidarity, diligence and hard work are disregarded as what counts is how much money one makes. We have lost the human caring aspect as human beings are considered useful as long as services are needed. The same culture means that employers are outsourcing much of the work so as to cut on operations costs and have optimum profits.  In Kenya currently there is a sudden upsurge in pursuit of undergraduate studies by almost everyone at the expense of technical courses because of the perception created that degree holders earn maximum returns. Under this category we have to examine the prestige attached to technology in solving all the problems that we face in society. Technology is good as it solves some of the problems and improves man’s life in the society, but the mistake of thinking that technology is the ultimate solution is misplaced. Recently the government had promised that it will supply laptops to all class one children as a solution to problems facing delivery of primary education. This is misplaced priority in a country with acute shortage of teachers, poorly equipped schools and where children suffer hunger is untenable. The government needs to address these basic issues first before turning technology as the panacea of what ails the education sector.  Technology cannot replace the human aspects of care, but can improve on efficiency and content delivery.

The last malaise as identified by Charles Taylor is at the political level whereby it’s a typical middle class problem in Kenya of not participating in self government. The middle class rant out the loudest on social media platforms but consider it a bother to participate in picketing, demonstrations or even just to vote. In Nairobi politicians have realized the majority of registered voters who turn up on the Election Day are from the low class. For the middle class as long as the government of the day exists and does the minimum to safeguards their privileges then there no need for agitations. A closer look at institutions at the local level for example schools and health centers committee members is comprised of very middle class as they consider it bothersome and since they can afford private schools and hospital there is no need to participate in improving services. The middle class have no qualms paying for services to private companies at t he expense of taking the local government to task to provide for services like garbage collection. I don’t blame this on education system as Charles Taylor would like us to belief as in our country education is about a race to cross the finish line and enjoy the fruits that accompanies such an accomplishment. In the Kenyan curriculum issues on government and civil studies is well covered from lower primary to high school and I belief this is enough to propel one to participate in self government. To the middle class comfort is enough and national ideals should be left to the civil societies and the lowly in the society.

i)                    The inarticulate debate

Articulate can be defined as clarity, distinctiveness, precision or coherence of thoughts. Charles Taylor terms his debate inarticulate which we can interpret as the opposite of the mentioned verbs. He terms it inarticulate because it’s not coherence and not a convincing philosophy that can be emulated to lead man to his ultimate end. The inarticulate debate is relativism which can be defined as “everything goes or is accepted” and there is no universal standard for morals. Each person can formulate their own our moral ideals and live with that without any question from other members of the society. The acceptance of such an ideal has been mutual respect or being true to self. Such statements are inarticulate since mutual respect demands that we correct our fellow beings when they hold ideologies that are self destructive or affect other members of the society. Those who hold or advocate for moral ideals are considered conservative or traditionalist and cannot offer moral compass to the current generation as life has changed and has led to relegation of moral ideals as hindrance to achievement in life.

True freedom is the ability to choose that which is proper to us human being and use it responsibly. The current culture is clogged with the notions that for one to “make it” in life then unrestricted freedom is a key ingredient. What is termed freedom is the “principle of non interference” in individual matters, but the truth though man is free his freedom is restricted for own good and society.

For Taylor such ideas are inarticulate as it lacks coherence with mans nature and moral relativism is not an ideal at all. Lack of transcendence of self is a characteristic of this debate which does not recognize the spiritual component of man. The debate conforms with materialism in that man is considered as purely matter and all his actions can be reduced to material understanding. Morality is in the realm of spirituality which is subjected to the principles of materialism will fail hence admission of relativism. The idea that man in a free state without restrictions of morality attains optimum achievement is reductionist view which characterized the inarticulate debate. 

Aquinas theory of education as wisdom , A Kenyan context

The aim of MacKay report in the establishing 8-4-4 system of education was geared towards self-employment especially in the informal sector. The original 8-4-4 has undergone piecemeal changes over the three decades it has been in existence. For example the number of examinable subjects in the final year of primary and secondary level has reduced from seven to five and ten to seven respectively. The system laid emphasis on Mathematics, English and vocational courses like art, craft, home science, business, agriculture, carpentry, woodwork, masonry and electricity. Over time these vocational subjects have been dropped with the flimsy excuse that it was expensive to implement. The current version lays lots of emphasis on language (English and Kiswahili), mathematics and sciences. With such a change teachers have turned into experts of preparing students for national examinations and not preparing them for life after school.

Aquinas in his theory of education as wisdom based his arguments on understanding of who is a person and what can be good for such a being. He says that a person is a composite unity endowed with material component which is relied upon as the basis for intellectual knowledge. For Aquinas wisdom is the ability to discern what is good for the person and genuinely pursue it. He says there are two levels of wisdom namely created which is the realm of science that is interested in the natural world and uncreated wisdom which man discovers and leads him to know God and be open to His transcendence. The vision of St. Thomas is that they should be united as its proper for man.

In our education system there is the emphasis on science which unfortunately does not answer the deep questions that disturbs man. True wisdom should involve enabling students to be reflective hence opening up to God. The 8-4-4 system is currently centered on  social prestige  whereby there is an emphasis to get the best grades which its hoped will lead to a good job and one is able to join a certain privileged class in the society who have gotten great returns from education. Our system is like a series of sieves whereby it allows only the best in the tested subjects to go through and the rest are discarded. Our system has no room for reflection on what kind of lives students should lead after schooling. Aquinas says education should foster in learners ability to understand their own lives and order it to finality (God). Our system which emphasizes recall rather than understanding leaves very little room for such kind of reflection to occur and our students know very little beyond what they learn in class by “drilling method”. Passing examinations has been termed a matter of “life and death” as a child is not open to other possibilities beyond exams.

The problems of not approaching education as wisdom is evident as employers complain that graduates of our education system lack key skills namely communication, teamwork and professional behavior. An environment that glorifies the highest grade cannot impart such skills which are crucial not just in the workplace but also in a person’s life. Wisdom is the ability to choose what is truly good for the person but with the impartiality in our education such is untenable. We need to approach education from a holistic view as man is a unity of body of soul and needs to develop the two harmoniously in order to lead a balanced life. As presently designed the education system leaves the students tired as the curriculum is extensive and have to be studying all year round even during school holidays since the ultimate prize is to attain the highest grade.

Let’s turn our attention to virtue which has been defined as a stable good habit. Aquinas contends that acquisition of virtue is the hallmark of education. He says that there is a precondition to rely on intellectual instruction to impact virtues which is initial possession of virtues by the learners. This means that before children join school parents should have laid the foundation in virtues so that teachers can only broaden their views. In our education system there is emphasis on social studies and religious education which is hoped will enable students attain social virtues. This noble intention is however lost in the race to attain high grades in these subjects and in the process children don’t reflect on what has been learnt and its application in their lives. Reducing virtues to intellectual instruction does not constitute wisdom as even at university students do not understand why they should take classes in ethics. This attitude can be attributed to non-reflection of foundational knowledge in social ethics in primary and secondary level.

We can conclude that education as wisdom leads to development of full capabilities of students rather than insistence on some sectors. Such an education will lead to living and working in dignity as life is opened to God through uncreated wisdom. Our system doesnot make room for such wisdom and no wonder we have youth who cannot confront certain questions about life. Making informed decisions which is a characteristic of a prudent person is lacking in our education as currently formulated. Lastly is that wisdom fosters lifelong learning as opposed to learning to pass examinations? We can say our aim in education is not wisdom as envisioned by Aquinas but passing examinations with the hope of getting a good job with no idea with what to do thereafter.