The Exercise Of Free Thought In Hong Kong And At Home – Forbes

Children can sense when things are amiss, even if they cant explain exactly why, and in that class, ... [+] there was a dreary and stifling atmosphere as we painted propaganda poster boards with long anti-communist slogans and images.

Recent years have posed serious challenges to liberal democracy. Democratic movements been stifled in countries like Russia and China as well as western countries where the rise of authoritarian regimes was, just a short time ago, unthinkable.

Whats the solution? For me, a robust liberal education is crucial, the bedrock of democracy.

To explain, until the age of fourteen, I lived in South Korea, in Seoul. Most of my memories from those early years are warm and genial: my older sister helping me style my hair with barrettes; eating persimmons after dinner in our dining room; birthday parties at my grandparents house across the Han River in Bu-am dong.

But, in those years, South Korea was far from the stable, liberal, and relatively wealthy democracy it is today, and there are less positive memories too. Among them, I recall sitting in school in a type of art and crafts time, making propaganda for the military-led government.

Children can sense when things are amiss, even if they cant explain exactly why, and in that class, there was a dreary and stifling atmosphere as we painted propaganda poster boards with long anti-communist slogans and images.

Looking back, my unease grew out of the education Id gotten at home. My father encouraged us kids to debate complex issues openly even at a young age. And even though the topics sometimes flew over our heads, my siblings and I gleaned from our father the importance and value of argument, free expression and open inquiry.

Ive been thinking a lot about my early experiences as Ive read about the protests in Hong Kong. I have been struck, in particular, by the role civics education has played in the conflict. Specifically, a course called Liberal Studies, which has been blamed for fueling the energy of the young protesters.

The course dates from 1992 when Hong Kong was still under British control. The course became compulsory in 2009, and many teachers argue that it raises awareness of social issues, supports civic engagement and promotes critical thinking. In the course, teachers are given free rein to facilitate discussions about difficult issues like the governments 1989 crackdown on protesters at Tienanmen Square.

Critics blame the course for the recent protests, and many have called for a complete elimination of the civics class. The Communist Partys newspaper, The Peoples Daily, has gone so far as to call Hong Kongs education system a disease and said teachers have treated the classroom as the sowing ground for a political perspective.

In response to the protests, some have called for more patriotic education that is, propaganda to instill more loyalty in Hong Kong students to mainland China. This has been the approach under president Xi Jinping in China, and mainland schools have recently redoubled efforts at ideological education.

Not surprisingly, I support the need for strong civics courses in Hong Kong. But just as important, I believe the battle over education in Hong Kong and China should be a lesson to us all because our freedoms depend on education. What we learn in school about free speech and open thought matters for the future of nations.

The course in Hong Kong shows the value of civics instruction that supports free speech and critical thinking. According to the New York Times, many students speak proudly about how liberal studies helped them understand the complex bill that set off the protests. The bill, which would have allowed extraditions to the mainland, has since been suspended but has not been formally withdrawn from legislative agendas.

Democracies are, of course, far from perfect, and too often democratic countries dont live up to their ideals. But the freedom to criticize those institutions and the opportunity to show how ideals have been betrayed is what makes progress possible.

Practically speaking, we need to do more to make education a tool for renewing democracy. This means a commitment to media literacy to ensure our students have the tools to seek out and analyze information. It also means a commitment to critical thinking, so that students can think through complicated topics and truly debate current events.

I was lucky. My father instilled the value of free expression and critical thinking in me during difficult times. Nations now need to do the same, and Hong Kong shows us the way.

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The Exercise Of Free Thought In Hong Kong And At Home - Forbes