Stop Lying to Children!

STOP LYING TO CHILDREN!

By Stephen Wilson

           

           

An Open Letter calling for an end to state intimidation, imprisonment and beating up of youth recently received the signatures of over 2,000 Russian school teachers.

           

It all began with school teachers arguing about the school play. How old does a school student have to be to fully understand Shakespeare's Hamlet? How many school students can grasp the complex meaning conveyed by the play? As the discussion grew more deeper it seemed patently evident that parallels could be made between the situation Hamlet finds himself in and the terrible predicament which young people find themselves in modern day Russia. Like Hamlet, many people feel alienated, and angry about the blatant injustice which pervades their lives. For example, quotes such as  'The time is out of joint' and 'Denmark is a prison' could be applied to Russia. But the teacher Irina Lukyanova, a teacher of literature is hardly the first person in Russia to be inspired by Shakespeare! Boris Pasternak translated Hamlet and a Russian philosopher, Leon Shestov, described Shakespeare as his 'first master in philosophy'. He attempted to develop a philosophy from his own creative interpretation which he titled 'Shakespeare and his Critic Brandes.' Russians regard literature not as a light or academic subject, but as a way of life. You don't just read literature but should live it by practicing the virtues and values it embodies. A poet is not just a poet, but can be a philosopher and guide to action. Many teachers believe that Russian literature should be taught to inspire people to be honest, helpful and law-abiding citizens. People should not tell lies. But if the school students see that the government itself is not practicing those values, then why should they?

           

Adults who are preaching those values to children will be viewed by their own children as hypocrites. Lukyanova stated that the main message of the letter was an appeal to "Stop telling children lies". She stated that "it was high time teachers woke up and adapted their civic position. Stop being afraid! Children won't forgive us for being silent and not telling the truth".

            

Irina Lukyanova 's Open Letter, in a way, starkly expresses the unwanted predicament Russian school teachers find themselves in. For instance, a school subject such as 'Social Knowledge ' teaches children to learn all the main articles of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. They learn that Article 31 allows them the right to peacefully gather and demonstrate, yet when they actually try to gather they can face mass arrests, be beaten up and falsely imprisoned on bogus charges of inciting mass disorder. When they hear that though freedom of speech is guaranteed by the constitution, but bloggers are being thrown into prison for exercising this, they can't help noticing a huge discrepancy between the law and the reality.

            

The letter states : 'Most of the arrested are young people. By their age they are our students of yesterday. It is impossible to talk to school children honestly about the Decembrists, about penal imprisonment, the Gulag, Blok, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and many other classics of Russian literature to teach them about freedom of choice, morality, a person's responsibility for the society which he lives in and at the same time pretend nothing happened beyond the classroom. This is hypocrisy and we don't want to teach children hypocrisy.'

           

In Soviet times a person from a school or institute who wrote such an open letter could be fired. And her school or institute could all be collectively punished for not controlling her. Teachers were expected to police each other and prevent such letters. But within a few hours of writing this open letter, Irina Lukyanova was surprised to discover that over 2,000 teachers, including some headmasters and mistresses, had signed the letter in support. The letter evoked a strong resonance among teachers. Those teachers were from all over Russia. Russian school teachers are losing their fear. They have woken up to the unacceptable. A teacher Sergei Volkov stated, "This letter was written for everyone. For all people! Teaching is such a profession where for us everyone is a person ... Now it seems that it is time to explain the moral law ... You must not lie, kill, rob, and bear false witness!"

Few people would disagree.