The Importance Of Nationalism In Education

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Education can be the tool needed to promote peace in culturally diverse settings. If education can be used to promote nationalistic political agendas, then it can be used to promote inclusiveness and mutual understanding. Children do not naturally inherit historical trauma, it is learned, and education can be used to teach children how to think independently and critically to overcome historical bias. Lastly, by enabling children to attend school they can get out of poverty in a way that otherwise would be impossible, therefore students can learn and meet others not from the same ethnic group that otherwise they would not have even interacted. Youth are impressionable and learn by seeing and experiencing, schools are an ideal place to show …show more content…

Teaching nationalism is not necessarily negative, it can to an extent unify peoples of diverse backgrounds. The United States teaches nationalism as a shared culture across multiple cultures within the United States. However, it can also be used to divide people based on their ethnicity. In Bosnia and Herzegovina the educational system was fragmented along ethnonational lines, and education was used for the nationalist political control during the war (Hromadzic, 2008). This mirrors the educational system in Myanmar; however, in Myanmar the educational system is state-sponsored, unlike in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The benefit of teaching nationalism in Myanmar, is that every student, when asked where they are from responds Myanmar, and when asked who they are they say they are Myanmar and not their individual ethnicities. Education can simultaneously unite and segregate (Hromadzic, 2008). The historical trauma and memories around the oppression of the state towards certain ethnicities is prevalent, and teaching nationalism considering these atrocities becomes …show more content…

Children are also entitled to education through international laws, including the Geneva Convention, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and several UN Security Council Resolutions, yet it is still not granted to every child, especially in war-torn or impoverished areas (Tomlinson, 2005). Education creates a safe area where children can experience normalcy outside of the conflict and helps create relationships and bonds that otherwise would not develop out of the school environment. These relationships can last through the conflicts and influence the community’s future. Education can either divide or unite people across cultures. By allowing students to critically think and analyze, then students can think for themselves thus breaking the hold of collective memories and historical traumas. Additionally, by teaching students of different cultures together, relationships can be formed that change community dynamics. The significance of education on peace building in war-torn countries cannot be

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