Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many educators have raised these questions: What should be the role of educators at a time of war? Should teachers educate students about wars in general and the Russia-Ukraine war in particular? Should students be taught to process news about war that come from various sources?
Responding to the conflict in Ukraine, a number of English Language Teaching (ELT) professionals and practitioners in the U.K. and other countries have contributed a collection of poems and short texts, which are reflections on the Russia-Ukraine war and war in general. This was edited by Alan Maley, ELT expert who worked as the British Council’s South India (Madras) Regional Director between 1984 and 1988. Along with Nik Peachey, he also co-edited the book Integrating Global Issues in the Creative English Language Classroom.
While going through the poems in the collection, I was intrigued by Maley’s poem ‘Song of the Refugee’: I am homeless. I am jobless. I am helpless./ I am landless. I am stateless. I am penniless./ I am wifeless. I am childless. I am joyless./ My fate is endless…/ Unless…
Intrigued by the word “unless”, I posed a few questions to Maley. Edited extracts from the interview:
Alan Maley | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
How important is it to create awareness of the Russian invasion of Ukraine among learners?
I believe the current crisis is critical for everyone, not just the people directly affected by it. It has been customary to separate learning from life. Yet education should be about preparing learners for the world they will have to live in. We live in a connected world. As John Donne reminded us back in the 17th century ‘No man is an island...’ Unless we can create a society where war is eliminated, we are bound for self-destruction.
Do you think educators should discuss the Ukraine crisis in the classroom?
I think it is best discussed in the wider context of life as a human being in this most perilous of centuries. The overwhelmingly most important issue of our times is the way climate change is already impacting ecosystems. Everything else is subordinate to this, even war. And everything is linked to it in a mutual relationship. I certainly believe that such sensitive subjects should be discussed. Teachers are not just technicians paid to deliver a package of facts. They are highly influential role models for their students, and their influence is often life-long.
What should be the role of creative writers during such times?
As Ben Okri said in the Guardian, “Artists must write as if these are our last days on earth.” In one sense, climate change is the only thing worth writing about, given that our very existence as a species is at stake. Yet humans have the disquieting habit of choosing to ignore bad news even when reality stares them in the face. What difference will writing about it, especially in poetry, make to anyone? Possibly none. But I draw some comfort from William Carlos Williams. ‘It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.’
How significant is theThe Pity of War: The Poetry is in the Pity?
This is a collection of original poems sparked by the Ukraine disaster, which will shortly appear as an e-publication, with the proceeds going to support refugees from Ukraine. “Nobody is too small to make a difference,” as Greta Thunberg reminds us.
Do you think the academia is prompt in responding to human rights violations across the globe?
There are always academics who courageously speak out against injustice, corruption, violent repression, slavery and a multitude of other wrongs. But academics are part of the system too, and they sometimes tend to intellectualise urgent practical issues. Like the coining of a new branch of linguistics — Eco-linguistics. What practical difference will this make?
“Teachers cease to be educators when they are silent spectators of injustices happening around them.” Your reaction.
Doing nothing is doing something! We should not go gentle — nor silent — into that good night. Either we all win or we all lose.
The writer is an ELT resource person and education columnist. rayanal@yahoo.co.uk
