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Series of articles by Maryam Guneshli
on level of Azerbaijani textbooks
"MARxism – MARdanism"
By Maryam Guneshli
The older generation can remember the time when almost every single book – textbook, scientific publication or thesis – was linked with Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism and endless sessions of CPSU(B) – CPSU. No matter what they wrote about, whether it was literature or physics, it was most important to view that in light of the party and government decisions. Standard wordings moved from one edition to another. The defective totalitarian tradition came from the USSR to democratic Azerbaijan.
We have learned that 20 percent of our territory is occupied by the Armenians and we have millions of refugees. We conduct peaceful negotiations to return our lands, but if they are not crowned with success (?!), we will liberate our lands militarily. For that purpose, we should strengthen our economy and army and study the heritage of “Ulu Ondar.” The latter is what we do best. Every day we learn about the presentation of a new book on the heritage of the late president, his role in the development of various aspects of our life – spiritual and material. And the authors are none the worse as they distribute, without fail, their opuses among all state institutions. The paper can endure everything and they have a double profit – it is ticked off in the respective list and they lose nothing. No one reads these books, they usually decorate bookshelves of officials’ offices with their back, something formerly done with many-volumed works of Lenin that served as a compulsory component of décor in officials’ offices.
The Karabakh topic is another compulsory component of success, a patriotic one, and its inclusion is desirable or more exactly, compulsory, especially when it comes to textbooks and various manuals.
The authors are not particularly concerned about the form in which the topic is addressed, the most important thing is that they demonstrate their patriotism and “make their contribution to the patriotic education of the younger generation” – at least, this is what they think.
Recently, there came into my hands a teaching aid for the 9th grade, “Biology – Human. Laboratory Works,” approved at the meeting of Biology Section of Scientific and Methodological Commission of Azerbaijani Ministry of Education on March 27, 2003. By the way, it was compulsorily distributed among students at schools for 10,000 manats. But this is not the topic we are discussing. The aim of the authors is “…to form, by means of practical works (laboratory works, tests, problems, crosswords), theoretical knowledge in students and educate patriotic individuals.” Certainly, reviewers, methodologists and officials from the Ministry of Education think that the authors have absolutely succeeded in achieving their aim, otherwise they would not recommend it as a teaching aid. In that case, they all have little to do with school and its current possibilities, something we do not doubt. Laboratory works imply their implementation in practice, not theoretical study like in a textbook…
Now, let us take a look at how the authors handle the second part of their task – education of patriotism in students. It deserves a particular attention. The authors did not want to take the trouble and they hastily compiled several tasks and problems without trying to understand their meaning. Judge for yourself…
The part “Description of Locomotive System” features a task that says, “Who can indicate the approximate number of disabled people who lost their limbs during the Karabakh war?” Here is another one: “Find! During the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, young people, aged 20-21, threw themselves down from a high rock to divert the enemy’s attention. Despite treatment, they are disabled. Many of them cannot move their lower limbs, they have involuntary urination. Explain the reason why!” What a cynicism! What nonsensical questions! Is this called education of patriotism? Do you know what our problem is? As a side that temporarily suffers a defeat, we only record our losses – people, lands, towns and villages. What about the heroic episodes of the war? Do the mardanovs call on us to erase from historical memory the shadow of Karabakh victory?
Legendary Alexey Maresyev remained in the people’s memory as not a disabled person, but as a hero pilot who returned to the ranks due to his persistence and will. It was something that was taught. It is not the number of holes from machinegun bullets on the breast of Alexander Matrosov, who covered the firing port of the enemy with his own body, but his feat, repeated by many after him, that is the basis for assessing his heroism. That is the problem!
In the part “Brief Information about Blood and Hematopoietic System,” there is the following task for children: “During the events in Karabakh in 1992, a group of people (children, teenagers, pregnant women, old people), escaping the enemy, ran with all their strength to forests, mountains and valleys. Indicate the approximate number of these people’s heartbeats and explain the reason!” Again, we escape, cry and moan. Well, if you very much want to demonstrate your patriotism when speaking about the hematopoietic system, then at least ask what pulse rate the soldier attacking the enemy has. In the part “Brief Information about Respiratory System,” the authors offer another “patriotic” task: “During the expulsion of the Azerbaijanis from Zangezur, the condition of every second person worsened and they needed artificial respiration. Some did not reach the destination, some survived. Explain the reason of what happened to the people.” Well done! They opportunely remembered about their Zangezur lands and expelled compatriots. It is natural that people’s condition worsens during stress, but this can happen not only during expulsion from Zangezur. I offer a counter task, also an absurd one: “The health of Baku residents worsened when their apartments were seized by refugees and so-called internally displaced persons, some of them suffered heart attack or stroke. Explain the reason of what happened!”
Yes, dear scholars, methodologists and Education Ministry officials, one more nonsense, like those described above, was added to the home library of a 9th grade student. It doesn’t matter that the student loses – both in the material and educational sense. In the end, I would like to offer you a task: “After reading your teaching aids I almost lose consciousness and need artificial respiration. I want to run away from such education somewhere to the mountains, forests and valleys, but I have no strength as my pulse is very low. Explain the reason of what happens to me.”
Source - realazer.com website that has ceased to exist
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