Meaghan Novi
Mao and Nasser – Education Policies
· Education for Single-party State Leaders
o Resources will be fueled into reaching the younger generations
§ Greater outlet for effective use of propaganda
o In schools a leader can promote values such as nationalism, patriotism, loyalty to the state, and discipline
§ The result of this “brainwashing” supposedly results in an obedient and ideologically parallel public
o Social conditioning is apparent in schools run under single party state rulers
§ an emphasis is placed on physical fitness
§ gender roles are established
§ state first, family second
Education:
What separates most single-party state leaders is their commitment to the public and raising the standard of living…or not. With education, especially in developing countries like post WWII Egypt and China, leaders must be careful not to over-educate the masses. In other words, single-party state leaders walk a fine line between brainwashing and academic liberty to ensure their lasting sociopolitical success.
Mao Zedong
Three main building blocks: his personal experience of teaching, Marxism, and the rich cultural heritage of China
· Believed that education should serve the purpose of furthering the proletariat
o Colleges were designed to combine education, production and scientific research
o Little to no emphasis on the arts
· 1917 – 1927
o 1917 - founded a night school for workers – taught history
o 1918 – helped students study in France
o 1921 – founded Open University of Hunan
o 1926 – principal of the Canton Peasant Movement Training Institute
· 1929 – 1937
o period of agrarian revolutionary struggle = opportunity for the Chinese Communist Party to gain useful experience in the autonomous organization of education
o Mao personally involved in teaching at the Red Army Academy
· 1956
o Mao’s policy of “letting a hundred flowers bloom” to enlist support from China’s intellectual elite
o Allowed free exchange of views
o Years later he sent the intellectuals to the countryside to be “reeducated”
§ Led to much criticism of the CCP within China
· 1966
o May 7th school
§ May 7th, 1966 Mao declared the Chinese army must be “a great force” thus establishing a school that focused on physical strength and self-criticism
· Little Red Book
o Used as propaganda and as a major teaching tool in primary and secondary schools
To behave like "a blindfolded man catching sparrows" or "a blind man groping for fish", to be crude and careless, to indulge in verbiage, to rest content with a smattering of knowledge -- such is the extremely bad style of work that still exists among many of comrades in our Party, a style utterly opposed to the fundamental spirit of Marxism-Leninism. Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin have taught us that it is necessary to study conditions conscientiously and to proceed from objective reality and not from subjective wishes, but many of our comrades act in direct violation of this truth. – Chairman Mao
· Cultural Revolution 1966 – 1976
o Abolishment of the Four Olds: old ideas, customs, culture, and habits
§ During this initiative many temples, churches, mosques and monasteries were shut down
§ Discouraged religious expression, individuality
Gamal Nasser
Believed that education could only serve the future governments and this was one way he could provide for the common man means of equalizing/shortening the class divide.
· Media and Education
o Egyptian broadcasting was the best in the Middle East
§ Nasser used the radio to the best of his abilities – airing the majority of propaganda this way
o News became more and more free, until the SIX DAY WAR
§ Due to the embarrassment of the 6 Day War, all radio broadcasting came under heavy state control
§ All newspapers came under state control – still true today
· Afraid of who would eventually inherit his government, Nasser…
o Encouraged the deprived to seek education
§ This included: women and men of the lower classes
§ Nasser did not want the gov’t to fall in the hands of the elitist
· Hearkening back to his “common man” roots
o Encouraged women to get and education – and a job since this would help the economy
<Education was free and supported by the government!>
(Mao + Nasser)education≠ <3
In comparing the two leaders, I find that they differ based on ideological approaches to education. While Nasser believed that everyone should be given the opportunity to seek education because it was as basic as human rights, Mao used education to further his own image and that of Chinese communism. That said, both used censorship in the same manner – to control the public view of their respective governments.