Solving the puzzles.
As I conceptualizing my personal statement for my Master program, I re-realize of how interesting International Relations is. During my uni day I’ve heard the elder said that your bachelor knowledge helps you to shape your perspective towards something. Which I could relate now. The way I perceive things has been pretty much affected by it. In fact, it has also help me to build my perspective for my future career plan.
As an International Relations (IR) graduate, I didn’t make it as a Diplomat (my call). Instead, I’ve become a Montessori teacher. The reason why I chose to be a Montessori teacher (not only be an ordinary teacher) has it own story, again have those IR-ish states of mind. Montessori philosophy developed during the World War era, Maria Montessori (the founder) built up her passion towards education to it’s relations towards peace. A peace approaches toward education, more or less so. Long story short, I then, fall in love with the philosophy and decided to dive the philosophy by becoming a Montessori teacher.
Talking about peace, I bumped into a book written by Barry Buzan “People, State and Fear” which become my first holy book when I tried to put all the puzzles inside my head (The IR thoughts mixed with my enthusiasm on education).The book talks about the concept of security. Realist people might seen it through the concept of power while the Idealist school seen it though the concept of peace. So I guess with Maria Montessori’s thoughts on the creation of peace, makes her one of the Idealist figure from that era.
Barry Buzan (1983:2) states that, the Idealist school see security problem in holistic terms as opposed from the Realist view (state capabilities and power). The underdeveloped concept of security saw security as a result of power — an actor with bigger power reach a dominant position and acquire security as a result, or as a result of peace, in the sense that a lasting peace would provide security for all. He then argue that the concept of secority is much stronger than that. Security has to be seen as the condition prior to peace rather than the result of peace. Which, quite logical to me.
Learning IR has also made me realize that mankind play important role in shaping our world. Mankind creates war, and it is mankind that could create peace. Emphasizing on mankind, human, individuals we then talk about their decision making process. During my foreign policy class, we learned about how the leader’s idiosyncrasies able to make a significant impact upon decision making. I remember we took the conception from Lloyd Jensen’s work on Explaining Foreign Policy (1982) — the role of personality in foreign policy encompasess cognitive processeses, background, personal characteristics, motives and beliefs, and assumes that decision making is the result of individual ‘human agency’; that is, that ultimately, it is individuals who make decisions, not state (1982:13).
Therefore, I believe that the right education can be a tools to the establishment of a harmonious society. In Montessori one of the objectives of our classroom is to be a place where the child learned to be a part of society. They learned about respect, responsibility and compassion. Through simple manners like lining up, care of the environment (how to treat materials and the classroom), care of self (how to blow their nose, washing hands, why they have to eat healthy food) and social grace of courtesy (how to interrupt, how to ask for help, how to offer help, how to express them self and so forth). This day to day small events, when we applied it consistently, I believe this could be a good embrio to create a harmonious community.
And so, I shall argue that my enthusiasm towards education is a derivative of my IR experience and knowledge.
Buzzan, B. (1983). People, State and Fear. London: Wheatsheaf book.
Jensen, L. (1982). Explaining Foreign Policy. London: Prentice-Hall.
