Tibetan Education Essay -- Educational Education Tibet Essays

Tibetan Education Since 1951, education in Tibet has changed dramatically through the Chinese government’s hyper-political agenda. Depending on the source, some view the changes as great improvement to the educational system, and others are gravely concerned. The positive view is that of the Chinese policy-makers and the fear comes from Tibetans who see that their culture is being drained from the classroom. The central Chinese government wants to completely assimilate the Tibetans by removing their true history and religion from lessons and selectively choosing the physical representations of culture that serve to decorate schools for Tibetan students in inner-China. I am going to explore the different schooling experiences for the Tibetans and show how the education options for Tibetans are depriving them of their culture, resulting in poor performances in school and a dishonest, manipulated education. Education in Tibet before the Chinese invasion was quite different from how it is presently. According to a journal out of China, only two percent of school-aged children were in school, and ninety-five percent of the general population was illiterate before â€Å"Liberation.1† The overpowering Chinese government determined that they must be freed â€Å"from Western imperialists.2† Eight years later, in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, unsuccessfully trying to win back Tibet’s independence. Education for the Tibetans has traditionally taken place in the monasteries. However, of the greater than 2,500 monasteries that once existed in Tibet, all but three percent of them were destroyed by the Chinese government.3 These monasteries served the multiple purposes of university equivalents, religious centers, an... ...emise of Multiculturalism?† 1998 World Congress of Sociology. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 26 July- 1 August 1998. 62. Stites, Regie. â€Å"Writing Cultural Boundaries: Minority Language Policy, Literacy Planning and Bilingual Education in China.† In Gerard Postiglione (ed.) China’s National Minority Education, Ethnicity, Schooling, and Development. New York: Garland Press, 1998. 63. Kormandy, Edward J. â€Å"Minority Education in Inner Mongolia and Tibet.† International Review of Education (2002) 377-401. 64. Postiglione, Gerard A. â€Å"State Schooling and Ethnicity in China: The Rise or Demise of Multiculturalism?† 1998 World Congress of Sociology. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 26 July- 1 August 1998. 65. http://www.tibet.com/Humanrights/EduToday/testimon.html 66. Phuntsog Sipur, Nawang. â€Å"Renewal of Tibetan School Education.† Tibetan Review 28 (Aug 1993) 15-17. Tibetan Education Essay -- Educational Education Tibet Essays Tibetan Education Since 1951, education in Tibet has changed dramatically through the Chinese government’s hyper-political agenda. Depending on the source, some view the changes as great improvement to the educational system, and others are gravely concerned. The positive view is that of the Chinese policy-makers and the fear comes from Tibetans who see that their culture is being drained from the classroom. The central Chinese government wants to completely assimilate the Tibetans by removing their true history and religion from lessons and selectively choosing the physical representations of culture that serve to decorate schools for Tibetan students in inner-China. I am going to explore the different schooling experiences for the Tibetans and show how the education options for Tibetans are depriving them of their culture, resulting in poor performances in school and a dishonest, manipulated education. Education in Tibet before the Chinese invasion was quite different from how it is presently. According to a journal out of China, only two percent of school-aged children were in school, and ninety-five percent of the general population was illiterate before â€Å"Liberation.1† The overpowering Chinese government determined that they must be freed â€Å"from Western imperialists.2† Eight years later, in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India, unsuccessfully trying to win back Tibet’s independence. Education for the Tibetans has traditionally taken place in the monasteries. However, of the greater than 2,500 monasteries that once existed in Tibet, all but three percent of them were destroyed by the Chinese government.3 These monasteries served the multiple purposes of university equivalents, religious centers, an... ...emise of Multiculturalism?† 1998 World Congress of Sociology. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 26 July- 1 August 1998. 62. Stites, Regie. â€Å"Writing Cultural Boundaries: Minority Language Policy, Literacy Planning and Bilingual Education in China.† In Gerard Postiglione (ed.) China’s National Minority Education, Ethnicity, Schooling, and Development. New York: Garland Press, 1998. 63. Kormandy, Edward J. â€Å"Minority Education in Inner Mongolia and Tibet.† International Review of Education (2002) 377-401. 64. Postiglione, Gerard A. â€Å"State Schooling and Ethnicity in China: The Rise or Demise of Multiculturalism?† 1998 World Congress of Sociology. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 26 July- 1 August 1998. 65. http://www.tibet.com/Humanrights/EduToday/testimon.html 66. Phuntsog Sipur, Nawang. â€Å"Renewal of Tibetan School Education.† Tibetan Review 28 (Aug 1993) 15-17.