Let’s TALK about SEX

            The recent news of introducing Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) as a part of the school curriculum by the Ministry of Education is much needed, if not long overdue. 

        During my brief stint as a science teacher – who involved teaching adolescents living at the age of numerous life-changing or sometimes life-threatening circumstances, I identified the significance of making materials associated with CSE to be made more accessible in our learning institutions such as in schools. 

        Empirical findings based on CSE were also orally presented in two national seminars held at teacher education institutes – one at Samtse College of Education and the other at Paro College of Education, in 2016 and 2019 respectively.

        Elsewhere  and 4 years back in my blog post, I have contended: 

“Sex is everywhere. It has noticeably invaded the public square than ever before. Music is sexually toned while the music videos are highly galvanized with sexually explicit content. Songs postulated to produce quixotic flavour are genetically mutated with degrading lyrics that would either objectify feminism or reify the supremacy of masculinity. Advertisements and endorsements are increasingly becoming the brothels of obscenity by the growing use of immodest sexual imagery believed to elicit sexual responses and in so doing invite consumers. And almost intolerably, sex has developed itself into a language of social media that is understood by the culture of any origin. 

 

While sex has openly colonized practically almost every sphere of human space, it has undoubtedly remained injured after the collision of numerous existing cultural and religious taboos in discussing it within a family circle. Restrictions of these measures are highly detrimental that the adolescents are often risked to gather misconstrued knowledge and irrelevant myths from various sources that may be passed down to the generations” 

My presentation slides during the "Adolescent Sexuality and Wellbeing in the 21st Century", October 22-25, 2019. Paro College of Education 

        Adolescence is a period of human development that is often confronted with increased freedom to make choices. Their ability to confront these choices and make healthy decisions are key to development.

        It is our responsibility to offer the right information and skills for adolescents to navigate and make informed choices for their reproductive health and general well-being – both physiologically and psychologically.  

        Despite the evidence that it is necessary and valuable, materials on CSE are not easily accessible. In a cultural setting like ours, CSE is frequently confined to the conversation inside our home premises. Because it is so delicate and sensitive, many parents avoid it and find it intimidating. 

        According to the literature, some parents are concerned about encouraging early sexual experimentation by arousing sexual interest in their children, if they commence open talks about sexuality with them. In our scenario, many of our parents shy away from communicating about sexuality with their children. In some cases, some parents feel ill-equipped, hesitant, or afraid of talking about CSE. 

            Because we grew up in a cultural setting that did not encourage us to talk about anything related to sexuality or reproductive health, we generally feel unknowledgeable and uncomfortable talking with our children, thus resulting in the same trend of rearing the children in the same way we were brought up. I found this trend of prohibits not only predominantly visible but highly worrying. 

            The existence of such cultural and religious barriers in discussing sexuality with adolescents may lead to the growth of numerous negative health consequences that would be life-threatening to our kids – which may be otherwise avoidable. A gap such as this can be minimised by initiating consistent open communication about sexuality with children. 

            Being aware of this practice, I used to discuss sexuality with my pupils in class, in addition to academic obligations. As a science teacher, it was a huge benefit to me because I didn't have to feel embarrassed about discussing reproductive health or concerns linked to CSE. As a result, I encouraged them to speak up openly, which inspired me to investigate adolescent-parent communication regarding sexuality in the Bhutanese setting. And that's how I learned that our parents say, NO to talk about SEX with our children.

            Given that I wanted to put CSE sexuality education into the spotlight of conversation from the perspective of the school environment, I endeavoured to find a platform where key stakeholders could hear it. But only a handful take interest to listen, even though our society is rapidly amassing a wide variety of sexual risks, including, but not limited to, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, sexually transmitted illnesses, sexual orientation (LGBTI), rape, and suicide, to mention a few.

            Let alone individuals who are out of my work circle appreciate my tiny efforts, several of my immediate bosses supplied me with hitches in freeing me to attend conferences — on the pretence that I would miss class. Approval to attend any academic conferences was first, difficult to get, and if approved, took a very long time for mysterious reasons. Regrettably, the same boss who restricted my move to attend such academic meetings has submitted my research papers for his promotion —  without my consent and was successful after a 9-year wait — despite the fact that he had no research publications.

            This narrative is not designed to be a protest. No! by any means. It is my grievance and regrets that I have been so dedicated and loyal to our culture of respect and tha-damtsig (committed leader-subordinate relationship). Thinking back, at times, I feel that our leaders exploit loyal and industrious individuals and utilise them as promotion mules widely, instead of nurturing them. Our leaders at times, want us to perform better in life, but never better than them. No! by any means.  

        But nothing is permanent, and it is worthwhile to move on. And now here I am – away from them and near to my dreams.  

Your Problem is Your Problem

        The vexatious part of politics is that during the election campaign, every political enthusiast – or politico-maniac as neologism may define it – propagandise the slogan: Your Problem is My Problem. Post elections, when one is at the helm of power, the same words, or actions, manifest to demonstrate that Your Problem is Your Problem.

        Whether those lines are crafted on the spur of the moment or with the intention of hilarity, the recent commentary by the Minister of Education about the teacher transfer was grossly unwelcoming. As a figure who has dominion over the Ministry, speaking illogically at this magnitude inside the august parliament house only signals how scornful and contemptuous we are regarding the already dwindling veteran teachers that are triggered predominantly by the miscarriage of deployment business and tsunamis of faltering avowals from the Education Ministry.

                On the one hand, we bellow of teacher attrition as grave educational anxiety that demands the immediate engagement of different stakeholders to moderate the injury to our education system. On the other hand, when we hit on the right cord to discuss within the circle of the nation’s prime lawmakers, we lampoon with hypothetical and impracticable metaphors thereby, only rubbing salt to the injury. This paradoxical fascination of teacher attrition and retention has now become a phenomenon in Bhutan that everybody knows but nobody really knows.  

            By status and power, parliamentarians are the privileged populace that has the closest access to His Majesty the King’s visions and aspirations. Listening to their discussions, however, gives the impression that they are still thousands of miles away, for they appear to have never hearkened to the Royal vision for education. 

                If what we heard is correct, questions for any MPs are filed a week ahead of time before addressing them in the National Assembly. One week is a lavish amount of time for anyone to research and generate meaningful data, especially when it comes to the issues surrounding teachers. After all, the syndrome of teacher deployment crisis and its consequences continued as one of the immortal issues in the cellar of educational forums for over decades now. 

            History has it that issues such as quality of education, teacher deployment, teacher workloads, and improving teaching environments were on the catalogue of discussions since the evolution of the Annual Education Conference almost 2 decades ago. Closely following, every annual education conference held until today still recites this same inventory. With inconspicuous outputs from these conferences every year, it has now largely camouflaged as the Olympic event of the Ministry of Education, held annually for school leaders to review the same issues that emerged many moons ago. 

 

            What we fail to realise when we arrange a conference of such scale are the cumbersome costs it has to the government coffer – especially to the Kingdom like ours that runs on a shoestring budget and where development plans are predominantly conceived based on foreign aid. 

 

            If we as citizens are seriously concerned about these national educational disasters, even if we cannot discover the pill to cure it, by now, we would have generated some indigenous prescriptions to nurse the cause. In the simplistic sense, it is time that we attend to these issues seriously and practically rather than throwing gibberish opinions. 

Image courtesy: Click LINK

                By the time I finished writing this perspective, the video had gone viral on social media, attracting over a thousand comments. Many people appeared to find it comical and hilarious, while others despised it for its hollowed viewpoint. 

            As a teacher who was disconnected from my family due to this transfer whirlpool for eight years during my twelve years with the education ministry, I did not observe even a morsel of amusement or material in the discussion. In contrast, it resembled me more of a harangue or a sarcastic rage for the miscarriage of our education system. 

                Categorically speaking, even as a retired teacher, it aches my heart when people in higher social hierarchy taunt already impoverished teachers who are taking the humongous role in architecting and engineering the future of our generations despite sterile work settings and withstanding the drought of societal succour. 

            This inflicts me with a conviction that, teachers’ problem is teachers’ problem and nobody's problem. And that the erosion of teacher attrition will visibly perpetuate in the land of our education system. 

 

Attrition and Retention: A Paradoxical Fascination

On the one hand, 

The figure showing teacher attrition landslide (Courtesy: Click LINK)

On the other hand, 

...those failing to meet standards might have to leave the profession (Kuensel, November 1, 2021). 

...those failing to meet standards might have to leave the profession

 Bhutan Professional Standard for Teachers (BPST) document link: Click here. 

Continuum of Teachers' Career (Courtesy: Link)

Career Stages (Courtesy: Link)

A Petty Patent in my Name

        After waiting for circa 6 years, The Department of Intellectual Property of Thailand eventually granted a Petty Patent (Petty Patent 18158) that registers my name. This is one of the premier remarkable feats that I have achieved thus far! 

 

        Indeed, it was glad tidings from Dr Monamorn Precharattana, my Advisor during my candidature for a Master’s degree in Science and Technology Education (International Program) at Mahidol University, Thailand, who announced me through Facebook interface. Under her professional supervision and technical assistance of my Co-advisor, Dr Paisan Kanthang, the Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon, we developed a Low-Cost Hands-on Model to Demonstrate the Law of Mechanical Energy Conservation as a part of my thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree in Master of Science in 2015. 

Patent No 18158

        Like any other global education framework, our curriculum policies also identify learning scientific concepts through a constructivist approach with more emphasis on using hands-on learning (at least in the written documents). It is of paramount importance that students experience learning through materials that can be directly touched, felt, and manipulated to produce meaningful learning. By meaningful learning, I refer to a phenomenon where students can fragment complex and abstract scientific concepts into more concrete and clearer understanding within the classroom premises. 

A Low-cost Hands-on Model to demonstrate the Law of Mechanical Energy Conservation 

        Based on my experience as a former middle school physics teacher, I shouldered this onus because energy is one concept that is not only abstract but also largely misconceptualised by our students. Students must understand energy because it enhances their understanding in appreciating the nature of any physical phenomena taking place physically, biologically, or technologically. More importantly, it is only through knowing energy that students will be able to comprehend the Law of Mechanical Energy Conservation – a fundamental concept of any introductory physics – which is even more grossly misconstrued. 

        Based on these remarks, I contended in some of my publications that,

A similar trend of learning this concept [law of mechanical energy conservation] has been observed and found prevalent even in Bhutanese-based classroom situations… While teaching this concept [law of mechanical energy conservation], our classrooms are still dominated by the conventional method of using theoretical and imaginary examples and illustrations provided in the textbooks (Wangdi, 2015:2; Wangdi, Precharattana & Kanthang, 2017; Wangdi, Precharattana & Kanthang, 2020, Emphasis added). 

        Teaching students with some impact has been one of my favourite passions and I considered teaching more than a profession. Despite tsunamis of denigration directed to me or in general for teachers, I worked industriously – which can be fathomed ONLY by my students. But I have a long history of wanting to bring contributions to action than mere texts.   

A theoretical illustration used in our textbook. Courtesy: Grade 10 Physics

        Some 14 years ago, on the night of December 17, 2007, I became the recipient of the most coveted F L Goropse Prize for Academic Proficiency in B.Ed Secondary Science. This scholastic accolade is awarded to the pre-service teacher candidate that demonstrates outstanding academic performance in a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Science Education Program. I was also adorned with the Institute Prize for Invaluable Contribution along with other laurels for champagning as the editor for 3 magazines – the first of its kind in the history of Samtse College of Education. 

 

        That evening at the (farewell) banquet, I had the pleasure of sharing the dining table with Associate Professor Sonam Rinchen (PhD) who was the precursor of the same honour in 1992. Of the sea of communication that betided during that lightning togetherness, I was amused to religiously encapsulate one of his best phrases: “Let Your Work Speak, Not You”. 

 

    What a flywheel is to the machine, an engine to the car or nourishment to the starving, his words were for my continuance. 

 

        In many circumstances during my last 12 years of the teaching profession, when I sank so low in my life due to the sickening policies, fatiguing work nature, awful bosses, dilapidated working milieu or snubbed acknowledgements, his lines became the lifeline of hope, the mainspring of motivation, and slogan of enthusiasm to show my mettle. Keeping in mind Kopmeyer’s (2006:10) over compensation, I withstood the test of every adversity. At best, I never trumpeted my works as Facebook stories even if it is efficacious, at least in the sense of garnering outcomes. Most Facebook stories are more than eyes can meet.

 

        I survive by my life’s motto: Does not always have to be a rose to smell sweet. I also travel on the road most travelled by gathering raw stones of ideas seen on the way that may glitter one day if charily polished. 

 

        That is how I presented my first academic paper during the 9^th Siam Physics Congress co-hosted by the Thai Physics Society and some leading universities and research institutes based in Thailand, just 3 months into my postgraduate study. Like the primrose that heralds the beginning of spring, I boast this academic forum as a harbinger of my academic shoot.

        In 2014, during the 40^th Congress of Science and Technology of Thailand held at Khon Kaen, Thailand, I marketed the idea of constructing A Low-Cost Hands-on Model for Demonstration on the Law of Mechanical Energy Conservation – the result in the form of the petty patent that I have recently received. 

 

        2 years later, I recorded my first academic footprint in the maiden publication of Educational Innovation and Practice, a peer-reviewed journal of Samtse College of Education. This invitation by Dr Sonam Rinchen was another hallmark to set as a harbinger for a few publications that I have under my belt today.

 

        Besides editing more than 15 theses on a pro bono basis, I have also reviewed some papers for International journals. 

Acknowledgement Certificate for being a Reviewer. The title of the paper was removed for confidential purpose 

        But for now, I have the most obligation of all the responsibilities. I have gambled with my career to move the last mountain of my academic dreams that I always kept dreaming of. 

 

And yet, I still have ONE FINAL DREAM that I always keep dreaming of.  

 

Farming Self-Leadership First

In social science research, ethnomethodology (Garfinkel, 1967) is widely employed as a novel approach to analyse data that are often “seen but unnoticed”. I applied this strategy to communicate with my bosom buddy who was appointed as a school manager sometime last year but took over the helm of the school only at the beginning of this year. He was seeking some candid opinions from our circle of childhood friends – who never hesitate to disclose truth even if it is venomous in content – which he thought would have some bearings on him to mutate into a virtuous leader.  

While I am neither a leadership guru nor possess any managerial familiarities, what I lack in experience, I make up for in observational acumens. Until I voluntarily bow out from teaching on 19 October 2020, I worked in 4 different schools (Community Primary School, Lower Secondary School, Middle Secondary and eventually at Higher Secondary School) during my duodenary stint as a science teacher. Within the span of those dozen years of my service, I worked under 7 school managers.  

Considering those experiences and familiarities of working under different leaders, I supplied him some of my contextual understanding of a good Bhutanese school manager – opinions that were churned out through the lens of subordinates – which are often seen yet unnoticed by many of our leaders.

I have specifically unveiled 10 points based on the events that were either experienced or associated with me or witnessed as a former school teacher.  

Photo courtesy: RIGSS

1. Practise the Farming of Self-Leadership First 

When I attended the prestigious Young Professionals Leadership Program (YPLP) in 2018 at the Royal Institute for Governance and Strategic Studies (RIGSS) which is a premier leadership institute and think tank envisioned by His Majesty the King in 2013, the first catch of my sight was on His Majesty’s words that read: 

What we need is not a leader to lead the masses – we need leadership of the self

Very Profound and mesmerising.

 

During those 28 days of the intensive leadership program, we were consistently emphasised on changing ourselves first instead of looking for a change in others. The change of the world begins by changing ourselves first. We need to change our mentality, our habits, and our actions. These are the elements that influence the flavour of our character. What or how we cast in our mind frames the skeleton of our thought, judgement, and belief. 

Although it is easier said than done, but, if our thoughts and actions are not innovative and are rather obsolescent for the mass to consume, – even if we are at the helm of that institution – we should not hesitate to shut down the idea of manufacturing those ineffectual intentions. If we consciously control ourselves and have that mentality of leading the change in ourselves first, changing others under our control would not require any subtitles to understand. Imposing change in others using the force of our title and status will only homicide the motivation, positive mindset, and injure the health of the social bonds we share with others. 

Our social world is constructed in diversity – everyone having their own choice, mindset, and perspectives. Learn to respect others’ views and stop being judgemental even if they are young to understand, new to the work, or inexperienced, perhaps what or how they see the world may also turn accurate based on their standpoints. The attainment of such self-actualisation in oneself can be a good lever to pivot others into the direction of change. 

Leaders need to know that, by starting to lead yourself first, you are stepping on the first rung of the ladder to be a great leader. Self-leadership is all about how you lead your own life as much as you want to see yourself leading others. If we garnish our life with positivity, integrity, justice, compassion, or any other humane values, our environment is what we sow. The fertility of any leadership garden depends on how consistently one enrich with humus of values and principles. If we are a bad nutrient, the only environment we will yield is a barren land, if not, full of weeds. 

On Mushrooming Silos

The silo mentality is a virulent pandemic that cripples our society in contemporary times. More than any other natural contagion, it is even more hazardous and menacing beyond compare. 

Because it is synthetic and man-made, there is no specific antidote to contain this tumour. Instead, in certain circumstances, it is deliberately cultivated for some mysterious intent. 

In truth, all of us are aware and at times, witness the scar due to this fungal infection of silos on every part of our society. Due to its occurrence ad nauseum, we are accustomed to breathing under its smoke even if it is strangulating. After all, who cares as long as the pain caused by the silos don’t hurt us? At the end of the day, everyone’s responsibility is nobody’s responsibility.

Image courtesy: Click LINK

However, what’s alarming is the variants of silos that keep mushrooming in our society. As a high-school schoolboy, I learnt in history about the geographical (regional) silos, where leaders of the different regions wrestled for dominance. Although not for power, we are still siloed with this syndrome these days in the form of social media groups such as WeChat or WhatsApp group, which draws latitudes and longitudes within the same community.

In the occupation world, we have a crisis of departmental silos. Every branch of the office is territorial and demarcated with high-voltage volatility. Inside the ecosystem of our profession, we encounter the calamity of partnership silos where people collaborate only if the labour they invest in, can translate their classified purpose into a success. What we often cry foul of sycophants is the harvest of these silos.

In the public functions and meetings, we are never spared from the rampage of hierarchy silos. That is, only the people of the same status, societal prominence, or similar league of nobility can network on one side to demonstrate the pyramid of our living. 

With the change in time, a mutated silo mentality variant, symbiotic silos (which I also refer to as reciprocal silos) is evolving. This mutant is highly lethal due to its potential capacity to adulterate the entire community massively. In symbiotic silos, one person takes full responsibility to defend another individual who is alleged of some misconduct or infringements. Because they live a life of symbiotic relationship (interdependence), watching a threat intended for another person would also mean inviting suicide for them as well. That’s how the chain of corruption in our system grows. That’s also how moneyed and powerful wrongdoers in our society are never castigated or penalised.

Unless we transform this culture in our system, these silos will keep mushrooming. With common people in the lowest rung of the society or workplace having no authority to voice for change, complacent leaders who suffer from leadership crises will only nurture such menace immortally. The greater risk is that, as society grows immunity to this infection, it may ultimately blur and shun the collective vision of growth for the community in particular and the nation in general. At that time, humans will grieve from the pain of this man-made pandemic.

The Cruel Kind

The wish for the eventual death of 2020 has eventually befallen a few days ago after it breathed to its fullest lifespan of 365 days. Going by social media phraseology, it divulges as an evident clue that many waited for the wanton bereavement of 2020. 

 

Exhibiting the typical human characteristics, we seem to have forgotten that, in reality, it is only the costume of the date that changed. Nothing more.  

 

But just that the year 2020 arrived at the wrong occasion – at the time when humans were busy molesting humanity – it has to be cremated with an immense indictment, infinite flames of blames, and strings of loathe.

 

Homo sapiens are in fact, such a classical species of primates that can only trumpet and conceit of having a faculty to think. That endowment of our intelligence which helped to outlive the dramatic climate change of some 300,000 years ago at times, remains accidental. And a fortiori questionable.

 

Because, when our Earth succumbs to the perpetual faults and annihilation which we have deliberately built, we seem to disregard ourselves as the architect. We are never remorseful and apologetic of our own deleterious engagements.

 

In lieu of saluting 2020 for radiating numerous crucial life-changing or sometimes life-threatening lessons, we began writing the first page of 2021 with so much of a curse and antipathy for the previous year. On its death anniversary, many chanted the songs of repugnance. On its tombstone, many wrote the lyrics of their prayers that a year like 2020 should never call on this Earth anytime again. 

 

In retrospect, the seed pod of 2020 exploded with capsules of vital life lessons. That, human has infinite greed over the finite resources of the planet was sown to the entire world. That, diseases have a visual impairment – not cataloguing rich vs poor, strong vs weak, old vs young, or black vs white was witnessed. That, lockdown for faultless animals and creatures must be insufferable and suffocating has been experienced. That, collapsing humane values of sympathy and empathy were restored. Most importantly, that the world must work together, care for each other and comfort one another has been felt as a prime necessity.

 

In summary, that, 2020 showed kindness in a cruel way will be remembered – for both good and bad reasons. 

 

“Look, even bad years are pretty good years I think” – Robert Downey Jr