Mental health specialist Elene Koridze has spoken about the sense of threat that school pupils and students may experience amid ongoing education reforms, saying that society must regain a sense of control.
She addressed these issues on December 26 at a protest rally held outside the Ministry of Education.
“I would like to thank the parents for inviting me here to speak about the challenges that parents, educators, teachers, and students may face.
In recent times, the changes being introduced into legislation, whether it is the law on mental health or education reform, are being made without the involvement of stakeholders. This effectively means that we have long deviated from the path of democracy, and in practice one person or a small group of people determines what society needs.
This creates a feeling within society that its opinion does not matter, which is alarming. How is it possible to plan education reform without the involvement of teachers, pupils, parents, and education specialists? This creates a sense that your opinion means nothing and that you cannot change anything in this society,” – Koridze said.
According to her, this situation affects people, including students, even at a neurobiological level.
“It affects everything, even at the neurobiological level. The feeling of uncertainty that students and schoolchildren may be experiencing now is significant. We know that next year 11th and 12th grade students will graduate at the same time. This sense of uncertainty activates the amygdala in the brain, which is oriented toward detecting danger. The amygdala does not distinguish between real physical threats and structural or systemic threats. It perceives everything as a threat, and as a result the brain shifts into survival mode instead of being oriented toward development.
The longer the brain remains in survival mode, the more the cerebral cortex shuts down. This is the part of the brain responsible for rational thinking, decision making, and problem solving.
At this time, large amounts of cortisol are released, which prevents a person from having the resources needed to learn, develop, and grow. A full collapse begins.
Essentially, a person moves into survival mode, and this also affects motivation. People develop the feeling that no one asks them, as students, parents, or citizens, what changes are being planned. Their opinion does not matter. Gradually, self esteem and confidence decline, and people move into a state of learned helplessness.
This is something Georgian Dream has been trying to achieve for a very long time. This is not a change that happened today. For many years, people were told that politics is not their business, that changes and planning are not their concern. This leads to a totalitarian form of governance, and these changes are oriented toward that goal,” she said.
“A totalitarian system does not need critically thinking individuals. It does not need people who express their opinions. It does not need a free society. Ultimately, all these efforts are aimed at creating a closed society. Whether they succeed in this, at least in the long term, I hope they will not.
Hannah Arendt describes very clearly in her book On Totalitarianism what components are needed for a totalitarian regime to be established. A fragmented society that cannot agree on basic issues, a single powerful figure who will supposedly save everyone, the stripping away of fundamental rights and freedoms, and the normalization of the evil being committed. But a totalitarian regime only prevails when people accept what is happening. Today, Georgian society does not accept it. The fact that we are speaking out and raising our voices is a sign that a sense of control is being restored, that our voice matters. Once people are conditioned to believe that their voice does not matter, an openly totalitarian regime will be established. We must speak out against this everywhere and in every format.
I was asked what parents, teachers, and students can do. The only thing that can be done in this situation is for us, as people, to regain a sense of control, because a sense of control gives us the foundation to believe that change is possible. Demanding accountability from the state is our duty and responsibility as citizens. It is unacceptable for a single person to determine what society needs. This is a very crude interference and a violation of fundamental human rights. Education is a right for everyone, and while I am not a legal expert, it is fair to say that this is absolutely unconstitutional and a deviation from all the standards required in a democratic society.
There are many students here today, and I want them to know that their voice and their opinion always matter. Decisions that determine their lives must not be made without their involvement. I do not have a recipe, but I believe this is what all of us can do right now,” Elene Koridze told those gathered outside the Ministry of Education on December 26.