All the home-cooked dishes were delicious. It was obvious that the secret ingredient of my Turkish hosts’ cooking was love, spiced with intriguing conversation. I had not known that Turkish cuisine was one of the best three cuisines of the world, along with Chinese and French. As the IID members we had a great time eating the meals, sharing experiences and world views, and indulging ourselves with delicious and sinfully sweet Turkish desserts. During this trip, I had an ample opportunity to learn about Turkish everyday life as our hosts showed us their entire houses and explained Turkish customs and manners. Unlike contemporary, always busy, American or Japanese households, eating meals together still constitutes the core of Turkish family life, and this practice binds each member to the family unit.

Since my 2007 trip, I have been involved with various social activities at the Little Rock Raindrop Turkish House, and chief among them is the cooking course. A friend and I took the course for a few years, and we are now able to cook some dishes with ease, thanks to the classes and also our Turkish friends who gave us private lessons in their kitchens.

The Raindrop Turkish House cooking classes are taught by Turkish women volunteers, most of who are in their late 20s and early 30s. Some are housewives with small children, and others are teachers, researchers, and graduate students at university. When some of these women’s mothers visit them from Turkey, the older ladies often volunteer to show us different dishes that require some special techniques—which I would describe as “tricks.” I learned that Turkish cuisine is characterized by regional differences from the visiting mothers, who come from different parts of Turkey.

Students taking the cooking classes are diverse; some are university professors, school teachers, secretaries, university and high school students, housewives, and retirees. Their ages range from the high teens to low 60s. The nationalities of the students vary, too; during any semester, there are students from the U.S., Japan (me!), Mexico, Columbia, Uzbekistan, Poland, and Turkmenistan, among other places. The classes are thus international, for over the years I took the classes, a number of different languages were spoken besides English and Turkish.

The religious affiliations of the participants differ, too. All the Turkish women are Muslim, and some of them wear the scarf called Esharp, while others do not. American students belong to Catholic or Protestant churches or Jewish synagogues. I practice Zen (meditation).

The classes are very informal and take place once a week during the evenings. When too many people want to enroll, the classes may be offered twice a week. Usually, the class size varies from 4 to 13 students and two to four Turkish teachers. Recipes are given at the beginning of the class, and students learn about the ingredients, cooking techniques, regional differences, and the significance of the meal as they chop or mix vegetables and meats, and talk about life experiences.

The reasons for taking Turkish cooking classes vary. Zelda, an American woman aged 50, who is married to an attorney, said, “I am interested in the development of food, its difference and similarities with different ethnicities and regions. Plus, I like exploring new cuisines and cooking techniques.” Zelda is a dedicated cook at home and always brings a set of sharp knives to the class. She taught her sons how to cook Turkish meals, too. My colleague recommended Amber, a 23-year-old student to take the class to learn about Turkish culture. It is part of her project for a linguistic anthropology class. Kim, 59, a Jewish homemaker, said “I love to cook and learn new traditions and recipes. I enjoy getting to know the other participants,” when I asked why she wanted to learn about Turkish cuisine. Lynne, 62, said, “The food we’ve learned to make is excellent, but my favorite part is learning from and spending time together with the young Turkish women who teach the class.” She went to the IID’s Houston headquarters for a cooking competition in February, 2011, and won an honorable mention award.

Food is often a symbol of national identity, and it helps define cultures. Food can influence and enrich cuisines of other cultures, too. Historically, food was part of cultural imperialism and colonialism as well. Food unites people and standardizes the world as well—as we can see from the spread of American fast food chains thriving all over the world. As a result of globalization, the boundaries between cultures based on tastes and availability of foods have become much more ambiguous, and certain cuisines have merged in recent years, resulting in the food fusion phenomenon.

For me, as a sociologist, food unites the women at Raindrop Turkish House for world peace. Utilizing the Durkheimian theory of religion, we can say that these cooking classes are an integrator of all the participants from different nations and cultures. The class experience is similar to religion.

The teachers and students gather weekly in search of good food in a cathedral called the kitchen. The cookbook is like the Bible or Qur’an that is used as guide to successful cooking. Chopping boards, knives, ladles, and spatulas are items necessary for the “rituals,” and are comparable to an incense burner, a Yad (a pointer for reading the Torah), candle sticks, a Kiddush cup (for the rabbi to bless the wine). The teachers preach the way of cooking and tell us the significance of the specific meal. Some of the Ten Commandments of Cooking include:

• Always cook with love
• Wash the grape leaves before you wrap them with filling
• For the syrupy dessert, the cake must be warm and the syrup must be cold
• Sauté chopped onions with olive oil before you add the tomato sauce
• Use only the freshest and best ingredients

We work in a close proximity and in unison with all the participants. We laugh together as we dice carrots, mix minced meat, roll sarmas, and make mantis in huge quantities, and we cry together as we chop onions. After the cooking comes the tasting of the food we cooked with love. We open bottles of water and soft drinks to quench our thirst and become our nectar of life. We eat the meal that will become our flesh, blood, and energy to keep us going. We talk about experiences in our countries, share stories, and bond. Georgiana, 63, a secretary, said, “I am taking the class for the fellowship of others—to learn about the Turkish culture, to expand my horizons by meeting people from other walks of life. I love the lessons and I love all the folks!”

The teachers and students in the cooking classes are mothers, university professors, and school teachers who are raising the next generation of Americans. The children, youth, and young adults will grow up to be less prejudiced, more open-minded, and have more knowledge and understanding of each other’s nations and cultures because of the socialization process of their mothers and teachers/professors. By talking casually as we cook and eat together about our experiences, nations, and cultures, the participants can relate better to each other in spite of their different backgrounds and world views. The cooking class companionship promotes international understanding, friendship, and appreciation. This is the first step toward peace.

The Latin origin of the word “companion” includes the words “com,” meaning “with” and “pan,” meaning “bread.” Thus, a companion is basically a person you eat bread with! In Japan, there is an idiom, “eat from the same rice pot.” Our cooking-class companionship makes us bond and become friends. At Raindrop Turkish House, we say “Delicious!” in different languages, appreciate the food, and discuss matters that are important to women everywhere in the world. As women, daughters, wives, mothers, and grandmothers, we do share feelings, emotions, and thoughts about certain things, and they are universal to humankind: feelings of love, understanding, empathy, and compassion.

One night, my friend said at the table, “You know, we eat together, share experiences, and try to understand each other’s countries and culture. We become friends, and we will never think about bombing each other’s country or harming each other’s people.”

I hope that a day will come when there are no more wars in the world, and people live together in peace. And we can begin our efforts right in the kitchen!

Dr. Kinko Ito, Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, U.S.A.

If you are involved in an educational system either as an educator or the parent of a high school student, then you might be familiar with the important role of AP courses in the life of high school students across the United States. AP courses also play important roles for high school students in other countries because AP courses are offered at all International schools opened by the United States. For instance, according to the 7th AP Report to the Nation, “universities in more than 60 countries recognize AP Exam scores in the admission process and/or award credit and placement for qualifying scores” (College Board, 2011, p. b). In other words, students enrolled in AP courses in any of those countries can earn college credit the same way they would do in the United States. So this is not a local phenomenon at all. Naturally, any parent or educator might wonder what the history of AP courses is, and what their benefits and roles are for high school students.

I have worked as an AP Coordinator and Guidance Counselor for a public school for more than three years. Unsurprisingly, many middle and high school parents have asked me numerous questions regarding the AP program. The following interview, which took place between one of the parents who had a daughter at the school and myself, should help the reader develop a good understanding of AP programs and their benefits for both parents and students.

Q: What is the Advanced Placement program?

A: The AP Program was created by the US College Board in 1955 with the motto “Connecting Students to College Success.” The AP program aims to prepare students for an academically demanding college experience. “Advanced Placement is a curricular option for academically superior tenth, eleventh, and twelfth-grade students. Naturally, courses offered in the program are more demanding in terms of time and intellectual skills than corresponding courses in the regular high school curriculum” (Postsecondary Educational Planning Commission, 1988, p. 4). Initially, AP courses began as a program for elite private school students to take college-level course while still in high school. This way, outstanding students could begin college with already earned credits needed for freshman year, which potentially would help them graduate college earlier.

Q: What is the role of the College Board regarding AP courses?

A: AP courses are developed and maintained by a non-profit organization, the US College Board, founded in 1900. This organization provides training for AP teachers, provides curriculum resources for both teachers and students of AP courses, and supports universities as they define their policies regarding AP grades, and develops and coordinates the administration of annual AP examinations. According to the US College Board, the AP program offers more than 30 different courses as of 2010. In 2009, nearly 1.7 million students worldwide took 2.9 million AP exams.

Q: Are AP takers increasing or decreasing?

A: According to the recent data released in the 7th AP Report to the Nation, the number of seniors taking at least one AP course and scoring 3 or more on AP exams has increased significantly (College Board, 2011, see Table I). The increases are due to growing awareness of the program, obvious benefits of taking AP courses, and the significant role of AP courses in the college admission process (Reichard & Keirn, 1999). Moreover, the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) offers states substantial federal funding, $24 million annually, to expand AP programs in underserved populations (Manzo, 2005).

Q: Are AP classes smaller than regular classes?

A: Since only academically outstanding students are accepted into AP classes, they are to be smaller, usually less than 15, as opposed to regular classrooms with 25 to 35 students. For instance, smaller schools like charter schools, might provide better opportunities for AP students in terms of class size because their student population is usually smaller than local public schools. Therefore, as is the case in my school, it is not a surprise to see AP classes with as low as 2 or 3 students per course. On the other hand, smaller schools may not offer as many AP courses as other public schools due to its student size.

Q: What about teacher quality? Do better teachers teach AP classes?

A: Yes, it is likely that AP teachers have either better training than other regular course teachers or more years of teaching experience, with higher degrees in subject areas. Moreover, AP teachers receive annual trainings in the subject they teach which is organized by the College Board. For example, I attended one of those trainings when I was assigned to teach AP Calculus in 2009. In trainings, you learn how to teach the course and they provide you with lots of resources to teach your course in depth. Conclusively, I believe that AP teachers may be better prepared in their content area as opposed to non-AP teachers.

Q: Can my daughter graduate early from college if she takes AP courses?

A: Yes, taking AP courses in high school will enable your daughter to realize her goal of graduating early from college because students can pursue college level studies while still in high school. That means AP students can transfer their high school credits to college and can replace them with their required college classes thus eliminating some freshman courses and graduating early. As a result, AP courses have become very popular among parents. They want their children to take as many AP courses as they can take. But taking an AP course is not enough to earn a corresponding college credit.

Q: What else should my daughter do in order for her to earn college credit?

A: For that purpose, students are required to take the AP exams administered annually in May prepared by the Educational Testing Service located in Princeton, New Jersey. This is where AP teachers, parents, and students’ decide if students should take the AP exams of the courses they are taking. They usually look at students first semester performances in those classes. If students do not perform well in those classes, they are either recommended to continue taking the AP courses but not to take the exams or drop the course before first semester ends and start taking regular classes of the same course. AP exams consist of a multiple-choice section and a free response section. College professors and AP teachers score the open-ended questions once a year in June. The results of the multiple-choice and free response sections are combined to determine a composite score and then converted to a 5-point scale: 5 being extremely well qualified; 4, well qualified; 3, qualified; 2, possibly qualified; and 1, no recommendation.

Q: Do all colleges give credits for AP courses?

A: As common practice, more than thirty five hundred colleges give college credit to test scores 3 and above. Although this is still a common practice in almost all colleges, some universities and colleges have recently started to limit credits by requiring either a 4 or 5 exam score. For example, the University of Pennsylvania is very strict in awarding the AP Calculus credit and MIT is requiring its students to re-take a college introductory chemistry course at their institution regardless of their AP Chemistry scores while they are all still accepting other AP courses (Manzo, 2005).

Q: Do having AP courses on my daughter’s transcript increase her chance in college admission?

A: The use of AP courses in the admission process began after the 1980s. At first, only highly selective colleges and universities considered AP courses to make fine distinctions among the increasing number of applicants (Reichard & Keirn, 1999). Today, AP and honors courses receive special consideration by almost all selective colleges and universities in the admissions decision. The way AP scores are used may vary from one institution to another. For example, the University of California recalculates an applicant’s high-school grade-point average (HSGPA) by giving additional “bonus points” for approved AP courses while others do not recalculate but accept the school’s weighted HSGPA. Regardless of how colleges evaluate students’ AP courses, yes, having AP courses on a transcript puts a student in a more advantageous position as compared to non-AP students in admission decisions. Once, I remember a parent who was evaluating all the high schools in her district in terms of their AP offerings to enroll her son. When she was asked why she was doing so, she said it was because colleges look at the number of APs on an applicant’s transcript to make an admission decision. As a high school counselor, I know that this is a common practice among upper middle-class parents to ensure their children get a college admission. Thus, this puts great pressure on schools to expand their AP offerings.

Q: Then, can I say that I will pay less tuition and save time?

A: Yes, indeed, taking AP courses in high school will save the student and parent, both time and money. As of today, skipping an introductory course in college could translate to an average of $3,000 per course. For example, one of my students took 9 AP courses while she was in high school. It is equivalent to almost a year of time and $27,000 money. Why would a reasonable parent and/or student miss this great opportunity?

Q: But I am afraid that my daughter may not graduate from a college because many high school students are not ready for college challenges both in terms of academics and in life?

A: Yes, you are right to have such concerns because Lewis (2010) reports that just 56 percent of those who enroll in a four-year college earn a bachelor’s degree. The number one reason why the rate is low is because students are mostly unprepared for the college experience. On the other hand, research has revealed that students who pass AP exams are more likely to graduate college on time (College Board, 2011). For example, in a study sponsored by the College Board, it was found that taking AP courses in high school and passing the exams appear to help students perform better in college classes and graduate on time. They analyzed four incoming classes at the University of Texas from 1998 to 2001 by looking at their ten individual AP subjects. These researchers reported that, “AP Credit students consistently outperformed non-AP students of similar academic ability in all college outcome measures” (Keng & Dodd, 2008, p. 1). Thus, taking AP courses and passing its exams usually put students one step ahead of their non-AP counterparts.

Moreover, according to Dillon’s (1986) study, completion of AP courses convey to colleges that students who have taken AP classes have developed scientific inquiry, reasoning, problem solving, and analysis methods. In other words, they are more ready for college challenges. As a result, it is not surprising to see that academically prepared high school students are not only more successful in academic work in college, but they are often more self-confident, have increased aspirations and “fit-in” more easily into college. This is true because AP students are exposed to the academic rigor, expectations, and autonomy, which are usually linked with the content and rationale of college curriculum. For instance, Syracuse University found that students with AP credits showed as high as a 96% first-year retention rate while the national average was 79% (Miller, 1994). Therefore, taking and completing AP courses help students have a smoother transition from high school to college in terms of both curriculum and lifestyle.

Q: My last concern is about my daughter’s senior year. I know from my oldest son who didn’t study much and skipped his classes a lot. Therefore, he barely passed his classes and graduated. Thus, he did not get an admission to a 4-year college. Can my daughter really take AP exams during her senior year?

A: All high school counselors know that “senioritis” is a disease and that it is contagious and there’s no vaccination or cure for it. Delicath (1998) found trends in AP courses as they deal with high school seniors. Delicath stated that AP classes help solve the problem of “senioritis,” defined as senior-year boredom among capable high school students who complete most of their graduation requirements by the end of their junior year. The good news is that the seniors who enroll in AP courses often remain more focused and attached to learning than their non-AP counterparts. Thus, seniors overcome their stresses and last year boredom.

In conclusion, in light of all its benefits, I would strongly suggest all high school administrators and counselors to be more knowledgeable about AP and try to create a very strong AP program at their schools so they can send more students to four-year colleges. Also, having a strong AP program at schools prevents students from dropping out due to financial reasons, first generation fear, and so on. Therefore, it should be the goal and duty of all high school teachers and counselors to inform and prepare their capable students to benefits from this great opportunity.

Alpaslan Sahin, PhD from Texas A&M University, College Station TX, is a school administrator. His research area is Mathematics Education.

References

• College Board. (2011). The 7th annual AP report to the nation (100084202 10b-2333).
• Delicath, T. A. (1998). The influence of advanced college credit on college students’ integration and goal attainment: A longitudinal study. Dissertation. (UMI No. 9911930).
• Dillon, D. H. (1986). The advanced placement factor. Journal of College Admissions, 113, 14-17.
• Keng, L., & Dodd, B. (2009). A comparison of college performances of AP and non-AP student groups in 10 subject areas (College Board Research Report No. 2008-7). New York: The College Board.
• Lewis, K. R. (2010). High college dropout rate threatens U.S. growth. The Fiscal Times. Retrieved March 19, 2011, from
• http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2010/10/28/High-College-Dropout-Rate-Threatens-US-Growth.aspx
• Manzo, K. K. (2005). Mass appeal. Teacher Magazine, 16(5), 11-12.
• Miller, L. (1994). Effects of racial and socioeconomic factors on advanced placement programs. Dissertation. (UMI No. 9606827)
• Mores, R (2009). Methodology: America’s best high schools. Retrieved February 27, 2011, from http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2009/12/09/methodology-americas-best-high-schools
• Newsweek (2008). FAQ: best high schools. Retrieved February 8, 2011, from
• http://www.newsweek.com/2008/05/17/faq-best-high-schools.html
• Postsecondary Education Planning Commission (1988). Funding of acceleration mechanisms. Report 1. Tallahassee, FL: Author. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 293 452).
• Reichard, G. W., & Keirn, T. (1999). The advanced placement exam in history: Growth, controversies, and new perspectives. The History Teacher (Long Beach, Calif.),
• 32(2), 169-73.

Today, the Western world is seen by many as the representative of freedom and democracy. How has freedom been understood and treated in the history of the West? To answer this question, we will go on a journey through history, in which we will restrict ourselves to continental Europe, focusing on different periods in terms of how freedom has been approached and used. Here, we basically define freedom as being free from suppression or obstacles which have deliberately been placed before an individual by others to impede said freedom.

In the Middle Ages, freedom was not relevant to the masses in Europe. Most people did not even dream of it, since inequalities in society were the norm. A person could not attain freedom, but some were born free. Freedom was a privilege inherited from the class that your family belonged to. Being born into the lower classes was a fate one had to accept. This limited concept of freedom based on social status was further acknowledged or legitimized by the dominant religious authorities, that is, the Christian clergymen. “Keep silent and obey the orders of the feudal lord; hope you will be rewarded in the next life” became the common prescription for the masses that kept them subjugated to and suppressed by the political authority. . In other words, if one was not of the upper-class, one could “freely” make a choice between the despotic order of the feudal lord and the in justice of the clergy, who were abusing the social role assigned to them as the unquestionable judges.

A breaking point in the stable intellectual line of the Middle Ages was certainly the Renaissance and the Reformation. Those who had the opportunity to study and read the works of the ancients directly, without the filtering of the Church, became aware of new directions for human thought. This current, propelled by these newly educated people, nurtured the idea of freedom of “thought” and “belief.”

The development of gunpowder and the cannon brought an end not only to the feudal-lords but also to the age. These changes reduced the importance of the skilled cavalry in warfare, which were supplied by the feudal lords to the kings, and in turn reduced the importance in the lords. Even well-fortified cities fell when faced by this immensely destructive force. Therefore, small feudalities had to unite, or else be erased. The strength of the state/king increased, while the lords’ sovereignty was reduced. Centralized authority became the dogma. Everything belonged to the monarch, including the authority to decide who had the freedom to do what.

Ironically, the concept of sovereign states was fortified through strong and able monarchies, which later produced the nation state. As the France of Louis XIV grew stronger, for instance, it started to dominate the surrounding territories. In its effort to support military campaigns, the powerful French state pushed forward the idea of a “French nation.” This new concept of nation superseded all local bases of identity, particularly, at the expense of religion.

Freedom under the shadow of capitalism

In the age of monarchy, everything was controlled and directed by a supreme state, the symbol of sovereignty. The idea of individuals with basic freedoms, such as freedom of thought or freedom of speech, was inconceivable as the state demanded complete obedience of its subjects. In other words, individual freedom would have been a threat to authority. Therefore, despite all the changes in the overall picture, the main component of society, the individual, was still overlooked.

While the feudal order became history with an alliance between the king and the rising bourgeoisie in towns and cities, in turn the bourgeoisie played a key role in introducing the concept of a state with limited powers. In the end, such limitations on the state meant greater freedom for the citizens.

With the new discoveries and inventions that led to industrialization, the bourgeoisie demanded more freedom. Its power was its wealth, which directed politics, its weapon was “reason,” which was used to challenge and abolish the monopoly of the Church on ideas, and its flag was “freedom for all.” For all? Could there really have been a chance of freedom for a person who could hardly make living? However, for the bourgeoisie, the answer was in the affirmative. To them, freedom was two-fold: freedom of thought and economic freedom, the core idea of a freely operating market. Both of these were held sacred and were considered to be closely intertwined. In this sense, the bourgeoisie, the primary agent of capitalism, was the first social agent to celebrate and pursue human liberty.

Demanding a market free of all kinds of controls was the fundamental idea of economic liberalism. In response to the concerns of justice, economic liberalism claimed that the invisible hand of the economy would balance out the inequalities in due time, provided that it was able to operate free of control. Although not everyone supported these notions of freedom, the poorer classes did ally with the bourgeoisie against one common enemy: the royalty. As the bourgeoisie’s power reached a critical stage they united with the lower class, overthrowing the king and holding a revolution. However, this was not a revolution for all of society. In fact, for some thinkers, all that the bourgeoisie had done was to present the old ideas in a new suit. The bourgeoisie set the bottom line of freedom at the possession of property. This was quite apparent in the constitution of France for example, where those who could pay a certain amount of tax were allowed to vote. In other words, freedom for all meant freedom for those who could afford it. One’s right was proportional to the tax one paid. If you did not have enough money, you had no right to be represented.

Freedom vs. justice

Certainly, the liberal understanding of freedom was far from pleasing to everyone. The lower class had no teacher at that time. They started slowly to become aware of Marx’s teachings, who claimed that the “evil capitalist system” was due to collapse. The new teacher of the lower class also preached to them that “history is the history of struggle between classes, and we are in the final round. We must win this battle, and begin a new life in a new world.” Thus, the socialist/communist notion of “social justice” grew stronger. The Marxist thinkers revealed the hidden realities of the society and gathered the working class around one goal, i.e., getting rid of the “evil capitalist system.”

This kind of interpretation of the new order was very attractive for some. It appealed to the angry masses and asked that they raise their voices in response. The Marxist theory dealt primarily with economic justice and the distribution of wealth. It spoke not of the “freedom of human beings,” but of the economic independence of the lower classes, for in Marxist thought human beings were “working animals.” As a solution, people’s future was closely tied to the dominance of the proletariat, who were seen to be the true owners of the wealth produced in a society. In this scheme of thought, individual freedoms were of secondary importance to the well-being of society.

Thus, one can say that the Marxist view of freedom was an abuse of freedom. In brief, what it said was this: Freedom is good as long as it gives us reasons to complain about the existing system and permits us to rebel against the bourgeoisie. After all, we are exercising our freedom to speak! But it is fundamentally problematic in that it erases the individuality of the person in favor of the group (the proletariat, the working class), whose existence is based only on abstract notions of materialism and historical determinism.

Multi-dimensional freedom for multi-dimensional individuals

After the age of ideologies, freedom today is understood more properly as a personal dimension of being human, a quality that is directly related to individuality. Despite many violations of justice, at least fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of travel, are protected by most democratic governments. The demands placed by political authority on people’s personal lives seem to be less controlling in democratic countries as compared to authoritarian ones. Can we then say that issues concerning freedom have been settled? Unfortunately not.

To resolve this matter, one has to think of humans as multi-dimensional beings. As we know, everything we experience in social life has a reflection in our internal life and vice versa. Laws and regulations address the social, political or economic aspects of life. What about our internal capacities that affect our decisions? Do we not have a strong attachment to our desires and impulses, which sometimes makes us act according to emotions instead of reason? If the aim of any theory is to guide us to true freedom, it must account for the inner dimensions of freedom. Since this guidance cannot be provided by any political or social means, each individual must strive to attain inner freedom by using the means available to him or her. We may start searching for this guidance by contemplating the meaning of our existence and what freedom really means in relation with our status in the universe. Perhaps, complete freedom is never attainable as all of us are connected somehow with each other and with the rest of the creation.

However defined, freedom is the fundamental requirement for the flourishing of the individual. Through much of the historical developments in the concept of freedom, there are two certain conclusions we can draw. First, freedom as a human condition has been ignored and has become subject to violations. Our history is full of examples that support this contention in which everything is expressed in terms of abstract-plural concepts. Remember our history books: Nations migrate, armies fight, states make peace, or civilizations clash. The individual human being, if not an exaggerated hero, is individually absent in history.

Secondly, freedom has prevailed as an intrinsically valuable notion for our existence. Several unpleasant examples in history witness that negligence or resistance to the use of this fundamental right only results in drastic changes that make it more valuable.

Ozgur tagla is a teaching assistant at the School of Arts&Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.

The availability of CNN worldwide (media), the growth in international organizations (political), and McDonald’s (economic and cultural) illustrate the diverse factors driving globalization. In addition, it is important to recognize that globalization, as an issue, is linked to capitalism’s triumph in the Cold War. The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, pointed out that its opponents see globalization as “an ideology of predatory capitalism.”²

Hardt and Negri: Empire

Michael Hardt is a professor of literature at Duke University, and Antonio Negri is currently an inmate at Rebibbia Prison, Rome.³ Their book Empire, a post-Marxist attempt to analyze capitalism/globalism proposes the following simple thesis: “Globalization is a symptom of the new Empire. The new Empire is a result of the demise of the sovereignty of the nation state. However, ‘throughout the contemporary transformations, political controls, state functions, and regulatory mechanisms have continued to rule the realm of economic and social production and exchange. Our basic hypothesis is that sovereignty has taken a new form, composed of a series of national and supranational organisms united under a single logic of rule. This new global form of sovereignty is what we call Empire’…⁴ As national sovereignty declines, however, ‘Empire’ emerges. Empire, or globalization, is the latest strategy of the wealthy and powerful to control the weak and powerless. It has a number of advantages over the traditional nation state that it has displaced. First, it has no boundaries. Second, it is attempting to create this myth that it is simply the logical expression of certain economic laws. Third, it wants to shape every aspect of human life. And finally, it shelters behind the rhetoric of peace.”⁵

The study makes much of the decline of state sovereignty. It documents, with some care, the distinctive set of historical and social conditions that gave birth to the idea that a particular people within a particular boundary are sovereign over their actions. It notes that this was often a device that protected tyranny, and that the European Enlightenment had strong tendencies toward racism and colonialism.

Where traditional national sovereignty was grounded in a “transcendent” ruler (e.g., the king over his people), the Empire uses capital to operate on the plane of immanence “through relays and networks of relationships of domination, without reliance on a transcendent center of power…. In the passage of sovereignty toward the plane of immanence, the collapse of boundaries has taken place within each national context and on a global scale.”⁶ Capitalism is not simply about power over resources; it is also about the relationship of religion and ethics to economic life.

The danger in this debate about globalization is that we confine our reflections to the political left (i.e., those with socialist sympathies) and the political right (i.e., those with capitalist sympathies). To prevent this, we turn to Said Nursi. If I am right in stressing the religious factors at the heart of capitalism and globalization, we should expect to learn something from Nursi.

Four Themes in Said Nursi

It is dangerous to apply the ideas of great thinkers to problems that they did not experience. Said Nursi (1877-1960) experienced the concluding years of the Ottoman Caliphate, the First World War, and the establishment of the aggressively secular Republic of Turkey (1923). He responded to modernity’s challenge to belief with the Risale-i Nur (the Treatise of Light).

Although he does not mention globalization, his work contains four relevant themes. The first of these is that it is appropriate to build bridges between Western scientific culture and the Islamic world. Nursi believed that the best of modernity is compatible with and anticipated in Islamic thought. For example, he writes: “Things like the airplane, electricity, railways, and the telegraph have come into existence as wonders of science and technology as the result of humanity’s progress in science and industry. Surely the All-Wise Qur’an, which addresses all of humanity, does not neglect these. Indeed, it has not neglected them.”⁷

He argues that the Qur’an anticipates such technological advances. This enthusiasm for scientific achievement underpins his “natural theology” (i.e., the world itself provides good and decisive arguments for God’s Existence). After discussing various scientific disciplines, he concludes: “Through the certain testimony of hundreds of sciences like these, the universe has been adorned with innumerable instances of wisdom, purposes, and beneficial things within a faultless, perfect order. And the order and wisdom given through that wondrous, all-encompassing wisdom to the totality of the universe have been included in small measure in seeds and in the tiniest living creatures. It is clear and self-evident that aims, purposes, in-stances of wisdom, and benefits can only be followed through choice, will, intention, and volition, not through any other way. Just as they could not be the work of unconscious causes and Nature, which lack will, choice, and purpose, so too they could not interfere in them.”⁸

Nursi saw science as part of God’s intended purpose for humanity: “The miracles of the other prophets all indicate a wonder of human art or craft, and Adam’s miracle indicates in concise form, besides the fundamentals of those crafts, the index of the sciences and branches of knowl-edge, and of the wonders and perfections, and urges humanity toward them.”⁹

His confidence that Islam endorses modern-ity’s technological dynamic, a major feature of globalization, is reflected in this vision of the future. Writing about Nursi, one author states: “Indeed, as we shall see when examining the [Damascus] Sermon, Bediuzzaman [Nursi] predicted that, according to all the signs, Islam and Islamic–or, true–civilization would prevail in the future, and that the majority of mankind would accept and join the religion of Islam. He said: ‘In the future when reason, science and technology hold sway, that will surely be the time the Qur’an will gain ascendancy, which relies on rational proofs and makes the reason confirm its pronouncements.’”¹⁰ In other words, the truth of the Qur’an will be recognized when reason, science, and technology hold sway in the world.

Many who are sympathetic to religion tend to see modernity, as well as the growth of technology and globalization, as evils to be opposed. However, Nursi argues that the achievements of science, modernity, communication, and globalization need to be recognized as representing the best of the human spirit and humanity’s creativity. In addition, they are made possible by the God-designed order of the universe.

Themes two to four are far more critical. The second theme is that society must accommodate in a just way the inequalities of wealth. While Nursi assumes that some inequality is inevitable, he maintains the need for balance:

“. . . just as the source of mankind’s revolutions is one phrase, so another phrase is the origin of all immorality. First Phrase: ‘So long as I’m full, what is it to me if others die of hunger.’ Second Phrase: ‘You work so that I can eat.’ Yes, the upper and lower classes in human society, that is, the rich and the poor, live at peace when in equilibrium. The basis of that equilibrium is compassion and kindness in the upper classes, and respect and obedience in the lower classes. Now, the first phrase has incited the upper classes to practice oppression, immorality, and mercilessness. And just as the second has driven the lower classes to hatred, envy, and to contend the upper classes, and has negated human tranquility for several centuries, so too this century, as the result of the struggle between capital and labor, it has been the cause of the momentous events of Europe well-known by all. Thus, together with all its societies for good works, all its establishments for the teaching of ethics, all its severe discipline and regulations, it could not reconcile these two classes of humanity, nor could it heal the two fearsome wounds in human life. The Qur’an, how-ever, eradicates the first phrase with its injunction to pay zakat, and heals it. While it uproots the second phrase with its prohibition on usury and interest, and cures that. Indeed, the Qur’anic verse stands at the door of the world and declares usury and interest to be forbidden. It reads out its decree to mankind, saying: ‘In order to close the door of strife, close the door of usury and interest!’ It forbids its students to enter it.”¹¹

There are two strategies for balancing inequal-ity: obligatory charity, which falls heavier on the rich, and forbidding usury. Implied in this is the fact that economic globalization becomes problematic when inequality is not managed. Some nations are fortunate and benefit from globalization, while others struggle with it. Nursi’s proposal has much to commend it: fortunate nations are obliged to help unfortunate ones, and IMF loans should not require a prohibitive repayment schedule. Also, debt cancellation is appropriate, given the detrimental contracts negotiated in the mid-1970s by Western financial institutions. The overall point is that inequality needs to be managed with considerable care.

The third theme is that all wealth and property ultimately should be entrusted to God. Nursi speaks of a king with two subjects. One allows the king to hold the property in trust; the other insists on sole ownership. The first subject experiences positive results; the second one eventually becomes an object of pity. According to Nursi: “Transient property becomes everlasting. For this waning life, when given to the Eternal and Self-Subsistent Lord of Glory and spent for His sake, it will be transmuted into eternity. It will yield eternal fruits. The moments of one’s life will apparently vanish and rot like kernels and seeds. But then the flowers of blessedness and auspiciousness will open and bloom in the realm of eternity, and each will also present a luminous and reassuring aspect in the Intermediate Realm.”¹²

This fundamental religious insight should shape our view of globalization. As life is transitory, we can see possessions as ends in themselves or as a means to serve God’s purposes. In the latter case, we seek to make globalization feed the hungry, educate the ignorant, bring hope to the hopeless, and so on by entrusting what we have to God.

The fourth theme is that not all of the West’s achievements should be seen as part of the march of progress. He has harsh words for uncritical supporters of European progress, especially when it is at the cost of religion: “O miserable pseudo-patriot who fervently encourages Muslims to embrace this world and forcibly drives them to European industry and progress! Beware, do not let the bonds with which certain members of this nation are tied to religion be broken! If thus, foolishly, blindly imitating and crushed under foot, their bonds with religion are broken those irreligious people will become as harmful for the life of society as fatal poison.”¹³ The meaning is clear: Together with the third theme, globalization should not become the goal in itself, but rather should serve a vision of social organization that allows humanity’s spiritual dimension to grow and develop.

Concluding Reflections

Unlike the entrenched positions of Hardt and Negri, Nursi offers a far more nuanced approach. To interpret capitalism simply as the tool of the powerful to retain control of as much wealth as possible distorts reality. Capitalism has its roots in certain religious dispositions and has generated vast wealth. It offers many dangers as well as many possibilities.

This is also true of globalization. Nursi certainly would recognize globalization’s technological and scientific underpinning as good. However, he also would want to make sure that globalization works for the good by creating strong safeguards against the vast inequality engendered by so much wealth. I believe that he would have strongly supported the debt-cancellation campaign and agreed that the world’s economic life is intended to serve humanity’s spiritual vision. Generating wealth for itself is madness; generating wealth so that all people can live full God-directed lives is a vision. Globalization might make the latter possible, and all of us should work toward that end.

* Ian Markham is Dean of Hartford Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut.

Footnotes

1. Robertson, R., “Globalization and the Future of ‘Traditional Religion,” in God and Globalization, eds. Max L. Stackhouse with Peter J. Paris, Harrisburg, PA, Trinity Press International: 2000, Vol. I, pp. 53-54.
2. As quoted in ibid., Vol. I, p. 5.
3. A writer, professor at the University of Padua and Marxist political activist, Negri was arrested on 7 April 1979 on the charge of “armed insurrection against the powers of the State.” Acquitted and released after 4 years in jail, he fled to France to avoid re-imprisonment. He returned to Italy in 1997, turned himself in, and received a 13-year sentence. (http://www.notbored.org/negri.html.)
4. Hardt, M., Negri, A., Empire, Harvard University Press: 2000, p. xii.
5. Ibid., pp. xiv-xv.
6. Ibid., pp. 326-32.
7. Nursi, S., The Second Station of the Twentieth Word, The Words, Sozler Publications, Istanbul: 2002
8. Ibid., 3:408.
9. Ibid., 1:272.
10. Sukran Vahide, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Sozler Publications, Istanbul: 1992, p. 90.
11. Nursi, S., The Words, Sozler Publications, Istanbul: 2002, p.421.
12. Ibid., 1:38.
13. Ibid., 3:168.

Americas gifted population

America has approximately 3 million gifted students, a number that represents 6 percent of its entire student population. The Council for Exceptional Children for the U.S. Office of Education reported that 39 states have legislation on gifted and talented education. These states generally define giftedness in terms of intellectual ability, creativity, leadership, and artistic talent (Zettel 1980).

Mitchell (1984) has reported that most states select gifted and talented students through multiple criteria. However, many school districts still use intelligence tests as the key identifier. Intelligence is measured through established IQ tests, and identifying the gifted is based on those scores. The population of gifted individuals is referred to as moderately gifted (IQ range 130-144), highly gifted (IQ range 145-159), and exceptionally gifted (IQ >160) (Clark 2002). However, using test scores alone is not sufficient to identify the great potential of highly creative students, for other factors need to be considered.

Giftedness traits

If a child displays outstanding traits, it is likely that he or she is gifted. In a study by Rogers (1986), the following characteristics distinguished the 38 gifted from the 42 average third and fourth graders: a brisk learning ability, an excellent memory, a long attention span, perfectionism, a fondness for older buddies, a broad vocabulary, a sense of humor, an interest in books, a knack in puzzles and mazes, maturity, inquisitiveness, perseverance, and intense observation.

Other factors that set gifted students apart from their peers are a rich memory, curiosity, reflectivity, and an openness to experiences. Resnick (1997) identifies six types of gifted students. The challenging student is creative and rebellious. The successful gifted student achieves most of the time and prefers to conform to the environment. The underground type is shy and lacks self-confidence. The gifted dropout student is angry and explosive. The autonomous student is intrinsically motivated and passionate. The sixth type consist of the double-labeled students who are both gifted and disabled and sometimes labeled as having ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) due to their lack of focus.

Modified programs

Gifted students learn faster, understand more complex issues, and have distinctive emotional needs. So, regular school programs must be modified to accommodate their needs. Gifted students should be provided with acceleration options and various forms of enrichment that broaden the conventional school curriculum.

Organizing a comprehensive program to satisfy gifted and talented students is a complex task. Schools should create such opportunities as acceleration, enrichment, self-paced classes, or advanced classes. Staff members should be educated to identify and provide an appropriate curriculum for gifted students. Differentiated Educational Plans (DEPs), which briefly describe the modified content, activities, and assessment planned for such students and his or her group should be filed for each student.

Once the DEPs have been implemented, students should be encouraged to move through content areas at their own pace. If they master a particular unit, they need to be provided with more advanced learning activities, as opposed to more of the same activity. In other words, burdening gifted students with more trigonometry homework or drills, just because they can do it and need to be kept engaged, is not considered to be part of acceleration or enrichment.

Two very helpful strategies in running optional activities toward enrichment and acceleration are compacting and contracts.

Compacting. Students are provided with enrichment and spend less time working on skills they have already mastered in the regular curriculum. For example, a seventh grade student who has a grade equivalence of above 8 in math is usually uninterested in math classes. The teacher can provide him or her with challenging puzzles, competition questions (such as Math Counts or International Math Olympiads), math project samples, and help the students develop advanced and versatile skills separately from their peers.

Contracts. Students and teachers agree on what students will learn, how they will learn it, how long it will take them to learn it, and how they will be evaluated. A science teacher and a student might agree on a cycle of 6-week periods when the student will complete and present a science project or a portfolio. Contracts should include a calendar, written student and teacher roles, a scoring guide (a rubric), and a product format. Students and parents must join the teacher in the decision-making process while outlining this contract (Parke 1989).

Compacting and contracts do not stop students from attending regular classes. Depending on the student’s characteristics, availability on campus, reports from teachers, and the curricula, a student, for example, might stay in regular science and social studies classes, spend half of his or her time working independently in language arts, and not attend regular math classes at all so that he or she can work with the school Math Olympiad team.

Before each campus decides which format will best serve their students’ needs, they should decide what is applicable and feasible. Special magnet schools, pull-out programs, a gifted school within a school, resource rooms, flexible grouping provision based on definite needs, and mainstreaming are some of the available alternatives (Daniel and Cox 1988).

When gifted students are taught in a traditional slow-paced classroom and subjected to an inadequate curriculum, they do not apply themselves, have low stimuli, and even drop out. If schools do not allow gifted and talented students to flourish, their achievement and motivation will fade in a relatively short period of time. Parents of gifted students may choose to enroll their children in alternative programs, such as home schooling or other gifted and talented schools.

Grouping

Rogers (1991) believes that gifted and talented students should spend the greater part of their school day with others of corresponding abilities and interests. Gifted students benefit from learning together and need to be placed with similar students in their areas of strength so that they can understand their learning differences in gifted classes.

Grouping gifted students cannot be considered elitism or a violation of equity in education. It is an erroneous belief that all students are best assisted in heterogeneous learning environments. There are many grouping methods in which average and below-average students may benefit as well as the gifted do. Rogers (1991) suggests many strategies and grouping options. He recommends a cluster grouping of students if schools cannot maintain a full-time gifted program.

In enrichment clusters, advanced learning experiences and higher-level thinking skills are combined in groups of various graded members. Students and teachers learn authentically, work on real problems, and act as practicing professionals to produce a product or effect a change for a real audience. The clusters work according to an extended and flexible schedule (Renzulli 1997).

Accountability

Prosperous people are accountable to the state and are obliged to pay taxes on what they possess. In return, the state has the duty and responsibility to provide services for these people. Gifted and talented people should feel accountable to God, state, and their nation for how they use their potential (for good or bad) and the extent to which they use it (efficiently or wastefully). They should not enjoy the relaxation of saying: This is the best I can do, for their potential is dynamic and subject to improvement. Pure talent must be accompanied by industriousness, perseverance, and conscientiousness. As Thomas Edison stated: Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. As a result, a genius is often a talented person who has simply done all of his or her homework.

On the other hand, the state, society, and educational components are responsible for buttressing gifted and talented programs and for using these students’ special abilities instead of wasting them. Gifted and talented people should be identified and helped so that they can assist others.

Another critical component of educating the gifted generation is preventing the developing a corrupt, threatening mob of talented people obsessed with selfishness, evil, or lawlessness and deprived of moral values, ethics, and good intentions. Such an outcome is even worse than wasting the gifted generation’s talents. Notorious dictators, criminals, and militants are all known to be geniuses. We are held accountable for developing a fruitful, qualified, and fully activated gifted generation, one that is decent, just, and ethical and can lead and help the world.

References

• Clark, B. Growing up Gifted. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc., 2002.
• Daniel, N. and Cox, J. Flexible Pacing for Able Learners. Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children, 1988.
• Mitchell, B. An Update on Gifted and Talented Education. U.S. Roper Review 6 (1984): 161-63.
• Parke, B. N. Gifted Students in Regular Classrooms. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1989.
• Renzulli, J. S. A Bird’s Eye View of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model: A Practical Plan for Total School Improvement (1997). Retrieved 25 April 2002, from www.sp.uconn.edu/~nrcgt/sem/semart07.html.
• Resnick, D. and Goodman, M. Research Review. NW Education Magazine (1997).
• Rogers, M. T. A Comparative Study of Developmental Traits of Gifted and Average Children. Ph.D. diss., University of Denver, 1986.
• Rogers, K. The Relationship of Grouping Practices to the Education of the Gifted and Talented Learner: An Executive Summary. Storrs, CT: The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, 1991.
• Rogers, K. Grouping the Gifted and Talented. Roper Review 16, no. 1 (1993): 8-12.
• Zettel, J. Gifted and Talented Education from a Nationwide Perspective. Reston, VA: Council for Exceptional Children, 1980.