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Students as partners is the current vogue in higher education. How students can partner in learning is an interesting exploration, even though it might be a premature discussion in the Nepali context. In this brief write-up, I discuss the idea of student as a partner in education, observe this phenomenon in several academic spaces in higher education in Nepal, and gauge the level of student participation as partners in these spaces.

Students as partners in learning suggests learning is not unidirectional. Kelly E. Matthews (2016) highlights that students as partners views student engagement as a joint endeavor to shape and influence university teaching and learning, deliberately emphasizing the relational and social elements of mutual learning.

The term students as partners in learning was popularized by an education system which believes the truth is unknown. Thus both teacher and student are in the quest of truth and together they pursue this quest, with the teacher as a ‘guide on the side’ and the student as a worker alongside. The modern or the Western education system is an example. But an education system that holds that truth is already known places the teacher on a higher pedestal or as a ‘sage on the stage’ who helps the student to learn. Such a system has limited scope for students as partners in learning. The Nepali education system reflects similar dynamics between teachers and students.

I will now dig further into the levels of participation of students as partners in the modern education system. Bovill and Bulley (2011), inspired by Arnstein (1969)’s Eight Rungs on a Ladder of Citizen Participation, came up with the ladder of student participation in curriculum design. I believe this ladder is useful in understanding student participation in general.

Bovill and Bulley have ‘dictated curriculum—no interaction’ in the curriculum design as the first rung on the ladder, where students have no role in curriculum design. The second rung is ‘participation claimed but tutor in control’. Here students are asked for feedback on curriculum, but such information is not fed-back into the curriculum. In the third rung ‘limited choice from prescribed choices,’ a tutor considers areas of the curriculum where students can participate; the fourth rung, ‘wide choice from prescribed choices,’ describes a higher level of freedom within the prescribed limits of the curriculum.

The fifth rung, ‘student control of prescribed areas’ indicates that specific areas of the curriculum are designed and controlled by students. In the sixth rung, ‘student control of some areas of choice’ and the seventh rung, ‘partnership—a negotiated curriculum’, implies that tutors and students work collaboratively to negotiate and create the curriculum. In the top rung ‘students in control’, the tutor is absent.

Nepali experience

An observation of the Nepali education system using Bovill & Bulley (2011)’s ladder of student participation reflects that student participation in Nepal largely lies on the lower half of the ladder, with some differences between academic programs that are yearly or semester-based.

The yearly programs prevalent in Nepal largely perceive teachers as the ‘sage on the stage’ who have the mastery of the content (read: syllabus) and are primarily responsible for transferring this content to the students. When attendance in class is not mandated in this system the only participation required of the students is in the annual university exams. There is little or almost no expectation that students come prepared for the class. And I have often found students search for course syllabus, past questions, model questions and answers/guess papers/guides shortly before the annual exams. In this context, students participate at the lowest rung with ‘dictated curriculum—no interaction’.

Students as partners in teaching-learning is relatively prominent in the semester-system prevalent in higher education. This system expects teachers to be facilitators of learning or a ‘guide on the side’ and expects the students to come to the class prepared about what is going to be discussed, conduct group projects, make presentations, and write independent papers with elements of critical thinking. But my experience with the semester system in Nepal has largely been with students having a second rung participation with ‘participation claimed but tutor in control’. Some academic institutions allow for relatively higher student participation with students getting ‘limited choice from prescribed choices’ which falls on the third rung.

Although there is ample evidence in literature about the benefits of engaging students as partners in education, Nepal is yet to take concrete steps in that direction. Training teachers adequately for more engaged teaching, preparing students adequately to take charge of their own learning, and encouraging them to contribute to teaching-learning, can be a big step towards building an education system where students are partners in teaching and learning.

The author is a PhD Scholar in Social Work at Boston College, USA

Teaching and learning are significantly shaped by the events within classrooms. And what happens within a classroom is largely defined by the relationship between the teacher and the students, and the relation among students. In this context, I discuss how vulnerability within the classroom can significantly impact teaching and learning in higher education by facilitating relationship building.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines vulnerability as the quality of being vulnerable, that is, able to be easily hurt, influenced, or attacked. Most definitions of vulnerability focus on this aspect and vulnerability has often been equated to weakness. However, there are differing views on vulnerability and some see it as a humane strength.

Brene Brown, a vulnerability researcher—whose TED Talk “The power of vulnerability” is one of the most watched videos and whose book ‘Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead’ sold a million copies—acknowledges that “vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity”.

Brown says vulnerability is the path to obtain greater clarity in our purpose. I suggest that teachers, as leaders, bringing vulnerability into the classroom can significantly contribute to effective teaching and learning, and that a vulnerable and an engaged classroom gives the teachers clarity of purpose of teaching.

Building meaningful relationship with the students is ubiquitously advised for effective teaching. My supervisor Sujan Kayastha at Thames International College, Kathmandu, where I spent most of my teaching life, often mentioned that if the students like the teacher, half of the work in effective teaching-learning is done. My own experience as an administrator is that students rarely complained about the teachers they liked irrespective of the methods and content of teaching. But how meaningful relationship can be built is seldom discussed.

I strongly believe that teachers making themselves vulnerable can be a great start towards building meaningful relationship with students. A feedback that I repeatedly got from students is that they loved the personal examples I gave while teaching. I feel that opening myself up (or making myself vulnerable) to my students helped students open up to me, and that in turn allowed us to forge strong bonds in educational spaces and beyond.

I believe there is a thin line between personal and professional; my personal life affects my professional and vice-versa, and I find it difficult to box them separately. Therefore, I share thoughts about my overall life including my family, relationships, experiences and career with my students and colleagues. I am also open about my goals and ambitions. As there are very few things that I keep private, I don’t have to worry about maintaining a professional façade sans personal life.

I can be myself, with all my strengths and limitations (both personal and professional) with the students. I allow my students to see the imperfect human their teacher is but someone with years of education and work experience who is willing to share his learning. I firmly believe that this opening-up or practicing vulnerability in the classroom encourages my students to be vulnerable and to seek help in all areas of life.

But practicing vulnerability in the classroom is not easy. Trust-building among all participants of the class provides a fertile ground for vulnerability to bloom, even though it might take focused time and continued engagement. Students are also more likely to share their perspectives, experiences and thoughts in the classroom when they know they will not be judged for what they share. Also, the teacher needs to ensure that whatever is said in the classroom is not used out of context elsewhere.

When classrooms become vulnerable spaces where the participants (both teachers and students) share about their lives, at times there might be things which need to be kept confidential or not shared elsewhere. Maintaining confidentiality thus becomes a non-negotiable shared responsibility of the class.

Teachers clearly have a prominent role in building vulnerable classrooms. It is well known that students learn more from what teachers do than from what they advise students to do. Teachers should thus be the role models students can take inspiration from. Along these lines, says Brene Brown in Daring Greatly, “Who we are and how we engage with the world are much stronger predictors of how our children will do than what we know about parenting.” In teaching and learning in higher education, I believe teachers should take the first step in making themselves vulnerable in a classroom and encourage the students to join.

LynnAnne Lowrie (2019) highlights appropriate limits around what teachers share and do not share with students; yet allowing them to see teachers as humans with passions, strengths, weaknesses, and resilience can help students connect with teachers and, subsequently, with what they teach. She also suggests that teachers opening up with students may impact their learning as teachers create spaces for them to take risks and be imperfect learners. Building vulnerable classrooms comes with many challenges yet it is worth the effort towards creating a conducive learning environment where students can both be themselves and be respected for who they are.

The author worked as a faculty and administrator at Thames International College, Kathmandu from 2010-18. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Work at Boston College, USA

Fidgeting with a white cane and appearing nervous, he was struggling to cross the road. I had seen him earlier at the train station. He was waiting for everyone who got off the train to leave before he moved. When a young woman offered help, he answered: “I know where I am going. I just need to go across the street”. The woman asked if he wanted to grab her arm. I heard this conversation clearly because I also intended to help this visually impaired person and was standing close by. I crossed the street after them and saw the man enter the New York Pizza by my residence.

After a while, I saw him trying to cross the street again from the opposite direction. He must be heading back home after the pizza dinner, I thought. The traffic light was quickly turning green and I made my mind to help him cross the street and grabbed his arm. He shrugged my hands off and said, “I can manage”. I was awestruck by his reaction because he was struggling to cross the street (in my view) and I had seen him accept help earlier.

“They are like that here!” my friend said after seeing me embarrassed. “They want to feel independent,” he added. “Yes, but I should have asked if he needed help before grabbing his arm?” I thought aloud. Perhaps he felt pitied. Perhaps he felt his ability was overlooked when someone grabbed his arm without even asking if he needed help. Perhaps he felt that a stranger tried to control his body and movements because of his limitation. He would probably have appreciated my help if I had asked him before deciding on my own that he needed help. I had earlier seen him get help and I thought he needed help again. But he hadn’t seen me. When I placed myself in his shoes, I realized how vulnerable one could be without eyesight. I would also not be comfortable to have someone grab my arm without a word, and worse, without my consent.

Consent is the key, I think. What do you do when there are women standing on public bus when you are seated? Do you leave the seat for them or not? I often hear this posed as a dilemma. If you don’t leave the seat it could be a sign of disrespect. If you leave the seat and the woman refuses to take it responding that she is able to stand, it could be embarrassing. Kasto afthyaro! J gareni nahuni! (“How difficult! There’s no right way out!”) I have often heard. Now I think the right thing to do would be to politely ask the woman if she would like to take the seat and leave it only if she accepts the offer. The same would apply in case of a visually impaired person, or a physically challenged person, or an older person. I feel that showing sensitivity towards the other individual and respecting their choice is paramount in all situations including while offering help.

We should practice sensitivity towards others in our homes too. I have seen spouses answering the questions posed to their partners and making decisions for partners without their consent. The same goes for a child in social situations where the parents give little or no consideration to the choices of the child and decide on their behalf. This is not sensitive and in many instances can be disempowering for the other person. But people also often make decisions for those who they think do not make decisions by themselves or are incapable of doing so.

In the context of disability, too, able-bodied people might see people with disabilities as being weaker than themselves and impose their “self-constructed” ability to reach out to them without their desire/consent. On the one hand, those who take decisions for others may see the act of decision-making as an added responsibility. On the other hand, people who are not allowed their share in decision -making may see themselves as incapable and thus be trapped in such self-defeating, self-fulfilling prophecy.

The key is to cultivate sensitivity towards the other person, to empathize—place yourself in their shoes and keep their best interest at the center of every action. And, as the saying goes, only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. Individuals are themselves their best judges by the virtue of living their lives—experts by experience. So the best help anyone can give to another person is to be sensitive to ask how they can be helped and only offer the help they need or desire. The good news is that sensitivity can be cultivated. Cultivating sensitivity can begin with being sensitive to your partner, your child or your parents, and its scope can be expanded with the presence of mind, and constant practice.

A few days ago, I came across a video in which Abdus Miya, a leadership coach and young leader, beautifully expressed how the dominant “Politics is a dirty game” narrative was established across educational institutions. He highlighted the need to challenge this narrative and encouraged young people to engage politically. Trying to live up to the constructs of a ‘good student’—read: A student who never questions the teacher or the teaching and unquestionably adheres to the structures and pro­cesses created by the administra­tion—most of my student life, I had accepted “Politics is not my cup of tea” as my mantra. In this brief write-up, I reflect on my experiences and urge the readers to be politically aware and engaged.

Let me begin by reflecting on my personal experience to understand why individuals do not question dominant narratives. Years after I completed school, a close friend told me how most of the class dis­liked me because I was the teachers’ pet and always got preference over the rest in most activities, including leading school clubs and represent­ing the school in inter-school com­petitions. Looking back, I see some truth in what my friend shared.

I personally did not want all the opportunities for myself and was happy when my colleagues shared them. I took pride in sharing the credit with my colleagues and cherished collective growth. But although I didn’t stand for ‘good students’ getting all the exposure and opportunities at school, I didn’t stand against it either (I was living up to the expectations of a good student, right?). Perhaps it was sim­ilar to “I’m not racist, but... I do live in a system of institutionalized racism that I absorb & actively ben­efit from,” as Aparna Nancherla tweeted on 16 April 2019. So I was either enjoying the privileges of a ‘good student’ subconsciously or didn’t have the courage to ques­tion the institutional structures and processes as I was striving to prove myself as a ‘good student’. And ‘good students’ focused on good grades and had nothing to do with politics. This changed in my later life.

After living in a few countries in Europe and the US for my studies, I experienced firsthand the impact of politics in the everyday lives of people. I began to understand how politics was instrumental in all spheres of life—from determining the cost of food, shelter and cloth­ing; to establishing basic wages and salaries, educational structures and processes; to taxation, development priorities, social welfare and provi­sions for social security and foreign relations. In essence, I did not find anything that politics does not gov­ern, thus fostering my interest in it.

Many people strongly link politics to governments. As a social work educator, I often hear students say “I’m going to work for a non-govern­ment organization and I will remain apolitical”. But even the NGOs are political, in the sense that they address the needs and represent the voices of a certain population. In doing so, they align to the vision and acts of the government at times and against it at other times, hence reflecting their political nature. For example, NGOs working for people with disabilities cannot remain silent on the political action of people in wheelchairs breaking the pavements in Kathmandu because they are not wheelchair-friendly.

Environmental NGOs spoke against the government’s decision to cut trees around the Ring Road in Kathmandu for its expansion. We have been hearing outcries from many NGOs over the government’s plan to clear large forest areas to build an airport in Nijgadh. It is particularly difficult for NGOs to be apolitical when they stand for the marginalized populations; their understanding of and actions to address structural marginalization are political in nature. Further, polit­ical leadership affects NGOs’ regu­lation on registration and working modality, scope of work, adminis­tration and funding.

The understanding of politics among the youth has to expand beyond political parties, says my colleague Ujjwal Prasai. He adds that politics is a broader phenom­enon that prevails when there is hierarchy, when power is in play, when interactions between people are based on power structure. This makes politics everyone’s cup of tea at all times, places and interac­tions. But the question will most likely arise: What will the youth get through political involvement? www.lincoln-strategy.com flags that youth engaged in politics are more inclined to serve their communities and their involvement will refine their understanding of how civil engagement in the country works. This suggests that youths who want to be change-makers will reap the benefits of political engagement.

Also, people who opt out of pol­itics will not have opportunities to change the system and the pro­cesses. As Plato puts it: “The heavi­est penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself”. The next prominent ques­tion could be, how can youth engage in facilitating change? Freechild Institute, which works on advanc­ing youth engagement worldwide, suggests that youth can change the world by mainstreaming (creating awareness, opportunities, policies, systems and cultures fostering youth engagement), running for office, and voting (or casting null votes to express dissatisfaction but exer­cising adult suffrage). It also adds that in order to change the world through politics youth need edu­cation (on political issues, systems, actions); training (on communica­tion, problem solving, change man­agement and conflict resolution) and the confidence that their voices matter in politics.

I want to reiterate the importance of politics in shaping our lives, both in the present and in the future. We have seen significant political changes in our country, from the days of active monarchy to insur­gency to mainstreaming of an armed political party to a unique and seemingly unlikely coalition of the political left and right, all within a short period. Reflecting on these experiences can highlight the importance of political awareness and engagement. Someone rightly said: “When politics decides every­thing in your life, decide what your politics should be”.

The author is a PhD student at Boston College School of Social Work [email protected]

 “Can I have an Americano?” I asked.“What?”

“Americano. Coffee.”

“Why do you say Americano?” he asked, imitating my accent with an exaggeration. “Why not black coffee?”

“Do you have any coffee?” I asked again.

“No, I don’t have coffee…Hey man, where are you from?”

“I live in Boston,” I replied, think­ing his asking where I was from could be indicating I wasn’t from here. “And I am from Nepal,” the insecure part of me added to ensure I got that benefit of doubt if I got into trouble. I started walking back to my couch in the train. Then, suddenly, I heard his voice calling me, “Hey man, I have coffee”.

I felt uncomfortable. But I felt getting the coffee was the best way to get away from the situation. I paid for the coffee and got back to my seat. Confounded with what had just happened I couldn’t get the heavily-built black figure I had just encountered off my head. Suddenly, it occurred to me: was that my first experience of racial discrimination in the US? Was this coffee-seller try­ing to mock my accent and protest my presence in the US? That ques­tion—“Where are you from”—made me want to go back to where I really came from—Nepal, home.

I took my first sip of the coffee, and thought: Was the man offended that I asked for an Americano instead of black coffee because he was black and he felt I was trying to act smart or shying away from using the term black? Was he offended and retaliating by trying to make me feel uncomfortable as well? Was it an outcome of the discrimination he was facing or an extension of ‘go away outsiders’? Was he an oppres­sor in that situation or was it his experiences of oppression that he acted out against? Who was the vic­tim here? Me? Him? Or both of us?

 Many of my colleagues share their experiences of micro-aggression both within academic institutions and beyond

The social worker-cum-problem solver in me wanted to go back and say to him, “Hey man, I am very new to the US and so I want to learn more about the ways of this country. Just to be clear, was it my accent that you did not understand or was there something else that made you react the way you did?” But should I go back? Would going back to him result in the aggravation of the situ­ation? Undecided and dissatisfied I told myself: whatever his reason for acting the way he did, it came from a sense of dissatisfaction caused by the patriarchal, white, male-domi­nated American society.

Many of my colleagues share their experiences of micro-aggression both within academic institutions and beyond. Faculty members share how faculties of color are struc­turally disadvantaged. My brother shares how a person of color has to work twice as hard as a white person on the same position at a hospital in New York just to maintain the job. My buddies share experiences of racial discrimination at their workplaces. My juniors share being differently and unfairly treated in the classroom or at the internship because of their appearance. And the list goes on, only to reiterate the rampant existence of discrimi­nation based on color in a country that is soon going to have a majority of the currently racial and ethnic minorities: a 2015 article in the US News shares that more than half of the American children are expected to be from a minority race or ethnic group by 2020.

The discrimination based on color can be linked with the white privi­lege. The term ‘persons of color’, in itself, was created to distinguish the non-whites from the whites. Peggy Macintosh (1988) in her book White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack tries to inform the white people of the privileges and bene­fits they derive from having a white skin, urging them to be aware of the benefits they derive from these privileges merely by birth. It will be a long time before the privilege currently enjoyed by the whites is equally shared among all.

But what do I do here now if/when I face racism? Or what should some­one in Nepal do when they are dis­criminated on the basis of their caste or ethnicity? How about discrimina­tion based on sexual orientation? These are very important questions for which I currently do not have definite answers. These are question that all of us have to continuously raise and discuss.

Right there I chose to get off the emotional roller coaster and tell the guy who sold me coffee silently: No offense intended brother! And I remain unoffended. I choose to leave this train neither feeling dom­inated nor humiliated but experi­encing something that will always remind me of who I am. And it will always be a part of me.

The coffee tasted the same. Only this time I did not enjoy it as much.

My body became stiff and I felt acute pain in my shoulders. Although I had back pain every now and then I had seldom experienced such excruciating pain in my body. My heart was beating unusually, my body trembled and my hands slipped from the keyboard of my laptop due to sweat. There was a ton of work left and I could clearly see that I could not turn out a decent assignment by the due date; I suspected an anxiety attack and Google confirmed my suspicion. Interestingly, the anxiety attack sub­sided with my partner offering to help me with the assignment. We all have experienced anxi­ety at some point in life and it is but a normal human experience. Unfamiliar situations like first time away from home, first date, first presentation, first job interview, to name a few, can cause anxiety. Anxiety can result from all kinds of situations like getting married, becoming a parent, appearing in an exam and not all discomforts led by anxiety are counterproductive. Anxiety can sometimes be benefi­cial as expressed by Dahal (2016) in Understanding emotions, “a little bit of anxiety before an exam or pre­sentation can keep her focused and yield better results but too much of it can make things worse”. So the question arises: when is anxiety beneficial and when does it become a problem?

Normal anxiety is intermittent, the stressor is rational and the anxiety goes away with removal of the stressor whereas it becomes a problem when it tends to be chronic, irrational and interferes substantially with life functions. Problem anxiety may manifest as avoidance behavior, incessant worry, difficulty with memory and concentration and takes a toll when it becomes intense and affects the regular functioning of an individual. What’s worse? Problem anxiety if not dealt with properly may lead to anxiety disorder.

The restructuring of governance through the newly promulgated constitution allows us to revisit the status of mental health

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders pub­lished by the American Psychiat­ric Association, which is widely accepted worldwide as the reference for classification of mental disor­ders, defines anxiety disorder as “the presence of excessive anxiety and worry about a variety of topics, events, or activities. Worry occurs more often than not for at least six months and is clearly excessive”.

www.webmd.com describes anxi­ety disorder as an umbrella term that includes panic disorder, social anx­iety disorder, specific phobias and general anxiety disorder. The exact causes of anxiety disorders are hard to tell but they can be linked with changes in an individual’s brain, changes in their environment and even the genes they inherit. Anxiety disorder may severely impact areas of life related to the stressor for anx­iety and may expand beyond these areas to other aspects of life and functioning. The good news is it can be managed and treated. Realizing that you have an anxiety issue is the first step to change.

A few simple but helpful tips that might help to manage the symp­toms of anxiety are cutting down on caffeine intake and eating right, exercising regularly and sleeping adequately. Talking to a professional can help identify the stressors of anxiety and deal accordingly. A number of medical and psychologi­cal conditions can also cause exces­sive anxiety, e.g. prevalence of heart diseases or extreme time pressures and excessive workloads.

A mental health professional can investigate if medical illnesses are causing the symptoms of anxiety. These professionals use question­naires and other tools for testing prevalence and intensity of anxiety disorder. There are various treat­ments used to deal with anxiety disorder which may be a combi­nation of one or more medication (including antidepressants) and psy­chotherapy (counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy).

The biggest reason preventing people from seeking professional help in anxiety related issues is probably the stigma associated with poor mental health. We superficially and quickly associate mental health issues with complete loss of mental balance and rush to label seekers of mental health services as ‘paagal’ or ‘baulaha’, words that have severe negative connotations and cause stigmatization and ostracization of the individuals so labeled.

Matrika Devkota (2011) in Psy­chology International flags that individuals with severe mental disorders, as well as their family members, are targets of stigma and discrimination to the point where they hesitate to come forward for appropriate treatment.

He says although there is an increased awareness of mental health in recent days, there are also numerous challenges to get­ting mental health care in Nepal including inadequate mental health professionals and treatment facili­ties, inadequate budget and admin­istration for mental health services, and absence of consumer or pro­fessional organizations advocating mental health issues.

The restructuring of governance in Nepal through the newly pro­mulgated constitution allows us to revisit the status of mental health in the country. It is a time where practitioners and policy makers can collaborate for a new Nepal where all its denizens have access to ade­quate mental health services. Social Workers can play a big role to raise awareness on mental health, to fill the gap for trained professionals and to advocate for the cause.