Time to get real about gender position and social things in Podgorica/Montenegro

Ever since I got back from USA, I catch myself often thinking -What is wrong with people in my hometown? How they can be happy with the mentality of standing in one place for more than 20 years? And if they are not happy, why they are not doing anything to make a change? I get it.. We, Montenegrins are very proud of our national history, getting independence etc. Yet, it is not good living in the past. We need to move forward. I see it way too often through Podgorica, just walking around or even talking to people, how they are not happy with current state of affairs, yet they don’t want to do anything. Just sit and complain. Complain how everything is mom`s fault, teacher`s fault, government`s fault, ultimately America is guilty.. That song is way too overplayed and still it is kind of evergreen – we all know it and repeat it day by day. The biggest excuse I hear from people is that this is small country and small town.. Monaco is small, and look where Monaco is (on the world map and social development map). One of the precious things I learnt in the USA is that your actions and aspiration can reach a goal and change something. And ever since I got back, I tried empowering people, shared my stories and experience, hoping to affect someone to join me and make something better. And everyone get enthusiastic, but when it comes to action they all stand aside and criticize. This is not small environment problem. It’s a first, second and third world problem for Montenegro.  I am used to getting a lot of hatred and conspiracy theories about my love for America. And what I want to say is that country has great examples of self initiative and value of community service. I believe that’s the model we should try applying here. And what Montenegro really needs is some serious gender and politics attention, and girls and women empowerment.

Its easy to complain how bad we are on social ladder. We could be Pakistan, Kazakhstan or any of the "stan company countries" that suffer poverty, war, lack of female inclusion and lack of natural and human resources. We have all the good things and advantages which we like to sell to mostly Russians, but to anyone who offers a good price. And where is women rights and national pride in all of that. Yes, we are ecological,beautiful country. But lets get real - Podgorica and Montenegro are full of hypocrisy , false representation , nepotism , cell phones and Chinese copies of various brands. Its time that someone , I mean all of us say ITS ENOUGH.

With all due respect to female NGO sector in Montenegro, we need serious empowerment and education of female members, not just performances that include foreign and domestic politics issues, goats, blood and similar stupidity. I mean, I can totally take a goat in government building, make a fool out of myself and cause NO POSITIVE change. Similar to Martin Luther King, I have a dream that my beautiful country and hometown will become a great, developed place, where young people can use their potentials and where there is some sort of future and opportunities. I want nepotism and corruption to be put to minimum. And I am ready to devote myself to that dream, but not to be taken for granted or just like MLK , to be shot, killed or something.

Starting from the family law of Montenegro, to every day situation girls and women lack legal protection, respect and recognition. But most of all they lack education, aspiration and empowerment. Shift from communism to democracy allowed negative impact such as materialization of everything, especially values, self confidence and way of thinking. What can you expect from one society where most of the girls only cares about how will they look, do they have Louis Vuiton , fancy make up, how to copy celebrity styles.. Walking around my hometown I see all sorts of Blair Waldorf wanna-be, Jelena-Karlesa wanna-be and its sad.. Why no one looks up to Ellenor Roosevelt, Indira Ghandi and bunch of other great exemples… And as long as outfit, I wish they heard Macklemore singing “50dollars for a T shirt, that’s just some ignorant sh*t”..  I know we all want to look well and live well, but golddigging and putting yourself way too much may help you get a rich husband, but if you raise kids to do the same way, its social decline for another 50years.

I am not suggesting some puritan Scarlet Letter methods, where girls should wear scarlet “A” for adultery and moral sins (I believe scarlet would be the trendiest color of the season in that case) but just calling for implementation of some morals, girls and women turning to how they behave, how to be lady like, how to get more knowledge and become more social activists, not just gossip, try to look like a celebrity and try to have hair and style like Rihanna, Katty Perry or something.

WHY DO WE NEED TO FIX THIS? Because it is just wrong to see females older than 40 trying to dress up and look like they are 20… Simply because they are not 20 anymore. Or girls who choose money over education, golddigging instead of hard working and empowerment and , picking guys just because of the cars, bank accounts , etc..

Or we can just leave things like they are, and see our lovely county sinks in Chinese copies of fashion brands, stupidity and girls falling on heels, trying to make a wrong impression. Indeed I have a dream that all of this will change.. But I am not ready to die to change this. Stupidity goes to infinity and beyond. And to all of fellows who agree with me and want to change something, I can only say : MAY THE FORCE BE WITH US. 

education - remembering the facts vs. problem solving and critical thinking

"Too often we give children answers to remember, rather than problems to solve".  
Education is the one of the most important processes in society, it enables progress and development to people and can rise the quality of living to a very high level. This fact is certain, yet not every type of education can serve the purpose. Education and the way knowledge is created and transferred varies from country to country , from society to society. One of the big issues with that is that too often education focuses on constant remembering of facts and their repetition. Not on development of creativity , critical thinking and problem-solving attitude. When you are child in school, sure you are eager for learning as much as possible. Yet, what you learn is supposed to prepare you for "real life" - one day, as an adult with a certain profession you will use what you learnt in school. But how can you do that, if only thing your learn in school is to repeat what your teacher says and remember what's in the textbook. That problem is followed by other great injustice- the grading system. Too often , children awarded with good grades and encouraged by teachers are exactly the ones who listen what is told and remember, but they don't think with their own heads - they don't learn to solve the problems. No matter how educational systems around the globe are diverse, this is something most of them have in common. Growing up, I was witnessing this problem. All that was important was remembering a lot of facts , and repeating teacher's words. If you dared to show your own understanding, often you would come across misunderstanding from the teachers. You would even be consider stupid , not creative. Yet, I tried not to get down too much. If the school didn't understand my way of thinking , which was more creative and deeper, I should find an alternative. So , I turned to reading. I remember Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Wizard of Oz, Pipi LongSocking and all other characters being my idols from books- and example how they coped with problems, often without suggestions or help of the adults- only by themselves. Going to college in the USA last year was what I was waiting for. First time , I met teachers who inspired me to think creatively and critically, not to remember answers, but to ask questions, recognize problems and find strategies to solve them. I don't want people to get me wrong- I had teachers who were just like in my elementary school. And it's not that I am praising USA, but in their college system practical knowledge and asking questions , solving problems is much more common then where I come from. This fall, I am graduating, and will be seeking for Masters. After, I hope I will get a PhD and become a professor of International Relations. There is nothing more I want to do in life than teach others. But I want to bring change- I don't want to be only person talking. I want my future students to ask questions, examine and research, seek and solve problems. I believe by that , productive and useful knowledge is created. "Children have to be educated, but they also have to be left to educate themselves." In today's world, with all the technologies, information are wide spread, available to everyone and in every minute. So, there is no need for remembering and repeating the facts. It is more important to influence people to think big, recognize problems and learn how to deal with them in every-day life situation. We are leaving the world to young generations, so its our task to make sure they get quality education. Education applied to all the people, disregarding the gender or the age. Education that can lead to improvement. Problem solving should take away the spotlight to remembering the facts. That's what we should invest in. Because "investment in knowledge pays the best interest", just as B. Franklin said it. The future lies in our hands. In that situation, I call for Nelson Mandela and his words of wisdom- "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use the change the world." So, lets make it powerful, progressive and moving forward, not dull, boring and repetitive.