Hattori Hanzō is a fictional character in Quentin
Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Volume 1. He is supposed to be a sushi chef, but in fact
he is an accomplished sword smith.
اضافة اعلان
He makes a perfect specimen for the heroine Bride or
Black Mamba, to allow her to take her revenge on those who tried to kill her
and her unborn baby.
In the movie Defending Your Life, Albert Brooks
plays the role of Daniel Miller, a poor negotiator who is too scared to forge
ahead in life. He buys himself a new car after finding a better job at a wage
lower than he had intended to ask for. Yet, he dies in a car accident and goes
to the new everlasting world. He is tested for deserving a new opportunity to be
reincarnated for a second chance, and he fails the test miserably. His biggest
sin was that he notoriously squandered every opportunity that had come his way.
Arabs were fond of swords, and they even named their
sons Saif, Hussam, and Muhannad, all of which are different synonyms for sword.
The Dimashqi was a famous sword manufactured in Damascus, thus called the
Arabic equivalent of Damascene. Ali ibn Abi Taleb, the Prophet’s cousin and his
son-in-law, used a sword called Thu Al-Fakar, a two-pronged sword with which he
had bravely fought many battles. The Arab folk hero, Antara Ibn Shaddad, a
colored poet and a great swordsman, was as famous as his sword and horse.
If the sword is well welded and balanced with
flawless stature, and sharp edge, it will be a perfect one.
The most celebrated Arab poet, Al-Mutanabbi, who
lived more than a millennium ago, said in a poem which he composed at the age
of eighteen:
“I often wondered at those who were like perfect
swords with stature and sharp edge, yet they cut like a dull one. And I have
never seen a bigger drawback in people than the ones who have the potential to
be perfect, yet they fail the test of being so.”
According to Khaled Wazani with whom I held a
seminar last week at the Yarmouk University, Jordan hold the 7th place out of 138 countries in the higher education indicator. In terms of
student quality, Jordan ranked 17th among the 138 countries included
in the ranking. These two indicators put Jordan at very advanced levels in
terms of possibilities.
Yet, the outcome in terms of performance is
disappointing. The UNDP ranking of performance in six different fields of human
pursuit ranked Jordan at 75th. In terms of quality of education, Jordan ranked 72nd.
For undergraduate studies it ranked 42nd, for masters studies it
ranked 95th, and for doctorates it ranked 55th.
These statistics are telling. We have the potential
to be among the top, yet when it comes to quality of output we occupy positions
revealing a
high degree of mediocrity.
The question is why? At home, the students and their
families prepare their children to be hungry for knowledge, however, that
enthusiasm and deep desire to excel is dulled at our universities. Such wasted
potential serves as a very good starting point to reform our college education.
We need to create students with life skills not only with licenses. We have to
instill in them a sense of drive to do their best, and be market-ready when
they find jobs.
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Opinion and Analysis
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