Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan was a guest at the Parent Academies program organized by Beylikdüzü District Directorate of National Education. In his speech titled 'Life Success or Academic Success in Child Education?', Tarhan stated that ego idealism should be taught to young people, and that popular culture shows fame, money, and sexuality as ego ideals to youth.
“We should stop and think before mind-reading intentions”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that caution should be exercised when interpreting people's intentions, stating, “When walking on the street, if someone approaches from the opposite direction and doesn't greet us, we immediately assume they've become arrogant and didn't greet us, thus 'mind-reading' their intentions. Perhaps they didn't recognize us from afar, or their mind was preoccupied with other things and they didn't see us. Such options exist, so we need to be careful when thinking. Tarhan stated that when a father gives a gift to his child and the child responds, ‘Dad, what’s up? Are you going to ask for something again?’, this ruins the father's moral standing with the child, emphasizing that children should not be treated as if they have ulterior motives. Where there is egoism, there is no justice, and where there is no justice, there is no peace.”
“We also need to teach children to be good people, in addition to everything else”
Tarhan, stating that the triangle of mother, father, and child should be in cooperation, said; “If a system of cooperation is established among the mother, father, and children in a family, problems, even if they arise, can be solved. Most problems stem from not knowing the problem-solving style. If such a situation exists, there are individuals with incorrect solution methods. One of the golden rules of cooperation in the family is the golden mean rule. This means both sides will take a step and meet in the middle to produce a solution. Families should raise their children to be good people. Parents want their child to be both intelligent and hardworking. These are necessary, but beyond all else, families also need to want their children to be good people. A child graduates with computer engineering, intelligent and hardworking, but becomes a hacker and goes to prison. That's why, to teach our children not to use their successes for ill, we must also teach them to be good people, in addition to everything else.”
“We need to give young people an ego ideal”
Tarhan, drawing attention to the necessity for young people to know their goals, stated, “When a student enters school, they are like a ship setting sail into the ocean. A ship heading out to sea finds its way if it knows its destination and has a compass. All winds help those with a compass and a goal, but the wind drags those without a compass everywhere. That's why we need to give young people an ego ideal. Young people's compass will be their ego ideals. Popular culture shows fame, money, and sexuality as ego ideals to youth. There are only material ideals. This is a life philosophy that teaches concrete thinking. However, a life philosophy that teaches abstract thinking is needed. And that is very closely related to teaching young people the question, ‘What kind of person do you want to be?’ when they reach the end of their lives.”
“Turkey's education system does not encourage questioning”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that arduous paths must be overcome to reach goals. Tarhan stated, “To reach goals, we must be willing to face difficulties. If success is climbing a mountain, it is paved with obstacles and stones. Those who reach the summit are those who never give up. You will put in effort, and you will have values and principles. Anyone who lacks these falls into pleasure traps. Thus, young people's energies are depleted, and they get lost. Currently, Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, for example, were on the cover of Time magazine. If they were here, they would be ordinary lecturers. Similarly, Aziz Sancar went to America, but if he had stayed here, he would probably only be a Professor because Turkey’s education system does not encourage questioning.”