Futa Helu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Western Philosophy 20th-century philosophy |
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|---|---|
| Name: | ʻIlaisa Futa-ʻi-Haʻangana Helu |
| Birth: | 17 June 1934 |
| Death: | still alive |
| School/tradition: | |
| Main interests: | Political philosophy, Ethics |
Futa Helu (1934-…) is a Tongan born philosopher, historian, and educator whose influence is felt throughout the whole Pacific, and his home country Tonga in particular. He studied philosophy under John Anderson and founded in 1966 an educational institute named ʻAtenisi (the Tongan form of Athens, to pay homage to the ancient, great Greek philosophers, Herakleitos in particular). The institute started with a high school and added a university in 1975.
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[edit] Life
Born on 17 June 1934 in Lotofoa on Foa in the Haʻapai archipelago in the Kingdom of Tonga in the Helu family. Helu, in fact, is a minor chiefly title, bestowed with the task and privilege to take care of the people and lands of the village. Futa was a bright student, although stubborn with ideas of his own. He was selected in 1947 to be part of the foundation class of the newly established Tonga high school. Between 1956 and 1961 he studied philosophy, English literature, mathematics and physics at the University of Sydney.
Back in Tonga he did not become, as one had expected or hoped for, a civil servant, but established himself as tutor to anybody who had troubles with keeping up at school. His way of teaching soon became famous, and many persons now important figures in Tongan society and beyond, claim that he has changed their hate towards school and learning into love. By 1963 he had a night-school running, to cater for civil servants who found their skills wanting, and named it ʻAtenisi, as he believed that the amount of critical thinking as originated and developed by the ancient Greeks has never been matched in history any more.
In 1966 he registered ʻAtenisi as an 'Institute of the people' with the education department of the government (then part of the prime minister's office) and started teaching in full. In 1967 a lease in Halaano (western part of Nukuʻalofa) was obtained, and the school moved to there where it still is. It is a very low-lying area, and one often speaks of the swampus instead of the campus. In 1975 an university was added to the institute and by 1980 the first bachelors of arts and later also bachelors of science began to graduate. In the 1990's some masters and even a Ph.D. were graduated (although in collaboration with overseas universities).
He is married with Kaloni Schaaf and they have 6 children and by now many grandchildren.
Futa retired in 2007. Although the institute remains his lifework, he is also renown as an authority on Tongan history and traditions, his love for music and especially Italian opera, his knowledge about literature, his philosophy on education, and finally although not a politician himself, he is an influential voice in Tongan politics.
[edit] ʻAtenisi institute
[edit] High school
In the mid 1960's there were not many high schools in Tonga, and the few there were, were catering for only the best. So the opening of ʻAtenisi highschool as an alternative and especially cheap education was a blessing to many. Cheap, however, did not refer to the level of education. Where the other schools in Tonga settled for the New Zealand syllabus and after around 1990 for the Pacific syllabus (SPSC: South pacific school certificate), ʻAtenisi choose the New South Wales syllabus, which is of a higher level.
The 1970's were golden years for the school with hundreds of students attending. Then the numbers started to fall, mainly because of the opening of many new high schools all over Tonga including the outer islands. By the mid 2000's the situation had become so precarious that the school fees from the few students left over were by far not sufficient to cover costs. Meanwhile the level of education of other high schools in Tonga had gone up, taking ʻAtenisi's advantages away. As such it was decided that the highschool should close as from 2006. However, under new directorship in 2007 it was reopened again.
[edit] University
ʻAtenisi university is unique in this respect that it is the only privately founded university in the Pacific, not related to any church or government. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. An advantage that the university can fully expound its critical thinking program, not to be forced to graduate students who simply toe a religion's line, or to graduate robot-like civil servants, who obey their superiors without questioning. A disadvantage of independence is that the institute does not receive funding from any of them, while sponsored places can waste in one month more than ʻAtenisi gets in a year. Excepting occasional grants from a variety of sources, all costs are to be covered by the school fees of the students, including the high school. The decline of the high school has therefore its repercussions on the university. Without some serious funding the future of the university looks bleak. In addition as the reasons for Tongan people to acquire a university degree has shifted over the years from an interest in pure inquiry to a more pragmatic outlook, student numbers at the university are on the decline too.
Philosophy is considered the most important course at the university, English as a second language and the study of literature is next. Apart from these the university offers courses in arts, social sciences, natural sciences and humanities. The student numbers are too low to have a regular program beyond the bachelor of arts and the bachelor of science level. Most students wanting to pursue these find it relatively easy, once they have graduated with good results, to get scholarships for universities in New Zealand, Australia and the USA.
[edit] Orchestra
The institute also conducts courses in music performance, like piano, violin and singing. Many students become member of the AFPA: ʻAtenisi foundation for performing arts. A small but well equipped orchestra was established around 2000. Both AFPA and the orchestra regularly go on fundraising tours overseas. The music division is an independent economic unit of the institute, and its prospects look bright.
[edit] Philosophy of education
Futa, that is ʻAtenisi, has always believed in critical thinking, especially in the way of the ancient Greeks or the Renaissance. As such the teachings are quite different from most other schools in Tonga, if not in the whole world. Knowledge because of knowledge, not because of a job.
In the 1960's when Tonga still had very little contact with the rest of the world and the expectations of its population were correspondingly limited, this 'knowledge because of knowledge' found much approval. People attended ʻAtenisi to know a little bit more than their neighbour so that at faikava (kava parties) they could display their wisdom. Nowadays, however, there are many more opportunities and people rather want to have an university education to get a good, well paid job. As such more vocational directed institutions find themselves more popular nowadays than ʻAtenisi.
[edit] References
- ʻI.F. Helu; Thinking in Tongan society; 1982
- ʻI.F. Helu; Fakahola talanoa: Ko e ngaahi lea ohi; 1985
- ʻI.F. Helu; Herakleitos of Ephesos; 1995
- ʻI.F. Helu; Critical essays: Cultural perspectives from the Southseas; 1999
- I. Campbell & E. Coxon (eds); Polynesian paradox: Essays to honour his 70th birthday; 2005
[edit] External links
- http://atenisi.edu.to/ Official website of ʻAtenisi institute
