Türkiye`de modernlik okuması: İlkokul çocuklarında Atatürk algısı

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Aydınlanma'nın etkisi ile dinin egemenliğine son vererek insan merkezli akıl rehberliğinde kendini kuran, modern toplumlara özgü ve genel olarak siyasal figürler olan tarihi şahsiyetler etrafındaki algıyı Türkiye ve Atatürk özelinde ve çocuklara bakarak yanıtlamaya çalışıyor. Çalışmanın ana materyalini 60 öğrenciye uygulanan ``Atatürk sizce nasıl biridir?'', `` Atatürk'ü en çok hangi özelliği ile hatırlıyorsunuz?'', `` Atatürk şu an yaşıyor olsaydı hayatımızda bir fark olur muydu?'' sorularını içeren anket oluştururken, çeşitli zamanlarda belediyeler ve okulların işbirliği ile hazırlanan ve Atatürk'e çocukların kaleminden yazılmış mektuplar da ek kaynaklar arasında yer alıyor. Çalışma ilköğretim seviyesindeki çocukların Atatürk özelindeki algısını anlamaya çalışırken, bu algıyı yetişkinlerden oluşan toplumun Atatürk algısı ile karşılaştırma çabasını da içeriyor. Atatürk figürü etrafında şekillenen algıyı anlamaya çalışmak ise Türkiye'nin modernleşme serüvenini farklı bir yol izleyerek yeniden ?okuma? potansiyeli taşıyor.

If Turkey should be the subject of any attempt to understand it?s society or state, one of the best ways to do it; is by focusing on the figure of Atatürk, which has been mythicized by the state itself following his death. That is because Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who was the founder of modern Turkey, has a very significant and central role affecting many fields ranging from daily life to politics, and even religious duties. The significance of this myth originates from its modern face, which is reflected in the laic and secular structure of the new Turkish Republic that denied its connection and continuity with the religious Ottoman Empire. On the other hand, Turkish modernization in which the Atatürk myth has a central role is an imported and a top-down project whose reference is the French model. In this project, Atatürk is such a myth through which the mental continuity between Ottoman Empire and Republic regime can be obviously read. That the Ottoman mentality which understood modernization just as the scientific and technological developments in the West eventually started its modernization from the army, was taken for granted by the founders of the Republic. So, the fact that Atatürk is a founder soldier figure requires a certain attention. As a matter of fact, today the army, which has started the modernization process for the first time in Turkey, is the greatest defender and protector of this myth and of the values represented by it. The Atatürk myth has a very central location that, for example, there is an effigy of him in every city square and in all schools without any exceptions. All teenagers and all children, beginning from the first day in primary school until the last day in high school, sing the Turkish National Anthem in front of those effigies twice a week. There are millions of places and institutions named as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk or Atatürk, such as stadiums, airports, dams, libraries, streets, districts, etc? The basic principles of the state and the official ideology are also named by him: Kemalism. The definition of nation according to the state is the group of citizens who have gathered around his principles in the past and today. In Turkey socialization of the individuals in the name of being a society is shaped according to this understanding in which Atatürk myth has a central role. From the beginning of the Republican Regime until today, Atatürk appears as the common figure in the memories of different generations. Consequently, Atatürk is the most important keyword to keep in mind while thinking about Turkey.As a result of the reasons that are mentioned below, the present study aims to understand the primary school children?s perception of the figure of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk because children are the most important social actors in a society. The study used the survey as the main data which included three open-ended questions about Atatürk and was applied to 60 students in two different primary schools (one is a private primary school and the other is state primary school). Apart from this, letters of other primary school children to Atatürk during the memorial days and which are published as memorial books by municipalities are also used as secondary sources. While trying to understand the primary school children?s perception of the figure of Atatürk, the study also tries to compare this perception with the general perception of society around the figure of Atatürk. By focusing on the figure of Atatürk gives this study chance to ``read?? the process of Turkish Modernization in a different way.