I've been reading the novel, Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin for a few weeks now (I'm normally not that slow of a reader but this book found me in the middle of a busy time in my life so... I get in about 3-4 pages every night right before I fall asleep), and what I originally thought I believed about education has been reaffirmed.If you don't know the story, it "recounts the journey that led Greg Mortenson from a failed attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2 to successfully building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan". He establishes The Central Asia Institute to "support community-based education, especially for girls" in these remote regions of the world. His fight to educate these impoverished people and their children especially before the Taliban does is a remarkable one to say the least.
As I venture into my somewhat typical mission to become an educator in the American schools, I must ask myself, "what is it I believe I should be educating my students for?" As someone who grew up and went through the American public school system, it was ingrained in me to believe I needed an education to get a good job. I had to go to college and do something great with myself. And by great it was clear it should be a good-paying job, not something like the musician I wanted to be because I'd never survive. So are we grooming our students then to fulfill a capitalistic goal... get out there and make some money for yourself!
I believe there should be more to education than that. I think about the children in Pakistan learning to survive because that's what's most important in their lives right now. I believe what should be most important in our school's here in America is teaching our students how to be great citizens. We are two months away from a major election and I'd place a bet that if I asked any teenager (18 or younger) "who would you like to see as the next president of the U.S. and why?" they might be able to say "Obama" or "McCain" and might provide some reasons they've overheard their parents discussing or perhaps read online, but how many of them would actually CARE!? So many of us teach in public schools but how much of our curriculum and lesson plans have anything to do with what it means to be a "public" and what it means to be a citizen?
10 comments:
I was thinking about educating the children in places like Afghanistan or Pakistan... a lot of people would say, "Why bother?" But I think you're right in wanting to just open up the world to students -- it's not about making money or memorizing facts, but learning about and making a contribution to this place that we happen to all inhabit.
I agree with what you sad about there being more in education than the actual academic education. It is about experiences and how you handle those experiences. In one of my posts I talked about how an education is also about socializing and being on an athletic team - some of those experiences are priceless experiences that kids could not get at any other time. It is an education within itself.
I think to clarify your philosophy a little, you could define what you think a good citizen is. Is it one who just votes? Reads the newspaper? Protests? Pays their taxes? Enlists in the army? There are many different ways of looking at it, and education would follow that definition.
Should we educate to give our students just the skills they need to get by or to survive? Should we just provide them curriculum based instruction? Should we help them find their passion and nurture it? What kind of education should we give our students?
To reply to Barry's post, I agree, I should define citizen (I was feeling like my blog was getting long so when I got to the last question I said, END and let's see what people say/ask). I think a citizen is someone who is actively involed in his/her community and government to the degree he/she is capable of being. Now, with that last bit I consider myself a citizen cuz I vote and keep up on laws, petition for new ones through organizations, etc. I could be a better citizen tho. I could be much more active and hands-on with local government but I choose not to and I think part of the reason why I sorta "lame out" is due to this feeling of "what can I do?" and "eh, someone else can worry about those things..." and it's that sort of laziness and naiveness I DON'T want to instill in my students. I'm a victim (ok, harsh word but it's late and I like it right now) of our public education making me a bystander... there, I'm not really a citizen am I (ok that's even harsher, not a good one I guess)? I'm a watcher, a "I'll sit in the balcony and look on" spectator. Is that what we're grooming our students for?
After writing and posting my "This I Believe," I read yours and found our themes somewhat similar. I think that Barry posed an interesting and challenging question that is not so easy to answer. Your response was very honest. With probably too few exceptions, we're all guilty of not being good-enough citizens of democracy.
Well said, Norbert. I think you said what I was trying to say in about 5 words "not good citizens of democracy". We live in a so-called democracy in this country and the parts that are democratic, and that we have the privelege and responsibility to take part in, we don't even bother with sometimes... like voting.
In my district, it is part of our Character Education Curriculum to teach "citizenship." We are provided with a list of topics (I listed some of them) that fall under this umbrella. You may disagree, but I guess my school district thinks that good citizenship can be attained by learning responsibility, safety, honesty, diversity, and acceptance.
In my district, character education is part of the curriculum. Each week, a specific character-related word is highlighted and school and classroom activities are geared toward helping students understand and develop that character trait.
Typically, teachers spend 10-15 minutes each day discussing the word of the week and its implications with students. In addition, teachers, administrators, and other staff members emphasize the word of the week frequently during the school day, using it to illustrate classroom lessons and reinforce behavior in all areas of the school environment.
I do not know if other high schools teach character education but I know that we do not in my school. I agree that education is more than just academic. Yes students need the academics to be successful but they also need to have values and moral character to be successful in life.
Educating those that live in what used to be known as the third world (now called 'Gap States') is vital to the future of the world. Just like in this country, people that are uneducated are limited in what they can achieve. It is also much easier to take advantage of people that do not know how to read or are unaware of opportunities that available to them. Knowledge and therefore education is the key to a civilized world. That seems to be a huge problem in areas such as Kabul, Mogadishu and Darfur.
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