Sunday, April 24, 2011

Extended Comments off Mary's off Nick's

       Nick’s, and then Mary’s extension off Nick’s blog got me really thinking in the bigger sense. They both address how the teacher’s road is not an easy one. As teacher’s we must ensure the education of every kid who steps into our classroom and must do so in a variety of ways. We also must fight against the dysfunctional model of the American school and find a way that works. Both speak of teachers uniting together and forming unions to help do such a task. Mary brings up an excellent point of how easy it is for teachers to unite for each other. 
     But what I want to know is why is schools the way they are. Sure we all have moments throughout the various readings we’ve encountered this semester and say to ourselves, “Wow this totally makes sense!” If Shor, and all the other writers we’ve read, make such valid, enlightening points, why is there still little to no change?
     I believe it’s the government and all those responsible for the wellfare of this country. Society as a whole seems so narrow minded, so afraid of change. We live so much for the moment and not enough for the future, we see this in education as well as economics. If the government looked more at the future, and the output of the individual student they’d realize that the system in place is not working. However, one could say that they indeed are thinking about the future because even though we are in the Land of the Free we are taught through the secret education of schools that our opinions only go so far. Sure there are classes like the ones mentioned in the article, where students define the lesson and aren’t just lectured at, but how much is this happening? And when this is happening, how often are students realizing they really can change the world.
       The government keeps the radical down, and in most cases the radical isn’t so radical. If a student or a person doesn’t follow that same narrow-mindedness they are outcasted or portrayed as “crazy.” What we need is a reformation of government, that will, in theory, then trickle and ripple down into a reformation of everything else.
               How do we start this? Its sort of world crushing to even attempt to try to deconstruct the very society we live in all at once. I see this as a circle. We have to start small, we have to start with the individual, that’s us. We are the beginning flickers of change. We have to take our knowledge, our new found enlightenment and run with it. We have to stay strong and break away from the tyranny of normality, away from the “easy route” set in stone, and do what we’ve learn. Implement the lessons into our teaching styles. Banding together as Mary and Nick call for will help us grow in numbers. We then become the “enlighteners,” who truly make a difference in our students lives. The numbered of enlightened students grows, and spans, reaching across different fields and interests. With every year, every generation, our numbers will multiply. Of course, its impossible to touch and change everyone’s lives, but as long as one person sees it, a difference has been made. And eventually, someone who has been enlightened will gain a position of power, maybe even president, and thus a flood gate of reformation will be opened. And at that point change will be easier, because so many more people’s mindsets will be altered, and hopefully, people will be less ignorant. Finally, we come back full circle, back to the individual who is finally heard, finally represented, and whoses needs are finally met. It is here, that our society is reformed.
               Now this will take years, many, many years, decades, maybe even a century, but it is possible. Our society is continuous changing, we just need to be aware of ourselves and see what we are bringing our world. 


3 comments:

  1. I like how you went in depth with the circle of change. I think there's a lot government is to blame for, but that's not going to change any time soon. I think we can all agree on that after hearing that Congress couldn't even agree on a budget for more than a month. People refuse change and that just makes a teacher's life difficult. It's discouraging to think that you might be right and it would take 100 years for a proper educational system to be in place.

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  2. I really think that you captured everything we have been talking about when you say that society is afraid of change. Most of the authors we have read have talked about things to look for in the classroom that represent a bad environment for learning. If we know all the wrong things, then why can't we just fix it and make it better? This fear is what is holding education back and I think you did a great job explainning this.

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