Imagine a school that cared about the student's emotional well-being.
Imagine schools that did more than teach your children about history, science, math, literature, foreign languages, social studies and physical education. Image schools that taught all of these things, but also fostered a strong desire to learn things that are useful to life and helped shape student's character and their ability to deal with their own emotions appropriately. I have imagined this, and I would like to see my imagination become a reality.
So often schools these days concentrate on scholarship, athletics, and discipline. These three things are very important and I do not seek to do away with them, but I think that there needs to be more. This is obvious just by touring schools throughout our country. Students are not happy with the practices of many schools. Graduates are often no better than the generation before them. We can make schools that graduate students that are more prepared for life than our generation ever was. We can make schools that care more about the inner personal growth of each student than the way that their uniform looks or the time that they walk into each classroom.
How do we do this? How can I be so bold as to propose a better way of doing something that has been in progress for generations in our nation? I feel that someone can boldly call for reform because of the poor record of our schools. I feel like I can be that someone because I have been a student, I care about students, and I have thought about these issues for more than a decade.
So, what changes do I propose to make? I am proposing three changes, and I with each of these changes I think that we can have a vast improvement in our schools.
First, I think that we need to look at each child as a person. A person with many emotions that need to be addressed with concern. A person who has emotions and desperately needs to learn how to deal with them appropriately. These children are people who need to learn about their own individuality and in so doing they need to be constantly reminded that they are equal to everyone around them in that they are worthy to be here on this Earth and that they are worthy of greatness.
Secondly, I think that we need to explain to our students the duties, rights, and obligations that they have as members of society and citizens of this Nation, their state, and their community. We also need to explain to them why they have a duty to their fellow students, their fellow citizens, and themselves. We need to explain to them and demonstrate to them that by lifting up any person -- even if it is just themselves -- they are lifting up our society.
Thirdly, I think that we need to raise our standards and shift them. Academics are important, Athletics are important and discipline is important, but there is more to life than these three things. Unfortunately, these three things are the only things that we measure and laud in our school systems. That has caused an unbalanced focus on these three things. We need to measure character, leadership, teamwork, and concern for others. Academics are important, but they are just a part of the picture of what makes a person a success in this life. We need to do more for our children.
One the one hand I kind of agree with you. On the other hand I kind of don't.
1. I agree that children should be encouraged to develop their sense of individuality. But viewing it practically, it probably won't ever happen. As we age and (in theory) gain wisdom, we start looking back at our youthful ignorance and realize how stupid we were back then despite how smart we thought we were. We, at our age, know and see things that someone in high school would not understand until they reach this stage in life. The children, however, are doing the same thing. High schoolers are looking back on middle school, middle schoolers back on elementary school. Everyone at their current stage in life thinks they've reached a stage of great wisdom over those younger than them. This makes it very hard for teachers and students to relate in such a way that effectively fosters the development of an individual identity. This, howeever, is fine. The real growth and development of identity comes from interacting with peers. It is the only way this can occur effectively because everyone is at the same stage in life.
2. This is a touchy subject. You're getting into the difference between the duty of a citizen vs the right of a citizen. The way things work right now, everyone has equal rights and there is nothing governing your duties. While it would be nice for people to be a responsible productive member of society that respects the rights and privacy of other people, there really isn't anything saying you have to. Assuming you break on laws, you have every right to be an irresponsible ass that cares nothing of others. It's called nouveau rich.
3. I agree. There should definately be more emphasis on this. It won't happen, but would be nice.
The biggest problem here: funding. Schools lack funding. Classrooms are overcrowded, teachers are overworked and underpaid. Each day they have to deal with spoiled children that have always been told about their rights but never their responsibilities. The fault of that, of course, lies on the parents. But it's hard for parents to properly teach their kids when they're working 15-hour days to provide for their families. Perhaps if we dedicated some of the money wasted on defense on our infrastructure, like our education system, what you're asking for may come to pass. But when the president is more interested in blowing shit up than enriching the future of america it's just not going to happen.
Posted by: Eric at August 27, 2003 04:54 AM1. This first point is about encouraging individuality and fostering emotional self-control. I strongly believe that if these two things are well established learning can progress more readily in classrooms than it could without.
You mentioned that teachers have great difficulty dealing with overcrowded classrooms and children that behave improperly. Well, in my ideal little world, once these children can master their own emotions and impulses the teachers should be better able to deal with the children and even a large grop of children. So, this ideally solves two problems at once... the teacher's problems with policing the learning environment (because it would presumably be policed on an individual level) and the individuals problems with him/herself and his/her environment. (Someone, please come up with a singular, genderless, possessive pronoun)
2. Actually, there are a few laws here and there that address citizen's duties (taxes, safe driving, safe flying, emergency aid, etc.), but I'm not going to use that information to dismiss what you're saying. I think that it is a touchy subject. So is sexuality, morality (concerning drugs, recycling, etc), the cosmos' origins, etc, and these things are taught in the classroom. Surely, we won't all be able to agree with what is taught in the classroom when we try to teach touchy subjects, but it is typical for American society to choose some secularized, "science based" material when making decisions about these sorts of things, y'know? So, we'd probably just go with that.
The point of this second thing is that people are often lost when they get out of high school and into college. They don't know what to do with their lives or how to make a positive impact on soceity. Can't we provide some guidance with that? Can't we also encourage young adults to be responsible citizens?
3. You say that it won't happen, but you're no fortune teller, y'know? Maybe good things can happen. I think that they can.
The bigger problem: This funding issue you bring up is right on, but I think that it isn't the whole issue. While we'd need funding getting funding won't cause these things to happen. First, you have to set these things as goals and then assess how much it will cost to reach the goals, and then you request more funding.
I kinda hope that the plan would be effective enough to make is so that we are able to save money on high school education by using more technology and hiring fewer teachers. We could have one teacher teach a subject on video for different learning levels and use the money that would be freed up from that to have more people who would act as academic coaches or something both demanding and inspiring like that.
Ahhhh, so dreamy.
Misfortune shows those who are not really friends.
Posted by: Max Courtney at January 20, 2004 12:36 PM