I have been doing quite a lot of reading and commenting over the long weekend. This has given me a chance to read and contemplate what others are saying which is always good. Also, I’ve been thinking about what the new school year will bring. With only 5 weeks left, the new school year is approaching quickly while this school year is racing towards its end.
I came across an interesting piece over at Harold Jarche’s site. What is weighing down learning? looks at some interesting ideas concerning the inertia of our modern educational system. Now, I agree with some of what is being said about the school systems. My comment went something like this:
I would agree with some of the underlying assumptions. However, we are still very much driven with by a society that hasn’t moved out of the industrial mindset. As much as we say that things are flattening and changing, much of what happens in the day-to-day life of many N.A. people is still following the same system as it did years ago. Until society changes its view of what schooling is all about and we can come to grips with a youth population that thinks very differently, the present system will prevail with all its flaws. As I deal with students and parents as an administrator, we are seeing a different type of parent - one that wants to protect their child from all ills and consequences to the point where they will take the blame for what the child does. At present, compulsory education now allows both parents to seek employment without incurring the cost of childcare and, with the advent of school extra-curricular programming, provides parents with after-school care so that there is little out of pocket expense. With the advent of childlabour laws, there is little that children can do but go to school unless one parent stays home which, in our society of excess, isn’t necessarily the norm. Marco Polo asks “Who gets to decide?” Is he implying that children get to decide whether they go to school? As I’ve wondered in other discussions, have we entered an era when adults, wanting to enjoy the wonders that our society is creating, are wanting to divest themselves of the responsibility of raising the youth therefore giving them the choice of what they do with the idea that society, with its market mentality, will provide the appropriate consequences if the decisions are not in line with what society will tolerate based on the ideals that society, with its morales and values, will dictate what is allowable and not allowable. Of course, I could be out to lunch!
Now, I could be out to lunch. However, if I am, I’m hoping that I’m at least able to order a clubhouse on brown. If not, then our discussion needs to focus on how we move a system that is embedded in a societal mindset contrary to what we know our students will need to be successful in the future? We also must take into account that the students within the system no longer see things in the same manner that many of the adults do. As I study more about the youth culture, a recurring theme is “It is ________ because I believe it is” where you can substitute a variety of things including truth, right, wrong, good, bad. This individualistic look at societal issues will definitely influence how our schools and education systems will need to adapt and change. So, like the ant with the rubber tree - we cannot move the system alone. We cannot move the system without bridging the societal divergence that exists between those in the system and those in the society in which the system exists. Many of us see that the system must change but, like that ant, we cannot change the system. We must get help from the rest of the society or that plant will stay put. Changing the system, I think, will only come about when we see a change in the way society views the role of schools. People can say they think schools do many things but until they are able to agree that the current system does not fit those within and that learning is something that extends beyond the walls of any institution, we’ll continue in the current industrial mode. It fits our two income lifestyle which we don’t want to lose as it provides us with the necessary income to have the luxuries that our industries produce. Of course, I could be out to lunch - clubhouse on brown, please with a tall glass of ice-water.
4 responses so far ↓
I’ve had similar thoughts about the industrial model and subsequent mind set of education/educators. The reality of our present society and its technologies is that it more resembles an organic system and the model that more appropriately explains it is chaos theory. I think this is why our present assembly line models of teaching don’t suit the needs of today’s learners. The anytime/anywhere learning that our 21st century students yearn for does not fit nicely into the 4 walls and 5 periods of conventional schools. I wish I knew more about systems theory and particularly about how it applies to education. I think there are answers in that direction.
A “clubhouse on brown, please with a tall glass of ice-water” is fine for our generation, but our students want California Rolls and Bubble Tea! The fact is that our model really doesn’t fit, (I keep going back to my Square Peg, Round Hole post - linked to my name above). Check out Christopher D Sessums post: eduspaces.net/csessums/weblog/157243.html
…especially the video!
The plain fact of the matter is that I want my kids to become articulate thinkers that can relate to others in meaningful ways. I want them to be empathetic, compassionate, and caring. I want them to be leaders and problem solvers… and as long as schools choose to measure their ability to hunt-and-peck for the right answer in a standardized test, they are not serving my children’s or our societal needs!
Dave, I agree that we need to move the system. However, not all the parents are looking at this with the same insight that you have. Most parents still align themselves with the industrial model, even in the workplace despite what is happening in numerous sectors. When it comes to education, they are comfortable with what they know thus testing and “hunt-and-peck” are things that they can identify with and understand while wikis, podcasts, cross-continent collaborations and teachers “not knowing everything” are very unnerving for them. Consider that, if parents were understanding of the power these tools have for education, they would not stand for the blocking of various tools but would be demanding their use in the classrooms with an expectation that their child’s learning would not be “graded” in a traditional sense but using a rubric to discuss areas of strength and areas where work was needed. Instead, we have many parents who are very worried about their children using the internet and the tools that are found there. So, a clubhouse on brown may be somewhat old but drinking green tea or ice water isn’t necessarily - coffee was the drink of choice for many. “The plain fact of the matter is that I want my kids to become articulate thinkers that can relate to others in meaningful ways. I want them to be empathetic, compassionate, and caring. I want them to be leaders and problem solvers” is what many of us want for our own children and all the rest that come to our schools. Unfortunately, we need to overcome a societal perception that still drives much of what we do in school. btw, I’d rather have a wrap anyway!
[...] I post my Statement of Educational Philosophy now, after reading and posting a comment on Kelly Christopherson’s post, which in turn was inspired by Harold Jarche’s post, which in turn was inspired by [...]
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