AMEN! He describes exactly why I did not do well in school during my teenage years. I refused to be treated like a product made in a factory. I knew that I was not a commodity, I was a person and I refused to be treated like raw material to be processed in an assembly line.
It wasn't until I got to college, where I could choose what I wanted to learn and they didn't care how I learned the ideas and concepts . . . as long as I learned them . . . that I thrived.
In the secondary education system divergent thinking is not prized; it is not fostered; it is stamped out. Seeing things differently is anathema to a system that is built for conformity and blind obedience. Until we change the system so that it focuses on the acquisition of the ability to THINK, not just regurgitate facts, our children will continue to find more interest in video games than they do in learning information (facts) much of which is quickly becoming obsolete.
Video games, in a twisted sort of way, give the player an opportunity to develop a skill that is of great use to them in today's world. Namely, the ability to make quick decisions at decisive moments in time. That's a valuable skill in today's world. But, this skill is acquired in a world that let's them just hit "reset" and start over when their mistakes prove fatal within the game. As a result they grow up thinking that they can make mistake after mistake and there will be some magical "reset" button that will allow them to start over with nothing lost but a little bit of time and that that time doesn't matter as long as they win the next round of the game. As a result we are raising a generation of young people who tend to use each other as though they were just pawns in some game and that their decisions and their actions have no everlasting consequences.
In today's world, there are two things that would be most valuable for our children to learn in school. 1) critical thinking skills; and 2) moral values. In a world that is changing as fast as our world is changing - where many "facts" (such as the notion that "If you get a good education, you'll be guaranteed a good job") become quickly obsolete the thing that our young generation are losing is a grounding in moral values - an understanding of what is right and what is wrong.
In a world where everything is changing so fast they must learn to hold fast to a strong set of moral values and then they must also develop the strongest possible critical thinking skills or their moral values will also be overwhelmed by change.
But, today, our schools are forbidden from teaching moral values. Everything is relative to who you are and the circumstances in which you find yourself. Is it any wonder our children are finding themselves lost in the maelstrom and chaos of today's world? In a world where everything you might want to do is OK, as long as you can find a relativistic justification for it, and there are no moral imperatives, everyone will be lost and there will be no "reset" button.
I feel like our Production Line education system also failed me. I was taught to spit back information, but not to think critically. The result: I have a college diploma but a weak education. Side note: I am not enrolled in any programs, but am consciously adding to my education now.
The problem is not completely to blame on the school system, as I chose to make getting top grades more important than learning, but I believe I was taught to focus too much on my grades from a very young elementary-school age.
I was also all but promised that if I got good enough grades I would get a scholarship. I graduated from high school with a 3.8 GPA and no scholarship. My mom applied for something for me after I had moved to Logan, and I was awarded $1000, but the rest of the my college "education" was self-financed. This is another way that I feel the system failed me: I was given too much confidence in the financial rewards of good high school grades.
I want my children to learn to think - not just regurgitate - and I want morals taught along with information. This is part of the reason I'm looking for alternative ways to educate my children and I believe the trend to leave the public system will continue exponentially.
As a side note, I know it is very difficult for teachers in our current system but I also know that there have been a few teachers in my children's school experiences who have really helped them learn to learn, not just memorize, so even within the confines of our current system it is possible for teachers to do a great job. The risk parents take in keeping their children in public schools is that from year to year you play the "lottery" and may or may not get one of these inspiring teachers each year. The consequence: the child's progress is stunted as soon as he/she gets a teacher that doesn't catch the vision of real learning. Additionally, children become confused about the real goal from year to year (and teacher to teacher).
I'd love to hear more thoughts on this subject! (FYI: comments that are not respectful will not be approved.)
2 comments:
AMEN! He describes exactly why I did not do well in school during my teenage years. I refused to be treated like a product made in a factory. I knew that I was not a commodity, I was a person and I refused to be treated like raw material to be processed in an assembly line.
It wasn't until I got to college, where I could choose what I wanted to learn and they didn't care how I learned the ideas and concepts . . . as long as I learned them . . . that I thrived.
In the secondary education system divergent thinking is not prized; it is not fostered; it is stamped out. Seeing things differently is anathema to a system that is built for conformity and blind obedience. Until we change the system so that it focuses on the acquisition of the ability to THINK, not just regurgitate facts, our children will continue to find more interest in video games than they do in learning information (facts) much of which is quickly becoming obsolete.
Video games, in a twisted sort of way, give the player an opportunity to develop a skill that is of great use to them in today's world. Namely, the ability to make quick decisions at decisive moments in time. That's a valuable skill in today's world. But, this skill is acquired in a world that let's them just hit "reset" and start over when their mistakes prove fatal within the game. As a result they grow up thinking that they can make mistake after mistake and there will be some magical "reset" button that will allow them to start over with nothing lost but a little bit of time and that that time doesn't matter as long as they win the next round of the game. As a result we are raising a generation of young people who tend to use each other as though they were just pawns in some game and that their decisions and their actions have no everlasting consequences.
In today's world, there are two things that would be most valuable for our children to learn in school. 1) critical thinking skills; and 2) moral values. In a world that is changing as fast as our world is changing - where many "facts" (such as the notion that "If you get a good education, you'll be guaranteed a good job") become quickly obsolete the thing that our young generation are losing is a grounding in moral values - an understanding of what is right and what is wrong.
In a world where everything is changing so fast they must learn to hold fast to a strong set of moral values and then they must also develop the strongest possible critical thinking skills or their moral values will also be overwhelmed by change.
But, today, our schools are forbidden from teaching moral values. Everything is relative to who you are and the circumstances in which you find yourself. Is it any wonder our children are finding themselves lost in the maelstrom and chaos of today's world? In a world where everything you might want to do is OK, as long as you can find a relativistic justification for it, and there are no moral imperatives, everyone will be lost and there will be no "reset" button.
I feel like our Production Line education system also failed me. I was taught to spit back information, but not to think critically. The result: I have a college diploma but a weak education. Side note: I am not enrolled in any programs, but am consciously adding to my education now.
The problem is not completely to blame on the school system, as I chose to make getting top grades more important than learning, but I believe I was taught to focus too much on my grades from a very young elementary-school age.
I was also all but promised that if I got good enough grades I would get a scholarship. I graduated from high school with a 3.8 GPA and no scholarship. My mom applied for something for me after I had moved to Logan, and I was awarded $1000, but the rest of the my college "education" was self-financed. This is another way that I feel the system failed me: I was given too much confidence in the financial rewards of good high school grades.
I want my children to learn to think - not just regurgitate - and I want morals taught along with information. This is part of the reason I'm looking for alternative ways to educate my children and I believe the trend to leave the public system will continue exponentially.
As a side note, I know it is very difficult for teachers in our current system but I also know that there have been a few teachers in my children's school experiences who have really helped them learn to learn, not just memorize, so even within the confines of our current system it is possible for teachers to do a great job. The risk parents take in keeping their children in public schools is that from year to year you play the "lottery" and may or may not get one of these inspiring teachers each year. The consequence: the child's progress is stunted as soon as he/she gets a teacher that doesn't catch the vision of real learning. Additionally, children become confused about the real goal from year to year (and teacher to teacher).
I'd love to hear more thoughts on this subject! (FYI: comments that are not respectful will not be approved.)
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