Now, I have no idea how much good putting a widget on a website will do. But if it helps even slightly, it's worth it. As an educator in training, I firmly believe getting a proper education can bring us all closer to solving a lot of the issues we face in the world today. That's why I've chosen to support a charitable organization working to provide 37 days of education for every single activity gets done. If you think about it, that's a lot of time to learn a trade, to start learning another culture, and to learn about oneself. For all you know, by participating in this program, you can be helping a young boy or girl learn a means of living. And believe or not, but there are tons of children out there who don't get a chance like that.
And now, a bit on my personal opinion regarding education in the States...
Education is a pretty interesting topic, especially when it comes to the States. Generally speaking, we all acknowledge that it can do with some improvement. But, for many, the conversation stops there. Instead of doing something about it, they try to ignore it. Maybe they think it will all be made up for in college. Maybe they think it really doesn't matter to begin with.
For those that are concerned, they're often motivated by statistical data that shows how this country is doing better in certain tests. Should that really be what motivates educational reform? Because we need to be better than the other guy? Shouldn't it be for the betterment of ourselves? I don't know about you, but to me that makes more sense. Competition may be great in the business world, but as modern educators today are starting to realize, a business model in education doesn't necessarily fit.
Just for emphasis, we should be concerned about educational reform because it affects us directly as a society. Forget about the other countries around the world for a moment. If we want to make real progress we need to be more focused on improving ourselves.
Now, I wouldn't dare try and offer up a solution to the many problems that fall underneath the umbrella of educational reform on here. However, I can do my part to inform the community about certain aspects that can help us all work together towards those solutions.
For one, did you know schools are often modeled after prison designs? A simple search will bring a multitude of articles on this particular issue (an interesting experience on the subject can be found here). The point is that this can have a serious psychological impact on the student's mind. So one thing we can certainly work to change now is the design of ourselves. Children learn best in an open, engaging environment. You put a kid in a room with bars or slits for windows and I promise you it will have a negative impact. I say this from experience. Middle school is Hell on earth as it is, but it certainly didn't help that my particular school had no windows or, if it did they were so narrow there was no point.
From my understanding, the President mentioned something about getting more qualified instructors into the classroom. I hope he's serious about it because statistically speaking in my county, on average 1 out of every 10 teachers is unqualified to teacher. Of course, let's face it. Even some "qualified" teachers shouldn't be teaching (and this is assuming she is even qualified). Therefore, there needs to be a raise in standards among teachers before we expect one among the students. That's common sense.
I'll probably come back to this topic one day. As I said, this would take too long to discuss in detail in just one blog. But expect to see me talking about it more in the future. For now, I'm content with giving you a general idea of how I feel about the matter.
This is just a side note, but Mrs. Munroe's blog stated how parents need to grow a backbone and be able to take what some teachers might have to say about their children. That may be true, but what about the other way around? She's the teacher of the classroom after all...Maybe she just needs to learn how to take charge. Food for thought.
And with that, I bid you all good night!
EE
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