There are many things about the Public Education system that bother me, but the biggest concern I have is with the overall structure of the system, and how it seems to contradict its intended purpose to "educate" young people and help prepare them to become well-rounded, productive adults. And by "educate", I mean the teaching of basic academics (such as reading, writing, and arithmetic), health and fitness, and skills that allow them to maximize their learning capabilities.
Since levels of success in Public Education are based on certain standards - many of which were set during a time period when world circumstances were much different - that are expected to be achieved by a certain age, children are often put into categories that dictate how they are taught. If the focus is on teaching kids to recite certain standards, then it seems that there would few, if any, opportunities for young people to think creatively, formulate and share ideas, and actually learn to use their brains. In addition, these standards often are tinged with racial, gender, and socioeconomic stereotypes, and ignore a child's individual circumstances. Most children are misdiagnosed, and as a result, their learning experience suffers, often times doing more harm than good. This starts at the beginning of their educational experience, and continues throughout its entirety.
Moreover, there seems to be more of focus on getting children to fit a particular mold as opposed to strengthening their minds and increasing their intellectual capacity. Children are often removed from classrooms and schools altogether if they are not behaving accordingly, denying them the opportunity to learn anything. Some are even heavily medicated, which is supposed to help them learn; I have no doubt it has the opposite effect and does irreparable damage to their minds and bodies that are still developing.
References:
Only A Teacher - Interactive Timeline, http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/timeline/index.html
RSAnimate - Changing Education Paradigms, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=youtu.be
I love this post. I have so many of the same feelings as you. In school, many children are made to feel that they are not intelligent enough because they don't fit into a certain mold. I remember my brother's teacher trying to hold him back a grade in elementary school. He is very talented. He is able to build a computer, fix any car, and is very artistic but he didn't learn in the same way as the other kids. That experience still affects him today; he still believes he isn't very smart compared to other people. It makes me so sad that a teacher would make him feel inferior just because his mind works differently that it "should". I definitely agree that we often discourage children from being creative and thinking abstractly. We are too often focused on test results as an indicator of intelligence.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like your very passionate about kids and helping them reach their full potential. I'm sure you'll make a great teacher :)
I really enjoyed this read! I really agree with the thoughts about how public schools do not really give the student an opportunity to express themselves creatively. They are more set out to teach these children how to meet standards and not explore more creative opportunities. I think you have a really good idea on how you want kids to be all that they can be and that will be huge for when you're a teacher!
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