What I want to write about today is the seemingly unquestioned assumption that the picture above refers to. I guess I used to think like this myself. I clearly remember wondering, as a young man, why people made such a big deal about athletes leaving college early to play professionally. I mean after all, conventional wisdom told me that the reason people go to school is so they can get a better job, earn more money, and consume more products and services. These guys just got to skip the school part. They were going to make tons of money without taking classes, so in my mind they didn't need education. I didn't even question that reasoning, and I now know why. This week marks my one year anniversary as a public school teacher. Before October of 2008 it had been over 14 years since I had been inside a high school classroom for an extended period. Over those 14 years I healed from the conditioning that school subjected me to, and I now feel that I can see a bit more clearly what is going on in our public school classrooms. Children are being sold on the fact that the only reason a person should be educated is so they can make more money. Learning is not presented as an end unto itself. It is only preparation for something better. This notion was confirmed when I attended two Saturdays worth of professional development earlier this month. The focus was Standards Training. I would like to say upfront that I am not opposed to the concept of standards. I understand the need to have some sort of guide to chart a general course. However, this training gave me a deeper view as to the motivations of our current educational system. The ONLY motivation given for the implementation of standards (or education at all for that matter) within the framework of this training was economic motivation. This motivation was expressed from the macro as well as the micro. All of the rhetoric / propaganda that was presented stated that the reason we are doing this is so our nation / region / city could be more economically prosperous, competitive. We needed to produce people that could be better workers and consumers. Wealth, wealth, wealth - jobs, jobs, jobs. These are the only reasons for public education. That was the message I took away from the training... and it was horribly disheartening. I cannot be part of a borderline fascist, nationalistic, wealth driven, mechanized method of "education." I don't know exactly how I am going to make my career in this field, but I must chart a different path. I feel overwhelmed and discouraged right now. How do I move forward?
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You ignore the bastards. You look at your subject and find the big ideas that caught your attention as a student. You build your lessons around the concepts that are the most interesting and most useful--piece of cake for an English teacher: reading, writing, and thinking.
ReplyDeleteI love teaching The Odyssey to 9th graders. It was used as a textbook to show Greek boys how to become men and good citizens--the same is true for my students. I'm working with Honors students and "at risk" 9/10th graders, and they're all along for the ride. The truth is in the text: Xenia--"treat others as you would like to be treated"--Nostos--"if you find what is within you, what is within you will save you; if you do not find what is within you, what is within you will destroy you"--Hubris--"pick and choose your battles, and understand the difference between true power and false power"--Kleos--"how will you be remembered? Live a story worth telling?".
It's all there AND you'll hit the damned Standards to please those who cannot recognized progress unless it can be reduced to a sum. Those who can, teach; those who can't, create spreadsheets.
Richie--teach from your heart and help the kids envision worthwhile goals. Tell them money and fame are always byproducts, like sludge or vapor. They're the result of good work. Be one of the few examples in their lives of an adult who is passionate about what he does for a living.
You obviously care so much--that's half the battle. We're so lucky to have you in front of a class. And, yes, it's hard. If it were easy, anyone could do it.