What is public education for?
In his Ted Talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity?, Sir Ken Robinson talks about how no matter where you go on earth, there is a hierarchy of subjects in each education system. He mentions that math and languages are at the top and that at the bottom are the arts. He points out the reason why he believes that this is the case, “there were no public systems of education really, before the 19th century. They all came into being to meet the needs of industrialism,” (Robinson, 2006).
Sir Ken Robinson makes a great point, that while the
subjects that were most important at the time were given the most value, times
have changed significantly since the 19th century. He uses an interesting example talking about
his conversation with Gillian Lynne. She
was a poor student who had trouble staying still in school. Luckily, rather than being labelled with ADHD
she was taken to a specialist who understood that she just needed to be able to
move to think. Unfortunately, this is
not always the case and Robinson says, “the consequence is that many highly
talented, brilliant, creative people think they are not,” (Robinson, 2006).
At one point during his Ted Talk, Sir Ken Robinson poses the question, if aliens were to visit schools, how would you answer the question of what is it for? While this seems like a very simple question, there are certainly a variety of possible answers. Among the possible answers stated by Tom Segal are to:
- be prepared to participate in our democracy
- be responsible citizens
- acquire 21st century skills
- be globally competent
- think critically
- read and write
- be quantitatively literate (Segal, 2013)
While I certainly agree with
the list above, I think it is also important to keep in mind that every student
is different. As educators we need to
keep in mind that every student comes to school with different strengths,
weaknesses, learning preferences, and personalities. Therefore, I would add that public education
should also strive to motivate students to want to learn and to feel as though
they are valuable, even if they don’t necessarily learn in the same ways as
some of their peers.
As I get closer to becoming
a teacher, the goals that I have for myself are pretty simple. I want to be able to form close relationships
with my students so that I am able to make school a place that they want to
be. By getting to know my students well,
I hope that I will be able to cater to their strengths and interests so that
they enjoy learning. I feel that as long
as I can encourage my students and make sure that they know that we all want
them to succeed, both in school and beyond, I will be doing my job as an
educator.
References:
Robinson, K. (2006). Do
Schools Kill Creativity? TED. Retrieved from: https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity
Segal, T. (2013). What is
the Goal of the American Education System? Education Week. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/opinion-what-is-the-goal-of-the-american-education-system/2013/08
Ted Talks. (2006). [Ted Talks logo]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks
Shane,
ReplyDeleteSimple goals are attainable goals. This is a wonderful focus, building relationships, to have as a new teacher. As I mentioned in my comment on Keri's post, I had to remind myself to step back and have fun. There are some many prioritize on a teacher time, but building relationships is critical. I am in a unique situation where I teach at the school my daughter and nephews attend. Although I love to work with all the teachers at my high school, I recognize that some do not take the time to connect to their students. My daughter is a social extravert that needs connections to succeed. The classes she struggles in are the classes that prioritize content/instruction over relationships. My nephews are the opposite, they will quietly sit in the back of the room and not engage. They have said several times that some of their teachers never talk to them...not good. It is so wonderful to hear that you want to prioritize connections. Bravo!