Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Ways of Thinking About Educational Quality
I just want to say that this is an excellent article. Does being educated mean you are a better person? Does education always make us better? For some people it can be worse. We need to respect our students' intelligence and question ourselves as well as authority...Really why are they learning this? What is the history and policy behind this information being learned? Can we relate it to other subjects so the students can understand why it is important? Do we as teachers even think it is important? If we are not convinced about the validity of our subject matter, students will pick up on it. Because I said so doesn't work in the parent-child relationship. It absolutely will not work in the teacher-student relationship. Has it worked for anyone anywhere besides Hitler and Stalin?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Wow, great response Billie. I completely agree. Throughout history governments have threatened their iron fists of power in order to subdue the masses...but our country is built upon those that challeneged authority, that decided not to settle for what the government was saying was the "right" way and our ancestors up and moved to a new foreign land to start fresh with rules and laws that they believed governed the most effective society...Not to say that everything in American history has been a step in the right direction, i.e. slavery, trail of tears. But it is to say that our nation is built upon a group of people who did not want to settle for the norm. Some say education is the key to success, but I believe opportunity and education together form the best results. Being educated doesn't necessarily mean you are any better than any other person. It just means you may have been given opportunities that others were denied due to various reasons we have been learning about this semester throughout our different classes (i.e. socio-economic class, race, ethnicity, gender, regional differences...)
I agree that education does not always produce a "better-off" person especially in cultures where they educate their people to oppress others. I do believe that with education comes many opportunities for the advancement of society, technology, science, social cohesion, and stability as discussed in the article but it has also proven to be detrimental to societies by promoting war, terrorism and genocide in some societies.
In regards to conformity and the example of politeness, I believe that social "norms" such as this are expected in our society today. But from society to society the way in which we live our lives and what our culture finds polite may not be considered so in other cultures. Eye contact while talking to someone is considered polite in American culture, but in some Asian cultures like Korean it is seen as a sign of disrespect to look someone directly in the eye, especially an elder. As far as conformity with social norms, we as humans range in what is acceptable in day to day life, and without that "general" conformity to certain ways of life, society would not opperate as productively as it does.
In regards to the article and its analysis of weaker teleologies in particular the aspect of critical thinking, we all know of someone who is brillant in the world of academics but lacks complete knowledge of "common sense" I believe that is what they are trying to touch upon when describing a person who is an academic expert, yet doesn't know what to do when their car breaks down.
I am impressed Lauren that you even found an article to paraphrase Dewey! Well-done!
I completely agree with both Billie and Amy. If we think back in the history of our nation, a lot of events would have never occured if it was not for those people that had the courage to stand up in front of the government and say "your wrong"! I also think about some of the liberties that we have as individuals and it is because of those same people. I could not imagine going about everyday life worrying about who was watching me and if I was abiding by the law. That would be really hard for anyone!
One thing that I would like to add to Amy's keys to success would be experiences. I have been given many opportunities to do certain things but never took them. So to tie experience into my comment, its the process of taking those opportunities and then learning from either the mistakes or successes. So, for me the keys to success are: opportunity, education, and experience.
Growing up I was always asked: "Are you book smart or commen sense smart?" This may sound crazy but this goes with what Billie was saying. Someone can be extremely smart but that does not make him better than someone who is not as smart. I've also been told that you can not be both book and common sense smart, but I think that is a piece of crap. I think that is what Dewey is trying to tell us in all his sophistocated writings. We as teachers need to be able to not only teach the subjects but also common sense. Students need someone who is going to guidfe them not only in the academic realm but in reality. Please do no think that I am saying that you should form your students into a "mini you", but they should be able to use you as a guide.
Post a Comment