I am going to begin with a lengthy quote from a book I reading for one of my Education classes. It really highlights for me the disconnect I see between the way teachers are being trained in college (at least in my program)and the reality of most public schools. The passage is from a book called The Learning Cycle: Elementary School Science and Beyond by Edmund Marek and Ann Cavallo.
"Why is it important to have the development of thinking ability as the centralpurpose of education? First, all other goals of education, such as understanding the subject matter, cannot be achieved without the ability to think logically. Second, this goal prepares students for their future in society. Throughout a lifetime, individuals must solve many problems, make judgments and decisions, and, ideally, create new ideas that extend and/or improve current knowledge of the world. These activities will not be accomplished if the students in our schools have not developed the ability to think. Third, developing the ability to think is important across all subjects in the curriculum. Content is specific to subject areas and may be forgotten. The ability to think logically is general and central to all subject areas and will prevail for a lifetime. Finally, individuals in our society cannot be truly free if the ability to think is lacking. How is thinking related to freedom? The ability to think allows individuals to decide, for themselves, the value of others' decisions opinions and rules. Without the ability to think, reason, and form opinions independently, individuals would have no choice but to accept the decisions of virtually anyone who is in a position of authority...
The final point regarding freedom is perhaps of greatest significance. This nation was founded on the premise that all persons are entitled to their individual freedoms. [my interjection here - ALL persons? It's a nice thought but I don't think so. I think the group of people this nation had in mind when they founded the US was pretty clearly NOT all persons - but the point he is coming to is valuable nonetheless] Freedom, however, requires certain factors for its establishment and survival, and these include the 'social institutions which protect freedom and the personal commitment that gives it force' (EPC, 1961). But social institutions will neither be free nor advocate freedom if those governing them do not so demand, and these individuals will not demand freedom if they are not committed to it. In order to demand and practice responsible freedom, individuals must have what the EPC called 'freedom of mind', 'a condition which each individual must develop for himself'. To be truly free, and to maintain the democratic society we cherish [my interjection - we are not and never have been a democracy - but again, I still think the general thrust of what he is saying is valid] individuals must use thinking skills that allow each to formulate well-founded opinions, judgments, and actions. Thus, 'a free society has the obligation to create circumstances in which all individuals may have the opportunity and encouragement to attain freedom of the mind.' (EPC, 1961
These circumstances can be created in our school classrooms... In order to perpetuate a free society, however, the individuals making it up must have freedom of mind. To have freedom of mind, students must learn to think autonomously. If schools are to achieve their central purpose, the experiences they provide must lead students to develop the ability to think." p18-19
Ok, so why are schools such conformity factories? In my Education degree, we are constantly talking about how to create environments where children are honored and taught how to think, how to make our classrooms as inclusive as possible, and how to attempt to take off our own cultural blinders and realize how they affect the way we teach. But I don't think that is the pervasive culture in today's public school system. I read stories the news that appear to reward conformity and mediocrity at the expense of authentic learning and creativity. What a different world it would be if schools were actually there to teach our future citizens to think critically and question the world around them rather than to blindly accept whatever they hear. What if schools taught us to recognize injustice, wherever it may be, and to stand up for basic human rights for ALL?
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Powerful observations and thinking!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote: Without the ability to think, reason, and form opinions independently, individuals would have no choice but to accept the decisions of virtually anyone who is in a position of authority...
Sometimes I suspect the reason public school is such a 'conformity factory' (well said, especially so evident in Kindergarten where we learn to line up and shut up!) is just so we don't question decisions made for us.
I had an interesting situation in my 5th grade this year when I was challenged by a student about NOT saying the Pledge of Allegiance. She said she was afraid she would forget how it goes. She noticed that as a class, we had not recited the Pledge ALL year long.
Used to be I had the Pledge posted in both English and Spanish, and we took turns with the languages. This year it happened that I was being asked to blindly accept major decisions about curriculum that were being made for me (namely to forego teaching Science and Social Studies, forget art and health... but that's ANOTHER blog) and as a result I did not take the time to examine the words of the Pledge with my students. 'Liberty and Justice for ALL.' - could have been a great time after so many were savvy about immigration issues faced by their families.
Ironically, critical thinking skills are being taught after enough cramming of content. Sure. It's now called test taking skills, or, how to THINK about what a test question is asking, and what answer makes SENSE.
In math, curriculum has historically been divided into 'computation' and 'application' strands. Guess which gets emphasized? So many teachers notice and agree that application and logical thinking opportunities are slipping by, and that they require an artful awareness on the part of a teacher. That artful awareness that seizes the opportunity to stretch a student's reasoning abilities is very hard for administration to allow. First of all, some teachers are still developing it, and second - the sheer amount of content doesn't allow for thinking time. There is all this perceived pressure, and by perceived I do not mean it is not real.
I watched myself tear the three corners off a paper triangle this year, put them points-together to demonstrate to students that the sum of the angles of a triangle always equal 180 degrees. I listened to myself say 'If you had time to think about this, you would conclude that it always works out this way.' (wince) I then assigned my kids to try it out 'at home,' while we went on to the workbook page. Good lord, I can't tell you how many times I shortchanged my student's thinking time. For shame! But we covered the darn curriculum.
I'm confident and glad that your wonderful mind is looking at issues like this one. Recognizing injustice, and working toward solutions that will move us toward living together with a more logical education idea - you will do it! Yes, I feel you.
Meantime, look at Open Classroom. It is structured with Kindergartners learning conformity as an option to get more done together, not as mindless rule following. Kids are allowed to make so many of their own decisions, that sometimes they are allowed to fail! Very very important thinking in my book.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. My purpose for posting this really is to open up a dialog about what is and what should be going on in our public education system. The more time I spend inside the system, and the more I am learning via my teaching degree, I worry that I may not be able to function within a system I am often absolutely opposed to. I will find a way because I can't imagine doing anything else :)
ReplyDeleteI get so angry when I hear things like teachers being told to ditch science, social studies and art and focus on "the basics". No wonder our kids are failing! I see the wonder and excitement that children enter school with, and I can see that joy being slowly sucked out of them as the progress through "the educational pipeline". I love the Science Methods class I am taking right now and it makes me sad to know that classrooms are hardly really even teaching science let alone awesome inquiry-based science lessons.
I guess I just hope I will end up in a child-centered school.
My son is going into the 4th grade, he is at one of the 'better' public schools, but I still find myself disappointed in the education he is being given. One sized fits all education just doesn't fit, it disengages our children, and doesn't prepare them for their lives as thoughtful individuals. Not only that (this is my pet peeve), but whitewashing history will never provide them with the tools they need to engage society/politics/government in a meaningful and positive way.
ReplyDeleteI recall the way my father taught me when I was growing up, and that was by not giving me the answers. He told me I knew how to do it, but I had to sit down and think about it. And it would drive me to tears sometimes trying to get it. But I always figured it out. An extreme example, I suppose, not thats kids should be forced to cry through their learning...but my point is that I learned to think.
I do the same with my son (stepson), I coach him through his questions, and sometimes we end up taking a while, but he works his way through to the answer on his own, with just a little guidance. Not only that, but in general, we often remind him of the concept of making his own choices. We tell him that we want him to be able to make his own decisions, and that we are here to help guide him, to help answer any questions that may help him come to his own conclusions.
A funny story, that left me feeling like I'm doing my job of teaching him to be thoughtful. My stepsons mother was sending him to Catechism. Each day at the dinner table, we would ask what he learned that day, and what he thought about it. He was learning about the Garden of Eden at that time, and told us that he didn't believe that the Garden of Eden could have been a real place, because 'all gardens have weeds'. Making that simple connection between his real experiences and an intangible tale, to come to his own 8-year-old conclusion, was pretty great to see.
I do believe that there are a lot of awesome teachers out there trapped in a devolving system setup to cater to neither the teacher, nor the student! Having people like you out there helps keep that system from falling completely over the edge. Its nice to know that the commitment to our children still remains strong in (at least some parts of) the education community.