Train or Educate? Why are we here?

When I was in Uruguay, I was impressed with how much the students valued their education.  That year, there had been many teacher strikes, and the teenagers I spoke to were craving their classes.  "If we do not have school, we will not graduate, and then we will not be able to pursue our careers.  We need our education in order to succeed,"  one student told me.

A group of Uruguayan students who told me how much they valued learning and wished the schools wouldn't be closed.

Though I am very proud of my own education and the American school systems I have been part of, I don't reckon I would get that clear a case for schooling from most students I know in New Jersey.  Why do we go to school?  To see our friends.  To get good grades.  Because we have to.  Because that is what we do.

I think back on my own childhood.  I didn't question going to school or not going to school, but I look back on my old diaries and see what rang out for me enough for me to write about it each day.    Common focal points were heartfelt encouragement from teachers,  hands-on projects, creative activities and competitions.  Likewise,  I remember being excited about upcoming adventures: learning cursive, being able to use a pen, taking part in the school musical, joining Stewart Singers, inviting grandparents to school for an intergenerational math adventure, going on field trips, putting together a literary magazine and filming younger students.

Thank Goodness for passionate teachers!

Highlights of my own schooling:  Music and Contact with Teachers

It may not surprise you that I consider myself an intellectual, and that my goal was to be a Renaissance woman.  I love reading and writing; I love music and art;  I love learning about the past and envisioning the future.  Still, for fun I was the nerd who did GRE logic exams and who did foreign language grammar exercises to calm her mind before bed.

It infuriated me when a beloved high school teacher (not beloved by me) claimed that he didn't like poetry but he had to teach it.

It enraged me when music teachers didn't know their scales and key signatures.

It still makes my blood boil when I remember feeling like an outsider because I wanted to learn.

On this trip, I have begun to think more critically at the purpose of schools.
Why do we have schools?
How do academic, social-emotional, extra-curricular and pre-professional needs play roles in our schools?

Here is my school district's mission statement:

Nurture.  Challenge.  Innovate.  Respect.  Self-directed.  Life-Long Learners.  Potential.

I'm not claiming that we meet this mark all the time, or even that all my colleagues have looked at this mission statement in the past year or two.  However, I look at this an nod. This is what I believe. I think most of my colleagues do too.   

Are there things I would add?  Yes!  Most definitely.  I'm working on a blogpost about that...for another day.  :)   I would include something about service, something about culture, and something about well-roundedness.  Above all, I would want to cultivate curiosity.  However, I like our mission statement.  It'll do!

Bahrain Polytechnic's mission is a bit different.  "BP produces professional and enterprising graduates with the 21st Century skills necessary for the needs of the community, locally, regionally and internationally."

One might argue that we are comparing apples and oranges.  Readington Middle School is a public school in exurban America, and Bahrain Polytechnic is a specialized public college in Bahrain.

But people are people, and the more I travel, the more I know that.

Bahrain's Minister of Higher Education was not far different from the Emirati Minister of Education's message:  We need to prepare our students for careers.  We need to prepare our students to continue our economy.

This is not completely different in the United States.  Listen to any politician's speech and you will hear about the need to prepare students for the future.  We need to guide students into college majors where they will find jobs.

Therefore, it is worth taking a moment to see the seven key skills targeted in each class at Bahrain Polytechnic:

Technology
Initiative & Enterprise
Problem Solving
Communication
Teamwork
Self-Management
Learning

I think that self-management and initiative are the hardest to teach, but so crucial in both my own educational experience and in the experience I try to give to my students.

I gained these skills above all from being a musician, and yet, except for today's school, music is not a big part of the curriculum.  Sami, my engineering professor colleague in Manama, told me that too many people here worry that music will lead people astray, and so they discourage it.  Some families have students learn piano or violin privately, but it isn't largely part of the schools.

That is a shame, because my years as a musician gave me all of those skills more than any other activity ever did.

Today, I visited an International Community School in Abu Dhabi.  Take a look at the artwork for what this school values, and note that the artwork was done by students.  In fact, the whole school is decorated with student artwork, and even the administrative offices are filled with individual student paintings.

Cooperation.  Respect.  "We Appreciate your Enthusiasm".  Innovation.  Curiosity.  Commitment.

In this school, the older students are role models (prefects) for the younger ones.  The Eco-Club takes charge of the environmental education and helps monitor waste and electrical usage.  The Student Council organizes videos to educate about cancer, bullying, and emotional health.  I had the fortune of visiting a fourth grade class that was singing a song to practice for National Day.

To what extent should schools be training students for jobs, and to what extent should schools be fostering human potential and intellect?  Where is the balance?

I don't know the answer.  I know that I wanted to be a music major and I am now, retroactively, very grateful that I didn't major in music.  I have still been able to conduct an orchestra, make friends through chamber music and direct countless musicals.  But I love how my life has worked out, and the pragmatic teaching degree has helped me pass on my passion.   I think I would have been happy majoring in music, but this way I am blissful.  Seeking a degree where there are jobs is wise.

However, I wish that there were more focus, all around, on passion and creativity, on curiosity and philosophy, on connections between people and self-understanding.

Train or Educate? Why are we here?
I hope the answer is a little bit of both.