On Education

Yes, it is is New Year's Eve and I am sitting here pondering the purpose of education.

This year has been an awakening for me.  I have popped out of my delightful bubble and begun to realize what an odd duck I have hatched into!  

Most people don't rate sorting through their parents' book collections as a highlight of a vacation.  Then again, most people don't find childhood photos in the company of Hal Clement and other science fiction authors.

Most people don't fill a quarter of their passport in one year, learning languages for the places they travel along the way.   Most people don't know how lucky they are, either!  I do.

That said, I think I have been naive about the purpose of education.  For me, it was always clear: schools are to open minds.  Classrooms are supposed to be safe places where students meet to connect with one another, to stretch themselves, to create and to be exposed to ideas that will make them prepared to encounter a world filled with different people, challenges, innovations and mindsets.

I grew up with many teachers who acknowledged that I was a quick thinker and did their best to help me stretch myself academically and as a human being.    Whether it be writing musicals, creating Betamax stop motion movies about blood cells, or skipping ahead in foreign language and math classes, I was allowed to explore.  As best as I can, I try to give that back to my students.

My visit to Auschwitz reminded me of our civic duty to model kindness and activism in school.  I was horrified when I learned more and more about the brainwashing of children in the Nazi occupied states.  Hatred can be taught.  So can kindness.  It is our moral imperative to guide children to be kind.

South Pacific, one of the first Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals that caught my fancy, is famous for  its message about cross-cultural acceptance, and even ran the risks of censorship and McCarthyism for its strong criticism of racism.  Lieutenant Cable, in the song above, explains that racism is not inborn; it is taught.  We must teach the opposite of racism.   Roman Kent, the survivor who most impacted me this winter, said that we must teach love.

My trip to the Mideast also reminded me that education needs to have a greater purpose, too.  It is not just in Bahrain that student college degrees don't always match the needs of a society.  Bahrain had many more students wanting to have professional degrees (humanities, theoretical sciences) than careers available.  The US has so many Liberal Arts majors who don't have jobs waiting for them after graduation.   It is an imperative for schools to prepare students for careers so they can have a steady future.

The musical, Avenue Q, has a punchy song called "What Do You Do with a BA in English"; it hits home with many college seniors.  The idealism of youth longs to improve humanity just as literature points out the problems and strengths of society.  Naturally, many good-deed-doers find their way into English degrees.  Even though English degrees are important (my Mom and both of my sisters were English majors), not everyone is going to end up an English teacher or professor.  Then again, maybe it would be a much more peaceful world with many many more English classes!!!

I remember back when I was in Uruguay; the public schools there didn't have sports programs.  This is so different from so many colleges and public schools in the US which receive so much funding for football, basketball, baseball and other sports.  Instead, students in Uruguay have multiple breaks each day to run around and play outside.  The weather there is more conducive to quick pick-up soccer games and playground stunts, but these frequent breaks also lead to more attentive students during class time.  Those students who wish to take part in formal sports do so in clubs outside of school.  I'm not encouraging this for schools in New Jersey, but I am pointing out a philosophical difference in the purpose of school.  What is it about the United States that puts athletics in such an important role?

Gym Class in Qatar

I took a look back into my books about the history of public education, and saw that the first goals of public schools were socialization of children (especially young boys).  As time progressed, the goal was to civilize society; after all, school makes students less unruly!!  Organized athletics is one way to get students to move about and focus in a united effort.  So too, one could argue, are theater, dance, and music.  Public schools usually let the arts play second fiddle to sports; perhaps this is because females came later to the educational system?  

Joy of learning?  Growth?  Social Responsibility?  Behavior?  I began to get all confused about this last night, and started interrogating my poor mother about her insights.  Our beliefs are so similar, though, that all I got was loving validation.  So I needed to go to another source.

The National School Boards Association put out a document in 2010 and it is available here.  However, I took a screenshot of survey results of board members' priorities in education.

Screenshot from "The Purpose of Public Education and the Role of the School Board."

In a way, I read this and smiled.  Fulfilling potential, achieving a satisfying and productive life...I can live with this.  It's open enough for all kinds of children, all kinds of talents, all kinds of learning.  It includes joy and productivity.

However, it also makes my mind spin.  Who is to define a fulfilled potential?  If I had majored in music, would I have fulfilled my potential as a Gifted Education teacher?  As a Gifted Education teacher, am I fulfilling my potential as a flutist and pianist?  What about that "satisfying and productive life"  clause?  Is that productive in terms of accomplishment or in terms of financial remuneration?  

One of my friends tells me, affectionately, that I am an aesthete.  I have no need of quantifying matters of consequence to me...except to prove to a society that these matters truly are of consequence!  I know that school boards are tasked with the challenge of financing this behemoth called Public Schools.  To what extent is there an obligation to help children fulfill their potential and prepare for that satisfying life? I would say there is a moral imperative; however, I would also complain that it is not quantifiable.  It is easier to check off a set number of students who are hired and successfully employed within x number of years of graduating, or a percentage of students attending college.  This becomes, all too often, the default.   Then, well-roundedness and civic responsibilities are the lowest on the totem pole.  I weep for the arts, and know all too well how much we need to know our civic roles as more than entertainment on late night television.

Where does this leave us?

I'm aware that I'm an odd duck.

I learn for learning's sake.

I celebrate humanity and diversity and travel and curiosity and not knowing the answers.

I'm happy researching this on New Year's Eve.

But I am not the only odd duck out there.

This conversation is only just beginning!