United States of Secrets

I was already aware of most of the things that we saw in the documentary “United States of Secrets”. For this reason I have been very hesitant to be involved in any kind of social media or to really join the world of technology at all. I just do not feel safe in the “cyber” world. The only problem with this is that technology is the way the world is moving forward and by not participating I find myself out of the loop in many way. I seem to move slowly toward letting go as I feel that in many ways I am forced to participate.

I did not learn how to text until it was the only way that I could get my children to communicate with me. If I called I would get no response, but if I sent a text, they responded immediately, so I relented and learned. I am not a fan of any kind of online banking and I resisted as long as I legally could. We own a business and I always paid my payroll taxes by sending a check. About two years ago the government decided that was no longer an option. I could not pay by check or even credit card; I had to pay by giving them access to my checking account with an online transfer. I was forced to comply or violate the law and pay. I did not have a “smart” phone until it was more expensive for me to buy a “dumb” one. I had never participated in any kind of social media until I took this class. I have been advised by many of my teachers that I need to learn to use social media if I was going to compete in the work force.

I find my resistance to be futile. Our society is moving in the direction of the convenience of technology, willing to sacrifice privacy and many freedoms for a little convenience. The resistance of few will not stop the forward motion of many. I often wonder what it will take to wake this generation from their trance of complacency.  It was brought up in class that no one wants to ruin their whole life to take a stand. When we look at history, were people not sacrificing their very lives that we might enjoy the freedoms that we now have. There will ALWAYS be sacrifice to actually make a difference and bring about change.  Will we just tell the next generation that we were too busy taking “selfies” to preserve our countries freedom?

What I would change about the education system.

I’m not sure that I have any more answers than I did in my last post, but if I could change anything about the education system in America, it would be that our citizens would truly care about education and make it a priority. We give a lot of lip service to how we care about education, but then we always want someone else to solve the problem. “Oh me, donate some of my time, you don’t understand how busy I am.” or “It is the schools responsibility to educate my child.” We don’t truly care unless we are willing to give of our self for the cause.

The truth of the matter is that here in America; our number one priority is entertainment. It’s were we spend our time and money. Professional Athletes and Movie Starts are our highest paying jobs. The government can do anything they want with education as long as it doesn't cost us any money. We will pay thousands of dollars for Super Bowl tickets, but won’t donate a dollar to an educational program. I would have to say that a teacher is one of the most important jobs that exist, yet the salary they receive would reflect that the American people don’t see it that way. It’s time for us to start putting our time and money where our mouth is.

My mind goes back to when my children were pre-schooled aged and those of us who could not afford to pay for pre-school got together and formed what was called “Joy School.” Each mother took a turn teaching for a week. Our kids still got the benefit of learning all the things they would have in pre-school, but it did not cost us anything. Our kids also benefited from varied teaching styles and ideas of each mother. There is great power in diversity.

Imagine if every parent or grand-parent volunteered time at the school each month.  Every classroom could be armed with education cheerleaders, like the granny’s in the clip we watched. If we ever want to see change in our educational system we are going to have to be willing to participate and make it a priority.

The Future of Education

I heard this poem many years ago and it has stuck with me.

Red Flower with a Green Stem by Helen  Buckley

Once upon a time there was a little boy who studied at a big school.

One morning the teacher said “Today we’re going to draw.”
“Good” thought the little boy. He liked to draw lions, tigers, chickens, trains and boats. He got his color-pencils and started drawing.
“Wait!! Don’t start yet.” said the teacher. She waited until all the students were ready and then said … “We’re going to draw flowers.”
The little boy started drawing beautiful flowers with his pink, orange and blue pencils.
“Wait” said the teacher. “I’ll show you how to do it.” And the flower she drew was red with a green stem. “Ok” said the teacher “now you can do it.”
The little boy looked at the flower the teacher had drawn , looked at his own flowers and liked his best. He couldn’t say that so he turned the sheet of paper over and drew a flower just like the one the teacher had drawn – red with a green stem.
Another day the students were having class outside and the teacher said … “Today we are going to play with clay.”
“Great” the boy thought. He liked to play with clay. He could make things like elephants, mice, cars and trucks. He started to take some clay in his hands and make a big ball.
Then the teacher said … “Wait ! Don’t start yet.” She waited until all the students were ready. “Now” she said “we’re going to make a plate.”
“Good” thought the little boy. He liked to make plates of different sizes and shapes.
The teacher said … “Wait !! I’ll show you how to do it.” It was a soup-plate. “Ok” she said “now you can start.”
The little boy looked at the plate the teacher had made, looked at his own plate and liked his best. He couldn’t say it so he got his plate, made it into a big ball and started it again. He made a soup-plate just like the one the teacher had made.
And since early in his life he learned not to do things by himself but to wait for a model.
And then the little boy went to another school.
This one was even bigger than the other one. One day the new teacher said … “Today we’re going to draw.”
“Good” thought the little boy. He waited to see what the teacher would draw.
The teacher didn’t draw anything. She only walked around the room.
Then the teacher approached the little boy and asked “Don’t you like to draw?”
“Yes” he said “but what are we going to draw?”
“I don’t know” said the teacher “draw whatever you want.”
“How can I do it?” he asked. “Any way you want.” said the teacher.
“But what colors should I use?” he asked.
“You choose. If everybody makes the same drawing with the same colors how can I know which drawing is yours?” she said.
“I don’t know” answered the boy. And he drew a red flower with a green stem.

What is the Answer?

I have been thinking about this for two days now since we discussed it in class. I liked Professor Young's thoughts on the subject, but have no been able to come to a conclusion about how we could solve the problem. It is a great idea, but I personally do not feel that it is humanly possible for one teacher to meet the learning need and styles of 30 students. Maybe the reason I am struggling so much is because I have always viewed the system as needing  a complete over hall and it is unrealistic to think that there is one simple solution. I know that I certainly don't have the answer. So after two days of rumbling numerous different solutions around in my head, I have come to the conclusion that maybe the first step is to change the way we think about  education.

Like we saw in the video "This is water", our perceptions have a lot to do with what we take away from any experience. Our current school system appears to be structured to teach a specific set of skills in a specific way that doesn't fit every person. Is this reality? Could we choose to see it differently.  Maybe it is about us changing our perception. We do not go to school to learn answers to specific problems. We go to school to learn how to learn. Learning a job skill will serve you well in a specific job, but learning to be learner will benefit  you in every aspect of life, every day of your life. Do we expect someone else to be responsible for what we learn in school, or do we take responsibility for what we will get out of this education opportunity. Even if the system is broke, can we find a way to get the job done.

Yesterday, I accidentally loaded a virus on my computer. It was a  nightmare and I had a lesson plan and power point to prepare, and a Comm Research video to watch. I am NOT a computer wizard, but I had a problem that needed solving. I could have had the perception that I needed an expert to teach me, why wasn't any computer place open past five. It took about four hours, but I learned how to get a virus off my computer. I was motivated by my need. I used my critical thinking and problem solving skills. What if I approached every learning opportunity the way I did this one. I could probably learn just about anything.

NEVER HAVING TO EXPLAIN

“Never having to explain” is actually an illusion. Because people are sitting at a computer and cannot actually see their audience they are under the illusion that they will never have to explain or take responsibility for what they say. People often forget that once they put something into writing and send it off into cyber space that there is no way to take it back. It becomes a permanent record. “Never having to explain” could not be further from the truth. You may not have to explain immediately, but you will have to explain. How many times have we seen a public figure have to call a press conference to apologize for something they sent out on twitter?  Many of you discussed how employers look at their employee’s Facebook pages. Many a people have lost their jobs or not gotten the job because of things they posted on Facebook.  Social Media pages are used in divorce trials and criminal cases. Many have to explain to their spouses or friends why they posted what they did. Don’t let your self be caught in the illusion that you “never have to explain.”