Everyone wants the “American Dream” right? Two people in love have a baby they are excited about their new bundle of joy and the child’s future. The child enters primary school, then junior high, onto high school, onto a great college to get a degree and then they get a job and have their own family and the cycle starts over again. What happens when your child doesn't fit into the mold of having good grades and being a model student, getting into the best college and doesn't meet the societal standard of a successful? What if the teacher or the curriculum is not challenging your child and they appear like they are a problem or can’t focus. Do we just label the child special needs or medicate them? What if the neighborhood in which the child lives in is poor so they don’t get the same opportunity as children in wealthy families? What if the child is brilliant but can’t focus at school because of things that are going on at home? Why have after school programs and arts and music been taken out of the schools system and communities where they are needed the most? Teachers are not being paid what they should be and no child left behind leave no room for teachers to be creative. It’s pretty ironic “no child left behind” has left lots of children behind. Why are teachers not teachers to multiple learning styles. Every child is different.
I guess what I am saying here is who created the model for American education and why hasn't it changed if it isn't working. Who established the American Dream and who said that our future is already written for us? Where is the creativity and the drive to follow one’s passion and explore the world and find your place to make the world a better place? Or are we just supposed to be happy paying bills and living the “American Dream”? Why is the focus on getting degrees when it is a proven fact that more people get degrees now and they have debt from school but no job? Does a college degree today still hold the same value as it did in the past? The current education system is not set up for success and creative thinkers. The question is what is our current education system set up for? Why are the same people who make jails creating or running our school systems? What exactly is going on? What can we do to change this?
Below I have l some very interesting documentaries and clips to stimulate conversation about this topic and get our minds moving on what can be done. We will look at the issue and provide some creative solutions to this issue.
Malcom London - High School is a Training Ground
College Conspiracy
Declining By Degrees
Ted Talks Education
Everyone wants the “American Dream” right? Two people in love have a baby they are excited about their new bundle of joy and the child’s future. The child enters primary school, then junior high, onto high school, onto a great college to get a degree and then they get a job and have their own family and the cycle starts over again. What happens when your child doesn't fit into the mold of having good grades and being a model student, getting into the best college and doesn't meet the societal standard of a successful? What if the teacher or the curriculum is not challenging your child and they appear like they are a problem or can’t focus. Do we just label the child special needs or medicate them? What if the neighborhood in which the child lives in is poor so they don’t get the same opportunity as children in wealthy families? What if the child is brilliant but can’t focus at school because of things that are going on at home? Why have after school programs and arts and music been taken out of the schools system and communities where they are needed the most? Teachers are not being paid what they should be and no child left behind leave no room for teachers to be creative. It’s pretty ironic “no child left behind” has left lots of children behind. Why are teachers not teachers to multiple learning styles. Every child is different.
