Clarion Call in Defense of Public Education in a New Digital
Social Order
“The decisions I made after that moment were not the ones
she would have made. They were the choices of a changed person, a new self. You
could call this selfhood many things. Transformation. Metamorphosis. Falsity.
Betrayal. I call it an education” ― Tara Westover, Educated
A Clarion is a shrill, narrow-tubed trumpet formerly used in
war; also, a clear and loud description.
Let me be that soldier or educator with my call out to say
that public education as decreed for hundreds of years must not be ingested by
the many current online strategies to displace its value. This week for the first time, I saw a TV
advertisement and a Facebook page for an online Academy to enroll students from
kindergarten to high school. At the same time, the American government
requested to cut more than $8.5 billion from the Education Department budget
and add a proposed $5 billion plan to support private schools. Realizing the
power of mass media, public opinion can be willfully diverted.
A public school is an
icon of the community. As such, teaching takes an active role in social
responsibility in a changing technological society to maintain values, manners
and fundamental skills for survival. But when society has undergone such a
radical change in such a short time, what do we know how to best educate for
survival in this new social order of massive technological changes, information
overload where quick tweets can substitute for learned input.
The public educational process has gone through numerous
reformations to meet continuing societal demands. But I worry how public
education will survive this technological opponent under various names of
modern education, online e-learning and free public virtual schools, especially
at the elementary level.
First, I can mainly refer to my 24 years as a public-school
teacher teaching grades from grade 3 (7 years old) to grade 8 (14 years old). I
have an Bachelor of Education degree based on four years of university teacher
preparation with core subjects as well as early childhood development, psychology
and sociology.
Yes, I worked with specific curriculum objectives as mandated
by the provincial Department of Education to ensure standardized learning
outcomes at every grade level. There were daily lesson plans complete with
resources, outlines, activities and evaluations. There was satisfaction at the
end of a class and the school year when the students left with more What I Know Now vs What I Didn’t
Know when I Started.
Every subject had its particular parameters, facts,
schematics, formulas, and hypothesis. But the
classroom atmosphere had much more to offer. There could be 30 young people of
different backgrounds, aptitudes and abilities in an enclosure who also had to
learn the values of obedience, co-operation and group management. There was mindfulness for students of limited
abilities. There was problem-solving and creativity from many perspectives and
challenges. There was brainstorming and decision-making with multiple variables
where the best alternative was with democratic approval. Analysis was communal
and leadership self-evident.
These are essential skills of listening and collaborating that
are co-factors in an integrated public-school education, along with a broad
based global and historical courses of study from biology to physics to algebra
to ancient history to literature. It wasn’t about any student's self-centered preference about whatever I want to learn, but
public participation in how society and
environment continue to work together.
No doubt, a public-school system has its constraints in a digital society. Perhaps a well-rounded
core education doesn’t matter to your all-knowing cellphone. But it’s not a
matter of learning to use a calculator versus learning the multiplication
tables by rote; or better yet, by drawing pictures of things multiplying or
dividing into equal groups. It’s not a matter of using Google to spell
correctly or use grammatical syntax. It’s the sequential thinking process that
matters. In my brief encounter with computers in a classroom, I have yet to see
a program that outlines how to write specific stylistic paragraphs for various reasons
while sharing evaluations for improvements.
No doubt, several
complaints about public education can validate discussions such as too much curriculum
being teacher centered; an old grading system related to passing exams; passive
disengaged students more electronically geared; overcrowding and school
closures; lack of parental involvement; being passed on to higher grades
without grade level adequate skills; facing negative group behaviors; too many extra-curricular distractions; and even,
possibly poor teachers who practice favoritism. But I remember my Math
professor once saying all you really need is one good teacher to turn you into
a life-long student ... maybe he was right … virtual or a real handshake.
No doubt, there are several compliments about online learning
that works best for the self-directed motivated students, who can progress at their
own pace, working in a home environment, with remote instructors and virtual
tutors, with interactive media and resources, automated evaluation via digital logs, and who
can manage to stay the course from entertaining games. Parent supervision may
be needed to make sure assignments are
turned in. Perhaps you’d agree that this self-directed learning is better for
older students or adults interested in upgrading.
But, there are also problems such as lack of social interaction or developing
relationships with peers, other than communication on forums, chat rooms,
message boards and videos usually with homogeneous viewpoints. So how do you learn
to deal with diversity or discrepancy in different situations?
Undeniably, digital screens have become the natural habitat
of young people in a transformation of subjects and thoughts unlike anything
experienced in human history. This
Internet of all Things has created Great Changes in our society and culture
forever, but where are the educational safety nets for young developing brains?
For example, my current worry and project is especially about educating teen girls who are surrounded by a brand-new vocabulary and motivation in a
Selfie Domain with no training or denotation.
And therein are two problems. First, a general lack of teaching
knowledge how to cope with this new subject matter. Usually, any new subject
requires learning with clear objectives like any other study; preparation,
asking questions, content, decision making and evaluation. Unfortunately, there is a lack of training for
young girls at any level to gain any kind of understanding much less mastery
over these overwhelming changes. Ignorance and confusion are a lethal mixture.
The second problem,
based on lack of preparation within the context, is how young girls are being taken
advantage of by mass media which brainwashes their developing minds with adult
prerogatives. For example, how unnatural
is it for young girls to sexualize their bodies to be "LIKE" adult
images or role play? Part of this assault is their addiction to their cell phones
and manufactured Selfies but with limited educational or survival strategies.
More than ever, I believe public schools are the best places to address and discuss this issue and others related to information overload
and hyper social media interaction. These are serious social issues best dealt
with by social discussion and remediation where listening, cooperation and
empathy play central figures and consensus is mutual.
I believe that business and political opportunities should
not interfere in this sacred passage rite from childhood to adulthood. The future of education must not be monopolized by internet corporate
giants with material agendas which is much easier to do with e-learners in digital
controlled environments.
There is no doubt that technology as an integral part of daily life, for better and
worse, needs to be incorporated into traditional classrooms.The fact
remains that more and more educational tools, resources and Apps are always on
the horizon to facilitate the learning process and improve outcomes.
But, as a final word, I hope it will be a broad-based public
education with an open classroom with different backgrounds, experiences, and decision
making based on majority consensus in order to show students how to effectively
participate in society and produce positive contributions.
Your comments and questions are always important to continue this discussion.
Annemarie
amarie10@gmail.com
https://helpfulmindstreamforchanges.com
Excerpt: There has never been a greater urgency to make the case that
public education must remain democratic, diverse and strong; especially for
young people who are the stimulus and hope as they inherit the future with
greater degrees of fairness, ethics and justice, both to the kinds of society
and environment they want to live in.
https://helpfulmindstreamforchanges.blogspot.com/2019/07/discovering-platos-allegory-of-cave-in.html
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