Testing Education:
An Open Conversation, Part 2
The following continues the exchange between The Unknown Candidate and myself, begun earlier today. Part 1 was posted earlier. Please feel free to join in the discussion.
The Unknown Candidate said...
Yes, yes, yes! Sean, you are, of course, exactly correct in your assessment. The irony is that since the power grab of the Bush administration we need a critically thinking populace more than ever. In my silly, idealistic way, I just wish more educators would start assessing things on their own. It doesn't take more money from government for educators to start thinking of ways to solve the problems themselves--or at least to start discussing the problems. I get the feeling that most secondary school teachers, especially once they are securely tenured, could care less. I'm convinced that the methods we use to educate teachers to teach are a huge part of the problem--College level education programs, for the most part I would guess, resort to the same "test taking" mentality.
So I ask you--as someone involved in the field, someone who has had a somewhat non-traditional education (my daughter went to St. Johns in Santa Fe, so I know their curriculum well), someone who is aware of all the problems, how do we begin to change the system? (I will not accept "we can't" as an answer!)
Maybe it will take no less than a visionary leader--in government or in the field of education--to set things in motion -- if so, we may have a very, very, long wait. There don't seem to be any visionaries jumping at the chance.
Sean M. Madden said...
You've no doubt noticed, TUC, that we've come full circle, that you're asking my What is to be done? question.
Paradoxically, as you've just pointed out, the very thing which is needed (a critically educated citizenry ... and, I'm far from certain, by the way, that SJC provides the proper model given the Straussian grip on the College) to get us out of this sociopolitical dilemma will not be ushered in by those who stand to lose.
The ruling corporate-political elite -- who in most cases lack a critical education themselves, but far more importantly democratic aspirations -- will never provide the prerequisite for their own undoing, just as the slave-owners of yesteryear forbade an education for their human holdings.
Therefore, this process of a critical education must be carried forward by those who have somehow managed to see beyond what we have passively imbibed since childhood, and which the citizenry of the United States has imbibed since before the country's inception.
Note the response to Thomas Paine's return to the US after his imprisonment in France. In short, Paine truly believed in the liberal principles which he propounded and which were critically important in the lead up to the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, but which were not to be tolerated by the new ruling aristocracy, nor, indeed, by the American citizenry composed of Christian zealots.
Paine, who did so much to bring about American democracy, was too democratic for the new democratic nation. He would perhaps find himself even less popular today.
This phenomenon, I'm afraid, shall be the likely result of any revolution which is not based, at all levels, on a well-educated, participating citizenry.
As you know, I'm in search of a solution to this paradoxical situation in which we find ourselves. I'm not giving up either. Yet, the challenge is huge.
From my own personal experience, I have found, to my great dismay, that George Monbiot's motto atop his web site seems by and large the case:
"Tell people something they know already, and they will thank you for it. Tell them something new, and they will hate you for it."
Realizing this has been perhaps the greatest letdown of my life, and has cost me the closest of family and friends.
I recognize, too, that some welcome new information with open arms and a willingness to change their minds. I do not know whether such a propensity for inquiry is natural, learned, or otherwise acquired. However, judging from the curiosity of children, I would bet that such inquisitiveness is inherent within us all, but gets turned off in most by way of institutionalized living.
So, where do we go from here?
I think we must begin to rethink the entire political system, for a humble, and humbling, start.
The idea of representative democracy has lost a key historical justification for its existence in the Internet Age. Proximity to the State House is no longer a precluding factor for those whose living is made elsewhere. Modern communications technology enables us to share information with those near and far.
[An Aside: Since I placed a site meter on the iNoodle.com blog this past Wednesday, the 23rd of November, I have had visitors from all around the US and UK, as well as from Malta, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Thailand, Slovakia and New Zealand who, for whatever reason, visited a 4-week-old personal blog.]
Our legislators are no longer responsive to the will of the people. On the contrary, they, like their executive-branch counterparts, deceive and manipulate their constituents (in name only). Since our representatives show no inclination of representing us, but rather serve only themselves and their corporate patrons, I suggest that we consider creative ways of doing without them.
This would solve a number of problems at once.
The citizenry would no longer be passive. They would be engaged in -- rather than locked out of -- the political system. Judging from my experience as an educator, where there is active engagement, education follows as a natural byproduct, as does happiness and self-esteem. Such an engaged citizenry is far more likely to appreciate a more engaged, more critical formal education as well. And, if we are to mature as a nation composed of mature individuals, then we must begin to legislate for ourselves and lose, once and for all, the shackles of paternalism.
These are my Sunday evening ideas.
Thank you for the discussion, TUC ...
Sean (iNoodle.com)
The Unknown Candidate said...
Yes, yes, yes! Sean, you are, of course, exactly correct in your assessment. The irony is that since the power grab of the Bush administration we need a critically thinking populace more than ever. In my silly, idealistic way, I just wish more educators would start assessing things on their own. It doesn't take more money from government for educators to start thinking of ways to solve the problems themselves--or at least to start discussing the problems. I get the feeling that most secondary school teachers, especially once they are securely tenured, could care less. I'm convinced that the methods we use to educate teachers to teach are a huge part of the problem--College level education programs, for the most part I would guess, resort to the same "test taking" mentality.
So I ask you--as someone involved in the field, someone who has had a somewhat non-traditional education (my daughter went to St. Johns in Santa Fe, so I know their curriculum well), someone who is aware of all the problems, how do we begin to change the system? (I will not accept "we can't" as an answer!)
Maybe it will take no less than a visionary leader--in government or in the field of education--to set things in motion -- if so, we may have a very, very, long wait. There don't seem to be any visionaries jumping at the chance.
Sean M. Madden said...
You've no doubt noticed, TUC, that we've come full circle, that you're asking my What is to be done? question.
Paradoxically, as you've just pointed out, the very thing which is needed (a critically educated citizenry ... and, I'm far from certain, by the way, that SJC provides the proper model given the Straussian grip on the College) to get us out of this sociopolitical dilemma will not be ushered in by those who stand to lose.
The ruling corporate-political elite -- who in most cases lack a critical education themselves, but far more importantly democratic aspirations -- will never provide the prerequisite for their own undoing, just as the slave-owners of yesteryear forbade an education for their human holdings.
Therefore, this process of a critical education must be carried forward by those who have somehow managed to see beyond what we have passively imbibed since childhood, and which the citizenry of the United States has imbibed since before the country's inception.
Note the response to Thomas Paine's return to the US after his imprisonment in France. In short, Paine truly believed in the liberal principles which he propounded and which were critically important in the lead up to the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, but which were not to be tolerated by the new ruling aristocracy, nor, indeed, by the American citizenry composed of Christian zealots.
Paine, who did so much to bring about American democracy, was too democratic for the new democratic nation. He would perhaps find himself even less popular today.
This phenomenon, I'm afraid, shall be the likely result of any revolution which is not based, at all levels, on a well-educated, participating citizenry.
As you know, I'm in search of a solution to this paradoxical situation in which we find ourselves. I'm not giving up either. Yet, the challenge is huge.
From my own personal experience, I have found, to my great dismay, that George Monbiot's motto atop his web site seems by and large the case:
"Tell people something they know already, and they will thank you for it. Tell them something new, and they will hate you for it."
Realizing this has been perhaps the greatest letdown of my life, and has cost me the closest of family and friends.
I recognize, too, that some welcome new information with open arms and a willingness to change their minds. I do not know whether such a propensity for inquiry is natural, learned, or otherwise acquired. However, judging from the curiosity of children, I would bet that such inquisitiveness is inherent within us all, but gets turned off in most by way of institutionalized living.
So, where do we go from here?
I think we must begin to rethink the entire political system, for a humble, and humbling, start.
The idea of representative democracy has lost a key historical justification for its existence in the Internet Age. Proximity to the State House is no longer a precluding factor for those whose living is made elsewhere. Modern communications technology enables us to share information with those near and far.
[An Aside: Since I placed a site meter on the iNoodle.com blog this past Wednesday, the 23rd of November, I have had visitors from all around the US and UK, as well as from Malta, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Thailand, Slovakia and New Zealand who, for whatever reason, visited a 4-week-old personal blog.]
Our legislators are no longer responsive to the will of the people. On the contrary, they, like their executive-branch counterparts, deceive and manipulate their constituents (in name only). Since our representatives show no inclination of representing us, but rather serve only themselves and their corporate patrons, I suggest that we consider creative ways of doing without them.
This would solve a number of problems at once.
The citizenry would no longer be passive. They would be engaged in -- rather than locked out of -- the political system. Judging from my experience as an educator, where there is active engagement, education follows as a natural byproduct, as does happiness and self-esteem. Such an engaged citizenry is far more likely to appreciate a more engaged, more critical formal education as well. And, if we are to mature as a nation composed of mature individuals, then we must begin to legislate for ourselves and lose, once and for all, the shackles of paternalism.
These are my Sunday evening ideas.
Thank you for the discussion, TUC ...
Sean (iNoodle.com)
posted by Sean M. Madden at
6:59 PM
)
2 Comments:
Just in ...
Add Mexico and Portugal to the recent list of visitors to iNoodle.com.
You can add the Philippines to your list too.
As an English educated immigrant to the United States in 1957, I could not believe the abysmal level of ignorance I encountered amongst High School students in Southern California.
I matriculated from Grammar School in England in 1950, leaving school at age 16, after 11 years of formal education. I found that 17-18 year old High School Seniors in Riverside, CA., were no more knowledgeable than I had been at 11-12 years old.
I later enlisted in the USAF, where my 11 years of education was not considered equivalent to a High School degree, so I was required to take a High School Equivalency Test, which I maxed out. So I was given a College Freshman test, which I also maxed out.
In fact, through twenty years of service I took many College level Tests and classes, all of which I found to be ridiculously easy, and no tougher than the courses I was taking at 15-16 years of age, in England.
My point, with all this laudatory egotism, is that in general, the European style of education is much superior to the USA's style.
The idea that you can learn, AND RETAIN, knowledge, by studying a subject for one or two semesters, then take Multiple Choice tests for a grade, and promptly forget everything for the rest of your academic years, is so much a part of the US educational system for many students, that they finish up as 'educated idiots'; which is a term I started using when I was required to teach them the basic elements of banking.
In general, I found that naturally intelligent High School students, were more capable of learning the basics of banking, than the graduates of schools like USC and UCLA, who were being trained as bank officers.
Then 20 years in the USAF, many spent as a Supervisor and trainor, reinforced my impression of the inadequacies of the US educational system.
Also, during that time, I had 3 different children going through US Schools, and US Military schools overseas. In general, the DoD schools overseas, were significantly better than the schools they attended in either Central California, Southern Arizona, Ohio, or Nevada.
Your point that this is deliberate policy on the part of the military-industrial complex is very interesting, and definitely would be worth some further analyses.
I look forward to more conversation between you and TUC.
Given that Tony Blair is now GWBs lapdog, I very much doubt that the standard of education in England now is as high as it was during my school years there, 1939-1950.
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