So I'm currently working on an essay (which might turn out to be very, very long) about an issue that I think has been overlooked in regards to education. I want to make it clear that I have enormous respect for educators. They do their jobs and (most of the time) they do them extremely well. However I have a major beef with the American educational system. The recent news of the two 11-year-olds who committed suicide because of homophobic taunts has pushed me to this point now where I am quite frustrated and in trying to organize my thoughts I've come up with quite a few ideas.
"What does this have to do with sexism?" you may ask. Well it has a lot to do with sexism, as well as racism, classism and various other -isms. There are major, major issues with our schools the way they are now. For example: it's no secret that some schools get more funding than others due to the way the system is set up, and this is a problem. Various forms of discrimination still pervade in our schools, as the cases of the 11-year-olds demonstrate. But there's more to it even than that. This has to do with the very moral foundations on which America was built. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, "...if we think [the people] not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion." I am proposing not that kids should be taught what to think. I am proposing that kids should be taught TO think. Think about each other, think about consequences, think about everything they're taught, instead of just learning it. Think about the meaning of truth and justice and compassion.
From my experience and in my humble opinion, our kids are not being taught the basic tenets of American citizenship, that is, HONESTY, ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPECT, COMPASSION, EQUALITY, and RULE OF LAW. We teach our children work hard and "get ahead", in competitive environments which harbor dishonesty and an us-vs.-them mentality. Those for whom the system doesn't work are denigrated; those for whom it does are rewarded with that great American promise of opportunity.
What I want to ask my fellow feminists, American or not, how hasthe system worked for you? How has your education shaped your values? How (if at all) has it changed the way you view your country and your citizenship? Do you feel that your experiences with public education have helped you to become a better person?
Feel free to answer just one, none, or all of the above questions if you'd like. The main question I will be asking in my essay is, "What is the role education must play in a democracy and are our needs being met by the current system?" I'm still in the beginning stages of fleshing out my argument (still I haven't touched the tip of the iceberg here... this is gonna be a long one >.<), but I'm leaning toward "no" in response to the second half of the query. Let me know your thoughts on this. Thanks!
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"HONESTY, ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPECT, COMPASSION, EQUALITY, and RULE OF LAW." are great things.
But are they the "basic tenets of American citizenship"?
NO.
America is a country that was built on land stolen from American Indians at gunpoint, and developed by kidnapped African slaves and European indentured servants.
It grew to be the greatest imperial power the world has ever known, and enriched itself through two world wars and numerous regional wars.
We have the lifestyle we have because the corporate rulers of America plunder and exploit 2/3rds of the known world.
And there wasn't very much "HONESTY, ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPECT, COMPASSION, EQUALITY, and RULE OF LAW" involved in any of that.
America's schools reproduce the inequality that is the backbone of American society.
Some schools serve the children of the rich (and unusually smart or well connected middle class children) to prepare them to be the future rulers of this country and it's empire.
Some schools serve the children of the middle class (and unusually smart or unusually well connected White and Asian American working class children) to prepare them to be the next generation of professionals and executives who administer America on behalf of the rulers.
Some schools serve the children of the better off and more stably employed (and disproportionately White) sections of the working class - and they prepare those kids to be the next generation of workers with steady jobs.
And at the very bottom, some schools serve as holding pens for the children of the poorest (and disproportionately African American and Latino) sections of the working class - these schools serve as holding pens to keep these kids off the street until they are 16, and give them just enough education to make them able to function as armed forces enlisted personnel and/or prisoners in America's huge network of correctional facilities.
Again, not a whole lot of "HONESTY, ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPECT, COMPASSION, EQUALITY, and RULE OF LAW" in any of that.
As for me, my dad was White and had a steady job, so I got a slightly better education than most African American kids get - helped along by the fact that my mom taught me how to read before I even saw the inside of a public school, and my parents had lots of books at home and took me to the library every week (otherwise I would have come to hate reading - the schools that serve my population segment tend to do an awesome job of making kids from my demographic learn to loathe books).
So, should we teach HONESTY, ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPECT, COMPASSION, EQUALITY, and RULE OF LAW?
Hell yeah!
But don't even TRY to pretend that any of that has anything to do with "Americanism"!!!!
I agree with what you are saying. I am well aware of our history of corruption and greed. One of my arguments is that we must not sugar-coat these atrocities in our schools, but own up to them and teach our children that although we can't make it right, we can attempt to do our best for the future.
The qualities I mentioned? Well, these are the things that I was taught about America and what it's SUPPOSED to mean. I agree with everything you're saying but I believe the goal of progressivism is to make progress. In my essay (and currently with this research) I wish to flesh out these problems (which I believe has a lot to do with the way we're educating the masses) and try to address a solution. It's proving to be more difficult than I thought at first. :)
Thank you though, for your passion and your thoughts.
Well, I went to a private all girls school - which as far as the education side of things was great (stemmed on by my parents love of encouraging me to ask questions) and a few good teachers who were really supportive and brought out some of the best intellectual traits in me, but as far as the social side goes, it fucking sucked. I cut my hair short and dyed it black when I was 12 so for most of high school I was known as the goth lesbian. Yeah I think you can probably tell where I'm going with that.
The school I went to was also Anglican and so they tried to instill "good Christian values" in us, but the school ethos was to be "confident, competent and caring" which I did take to heart. The good Christian values (seriously, wtf is up with Australians saying shit like that atm, and for the last few years all of a sudden?) not so much.
I hope that answered your question.
Thank you for your contribution :)
First of all, I'm Canadian, so my educational experience might be a little different from some others on here. I also had twelve years of Catholic school, which left me with a sour taste and a disdain for organized religion. We were encouraged to ask questions in history, math, and science classes, but in religion class, questions were not permitted. At the age of eight, Catholic school swimming lessons consisted of lining children along the deep end of the pool, pushing them in, and telling them to start swimming (my first and only swimming lesson).
Three university degrees (feminist studies, nutrition, and biochemistry) taught me how to find answers for myself; unfortunately, these answers told me that most of what I learned in university was not true. Rather, like Catholic school, it fulfills someone else's agenda.
My view on education is that all it really does is manufacture robots to fit the mold of a political system controlled by very few people. Ideally, parents should be instilling value systems in their children; however, most believe this is what schools and churches are for.
"At the age of eight, Catholic school swimming lessons consisted of lining children along the deep end of the pool, pushing them in, and telling them to start swimming (my first and only swimming lesson)."
Funny, that's exactly how the New York City Board of Education "taught" swimming in the early 1980's (and that was only in the handful of schools that even had a swimming pool)!
A wonderfully dangerous and reckless "teaching" technique if ever their was one.
I refused to jump into a deep pool of water with no training - and got sent to the school drug addiction councilor because I was "crazy" enough to protect my own personal safety!
Incidentally, the only school I ever liked or found useful was the vocational school run by the New York City District Council of Carpenters - that's where I learned how to be a carpenter, and a union representative.
Every other school I attended - PS 104, Brian Piccolo Junior High School, Far Rockaway High School and City College of New York - basically sucked.
I refused to jump in too, so I got pushed in. We had a principal who used to stand in the entrance hall with a three foot long strap every time the kids were coming in from recess, and he wasn't shy about using it.
I ignore my public education.
Seriously. Pretty much everything I have learned has been outside of school, and when we finally got to the topic in school, it was taught too slowly or without much detail. I read, research, inquire, and learn on my own time, because that's the only way I'm going to learn anything at all.
Actually, I want to move to the UK after university because my education has made me believe the US is full of idiots. Hopefully university is better?
This is a very common rant of mine- I loathe my public school system.