Saturday, August 7, 2010

An educated look at education

From valedictorian Erica Goldson during the graduation ceremony at Coxsackie-Athens High School on June 25, 2010:

There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, “If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, ” Ten years . .” The student then said, “But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast — How long then?” Replied the Master, “Well, twenty years.” “But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?” asked the student. ” Thirty years,” replied the Master. “But, I do not understand,” said the disappointed student. “At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?” ?Replied the Master, “When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path.”

This is the dilemma I’ve faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.

Some of you may be thinking, “Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn’t you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.

I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system.

Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme.

While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared.

Read the rest

h/t Militant Libertarian

6 comments:

  1. Son of a gun, I just saw your comment and came by to look at you. A few of my sons are career military and a couple trainers. One is the SME at the EOD school at Eglin.

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  2. You are wrong about me, gay folks and not inferior, just different. I do not discrimate, but this judge clearly should have recused himself.

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  3. Sarge...that is good to hear..but why wouldn't straight Judge be have just as much of a conflict of interest?

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  4. AP, the Air Force EOD guys I ran across in Iraq were top notch professionals! And Eglin's a pretty sweet duty assignment...but that's par for the course with the Air Force.

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  5. Here we are in the 21st century with a late 19th century school system.

    I believe school is too important to be left to the government. Privatize it all, and we'll have the best educated thinkers on the planet within one generation.

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  6. I agree. And while charter and homeschooling can fill some gaps, it isn't a refined art, nor free of some scary fundamentalist elements.

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