Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Social Classes
Watched an episode of 30 Days where Morgan and his fiance tried to live on minimum wage for a month which brings up issue of social classes in the United States. It struck a chord with me considering I come from an impoverished family. It brings to light the difficulties of that people struggling to make a living have to deal with. It's hard to put into words what I think of the classes that do exist because I've not lived the life of someone in each different class. I do however despise how easily people are grouped into these classes and the struggle it is for anyone to try and claw their way up the ladder from poor and/or homeless to successful and well off. Depending on where you come from, how you grew up, and several other factors you are grouped with others and are stuck in that position until you make an effort to try and elevate yourself out of it.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Current Education.
So my views on the current education system are biased to say the least. I have been a victim of the status quo as far back as I can remember. The system today is over a hundred years old and is based on children progressing through "stages" of education. You go to different schools depending on which stage you are in and you are grouped by your age, not abilities. I always felt hindered progressing through school because everyone around me thought on a level much lower than that of my own, or at least it felt that way.
As students progress through school they are taught a basic curriculum that the leaders of said education system deem appropriate. Early on this is not much of an issue. Every child should learn to read and write in at least their native language, and be able to do simple mathematics. However, as the children reach the next stage of school they are given an arbitrary "freedom" to start looking at which path to a career they want to take. Once they make up their minds, they are sequestered with other children of similar pathways and then they are once again shuffled through in groups. From an early age, students are taught that school is a necessity in order to secure a job in the future and live a normal life. While learning and growing are always something that individuals should strive for not every person who went on to become successful and live a nice life had to go through the rigors of school.
Once students reach the college level they have been programmed by their school systems to learn a specific way, test a specific way, and think a specific way; at the college level their minds are overwhelmed by the new possibilities. And yet, even in college we are limited. The heads of the education system yet again have laid down guidelines and a structure to the curriculum for every career path you choose, including what most people identify as "general education." This gen ed requirement of every student is often times seen as a way to stifle the individuals learning of their particular major. As with myself, I fail to see the relevance in understanding the deeper meaning behind theater, film, dance, or music as a requirement to being a physicist.
This calls attention to the idea that maybe the structure upon which we are so familiarized is less of a foundation and more of a interference. Not everyone learns in the same way, and not everyone needs to know the same things to progress in life. We are groomed and tailored to receive a classical education even though the classical area has come and gone. In this modern age we need new ways of thinking. New ways of presenting information, and news ways for students to learn. Education is a right of every human, and learning should be for the sake of learning, not as a means to an end. Knowledge is precious and should be treated as such.
As students progress through school they are taught a basic curriculum that the leaders of said education system deem appropriate. Early on this is not much of an issue. Every child should learn to read and write in at least their native language, and be able to do simple mathematics. However, as the children reach the next stage of school they are given an arbitrary "freedom" to start looking at which path to a career they want to take. Once they make up their minds, they are sequestered with other children of similar pathways and then they are once again shuffled through in groups. From an early age, students are taught that school is a necessity in order to secure a job in the future and live a normal life. While learning and growing are always something that individuals should strive for not every person who went on to become successful and live a nice life had to go through the rigors of school.
Once students reach the college level they have been programmed by their school systems to learn a specific way, test a specific way, and think a specific way; at the college level their minds are overwhelmed by the new possibilities. And yet, even in college we are limited. The heads of the education system yet again have laid down guidelines and a structure to the curriculum for every career path you choose, including what most people identify as "general education." This gen ed requirement of every student is often times seen as a way to stifle the individuals learning of their particular major. As with myself, I fail to see the relevance in understanding the deeper meaning behind theater, film, dance, or music as a requirement to being a physicist.
This calls attention to the idea that maybe the structure upon which we are so familiarized is less of a foundation and more of a interference. Not everyone learns in the same way, and not everyone needs to know the same things to progress in life. We are groomed and tailored to receive a classical education even though the classical area has come and gone. In this modern age we need new ways of thinking. New ways of presenting information, and news ways for students to learn. Education is a right of every human, and learning should be for the sake of learning, not as a means to an end. Knowledge is precious and should be treated as such.
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