Just Sharing, Great Interview with John Taylor Gatto. (Centers around education)
I really want to share this article with everyone.
'I'm a Saboteur.'
Free & Excellent education for every person on the planet would do more good than every social program ever conceived combined and multiplied by infinity.
Education is one of those topics that truly strikes a cord with me. I think it's because I was on the receiving end of a good school system when I was really young (upstate New York), and then witnessed an abysmal one as a teenager (Florida).
When I was in elementary school (3rd grade if I remember correctly) my teacher discovered that I was reading below my grade level. My parents were contacted, and told that I was had a problem. The teacher took me out of the regular class during "English" time, and put me in a small group with other children that were also reading below their grade level. The smaller group allowed for each student to receive closer attention. By the end of the school year I was exceeding the reading level of my grade.
My family moved to Florida when I was in 5th grade. (I don't want to embarrass anyone, so I won't mention any names.) By time I reached high school someone I know was having difficulty in school. There were no phone calls from the teacher to discuss why the student was doing so poorly, and when a parent did inquire they were given no suggestions. The teacher was actually surprised the parent wasn't accusing the teacher of not grading the student properly.
(Side Note - my Senior English class, here in Florida, had 55 students in it. One student had their desk in the doorway, and another in the hall way. Oh, and we had to stop having pep rallies because there were too many knife fights. - I went to a really bad high school in South Florida. Not every district or school is that bad. I currently live in an area where you can walk to "A" elementary, middle, and high school(s).)
The parents of the child had to pay for a private tutor outside of the school system. The "child" I'm referring to had a good parent who cared about their future and had the financial means to pay for a private tutor. The tutoring eventually paid off, as the child eventually went to college, did well, and is now a teacher.
A good teacher recognized a deficiency I had, and was able to use the tools at her disposal (free to my parents) to fix the problem. I became an avid reader, and to this day I can't sit still without reading articles on the web, a magazine, or a book. By all modern day measures I'm doing well for myself. I graduated college and at 27 I am the manager of a 14-person web development team. (That's the day job folks!)
Every time I hear people say that poor people are poor because they are lazy or stupid I get sad. I think to myself, if I wasn't in a good school system at the right time, and/or nobody tried to help me improve my reading, where would I be? I wouldn't have the same capacity for learning if I was struggling to read. My ability to read and comprehend has been paramount to my personal success. I just needed the right environment to succeed.
What would have happened to, "the child", if their parents didn't have the financial means to get them private tutoring? (The tutoring lasted for years.)
The poor most often have the double whammy of horrific schools and uneducated parents (and some flat-out useless parents, you know the ones that can afford cable TV and beer, but not a descent meal for their kids).
I get the feeling that so few people realize that a portion of their current situation can be contributed to the environment they grew up in. I strongly believe that a child's school is a HUGE part of their environment. The "education" process we're all put through lasts until we're at least 18 years old.
I want to see us stop treating school like a holding bin, and start viewing it as the opportunity to improve the society we're living in.
'I'm a Saboteur.'
Free & Excellent education for every person on the planet would do more good than every social program ever conceived combined and multiplied by infinity.
Education is one of those topics that truly strikes a cord with me. I think it's because I was on the receiving end of a good school system when I was really young (upstate New York), and then witnessed an abysmal one as a teenager (Florida).
When I was in elementary school (3rd grade if I remember correctly) my teacher discovered that I was reading below my grade level. My parents were contacted, and told that I was had a problem. The teacher took me out of the regular class during "English" time, and put me in a small group with other children that were also reading below their grade level. The smaller group allowed for each student to receive closer attention. By the end of the school year I was exceeding the reading level of my grade.
My family moved to Florida when I was in 5th grade. (I don't want to embarrass anyone, so I won't mention any names.) By time I reached high school someone I know was having difficulty in school. There were no phone calls from the teacher to discuss why the student was doing so poorly, and when a parent did inquire they were given no suggestions. The teacher was actually surprised the parent wasn't accusing the teacher of not grading the student properly.
(Side Note - my Senior English class, here in Florida, had 55 students in it. One student had their desk in the doorway, and another in the hall way. Oh, and we had to stop having pep rallies because there were too many knife fights. - I went to a really bad high school in South Florida. Not every district or school is that bad. I currently live in an area where you can walk to "A" elementary, middle, and high school(s).)
The parents of the child had to pay for a private tutor outside of the school system. The "child" I'm referring to had a good parent who cared about their future and had the financial means to pay for a private tutor. The tutoring eventually paid off, as the child eventually went to college, did well, and is now a teacher.
A good teacher recognized a deficiency I had, and was able to use the tools at her disposal (free to my parents) to fix the problem. I became an avid reader, and to this day I can't sit still without reading articles on the web, a magazine, or a book. By all modern day measures I'm doing well for myself. I graduated college and at 27 I am the manager of a 14-person web development team. (That's the day job folks!)
Every time I hear people say that poor people are poor because they are lazy or stupid I get sad. I think to myself, if I wasn't in a good school system at the right time, and/or nobody tried to help me improve my reading, where would I be? I wouldn't have the same capacity for learning if I was struggling to read. My ability to read and comprehend has been paramount to my personal success. I just needed the right environment to succeed.
What would have happened to, "the child", if their parents didn't have the financial means to get them private tutoring? (The tutoring lasted for years.)
The poor most often have the double whammy of horrific schools and uneducated parents (and some flat-out useless parents, you know the ones that can afford cable TV and beer, but not a descent meal for their kids).
I get the feeling that so few people realize that a portion of their current situation can be contributed to the environment they grew up in. I strongly believe that a child's school is a HUGE part of their environment. The "education" process we're all put through lasts until we're at least 18 years old.
I want to see us stop treating school like a holding bin, and start viewing it as the opportunity to improve the society we're living in.
posted by Michael Sica at
9:55 PM
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