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Monday, January 28, 2013

The American't Dream

I'm a big fan of Suli Breaks, a modern British poet, who composes thoughtful and artful videos. You can check him out at his website. Here's his latest:



I think he makes some great points about passion and the need to follow it. One of the things I notice in working with young people is a lack of passion. I don't think it's entirely their fault. Certainly our current system of education has to take some of the blame. And our vapid American culture which is so wrapped up in non-sense, and has so many young people glued to TV, their phones, and Facebook should take some of the blame.

Consider for a moment, what we do to children as a society: at a relatively young age (6 or so), we put them in "school". This supposedly educational experience mostly consists of spending the next 8 years sitting in a desk, memorizing "right" answers to prescribed questions, and then parroting them back on tests. Then as students enter high school, we claim that the "stakes are higher", because colleges will examine their high school transcripts, and their ACT scores, etc. In high school, much of the same continues to happen: students sit in desks, trying to be quiet, while teachers try to fill their heads with what they "need to know" to pass state exams and get into good colleges.

When in those years of schooling are we teaching students to criticize? When are we teaching them to think independently? When are we helping them to find their unique voices? When are we helping them learn to be creative? When are we teaching them how to be adaptive in an ever changing world? The list goes on. But it should be no surprise that our educational system is turning out young people without passion or creativity, who, as Suli says, have a "JOB" and not a career.

But at the end of the day, each of us can only control ourselves. And we're each ultimately responsible for ourselves and our own choices. This is essentially why I became a teacher, because I want to help students discover themselves and their abilities and their passions. I'd like for the next generation that we turn out to have a few students who are willing to challenge the status quo and pursue what they value. That, to me, seems to be the most important thing we can help students with: discovering themselves.

So, are you pursuing your dream? Because if you don't, someone else will hire you to help build theirs.

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