The Seeds of a New System of Education
I think they make a great point in the beginning by stating the fact that school system's structure have remained fairly constant over the last ninety years, but society has definitely not. Society is making changes daily, so think of how many changes have been made in the last ninety years! That raises a great point that how can the world always be changing, but schools not? Don't schools need to be in the same place and at the same level as the real world? You would think so.
This chapter focuses on the "the seeds" of the new education system that can be seen by the growth and development of home schooling, workplace learning, distance education, adult education, learning centers, educational television and videos, computer-based learning software, technical certifications, and Internet cafes. Wow! I didn't even know some of those systems existed! I found it very interesting to hear about each system in more detail. The rate at which these systems is growing is incredible and even a little scary for a future teacher to hear!
The section I found the most interesting was the Home Schooling reading. I've always been very interested in the home schooling effects since I have little cousins who are all home schooled. In the chapter it discusses how many parents choose this was of education for moral reasons. I believe that is the biggest reason that my cousins are also home schooled. The statistics were crazy! "The number of children being home schooled has increased by 29% in the last four years!" "2.5% of two-parent families engage in home schooling." And the most amazing one, "children that are home schooled at home score significantly better on standardized tests in every subject area." Every subject area, now that is not luck. I believe it though. My cousins are very bright children. Some may say that by being home schooled you do not learn the social skills that are crucial for life. I was once a true believer in that. My cousins, however, proved me wrong. They are very beautiful, social, outgoing, fun children that know just as much about the outside world (if not more!) as anyone. Now I still have doubts about home schooling because I feel some of the universal schooling experience are so important, but I have many less doubts. Another part I found interesting in this section was that is was said that most children home schooled were form conservative backgrounds. I learned though that there are actually two large associations of home schoolers, one conservative and one liberal. A was introduced to a new thought when this section talked about how parents who home school usually take a much different approach as an educator then as a school teacher. "Teachers view themselves as experts, whose role is to convey their knowledge to students." Whereas parents are much more natural educators and puts more responsibility on the child. Because of this home schooled kids learn to figure things out on their own. I never thought of home schooling in this way, but after being introduced to these ideas I now want to be a slightly different teacher. I want to learn with my students. I want them to know that we are in this together and I don't have all the answers. I can learn as much from them as they can learn from me (if not more).
Another section I found in intriguing was the Educational Television and Videos. I agree that television has had a empowering effect on revealing adult secrets to children and turning education into entertainment. Education should be fun, but the fundamentals of learning should always still be in tact. I had one of those parents who forbade me from watching certain shows. I wasn't allowed to watch Rugrats because my mom felt the characters were too sassy. I was never allowed to watch MTV because she felt the programs were too adult, racy, and worldly for me. I never understood it before, but as I have gotten older I'm starting to. I feel I will be more lenient with my children and what they watch, however, I agree that television can have a tremendous effect on young children. The text summed it up pretty well, "kids are learning about drugs, violence, incest, adultery and so on from television, which is leading to the disappearance of childhood." As a teacher someday I hope we can incorporate the television at times but I want to be careful of what I show.
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