We had a discussion on education once very early in the semester. I started the discussion rather skeptical of it all - I didn't really think I had a lot to contribute. I had good grades, I had fun in school and I took classes I either liked or had to take, that's all. But the discussion went really well and I appreciated all the different perspectives everyone else had to offer. A lot of people were frustrated because grades never really accurately reflected their learning and others loved that they always had the opportunity to learn what they wanted.
I jotted some notes down in my notebook in response to the questions they asked to start the discussion and I'm gonna blog them down here.
My definition of education - gaining and sharing knowledge through one's own discoveries or thorugh the guidance of another mentor/teacher. Education is the accumulation of skills and tools useful for your daily life and future careers. But is education truly an enabler??
Do you only learn through education?
Is all learning considered to be education?
Is education a connection to the wealth of knowledge out there?
What's my educational experience been?
Traditional, public elementary, middle and high school. Private musical education but much of my education was at home and church - I taught myself math, english, reading comprehension and whatnot with workbooks and booklets. Summer camps I attended were supposed to be taught on a " college level" and I got more learning-by-doing in a Civic Leadership Institute program.
Perhaps in my human rights class - the mock trials and the tabling really showed me a proactive education. I've found some educational spaces frustrating when they try to change the little things to make you think the content has become cooler or more meaningful. Things I don't find useful - calculus, some sciences, sociology (because of the teacher) and simply dull experiments.
When do you learn about things that matter?
Is formal education sometimes necessary? I meet a lot of people who like formal education, love to learn but don't want to see it as a means to a career.
Am I really oppressed about my education and do I feel angry about it?
Ooh I'm the man in the cave like Plato says....
Random thoughts:
Education is most valuable if you seek answers to your own questions - then you have the biggest investment in your education.
Education also depends a lot on what your parents want for you - I love my dad for proving that you do what is best for others, not what's best for you.
Is alternative education really alternative education?? It's scary because you have to find what you're really interested in without people telling you what to learn.
Alternative and traditional education doesn't have to be black and white. It could even limit the opportunities within alternative education to completely reject the traditional.
I'm not studying to be something. I'm studying to be someone.
----
What do you think education means?
Have you felt ownership over your education?
How much do you think grades have mattered in your education?
No comments:
Post a Comment