> Date: Sat, 4 May 1996 20:36:04 -0400 (EDT)
> From: "Benjamin E. Wagner" <bwagner@umd5.umd.edu>
>
> Ralph Niebuhr writes: (some stuff deleted)
> >Both the "not ready" statistics and the number of inmates will continue to
> >grow until a way is found to radicaliy transform a public school system
> >which utterly fails to awaken students' minds. This is the root of the
> >problem.
>
> I wish I was a kid again so I could go back to school. When I compare my
> education to what schools are providing today, I am envious. I could have
> learned so much more. Was I bored back then; of course. Would I be bored
> today; of course. But learning involves self-discipline and effort. The
> student who says school is boring tells me more about himself than about
> his school.
I am of the opinion that when a student says that is bored in
school, or worse bored when she or he is playing, I see more failure in
the whole system than in the kid. The whole system, to me, includes the
parents or adults at home, the churches, etc. As an educator (whaterever
that means!), I get the feeling at times that no body seems to care too
much about education. And those who seem to care, at times, seem to know
very little about what they are doing. It is like everybody talks about
the value of a good education, but no body really belileves in that.
Parents and students function under the notion that perfect
attendance is enough for a passing grade, for instance. Then there is a
bunch of specialists in education who believe and force others to accept
the notion that students are too young (regardless of level) to take
reposibility for their own learning or part of it, or to get too much
homework. School administrators see averything through the budget, and
learning has very little to do with that. K-12 is in the hands of schools
boards, groups of very nice people, but with very little knowledge about
how to deal with situation, or trying to resolve all the problems by
themselves without getting various opinions from different sides. These
are just few examples of what I see as barriers to learning...
I do believe that, if we tried to make schools in general into
learning organizations, then learning will return to schools.
> >Teach students how to learn and research, and inspire them with a vision,
> >and you will not be able to stop them. This is exactly what we are trying
> >to do with our grown-up organizations. One of our highest priorities in
> >this process should be to reach out and do whatever it takes to transform
> >our educational system into a true "Learning Organization."
>
> I wonder if children with such a short grasp of the future and a strong
> urge for immediate gratification would respond as well as adults to a vision.
> >From what I have read, it is not easy to get adults to respond to a vision.
When students are around adults with no vision, or adults who are
consuming as much as they can today, then it is very hard for these
students to understand vision.
> >Privatization might be a good first step. At the very least it would
> >quickly flatten out the suffocating layers of administrative parasites
> >that currently weigh down our public education system.
>
> The more I work with administrators, the more I respect them for their
> dedication to improving the lives of children. School systems are local
> bureaucracies, some are heavier than others. They do not weigh the system
> down nearly as much as our litigious society and recent court decisions.
> Privatization might avoid some of the litigation because of the use of
> contracts, but would you want your child at the mercy of a bottom line?
Teachers, administrators, parents, etc. should work hard not only
to teach and prove the value of a good education to the students, but also
--"Dr. Ivan Blanco" <BLANCO@BU4090.BARRY.EDU>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>