7/6 History of Education, Khan: The One World Schoolhouse Part 2: The Broken Model and Short History of American School
I believe that education for all is the greatest invention of humankind. It genuinely gives me goosebumps when I think about this extraordinary idea that all children, regardless of race or class or gender or immigration status, should be placed in school to learn. Especially when we consider that not long ago these same children would be working in deadly factories and fields, where, for better or worse, they were destined to repeat the lives of their parents. We made a decision, as a country and as a society, that we wanted better for these children and this was our idea of better.
Of course, I am not so naive to believe that this was all perfect and completely equitable and without great benefit to those who created it. As the article “The One World Schoolhouse” stated, there was a want to assimilate all the new immigrants to America. We wanted more people to speak English, conduct business, and hold our same values. We also wanted to teach immigrants about democracy so that it could continue to prosper. While I do not believe that others must assimilate to become true Americans, I do find great value in teaching others about our democracy. Additionally, schools by the Prussian design were meant to teach children to be subservient so they may be good factory workers and professionals. Both the article and the video “Short History of Public Schooling” highlighted how this crushes the imagination of children. It made me think of the TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson titled “Does Education Kill Imagination?”. Robinson states that we are “progressively educated from the waist up” meaning that we are only utilizing our hands to write and our minds to memorize. Our system has forgotten that we have legs to run and stomachs to carry our laughs. All three are right. Our education does not test for creativity nor does it make room for it during the school day. Even I would cut out the fun in favor of the test prep because that is what I was told was necessary. It’s a shame and it needs to change.
I was drawn to several quotes throughout “The One World Schoolhouse”. The first was “[Standardized education] evolved along a certain pathway; other pathways were also possible” (62). Our education system is a choice that we made one day long ago and a choice to continue every year. We could have done something different, we could have done nothing at all, but the system we have is not the system we must die with. The author continues to say that “education is an invention, a work in progress” (65) again reinforcing that we can make a new choice. Unfortunately, we cannot seem to find consensus on what that is. This article also spoke about how intertwined politics is with education. There are hot topics about what should and should not be taught in schools, what is age appropriate and what is never appropriate. It varies on political lines, state lines, and even within families. I believe the question must become, who decides what is taught and when and by who? Will it be the state? The federal government? Independent districts? Or even the teacher? Are there standards to abide by or a set curriculum for everyone? Who decides what is taught will hold all the power and it is scary trying to find the right leader.
I am reminded of what I learned about early education in Denmark. The country follows six core tenets which are measured by nine ideals. This is what every early educator must follow, but it gets no more specific than that. So, each child learns something entirely different but all the same values are conveyed. Is this the right way to educate? Is this too flexible? Or is it still too rigid? Who gets to decide? Education is filled with so many questions, questions that make me excited to be an educator.
All of this to say, I am a romantic when it comes to K-12 education. I know there is so much work to be done but the mere fact that it exists brings me such joy and such hope. I hope to be a part of these future changes because I strongly believe children are more than their test score or their bell schedule. I also believe that teachers are more than the curriculum their district purchases. I hope for better and, in a way, I hope for exactly this.
