July 7, 2009
Dear clusterflock
In President Obama’s weekly video message for this past Independence Day weekend he discussed our current problems in the context of those faced by earlier generations.
And part of that, of course, was drumming up support for his energy, health care, and education proposals. [...]
However, the actual plans for fixing these three systems, at least the ones currently working their way through Congress, are far less encouraging than the president’s rhetoric. [...]
Merit pay for teachers (likely based on student test scores), promoting charter schools, and tweaking No Child Left Behind does nothing to address the basic structural problems of the American education system.
Instead of just tweaking what we already have, the change process needs to start with a serious national discussion on the purpose of school today (not what you remember from 10, 20, 30 years ago) as well as what it means to be well-educated.
So now I’m curious, what does it mean to you (my beloved, intelligent flockers) to be well-educated?
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to be unencumbered by religious or political ideology; to be open to the nuances of reality, to explore and learn, to be articulate and thoughtful, to experience life from the perspective of uncovering its richness with the intent that one might know what its purpose is without ornament.
One thing that surprises me about my education, when I look back, is how many years it took for me to hear the words “critical thinking.” I was a a sophomore in High School before anybody ever suggested being skeptical was a good thing.
to recognize that every view is a view at a point; to understand that you will never be without a point of view (e.g.); to have an historical sense of what has happened and why (as best as we can); to know what it means to know; to see that old is not foolish or the new, wise (and vice versa).
education has little to do with trade and everything to do with living.
A fine question, Kelsey, and wonderful observations made in all of the comments. Seems to me the older I get the less sure I am about how to answer this. I guess I would say that a good education is one that doesn’t kill what’s already good in a person, and that opens one to a rich freedom from the impulse to exclude the other. A closely associated question might be: What is the source of real confidence?
To be able to question–you bet. To see the value of opinions and viewpoints one doesn’t share. To seek them out. To be open to reality. To read and ponder fine thought from other ages and other cultures.
But I think we have to realize that many people are action-oriented and not thought-oriented. Not that they can’t think, but that they don’t enjoy or see the value of rumination. Give them a problem to solve, and they’re on it. But don’t ask them to ponder the meaning of reality. It just doesn’t register as a concern: it’s right there in front of you. And those of us who like to think need to value those who don’t. I’m afraid it may sound like I’m suggesting a stratified society, but that’s true only if one assumes that those who think get to make all the decisions and hold all the power in benefit only to themselves.
The biggest problem I see in American education is rooted deeply into what is at the most primal level of “Americanness”–laissez-faire capitalism; “The business of America is business;” “What’s good for GM is good for America;” etc. We have allowed ourselves to be sold a bill of goods, that the only true value of America is to let people find ways of making money off other people. We can’t reform education as long as it is seen simply as a cog in producing servants of capitalism. The American dream can’t include first-rate education as long as the dream is physical: 2-car garage; 3 br/2ba; surroundsound TV.
I told Danny once, when he’d posed a question something like, “How did we get to be so lucky, to live as we do? (As an openly gay couple, not that that is such a rarity these days,. Stories abound.) “We live in a rarified atmosphere. The places where we work and “play” have had gay folks working in the field for decades.” (Nursing, art, music, visual merchandising, hair, etc.) Also, largely the folks we hang out with are educated.
We are largely unencumbered by fears of being accosted for being who we are. Our own educations figure into this. And our associations by virtue of them. My own, merely a BS in Marketing. *god, help me, for how that may sound.* Danny’s, a BSBA (business administration, and one credit shy of a minor in Japanese), and MBA from Rockhurst (here in KC) and a MSOD (masters of science in Organizational Development) from American University in DC. He has started, a couple times, his Phd and he’s getting ready to light that fire again.
I say that to say this: The air gets thinner the higher the level of education and the folks one can converse with comfortably in situations going either strata.(?)
And one finds oneself, sometimes, exactly where one wants/needs to be. Like here, now.
Ya know, I read the question, and my brain said, It means the person reads a lot. And then I said (to myself), “No, that’s not nearly enough information.”
But the more I think about it, the more I think that, while it does have its limits, that comes very close to encapsulating my whole answer to the question.
In some circles, to be well-educated is to be socially adept … this means knowing which utensil to use, no matter the number of courses, types of courses or guests invited…and the rule of thumb is to work your way from the outside in.
Our snooty friend, Dennis, has been known to serve 7 courses or more … and to have the attending staff remove utensils left un-used which were to have been used for a particular course, in addition to removing the mis-used utensil … all in front of the others in attendance.
What a pretentious twat he is.
In my mind, to be well-educated is to be kind.
I also like Danny’s definition.
Interesting combination of thoughts in your last two sentences, Danny.
Danny said twat.
I didn’t mean to not answer this! Just got a little distracted.
It may be a little idealized, and therefore naïve, but before I read Renner’s reply I asked myself what we’re working toward. I can’t knit anything without having an idea of what I want to create. I don’t require an exact pattern, but I need to see examples of stitches so I can pull together my own creation. When I was a kid, the only times I hated schooling were the moments when why I was learning something were left opaque. The rest of the time, my teachers succeeded in making math fun, history thought-provoking, or science awe-inspiring. I seriously believe in a strong elementary education — if we aren’t proving to kids why learning is important before middle school, we’re screwed. And here’s my point: I think state-mandated curriculum changes and accountability testing has diluted the ability, the creativity of teachers to inspire kids. This, in turn, has led to whole generations of people who were taught the right skills without any ability to see the greater picture. That’s like me knowing how to knit and purl without any concept of a scarf or sweater.
So I would define ‘well-educated’ as someone who can see beyond the particular skills taught to him, someone who questions why these skills and not others. Cooks who don’t need a recipe or musicians who don’t need theory. Writers who push the limits of readers or doctors who cut corners to save lives. It’s important to learn the basics, but I’d like to see more inventors.
Then again, after I read Renner’s reply… I’ve been stuck wondering how I might define a well-educated unthinking person. Because I believe he’s right — there are thinkers and then there are doers.
I just came across this statement by Peter Hyman, and it’s an inadvertent answer to this question:
Exactly.
I think I’ve posted this before, but it’s a goodie: