Problems of Educators

Today I have been reading the book Living Cheaply With Style by Ernest Callenbach. It is quite the entertaining book-full of interesting ideas and insights (not all are practical and I don't know that all are quite legal either). I have only read about 2/3 of it but there were a few interesting things that got me thinking. To start with, in his introduction he talks about The Green Triangle which is composed of environment, health, and money. He argues that if you make a beneficial change to one area you will then in turn positively impact the other two areas. It made me feel validated in my thought from my first blog posting that to me the environment, health, personal finances, education, and spirituality are all interconnected. SO I suppose that in my book instead of a green triangle, it would be a green pentagon. But if you think about it, generally if you do change one aspect of your life, it will influence all the other realms of your life as well. Which gets me into my primary topic.

Later on in his book, he also discussed the fact that so much of our educational system is about abstract thought taught in impractical manners instead of through integrated subjects or hands-on material. As an educator, I would have to agree that our educational system does not do as well as it should and could, however I also feel that it does the best that it can under the given policies, regulations, and budgets that it has currently. Within educational contexts, there are a variety of opinions about what the school system should be teaching children and it depends on who is running the government as to which applications we focus on. Personally, I also believe that the dissolution of the family subsystem has created catastrophic issues that educators have to deal with on a daily basis. Students come from a variety of families that hold a diverse array of philosophies. Therefore different parents will become involved, both positively and negatively, for different reasons. Some parents complain about minute issues, while other parents feel that their children should have a variety of freedoms. It becomes a constant battle within the classroom and school administrators are pressured on multiple sides.

I have also noticed that students (at least within the high schools were I have worked) have almost no sense of delayed gratification. I don't quite understand why this is but educators are forever dealing with issues that ten years ago were never a problem. If I never saw another MP3 player or cellphone in the hands of a teenager I think I might be very happy. In a society in which we are constantly bombarding our youth and children with fast paced entertainment, students (and parents alike) have begun to expect the same out of teachers and lessons. Sigh....just some thoughts on the state of teens, our education system, and the lack of discipline, accountability, and sustainability of the family subsystem.

I don't think there are any easy answers to our current societal problems, but hopefully we're all willing to work on solutions. Otherwise what are we living for? Such a dour note to end on this evening! But there is always bright light at the end of the tunnel!