Robin Goldschmidt
CLQ: Thinking for Change
6 November 2011
Blog 10
I chose to read the article “Getting Schooled” written by Garrett Keizer. I found it interesting when he stated that, “My point here is that even under ideal circumstances, public-school teaching is one of the hardest jobs a person can do” (34). I never envisioned public school teaching to be very difficult, as the author states. I knew there was a little preparation work to be done, but I did not know how much actually needed to be done. Being a public school teacher can be seen as one of the most important jobs, as most children attend public school and this will give them education for their life. Also, some students that attend school will be shaped by the experiences they have in school. The author also states that many philosophers have tried being teachers and have failed. He stated that, “Ludwig Wittgentstein, of modern philosophers perhaps the most sainted, served time as a school teacher” (34). The author is making it clear that being a teacher is unbelievably difficult as you need patient and be able to convince the kids to do the work necessary in school. He also makes it clear that he has a lot of respect for those who have tried to be a teacher, but not much those who have not tried. Then the aspect of pay can come into question as public school teachers do not get close to enough salary for the important job they do. The teachers are responsible for educating the youth in the country and should be rewarded accordingly. It also seems like schools have taken appropriate methods to make sure that every individual is able to learn while in school and provide the necessary assistance if they would require help as the author stated, “By far the most noticeable and happy improvement is the number of places to which students can turn for academic assistance” (35). This is an important step, so everyone can learn the basics and know enough to be able to function in society. It is also important that schools provide sufficient amount of tutors to assist the students in their tasks. Another important aspect the author mentions is that, “The school where I teach ties for the third poorest in the state. Yet its standardized-test scores are among the highest” (36). I believe this is important because it shows that money is not correlated with the high test scores. Many people try to make the point that a family’s salary will determine how a child will score on tests. However, the main issues that will determines an individual’s intelligence level is how hard they try while they are in school. This shows that hard work leads to intelligence and that income does not play a large role. So, when people argue that a school is not performing well on intelligence tests, and that they need more money, one first needs to see what the attitudes of the students are before anything else is done.
The education has several fallacies that we hope to overcome as a nation, actually that need to be overcome. The system needs to stop failing the students as it ends up with the students unable to receive an education, thus be inadequately prepared for issues in life. In every part of the nation the failings of the schools are different as the schools are looked at one main stream way instead of addressing the issues that are unique to the school and then making it more mainstream. Dreams for tomorrow are based on the fact that we know there may be something out there that can help with the current situation. Dreams are also formed as we have seen the outcomes we want in other places and now hope they can be applied to our situation. The passion and resilience is key as we want to see the changes that need to be done and they remind us that we can create a positive change. Positive change can also only occur if there is resilience to the harsh times and knowing not to go back to these poor times. I believe the best way we can inspire people is by showing what can be done. Talking about what an individual has done or what they will do does not help the situation. Also, showing very important or known issues that have gone through massive change can be very important to motivate someone towards change. The first step to equitable educational models is that the individuals in school need to be motivated to be there or else all with fail. Someone can pump as much money as they want into a school and kids with continue to fail as the kids need to be motivated. The quality can be improved after one knows that the kids will show effort while in school. Once the school has motivated kids then it can ask for money in order to supply the kids with the necessary to succeed in school.