|
Starting the 21st Century with a Fresh
Perspective on Education
by Bob Martin
Introduction - The Power of Education
Schools are truly agents of change, but what kind of change
and for whom? Schools influence and change the lives of students
as well as teachers and the larger sphere of people connected
with those who attend or work in schools.
Schools help shape the values and rules by which children
live. Our childhood values and rules are molded by the influences
of school. The values and rules with which we exit school follow
us into adulthood and will influence others.
Schools have a direct and powerful influence on society as
well as an indirect and residual influence on society. What schools
teach or don't teach impacts individuals, communities, regions,
countries, and the world. A child's education is a key influence
on his or her conscious and subconscious thoughts, attitudes,
and perceptions about the world.
School can be a haven for students or it can be a battle zone,
a place of conflict. Children have an inherent sense of honesty,
fairness, and justice as well as free thinking and highly creative
minds.
A child's natural paradigm is "life is good." (If
life isn't good for a child it is only because one or more negative
external influences have already "caved-in" on the
child.) "Life is good" is challenged constantly as
children grow. Chances are that in the early years at school,
the "life is good" paradigm is challenged by a classmate,
teacher or idea presented in class.
<<Back>>
<<Next>>
|