On education in the USA

Post date: Jul 9, 2020 3:47:24 PM

Earlier today I had an extended family member share a YouTube video about a speech that all School Principals should give at the start of the new school year in the USA. Although there were a couple of points I could agree with, most of them I could not.

I think there was an attempt to try to focus on the learning environment, but it was by stripping away the concept of "self" and "self-esteem" of the students. That is what was, in my opinion, the emphasis of the speech.

The speech also included about not having any classes or clubs around sexual identity, ethnicity, cultural and race. Classes would also only be taught in English, except classes that were teaching how to speak a second language. That instead it would focus on "Music, Art, ..." a few other items that seem appropriate in a school environment.

Here is my problem with how this speech regarded the school clubs, lets focus on Music & Art. Without understanding the cultural environment where Music & Art is created, you loose the context of the importance of those pieces of Art. Over most my life I did not understand the Art of Picasso. In the last couple of years I watched the season of the National Geographic series 'Genius' which focused on the life of Picasso as well as the PBS series 'Civilization' which also touch on the work of Picasso. In both these programs the cultural and historical events that were taking placing gave me context to his Art that I did not have before, and I got a new appreciation for his work. Music & Art really can only be understood within the context of the culture and historical events around them. And Music is the same way, to understand the power of a song, you need to understand the context of where and when it was written. A great example is the song "Imagine".

My problem with classes only being taught in English, except for the Foreign Language classes, is that you put each student who has their first language as something other than English at a disadvantage. I remember the comedian George Lopez sharing a conversation where someone asked where he was from. It went something like this:

WA: Where are you from?

GL: Los Angeles

WA: No, I mean where is your family from?

GL: Los Angeles

WA: No, I mean where is your ancestors from?

GL: LOS ANGELES

People forget that until the Europeans arrived and started to colonize what is now the USA, there were people here with their own language. Most of the Southwest and California were a Spanish colony before they became US territories, and before that the various indigenous nations, each with their own unique language. People forget that not all colonists spoke English, even when born within the colonies. The Pennsylvania Dutch were German speakers. Before New York, there was New Amsterdam. Florida was also a Spanish colony. Yes, English is a world language. Most Europeans speak at least 2 languages. I regret that I cannot speak 2 languages, but at least I can read and translate some of a few languages. But there are multiple world languages, and the trade language of French is still used in many parts of the world. If we want our students to be well educated, don't put them at a disadvantage from the start.

Now to get to the biggest problem I had with the speech, and that is stripping away the concept of self and self-esteem. In the speech it said 'self-esteem is earned'. WTF!!!! Self-esteem is cultivated. Each child should be raised in an environment that gives them a sense of self worth. I know far too many people who give of their self to their own detriment. They cannot see that they have worth in their own being. There is a balance between taking care of others and taking care of the self. How can I possibly take care of others, if I can't take care of myself? How can I value the worth of others, if I can't value the worth of myself? Part of the identity of self comes from our cultural and ethnic heritage. When you strip away the concept of self, you are creating automatons. There are a time and place for robots in our society, but people should not be robots!!!

All in all this so call "speech" was short sighted and offensive.

Oh... and the couple of points I could agree upon? Here they are:

• Dress Code/Uniforms for students

• Addressing teachers by their title (i.e. Professor Dumbledore)

• No tolerance for offensive language (words that are not allowed on public radio/TV)