Globalization and
Unsustainability
In 1977, pop-icon and androgynous
starman David Bowie had rented a flat in Berlin overlooking the Wall. As the
snow fell on a cold winter night outside his window, he paused and noticed two
young lovers walking just on the other side. For a moment the excesses and
indulgences of his rock-and-roll lifestyle faded away as he watched the couple
holding hands, stopping now-and-then for a quick kiss under the pale flickering
street lamps. Suddenly aware that someone was watching them, the couple looked
up to see Bowie standing at his window looking down on them. After a nod and a
silent exchange of well-being, the couple turned suddenly as Bowie was
distracted by the glamorous overindulgence of his party. Promising the rich and
fabulous in the adjoining room that he would only be a moment, he stole another
look out of his window. The light under the street lamp was empty, falling-snow
slowly erasing their footprints, as cries and shouts could be heard through the
fierce industrial night in the distance just beyond the Wall. Pulling the
curtains closed, Bowie disappeared into a drug filled haze of stardom and fame.
While that story has been
embellished with half-memories, and artistic licence, there is truth crystallized
in the song, “Heroes”. Sadly David Bowie will be remembered more for his
drugged filled life of excess, demonized by the glut of Western Civilization,
and not as a prophet of pop-culture like Bob Dylan, a musical savant like Jimi
Hendrix, or as a martyr for peace like John Lennon. However, in that moment on
that snowy night staring into East Berlin, David Bowie captured a truth that
would later set the world on fire. The dreams of those oppressed, the dreams to
be on the other-side, the dreams to be heroes free to live in pursuit of the
simplest desire—love—would come to define an entire generation, century and globe.
Although the Berlin Wall fell in
1989 and is often cited as the moment when the world began globalizing, the
full impact would not be felt until 2005, at least for me. Washing my hands in
the men’s room at my first school, in my second year as a teacher, I noticed a
magazine in the corner trashcan, the title long forgotten, but whatever was on
the cover made me stop, fish it out, and start reading. The article that caught
my attention highlighted the failing of U.S students to stack up against other
students from nations across the First-World. The nations at the top—from which
the US was noticeably absent—were familiar, Japan, China, Germany, and then...Finland!?
I
will never forget the glowing hum of fluorescent lights as I stood gobsmacked
in front of the mirror. I knew the state of U.S. education was poor, but Finland?
I kept reading. Finland? How did Finland make it up there? If Finland was in
the top three, where was the U.S.? Well, we were solidly in the middle of the
pack, sandwiched between Italy, and Estonia. Not that there is anything wrong
with either country, but at the time Italy had just officially switched from
the Lire to the Euro amidst much groaning from other more affluent EU-nations,
and Estonia was still experiencing birth pains after the fall of the Iron
Curtain. How could the most powerful and affluent nation, experiencing
unprecedented economic growth at the time, be languishing in the middle of the
pack in education? The article said
nothing concrete, except that teachers in the countries at the top received pay
and respect more in-line with doctors and lawyers, but the authors continued to
place blame on the American teacher, as they lauded the newest piece of
education legislation- No Child Left Behind, or NCLB.
Of
course the problem is much bigger than simply just bad teachers, lack of
accountability, and imperialistic unions, but that was not the rhetoric then.
After the events of 9/11 and the fall of the Twin Towers, the U.S began a
lumbering march across the world to not only bring those responsible to
justice, but to also remake much of the world in our own image. Under the
onslaught of Right-Wing propaganda, notions of Patriotism were reduced to
unquestioning loyalty to the President and the Republican agenda of Hawkish
excessive spending, a laissez-faire free market, and unbridled greed as the
citizenry was fattened line-by-line on a gruel of American Exceptionalism and
unchecked arrogance. President Bush was
going to fix everything from the scary world beyond our boundaries to those
moocher teachers and their unions festering at the heart of American Education.
Why
was the U.S. scoring so low? Why couldn’t some high school graduates even read?
The teachers, you see, were lazy. So, quality controls needed to be established
that would hold them accountable for the failings of their students. Like a
factory that conducts quality control measures of their products through a
battery of stringent tests, so to would the education system. There was no need
to look abroad for other options. Americans are global leaders, and NCLB would
fix the problem by raising erroneous standards with no bothersome research
necessary. Politicians across the country claimed to have the answers, and
sought to singlehandedly reform American education without those pesky
professional educators. And, why not? We’re Americans. We lead not follow. We
innovate not stagnate. NCLB would do it. Tests and higher requirements for
graduation would do it. Those teachers would do it... or else!
According
to PISA, 2009, NCLB turned out to not
be the answer. Schools, now like factories, ceaselessly pump information into
their students, continuously test, and reward, normally affluent, schools that
do well, while penalizing, normally underprivileged, schools that do poorly- just
as NCLB was designed to do. However, the U.S, still sandwiched in the middle,
with China and Finland secure at the top, continues to languish with all of its
efforts, time, and money wasted. The problem with NCLB is that it is a
short-sighted, politically motivated, and unresearched piece of legislation
that spuriously conflated academic institutions with industrial factories. NLCB
attempted to solve a national problem in education by applying 20th
century thinking to a 21st century global problem. The legislators
in the first decade of the 21st century failed to consider the
present parameters as defined by globalization into their policies; foreign,
domestic and educational. The systematic failure to adapt to the evolving
globalized world of the 21st century has lead to the implementation
of policies that are not only unsustainable but carelessly nationalistic.
Educational
reform is not new in the U.S. In fact, the greatness of the U.S. educational
system had always rested on innovation. However, the difference in the early 21st
century was not the education landscape, but rather the global one. The 1990’s
saw more and ever swifter change that rapidly overtook the U.S in a deluge that
continues to reverberate. “[T]he real landmark was the fall of the Berlin Wall,
the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the collapse communism” (p. 2, Yergan,
“Globalization...”).
The
world irrevocably changed when communism fell, as markets opened and people who
had opined for a better way of life suddenly had access to it. “The dawning
awareness of all these ongoing economic phenomena- the renewal of trade, the
mushrooming of capital markets, the development and diversification of foreign
investments-accompanied by the sense of collapsing borders due to communication
and travel brought forth the term globalization
to describe the process” (p. 2- 3, Yergen). The world began to shrink, or
“flatten” as Friedman is fond of saying. Business could now be conducted on a
global scale without much restriction, goods and money flowed into places that
had previously been blocked off, and many reaped the benefits of global
markets. While many nations (particularly in the West) prospered, still many
more became increasing impoverished. Locked out from the opulence of Capitalism
many nations suffered, as the West hummed along blindly to the tune of big
money, corporate greed, and private wealth.
Subtly
the world began to change. As these changes in technology, business, and
governments began building momentum, the U.S found itself vulnerable in ways
that had been unimaginable. Without nations posing a threat, in an era of
stability and prosperity, the U.S enjoyed a decade at the top as the sole
superpower. During that time the paradigm of countries worldwide began to
shift. Countries full of people who for long had yearned for freedom, now had
it, and now wanted to become players on the world stage. Capitalism spread, and
these new markets wanted to modernize. They studied, they prepared, and they
carefully, slowly, initiated changes that would make them more competitive on a
global scale. While the countries beyond much of the Western hemisphere sought
these changes, the countries at the top sought to maintain the status quo- safe
in their false sense of superiority.
That
is until the events of 9/11, when the world came literally crashing into the
U.S. A world that seemed the same as it always had, but now was strikingly
different. A world whose paradigms had changed. A world the U.S had become
out-of-touch with. A world full of new evils to tame, different stakes at risk,
and rules for engagement neither created nor bound by those of the Geneva
Convention. From the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to 9/11, in the span of
little more than a decade, the game, the playing field and the players had
changed right under nose of America. “The convergence of globalization and
technology will eventually touch everyone. These forces are far larger than any
individual [or nation]. They are ferocious, impersonal, and inescapable... It
is incumbent on all...to understand how these two forces are shaping American
lives” and global politics (p. 54, Friedman/Mandelbaum, “That Used to be Us”,
2011).
The
old American paradigms are down, and new ones must be established as
globalization and technology will continue to shape the global culture of the
21st century. Since the role of the U.S. in the world has changed,
much of what the U.S had done in the past can no long be sustained.
Unfortunately many “Americans seem unable to grasp the magnitude of the
challenges that face us” (p. 28 Zakaria, Are America’s Best Days Behind Us?).
The U.S currently operates under a series of policies, infrastructure and
institutions that are decades old. Most built in the 1950’s and 60’s when the
U.S. was at its zenith. From the interstate to immigration, the current
policies of the 21st century U.S reflect the major concerns and
paradigms of the mid-20th century.
The
data attests to the crumbling of America. “According to the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation, and Development (OECD), our 15-year-olds rank 17th
in the world in science...25th in math. We rank 12th...
in college graduation (down from No. 1 for decades). We [are] 79th
in elementary school enrollment. Our infrastructure is ranked 23rd...
we’re 27th in life expectancy, 18th in diabetes and
[second][1] in
obesity” (p. 28, Zakaria). It appears the mighty are in the process of falling.
The
U.S has lived with an overinflated sense of grandiosity for far too long, and
now the cracks are beginning to show. The U.S government currently cares too
much about the state of big business and special interests and not nearly
enough about the foundations of a good economy. “Reducing funds for things like
education, scientific research, air-traffic control, NASA, infrastructure and
alternative energy will...hurt the economy’s long-term growth” (30, Zakaria).
Just as the U.S is forcibly cutting these funds, other countries “from Germany
to South Korea to China are making large investments in education,
science...and infrastructure” (30). At a point in time when corporations are
now considered people, and there is no cap on election-campaign finances, the
painful truth is evident, “America’s success has made it sclerotic” (31,
Zakaria). The “political system...has become [so] allergic to compromise and
practical solutions” (33) that it’s surprising when anything gets done, even
something as routine as appointing four heads of office after a two-year wait.
Even now, as Congress squabbles and politicizes every decision on the floor,
the rest of the world continues catch-up.
Though decidedly Post-American, the modern world still
looks much the same as it did in the past. However the pundits paint it, the
past was never as rosy as it is so nostalgically memorialized. The U.S may be
“the first globalized nation in history” (Sr. Claire, notes) but that title was
born through a long and bloody labor that would be unwise to repeat. For much
of the brief history of the nation, Congress directly avoided meddling in world
affairs. Having adopted a Foreign Policy of Isolationalism immediately after
the founding of the country in 18th century, the U.S was content to
focus inward, fulfil her manifest destiny, and create one sovereign nation from
sea-to-shining-sea. Foregoing invitations to join the global community. (Sr.
Claire, notes, 2013)
Shortly after securing independence
from the British Empire, the U.S was petitioned by France during the French Revolution
to send troops over and help stabilize our ally. Since France had virtually
supplied the U.S with the means of fighting and winning the Revolutionary War, the
French government felt it was right to return the favour. George Washington,
hesitant to stretch the continental army and fledgling navy too thin, refused
to send aid, setting the precedent for a policy of Isolationalism for more than
a century. That Isolationalism came at a cost. The U.S turned her back on
Europe just as Europe erupted. Revolution, war, and Napoleon set the stage for the
stalemate that became World War I. Roused from her stupor just in time, the U.S
charged in, pushed back Germany and helped end the Great War. In the aftermath,
President Wilson was eager to join the League of Nations, and returned to
Congress with the first invitation to go
global. Congress refused. (Sr. Claire, notes, 2013)
With
the U.S noticeably absent yet again from the world stage, revolution raged
across Europe. This time the monarchy in Russia was overthrown, and the
communists under Lenin sent forth a second invitation for the workers of the
world to join with the Soviets in a global revolution against capitalist-pigs. Europe eventually found itself at war again,
World War II. Again, the U.S joined the fight in the 11th hour,
invaded Hitler’s Fortress Europe, with her allies England and the USSR, the
Nazi’s were defeated and the continent destroyed. In 1945, with victory in the
West against Germany and in the East against Japan, the U.S and the USSR stood
as the last remaining superpowers. Each with a wary eye on the other. In order
avoid another outbreak of total war, the U.S revived the idea of the League of
Nations, and, finally working globally, installed the United Nations in New
York City, as the Iron Curtain fell over the communist Eastern Europe. (Sr. Claire,
notes, 2013)
Sixty
years on, the U.S rests as the only superpower, but rest it does. With less
civic engagement, more derisive arguing, and a shrinking middle class, the U.S
is only a shadow itself. “Democrats and Republicans have become more like hostile
tribes than colleagues with different political views but common goals” (244,
Friedman/Mandelbaum, “That Used to be Us”, 2011). The U.S has become
unfocused and complacent within the global arena. As Friedman and Mandelbaum
outline, “the country has strayed away from three of the core values on which
American greatness depended in the past. The first of these changes [was] a
shift from long-term investment and delayed gratification...to short-term
gratification...The second change is the loss of confidence in our institutions
and in the authority of their leaders across the society...The third shift in
values is a weakening of our sense of shared national purpose, which propelled
us in—and was reinforced by—the struggle against fascism in World War II and
against communism in the Cold War” (278-279, Friedman/Mandelbaum). As
Friedman/Mandelbaum put it, “We...let ourselves go” (279), and are bursting at
the seams.
As
the old paradigms of the 20th century shift, and globalization
converges with technology, a deep sense of unrest and unhappiness pulls apart
the threads of domestic life in the U.S. Something festers deep in the heart of
democracy. Something isolating, nagging, and niggling. It is shouted from television
screens and bantered back-and-forth over social media. America is deeply divided,
and increasingly polarized. Her citizens retreat into their homes, shy away
from civic-engagement, and refuse to enter into civil discourse. Each side so
bent on winning the argument that few fail to remember what makes the American
political system unique. It is “a political system that allows us to keep
working on collective solutions to vexing problems but refuses to take any
question off the table permanently [calling] forth creative capacities that lie
dormant under autocratic rule...[it is a system that] will help us develop the
habits of heart required for the health of the body politic” (77, Palmer, Healing
the Heart of Democracy, 2011).
The
American populace have seemingly lost the stomach for debate, and the heart for
democracy. The further engrossed each person becomes with their own
technological worlds, the less they rely on each other. Under the spectre of
mass consumption and consumerism, modern life has become a disconnected and
disjointed experience where interaction with neighbours is no longer essential,
but bothersome. “The less we depend on each other, the more we weaken the
interdependence that helps us develop democratic habits of the heart.
[Conversely,] the less interdependent we are, the more likely we are to become
people among whom consumerism trumps citizenship” (87, Palmer). As the primary
venue for commerce shrinks into the home, out of public and into private life,
the western citizen becomes isolated, increasing distrustful of others beyond
their small circle, and leery of public engagements. Currently, the decline in
public life of the American citizen has led to the deep divisions,
polarizations and ultimately partisan politics that are stifling the country.
The world resembles reality less-and-less, and more what the individual fears. When
every stranger on the street is perceived as a threat, then all civil discourse
is soon to fade. The paradigm has shifted domestically. America is no longer a
nation of citizens cooperating together, but a nation of partisan clans beating
their shields threatening the sustainability of American democracy. (76- 115,
Palmer)
Such
tension is pulling America apart. The American Democracy will be unsustainable
if its citizens do not participate in civil discourse, public life, and are
willing to cooperate. Ironically, at a time when everyone is permanently
plugged into the media all day long, no one is willing to listen, and even few
feel empowered enough to speak up. America is unwinding in this era of
globalization and outsourcing. The political system has become unsustainable as
big money (corporate or private) games the system, buys the media, and
intentionally confuses the populace. When America was presented with the 2nd
invitation to go global by joining the communist revolution, the American
worker thought fighting for more rights was a great, noble and necessary thing;
however, they recognized the gains that could be had from sharing in the wealth
generated by Capitalism, and so developed Labor Unions. Only collectively could
these underprivileged workers band together with a voice loud enough to be
heard. The government stepped in, forced the elite to allow their wealth
trickle down, and allowed America to enjoy an era of prosperity with the
emergence of a strong and essential middle class. Those Social Contracts
between employee and employer from the early age of Americana made the nation
strong (notes on Packer, The Unwinding of America)
Now
corporations are considered people, the media is in the control of an elite
few, and lobbyists have more political clout than the average voter. Big money
is truly running the show, from polarizing the electorate with intentionally
misleading propaganda, to working around the tax code, shuffling money
over-seas, and outsourcing jobs- the middle class is in trouble. When big money
has the ability to buy elections and the media, “big money becomes the enemy of
democracy” (Sr. Claire, notes). As the middle class declines, so does
democracy.
As
the inequality of wealth becomes even starker in modern America, economists and
political scientists believe the U.S has entered a new Gilded Age. During the
past twenty years systematic inequality has been dominated by a new class of
super-rich. The only difference is that, this time around, the super-rich are
hedge fund managers and financial magnates instead of oil and rail barons at
the turn of the 20th century. As a result of the first Gilded Age, the
20th century experienced two great inequalities: 1) The Inequality
of Gender (confronted during the Women’s Liberation Movement) and 2) The Inequality
of Race (confronted during the Civil Rights Movement). However, in the 21st
century the greatest inequality will increasingly become the access to
education. In the High Tech economy, there will no longer be any outlets for unskilled,
uneducated workers due to increased automation in agriculture and factories.
(Sr. Claire, notes)
This
sense of hopelessness rumbles through America in dark gray clouds that rain on
every citizen. The current decline of the middle class has more impact on
education than any classroom teacher and is the biggest crisis facing education
today. Since the largest problems with education extend far beyond the academic
institution, any reform that seeks to impede a student’s progress through
school, take money from schools that need it most, and pressurize
teachers/administrators across the country is unsustainable. The education
system will collapse under the strain instead of ascend.
The
legislators who created NCLB forgot one key difference between factories and
schools. Schools deal with humans, and schools are charged with handling the
social ills of the time and community. Diane Ravitch, former education guru and
author of “The Death and Life of the Great American School System” was a
principle architect of NCLB and laments at how such a good idea can go horribly wrong. “My support for NCLB remained
strong until November 30, 2006. I can pinpoint the date exactly because that
was the day I realized that NCLB was a failure” (99). She recounts attending a
conservative conference in D.C where the results of NCLB were being analyzed.
It soon became clear that the bill was not working. Summing up the
presentations, she says:
“The various
presentations...demonstrated that state education departments were drowning in
new bureaucratic requirements, procedures, and routines, and that none of the
prescribed remedies were making a difference...Choice was not working...many
parents and students did not want to leave their neighbourhood school, even if
the federal government offered them free transportations and a the promise of a
better school...As I listened to the day’s discussions, it became clear to me
that NCLB’s remedies were not working. Students were offered the choice to go
to another school, and they weren’t accepting the offer. They were offered free
tutoring, and 80 percent or more turned it down...Adult interests were well
served by NCLB. The law generated huge revenues for tutoring and testing
services, which became a sizeable industry. Companies that offered tutoring,
tests, and test-prep materials were raking in billions of dollars annually from
federal, state, and local governments, but the advantages to the nation’s
students were not obvious” (100-101, Ravitch)
Federal
mandates, and increased oversight by state governments did nothing to improve
student scores. NCLB did funnel money into private hands, but had no effect on
student performance primarily because students are people and not a product
pushed off an assembly-line. Moreover, NCLB required that 100 percent of
students in the nation be proficient in reading and math by the year 2014. In
2006, Ravitch knew that this was unfeasible, but the political rhetoric
continued, and she was slowly fazed out of the NCLB-committees that she had
started. “The consequence of mandating an unattainable goal...is to undermine
states that have been doing a reasonably good job of improving their schools
and to produce ‘a compliance-driven regimen that recreates the very pathologies
it was intended to solve’” (103). As 2013 turns to 2014, NCLB has clearly done
more harm than good to the public education system—just like the education
professionals said it would.
Billions
of dollars, political determination, and 20th century modes of
accountability failed to address the problem of educating a nation. Where to
start fixing the problem then? In this Ravitch echoes Palmer’s message to heal
the heart of democracy through civic engagement. Admittedly, Ravitch does not
know how to make American students more competitive globally, but she does
notice a rising tide of apathy that needs to be stemmed. This apathy for
education, community, government, and even their own personal wellbeing needs
to be changed into action. Ravitch suggests that schools should endeavour to
teach to the whole student, including arts/music, history/English,
reading/writing, math/science but most notably civics and government. The
modern American student is apathetic because they lack the agency to care. They
are acted upon in an oppressive test driven education. They need to be inspired
to take action, and empowered to participate in society instead of hiding away
from it. The purpose of a public education is to create an informed, politically
aware, publically minded, global citizen. Moulding the next generation into the
caring, compassionate, hard-working Americans the government wants should trump
the banality of increasing test-scores. Ironically, to do one would solve the
other. A caring, hard-working student is a student who will strive to perform
their best.
More testing is not the answer.
Looking abroad, the difference between the high achieving countries and the U.S
functions more as an agent of culture and less an agent of government.
“Currently, a central part of the problem in American education is that
government officials are trying to remake teaching from afar” (116, Mehta,
Why American Education Fails). NCLB failed to increase performance by
raising standards because it focused on teachers as the problem and not the
solution. “Teachers [need] to be seen as experts, like those in other
professions. The state could then shift its function from holding teachers
accountable to taking on roles in which it has more of a comparative advantage
and is more likely to be effective” (116). Understandably schools and education
are seen as the great equalizer between the rich and the poor, however, the
state needs to own that mission. Only when the effects of poverty can be
mitigated through services rendered at school or through school can lasting
achievement be sustained. “The government should not try to micromanage
education from above, putting forward an endless array of requirements,
regulations and accountability targets, in the hopes that doing so will somehow
force schools to improve” (116, Mehta). The education system must be reformed
from the bottom up beginning with the student and teacher, not the bureaucrat
down.
“Created in the era of the assembly
line, [the school system] was never intended to push its students to engage in
the kind of complex learning and critical thinking that the 21st
century U.S economy demands” (116, Mehta). The entire institution needs to be
realigned to come to terms with an evolving 21st century paradigm. While
revising social-institutions may take time, Wagner highlights some changes that
could be done immediately in his book “The Global Achievement Gap”. The
education system and schools can start by invigorating the curriculum through
interdisciplinary instruction. Furthermore Wagner outlines seven specific
skills that teachers should strive to instil in their students. 1) Critical
Thinking and Problem Solving. 2) Collaboration across Networks and Leading by
Influence. 3) Mental Flexibility, Agility and Adaptability. 4) Initiative and
Entrepreneurialism. 5) Effective Oral and Written Communication. 6) Accessing
and Analysing Information. 7) Curiosity and Imagination (67).
In
essence, Wagner calls on teachers to begin teaching in such a way that
motivates students, generates a sense of ownership and direction over their
learning, and creates individuals that can apply information in novel ways.
Testing for rote memory and factual recall through multiple-choice tests
provides no useful data because students no longer need to rely on their
working memory for all the facts and figures they require. With the advent of
the internet and Google, the importance in teaching has shifted to creativity,
vitality, imagination, and perseverance. Wagner sums this change up nicely when
he quotes what skills the Partnership for Global Awareness feels 21st
century students to should have. 21st century students should be
able to:
·
“[use]
21st century skills [such as critical thinking and problem solving]
to understand and address global issues.
·
[learn]
from and [work] collaboratively with individual respresenting diverse cultural,
religious, and lifestyle [choices] in a spirit of mutual respect and open
dialogue in personal work and community contexts.
·
[understand
other nations and cultures, including the use ofnon-English languages” (25,
Wagner)
The
call for education to go global has resounded for over a decade. The failures
of NCLB have not gone unnoticed by those in office. Arne Duncan, US Secretary
of Education follows Wagner’s lead as he quotes Wagner saying, “there is a
happy ‘convergence between the skills most needed in the global knowledge
economy and those most needed to keep democracy sage and vibrant’” (74, Duncan,
Back to School, 2010). Duncan continues stating that the competitive
model at the foundation of NCLB “is a recipe for protectionism and global
strife” (74). In line with Drucker, Duncan points out that a more sustainable
goal for the education system should not be a squabble over much needed
funding, but rather a more “virtuous” (74) goal that should resonate in the
heart of every teacher. Duncan states that, “Americans must realize that
expanding educational attainment everywhere is the best way to grow the pie for
all...[this] is the path to prosperity” (74).
Realizing
access to education threatens to become the great inequality of the 21st
century, Duncan affirms the assembly-line approach presumed by NCLB is
out-dated, instead suggesting a new model for education that seeks to improve
the lives of all students meeting them where they are, and not penalizing them
for who they are, or where they are from. Education professionals need to
reclaim the profession and start teaching with a mind for the future. Schools
need to become future oriented and incorporate modern subjects such as
“programming, multimedia literacy and creation, astronautics, bioethics,
genomics, and nanotechnology” (44, Prensky, Turning on the Lights,
2008). The curricula needs to modified to reflect the current needs of society.
While remaining grounded in core subject material, students need not be made to
memorize information for standardized tests, but rather challenged to apply
their knowledge to address real
problems. The global community will no longer wait for the youth to earn
graduate degrees before requiring them to make a difference, they must be
empowered and inspired earlier to be participants in education, the community,
and the world.
Change is not longer on the horizon.
Change is rumbling overhead. Prepared or not, the old will be washed away as
time relentlessly marches on. Ironically, the fundamental change needed for the
modern student to survive in the global community has already taken place. The
Millenial has taken matters in their own hands. Through social media,
technology and global networking the Millenial has decided their current
educational experiences are outdated and irrelevant (the possibly greatest
reason for such low scores on standardized tests). They know that what is being
taught in school no longer matters the way it once did.
The
Millenial, obsessed with selfies, celebrity tweets, and internet memes, only
needs time to mature. Imagine how much global change can be accomplished if
these students applied as much as effort as they do to facebook, instagram and
tumblr to solving actual problems of the world. When this generation of media
savvy, self-assured, over-confident selfish teenagers becomes adults—their
pride will not let them fail. “A generation’s greatness isn’t determined by
data; it’s determined by how they act to the challenges that befall them” (34,
Stein, The New Greatest Generation).
David
Bowie sang of a young East German couple yearning for the freedom to be
themselves, to be in love, and to escape into a world of endless
possibilities—where they could even swim like dolphins in the ocean. For Bowie
the shame was on the other side of the Wall. The shame of the West was not
rescuing generations of people from oppression and turning their back. With the
fall, millions of people, like the East German couple, were unleashed on the
world. People who simply craved the opportunity to pursue happiness. As their
dreams became reality, the world changed. As the world changed, those
responsible for the construction of the Wall, on both sides, slowly become
irrelevant. With the old guard go the vestiges of the past, and like the Wall,
soon what is left is a crumbling relic.
The
American education system needs to change. The youth need to be allowed to
pursue their dreams, and not subjected to a battery of archaic tests, worn
ruins of a harsh industrial epoch. The potential for change is immense—it can
make the impossible possible. America
needs to turn and face these changes, not wall itself up and refuse to
acknowledge the rest of the world. The youth understand. They know. They are
not afraid to turn, face the changing world and demythologize the old myths of
domination. The old institutions need the courage to do the same or else the possible will become impossible as the truths once held by ‘we
the People’ become self-irrelevant.
Bibliography:
Duncan, A (2010) Back to School. Foreign Affairs, vol 89 no. 6; 65- 74
Friedman & Mandelbaum (2011) That
Used to be Us. New York, New York: Farrar, Straus and
Giroux
Giroux
Mehta, J (2013). Why American Education Fails. Foreign Affairs, May/June 2013; 105-
116
Palmer (2011) Healing the Heart of
Democracy: The Courage to Create a
Politics Worthy of the
Human Spirit. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Human Spirit. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
Program for International Student
Assessments, 2009, released by The Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), The New York Times
Cooperation and Development (OECD), The New York Times
Prensky, M (2008) Turning on the Lights. Educational Leadership, March 2008; 40- 45
Ravitch (2011) The Death and Life of
the Great American School System: How
Testing and Choice
are Undermining Education. New York, New York: Basic Books
are Undermining Education. New York, New York: Basic Books
Stein, J (2013). The New Greatest Generation. Time, May 20 2013; 27- 34
Suarez-Orozco, M (2005) Rethinking Education in the Global Era.
Phi Delta Kappan, Nov 2005;
209- 212
209- 212
Wagner (2010) The Global Achievement
Gap. New York, New York: Basic Books
Yergen, D (2002) Globalization, The inside story of our new interconnected world.
Social
Education, vol 66 no. 2; 111- 116
Education, vol 66 no. 2; 111- 116
Zakaria, F (2011) Are America’s Best Days Behind Us? Time, March 14, 2011; 28- 33
Appendix:
Reflection:
“Heroes,” David Bowie
I
chose to incorporate this song into my paper because it describes the flowering
of hope even in the midst of great oppression. The oppression in the song being
extremely relevant to the story of a globalized world. The Berlin Wall, the
rise of communism, and the systematic oppression of millions of people under
communist, totalitarian regimes is not just a problem of the past, but a
problem lurking in every future. Just as the Western powers stood by, stymied,
when the Wall was built, so too is the US government standing by as a second
wall is built to keep wealth and eventually education from the hands of many.
Uneducated people are easier to lead, quicker to believe lies, and easier to please
(as Rome knew all too well). Whether deliberately cauterizing the public or
not, these big-money entities are confusing the populace with conflated
realities, half-truths and fear-mongering. The propaganda masquerading as news
on FOX is not entirely different from the state run media of the Eastern Bloc,
and is just one reason of many why educating the populace is of paramount
importance.
Political
ranting aside, Bowie paints a picture of a very normal couple trapped in an
enemy country. He calls the listener to identify with them, humanizing—not
demonizing—the struggles and threat of communism. In playing on the listeners
sympathies, he is able to generate compassion, as he strains to sing out the
final chorus. Instead of fearing the other, we come to have pity and sympathy
for the other. The effect of this song directly relates to Palmer’s message in
the ‘Healing the Heart of Democracy’. The people in a democracy need to
care about each other, not be fearful of each other. We need to accept and
acknowledge that, though strangers, we hold common ground, and should be able
to help one-another. Healing the Heart of Democracy must start with compassion.
The Logo:
For the Logo I choose three images. The
first, an image of a Westerner giving his shoes to someone in poverty, while
the recipient appears overjoyed, embarrassed, and grateful. The second, a
bumper sticker that spells out “Coexist” using symbols from a variety of
religions. I have this bumper sticker on my car, and I cannot for the life of
me understand why it angers many people. Since when has tolerance become
unfashionable? Religious tolerance is the main ingredient necessary in creating
a vibrant and loving global world. Finally, the last image is another bumper
sticker (I want to put on my car) that quotes the Dalai Lama, “Compassion is
the radicalism of our time”. I agree with Palmer and the Dalai Lama, compassion
and love are the verbs needed to make any positive traction in the global
culture. Palmer uses a quote from Karen Armstrong’s book “Charter of
Compassion” that struck me as a radical departure from the diet of
superiority, exceptionalism and hate most Americans are fed.
“The
principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical, and
spiritual
traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, the dethrone ourselves from the centre of the world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect” (29, Palmer)
traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, the dethrone ourselves from the centre of the world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect” (29, Palmer)
I wrote it in my
journal and plan to keep it with me.
David
Bowie: Changes Lyrics
Songwriters: Wilson, Eleanor / Lorentzen, Mari / Reed, Caroline / Ellis, Simon / Rohen, Emma
Songwriters: Wilson, Eleanor / Lorentzen, Mari / Reed, Caroline / Ellis, Simon / Rohen, Emma
|
Versus I:
Oh yeah
Mm
Still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets and
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I’ve never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I’m much too fast to take that test
Mm
Still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets and
Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I’ve never caught a glimpse
Of how the others must see the faker
I’m much too fast to take that test
Chorus:
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
Versus II:
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
(turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
Versus II:
|
I watch the ripples change their
size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through
[1] Zakaria says we are No. 1 in obesity, but I took the liberty to change
that in light of the following article, “Mexico surpasses US in Obesity Levels”
www.telegraph.co.uk, 11 July
2013
I love this Song!!! its real and true! :)
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