Democracy doesn’t work if we don’t have an Informed Citizenry- 0:34 – 1:10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0gjyXG5O0&feature=related
People abuse their freedom- 2:17 – 2:24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA0gjyXG5O0&feature=related
A lot of problems- 6:41 - 7:35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mfbUhs2PVY&feature=related
How do we build an informed citizenry?
Like we built the pyramids, from the bottom up- Education.
If we establish a strong foundation for dealing with the world in which we will live in, we will build a stronger country and a stronger individual.
What is the purpose of education?
Micro Level
-teach us the skills that best prepare us for life.
-prepare us to succeed in whatever field we choose.
Macro Level
-prepare us to solve world problems
-prepare us to solve country’s problems
Mission: Education should be an evidence-based practice designed to prepare people for real life, success in their chosen field, and make conscientious decisions to contribute to a better world.
(1) Evidence based- make decisions of what and how to educate based on best available research, expert opinions, logic; not based on tradition (it’s what we have always done), gut instinct, or hunches.
What skills best prepare us for life?
• The material we are taught in school should roughly reflect to the skills we need to use in life in quality and quantity.
We need to develop people who are:
-Politically Informed (Civics, Rights, Politics)
-Environmentally Conscious (Energy conservation and use)
-Self-Aware (self-knowledge, how we think, decision making, social psychology, some cognitive psychology)
-Financially Savvy (entrepreneurship, budgeting, financial planning, basic accounting, money management, consumerism)
-Others? Technologically adept, Communication experts, etc.
I would argue that our society is a mirror reflection of our education system. We become what we learn- our values, ideals, ideas, etc.
What problems do we have within our country?
-Politics
-Environmental problems
-overall dissatisfaction with self and life
-Economy
-others?
How much time do schools spend on preparing us to deal with these problems? How much time does school spend teaching us skills we have not used since we were tested on them?
Many people are unsatisfied with political leaders but know little about politics themselves. Our economy is not in good shape. How much do we learn about politics and the economy in school? Our shortcomings in our system is a reflection of our failures in our education system.
The focus has to be on how to best prepare people for the rest of their lives and make a meaningful contribution to society. Lets keep our eyes on the prize.
Much of our focus in school is on the wrong detail. We focus on who, when, and where because it is easy to test. We should focus more on the why and how. Is it more important to know who signed the declaration of independence, and when and where it was signed OR why it was signed and how it was implemented, and what were its consequences.
We focus on who, when, and where because it is easier to test. But the real valuable lessons are learned from answering WHY and HOW questions.
Many people will resist any change to the educational system claiming:
(1) “that’s the way its always been done.” This is an unacceptable response from an intelligent person. Surely there must be a rational reason to do what we do. If something we do does not make sense anymore, given our new evidence, we discard it.
(2) “these current subjects teach you how to think.” This is a weak argument because the new subjects would teach you how to think also, in a more practical and useful way.
(3) “it will take a lot of work.” This may be true, but will not discourage people who really care.
It is important to teach people to think about the topics that are of the greatest concern to themselves and the world in which they live.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The Education Reformation
Enough is enough and its time for a change. The educational system is in dire need of formal reformation.
RIGHT NOW, there are several faceless ENEMIES working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to DESTROY YOU, YOUR LOVED ONES, and YOUR HOME- many different types of pollution, overpopulation, recession, militarism on the part of foreign governments, poverty, diseases, high national debt, a growing population of baby boomers who will need to be supported by social security, the sea's becoming a desert, polar icecaps are melting, we're running out of farmland, were losing the ozone, and 1/6th of the world cannot read or write.
We do not react to them because our emotional circuitry is designed through evolution to respond most effectively to something we can see with our own eyes and attach a face to. If we assigned a face to each problem, you would see the equivalent to Saddam, Osama, Mussolini, Hitler, Castro, and Mao. With the exception that these people combined haven't destroyed nearly the amount of lives that these problems have. Unlike these very bad men, these problems are alive and well, living RIGHT NOW, and working around the clock toward your demise. They affect everyone in the world.
However, I am here to tell you that there is hope. We can destroy these enemies before they destroy us. But we are powerless against them if we do not call upon our best weapon. Our greatest resource we ave always had is our people. We need people to realize (1) We have the power to make a change (2) Take action to do what is necessary.
Harvard Psychology Professor Dr. Dan Gilbert tells us- "We are the only species on the planet holding its fate in its own hands. We have no significant predators. We are masters of our physical environment. Things that normally make a species go extinct are no threat to us. The only thing that can destroy us are our decisions.
Christopher Langan, the man with the world's highest IQ, speaks about this topic and agrees that there must be a change.
Langan states- "We are living in a feeding frenzy. Everyone is trying to ring as much of of the world as possible, we can't have that...or humanity will perish. We'll end up using up all we have and killing each other over the resources...We need to create a new kind of person. You cannot run a democracy without a citizenry that does not know how to make decisions. Future generations are being settled through what we do or don't do."
What do we do about this?
How does the revolution begin?
We rebuild things from the bottom-up. We make changes in our education systems.
We need to have a clear purpose for education. We need to establish a philosophy for education. It is the belief of many that societies deficiencies reflect the deficiencies of knowledge of the citizens. ie. How can politically apathetic people make contributions to politics? Around election time we tell everyone to get out and vote. However, what is the use in ignorant people play a role in decision making? Won't that only lead to worse decisions? Now I am not saying not to vote. But let us first teach children about the topics in which they will one day vote for.
We need an education system that will breed an informed citizenry. One that is: self-aware, politically informed, financially savvy, morally responsible, environmentally concerned, and research based.
Education must be based on logic and research, NOT on tradition, gut instincts, or hunches.
That is one of the first major changes we need to make. We need to make statistics and research the backbone of our philosophy. We should not do things one way when a better, more efficient way is available. We must find a way to bridge the gap between research and application. What good is it if researchers and academics know the latest findings and ideas and the masses do not?
We must focus on the bottom line. What material is applicable to our lives and the world right now and in the future? I do not believe we should teach subjects simply because "that's how it's always been." We need to eliminate subjects that are not directly relevant to all (we do not have to eliminate them, but we could make them electives for those interested in them). We should teach directly about money, budgeting, consumerism, decision making theory, social psychology, financing, entrepreneurship, sexual education, first aid, the science of memetics among other things.
We need to spend more school time on identifying individual strengths, talents, and passions. This cannot, I repeat, cannot be left to chance. Society loses when people go into careers that they are not suited for or because of stereotype ie. men go into business or women go into teaching. Uninspired and untalented people give a worse effort and produce less results than people who are matched up properly with careers that fit them. I am not saying we should force people to do what they do not want. But, we should definitely guide people in the direction of their passions and talents. This is the only way the world wins. I will give an example of how the world loses. A women becomes an English teacher because she thinks this is a good thing for a woman to do (not because she loves mentoring children or not because she is any good with people). She goes through the motions and lives with an unhappy and unfufillng career, working manly for her paycheck (this is what we need to avoid as much as possible). What this woman loses out on is infinitely smaller on what all of her students lose out on year in and year out. They are not being taught by someone who cares too much or is very talented as a teacher and thus the students receive a lower interest in the material and less understanding of key principles that they should have learned in that class. We cannot afford this. We need to spend time and effort on locating and encouraging talent and passion in each child. Sounds tough? What are the costs of not doing so? Look around. There's sub par workers everywhere, that hate their job and just want the money. Every time you see that remember it is not just them losing, but everyone who they serve directly and indirectly. Think about that.
I think we need to open up communication around the world. People would benefit if everyone in the world could communicate. Everyone needs to get on the same page. The world should be required to be proficient in (1)English language (2)the Metric System. This makes the most sense. Worldwide communication would sky rocket and people would be far more informed. I am not saying we should ditch our native languages or the English system of measurements, since much of different cultures are enriched by native languages. Simply, English should be an addition.
Other changes in the school system will be needed as well. We should turn to research to guide us in our initiatives. We should look at other countries and see what they are doing and the successes and failures of their education systems. We should not be close minded in our approach.
RIGHT NOW, there are several faceless ENEMIES working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to DESTROY YOU, YOUR LOVED ONES, and YOUR HOME- many different types of pollution, overpopulation, recession, militarism on the part of foreign governments, poverty, diseases, high national debt, a growing population of baby boomers who will need to be supported by social security, the sea's becoming a desert, polar icecaps are melting, we're running out of farmland, were losing the ozone, and 1/6th of the world cannot read or write.
We do not react to them because our emotional circuitry is designed through evolution to respond most effectively to something we can see with our own eyes and attach a face to. If we assigned a face to each problem, you would see the equivalent to Saddam, Osama, Mussolini, Hitler, Castro, and Mao. With the exception that these people combined haven't destroyed nearly the amount of lives that these problems have. Unlike these very bad men, these problems are alive and well, living RIGHT NOW, and working around the clock toward your demise. They affect everyone in the world.
However, I am here to tell you that there is hope. We can destroy these enemies before they destroy us. But we are powerless against them if we do not call upon our best weapon. Our greatest resource we ave always had is our people. We need people to realize (1) We have the power to make a change (2) Take action to do what is necessary.
Harvard Psychology Professor Dr. Dan Gilbert tells us- "We are the only species on the planet holding its fate in its own hands. We have no significant predators. We are masters of our physical environment. Things that normally make a species go extinct are no threat to us. The only thing that can destroy us are our decisions.
Christopher Langan, the man with the world's highest IQ, speaks about this topic and agrees that there must be a change.
Langan states- "We are living in a feeding frenzy. Everyone is trying to ring as much of of the world as possible, we can't have that...or humanity will perish. We'll end up using up all we have and killing each other over the resources...We need to create a new kind of person. You cannot run a democracy without a citizenry that does not know how to make decisions. Future generations are being settled through what we do or don't do."
What do we do about this?
How does the revolution begin?
We rebuild things from the bottom-up. We make changes in our education systems.
We need to have a clear purpose for education. We need to establish a philosophy for education. It is the belief of many that societies deficiencies reflect the deficiencies of knowledge of the citizens. ie. How can politically apathetic people make contributions to politics? Around election time we tell everyone to get out and vote. However, what is the use in ignorant people play a role in decision making? Won't that only lead to worse decisions? Now I am not saying not to vote. But let us first teach children about the topics in which they will one day vote for.
We need an education system that will breed an informed citizenry. One that is: self-aware, politically informed, financially savvy, morally responsible, environmentally concerned, and research based.
Education must be based on logic and research, NOT on tradition, gut instincts, or hunches.
That is one of the first major changes we need to make. We need to make statistics and research the backbone of our philosophy. We should not do things one way when a better, more efficient way is available. We must find a way to bridge the gap between research and application. What good is it if researchers and academics know the latest findings and ideas and the masses do not?
We must focus on the bottom line. What material is applicable to our lives and the world right now and in the future? I do not believe we should teach subjects simply because "that's how it's always been." We need to eliminate subjects that are not directly relevant to all (we do not have to eliminate them, but we could make them electives for those interested in them). We should teach directly about money, budgeting, consumerism, decision making theory, social psychology, financing, entrepreneurship, sexual education, first aid, the science of memetics among other things.
We need to spend more school time on identifying individual strengths, talents, and passions. This cannot, I repeat, cannot be left to chance. Society loses when people go into careers that they are not suited for or because of stereotype ie. men go into business or women go into teaching. Uninspired and untalented people give a worse effort and produce less results than people who are matched up properly with careers that fit them. I am not saying we should force people to do what they do not want. But, we should definitely guide people in the direction of their passions and talents. This is the only way the world wins. I will give an example of how the world loses. A women becomes an English teacher because she thinks this is a good thing for a woman to do (not because she loves mentoring children or not because she is any good with people). She goes through the motions and lives with an unhappy and unfufillng career, working manly for her paycheck (this is what we need to avoid as much as possible). What this woman loses out on is infinitely smaller on what all of her students lose out on year in and year out. They are not being taught by someone who cares too much or is very talented as a teacher and thus the students receive a lower interest in the material and less understanding of key principles that they should have learned in that class. We cannot afford this. We need to spend time and effort on locating and encouraging talent and passion in each child. Sounds tough? What are the costs of not doing so? Look around. There's sub par workers everywhere, that hate their job and just want the money. Every time you see that remember it is not just them losing, but everyone who they serve directly and indirectly. Think about that.
I think we need to open up communication around the world. People would benefit if everyone in the world could communicate. Everyone needs to get on the same page. The world should be required to be proficient in (1)English language (2)the Metric System. This makes the most sense. Worldwide communication would sky rocket and people would be far more informed. I am not saying we should ditch our native languages or the English system of measurements, since much of different cultures are enriched by native languages. Simply, English should be an addition.
Other changes in the school system will be needed as well. We should turn to research to guide us in our initiatives. We should look at other countries and see what they are doing and the successes and failures of their education systems. We should not be close minded in our approach.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
School House Rock
Fun ways to learn important things. Don't laugh, that's how I learned the Preamble, in 8th grade.
The Preamble of the Constitution
How A Bill Becomes A Law
The Shot Heard Around the World- Revolutionary War
Conjunction Junction
The Preamble of the Constitution
How A Bill Becomes A Law
The Shot Heard Around the World- Revolutionary War
Conjunction Junction
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