JSYK18: Enlightened
Today at school, as part of the curriculum, we all had to attend a symposium with the topic of education in other countries. Everyone thought it would be the biggest bore since the invention of the text book, but I was in for a surprise.
We began watching a movie called 2 million minutes, a documentary following the life of 6 high schoolers from China, India, and the U.S. We saw the that the time spent on education in China and India was off the chart! The way that they portrayed it was that these people have no free time. Although they did show that they played SOMETIMES, but their parents thought it was just a distraction...
The movie also included a school called Basis that included middle and high schools. Their method was that they would teach the idea, or the way of thinking, for higher levels in the lower grades, so that when they got up higher, they were already ready for more. The idea was highly controversial because students who entered into the program late were at a disadvantage.
Questions followed during a discussion like, "how should we make our school system better", but I believe that no change in the school will help. The main thing that makes school systems different is motivation and what I like to call the "happy" factor. In countries where education is phenomenal, students are desperate to get education so they can get out of the poverty they are living in. Here in America, we don't have that motivation, nor do we need it. Here in America, those who wish for knowledge pursue it, but you really don't need a PhD to have a nice house and a happy family. Sure it helps, but it's not entirely necessary. The people in the countries mentioned earlier find happiness in succeeding in life and pleasing and honoring their family. So the grueling work they go through helps them achieve that. But, in America, we don't all need that higher education to be happy, we just need an albeit state where we are comfortable, and therefore work for that standard.
I would like to give a shout out the the Global Studies Portion of Terry Sanford High for giving me and my friends and intelligent conversation subject and setting my mind to thinking. What was going to be a day off turned into one of the most interesting days of my life :)
We began watching a movie called 2 million minutes, a documentary following the life of 6 high schoolers from China, India, and the U.S. We saw the that the time spent on education in China and India was off the chart! The way that they portrayed it was that these people have no free time. Although they did show that they played SOMETIMES, but their parents thought it was just a distraction...
The movie also included a school called Basis that included middle and high schools. Their method was that they would teach the idea, or the way of thinking, for higher levels in the lower grades, so that when they got up higher, they were already ready for more. The idea was highly controversial because students who entered into the program late were at a disadvantage.
Questions followed during a discussion like, "how should we make our school system better", but I believe that no change in the school will help. The main thing that makes school systems different is motivation and what I like to call the "happy" factor. In countries where education is phenomenal, students are desperate to get education so they can get out of the poverty they are living in. Here in America, we don't have that motivation, nor do we need it. Here in America, those who wish for knowledge pursue it, but you really don't need a PhD to have a nice house and a happy family. Sure it helps, but it's not entirely necessary. The people in the countries mentioned earlier find happiness in succeeding in life and pleasing and honoring their family. So the grueling work they go through helps them achieve that. But, in America, we don't all need that higher education to be happy, we just need an albeit state where we are comfortable, and therefore work for that standard.
I would like to give a shout out the the Global Studies Portion of Terry Sanford High for giving me and my friends and intelligent conversation subject and setting my mind to thinking. What was going to be a day off turned into one of the most interesting days of my life :)
Comments
Post a Comment