Final Thoughts

How to some up 6 days into a blog post.. Here's my best shot...

I have done a lot of thinking since my week in the Adirondacks. One piece of the many wise words I soaked in last week was the notion that being an educated person is not about landing the ideal job, it is about being an informed citizen. I truly understand now that I am an active member in this world and although I wonder what one person can truly do, I will continue to educate myself and spread the word. I will continue to my part no matter how small to make America sustainable. I always had this view of America being THE superpower on a global scale. We are not the country I thought we were. That however has not discouraged me. I am aware of all the great things about the country but I am through living in the dark. I will continue my life being an informed citizen and understand that this “they” that is supposedly going around fixing all the problems in this country is actually me and my community.

Another thing that I am realizing is that even those who are educated are completely close minded to these ideas. For my Developmental Psychology class we had an online discussion that was prompted by "Does the education establishment know what they are doing?" My response included cited information about how standardized tests are bad for children and students should be evaluated by teacher assessments, teacher-designed tests and I spoke about the OptOut movement. I felt very enlightened and felt as though I was truly adding something important to the discussion. My professor’s response and I quote was “from what I can tell this is colossal nonsense or some sort of right wing plot”. I received a poor grade and it has since affected my posts in fear that his views will continue to hurt my grade. I now give him the answers I know he wants and no longer express my true opinion. It was my “WooHoo! Moment” if you will. (Another addition to the Tennant-Michaels dictionaryJ) It kind of took the wind out of my sails. Why are we doing this to our children?? Why are we closing their minds and stifling their individuality?? I have no plans to be an educator but I will be sure to encourage this course to anyone who is. I think this course should be mandatory for all education students or any student for that matter.

Thank you Beth, Karl, Rhonda, Tim, John and everyone who made this week a reality.