We are a nation of makers and consumers. And in this free market culture, value is king and the art of the bargain is most prized. It's a conundrum: you get what you pay for, but no one wants to pay full price. In every transaction, let the buyer beware!
So let me ask you this. Would you sink money into a car without dashboard displays? Would you buy a house with no electrical wiring or plumbing? How about a mobile device with no wireless capability? Yes I know; ridiculous examples. But follow me here...
How about schools? Would you build facilities for learning today that are not conducive to the kinds of learning that children need to be successful tomorrow? How about buildings that are already over capacity before the doors open for the first day? How about building schools that account for all the bricks, mortar and furniture but treat technology as a one-shot-deal afterthought? Not so ridiculous, is it? Let's take this a step further...
What about instruction itself? Would taxpayers pay for a school program that only targets certain subjects? Would they send their children to schools where every decision is driven by norm-referenced achievement scores? Would any community support a public school education that did not include the arts, physical education, and health? How about one-size-fits-all instruction that does not meet each learner at their current levels of development and ability? Not quite so far-fetched, is it?
Community by community, we make a lot of compromises when it comes to public education, usually in the name of saving dollars. You know, being good stewards of the public trust. It's another conundrum: we talk the bottom line, but we spend more money on education than any other nation. And we cut corners everywhere.
My point? If we drive a hard bargain to buy a whole car, and we pay an independent inspector to ensure we buy a whole house, and we talk to lots of people before we invest in the right mobile device, why don't we make very sure that we educate the whole child? I mean, we're talking about our future here. I know cars and No Planned Obsolescence in Education — Whole Child Education:
6-14-14 THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education
The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education:THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog Gaming in the Classroom Can Be an Epic WinPost written by Mikaela Dwyer, a journalism student at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. She considers herself a human rights activist and spends her time volunteering on campus and with various local nonprofits. After graduation, Dwyer hopes to join the Peace