I decided to do something different in this post. This is an email that I sent today to the faculty at Loyola and also some leaders in the community. I would like to hear the opinions of the students in our class about this issue.
"My name is Hunter Christopher and I am a Loyola student who has a great passion for humanity. I do not just matriculate in this city, but I live in New Orleans. New Orleans is just one of the multitude of cities that America has largely forgotten. Until our recent Super Bowl victory someone from outside our city had as much interest on a daily or even yearly basis as we have for how Johan in Denmark is doing. And while the issues of apathy and interest in other places affairs are entirely other problems to deal with; there is a problem that our own citizenry in this country have forgotten about us. The city that was so close to complete destruction.
There are so many problems in this city that it would take a month to write them all out in a single message, but I have decided to focus on one. This issue is probably the largest affecting any community, city, parish, state, or country. It is education. I seem to have realized that finding an answer from above if steadily becoming more and more futile. Seeing as Governor Jindal's take on education is that it is too costly and viable to cut spending on it. Just a couple of days ago millions and millions were slashed from higher education to balance a budget. Money that goes towards the only chance that young people like myself have to pull themselves up in the world. And I have seen the damage these cuts are creating as I spent my first semester of college at the University of New Orleans. So I decided that instead of trying have the top help the bottom the bottom must help itself. What I would like from you is your opinion on how a schooling system based locally should work. What should be taught in the formative years? When should education begin? And finally how to create this kind of local change to take place? What are your personal experiences? What would you like or your children or relatives? i.e. Who should I look to for help to get this ball not only rolling, but to the destination.
It is my opinion through my research that the people who have managed to succeed out of desperation did so largely because of the knowledge they learned through school. Not just reading and writing, but art, social skills, ethics, and understanding of others. You can look to the President as the exemplar of how sacrifice by the rest of his family to help him achieve the best possible education allowed him to overcome what the majority in the same situation have not nor will probably ever be able to do under current circumstances. You do not have to agree with his politics, but you can see what education did for him and many others. Chris Rock said "If you can't rap or play ball then you ain't ever getting yourself out the ghetto." He acknowledges himself his success is based purely off of luck. A one in a million chance. Though even with one in a million you end up with nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine young people who will never get out of their current socio-economic level.
New Orleans needs to have it's youth to have every opportunity. Not just because that is a nice glowing generality, but because if we do not then our city will never be the Paris of the South again, but continue to remain the city of Katrina."
$=Better education. It really is that simple.
ReplyDeleteIt is not as simple as money as it is how and what is taught. The simple fact is that the entire U.S. education system is geared at creating workers and not innovators belies the problem. Why is it that our students even in the best schools still place behind in math and science. Even the fact that some states hinder the teaching of science because of theism shows that the problem is not just money.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with your diagnosis of some of these problems; like, for instance, the focus of American public school systems on producing the most efficient means of capitalist production: mindless, easily directed lemmings. Sound like a terrible thing to say about people? It is, and its even harder to think about your government pouring its meager education money into making sure it happens. As it is with any large-scale social problem, the government focuses on the most easily manipulated, easily agreed upon medium, such as currency, and asks us to do the same: give your 3 and a half percent of your next paycheck to us, and we'll make sure it goes where we say it does. Right. I'll believe that when Obama pulls the troops out of Iraq. Any day now, Mr. President...any day.
ReplyDeleteJoe you missed the point completely with my statement. Because we do not have any real national standards for education and the budget on the federal and state levels are constantly slashed there is little hope to cause real education reform on that scale. What I am advocating is a localized effort specifically for New Orleans to pioneer such a system that would make our young people have the best possible education we can give them. This is not about politics concerning Iraq, but about each city that has been left out to dry because of the lack of funding of education and value placed in it. Also if you look at how the schooling system is structured it is actually based about creating workers. The very set up of the school year is based around agriculture so that children would be home to sow and reap the harvest. Also your point of how the government isn't poring money into making sure that such a system exists is equally wrong. The school system works to create a consumer culture that is first literate enough to read and write, and conditioned into a way patriotic consumerism. You do not see the school systems advocating radical ideas or fostering innovation. You see them creating ridge means of teaching to standardized tests. Learning to pass a test is not learning. That is not what is going to foster the next great thinkers. Though it is enough to prepare people for desk jobs where they do not have to think critically just efficiency.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with your concern for the future of education in New Orleans. Education should be the main concern for any country, state, or community. Without a good focus on education, future generations will lack the abilities to better their lives or societies. The government cutting back on education will certainly not improve anything and defiantly won’t help the still devastated communities in New Orleans. If New Orleans can improve its educational system, like the Superbowl, it would be a great boost to the city.
ReplyDeleteThese same problems exist in Detroit. The focal point of education reform should be creating a learning environment which fosters a mutual respect between students and teachers. Teachers also need to be given more liberty in both their methods of teaching (get away from the textbook) and disciplinary action. From what I understand, public school teachers have little authority when it comes to disciplining unruly students, and students can treat teachers poorly with the expected result of a detention, but lets be serious.....detention is not a real punishment.
ReplyDeleteI also think the government needs to create competition between public and private schools by granting every potential student in the states a set and equal amount of money (~6000) that can be used for either a public school outside of your district or a private school. By doing this, schools will have to work to attract students to their school, and hopefully create a better education in the process.