Philosophy of Education and Global Citizenship

Now, after twelve years of an education and teaching in a

classroom in a low-income area, I understand the devastation that is
Americas school systems. There are many unspoken problems all over
the country occurring in the school systems. The United States was
recently ranked average in the international education ratings done
by the OECD. Its going to take a lot of dedication and innovative
thinking but the States can catch up with its leading competitors.
After having experienced six different schools in six different
towns in five years, I would say I am a very good advocate on what a
good education is. I have had everything from an extremely relaxed,
easy education, to a rigorous, tear consumed education. I have moved
from Glastonbury Connecticut, my current abode, to Marblehead, MA to
Lincoln RI to Wilton CT to Ridgefield CT and finally back to Glastonbury
CT. Id say the most difficult move, leaving friends and family behind
aside, was from Lincoln to Wilton. Wilton Connecticut has one of the
most difficult public school systems in Connecticut, which is saying
something. I was lost. The things I was learning in fourth grade in
Rhode Island were what my peers had learned in second grade. I was
put into a special reading program because I was so far behind. It was
humiliating, it caused me to lose confidence in my work and myself.
The teachers looked down on me. They were not interested that I had
come from another school district and that there were some gaps in
my education, only that I was not up to date on the curriculum. I was
placed in a special reading class with kids with a reading disability. I
had no such thing, give me Harry Potter and I could read it in one day,
no comprehension problems at all. Eventually, I caught up, but I do not
give the teachers any credit.
One of the main problems with todays school system is the
teachers lack of interest in their students education. Granted, the
United States has thousands of wonderful, dedicated teachers, not
unlike Gregg Breinberg, who has given PS22 his everything and given
his students an interest in learning. If teachers were genuinely
interested in their students education, they would take the time and
effort to make sure theyre on the right track. There needs to be more
individual attention given to students on a daily basis. Some students
just slip through the cracks. If I had not been in a supportive home
environment, I might have been one of those kids.
I eventually worked my way out of that special English class but
by that point we had moved again and I was thrown into another
whirlwind of confusing and trying lessons. This time my struggle was
math. I was yet again placed into another special class. Luckily, I
only had to endure a year of that before we moved back to
Glastonbury. Eventually, I got back on track. I caught up with my

class, and have yet to have another set back. This, I owe to a few
committed and passionate teachers and a more understanding school
system. The fact that two school systems berween two states, not too
far away from each other, were so different, thats why America is so
set back. There needs to be more equality within this countrys
education system, whether that be technology or better teachers. Its
not right that students that attend public school in Lincoln Rhode
Island are so far behind from those students in Wilton and Ridgefield
Connecticut. A balance needs to occur and it should be the
governments number one priority.
I cannot complain about my education. I have grown up in the
rich, white suburbs and those are exactly the schools that I attended.
It was not necessary for me to attend private school since the public
schools I attended were ranked some of the best in the state. My only
complaint with my education is that style that I was taught in. It
wasnt until my senior year that I had the opportunity to take a class
that would change my life; AP English. In this class we sat in a circle
and not just talked about the books that we were reading, but that
worldly problems that surrounded the themes of these books. It was
an amazing experience. I learned more from this class than I have in
my past eleven years of taking English classes. Just as Kohn and Dunn
propose, there should not be a one-size-fits-all method to teaching. I
believe that students learn in different ways but the most important
thing in ensuring learning is the interest level of the students. They
have to be motivated to do the work, and while I understand a lot of
that motivation has to come from within, as Kohn believes, I also
believe motivation comes from your desire to learn the subject which is
very heavily influenced by the teacher. There was no doubt that every
student in my AP English class was incredibly motivated, as was our
teacher. Every person in the class was interested in learning not only
from the text, but each other as well.
Some may not consider the walk out walk on movement to be
considered an education, but it is. Experience is the best form of
learning. If one has never gone out and done something, been a part
of something bigger than going to school, one has really never learned.
Experience gives you something that you will never learn out of a
book.
The Walk Out movement is not only about walking out of an
institution that you disagree with, but walking on to a new and
innovative way to learn and grow. The fact of the matter is, the walk
out doesnt count unless you walk on to something different.
Speaking with Deborah Frieze, the co-author of Walk Out Walk On
was an incredibly insightful experience. I had never fully understood
the concepts of the walk out movement until after speaking with her.
The walk out movement is about freeing yourself from the confines of
society and certain aspects of education. Krishnamurti says, We

really do not seek true freedom. We seek something different from

freedom; we seek better conditions, a better state. We do not want
freedom; we want better, superior, nobler conditions, and that we call
education. Krishnamurti is correct. An education frees us from a life
of low wage jobs and horrible work conditions. The walk out
movement is about freedom, not wanting to be bound to any
stipulations of education.
Walking into Mary Fogarty Elementary for the first time is an
absolute blur. There were kids running around, screaming, teachers
yelling, it was bedlam. We were told to sign in at the security desk and
then a student showed us to our respected classrooms. The children
were wild in Ms. Kirtlinks class. She was hoarse having yelled at them
all day and they still werent listening to her. Eventually they settled
down and I began to observe for my first day of ESL tutoring. The boy I
was told Id be working with was quiet, not engaged in the lesion,
fiddling around at his desk. I knew this would not be an easy task.
Mary Fogarty is unlike any school Ive ever been to. It is
unorganized and underfunded. There are not enough teachers for the
amount of students in need of special attention. The boy that I worked
with, Jonathon spoke English, but that doesnt mean that he completely
understands it. He needs special attention to help him comprehend
the reading, and not just once a week, but every day. I myself, having
been a part of the Rhode Island public school system, know that there
arent enough teachers to go around for individual attention for each
student that needs help, but thats what needs to happen in order for
these kids to succeed and not slip through the cracks.
In Kohn's article, "Feel Bad Education," he brings to the forth
many proven facts that the United States education system seems to
disregard. For instance, teachers today are teaching students how to
pass the test rather then teaching the material. They teach it just
enough that they can recite it but not comprehend it. The whole point
of school is to prepare us for life, to let us survive and thrive. This is
not happening in schools all over the country, Mary Fogarty Elementary
being one of them. This is no attack on the teachers, because one only
knows that those teachers teaching in lower income neighborhoods
have their work cut out for them but its a criticism on the school
system itself. The curriculum is clearly flawed. Teachers should work
with students on what theyre interested in and not just material
presented in books. Schools that train people to obey authority and
follow the rules unquestioningly will have poorly prepared their
students for the evolving world they will live in. says Kohn. I
wholeheartedly agree.
After watching various videos in class and reading articles
pertaining to ESL kids, Ive come to the conclusion that a bilingual
education is the best education that a child will ever receive. The fact
that some schools and teachers are attempting to drill the Spanish out

of kids and force them to only learn in English is a travesty. Nieto says,
Forgetting their native language is seen as a regrettable but
necessary price to pay for the benefits of citizenship. If this is true,
then this statement makes me not proud to be an American. In a
country that is a melting pot of culture and language why is learning a
second language being shunned? The boy that I worked with during
tutoring spoke Spanish at home but was also taught English. Though
he does not have the comprehension level of English that he should
have, being bilingual will help him immensely in life. More job
opportunities will come his way and its speculated that Spanish will be
the dominate language in the United States within fifty years. Instead
of taking away a language, the school systems should be teaching as
many as the students are interested in.
If the United States government would focus more on education,
this nation could become back on top again. Educating the youth of
America to become the next generations doctors and lawyers and
politicians is the most important thing, yet it is not seen that way.
There needs to be more educational options available to students and
their parents and more help given where it is needed, maybe then,
Americas schools will become number one once again.