Allison McGinnis

EDUC 275- 003

Casey Vavrina
13 December 2013
Final Paper
The purpose of schooling used to be more directed toward educating people for work.
Typically only white males went to school to learn subjects such as math and science while
women were kept at home to learn the role of a housewife. Women learned to cook, clean,
and take care of children. If they were not at home, they were often working in terrible working
conditions and not making nearly enough money to support a family. The men that did not
attend school often learned to farm or do other jobs that did not require an education. The
purpose of schooling today seems to be to have students simply pass and graduate. In todays
world, a college degree is practically necessary to have a good paying job. Without a college
education, students are limited to jobs in their future. The reason why I believe that schooling is
just to get kids through school is because it seems like the drop-out rate is slowly increasing and
that schools are simply becoming factories to produce an educated student. I believe that the
purpose of schooling should be to prepare students for their future. Schools cannot be
factories. Schooling needs to be more individualized. The more individualized schooling is, the
more willing students will be to learn. Although I do believe that standards are necessary and
that certain classes need to be taken by all students, I also believe that students need to have
to opportunity to learn what they want to learn.
As an educator, I want to be the best possible teacher I can be. I want to personally care
for all of my students and make sure that they are getting the resources that are needed. I liked
the models of the Dalai Lama and he holistic curriculum he most. Like the Dalai Lama said,
Negative emotions, too, can be harmful for ones self, ones body, and ones mental well-
being. Negative emotions can destroy or spoil all of our opportunities for the future. On the
other hand, an open heart, a warm heart, will bring more smiles, more friends, more reliable
friends, and in that way more good fortune in life (Dalai). I want to be a positive influence on
my students and be someone that they feel comfortable to talk to and ask questions. Simply
being kind to all your students and having a good attitude can truly make an impact. In the
holistic curriculum article, they talk about a transformation position which I think sums up a
good education. The teacher and the student need to work together. The teacher needs to
teach the student but the student also needs to teach the teacher. I strive to be a teacher that
sees that the student is not reduced to a set of learning competencies or thinking skills but is
seen as a whole beingthese connections make learning personally and socially meaningful to
the student (Miller).
Todays schools continue existing orders in many ways. Culturally, schools do not
assimilate the children as well as they should be. In my own experience, Hispanic children are
often taken out of class for an English learning class. Asians are often taken out of class to
perform in higher level math classes. White children are often left in a class somewhat isolated
from the other cultures. There needs to be a higher level of integration with these students.
According to Peggy McIntosh, I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness,
not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group (McIntosh). I cannot express
enough how true I believe this quote to be. From a very early age racism seems to have a
negative connotation and is associated with racial slurs or discrimination of a certain person.
Political orders also exist in our education. This is a difficult topic but the government creates
standardized tests and stick to it. They may not fully understand that all students are not cut-
out for these tests. Students learn at all different paces and at all different levels, so to say that
a child should be at this level, by this age, is absurd. According to the recent study we looked at
in class, we saw that the United States puts in a large amount of money to educate the children
of our country yet we continue to fall in the rankings. The government needs to research
different options other than just throwing more money into the system. Economic orders also
continue existing orders. The schools in lower income areas are less fortunate and less
educated because they do not have the money to put into the education. The children that can
afford to go to a better school have that option. Either all these children need to have an equal
opportunity in choosing their school or the schools need to be funded more equally. Coming
from Chicago, I know how big of an impact school closings have on a community. Especially in
big cities, gangs are prevalent. Having schools close, and students consolidated into other
schools causes extreme violence and conflict. Lastly, the environment causes schools to
continue existing orders. There are two types of environments I think could fit into this topic.
First off, your geographic location can play a large role. It has been shown that being hands on
and outdoors can improve a childs education. The other type of environment Im thinking of is
a home environment and how that can affect the learner. A good education starts at home. The
parents need to be involved. If teachers and the school are not connected and communicating
with the parents, the children may struggle more. The more you can get the parents involved
and motivated will help the student. In todays schools though, that may not always be the
number one priority or the parents may not have any interest at all.
Schooling can transform existing orders as well. These orders need to be addressed as soon as
possible in order to have the best education for the children of our country. First off, the topic
of culture needs to be addressed in the classroom more often and more in depth. Every child
need to realize the difference between each other and each student deserves an equal
opportunity. According to Educational Foundations, by Grace C. Huerta, the term equal
opportunity refers to the idea that all the people in the society have the chance to pursue any
occupation or economic status they choosewe all have an equal chance to pursue goals
related to educational objectives and to compete for economic rewards whatever our race,
class, sex, language, and physical ability (Huerta). This is important if we want to teach the
students that we really arent all that different and that we shouldnt be treated any differently.
The more these students understand that they are the same, the more freely and openly they
will be able to communicate in the classroom. Conversation in the classroom is tremendously
important. According to Dialogical Pedagogy, When people begin to dialogue in the
classrooms, they participate more actively in their own education, the role of education
changes. Democracy can develop (Fernandez-Balboa). Schools can also transform political
orders. Political orders can be transformed by coming up with a better standardized test or
creating a new way of grading such as using portfolios. In my opinion, John Miller says it
perfectly. He said that, today we seem almost obsessed with testing and reporting. When this
obsession becomes strong we tend to lose our focus on learning (Miller). Teachers should not
have to teach to a test they need to focus on creating well-rounded students and teaching their
students what they want to learn, and what they need to learn for their future. Economic
orders can be transformed in schooling as well. Similar to the cultural transformation of existing
orders, every student needs to be treated equally. Lower income students should not be given
any lesser of an education than students of higher income families. Economically, most poor
students of color look to schools as the vehicle for social advancement and equitywhen the
school fails to provide for those needs, these students are locked out of social and cultural
benefits (Ladson-Billings). Public schools especially should not be given more or less funding.
Since private schools are not funded by the state, they are able to exceed more. If people have
the money to send their kids to a private school then they may receive a better education but if
a child is attending a public school, every child should have an equal opportunity.
Environmental order is hard to transform in my opinion. It is difficult to engage a parent or
community in schooling if they are uninterested. The schools should however, try to involve
them as much as possible. They should have activities that involve parents, parent teacher
conferences, and accessible ways to contact the school. If these options are available to parents
and the community then the environment may be able to transform.
All in All, Schooling has come a long way. There are great innovations that have been
created and others that have not been as great. There are still many more improvements to be
made in the education system but I strongly believe that being educated on these issues is the
best way to improve schooling in the U.S. As the NEA code of ethics stated, the educator,
believing in the worth and dignity of each human being, recognizes the supreme importance of
the pursuit of truth, devotion to excellence, and the nurture of democratic principles (NEA).

Works Cited
"Code of Ethics." National Education Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec 2013.
<http://www.nea.org/home/30442.htm>.
Dalai, Lama. "Education and the Human Heart." Trans. Array The Heart of Learning. New York,
New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1999. 85-95. Print.
Fernandez-Balboa, Juan-Miguel, and James. P Marshall. "Dialogical Pedagogy." Journal of
Teacher Education. 45.3 (1994): n. page. Print.
Huerta, Grace C. Educational Foundations Chapter 2. Boston, MA: Patricia Coryll, 2009. 33.
Print.
Ladson-Billings, Gloria. "Yes, But how do we do it?." Trans. Array White Teachers / Diverse
Classrooms. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing, 2006. 29-40. Print.
McIntosh, Peggy. White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. 1988. Print.
Miller, John P.. "Hollistic Curriculum:The Why and the What." Trans. Array The Hollistic
Curriculum. . 2nd. Canada: University of Toronto Press Inc. , 2007. 3-16. Print.