Let's Pretend

Postman and Weingartner addressed the issue of educational irrelevance, the disliking of youth (which was both funny and sad), "crap detecting", the rapid progression of technology, and - my personal favorite - the "Let's Pretend" model of public schools. Even though this was written almost 50 years ago, it still has startling poignancy to the methods of our society and educational system, which only goes to show that serious reform is not actually taking place. Many of their points about how much control teachers have over what is taught, whether the students have an interest in or use for it or not, are exactly how I have felt many times being on the student side of the classroom. It is something that still bothers me to this day (in fact, probably more so now that I am preparing to enter real classrooms); how am I going to teach what they need and want to learn? How can I give them as much control as possible while still abiding by the standards created by the bureaucrats, even though I personally don't have much interest in pleasing them since they obviously have little interest in doing what is best for me or my students? What I've always hoped for is a classroom that, while teaching the necessary content for standardized success, allows students to expand on big ideas, to inject their own interests and talents, and by giving them some control to engage in learning that feels relevant to their lives.
Crap detection is something that has become increasingly relevant to me, as I have begun to realize that so many people will accept whatever they are told by authority figures (especially family members) as absolute fact. Many of Postman and Weingartner's examples of this spoke to me, and I found myself shaking my head in agreement while reading. I have become a firm believer in educating myself (and others becoming educated) in theories, beliefs, and customs and deriving their own opinions based on their own instincts, rather than accepting ones that are passed down from others. I hope to create instances in my classroom where students can look at controversial and/or multi-sided issues, research them, and create their own opinions about it. I hope that history and science teachers can do this too, and that my students can learn to really think for themselves, to form their own ideals, and to not be such flimsy followers of this or that. I hope that when faced with something in which they should choose a side or opinion, that they can say, "I don't know much about that, but I should look into it and see what I think," rather than saying to a friend or family member, "Well, what do you think?" This is the essence of insightful intellectuals, not those who can ramble off a collection of random trivia facts.