For those who are familiar with my Facebook blogs posted in the 2014 winter, a few of my T-R postings will sound familiar. I will gradually be mixing the new entries with the previously displayed blog postings.
For years, I have read and enjoyed conversational writers who have made me smile, ticked me off, or, at the least, made me think. Inspired by many, I have always been intrigued by writers who "stir the pot"--local writer Dick Farrell; syndicated columnists Gene Lyons, Cal Thomas, Kathleen Parker; and deceased icons Art Buchwald, Mike Royko, Hal Lebovitz--and the best of them all, Lewis Grizzard--have influenced my thinking, my perspective, and my writing. Well, today, I am making a grand leap into their world of writing publicly. Lord knows if it will be read by anyone--let alone perceived as favorable or not. I am going to take a shot and see where it lands.
I have read many others' blogs--some intrigue me, but many, unfortunately, do not. I hope mine does not deteriorate into mere rehashes of what I am doing or where I have been. Safe to say, I have many opinions--many substantiated and defendable--but I also have viewpoints that I don't know enough about to really want to argue with anyone. Having said that, here is what I have learned that reading audiences appreciate: give them something to think about, make the writing easy to read in 5-7 minutes, try to interject a bit of humor when possible, use everyday words, and take a stand. So, with those objectives in mind, here is my initial blog in Views from the Hot Seat!
Our society does not value education--simply stated, but I firmly believe it. Few of us will ever admit to feeling that way, but I have watched people for a lifetime, most notably in my 35 years of teaching English in Ohio's public schools, and I can tell you that what is valued is good grades. I ask the question: Are we learning while we are being educated? Certainly, many do prize learning as their central objective, but those clearly stand out from the majority. Getting good grades is the priority, always has been. Today, however, those convinced that public schools are greedy machines designed to bankrupt the locals have begun to overrun the logical viewpoint that receiving a quality education is a gift, one that will set the table for years to come for anyone who embraces it. Instead, so many of our learners are convinced that if we just get good grades, we will be fine. Example: the deterioration of the English language is frightening--yes, I am an English teacher so I do have an informed bias, but the lack of language control by young writers is disturbing. However, the need for a good grade far exceeds most students' willingness to learn how to write . . . and I am not talking about memorizing the parts of speech, phrases, and clauses.
Figuring out where all this starts is fairly easy to pinpoint: the reluctance to read. I would be a rich man if I were paid for how many times I have heard people say that they don't read a newspaper because "there's nothing in it anymore." I don't get it--I have loved newspapers since I was a kid, beginning with the sports page in The Daily Times, the comic strip characters of Joe Palooka and Buzz Sawyer, and yes, the numerous divorce reasons of "extreme cruelty and gross neglect of duty" (never quite understood what that meant, but I think it probably had something to do with the sex life had gone out the window), which used to be published on a weekly basis--that's right, my friends, I clearly remember a paragraph about each divorce being in the newspaper! You see, my education began with reading probably because my parents subscribed to two newspapers and numerous magazines, and they got books religiously from the local Gnadenhutten Public Library. I hope you clearly get my point: we say we want our kids to be educated, but growing up in a society where one of the most important skills we can grasp is basically ignored simply sets us up for being uninformed . . . and when people are uninformed, they become bogged down with opinions with little substance to their viewpoints.
Talking to most people about education typically turns into a discussion about how teachers and administrators are overpaid . . .; translated, so many viewpoints are limited in perspective so to intelligently discuss education's role constantly reverts to money. At some point, I will discuss that topic, but that certainly deviates from my point today. If we want to improve education, I suggest we begin with the written word . . . read . . .it's a starting point.
Absolutely agree, and as an avid reader, it both amazes and disgusts me how many times people will come up to me while I'm reading a book somewhere and say things like, "How do you read that much and not get bored?", "I don't like reading, it bores me.", "I don't like reading." etc. Additionally, it's sad that so much focus is placed on earning a letter of the alphabet or a percentile rather than on whether or not school systems and educators are really getting their lessons across to their students.
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ReplyDeleteAs a parent of two former students of this blogger, I can tell you that both of my girls truly appreciated the education that they received from Mike Gunther. Did they get the grade that they would have liked to have had? Maybe not, however, they both were very proud of the B's that they did earn. They both told me that they learned more in his class in a month then they did in many years of other Language Arts classes. Our education system should have more teachers that are focused on actually equipping our students with the necessary skills to succeed rather "teaching to the test."
ReplyDeleteI agree that education is not valued by the majority of our society today. I ask myself why that is, and my conclusion is that the majority take it for granted.
ReplyDeleteHigher education used to be something that was rare and experienced by only a select few. The hard work and determination that was required to pursue the dream of higher education just a few short decades ago seems to have been replaced with a sense entitlement. We are taxpayers. Therefore, we deserve the education we have funded, right? The problem with this logic is that if no effort is put forth to learn, we will not learn. Our tax dollars may give us the "gift" of an available education, but that gift is useless unless it is unwrapped and appreciated.
I know that I was given a precious gift and was blessed with excellent teachers who have inspired me to a lifetime love of learning even though I graduated many years ago. In fact, one of the best and most influential teachers I have ever had was Mr. Gunther. He always challenged me to do better than I thought was possible, and because of that, I appreciate the gift of the great education I received. Hard work and determination made it possible, with the help of my excellent teachers, but I never would have learned to appreciate it without the challenges along my way.