On Education
Conceived 15 Nov 2023 circa 15:32
On this conversation about Generation Alpha and their difficulties in education.
The shift of blame from the educational system in the U.S. onto people victimised by the educational system in the U.S. will be tragic.
We've been pretending people under the age of 18 aren't full human beings who hurt and feel things and have needs that need to be met in order to excel. The systems and people meant to be in positions to cultivate an intrinsic motivation to learn have been undervalued and dismissed. Simultaneously, children are observing as the people who've come before them and progressed through the educational system lack fulfilment, joy, and their own motivation in life.
There are still reasons to learn, it's a beautiful thing, but it certainly hasn't been framed or set up that way in our educational system and many educators aren't given adequate support to encourage that hopeful framing in their students either. A sense of intrinsic value has been lost and education has turned into "because I said so" which we know humans, in general, don't respond well to. It's as if we set up education as the thing you do so you'll be seen as a person deserving of having basic needs met (housing, food, water, etc.) only for people with college degrees to still be skipping meals.
The "it's because of remote learning" is an easy contribution to broader delegitimising of accommodations for disabled people and disabled students. Remote learning is not a sufficient explanation, especially given many of the children who now have difficulties with skills like reading and comprehension should have had these skills strengthened a few years before nationwide remote learning began. What's more, remote learning has been used for at least a decade prior to the pandemic as a tool for enrichment programs, tutoring programs, extra-curricular learning, and helping students progress beyond their grade level amongst other things. It's a tool. It's a mode. It requires you know how to use it and it requires you have the knowledge to form effective plans that allow you to reach your desired outcome.
Circa 17:52
The conversations around Generation Alpha very much remind me of "no one wants to work anymore". "No one wants to learn anymore" or almost "No one wants to work [intellectually] anymore" and I feel like arguments of "no one wants to _____ anymore" can frequently be answered with no one wants to treat [group that's supposed to be doing the thing] with respect anymore. No one wants to tend to them anymore.
Whenever you are observing a behavioural issue with any one, any being, any living thing
First, you ask if the needs are being met, ask if whatever entity is in distress or even in a position to do what is needed or asked.
I think there is something to this comparison because I've also seen people comment nothing sufficiently concerning is happening since exceptional students are also reaching new heights. This confuses me. Is the claim we're framing as a bragging point that the educational gap is growing? Is that positive?
It reminds me of wage gaps and wealth gaps. Is it a system worth celebrating when we have increased evidence for the potential of financial growth and millions more struggling to afford meals? Even thinking about "hustle culture" and what it entails eg. bragging about sleeping less than 40 hours a week, working harder, and sacrificing your physical state in order to "stand out from the crowd". Are we proud of that? An increase in people struggling to work and simultaneously more people working 3+ jobs to live a life not of ease? Is that disparity an accomplishment for us as a society? Would the goal not be a system designed to increase everyone's quality of life? To at least maximise the number of people who excel? Surely, we can see there is room for improvement.
May we forever honour growth and learn. Not just individually, but collectively.