One of my summer
adventures was my first trip flying off to Vegas with my mom to see dear
friends; east coast transplants. Of course we wandered from their
home to the Strip and I was a COMPLETE tourist – you know, “that” person that
the diehard gamblers wished would go away!
We made our way to
the Venetian – it just didn’t seem right that this second generation
Italian-American would miss it! I roamed the casino, mouth gaping,
bumping into things and people as I looked everywhere but where I was
going! My eyes were wide in awe of the imaginations that made this
place happen, the art and mastery of the craftsmen who created such a beautiful
place – something got under my skin in this place. Perhaps it was
that we had master masons in our family, perhaps it was simply the creativity,
heart and soul that was obviously poured into this place. As we
roamed the floors and endless hallways I stumbled, completely by accident, into
a DaVinci gallery – I was in awe. I wandered speechlessly (yes, a
miracle in itself!) from invention to invention, idea to idea, the art, the
mathematics, the mind. As I strolled slowly along, I was even more
struck by DaVinci’s brilliance and wisdom, well before his time......although
he was incredibly disorganized, had his hand in so many projects, he was deemed
a master of art and invention, of innovation and foresight.
As I continued to
stare at each piece brilliantly worked, I contemplated what folks thought of
him at the time – I doubt he had the respect and awe that he has today. According
to Helen Gardner, art historian, DaVinci is known today as a man of "unquenchable curiosity" and
"feverishly inventive imagination" - which made me wonder if
his genius was honored and respected then or seen simply as eccentric and a
dreamer. No matter, DaVinci continued to push through, ignore the
nay-sayers and disbelievers and quietly go about dreaming with forward thinking
– tough in any circumstance or time, but I kept wondering how challenging this
was and how he kept pushing forward.
My
wander continued and I kept wondering how many of us are willing to continue
our push forward to do what’s best for our children, to go against “popular
opinion”, to honor their own DaVinci? How many of us will continue
to work to push forward on issues and ideas that are rooted in research, that are intuitive and creative? Are we willing to risk being a DaVinci,
perhaps not popular at the time, but a true master at our craft? Or
are we happy settling for teaching from scripts, from something that anyone off
the street could use to “teach”? As I walked, I began to wonder where
DaVinci would have fallen in today’s education system. Perhaps he
wasn’t as eccentric as believed, but saw great
possibility in everything around him. But would he “fit” in this rigid mold our kids are now
facing? Would he have continued to dream if he had been forced into
scripted education?
I have incredible
respect for the people currently in education fighting this battle at the
forefront. The people who are standing up for what is
developmentally appropriate for children, but who stand for those who see
things more globally than what is on a script. My hat is off to
those who see more challenging options of allowing voice of teachers and
honoring the knowledge of their educators, of facing the challenging road to
“playing the game” using their own rules.
My concerns about
scripted modules and education are rooted in research by credible, known
experts in the field and not in those looking to make a profit. My
concerns are rooted in reading a script that uses morally inappropriate “mentor
texts” for young children, broaching topics and opinions on war and destruction
by planes flying over, fear of stereotypical soldiers bearing rifles outside of
schools and libraries. They’ve grown from the faces staring
off, unengaged because the text is boring to them, too challenging, or too
easy, or simply sitting for forty-five minutes listening to a teacher talk at them has caused them to go on a mind trip to save their sanity. It comes from the place where I can’t differentiate the text
we use because it’s not in the script – it doesn’t matter the place the child
is at, it matters what’s in the script. My concerns stem from
walking by a classroom of a wonderful teacher who is now, to her dismay, being
a “good little soldier” reading from a script perched neatly in her lap while
children are required to repeat back to her exactly what is first spoken by
her: “This is a heating system” – how insulting to this teacher or
these brilliant little minds capable of so much more than robotic repeating.
They grow from concern that we are teaching in depth about world religions
where seven year old children need to know the number of Hindu gods and
describe what they look like, the name of the Holy book, and explain
reincarnation – we are crossing the line from respecting family values and
beliefs to imposing new ones.
Believe me, I have NO
PROBLEM with my children learning about world cultures – personally, my
children are very familiar with the culture of our family’s “homelands” and
their religions, cultures and beliefs. They know, in depth, of my
niece’s birth family – their culture and history and their Buddhist
beliefs. We speak of a friend’s family member who served in Germany
under Hitler’s reign. But that’s MY right to teach MY children what
I believe is appropriate for them.
In my grade level, we
(used to) have a great depth of understanding of cultures around the world –
all throughout the year learning about their schools, homes, food,
transportation, families, clothing, traditions, etc and (used to) celebrate
that in an end of the year Travel Expo extravaganza where students show
incredible mastery of their understanding. THEIR understanding,
THEIR ownership, not what I am forced to impose. The joy, the
excitement, the brilliance of this day was incredible – all honoring cultures
from around the world WITHOUT disrespecting families’ values and beliefs. Call
me crazy, but I can’t seem to see that same excitement from young children reciting back to teachers. The boredom, the disengagement of children is
palpable. This hasn’t even touched on the quickly declining morale
of master teachers, of those who have devoted themselves and their careers to
engaging and honoring students. The conversation of “my profession
has left me” and looking on to what they could do if they left it is continual and makes me furious.
It’s concerning to me
that we have DaVinci’s sitting in front of us, as we read scripted lessons, that
will be destroyed and dishonored. My fear is that we will label
children the “problem child” for not completing work because they see
things more broadly than the expected, specific answers provided in our neat little scripts. That child
who desperately wants to do things a different way than is on the script will
become disengaged. For having so many interests in many different
things that aren’t included in the recitation, a student will be penalized.
In 1967, Liana
Bortolon said: "Man is as uncomfortable today, faced
with a genius, as he was in the 16th century. Five centuries have passed, yet
we still view Leonardo with awe."
How
will you give voice to your DaVincis?
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