It is our civic responsibility to be well educated.

Thomas led a very informative and interesting discussion on Thursday night that left me thinking about some challenges of education that I hadn't thought about in a while. As a high school teacher I was often faced with the challenge of making students want to learn and as I got more experienced I was adept at responding creatively to the question, "Why do I need to know this?" My answers were often witty, some that directly related to the student, while others were matter of fact. Most, however, dealt with the present and immediate gratification that students craved in order to motivate them to want to learn something. If I think about Keller's ARCS model, I was motivating them by providing them with immediate relevancy. I guess I chose this because most teens have difficulty thinking about their lives past this week, unless of course they are thinking about the prom or summer break. But, how should I have responded? Could I have made them understand in a broader sense that it is their civic responsibility to be educated.

You don't have to look far to notice the stereotype that is developing among other countries about the citizens of the United States. Recently, friends in another country shared a YouTube video with me that included a combination of video interviews that asked Americans simple questions about the world in which we live. They laughed hysterically as average citizens didn't know the answers to questions like, "Who is the Vice President of the United States" and "Can you name a country that starts with 'U'" We are even making fun of ourselves. Jay Leno has dedicated a segment in his late night show to exposing Americans who cannot answer common sense questions and know who Paris Hilton is, but have no idea that Paris is in France. And beyond just common sense, we are plagued with information telling us that the US is rapidly falling behind in education compared with other industrialized nations.

So, what can we do? Why is this gap widening? I would argue that in many places around the country, the culture that has developed has a lot to do with this. For some reason we are teaching students the importance of state standardized tests, but we are not teaching students the value and importance of education and the impact that it has on the success of our country. And, If we are not doing this as individuals, we cannot expect a cultural shift. This has to be a united effort between the community, parents, teachers, and students. Students must know that it is within their power to keep their country strong or let it fail. Sure, this isn't going to happen overnight, but by instilling this notion in the youth of today, we can ensure their support as the parents of tomorrow.

I am sure another entry could be devoted to the reasons of this current culture, the challenges with initiating a shift, and the potential outcomes. I would welcome any comments and I think we would benefit from a dialogue on this topic. I have also always been extremely interested in comparative education, so please feel free to share any current articles.