EXAMPLE 1
This week’s readings and videos discussed significant changes to the education system were discussed. One of the facts that stuck out to me was the substantial increase in homeschooling; since 1999, there has been a seventy-five percent increase in parents choosing to homeschool their children overusing the public education system. (RT, 2012). I think many of the reasons we are seeing a higher rate of homeschooled children have to do with parents lacking confidence in the public school system. However, I believe the majority of the changes in the educational system are positive.
I do not believe that children are adequately prepared to compete in the global economy. I feel like the public school system fails to educate students on life skills. When I graduated High School, I realized several areas I wish would have been focused on, such as taxes, credit, interest rates, etc. I think the changes being made affect adult learners differently from children because adults view learning differently from children. Malcolm Knowles’s six assumptions about adult learners show adults outlines adults capacity for learning, “the need to know, self-concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning, and the motivation to learn.” (Finlay, 2010). Unlike children, adult learners can understand the importance of learning and are motivated to learn. Children have a more difficult time remaining focused on virtual learning. With virtual learning being on the rise since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we can see the impact it has had on children versus adults.
References
Janet Finlay. (2010, May 17). Andragogy (Adult Learning) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLoPiHUZbEw
RSA. (2010, October 14). RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
RT. (2012, September 16). ‘Unschooling’: Home learning the future of US education? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us_oN8C6Ezg
Wiley. (2013, February 12). Author Stephen Brookfield on adult education today [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75U3HYhq_8I
EXAMPLE 2
What the videos and the readings describe is the big difference in how children are being educated is that more children see that getting an education is not as important as it was back then. Meaning that if an individual does not finish high school it does not mean they are not going anywhere, the reason being is that a person can be successful in other ways rather than getting a higher education. I think that these changes are taking place is because of what William Zinsser stated, which “I see four kinds of pressure working on college students today: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure” (Goldthwaite, et all., 2020, p. 846). Those pressures contribute to how a student might feel towards getting a higher education. There are some students that do not want to go to college but are being forced by their parents since some parents think that to be successful and get a good job is through getting a degree. “Still, many fathers would rather put their money on courses that point toward a specific profession— courses that are pre-law, pre-medical, pre-business, or, as I sometimes heard it put, “pre-rich” (Goldthwaite, et all., 2020, p. 849). I personally think that yes, a degree does help one obtain a high-paying job, but there are other ways a person can succeed, like starting a small business. In addition, there is no guarantee that after getting a degree the individual would get hired right away or find a job right away. Children would adequately be prepared to compete in a global economy since parents and themselves need to see what fits best for them. But if we were talking about young 15th edition). W.W. Norton & Company children it would be more important if they go to school to know the basics of how life works and how to get a sense if getting a higher education is the right choice for them. These impacts adult learners in that they know what is good for them. Some will choose to get a high education seeing that they can advance in their careers while others see that education is not important since they are satisfied with what they have.
Reference:
Goldthwaite, M. A., BIzup, J., Fernald, A., & Brereton, J. (2020). The Norton Reader (
EXAMPLE 3
Something that I learned by watching these videos is that many believe we need to shift from our standard education model to something tailored more to the individual. Many suggestions were made in the videos and readings to address this needed shift. A change that was suggested was to avoid grouping children by their age and more by their interests, another is to avoid forcing the same curriculum on all and tailor curriculums based on the strengths of the individual. Homeschooling has become a big trend recently with many families that can afford to keep their children home and have one parent focus on their education.
Regardless of what education model we end up with either publicly or privately clearly something needs to change. The U.S. is currently ranking 25th in math literacy and 21st in science among the top 30 countries in the world. This is in stark contrast to 4 decades ago when the U.S. ranked #1. It is believed that in the next decade India will have 4 times more college graduates than the U.S. If you look at these numbers it’s hard to believe that our children will be adequately prepared to compete on a global scale, but I believe that my children will succeed.
Something my wife and I have consistently provided is a way for our children to be creative at home. We have paint, colored pencils, pads of paper, and clay easily accessible to our children at all times. This has been a constant since they were babies, and something our children gravitate to at this stage in their lives. Our children are in the tween/teen stage and still regularly “create”. I believe this coupled with their education is key and that all children need to have creative outlets. Our girls still watch television and play on their iPad, but they also take time to be creative with ink, paint, and clay.
While I believe that we need to work toward a solution to the one size fits all model, I personally do not believe that homeschooling is the answer. Isolating our children is not going to better educate them, in fact, I believe it will do more harm than good. Also, what qualifies parents to be valid teachers? In one video the parents let their kids stay up until midnight and wake up at 10 am. Also, the children did not seem that sharp and looked a bit pale and depressed. Perhaps we need to simply challenge our children more at school. I am not claiming to have the answer, but it is clear we need to strive for something better.
As far as adult learners, I believe they are able to adjust to whatever is going on in the education system because they are adults. I am middle-aged and in school, again, after many years. It was scary to think about going back to college, but once I took my first class I was hooked and have been enjoying the experience. Adults are scared of change and that is the biggest challenge for one to overcome, but once they do, most will surprise themselves at how well they will perform. I do not think the education system is lacking when it comes to adult learners.
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