Still Waiting on Education Reform?

Depending on the political climate, teachers' collective bargaining, and the United States school safety alert level voices for education reform headlines throughout the media, or dwindles to murmurs of unsatisfied parents, teachers and education reform activist.

An Industrial Education System in the 21st Century - Age of Technology Advancement

Rapid Technology Advancement

We all should be personally invested in The reform of the United States public education system. The advantages of elevating education reform to a red-alert level is numerous. Education reform deserve attention on an individual, family, primary school, college, organizational, local, state and federal government level. As a great grandmother, grandmother, mother, guardian and Director of Ohio Youth Development (501(C)(3) organization, I am personally invested in helping children become active productive people. Must admit even obsessively, I seek to identify how one live a life of financial well-being. Moreover, how do I control my own destiny, and teach young people to do the same.

An examination of the most influencing education we have encountered in the United States was the Industrial Education System, a knowledge-base that emerged in the 19th Century.

First, I researched topic like, education reform, homeschooling, unschooling. Keeping in mind that poverty and wealth has inherent elements. In fact, many poor and middle class community residence have obtained high school, secondary, and post secondary education and still many people ask the unanswered question, How one lives a life of financial well-being? My thought process led me to exam the effects of what we are learning in our homes, primary and secondary institution, places of employment, and communities. Or better yet what are we learning? Certainly, not how to live a life of financial well-being.

I am not referring to scroll down to the bottom of the page and purchase the money-back $49.95 course. No, I needed to know what am I not understanding, or doing? Have I been miss-educated? Have I miss-lead and miss-educated my children? In our defense, as parents, we do not knowingly miss-direct our children. It's an inheritance of misdirected leadership. Yes, we lead and encourage our children to by into the American education system. We relentlessly attempt to persuade or children to learn what state board of educations proclaim to be the key to a productive adulthood.

My personal awakening was mentally and physically imposing. I experienced emotional feeling of betrayal, maybe even defeated. But ultimately after the shock wore off I felt "awakened" Even still, I could not stop my mind from thoughts of learnt behavior that reinforced my financial sustainability, I recall my parents, family, teachers, employers, and clergy saying, "Study hard, and get good grades". Not to mention I have said it to my own children. Not, to say studying math and reading principles is not important in the educational process, reading and math proficiency are essential to financial well-being, but children do not hear encouraging creative statements often enough, "Create, think-freely, develop transferable skill-set." They seldom here questions like, What have you created new? Or, ask, what do you think...? In most of our learning environments, financial well-being studies are not offered . For one, families cannot teach what they don't know. School teachers can only teach what they are allow to teach and community programs can only offer services that receive funding support. So where is the incentive to foster a society of financial well-being?

How to Stop Waiting on Public Education Reform?

Today we want STEAM minded children. Science, Technology, Art, Engineering, and Mathematics requires the ability to think beyond learnt memory, to hypothesis. Critical-thinking, we call it. In order to wholly encourage children to use critical thinking techniques or even, to think, we must support free-thinking, a creating environment, in school, home, or their communities.

Yes, public and charter schools desperately need reforming, not just a curriculum adjustment. However, in the meantime, we can stop waiting on educational institution reform and begin to reform or personal why of leading children toward a life of learning experiences that enables thinking without boundaries that cuts-off freedom to pursuit of true happiness.

We cannot burden children with questions that forces them to limit themselves of opportunities and the ability to take risk, and to think-freely. Not to stress about what they want to be when they grow up? I had a volunteer say to me, "Children need life preparing opportunities."

So true, we should never defer opportunities. For example, as adults we solve problems throughout adulthood, but so does children. At home and in communities, children should have opportunity to solve family and community problems. Our children's action impact their families, and they are citizens in their communities. Actually, most children hang out in their neighborhoods more than adults, they play, walk to the store, as most of us did - they hangout. Therefore, children should be concern about their safety, feel as they are valuable community members, and their voices should be heard.

Another way to move educational reform forward is for families to become more active in their children's education. But first, their are many children who have taking the lead or have always went beyond the traditional "send them to school to learn" industrial education method. Parents tutor, pay for enrichment studies, home school, and unschool their children, more now then prior years.

This is for parents who have or are totally entrusting their children's educational well-being to public or charter schools. There are tools children need that school can't, won't, or should not have to teach along. We cannot afford to think otherwise, and expect that our children will live financially or emotionally healthy lives. For example, emotional intelligence. No to be confused with parental, family, school or community control. But to understand how their minds actually functions, to become aware of correct opportunity cost-decision; whether in financial or non-financial decision-making opportunities. Opportunity to learn from ones choices. For example, if your daughter decides to neglect her household chore, what will she ultimately give up, simply lose out on. If the thing given up is a greater lost benefit than the choice to neglect her chores, she made an unfavorable choice. Or, the opportunity-cost was too great. Mastering this principle instead of being punished for the act. Will enable her to develop reasoning skill-sets. She soon understands its what she gives up that matter. This principle requires critical-thinking. The list of steps we can take to reform education is extensive. Moreover, its worthy of more discussion and shared ideas. Let's start reforming our future leaders' educational experiences.

#educationreform #financialwell_being #emotionalwell_being #freethinkingchildren