December 25, 2005

• Topic: Quick holiday post, and of course a quick thought on education

  
  

  I want to quickly share a though on education, brough about from a comment a friend of mine asked.  “Why wait 5-10yrs. to try to change things?”

  
  

  I’ve come to accept that change is a long-term thing that requires people on your side, not just good ideas in your head.  I believe that in order to get the ideas in my head to translate into something practical, I need both numbers and close and influential people on my side.  If I continue on the path I’m on, which may or may not happen depending on how life decides to unfold, I might hope to have such a network of allies in 5-10yrs. time.  In other words, I need to build my credibility.

  
  

  Also, I have come to adjust my life priorities.  As far as long-term goals goes, having an influence on education is up there.  For the short-term, the upcoming days, weeks, and months, there are other pressing things.  I’m continuing to get in order my social life, family life, professional life, personal life, etc.  So…I don’t have the time to do what I did a year ago and dedicate myself 100% to preaching the message, nor do I believe that preaching the message is productive. 

  
  

  Which is another reason I’ve given myself 5-10 yrs. for this, to sharpen my message.  I recently picked up 6 books on education (which I look forward to posting about on this site in the upcoming months, and includes one book about the mental health crisis in higher education, another by Alfie Kohn about testing, one by Paolo Fiere about the relationship between education and poverty in developing countries, another by Jonathan Kozol about inequities in public schooling, a history of higher ed., and lastly Dennis Littky’s book about his new brand of schools, the Big Picture Company.), and am trying to focus on educating myself on every issue under-the-sun.  If I want to preach a message, I need to be an expert on that message…and again, I need to figure out exactly what that message is, and what exactly i want to accomplish???  I need to read all the issues, talk to a wide-range of people, and know the various perspectives and experts already out there.  No need to spend my life trying to build a wheel again.

  
  

  In actuality…this goal isn’t a 5-10yr. goal, but a lifetime goal.  This is something I will be dedicating probably my whole life to, to some extent.  For me personally, it’s really less about affecting the world, than it is affecting my own world.  By this I mean, I enjoy learning and discussing this issue, and will pursue it as long as it interests me.  When I feel myself banging my head against the wall, I’ll do the only thing I know to do in that situation, which is to stop banging.  I will not lose my sanity over education, because, part of my message is to be mentally healthy, to enjoy life, to have fun…so if I am going to be an activist for those things, I need to take it easy as well.  I was reading an article that mentioned how Plato believed leisure to be the key to a better democracy and a better society.  So, I feel as though I need to be leisurely aggressive about making people aware of educational and lifestyle issues that I believe plague too many people.

  
  

  And…as far as getting the word out there, I do intend to rely heavily on the internet.  Just yesturday CT, who comments often on my site, purchased a copy of my book College Daze, and another blogger, lionne, linked me to several other people who might be interested in exchanging thoughts.  So…certainly the internet will play a large role.  Instead of trying to sell a million copies of a book, I am thinking along the lines of writing something that might be read and forwarded to a million people around the world.  And just as the shortage of relevant books in Barnes & Nobles inspired me to write what I wrote, the crappy chain-letters I get e-mailed, even the few well-intentioned ones, are further proof that if thought out properly, something large can be achieved.

  
  

  On a closing note…just got back home from my first Christmas-eve dinner, which happened to be an Italian style dinner.  Massive amounts of fish, wine, pasta, and desserts.  I believe that as people allow themselves to see religion for what it really is or what it is really intended to be, an excuse to eat, to celebrate, and to build community, we allow ourselves to experience so much more.  Saying Merry Christmas no longer means anything different than saying Happy Birthday, Happy Channukah, Happy New Year, or Happy Let’s Just Get Together and Have a Good Time Day!!!  Am I planning on keeping my traditions and passing them down to my children?  I would like to.  But I am also equally interested in partaking in the traditions of others, and my experience tonight was a highly enjoyable one!

  
  

  And here’s a thought that’s really not worth losing sleep over, but what if it was Christmas 365-days a year?  What if every night you had dinner w/ 20 people, and the meal was a feast, and everyone was merry and friendly to each other?  What if we paid attention to the poor, and sang songs, and felt warm-and-fuzzy more often than this 1-week?  Well..just because our national leaders aren’t addressing these questions, doesn’t mean that we all can’t in our own lives.

  
  

  Food coma…time for bed.

  
  

  -dan

  
  

  p.s. is it strange that after a few drinks on Fri. afternoon, and going to Barnes & Nobles to relieve myself, I binge-spent money on education books?

  
  

  p.p.s. What’s up w/ the Giants?  They had a chance to clinch the NFC East today, and now if they lose on the raod in Oakland on New Year’s eve, they could miss out on the playoffs all together.  Get it together Big Blue!!!

  • 1:41 am
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