Inequality Matters: The Growing Economic Divide in America and its Poisonous Consequences

Tues., Jan. 31, 7:00 p.m. $8. The New School…66 W. 12th St.

Please join us for a public forum on the growing concentration of wealth, income and power in America. Why is it happening? How is it affecting us? What can we do about it? Moderated by Laura Flanders, author of The W Effect and host of Air America’s Laura Flanders Show and featuring Paul Krugman, New York Times columnist and Princeton economist, on the causes and far-reaching consequences of the quarter-century-long trend of growing economic inequality in America. Joined by Meizhu Lui of United for a Fair Economy; James Lardner, senior fellow at DEMOS and co-author of the groundbreaking new book Inequality Matters; and other panelists to be announced. Co-sponsored by The New School, The New Press and DEMOS.

World Can’t Wait to Rally in Times Square Tonight

1/31 | According to the World Can’t Wait Press Office, “as Bush steps to the podium to deliver his State of the Union address, “political drown-out” rallies will take place in 65 cities across the country.

Where do my ideas come from???

It’s all in the hands…all in the hands.

read my latest article published on NYC  (if the link works)

MAJOR: SOCIOLOGY
COURSE: Sociology of Dan’s Weekend

This weekend, Dan will be “winging it.”  This may involve
spending time w/ his homey’s, cnosuming alcohol, ingesting greasy food
or attempting to cook something.  It will likely involve being
entertained and creating entertainment for others, possibly while under
the influence of alcohol.  It may involve reading things, or
watching things, or doing things.  Above all, it will involve rest
and relaxation. 

peace.

-dan

MAJORS: Media Studies 101, Sociology 101, Political Science 101
COURSE: Values in politics, society, and film

Today, I want to talk about an inspiring op-ed piece in the Times by David Brooks.  The article focussed on one reason for the Democrats inability to gain power in Washington DC.  One reason, he said, is that the big hearts of most liberals have been combined with a false view of how bad things are in American society.  The division between the lower-class majority and the upper-class minority that wields its financial power, which is the basis of many Democratic causes, is possibly exaggerated (yes…I’m fairly sure this guy is the lone conservative on the Times op-ed pages, but, hear him through!).  Moving on, Brooks notes that Democrats have made economics their core issue.  By addressing issues like taxes and budgets, welfare and income gaps, Dems hoped to become the party for the poor, and this would lead to their rise to power.  Since this hasn’t happened, we know something in that equation is off.

Brooks argues that another problem with the Democratic party is that they believe that Republicans, knowing their economics hurt the poor and favor the rich, have turned to cultural values to make up for this gap in economic values.  Brooks notes, however, that many voters don’t view the two value systems as separate.  Or maybe, many people view cultural values as something that is even more important than economic values.  Do people spend their days worrying about their jobs getting outsourced and their wages staying stagnant (economic values), or do they worry that their communities are not safe places to live, that divorce has become the norm, that violence is glorified (cultural values). 

Basically…the question is, have the Democrats come to worship money (economic values), while ignoring the reality of people’s lives (cultural values)?  As Brooks puts it, the Dems have become cultural libertarians, leaving culture and values completely out of government.  He continues that in their absence, conservatives have filled the void, much to the detriment of Democrats.

Since the re-election of Bush in 2004, Dems have caught on to the fact that many voters consider cultural values to be important.  In response, they have worked to transform economic values into cultural values.  Democrats have begun to argue that protecting the poor, protecting wages, protecting and strengthening unions, spending more money on important social issues, protecting Social Security, protecting people’s health, are cultural values.  Democrats (and I’m generalizing here), have said, “if you think abortion and gay rights are cultural values, espeically if that’s coming from your religious backgrounds, than you should be equally convinced that our economic values are cultural as well.”

I believe we are moving down the right path by talking about values, but need to also talk about our culture and lifestyles.  What does it mean to be American?  What is the new American dream?  What lifestyles, and communities, do we want for America?  What kind of schools?  Clearly…many of these are local issues.  I work and spend most of my time in New York City, so my concern with George W. Bush isn’t that he reaches out to NYC, so much as he doesn’t interfere w/ how we do business here.  We have Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. George Pataki to concern ourselves with.

But…I do believe that political leaders on all levels do have the potential to shape culture.  The combination of partisan politics and entertainment driven media that picks up only extreme political soundbites, has had a detrimental effect on the culture of this country.  If you were to equate America to an enourmous family of about 300million, or however many people live here, it would be similar to a family of 4, where the brother and sister haven’t spoken to each other in years, and the mother and father get drunk every night and throw plates at each other.  What this family needs is a good ol’ fashion sit-down, come to grips with our abusive past, our problems with communication, our different needs, and resolve to enjoy each others’ company.

I watched an amazing movie last night from 1980, called Ordinary People.  I’m not a huge movie buff, but back in its time this movie brought home many awards, and featured Mary Tyler Moore (who i’m mostly familiar with from a Weezer song).  The story is a hard-hitting tale of a family that lost one of its sons in a boating accident.  The son who survived battles with severe depression and suicidal tendencies, and the story follows his life, as well as those of his parents who also are struggling with the loss of their son, the depression of their living son, and their own battles to keep their marriage alive.

The title of this movie, I felt, draws out a lot.  This family, like so many, is comprised of “ordinary people.”  People with hopes, and flaws, people with struggles psychologically, and socially.  We ride this wave of struggle with these characters, and begin to realize that the “world” is just this family, times several billion people on Earth.  We are all, everyone of us, ordinary people.

It is rare, to see ordinary people in politics, talking about ordinary people things.  To me, the role of government should, amongst other things, be to address the mental well-being of its ordinary people.  Conservatives have been trying to do this with their “cultural values,” and now Democrats have been trying to do this with their “economic/cultural values.” 

What David Brooks’ article, and this movie Ordinary People, made me realize, is that inevitably, politics and society must shift to address the concerns of ordinary people.  In order to do so, the ordinary people who work in politics need to recognize that they are ordinary people too!  Beyond their policy decisions, they must lead by example.  There are currently 0, if there ever were any, role models in modern society.  I’m not talking about kids idolozing Teen Idols or MTV Real World casts.  I’m talking about people who have figured out the universal cultural values of family, friends, and community.  That’s what politics is lacking…leaders who can build community, or play a role in building community. 

Ultiamtely, and most importantly, we must never forget that community doesn’t come from Washington, it comes from us…ordinary people.  Community is not, as Brooks would agree, comprised of economic factors.  There are thriving communities in 3rd world countries.  They may lack the health resrouces, the shelter resources, and the economic and technological resources that American’s have, but they have community.  And with community, comes peace of mind. 

I am in the midst of brainstorming a massive project about community.  It’s likely to be a lifelong project, but with tangible markers along the way.  I have been working on this project sporadically and with mixed results since college, but I believe I have finally started to make some ground.  What I am referring to is building a community of discussion.  When you look around today, you see these communities growing, and I hope to contribute.  I’m referring to blogs, and book clubs, and community groups.  America has always had strong communities, but, I believe the idea of community has been lost a bit.  And…I know I now need to go back to reading Robert Putnam, whose books “Bowling Alone,” and “Better Together: Restoring the American Community,” I was assigned to read last year as part of an internship, but at the time I got bored at page 2.  I think those books might clarify what kind of project i hope to undertake.

your thoughts…

MAJOR: Sociology 101, Politics 101, Philosophy 101, Copyright Law 101
COURSE:  The role of individuals and governements in shaping society
TIME: Reading this entry should take 5-10min., more if you follow links and take time to reflect, and respond.

ASSIGNMENT: Give examples of what small portions of society looks like in the year 2006.  Explain how government or individuals play a role in shaping the way society looks.  Finally, attempt to ponder whether or not your examples of society demonstrate a healthy society, a sick society, or a society that cannot be judged.  Use any writing style and sources you see fit.

Before I went to college, one of the professions I was considering was journalism.  At the time, there wasn’t anything specific I wanted to write about, but I enjoyed writing, and I was attracted to the sense of prestige that came from having a by-line at the end of an article.  Unfortunately, Wash U. in St Louis did not offer an undergraduate degree in journalism.  For most, the option of pursuing a journalistic career is delayed until after completing 4-years of college.  I often wonder if the logic behind that makes any sense?

Steven Brill, a multi-millionaire who amongst other things, founded Court TV, has recently donated $1 million to Yale to add jouralism classes to its undergaraduate curriculum.  While the dean of Yale’s undergraduate program was quick to note that this was not a journalism major, being that “elite” universities hold the (logical?) belief that vocational training should be secondary to liberal arts learning.  Steven Brill’s program will bring in a professional journalist to teach a course on the subject, as well as bringing in a professional counselor to better guide students into the field of journalism, and will also subsidize those who pursue low-paying careers in journalism.

It’s this last point, that is more interesting to me.  A wealthy individual, using his money to effect the job-making psychology of college students.  With the support of Steven Brill, Yale students with an interest in journalism may pursue that passion, while those undecided or in other majors, may also decide that journalism is the field for them.  Besides the nature of the work, the most important factor in improving the field of journalism by attracting more good journalists into the field, is to make it more lucrative.  In this situation, private philanthropy is pulling the train.

Some notable quotes from the article:

“Alfred E. Guy Jr., director of the Yale College Writing Center, which will include the journalism program, said that besides offering instruction in writing, the program would encourage students to enter journalism at a time that “the whole tone of the culture over the past 20 years has been to denigrate work that doesn’t lead to instant riches.”
[THE ECONOMICS/PSYCHOLOGY OF CHOOSING A JOB]

“Some of Mr. Brill’s former students said they liked the real- world orientation in his class.”
[THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND MOTIVATION]

A second topic of sociology that I’ve been brimming with excitement and joy about, is the topic of age in society.  What constitutes “young,” or “old.”  What are the expectations and roles of people of different ages in society?  Or, the most important question in my eyes, “At what age can a person begin to be taken seriously, and to have an impact on society?”

At 24, I sometime feel young.  I feel as though I’m just out of college, just starting my first real job, clearly, it will be some time before I make a splash in the world.  I feel as though the people pulling the strings that create our society are all more powerful, intelligent, and of course, older than myself.

Andrew Jones (not the baseball player), is a 24-year old graduate from UCLA, whose name became known in the national media because of his efforts to pay students to gather information from lectures that demonstrate a liberal-leaning bias that intimidates and silences conservative viewpoints.  UCLA has struck back by accusing Jones of violating school policy by taping lectures for political purposes, and possibly for violating copyright law. 

If you’re in highschool reading this, you might not feel surprised to see a 24yr. old making news.  If you’re in your 30′s, you might be thinking, “jeez…this kid is so young and doing so much,” and, if you’re my age, you’re probably thinking, “I can’t believe someone my age is doing this.” 

This issue of age is interesting to me, because in about 10-20 years, my peer group will have their turn to run things.  Policy makers, judges, business leaders, educators, etc. will all be my peer group.  Already, many professional athletes are my peers.  Those amazing college basketball players I grew up worshiping, are now young kids in my eyes.  But…as a person begins to realize that they will get their turn to make a splash, and as they realize that there’s no age restriction to this, I’d expect more people to take on projects and challenges like Andrew Jones has.

For those of you who read these through till the end, I’ll leave you with a few more thoughts.  I wonder, are Mr. Jones’ efforts to highlight what he views as a flaw in society, the best of efforts?  Don’t they come off a bit sneaky, and accusatory?  Might there be a better way to examine flaws in society, that don’t compromise civil discourse?

For example, part of this story has to do with the efforts of the right-wing conservative David Horowitz, who has tried to promote an Academic Bill of Rights into several states as a law that would prohibit partisan/political education.  The reality, to me, is that there will always be partisan/political education, and legislation will not only fail to solve the problem, but is the wrong method of going about addressing it. 

The problem Horowitz and Jones are addressing is a valid one.  On most college campuses, when subjects that touch on politics are taught (history, economics, poli sci, sociology), they are taught with a liberal lean to them.  While Horowitz would have you believe that the problem is that conservative views are not being presented, the reality is that he would prefer the lean to be towards the right.  Ultimately, what needs to be done is to ensure that both sides have their views taught, so students can actually understand what they believe or don’t believe, and why!

In order to improve education, especially with regards to the inherent subjective nature of the social sciences, we need students learning as many views as possible, not just one or two.  The way to do this, I believe, is not through legislation, and not through the courts.  This needs to be done in a more natural, and civil way.  Horowitz and Jones should be organizing “teach-ins” for liberals and conservatives, to be taught side-by-side with the Michael Moore liberals of the world.  Bring in Jon Stewart, and bring in Bill O’Reilly, bring in Maureen Dowd and bring in Ann Coulter. 

Ultimately…to answer the last question, not of this is good or bad, except as it pertains to my views of how society “should” look.  Many people aren’t happy with the world today, and work to “improve” the world, or to make the world closer to “perfection.”  But, I wonder, is there such a thing as a “perfect world?”  I don’t think there can be, or should be.  But, is there such a thing as a “better world,” both for the years that I’m alive, and for the generations to come.  I think there is.

So…my thoughts on society is that society is alright, but could be better.  It’s like going to a new restaurant and trying getting a steak (or a salad for you veggies out there).  Sometimes you lick your lips and say, “This steak was the best,” and sometimes, you eat it and say, “That was actually a bit too much,” or “Could have been cooked a little better.”  Point being, it’s just a steak, it’s just a meal, you eat it, and you try to enjoy it to the best of your abilities. 

Things that appear “important,” I believe are important in the sense that

MAJOR: MEDIA STUDIES 101
COURSE: THE MEDIA AND SOCIETY

ASSIGNMENT:  Demonstrate how the media oftentimes fails to discuss popular, yet alternative views of society.  Describe the issue, your alternative view, and reference an example of how one of the major media organizations failed to recognize the possibility of your view.

For many people, the educational norm has become to attend 12 years of school, followed by 4 years of college.  As the 21st century moves along, the overlap between schooling and schools’ role in society has hit some new bumps.  Amongst the hurdles faced by those involved with educational discussions, is how schools can best prepare young people for the unique 21st century workforce.  As society has evolved from agricultural, to mechanical, to digital, the knowledge and skills necessary for work have also changed.  In order to keep up with the changes of the working world, schools must change too.

Mainstream media has caught on to this topic, as well as our politicians.  They have recognized the difficulties American’s are facing because of new technologies and globalization.  As American jobs get outsourced to countries that can do work for less money, the new American job market demands workers skilled in the math and sciences, say the media and politicians.

What the media fails to recognize, however, is that the math and sciences that they speak of, that which is taught on the K-12 level, is not sufficient to do the math and science necessary to do the professional work that the modern worker will be doing.  While most leaders in the media and politically are quick to recognize that the status quo is not adequate, both have failed to identify exactly what is wrong, and therefore, are off the mark in proposing ideas for what is to be done.

A recent NYT article, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” exemplifies this.  In reaction to this article, I will insert my thoughts in bold throughout:

‘Rising Above the Gathering Storm’

MAJOR: Journalism 101
COURSE: Collaborative & Independent Journalism
DESCRIPTION: The aim of this course is to explore the concept of collaborative and independent journalism.  While traditional news media bring the stories and opinions of select individuals into the public arean, collaborative journalism allows anyone with access to the internet to do this.  We will explor how indendent media work as collective blogs, where no one person is in control, anyone can submit articles and viewpoints, and the public can respond directly and immediately.  Also, we will discuss how collarorative journalism can be harnassed to create an educational media environment, where the purpose is to create dialogue and learning, as opposed to traditional media where the major newspapers, magazines, and tv shows are driven equally by the needs of advertisers, as the needs of the public

ASSIGNMENT: Give an example of collaborative & independent journalism that you have experienced.

After publishing an article on NYC indymedia’s website regarding a music teacher strike, I received the following comment in my xanga comment box from one of those music teachers.  There have also been 8 comments made directly on the indymedia site regarding the article.  Here is the comment I received on this site:

Dan,

As a Midori and Friends teaching artist, I have to give props to you for helping us to create a dialogue about our situation. It is thought provoking, and I can assure you that all involved are learning oodles about labor, greed, communication, etc.

I think Bethany, [another blogger who commented on this particular labor struggle]  is asking some very good questions that reach to the heart of our struggle right now.

I would like to give some facts from our side of the equation. The issues are many, but here are some key points to start things…

Teaching artists for this organization make less than we did in 1998. We took a 20% pay cut that year, and have remained at that starting salary for seven years.
Judi Linden, our executive director’s salary is currently $135,000 a year. This is up from $100,000 a year ago, that was up from $75,000 two years ago. While she has recieved a pay increase of 33% and 35% respectively, our starting salary remained stagnant. She also receives over $19,000 a year in benefits. Bethany is right that our requested raise must come from somewhere…but it seems hard for Midori and Friends to argue that it doesn’t have the funds.

Regarding the work we do, it’s little more complex and time-consuming than most would think. We actually commute to underpriveleged schools in outlying districts to teach classes (depending on what we teach, the class sizes range from 12 to a full grade school class with more than 30 kids). Last year my school was over an hour away. So by putting in a 4 1/2 hour afternoon, I came away with a little more than $80 (I’ve been around for a couple of years, so my pay is fractionally above the starting wage of $40 a class).

In New York City, $80 doesn’t take you very far.

You’re right though, that, for most of us, this is a part of our puzzle. I don’t expect to pay my (absurdly high) rent with that $80. But as someone with conservatory training, and a Masters Degree in education, I do expect to be paid fairly for the work I do.

I have much more to say about the strike, but I imagine you may have some questions…

~micah

my response:

MAJOR: Journalism 101
COURSE: Independant media

ASSIGNMENT: Find an issue in your daily life to report about.  This should preferably be an issue that is of importance to a number of people.  Write an article that includes both objective facts, as well as your subjective opinion.  When you are finished, publish your article to an independant news agency such as indimedia, and insert a link to your article here…..

The Midori & Friends Foundation, Music Teachers, are on strike.  That’s right, this very morning, January 21st, 2006, as I sit typing this at 10:18AM, about 20 music teachers are standing in front of their offices on the west side of 7th Ave. and 28th St. in New York’s Manhattan, waving signs, and chanting the traditional union chant, “What do we want?”  “Contracts!”  “When do we want them?”  “Now!”

Why would these 20 individuals, who range in age from their mid-20s to mid 40s, make such a scene?  I asked several of them this very question.  “Our executive director, Judi Linden, has been giving herself 35% annual raises.  She’s now making over $135,000 per year?”  I asked them what their grievance was.  “We make only $40 for each class we teach.  Most of us teach only two classes a day.  So, we make $80, and have to pay for travel to the schools.”

I wasn’t sold, so I asked more questions.  “Do you receive health insurance?”  “We do,” they responded, “but it’s complicated.”  At the time, I didn’t follow-up on the details.  I tried to paraphrase their argument, “So you’re upset that you’re only making $40/class?”  They responded,  “Well…we also haven’t received a raise in years.  Our contract expired in June, and our executive director hasn’t been fair in negotiations.  Plus, we are given no retirment benefits.”

I spent some time speaking with a gentleman who was the head of the union, (I forget the number), which reprsents musicians including those who play on Broadway.  I asked, “If these people are so unhappy with their pay, and if there’s other companies that pay more, why don’t they just quit and work for those other companies?”  The union rep responded, “If people did that, wages would become a race to the bottom.  These people would leave, and would be replaced for the same low wages.  The reason why wages are higher at other companies, is because people organized as unions and drove wages up.” 

At that point, they asked me to call Judi Linden.  You can too.  Her number is (212) 767-1300.  Using one of the strikers’ cell phones, I left a message.  I’m not sure I said the smartest things…under the influence of the atmosphere, I took the side of the union and came off a bit hostile to Judi on the message.  I said I believed she was treating these people unfairly, although, I added that I said it would be nice if she could come down and engage in a dialogue.  I began to wonder how the chants of the union would actually play out in persuading (or pressuring?) their boss to negotiate a new contract with them.

After all was said and done, I had to leave to go to work.  The members seemed happy that I stopped to learn about their cause, and that I had made a call to their boss on their behalf. 

The experience left me much to reflect on.  The flier handed to me by the Midori & Friends Foundation Music Teachers notes:

“When an execuvtive director of a not-for-profit agency receives lavish wages and benefits while refusing to pay a fair wage and even denying retirment benefits for its front-line teachers, something is terribly wrong.”

The truth is, very few people in this country receive retirement benefits.  I work for a not-for-profit, and I’m saving for my retirement independantly.  Some lucky but rare individuals receive pensions from their companies, some receive contributions to their retirement plans, but for the vast majority of Americans, saving for retirement involves investing your own money.

As for being paid a living wage, I think this also needs to be examined.  To me, the amount an executive director of a not-for-profit is paid has less to do with objective fairness, than to do with the spirit of working for a not-for-profit.  If you work for a company where your main objective is to make profit, I have less qualms with a CEO taking away a big paycheck, than an executive director for a company whose purpose is supposed to be bringing music education into public schools. 

With that said, I think the key issue here is not what the executive director gets paid, but what the workers get paid.  Are they being paid a living wage?  If not, would a redistribution of wages from the executive director to the employees make the situation different?

I want to qualify this article, by noting that my interviews were incomplete, and I in no way mean to end this article as conclusive.  I am hoping to gain more perspecitves.  However, I think being paid $80 for teaching 2 music classes is actually a lot of money!  One striker noted they had a masters and they were very dedicated to teaching kids music…and I said I’d also one day like to have a masters and want to help teach kids, but, the question is, is $40/class a living wage in NYC?  It seems to me, that these teachers should still have free time to do a few other things during the day, including private lessons, that might allow them to make upwards of $100/day.  Maybe not a lot of money, but certainly on par with a great number of NYC employees.  And, if they wanted, they could become NYC public school teachers, where they would receive higher wages and a pension, although as a member of that union they would then have a new employer to have grievances with.

Ultimately, the lesson this bit of investigative journalism taught me, is that beyond wages, the issue of civility is most important.  When people strike, this shows to me that civil communication between employers and employees has broken down.  Hard feeling are created, which could spill over into the actual work being done.

For example, while I worked at Outward Bound, I felt as though I was underpaid.  Making about $65/day, working 24hour days!  Sure, I took the job because I loved the work, but talk about exploited labor!  However, my concern was less that I was being exploited, and had much more to do with the effect of wages on the ability to carry out our not-for-profit mission of improving the lives of people.  With wages that low, Outward Bound is unable to attract and retain many potentially talented and lifelong instructors.  As a result, turnover and burnout is high, and this has an effect on the overall product.

Paying workers high wages is as much a moral/living wage issue, as it is an economic growth issue and community development issue.  When workers don’t have love for their employers or their company, business suffers.  When workers and employers don’t trust each other, well…trust amongst people suffers.  Yesturday, our exec. director called a pub break at 4pm.  Drinks on the boss.  Talk about boosting worker moral!

I appreciate you reading my first attempt as an independant reporter, and as always…

your thoughts?

DUAL MAJOR: Education 101 & Writing 101
COURSE: Writing about testing and traditional schools

ASSIGNMENT: Write a thought provoking essay about traditional schools and testing.  You may have a central argument, or may opt to simply write a reflective piece that does not yet have a central argument. Your aim is to provoke thought, both in yourself and your readers.

It’s funny, I was a political science major, but graduated knowing history on what I’d say was a 5th grade level.  Seriously!  And I obviously passed all my high school social studies classes, and I obviously survived 10 poli sci classes for my major.  What does this tell me?  First, it tells me that it’s possible to get by on life regardless of how much you learned in school.  Also, it tells me that grades are very good at masking what people really know. 

The reason I say that I was at a 5th grade level after college, is because I believe that everything that is taught in h.s. social studies, a 10-year old could handle.  I was at Barnes & Nobles browsing through some of the test prep books for history, and was amazed by how easy it is to pass those things without knowing a thing about history.  Most of the questions are common sense, or simply geared more towards a student’s ability to reason through the question, than to actually know anything about history. 

For example, interpreting basic graphs and charts!  I mean, come on!  That’s a 3rd grade skill they’re testing.  And questions such as, “which of the following statements are opinion rather than fact?”  That’s the least those kids should be able to do.  It’s funny, you can give 50 multiple choice questions, and say that if they get 30 right, they pass and can move to the next grade.  But, you can also go through those questions and weed out the ones that a 3rd grader should know, and ones that are essential for understanding anything about history (not essential for being in a certain grade, for being a certain age, or for most professions, but more importantly, for having the knowledge to be an educated voter).  For example, if you don’t know that capitalism and communism differ in their views on the role of gov’t in helping the people to live fulfilling lives, and you only see the two as good and evil, than you haven’t grasped an essential concept in understanding history and current events (not saying we should hold a kid back if they don’t know what I would describe as “essential knowledge”, because I believe holding a kid back in school has tremendously negative psychological effects on a kid…but because like I said, i graduated from college and have a job, and until recently had very little understanding about what those 2 terms meant).

We’re only going to see more testing, not less, in the years to come.  If I end up having kids, the reality is they’re going to be tested (a good 10 years away, but coming soon).  However, I’m starting to shy away from the usual crowd of people who are yelling, “testing is bad,” or “testing is harmful to children.”  Why do I not fully buy into those mainstream arguments?  Because I think testing can be harmful only if the other important elements of education and learning are missing.  For example, if a kid at age 10 is already reading the New York Times (I’ve met them, there’s nothing freakish about it), and with proper guidance they’re being shown how to understand and figure out things they don’t know, than that kid can probably take a social studies test, and get an 85+ (I think very few adults would ace the very same tests their kids are subjected to), The kid also wouldn’t stress a bit about the test because the content would be easy to them, and because testing is just one of many challenges this kid has faced, and after the hour or two, they would go back to learning again.

The bar for passing tests, I believe, is actually quite low.  I’m not saying I support testing, nor do I support efforts to “raise the bar,” by encouraging more testing.  I also don’t believe it’s necessarily right to base school funding on testing alone as the federal law of No Child Left Behind does, or to give students the false and I believe damaging impression that test scores are significant for future “success” in life. (except again, for gaining access to scholarship money or acceptance into a school that values grades highly).  But, while I am critical of testing, I do believe the problems aren’t ncecessarily just the tests themselves, but the instruction surrounding them. 

From what I’ve read and heard, the Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound schools, which don’t give tests to their students or grades, and instead have students do tremendous presentations and keep portfolios, and give students individual written evaluations to monitor their learning and to set furhter learning goals…and that don’t have individual and unrelated subjects like math, science, history, and English, but rather pursue project/problem based integrative and experiential learning, still produces better results than traditional schools when the students are ultimately subjected to mandatory state and federal exams. 

I met a principal at one of these schools, the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning in Denver, Colorado, who said they don’t teach for the test.  Nor do they worry or stress about the test (although they realize doing well on tests is important in terms of receiving gov’t funding and in terms of public opinion).  These schools, these “progressive” schools that most of us never grew up in and have little-to-no exposure to from our peers or in the media, know that their system of education will naturally prepare kids better for the real challenges in life, including those pesky little tests.

your thougts?

Major: Education
Class Title: Alternatives to majors and minors in American colleges and univerisites

Major: Writing
Class Title: Writing blogs for social change 

Major: Psychology
Class Title: Journaling as a form of personal growth

I’m not sure what I want to write today, but I’m in the mood to change the mood of this site.  My last few posts were just trying out some new ideas….I’m always coming up w/ new ideas that last from anywhere from 1min. to a year or so.  But, always creating ideas.

This past weekend was extraordinary.  An 8-mile run, some good conversations with friends and strangers, the NYC travel expo w/ over 500 travel companies, re-connecting with some people from the Outward Bound community, an entire Monday in my pajamas to commemorate the life of MLK, some wonderful articles in the NYT magazine, a documentary about Amish kids gone wild, some more big thoughts about education and life, and some more stepping back from the emotions that big thoughts breed.

While on the John, where most great thoughts of mine occur, it dawned on me w/ new clarity how silly the idea of “majors” and “minors” are in college.  If I were to create a college from only my imagination, and with the goal of doing something that made the most sense for teachers, students, and society, it would be question based learning.  It would also be a ”practical use” school.  For each subject, you might put the words, “the practical use of,” before it…so you get “The practical applications of psychology 101″ or “Practical use of business 101…” 

Example classes that professors might teach / discussion that professors might facilitate:

Sociology – understanding the causes of our society’s great problems, including poverty, public health (AIDS, nutrition, malaria, mental health), war, and others.  Will discuss solutions, and new ideas to these problems.

Education – understand the purpose of education and schools, the problems with the current system, and how to imporve it

Business - understanding money, different ways of making money, saving money, budgeting money.  Understanding problems people encounter with money, and learning how to live a financially secure life.

Philosophy - understand the great philosophical challenges of today, such as finding meaning in life.  Understanding philosophers, past and present, and how they may be used to help us develop our own personal philosophies.

Psychology – understanding the conditions which lead to happiness and depression.  Learning about people who are in need of psychological help (such as the 1million Japanese known as “hikikomori,” who lock themselves in their rooms for years because of a fear of failure or a sense of hopelessness in life), and how we might help them.

Biology – understanding how our bodies work so that we may take better care of them.  Issues to be covered include exercise, diet, and the role of psychology in biological health, as well as the role of biology in psychological health.  Also, learning about new developments in medicine.

Engineering – will understand how to repair common forms of technology such as computers, cars, home appliances (toilets, heat, broken doors or windows, lights).  Will also help those who are interested to understand how to develop and create their own engineering ideas.

Law – will understand the law as it affects us.  This includes tax law, dealings with the police, and understanding our basic freedoms.  Those interested in law as a profession will pursue law that meets their professional needs.

History – will understand the role of history in making sense of life today, and will come to see the deeds and misdeeds of all societies throughout time, so that we may be better able to recognize them in our own.

your thoughts?