To me, the topic of expectations is the most important because in everything we have read, there are set expectations by both the author and the readers. There is an expectation set that children will receive a good quality education. There is an expectation set that a certain group will make the decisions on a child’s education, where they are educated, how they are educated, where they will end up, and what occupation they should be in. In the readings, these have all varied. In subcategories, I put some questions that we have pondered in these readings and videos. Specifically, who oversees your education? Who should it be? We have stated in previously modules our opinion on this, but this question has caused a huge debate. Another question I asked was “Is what you are learning imperative?” Meaning, are we being taught things that we can use in real-life and if so, how will we apply what we have learned? Lastly, my third comment or subcategory was that receiving a good education equals or allows you to have a good job.

Regarding intelligence, we read about this in Gardner’s 5 minds and in the video of Mike Rose. Diane’s Ted Talk also included this topic. Gardner’s 5 minds explained how the mind divides itself up and breaks down into different parts of intelligence. Mike Rose describes what makes an individual intelligent and how it can be outside the box. Diane describes the role of inquisitiveness in intelligence. Based on Mike Rose’s interview, one of my bubbles was labeled: job qualifications. For example, when he described the job qualifications of the carpenter, like mathematics. Other questions I posed were: Are you smart? How do we test for intelligence? Diane described that being intelligent is not just based on IQ scores or assessments, but rather how we teach and challenge kids to develop more overall. 

The General Public dictates the future of our children. They dictate the future of our community. As Gardner stated, we need to be accepting of everyone’s way of learning and respectful of our community. More specifically, we need to understand the role social class plays in education. I talked about this in a previous module. Students who go to school in places like Greenwich, are more likely to have a better education than students who go to school in Hamden, purely based on social class. It is unfortunate that social class plays such a role. This also goes into my other bubble labeled education inequity, which is still a huge topic present day.

My final topic was curriculum. Who is teaching you? What are they teaching you? How can what you are being taught be used? Can you take what you learned and apply it? In Gardner’s 5 Minds, he discusses synthesizing material that you have learned or skills that you have mastered. Diane discusses how we need to participate in pragmatic learning. Mike Rose discusses how we need to defy the basic principles of intelligence and basic disciplines. 

Overall, I believe that we have the ability to change the education system and provide more pragmatic, experiential learning. I believe that this will empower children to develop into their most successful selves.

When I write my paper I plan to compare the similarities and differences between each source that falls into each of the categories I created. When comparing, I also plan to show how ideas relating to education changed over time, from when schools are created to present-day education. To highlight one idea I will be talking about, the idea regarding curriculum changed over time. The Merrow report points out how public schools were teaching children the basics like reading, writing, and arithmetic when private schools taught boys how to work in a factory and on a farm, and girls how to take care of a home with tasks of cooking and cleaning. To jump to the present day, all information we need is accessible through any device that has the internet which creates the challenge of how and what we do teach now that the internet exists. 

 

The expectations of education are set in many ways by society, measured intelligence, and methods of learning. Your outcome of education can be very different depending on the goals you have for education and the goals education has for you. Intelligence, often determined by quantifiable measures, subjective testing, and ranked performance, is generally determined early on, and defines all future educational experiences. There are inherent expectations that not only is your education applicable for future use, but also positively correlated with future wealth. Society is a large factor in shaping these expectations through de facto segregation of social class resulting in resource inequality. 

Rose believes students that have an abundance of failure have potential that is not seen. Relating to Laufenberg’s belief of embracing failure, failure is instructional. It allows students to have a productive experience by failing and learning on their own how to improve in the future. Rose also touched on how there is a stigma in the social class that poor people are viewed differently in intellectual, character, and use of language. Rose believes that poor/disfranchised groups in society have not been given opportunities or chances to prosper and we must figure out how to include them in our society fairly. Laufenberg touched on the subject of experiential learning because she believes students will show up and be present when they have direct experience in the real world. It provides the opportunity for students to have interactive and personal assignments to develop their own revelations.

The two most important in my opinion are expectations and future. Everyone sets expectations, from the educators, to parents, and students. But there are so many outside factors that effect the success of the students future. The main focus of the 5 Minds was future intelligence. The video explained that whatever job a student ends up having is a measure of intelligence. There is no full proof way to judge intelligence because people are intelligent in different ways. I also chose curriculum which is important because the curriculum is what students are learning in school. The quality of a curriculum can vary in different areas based on many factors. Which raises a problem because that may effect the students ability to apply what they have learned in the real world, and effect their future careers.  

A fourth connection between the readings is the authors’ motivation to improve the educational system for future generations. As Mike Rose points out in Lives on the Boundary, current practices within schools cause students to fall through the cracks and harm their learning. One recommendation made by Diane Laufenberg in “How to Learn From Mistakes” is to allow students to fail, something that is not afforded through the current culture of test-taking and competition. A fifth connection within the texts is the importance placed on a student’s creativity. In Gardner’s Five Minds For The Future, the Creative Mind aims at forming fresh ways of thinking and alternate solutions when problem-solving. Diane Laufenberg supports creativity in education when she describes ways for students to spread their voices through innovative projects and ways of learning. The final connection between these texts regards how previous knowledge informs each author’s opinions and judgments on the topic. For example, Gardner uses his knowledge of the history of education and his psychology background to better inform his recommendations for how to improve society. In addition, Mike Rose uses his early experiences to inform his perspective on the goals for education and his teachings. Overall, these texts discuss the most vital factors of school and describe ways to improve the educational system in the future.