This is What We Are Witnessing

This is What We Are Witnessing

The politicization of our educational system has truly featured its true-being. The divisiveness in our country has quickly impacted our country in the year 2020. The racial inequalities found within our country have put themselves at the forefront of our nation with the murder of George Floyd and additional people of color. This is what we are witnessing.

With the spread of COVID-19, our lack of national appreciation and respect for the sciences has garnered negative attention throughout the world. Despite the arguments and disputes we could have on why this has occurred, unfortunately, it is the dispositions of our country that have caused this. This is what we are witnessing.

Our national education system has remained the same for decades. The lack of innovation and risk that we have taken for our children’s education of our nation as reared its head. Despite the “need” to become more academically competitive in our global economy, this initiative has shown to create the very issues we are facing in 2020. This is what we are witnessing.

This desire to be the best is the very tinder to the ever-blazing fire in our educational system. We have developed a system where we pit student against student, student against teacher, religion against religion, race against race, and political party against political party. This is what we are witnessing.

Powers that control the educational system have decided that academic success supersedes the human connection. This is what we are witnessing.

Instead of taking the time to discuss why Black Lives Matter, why there are protests, and why things have remained unchanged since the Civil Rights Era, teachers are attached to the curricula. We are taught to re-frame the statement the child makes about the protests to create “deeper meaning” as we were taught in our undergraduate courses. Instead of allowing them to question injustice we refer them to our history books, “Chapter 4, page 78.” This is what we are witnessing.

Instead of allowing experts to guide us through a global health crisis, our nation’s leader took to Twitter to criticize, threaten, and demean the very virus that has crippled our country. Education created that. Instead of following the iterative sciences that would mitigate the spread of the virus, #FireFauci was trending on Twitter. Education created that. Instead of collaborating and demonstrating national cooperation and uniting, #COVIDhoax was trending. This is what we are witnessing.

Human connection. That is what our educational system has failed to deliver on. A basic understanding that we are in this together. Human connection would have allowed us to understand the need to work together to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Human connection would have allowed us to empathize, communicate, support, and march with our brothers and sisters fighting for social justice. This is what we are witnessing.

Our educational system has been so focused on “making the grade” and demonstrating the intellectual power that we presume to have over every country. Unfortunately, what benefit does that have over any country if there are injustices occurring within our own country? What benefit does educating the youth have if, during a pandemic, misinformation and conspiracy theories take precedence over facts? This is what you are witnessing.

Our educational system has an ethos problem. We have become accustomed to the factory model of education. This model has been present since the Civil Rights Era and continues to thrive to this day. Despite the “integration” of schools, we still experience segregation occurring within those “integrated” schools. Despite the “integration” of schools, we still experience segregation occurring within our communities. This is what you are witnessing.

The inability for our nation’s teachers to teach character and truth have molded the minds of ignorance and colorblindness. This is what you are witnessing.

It is not a coincidence that our country has been ravaged by COVID-19 and social injustice within 6 months of 2020. The very people that claim #FireFauci and #COVIDhoax are the very people shouting #AllLivesMatter, #LootingBeginsTheShootingBegins, and #Trump2020. This is a sign of a failed education system. This is what you are witnessing.

Thankfully, we are fighting. We are fighting for truth and justice. We are learning the way that we should have learned in our public institutions, through stories, experiences, and connections. We are demanding that the truth no longer be withheld and that we strengthen each other – it is not a competition. We are in this together. This is what you are witnessing.

Through the protests we are seeing the strength we have in numbers. Through the protests we are seeing the truth behind the anger, pain, frustration, and sadness that plagues are brothers and sisters of color. Through the protests we are seeing the connections that are required to make change in this country. This is what you are witnessing.

Through the cancellation of schools, we are seeing teachers realize the importance of human connection. State tests are canceled. The pressure of an evaluation has been lifted. Teachers are no longer focused on the restrictions of the curriculum. Teachers are now focused on supporting the social and emotional needs of their students and communities. They are building the human connection. This is what you are witnessing.

Despite the chaos, pain, death, injustices, lies, hashtags, and racism that we are experiencing, there is hope. Hope that we see human connection can unite us. Hope that our educational system can teach us how to be human. Hope that our educational system can teach us to fight for truth. Hope that our educational system can build us into better people. Hope that our educational system will model to the nation how to tear down walls of injustice and falsifications. Hope that our educational system can bring on change makers. This is what we are witnessing.

Our educational system has failed. But I hope, that through this suffering, we will witness change.

Submitted June 04, 2020 at 10:00AM by Expensive-Caramel https://ift.tt/2UcwVV7