June 20: The Land of Tests and Money

Vocabulary
For you and me
As we are
Part of a system
That says
We care

That care
Is placed somewhere
In standardized tests
After all
If you don't compare
Or match up
In the worlds
Education fair
Then you
Fail

Meanwhile...

In a building
In a hut
The only competition
Is against that
Which is defeating
A chance
To live

Back over here...

Fight
And Climb
Get out of the way
Here's a resumé
I got the goods
Is there anything I could
Do

You learn
What you learn
For the service
Of the dollar
Which makes
Our wheels turn

We may be favored
But we are not
Saviors


For some reason when I hear statistics that compare one country with another in educational matters I feel frustrated. Maybe it is the manner of spin or our need to be competing, but education is not a game. Though recent trends are pointing towards a future where the only way that education will be effective will be through models of video games and other sorts of competitive forms. Then there is the question why? Why our educational model and for what purpose do we learn?

I think back to an episode of the now gone show NOW. In one episode young children were shown traveling through the jungles of Bangladesh to learn on boats that had been set up since the ocean and the wetlands are taking over the land of the country. Young children learning so that they may one day be able to help their families and country. I then witness the attitude of children the same age and older within this country, where the value of education bows in worship to the dollar bill. All modes, and classes are pursued for the sake of academic record to maybe get an extra buck so that a transcript will look good and maybe the college of our dreams will drop a small morsel of a scholarship.

We've got the best in educational setting but there's a sacrifice that comes with that. Some don't even realize what they've lost.