Week 5 + 6 Response
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Dec 6, 2023
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What are Rousseau's education commitments and how does he think they will help society?
Rousseau argued that education occurred through nature, from men, and from things. Learning through
nature is what allows man to be free when making choices that further develop who they are in society
as a man. Learning from men, also referred to as learning from society, is what helps man understand
the need for one another. Learning from or through things is what allowed us to explore our own
interests and how they fit into our lives at any moment. Rousseau also believed that in order to have a
well-functioning society, there must be a balance between personal freedoms and laws in place as
having too much of one would crumble the structure of society.
Rousseau also believed in the general will that appealed to all members of society as this too helped
establish what was also defined as the “common good” in society (Perkinson, 2016, p.89). With this
“common good” in mind, Rousseau believed that this social contract would allow for structure in the
societal expectations that are placed upon one another. His commitments to education were already
occurring although not explicitly mentioned. He believed that through the establishment of a democracy,
power and freedom was being equally distributed through society as this now required input of those
who were not in a high position of power (Perkinson, 2016, p. 82).
He emphasized the importance of education as being a way of making citizens that continue to
contribute to the changing needs of society. Through education, children begin to understand the
varying levels of society and can work together “as brothers” and support the goals of the community
they are a part of. Through this cycle of learning and doing in the approach of shaping a society that
continues to build upon itself, Rousseau knew his commitments to education would standardize how one
is free in a society with laws in place. The social contracts that exist in our everyday lives can be seen
through our efforts in completing a task or project at work as there may be an end-goal in mind, but we
have the flexibility in accomplishing this goal. In addition to seeing students, I oversee a team of major
ambassadors who are asked to connect and share their experiences with prospective students and
parents at the various on-campus recruitment events. Because each ambassador has a unique set of
experiences, they have the freedom to share however and whatever they like as they are still reaching
that common goal.
Rousseau connected with the circularity of indigenous thought---where facts don’t stand in isolation,
but related, and connected.
What activities in education today reflect this “relatedness?” Also give
some examples of those that don’t.
An activity in education that reflects this relatedness that works against the support of a community is
the targeted marketing for-profit schools have on low-income, first-generation communities. These types
of institutions often market themselves as being quick ways of securing a career but come with a hefty
price tag. This isn’t a practice that stands alone either as redlining is what kept these minority
populations in these spaces for generations. So much of the money that is earned through these types of
institutions is used to create ads that align with those who lack the social and academic capital that
would better prepare them for these types of decisions. Because this is a more unfortunate circumstance
of having a cycle or balance that relates to the unethical practices of higher education, many students
fall into this trap not realizing the additional harm or damage they are going through until it is too late.
The transferring of these credits is another issue as many of them are not transferrable to the public
universities as the accreditation of each institution is different. This again impacts those minority
populations as they then now have to retake coursework that they previously thought was completed.
This is only one scenario that impacts the ability of pursuing a higher education and leads to additional
issues for these communities as now they need to accrue more debt and spend more time in trying to
make up for the lack of flexibility that an education could and should provide. This cycle then continues
as they can no longer afford the continuation of their education.
Deming, D., Goldin, C., & Katz, L. (2013). For-Profit Colleges.
The Future of Children
,
23
(1), 137–163.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/23409492
When it comes to the “relatedness” of activities and/or examples in education that do not have some
sort of connectedness, I often think of the situations where American-English speaking students say they
“do not understand the instructor because of their ethnic background and accent.” This example is
something I struggle with grasping as I really don’t think that what they are claiming is 100% true as
there are many other students who are navigating this with ease by utilizing any and all resources
outside of the instructor’s class/section to ensure they are still adapting/adjusting to this very different
atmosphere. This cycle is one that must be broken by the student as they are going to have to learn how
to best support those who come from other cultural and ethnic backgrounds that are different from
their own.
Again, I’m not sure if this is a true example or activity that fits the prompt of “give some examples of
those that don’t” in terms of not having some sort of connectedness or being relatable…but because this
type of claim is so extreme to a student’s point of view, it sounds like it would be an isolated “fact” as it
just sounds so unreasonable, inappropriate, unethical, and immoral to say especially when they try to
shift the accountability or blame onto someone else. I hope this makes sense with the second question.
What is Fixico’s argument about the true nature of learning, from a Native American perspective? And
why is this perspective relevant to us as educators? How is this different than what has been told
"historically"?
The Native American perspective of learning focused on the relationships we had not only with each
other, but with the seasons and cycles of nature. Everything was related to one another as this is how an
order or balance was maintained. Because most of Native American culture and history was erased
through the cultural genocide brought upon my Columbus, their stories of being is what helped us
understand that “bad” things occurring is also a part of the true nature of learning (Fixico, 2003, p. 48).
Negativity in life is what helped maintain the balance that allowed for these cycles in life to occur as this
is what also contributed to the learning that Native American’s believed in. What Fixico is trying to argue
is that there is more than just learning through a textbook. Although not mentioned in the article/book, I
see this leading towards what we identify as being holistic.
Educating in this all-inclusive approach is what individualizes the experience of learners as we are now
incorporating the various parts of their life into the learning process. As educators, we must understand
and adapt to the changing needs of the American education system as the experiences and relationships
to education each student has will be different. In only the last few years, I’ve seen more school districts
provide cultural-specific support services as their experiences outside of the school setting impacts their
ability to navigate the school system. Representation matters in these spaces and the negativity that
these marginalized groups have faced before is what pushed for change. In 2010, Tom Horne pushed for
the removal of ethnic studies in Arizona’s K-12 schools with TUSD being a target. As a result, many
students protested the removal of Mexican American Studies as it was moved from being a core course
to an elective. In the Native American perspective of learning, those who were outside of the Mexican
American Studies dept at TUSD still had a voice in this matter as students were probably also looking
towards them for support. This is the balance and circular approach to the true nature of learning that
Native Americans were living by as everything related to one another (Fixico, 2003, pgs. 41 – 59).
This approach to learning is different to what has been previously taught as many believed the true
nature of learning only occurred through the classroom setting. In a society that was primarily focused
on the development of the predominately white and male status, schooling then was only catered to
one population in mind with the exploitation of others. Horace Mann’s title of being the “Father of
Education” targeted the white-male demographic and exploited the education system to where women
were paid far less than men who were previously the educators in these spaces. His ability to establish
the American Education system was an economic move that further divided the movements for equality
that would then occur generations later. (Vinovskis, 1970, pgs. 550 – 571). This holistic approach to
teaching and learning is something that did not exist when thinking of the history of the American
Education System. Changes to how we support our students is continuing to evolve and we need to
ensure that the voices that were once silenced or erased, like those that are indigenous to this land, are
making positive changes to both their communities and larger institutions like colleges and universities.
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