The assignment begins with a question about the nature of our education system. I wonder if that refers to the system in its broadest sense, including all the informal and formal experiments since learning began, or public education as a governmental imperative. In either case, the "roots" are many and varied, including vocational, theoretical, spiritual, and practical (Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute, n.d.). Education could include apprenticeship opportunities, which were present in New England in the Seventeenth Century (Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, n.d.), and the primer education of early one-room schoolhouses (Boutin, M. 2010).
Brown and Adler (2008) perceive of apprenticeship as a model for "learning to be" part of a community in which knowledge is the basis for advancing the field, rather than "learning about" in which knowledge is imparted to learners with the intent that it is available for future application. Since all types of institutions and practices have been in place since the beginning of the American experiment, isn't it fair to conclude that the "system" was not "... rooted in a monolithic model of instruction and learning?"
Brown and Adler (2008) do not argue for the absence of "learning about," only for its appropriate balance in the process of engaging a discipline. In tying the idea to Piaget's thoughts concerning "...learning what is already known..." and developing "...creative and innovative minds, capable of discovery..." there seems to be an equally valid argument for balance.
This certainly implies a shift from the "Cartesian View of Learning" to the "Social View of Learning" (Brown & Adler, 2008). While it seems realistic to view our system as primarily Cartesian, I am reluctant to conclude it is "...intractably indivisible and uniform..." (New Oxford American Dictionary 3rd edition, 2010).
The second question is even more challenging, since it asks if we're failing to meet the "...true purpose of what it means to be educated?" What is the true purpose of what it means to be educated? Here's my brainstorming on that issue:
Being educated encompasses acquisition of and access to knowledge, experience, resources, and voice. Arguably, the tradition we've been ingrained in has provided all of those things, though not as efficiently as Brown and Adler's Social approach, which would have accomplished Piaget's desire for "...creative and innovative minds, capable of discovery." While we may not be failing to meet the true purpose of what it means to be educated, there may be an implied paradigm shift in order to improve our effectiveness. This is especially salient given the current culture's emphasis on information and connectivity (Richardson, 2010).
With all of this in mind, my conclusion is that, as educators, we are responsible for both "passing down the old" knowledge and engaging students in creating the new. Piaget may have had the process in its appropriate order. Pre-schoolers would most likely be well served by any efforts to develop "...creative and innovative minds, capable of discovery..." Given such minds, "learning to be" becomes the norm, and "learning about" happens as the learners life progresses. As Richardson (2010) suggests, part of this responsibility is engaging our students in the global dialogue, where in the Internet age, access to information, individuals, and communities is historically unprecedented.
References:
Boutin, M. (2010). Timeline of US education. Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/melboutin/timeline-of-us-education-4474399
Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute (n.d.). A brief history of education in America. Retrieved from: http://www.cblpi.org/ftp/School%20Choice/EdHistory.pdf
New Oxford American dictionary (3rd ed.). (2010). Oxford University Press, Inc.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful Web tools for classrooms.
Thousand Oaks, California: Corvin
Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (n.d.). History of apprenticeship. Retrieved from: http://www.lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Apprenticeship/About/History/default.asp
Thousand Oaks, California: Corvin
Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (n.d.). History of apprenticeship. Retrieved from: http://www.lni.wa.gov/TradesLicensing/Apprenticeship/About/History/default.asp
