By Nate Feldman
Kevin Young was in the AP program at his high school
for a reason. His marks had been stellar
since he was in elementary school. He excelled at all subjects, especially
social studies. There wasn’t a fact
about his town, Writghtsville, that he didn’t know.
“When was Wrightsville established?”
“1835,” Kevin shouted out.
“By whom?”
“James Wright.”
“For what reason?”
“A home for people who were building railroads and
their families.”
“First Mayor?”
“Also James Wright.
He held that position for eight years, and then his brother, and
eventually his son became Mayors, establishing the Wright dynasty.”
One day during a history lesson, Kevin said something
that caught his teacher off guard.
“I want to be like James Wright.”
“What, you want to start your own town?” the teacher
asked a bit bemused.
“No, I want to the be the Mayor here. In Wrightsville.”
“OK, sure, why not?” the teacher responded.
“Well, can you teach us not just what James Wright
did, but how he did it? I mean, how can
I copy his character and be a great future leader.”
“Kevin,” the teacher replied. “I am not here to explain these things. Some people were born to be leaders. You either have it or you don’t.”
“You mean, you can’t teach us the way to be a great
leader?” Kevin wanted to know.
“This is a history class,” the teacher said, “not a
motivational speech.”
The rest of the class found this funny. But, not Kevin. He felt there was something his education was
lacking.
Questions
for Discussion:
1. Do you think educators goals are to teach just facts, or also to teach students how to live their lives in the best way?
Do you think there are skills or subjects that formal education is not teaching students that would benefit them more?
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Video about schools in Finland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xCe2m0kiSg
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