Students are graduating from our compulsory educational system lacking pertinent information about themselves; too many leave our system having not unearthed their "natural resources", talents, and passions. As a high school English teacher who has mainly taught 11th and 12th grade over the past several years, I can testify that this happens more than not to our young people.
I myself went to college and earned a degree for the same reason I had to learn how to drive a stick shift at 16; I had to be able to take care of myself and get out of any bad situation. My parents were teachers and college was expected. I went for one semester, earned C's, and dropped out. A couple of years later when circumstances made me evaluate the value of an education, I went back to school. It didn't matter what degree I earned as long I earned one. When it was finally time for me to transfer and declare a major I went through the catalog looking for classes that I could pass. I love animals and wanted to major in Marine Biology, but the classes were mostly in Math and Science which I thought I'd fail. I love helping people and thought about psychology; the classes again didn't match my skill set. I thumbed through the majors and found English Teacher Prep. Yes, I can do this I thought and that is how I became an English teacher. Even now nearing 50, I still am not sure of my talents; however, I do know that they lie in the gift of my desire to help others. As an English teacher, it's my helping spirit and love of others that I'm sharing; not a gift of reading, writing, and analyzing (which I hated all the through my college work). It would have been nice to experience opportunities in high school where I could learn about myself and identify my gifts and interests.
Like Sir Ken Robinson state's in TedTalk, "Bring on the Revolution", we need a revolution, not an evolution of a broken model. Our educational system has been set up to "dislocate people from their talents." The lockstep in the classroom has to be broken so that our young people will graduate with the knowledge of their gifts, talents, and passions. How on earth can we expect our children to know who they are and know the natural gifts and interests they have if the opportunity to do so is squashed by the gremlin of a mechanized educational system? I am a product of this dogma and drill and it has been no fun. These classes have really highlighted for me the need to step up and make changes for my kids in my classroom.
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