In my last post I
provided this link to an article in the New York Times. I don't know how much attention this
article got back in the states, but judging from a couple of Facebook posts I
saw, it wasn't unpopular. If you haven't read the article, it talks about
"the new Super People." James Atlas compares the standards for top
tier college students of his day to those of today and finds the gap to be
astounding. The level of excellence expected of those students vying for a spot
at topped ranked colleges is far greater than what was once required. He notes
that "[his] contemporaries love to talk about how they would have been
turned down by the schools they attended if they were applying today."
Although Atlas continues on to question the validity the resumes' of "super
people," what I am most interested in is the "super person"
mindset and how it effects my work here.
As I read this I
recognized that so much of what I accepted as normal as an adolescent and even
as a college student is part of this "super person" mindset. If I
were to compare my adolescence to Atlas' description, I would have to
proclaimed myself a "super person." In high school my friends and I
found ourselves taking as many high level courses as possible. As a three
season athlete, a board member of at least two clubs, and a member of an
acapella group, I could be found somewhere on the school grounds until at least
5:30 on a daily basis. During my summers I volunteered at an outdoor
Shakespeare festival, worked at the local Build-A-Bear while studying for the
SATs, and went to China to help with a summer English program. I may not have
achieved the grades expected of "super person," but I ran with the
crowd and had the mindset to boot. The funny thing is that I never thought
twice about it. Sure there were a few times as a high school student that I
recognized that it was probably not the best situation for my mental health,
but everyone was doing it. It was normal.
In some ways I loved the mindset and in other
ways I despised it. The expectations my parents had of me became the
expectations I had of myself by the time I reached high school. Being a
"super person" allowed me many life experiences (some which my
parents paid for and many which I worked for on my own) that I would not
exchange. Please note that the name Atlas has given to people like me is ironic
because being a "super person" can have some very adverse effects. I
believe that this lifestyle brought me to some very emotional lows more times
than I would have liked. As a "super person" you don't lead the most
balanced lifestyle. It is "go Go GO" all the time and in the end it
is emotionally exhausting.
As a teacher I often
find myself thinking back to my high
school experience. Sometimes it is to use my former teachers as mentors (I had
a lot of great ones), other times I try an remember what I was thinking as I sat
on the receiving end, and a lot of the time I simply reminisce. When you
compare my high school experience to that of my Indonesian students it is like
the article, but in reverse. Some students study and work hard to be top
students, but even with my ban on copied homework, I am fairly certain that a
majority of them still get their answers from their friends (I can always tell
who worked together). Most students just run home and sit around or hang out
with friends without opening a notebook the rest of the day. Some come to
sports or band practices afterschool, but as I mentioned in my volleyball post,
team practice here is wildly different than what you see in America. In short I
am a "super person" in a non-"super person" environment.
Recall what I said yesterday, if I use the expectations I grew up with to
measure my students, I would get frustrated very quickly.
During August I gave
a lot of thought to the question, "Do I want to work to transform this
into the high school I knew?" Every single time I thought "no"
almost immediately. Why? Well because PCVs aren't sent around the world to turn
their countries into little Americas. My goal here isn't to take what I know
"works" in the US and try to put it in place here. For centuries
people have discovered time and time again that that doesn't work. In addition,
who is to say that it is the best situation. Just because people aren't dying
doesn't mean that they are thriving on the most basic emotional levels.
It is important to
recognize the positives and negatives of both situations. In Indonesia students
are more carefree and able to be young. They have a strong sense of community
and feel that the success of the class is important. On the other hand the students
measure success by whether a test is passed and not by how much the comprehend.
Students don't use critical thinking skills and rely on the smart students to
get through test situations. Students from my high school experience had a
strong background in a variety of subjects and hobbies. Considering their age
they had a strong world view, and an appreciation for hard work. On the other
hand they were very competitive and stressed out. Their competitive nature did
not always nurture the strongest friendships and although no one admitted it,
they often felt alone. Both sides have very negative effects.
Although, I don't
want the Indonesia I know to turn into a mini America, I do feel that education
does need to be taken more seriously. How do we find balance? I am not sure
that a perfect equilibrium will every be struck, but there must be a way for
Indonesian students to see the value in education without going to the extreme
of needing to become a "super person." At the same time, the youth of
America should not have to be a "super person" just to have a sense
of self worth. Somehow I must merge my past with my present and hope that in
the end my students benefit from it.
As usual I do not
have the answers, but I can say that I hope living in Indonesia for two years
will bring a bit more balance to my life and tame my mindset a bit.
I think you already have a balanced and thoughtful approach to education since you are able to see the positives and negatives of your own experience. Of course, I'm interested to see how your views continue to evolve during your time there. The "super" mindset is pretty scary- I think it puts way too much emphasis on achievement and competition and can lead to students feeling lost once they graduate from college and enter the real world. It's tough to strike a balance- especially with all the standardized tests in the US. Perhaps students' lives are less determined by high-stakes tests than in other countries, but they still play a big role.
ReplyDeleteAllison this is one of the most beautiful posts you've shared. I liked reading your inner reflections on where you've come from and how that fits with where you are, and where you're students have come from and how that's all meshing together.
ReplyDeleteAlso when you describe this "Super Person" I can't help but think of the Gilmore Girls.
Allison... this is a very interesting post. It's funny how you grew up with a different perception of normalcy in American education. Did you take education courses at BMC with Praxis? It should have been required for students to see Overbrook... and the resulting differences in environment and resources.
ReplyDeleteI grew up on the other side of the fence and had to escape to a world that had any semblance to yours. Back home in inner city schools, the norm was not even attempting to excel; it was in fact that school was not important, that violence and theft were fairly typical, and that those who did excel were tortured daily, sometimes for the answers, other times just because.
It was not until I joined the ranks of suburbia that I even got to see what a "normal" school should even be like. Yet when I consider schools in other countries, I see America in large part as failing. Although your students may not be as focused as you'd like, they at least have community to fall back on. So much of America is lacking in that area, too. By the way, I would love to read everyone else's comments and start a discussion, but the all-caps font and purple-on-pink makes it difficult to read.