Perhaps the top educational news story of the past week was the Department of Education’s two gaffes of spelling and grammar when they posted a quote by W.E.B. Du Bois. I’ll resist the temptation to comment on these.
At the same time, I wonder if the uproar eclipsed Du Bois’ quote itself, which deserves noticing: “Education must not simply teach work – it must teach life.”
We’ve all heard variations of this theme, from “Teach a man to fish . . .” to my own favorite that says “We must prepare our students to make a life as well as to make a living.”
As always, there’d probably general agreement with the spirit of this thought, but perhaps disagreement and controversy deciding how we do this. So, let’s re-focus the question. Instead of ‘how to teach’ life, let’s ask ‘what should students learn (somehow, sometime, some way) about life?’ That’s just as subjective, of course, but perhaps makes for more tangible discussions. It’s worth thinking about.
Understanding both the subjectivity and the risk, I’ll tentatively offer my own Top Ten List of Life’s Lessons it’d be wonderful if our students knew as/before they left school: (Note: In the column, I was able to number these from #10 to #1 . I can’t get the formatting to allow that here, so there are bullet points instead.)
- The arts are as important as the sciences in preparing us for ‘living a life’. So is the study of history, so as not to repeat mistakes of the past.
- Reasoning and rational thinking skills are crucial in all the roles of a good citizen. (These are the broader goals of most curriculum topics.)
- Honesty is still the best policy.
- “Every action done in company ought to be with some sign or respect to those that are present.” George Washington
- Disagreement is with ideas, not people.
- Compassion and compromise are signs of strength, not weakness
- Bullying, in any form, is a sign of weakness, not strength.
- If you wouldn’t say it directly to a person, why would you say it online?
- A person’s race, gender, spiritual path, or sexual orientation has nothing to do with that person’s innate ability to succeed at what they do, and/or to contribute to the good of society. (Even if you/we view the religion as heretical and/or the orientation as sinful.)
- By and large, ‘ordinary people’ – our neighbors, in every sense – are decent, good humans. We (all of us) are worth the effort needed to listen to each other, talk (even debate) with each other, and mutually strive to reach solutions for the good of our country, our communities, and our lives.
Ah, yes. I’m sure I’ll be tried and convicted of being hopelessly idealistic. Nonetheless, many of us look around us these days and wonder how the heck we ended up here, in these uncertain and angry times. Could it be that we’re not really doing a good job of teaching – and then following – Du Bois’ advice?
One final, important note, which I’ll say carefully. I’m not sure these things should be taught in school, as much as they should be widely reinforced there. Hearing these maxims in school should elicit ‘well, duh!’ responses from students, who have already heard them, in various phrasings, at home and in society, and more importantly, seen them in action.
Obviously, we should continue to prepare our students to succeed in whatever careers they choose. But we should also prepare them for living a life, not only in their careers, but in society as well, and we need to think about what that means.
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