This is a reflection of what teachers do, by the way.  Teachers inform the general public, who are commonly very uninformed.  With that in mind, this blog entry will focus on the diversity of thought within public schools and how it relates to society in general.

What do teachers do?  Hopefully, they do not indoctrinate students.  Hopefully, they neither head-nod nor acquiesce to a supervisor’s views just because it is easy to do for the moment.

Yet, this is what is happening.  It should not be much of a surprise because polls indicate that present society has become very polarized, politically speaking.  This political polarization is a reflection of societal norms, which are not healthy if they are so divergent and bifurcate societal beliefs.

Instead of people discussing issues, we see silent hand-wringing and quiet despair.  Or worse, we see those who will discuss their beliefs, but only among other people who see things within the same microscopic light.  These echo chambers feel good, but they do not unify our populace nor do they solve the problems we must face as a society.

Again, enter public education, which is the common ground in which we build mutual experiences, deliver information, provide skills, and help people become critical thinkers, and problem solvers.  The role of public school teachers is many-sided, important and in fact crucial for the success of society as a whole.

Do we teach students how to work cooperatively?

Do we teach them how to solve problems?

Do we teach them skills and textbook facts?

What national initiatives should teachers follow, ex: anti-bullying, tolerance, abstinence,  …?

Should teachers help students with skills to enter the workforce within a trade, like carpentry?

These factors all get muddled together when one considers standardized test scores and fiscal responsibility.  Quite a tempest is created from it.  Yet, it’s a golden opportunity to bring light to discontinuities within public education, like:

The achievement gap between minorities and non-minorities

The role curricula should play in preparing students for standardized tests

How tax dollars are generated to fund schools

How public funds are spent to address the needs of students

Teacher performance and whether/how it should Include Student Performance data

Yet, at the core of public education rests the notion of a common experience, preparing students for the future, and raising awareness of civic responsibilities.

How public education address those core issues is vital, as this generation will one day become the leaders of the next.  Teachers worry a great deal about this, but do they freely initiate dialogue with others concerning the dynamics of classroom variables?  Do they at least initiate engaging conversations with students via student-teacher, or better yet student-student, activities?  The answers are ‘rarely’ and ‘some do.’  It is also a Herculean task to get a teacher-teacher conversation going concerning critical issues.

This is not a gruelingly negative reflection of public education or educators.  Rather, it is a statement about our societal norms, in my humble view.  It is also a statement about the readiness to which people are regarding their ability to handle such conversations, which IS a gruelingly negative reflection of societal ills.

Try asking why dues are so expensive and a teacher will risk being ostracized by fellow union members within this political climate.  [I know this because I ask, regardless of the backlash.]  It is not about bashing unions; instead, it is about trying to allocate personal funds by reducing expenditures.

Try asking why student data should be included within teacher performance, or better yet indicate why it is a bad idea to include student performance data, and government leaders along with anti-teacher forces are very likely to say such a belief is holding back progress.  Yet, such data invites a disincentive for good teachers to teach low performing, low ability students.

Try and question the president’s policies or statements and it will usually be regaled with agreement or place the speaker in great disdain.  It is viewed as divisive and uncouth.  Since when?

Try and ask why no one within the banking industry or mortgage bundling industry has been brought to justice in any meaningful way.  Saying this evokes blank looks at best.

What is the real problem?

There is a lack of diversity.  The lack of diversity is of thought, but we have plenty of other diversities.  We have diversity meant to accept other people, races, cultures, sexual orientation.  Sadly, the beliefs or at least thoughts that lead to building a foundation for beliefs are rarely juggled by others.  No wonder there are geopolitical religious issues that plague the world.

The bad news is that this lack of diversity of thought is more evident among the poor.  If one looks to the Middle East as an example, we find people who are intolerant of religious criticism.  “Do not critique Muhammad,” is a widely held axiom.  Still, many people silently wag a finger at Muslims, but this phenomenon of violence is neither unique to religion nor to that area of the world.

It is a non-communication issue uninspired by the ignorance of poverty.  Look at most poverty-striken, inner city neighborhoods to find examples within the United States.  The only force meant to battle inner city problems is public education (long term solution) and the justice system (short term solution).

Teachers try to make a difference.  But – there is always a but – teachers have their hands tied.  Inhibiting diversity of thought prolongs the inevitable, makes the problem worse, or it is simply aggravating to the uninformed.  Raising the issues surrounding education is not the problem.  The problem is not raising the issues in the first place or quelling them from taking on a natural curiosity that can lead to education, resolution, and – hopefully – further intrigue.  The problem also rests with maintaining the peace by sacrificing the arduousness of working to inspire others.  By avoiding the difficult problems, which are the problems that are most controversial, the diversity of thought dwindles along with the hope needed to conquer the problems.

Who among us will inspire our future leaders to tackle the big issues?  Who among us will pave the way for a renaissance of thought diversity on a global scale to wrestle with the grittiness of reality?  Heck, would we not settle for localized pockets of growing inquisitiveness?

Teachers thread the needle on a daily basis, especially teachers who work with poverty-stricken students.  The urban problems that led to students who no longer possess non-cognitive skills paralyze progress.  Teachers have to spend a great deal of effort teaching the non-cognitive abilities, like organization, patience, cooperation, and persistence.

There is less time to work on cognitive abilities in the areas of mathematics and science.  Graphing systems of inequalities to maximize profit and titrating solutions to determine acidity involve multi-step procedures and require clear thinking, a goal-orientated mindset, and an eye for several details.

If people possessed more of these skills via exposure to them, might they be more apt to handle controversial issues and situations?  Might Greeks understand the need to reign in spending?  Might Muslims understand the difference between religious persecution and God awful humor?

It is evident that teachers have their work cut out for them, in whichever country they practice their trade.  They have to overcome poverty, its many-layered issues, and (in the U.S.) prepare all students for college, even though neither all students need attend college nor are all students capable of attending college.

It is this dance of improbabilities that teachers must face on a daily basis.  Their work is desperately needed on a grand scale in several levels of society, including public schools.  There are Africans who need to understand sanitation or why polio should be eradicated.  There are inner-city kids who need to know how to escape their plight – the cycle of teenage pregnancy, lack of formalized education, and how to make healthy decision.  There are kids who deserve to be held to a high standard even though some parents and school leaders view school as daycare.

We can continue to demonize those who raise key issues, do bipartisan work, or simply teach public school children.  We can claw at those who are trying their best to weave the fabric of society together to meet the demands of a changing global community, but at what peril?

Answer…

We will continue to dig ourselves into the looming grave of debt.

We will have a difficult time helping people to become actualized, autonomous, and free of a life of government assistance.

Safety will become a quant memory within the confines of inner-cities.

Blind religious zealotry will be a driving force behind global violence.

Coexistence and the solutions that face a diverse populace will not be achieved.

The growing burden of poverty will weigh on the rest of society.

Freedoms will dwindle.

It is not a guarantee, but it is likely!  Yet, there are those who humbly, patiently work as average people who want to make changes, like all teachers do.  It is all about gaining a diversity of thought.