Hello Sharada,
Until I was 15 I felt like 'the failure' rather 'having failed' to live up
to the academic expectations my parents and my teachers had for me. From
age 15 and a half I slowly began to rebuild my emotional house battered
and bruised by the berating from "expectation" of what my academic
abilities should have achieved.
At age 51 I have a 3D picture of the education system in our country.
I am into my 11th year as a member of a secondary school Board of Trustees
one of many in New Zealand charged with steering the learning of our
future generations of organizational workers (hopefully all learning
organisations).
I am a distant learner student two thirds the way through a double major
in the business and technology fields.
I work as a training and development officer with a multi national and in
this capacity I am witnessing young people from the school of the Board I
serve on, entering the workforce in various capacities with the company I
work for. The pity is that the new practices we are trying to introduce
into the schools in New Zealand are still very much hampered by the after
taste of the old systems in our wider society as well as in our education
system. But it does take time doesn't it, and it may be due to my
sentiments rather than anything concrete that I feel these young entrants
to the world of work seem to possess more self confidence than I did in
1964.
At present my life is in my estimation being lived on the outer edges of
chaos. My school BOT agreed to with the senior management team of the
school to have our collective MBTI (Myers Briggs) analysed. Some from the
teaching profession were not comfortable with a "test" (in their eyes)
paper where they don't have the possibility of scoring 100%. The exercise
(half way through) is being carried out in order to have these people
fully understand each other and why tensions that detract from the task of
preparing our young for the big wide world actually arise. Hopefully the
benefits of the exercise will spill over into the students in the way they
behave toward each other out there in corporate land of the future.
In my work we are struggling with the results of the education systems of
yesteryear, 'our people', they are not very receptive to the changes that
we must undergo to foot it in the fiercely competitive market scene of
today. Working with people distraught because of the necessity to change
is chaotic and can at times draw deeply on my emotional reserves.
It is as well that I am a student. During my 'second chance', I am using
study methods I didn't know existed in the 50s and 60s. They were there,
Lasonov knew of them but our system at the time PUNISHED FAILURES instead
of assisting seeking out their particular style of learning. It is such a
pity that many, many, talented people are going to pass on ignorant of the
ability they possess. What a waste for humankind.
It is still chaotic having to juggle study around my work and my other
activities but I now have an inkling as to why there may be so much stress
out there. Those "punished failures", have the same brain capacity in
general as those that "made it". However, was our education system biased
toward a particular learning style? I believe there is more enlightenment
out there in terms of learning, learning styles and learning aids. We
have the knowledge to be able to get the very best from the coming
generations, all we have to do is to shake off the hangovers from the
past.
And being a student still, gives me a real affinity with the students in
the school on whose Board I sit, and with my adult students at my work
place.
Recognise the successful and encourage ALL to be successful, WITHOUT
punishment.
Regards,
Dennis
--Dennis Rolleston <Dennisr@ps.gen.nz>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>