As we head into the new school year, I would like to share a few things in regard to our kids and the educational system in the Valley of Sonoma. More than ever our children are challenged every day with multiple situations that have to do with poverty and access to basic services. Today I would like to focus on how inadequate and difficult the education system can be.
Most people would agree that the whole purpose of life would be to become a good person. Someone who is able to love everyone is a good citizen who provides a good service to all humankind. I think that the educational system might be failing in this regard. I think that instead of focusing on building character, on moral values, ethics, spirituals ideals, right human relationships, right living, virtue, and consciousness, it makes every effort to eliminate those things from the many facets of learning, and addresses itself only to the less important half of the human being.
I often feel that feel that the education nowadays is materially and agonistically oriented. The focus is placed: on making good grades, on how much you need to be making for a living, on getting jobs, making sure that you would have a comfortable and successful material life.
I’m concerned that children are being too exposed to too much competiveness, pride, egotism, nationalistic prejudice, comparativeness and superiority over other people, cultures and other nations. I wonder if that is happening in our own community with the charter schools and private schools. In an effort to create options for people, we might be creating more and more divisions and creating “segregations.”
Furthermore I think that education has become an exercise of stuffing a lot of information on unrelated facts into youngsters’ minds. The effort is to get short-term memory development, but it ignores enjoyment. The objective is to obtain a goal instead of focusing on the process of learning..
I can only image how hard it must be for those children who are living already living under very stressful conditions at home, yet have to face even more stress at school. No wonder so many are not advancing, not graduating. We need to stop caring so much about our kids getting a college degree and pay more attention to their inner peace and happiness.
It’s urgent that we integrate programs at school that teach kids soul consciousness. Otherwise our future leaders will be intellectually developed, but lousy human beings. If we continue to disregard the importance of developing the spiritual essence of the human, we will continue to have the same corrupt system that we often complain of.
I would like to encourage those who are involved with education to look into the idea of integrating moral teaching in the class room. I know that there is a necessary separation of church and state. What I am advocating does not violate that. It would be fantastic if our students could participate at an early age on classes about moral development, ethics, character building, spiritual values and human relationships. I bet this would equip kids to have healthy life styles, good marriages and less child abuse.
Let’s do every thing possible to make sure that all children are taught in an atmosphere of unconditional love and security. Unfortunate, many schools don’t strive to do this.
I do understand that a lot of times it is not the teachers’ fault. Teachers have so much on their plate. But I say it might be worth a shot to try it out. It would be great if we had teachers who were willing to embody these ideals so that the students will learn it from them.
I fear that education as it is practiced today hardens the hearts of our students and squeezes out any semblance of unconditional love and compassion.
Thank you, Mr. Castillo, for this thoughtful and insightful piece. I only came across it this week in an old issue of The Sun. We as parents need to be addressing these issues with our kids’ schools. All education ought to reach the whole child, including their spiritual and emotional side. The best learning takes place in a meaningful context and a caring relationship, so teachers need to know the child and understand them. Of course this is difficult with large classes and testing and curricular requirements. But let’s keep trying, and let’s keep this dialogue going.