Dear Parents (and interested others)

Childhood Education, Fall 2006 by O'Brien, Leigh M

I want our children to have teachers who believe they have something to offer, who know that all children have special gifts that we adults have an obligation to develop. I want our children to have teachers who believe that every person has the right and the capability to achieve his or her potential within the school and larger community; who believe that education ought to encompass and care for the many facets of the whole child; and who believe education ought to help us collectively identify and address important, real problems.

This kind of education begins and ends in exploration, in the perpetual uncovering and unfolding of self in the world. This kind of education supports students asking what Bill Ayers contends is the essential question of education: Who am I in the world? This kind of education can help students develop the habits of thinking, caring, and questioning necessary for democratic public life. In contrast, much of our current system of education strips students of their innate sense of curiosity. They are expected to learn what other, more powerful, people think is important. Rarely does the U.S. education system allow its students to engage in a meaningful dialogue that might advance knowledge on a particular topic that matters to them-or to society.

I have to agree with Susan Ohanian (1999), who says that the present concerted push toward school "reform," driven and coordinated by business and government leaders, and touted ad nauseam by the mainstream press, is unlike its predecessors. We cannot say, "This too shall pass"-not this time. It's time for us, as Ohanian puts it, to "stake out the territory for saving the earth's children. Not handling them, not training them, but saving them" (p. 16). I hope we will work together to construct a society in which each child is seen as being rich in potential; as having power, dignity, and many varied strengths. We must, I believe, view learners as multifaceted individuals who need to be supported in their construction of liberatory knowledge via an education that "empowers all citizens to be respected, fulfilled human beings" (Cannella & Reiff, 1994, p. 43).

Of course, what I believe about parenting and education is not what everyone believes. I hope this space will provide a venue for a wide array of columns addressing issues and topics of interest to parents. Parents truly are, as the cliché has it, a child's first teachers and need to be acknowledged as such. I hope that together we can increase awareness, effect change where needed, and support each other in this amazing journey. That's not too much to ask of one column, is it?

I seek your input and welcome your comments and questions. Please do not hesitate to contact me at obrienl@ geneseo.edu; I look forward to hearing-and sharing-your voices!

References

Canella, G. S., & Reiff, J. C. (1994). Individual constructivist teacher education: Teachers as empowered learners. Teacher Education Quarterly, 21(3), 27-38.

Dewey J. (1990). The school and society. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, (original work published 1902)