PBS Documentary: Part 4

This part of the documentary made me think a lot about my early education like an educator. I have spent the majority of my time as an Education major thinking about how I will apply what I've learned in high school to my teaching after certification. There is, however, a lot to be learned from the policies of all our school placements, and if we are able to think about the motives behind them, then we might get a better grasp on whether we should try them in our own classes.

This video had a lot of talk about educational trends, and I think that these seemed to spring up left and right once we entered the technology age. Education was becoming a commodity, and with such a diverse and growing number of students, these trends were quickly becoming the basis for educational reform. A few trends that seemed the most influential in the time period of the episode (and also for present day, and in the future) were Charter Schools, Teacher Empowerment, Merit-based pay, and certification. These trends all seem to come from a student-centered, teacher-friendly area of thought that is built for progress.

Of course, not all of the hundreds of trends that have sprung up since the 80s were zingers, and a few of them have doubtless hindered economic enlightenment in many corners of the country. For instance, Privatization, tenure, Consolidation and Tracking are some trends that I had marked for detrimental issues. These trends all seem very much based on the state of the economy at the time, more geared towards the allotment of pay and funding and less on the benefit of students' gaining knowledge.

The documentary ended on a high note of satisfactory progress in such little time, but there remains--and there always will remain--much work to be done.