Achieving a More Educated Citizenry through Exposure to Multi-Dimensional Viewpoints and Resources i

Objective Check: Demonstrate the ways that writing can be used as a research practice

Following a discussion on Keith Gilyard's essay on dreams, students in English 104 were prompted to write an essay about a dream of their own. In my own essay, I elaborated on the need for more widespread and equal opportunities for education throughout the world. In order to do so, it was necessary for me to do some research on the issue as well as converse with students and those in the education industry.

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In the 1890’s, an extremely gifted poet by the name of Paul Dunbar penned the following words regarding dreams: ‘But the work you’ve got to do/ Dreams won’t ever do for you’. The subject of dreams is a recurring one in Dunbar’s poetry, particularly because he believed in their power to initiate change. I, too, believe in the importance of dreams, one of which is seeing the world someday achieve a more educated and well-rounded global citizenry. In order for us to benefit from the informed decisions and diverse contributions of all citizens, one aspect that needs to be addressed is ensuring that those in the education system, especially disadvantaged youth, are exposed to not one, but a variety of viewpoints, learning methods and career possibilities.

During my 12th grade year, I taught an English class at the Sophia Special School, which is an institution of higher education in Guyana whose mission is ‘to bridge the gap between ‘mainstream’ and ‘special needs’ learning. Whilst there, I realized that students were not receiving the appropriate, individualized treatment to which they were entitled. Their teachers were reluctant and impatient, and more importantly, were incapable of exposing the students to alternative teaching methods and ideas that might encourage their growth. Before formulating my lesson plans, I asked the students a few questions hoping to gauge the type of lessons they were accustomed to, and discovered many areas of disconnect. They had studied parts of speech, but did not have the chance to create their own sentences using them. They were required to write compositions, but never based on a topic of their choice. Class discussions were almost one-sided, because in their minds, the only opinions that mattered came from authority. From the government’s perspective, these students were merely ‘special needs’ cases; what they failed to realize was that by relegating the students to this blanket category, they were only perpetuating slow learning and poor performance. In order to re-route this regressive pattern, we cannot simply stop at ‘special needs’ to identify these students. Lilia Bartolome, Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts Boston, offers some important insight into how education of the disadvantaged should be approached: ‘Teaching strategies are neither designed nor implemented in a vacuum. Design, selection and use of particular teaching approaches and strategies arise from perceptions about learning and learners’ (5). The marked progress that I observed after a few weeks of implementing more inclusive activities in the learning process and interacting with these students not as an outsider, but as somebody who was willing to understand their individual situations, is testament to this. Policy makers in the education industry need to ensure that all schools are doing justice to the disadvantaged by seeking out and employing experts who have been specifically trained to create dynamic curriculums that inspire differently abled students.

Once students have access to different perspectives in their youth, it becomes easier for them to realize that they have options for the future: options which do not necessarily need to conform to what society considers the ‘norm’. Lou Ann Lewis-Jackson, an artist, recalls instances where she was discouraged from pursuing a degree in Fine Arts by those who held the view that it was a field in which one ‘made no money’. However, thanks to the encouraging perspectives of recognized artists and experienced professors at the E.R Burrows School of Art in Guyana, Jackson was able to see art in a different light; a light that overshadowed the views of those who still held on to outdated conclusions about the creative industry. Here, we see how important it is to be mentored by those who have experiences similar to ours, understand our internal conflict, and can offer alternative perspectives on life that will help us to realize our aspirations and true potential.

Jacqueline Royster, Professor of English at Georgia Tech, addresses the detrimental effects of narrowed perspectives in a school and classroom context: ‘Too often…institutionalized equations for placement, positive matriculation...categorize, rank and file, while our true-to-life students fall through the cracks’ (11). Deepa Odit, a second year student at the University of Guyana, agrees with this observation, but also asks an important question: How do we focus on achieving this classroom inclusivity when some education systems still face obstacles such as a lack of capitol and infrastructure to ensure that the education of youth is prioritized? Indeed, reformed teaching methods that promote exposure to varying perspectives will be of little use if students cannot afford to attend school. Odit suggests that we should not rely solely upon intervention from our governments and various ministries. Instead, those who have had the privilege of benefitting from a well-rounded education should act on a sense of responsibility toward the disadvantaged and underexposed. After all, what good is knowledge if we acquire it only to keep it to ourselves? Through volunteer initiatives, we as the ‘average citizens’ can make a more than average impact on the lives of fellow youth by helping to impart our own knowledge and suggesting several paths they might take to achieve their goals based on their ability and skill levels. This will help to instill in them the idea that they, too, can find their place in the world, despite the confining labels they are given by ignorant onlookers.

Education should be a multi-faceted experience: a realm that discriminates against neither learning ability nor teaching style. In order to achieve this, we must realize that a one size fits all mindset is dangerous and highly ineffective. By making concerted efforts to liberate underexposed and differently abled students from the rigidity of one-dimensional approaches to learning, I am positive that we will be one-step further on the path to being a better-informed and more productive society.

Left Behind

This cartoon depicts an example of the scenarios that play out in classrooms today because my dream has not been realized. It represents the stifling of students' curiosity, the limiting of their perspectives and the resulting feelings of marginalization that they experience.

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Works Cited

Bartolome, Lilia. Beyond the method fetish: Toward a humanizing pedagogy.

Harvard Educational Review, p. 5, http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.lib.umich.

edu/pqdweb?did=1660116&sid=2&Fmt=3clientId=17822&RQT=309&VN

ame=PQD.

Gilyard, Keith. "Literacy, Identity, Imagination, Flight." Visions and Cyphers:

Explorations of Literacy, Discourse and Black Writing Experiences, edited

by David F. Green Jr., Inprint Editions, 2016, pp. 39-45

Lewis Jackson, Lou Ann. Telephone interview. 2 Sept. 2017.

Odit, Deepa. E-mail interview. 5 Sept. 2017.

Royster, Jacqueline. "When The First Voice You Hear Is Not Your Own." Visions

and Cyphers: Explorations of Literacy, Discourse and Black Writing Experiences, edited by David F. Green Jr., Inprint Editions, 2016, pp. 7-13