opening up

Posts Tagged ‘education-reform’

what i wouldn’t compromise

In edumication on 15 January 2008 tagged big-ideas, education, education-reform, fixing-things, reform, schooling with 4 comments

A while ago, a friend of mine noted something that had been bothering me for some time: when I told people about my university, they were invariably excited, but the message came across more as a menagerie of features than a cohesive vision. Over dinner, he asked me a question I found incredibly helpful [...]

“I’ve never before had the chance to apply my knowledge in pursuit of a real-world solution.”

In edumication, narrative on 14 December 2007 tagged education, education-reform, found, hands-on, hands-on-learning, mit, scary, school, schooling with no comments

I found this class survey in an empty classroom at MIT:

School is a pretty seriously screwed up place. Someone 17+ wrote that. They’ve never had the chance to use their knowledge in a real-world situation. Obviously (presumably?), they’re overstating the case. But even the fact that they feel this way is [...]

opportunity : obligation :: right : responsibility :: privilege : duty

In economics, edumication, essays on 1 December 2007 tagged activism, education, education-reform, fixing-things, hell-in-a-handbasket, language, opportunity, philosophy, policy, power, privilege, reform, responsibility, scary, schooling with no comments

I’m going to constrain the meanings of these words for this post. People bandy them about, but there are some essential differences that call for their distinction.
Opportunities are the chance to do something, the chance at something. Rights are guarantees that are (morally or ethically) inviolable. Privilege are opportunities accorded by virtue [...]