Post #7 Final Project
The Problem
In the United States, schools established conformity in young people so that they would become productive members of society, or workers. Learning in this environment requires very specific skills: productivity, organization, order, and compliance. Today, young people cherish their individuality in a society that is rapidly changing, yet schools have remained largely unchanged. Our school system does not reflect or relate to its diverse, complex, and dynamic stakeholders.
In his TED Talk, Sir Ken Robinson states that the US spends more money than most other countries on education, classroom sizes are smaller, and there are many initiatives to improve education, yet millions of children are being left behind. He emphasized three principles that help humans to flourish. Diversity, rather than conformity, should be embraced. Curiosity, rather than compliance, drives achievement. Creativity, rather than standardization, allows us to become more flexible in our thinking. Every individual’s personal history impacts the ways in which they perceive, understand, and ultimately, experience the world around them. The way that our elders experienced the world generations before us directly impacts our access to education, technology, health care and opportunity today. All young people should have the opportunity to understand and identify themselves as individuals and in relation to the world.
The United States has a long history of marginalizing people and inciting violence, then denying accountability for the outcomes, often impacting many generations. This lack of accountability has embedded itself in our education system, politics, and even things as small as common courtesies in our day-to-day lives. Dr. Joy DeGruy uses the term Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome to describe the residual impacts of generations of slavery, oppression, and survival behaviors. After 12 years of qualitative and quantitative research, Dr. DeGruy theorizes that multi-generational trauma paired with continued oppression and the absence of opportunity to heal or benefit from society can lead to PTSS. She goes on to identify behaviors that began with the trafficking and enslavement of African people, and persist to this day. I believe that we will continue to be emotionally and culturally ill if we do not speak the truth out loud, listen to understand others, and move forward with empathy. We need the space to explore the triumphs and atrocities of the past in order to break the cycle of marginalization and oppression we’ve been stuck in. This would require our willingness to look at ourselves honestly, be vulnerable, and feel uncomfortable discussing the uncomfortable.
Young people in the United States largely have access to technology and media, and with that access to information that they can use to identify themselves. Our school system is not prepared to enthusiastically support and guide students as they analyze where they came from and who they are in relation to the world. The way that technology and media is in education today is used to replicate the classroom, rather than as an extension of the space. Dr. Prensky coined the terms “Digital Nomad” and “Digital Immigrants” to describe the differences between those who were born into the digital age and those who learned to navigate it in adulthood. If we believe that young people work at faster speeds, rely on visual images, and process multiple forms of information at once, then why doesn’t our school system reflect that? Why are we not meeting youth where they are at? In her TED Talk, Sherry Turkle emphasizes that we are socially and psychologically shifting as a society because of the way that we use technology. She believes that our needs, expectations, and perceptions of the world have changed because we have the ability to customize our virtual experience and choose where or for how long we focus our attention. She predicts that we are going to have trouble relating to others and ourselves and look to artificial intelligence to fulfill our emotional needs, ultimately minimizing our capacity for self-reflection. If the loss of self and human connection is a concern for younger generations, then why is there less focus on connection, relationships, and identity in our schools?
I believe that students learn best when they feel curious and inspired. Students enjoy exploring topics that they can get lost in. As a curious child myself, my wonderings came about when I could identify myself in what I was learning. English and History were my favorite subjects because I would get lost in the story. What did she experience in the past to make her respond that way? What would I do if I experienced that? Would my thinking change if I lived her experiences? With access technology, young people no longer need schools or libraries to locate themselves in relation to the world. Young people largely view their individuality as their strength, but are consistically asked to conform to institutional norms that they can no longer see purpose in. I believe that young people learn best when they can align their learning with their purpose. Exploring who they are, where they came from, and their relationship to others can help them to identify their own ideas, beliefs, and interests. Technology is currently being used in a way that aims to replicate how a classroom works, which can be limiting because technology can help us to leave those four walls and think out of the box. Technology is a tool that can help educators and youth workers to reach their students in a more dynamic way. Rather than fighting young people’s interest in social media, incorporating those skills into the curriculum could ultimately benefit the students.
In my experience, many educators often lack access to the necessary resources and training to facilitate conversations about identity, which often includes the topic of oppression. Due to the current state of the US, it is difficult for educators or youth workers to fund, or even find, professional development opportunities to help them develop the skills necessary to foster a safe and open space for their students to discuss these topics. Technology gives us the space to pause and reflect during dialogue. Virtual spaces offer anonymity and reduced social risk, giving people the courage to be vulnerable in ways that they might be not in-person. If there are agreed upon community guidelines and expectations, this could be an amazing tool for getting to know people beyond the superficial level usually required in-person.
I have developed a pilot website that will allow individuals to share something that they want the world to know about them in the form of a story. Storytelling is a powerful tool because you can get a glimpse of life through someone else’s eyes and gain an understanding of who they are, how they perceive the world and why. My goal for this project is to give people a space to think about themselves in a way that doesn’t feel selfish or critical. I envision educators, youth workers, and youth utilizing this tool to learn more about themselves and build stronger connections with others.
The website contains three pages, Home, About, and Tell Your Story. The ‘Home’ page contains a feed of blog posts, where the submissions and analysis would be shared. The “About” page contains an explanation about the project and instructions on how to engage with the site. The “Tell Your Story” page contains links for each submission topic, when selected will bring the participant to the submission form. When participants arrive at the submission form, they will see five prompts under the topic and decide whether they want to answer one or any combination of prompts. The submissions can be written, video, or audio. Three of the clickable topics include:
Roots: Share stories about your people, biological or chosen. Where do they come from and what they believe?
Worlds: Share stories about your world. What is it like to see the world through your eyes?
Lessons: Share stories about the most valuable lessons you've learned. From books or life.
Things I would consider before launching this website:
Will the website be used as a large platform where anyone can interact ( similar to Reddit or Facebook) or would this be used as a platform for invited individuals to engage (similar Google Classrooms or Mural)
How would this website protect the safety and privacy of all participants, especially youth?
How could I ensure participant’s privacy? Or make sure that they are not identified or retaliated against for what they post?
Who would have access to this data (stories) and how can it be protected?
What tools/resources can I use to make this experience as seamless for users as possible?
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