What is it to give?
In a society where people construct their actions based on rewards and recognition,
I wonder truly what defines giving.
My belief is that giving is irrational,
It is the generous manifestation of the heart,
Rather than the rationale of the mind.
It is the parable of the good Samaritan,
Lending your best efforts to someone,
With no expectation of reciprocation.
Francisco Erasmo Rodrigues de Lima was a 61 year old Brazilian man--
He understood the true meaning of giving.
My knowledge of Francisco is limited to details available on the internet.
Francisco was neither wealthy or well known,
As a matter of fact he survived off the generosity of people.
Francisco was homeless.
In his final moments, Francisco gave the most generous gift of all--
He laid his life for a woman who seems to have no connection to him.
She was a stranger.
But yet, in a time where action needed to be taken,
A time where rationalizing things through would have cost a life,
Francisco rose and acted upon the generous manifestation of his heart.
While the police and onlookers stood by, Francisco came to the rescue of this stranger.
Unaware of the rolling cameras, Francisco approached the gunman who had this lady pinned down, engaging him long enough to allow the ladies escape but unfortunately exposing himself to the bullets of the gunman.
Francisco continued engaging the gunman, albeit his wound, diverting possible harm to bystanders.
Once more the gunman shot Francisco before the police neutralized him.
Realizing the altercation was over, Francisco became aware of his wounds,
Stumbling towards a wall for support whilst examining his torso.
Failing to support himself, Francisco fell to the ground languidly.
Watching the footage made me question modern giving.
It is not unusual to see someone advertising their cause on a daily basis--
Donations with names attached to them for public admiration.
It is good that we donate and are involved, but sometimes I find it difficult to distinguish between sponsors and donors.
But I wonder if giving has simply become a public display of social activism,
A sticker to put next to your "go organic" or "recycle" bumper sticker.
I'm not suggesting we die to authenticate our giving,
Rather I'm simply questioning, what's the real reason we give these days?
R.I.P Francisco Erasmo Rodrigues,
You gave generously at the footstep of the Lord, I pray he overcomes you with His blessings.
Weekly roundup... as of July 2, 2015. Chuks discusses Kendrick Lamar's BET performance and Fox New's critisism on the performance, Gay marriage legalization and corporate exploitation (I'm looking at you Facebook), Unauthorized pilot on Argentinine airline, The Donald (aka troll gawd, aka king troll) wants Mexicans out.
I don't get it. The constant stereotyping and broad classification of individuals by others. Even more absurd is when individuals do this to themselves. As I've aged, I've developed a deep relationship with myself, traversing through many aspects of my self. This has translated into a union between my subconscious principles and my conscious behavior. In unifying my internal being I have detached myself from any social schema that might have once defined me. When I think of myself, I don't picture a black male, or an African male, or a young adult. One of the greatest illusions we have come to believe, is that we are defined by the arbitrary characteristics we merely inherited. Who we become is a choice. So why would you choose to abandon the unique traits, mannerisms, and propensities you have acquired from your years of living merely to define yourself by characteristics left to chance?
Saying you are gay is not an accolade. It is as relevant as stating your hair color. It is a superficial trait that lends no useful content on the individual. The way you respond to situations is not determined by superficial traits such as your skin tone, physical dimensions, or sexual orientation. Circumstantial situations shed light on the morale and motivational principles of an individual. That is who you really are. I know I'm a narcissistic and often hypocritical person. Unifying your being does not mean you're a good person, it just means you know who you are as an individual.
Simply saying you're gay, black or any other capricious adjective lends your audience no insight as to who you are. It is like saying all red wine is the same, which any avid wine drinker would dismiss laughably. I don't relate to the black or African struggle. I relate to the human struggle. The Mike Brown case was not a race issue. Neither was the Freddie Gray case. If all you see is a racially driven incident, then I feel sorry because you lack true empathy and I have to question the authenticity of your cries. That case was about a United States citizen, and even greater, a human being, killed for whatever reason by an official put in place to protect him. I am not going to dismiss race, or other superficial traits as having relevance in these situations. There is a greater evil that drives these incidents that transcends beyond race. Whether black or white, injustice is injustice and should be met with the same level of disapproval regardless of superficial traits.
In a recent interview with Oprah, Raven Symone denounced her labels because she believes she is much more than titles. Instead of trying to understand her wisdom, there was backlash, especially from the black community, because she didn't want to be labeled African American. I commend her for taking a bold approach and stating this on a public platform. There are too many people that go through life using these superficial traits to dictate their lives and it only enslaves them and prevents them from realizing their maximum potential.
GQ did an interview with Jason Collins that I found to be absolutely disgusting. Alright, I'm being a tad dramatic, but it was a useless interview regardless. For the interview, he starts by introducing himself as a gay black male on purpose. That introduction holds no substance and leaves me, the reader, with no relevant detail on your being. A more proper introduction would be to say, my name is Jason Collins and I am narcissistic. Although that would be a super weird way to start a conversation, it conveys more about the individual and gives some insight to their being rather than saying you're black and gay. I am not denying the role superficial characteristics play in defining someones identity. The issue I take is that, for most people, this is where the conversation ends. There is no elaboration on their being and no meaningful substance can be acquired from interacting with them. They are merely reflecting the stereotypes and compulsions attributed to these traits. Minorities, gays, and other oppressed groups wonder why they find themselves in some of the circumstances they're in, and my answer is that they've limited themselves to superficial traits and characteristics, failing to grow as an individual. Of course there are ignorant people that contribute to the problem, but idiots will be idiots, that you cannot change. How you respond and who you become is entirely up to you. Certainty in yourself is the foundation that will help you overcome trails and obstacles in life and if you don't have a sound foundation, you will falter in times of tribulation.
Detach from superficial characteristics, finding the truth within yourself. This will be the guide to liberate your mind and allow you to maximize your potential.
(This is a continuation from thisarticle. I recommend you read
that as it will be the point of comparison for the listed solution in this
article.)
Structural Creativism, SC,
is the idea of giving students a structured platform with specific guidelines to
express and create whatever ideas they have. In a system that fails to cater to
the interest of students, I believe providing this platform could be a pivotal
tactic in the reformation of the education system and is my proposed solution. Before
we delve into the topic, we must first come to an understanding of human nature
and its effects on the learning process in order to understand the solution to
the problem; within the nature of humans lies the answer to the problem
of modern education and further validates the approach of SC.
Humans are curious and
adventurous beings, possessing an innate knack for inquisition, likely because
our schemas are developed through experiences. This
primal characteristic is best observed amongst children, who seem to have an
endless list of questions they want answers to. Observe a child the next time
they inquire on some information and watch their reaction as you answer them.
They are genuinely curious and will pay close attention to your words, asking
questions until they have a satisfactory answer. Just as children possess
the ability of endless questioning, so do they possess the skill of endless
storytelling. Ask a child about something relevant to them and step back and
watch them wrestle with their words and try catching their breath as they try
to accurately convey their story to their audience. Working with children, I
encountered many that were reserved, seldom interacting with anyone. I would
try to get them engaged using various tactics, but it was not until I mentioned
something that interested them that they would become responsive. The moment is
very obvious, as their eyes would widen and their gaze turned towards you. Ask more
questions about this interest of theirs and watch that reserved child talk
frantically about their favorite cartoon character, video game etc. Children
convey a lot about the nature of learning in humans and provide specific
factoids that can be dissected from the aforementioned scenario on the learning
process.
Humans are curious and
seek answers to questions pertinent to our lives, we inquire on ways to answer
those questions, and we have a genuine desire to share information on topics
relevant to us. Combined, these factoids essentially summarize
the human learning experience and depict a process that is self-driven and
self-rewarded. By this I mean learning is a process initiated within oneself
and propagated by the interests and desires of that individual which can only
be satisfied when some self-satisfying result has been attained. Viewing the
learning process in this manner highlights key areas of deficiencies in modern
approaches to education, further discussed here, and better explains its shortcomings. Fortunately, we can use this understanding as a guideline to design student-centered curriculum that play on the learning process of humans/students.
The idea of student-focused/centered
approach is not novel but hasn't been presented publicly in the detailed manner that I will be presenting below, nor has it been accompanied by
compelling examples as I have presented above and in the previous article. The
proposed SC approach to education acknowledges the self-centered nature of
learning and employs that in designing programs that integrate the interests
of students, in varying degrees, into the learning experience; nourish and
encourage the genuine desire for learning amongst students; encourages the acquisition of
practical skills and qualities. It is crucial that SC is not mistaken as a
complete substitution to modern approaches, as I feel there are benefits in
that approach as well. SC should rather be viewed as a supplementary tool to
enhance the learning experience. The level of supplementation can be determined
by analyzing schools historical performances and student outcomes. Fig. 1
depicts the spectrum which administrators can design and implement SC based
programs.
Programs falling closer
to the casual extreme minimize external input and intervention from teachers
and emphasize building curriculums around students interests. In practice, the
student will have some form of their normal school schedule but all their
classes, assignments, and projects will be centered around their interests. The
opposite of this is the structured approach where curricula resembles modern
ones but a specific optional period, think after school program, is set aside for students to partake in
various lessons that interest them. Falling in the middle, will be a hybrid program that resembles the structured approach, but the supplementary class will be mandatory and parts of their classes will incorporate their interests. Regardless of where a program falls, the students will have the opportunity to relate their education to their lives. Creating this connection should theoretically increase their desire to learn, which should translate to improvements in academic performance.
Another problem with modern approaches is the inadequate and irrelevant measures that are used to assess the capacity and progression of students throughout their educational careers. Instead, we need to have another method that assesses the progression of students thought processes, critical analysis, and mastery of foundational traits. I believe there are crucial traits most employers will list as being essential in an ideal employee. While the list could contain numerous qualities, I've found five to be great indicators of productivity amongst individuals; they are also traits that a proper education system can cultivate. These qualities include:
1) Creativity:
Creativity can be
defined as the process of developing novel ideas, from conception to an actual
product. I once was asked in an interview what I believed was more important,
creativity or efficiency. This odd question became more obvious the further I
delved into my explanation on the nature of creativity. If you think about the
premise of efficiency, it strives for complete cohesiveness, predictability,
and reliability. Imagine if Ford built the perfect car, operating on the most
efficient materials and requiring no maintenance; being that it is the perfect car, no other changes need to be made. What we see is that the
innovative nature of a system is diminished with greater efficiency. How about
creativity? Creativity really can't be contained within parameters. It's
perceptibly limitless but readily available to every individual. The vastness
of creativity also presents the problem of disorganization and inefficiency.
Both attributes are important on their own and are ideal when placed together,
but I value creativity because its limits are unknown. When thinking
of students, the vision should be focused on the future; the teachers should
be teaching the students to think of the future and how their education is
relevant to that. It is important to get students envisioning the
future and seeing what roles they will play and how the tools
(their education) they acquire will help them actualize those roles. If we solely focus on
efficiency, there will be limitations in that scenario; there will be little
excitement amongst the students and they will feel limited and trapped.
Having them think creatively opens a world that they can explore and discover
themselves within and apply their education in novel ways that will be
productive to society.
2) Collaboration:
The real world is collaborative; we are constantly collaborating with coworkers, or other organizations in order to accomplish our jobs. As an individual, it is crucial to be able to not only
formulate your own thoughts but also incorporate the ideas and requirements of
participating parties, such as teachers and classmates. Purposefully assigning projects that allow students to collaborate with others, alerts them to this crucial trait and allows them to gain appreciation for the process.
3) Presentation
Creativity without
action is a blocked dam. While you want to nurture creativity, you don't want
to fall for encouraging dreamers. Making students present their ideas to an
audience in a physical format whether it is in writing, video, photography, or
whatever medium they desire, encourages them to act upon their ideas. The
process of taking your ideas into a physical format and then presenting it to
someone forces the student to not only verbalize their thoughts in a manner
that aligns with their visions but also in a way that people will be able to
understand. The entire process also exposes students to potential roadblocks
and teaches them how to troubleshoot and utilize other problem solving techniques in completing tasks.
4) Punctuality
One of the most
important attributes students should learn early is punctuality. What good are
good ideas if the person lacks the ability to actualize those ideas, and even
worse they fail to do so because they're unable to get things done in a timely manner?
Teaching students to be punctual early on will be foundational in spawning more
productive students from our education systems. Giving students deadlines that
progressively get slimmer, but remain within a feasible parameter, will help in
achieving this.
5) Self sufficiency
In general, most minors
have lived their lives under their parents supervision, having major decisions made
by them with little to worry for themselves. Giving students the sense
of control over their education places responsibility in their hands
and forces them to be more thoughtful on matters of their education from
classes they take to their extracurricular activities. The goal is to have
this mindfulness translated into proactivity amongst students. Students need
to learn early on that their progression in life is determined by their efforts
and actions, not anyone else. This will especially be useful in preparing them
for success in college, as the true gem of college comes from experiences you
create outside the classroom.
Below is a video of a
child named Logan. To me, Logan is the ideal student; enthusiastic and willing
to learn. You can see that he is involved and enjoys his education.
This is because his innate desire to learn is being nurtured through the utilization
of a structurally creative environment. Logan still learns the traditional
subjects he would learn in a public school system, but his program advances on
this by taking into consideration and incorporating his interests into the
curriculum. The result is a curriculum that is "personalized" to his
interest, thus giving the subject relevance to him. His assignments are based
on topics he's interested in and are to be presented in a way that showcases
his complete grasp of the subject (the play.) He is proactive and looks for opportunities to apply his education such as the internship he partook in. Logan's program is essentially SC
in practice, falling closer to the casual side of the spectrum. As seen from this case study, the learning experience can be
significantly improved when you incorporate the students input and structure
their learning in an encouraging environment.
In all, Structural
Creativism based programs could significantly improve the learning process of
students by reviving their enthusiasm for learning, appreciation for education,
and equipping them with productive qualities and skills that are relevant to
their interests and the workplace. I believe the shortcomings of modern education systems can be addressed by this approach and provide better learning conditions for students.
In the last several years the U.S. faced economical lows which
perturbed the socioeconomic sphere and exposed weaknesses in sectors of our
governance, the education system is one sector that was exposed and will be the
focus of this article. The article is
divided intotwo parts; the first addressing the current
atmosphere of the education system and problems it faces, the follow-up elaborating
on a possible solution to the addressed problems. Although not comprehensive, I
will highlight key aspects of the current system which will give points of
comparison for my proposed alternative.
Saying our education system needs a reform is redundant. The
discussion has been going on long before the economic downturn and it does not
seem like there is a feasible solution in sight. Numerous debates and articles
have been presented to address education reform in the past, yielding some
results but nothing significant.
Most proposals have failed to yield significant results because
there is a lack of understanding on the underlying problem. The education
system is not a money, teacher, student, or infrastructure problem but rather
an administrative problem. To be blunt, school is stale and uninteresting; most
students I've spoken to cannot relate to the curriculum or understand the
usefulness of their education and come to the conclusion that it is all
pointless. Instead of listening to these voices and making changes accordingly,
administrative bodies brush off their comments, labeling students lazy. The
case is worsened by outdated and irrelevant standards that students have to
measure up to. Most administrations play a numbers game in which their
institution must meet set goals in order to meet standards set by their
district or state such as; x number of passing students, x average SAT scores,
x percentage attendance. While these are useful institutional goals, they fail
to properly assess and measure qualities possessed by students. Placing
students in a system they take no interest in and then assessing their capacity
using outdated and irrelevant measures has produced unmotivated students, which
in turn has led to the observed under-performance amongst students. Even
amongst the students that meet or exceed the standards, they still emerge from
the system unmotivated, underachieving, and unequipped for the real world. All
these problems stem from the design and administration of our education system.
The system is driven by the need to meet standards, not only by
the students but also the teachers. In practice, this has resulted in
overworked teachers, neglected students and dwindling quality of education.
Instead of addressing the way we approach the learning process, we instead get
caught up in politics and fund allocations. These are discussions needed to
sustain functioning institutions but the problem is the discussion ends at
that. They only address the mechanisms of institutions and put students in the
backseat, the reason for the existence of these institutions in the first
place. In all the debates I have heard from politicians or articles I have come
across, few ever mention anything relevant to the students learning process. In
fact, in preparing this article, I searched for publications or polls on actual
students opinions on the education system and the materials were scarce. My
research was in no way extensive so that might explain my findings, but in this
age it should not be that difficult to find material on a topic that has been
ongoing for decades, then again I might be wrong. But based on what I have
seen, the input from the people we are trying to educate is nonexistent. For
example, if Nike was making a new sneaker, I would expect them to take into
consideration the opinions of the public, whether from explicit feedback
through polls or social media feed, or implicit feedback through sales trends.
It will be absurd if the designers ignored public opinions and based their
designs solely on the parameters the Nike CEO’s set. More than likely the CEO's don't even wear the shoes they're
overseeing. Instead, the design is catered to specific audiences and the result
is a successful sneaker amongst that audience, and if it isn't successful you
can bet the production of that sneaker will cease. What does this have to do
with our education system? Well, all I see is a system that operates to meet
the standards of the state and the government, failing to take into
consideration the voice of the students. As someone designing and administering
education curriculum, shouldn't the interests and opinions of students be a
priority in the administrative process? Should modifications not be made to
address this issue? I believe so!
Current approaches have caused distaste for the education system
amongst students, who call school irrelevant, inapplicable, and a waste of time
and money. This is unacceptable! Learning is something that humans are
inherently interested in and value and most students will attest to this when
it comes to matters of their daily lives. But why the differing opinion when it
comes to learning in the classroom? As I've mentioned, the input of students
are nonexistent in the designing and administration of programs. Forcing
standardized and outdated learning processes on students diminishes their
enthusiasm for learning and their morale is debilitated when they are critiqued
on qualities they don't care about and aren't good at rather than encouraging
productive qualities they possess and nourishing those qualities. I don't
believe you can use a standardized method to progress and encourage the
learning process of students. They all come from broad backgrounds and have
varied interests, and I believe that is something that needs to at least be
considered. Even amongst the students that do graduate, the quality and
outcomes of the majority of them reemphasizes their qualms with the education
system and also proves the ineffectiveness of current methods in yielding
highly qualified graduates.
Assessing the situation, the best solution to the problem will be
to modify the way we design and administer curriculum for students as well as
reevaluating our assessment tools. We need to alter our approach, taking into
account the uniqueness of each student that steps into the classroom. If you're
wondering how this could be feasible with the ratio of students to teachers,
you need not worry. My proposed solution is Structural Creativism, a term that
I will use to describe the process in which the uniqueness of students can be
incorporated into their traditional schooling to enrich their learning
experience. The proceeding article will delve into the idea of structural
creativism and the role it could play in solving the problem.
First off, I would like to extend my greetings for the seasons,
even though it is late!
For my first post of the year, I figured I
would make it about New Year’s resolutions like the plethora of articles out
there :) Although I feel the topic of New Year’s resolution is discussed in
excess, I figured I would provide a slight input to this topic. I hope the
information I present to you is insightful.
Creatures of habit. This term is
characteristic of animals due to our propensity to act in predictable patterns.
It's like the quote from Gandhi that states the progression of thoughts,
manifesting themselves into character and ultimately dictating our destiny. I
appreciate this quote because it is terse in depicting the progression of
character and realization of our destiny. Regardless of your New Year’s resolution, your character will be
crucial in determining how close you come to achieving not only your New Year’s
goals, but every other goal you make in life.
The first step I recommend before
embarking on your resolution goal is to do some introspection. By this I mean,
question and inspect aspects of your being to truly find out who you are. I
will use myself as an example. I realized upon continuous introspection that I
am lazy, mainly due to a sense of comfort. I am also very competitive and will
work hard to win. These two descriptions contradict each other but are very true
to my being, and ultimately determine how well I will do in accomplishing
specific goals. For example, I do better in short and competitive situations and have
difficulty with the opposite.
The next step is to thoroughly analyze the
goals you wish to accomplish. What is your goal? What needs to be done to
accomplish that goal? What steps do you need to take to accomplish your goals?
What do you hope to gain from achieving this goal? What are some obstacles
you'll have to overcome? For most people, goals are simply an idea with sparse
details. Usually when a goal is nebulous in this sense, it impedes on the
progress of that goal at some point whether early on or in the advanced stage,
and in some cases, it can even cease all progression completely. I can attest
to this seeing that I have had numerous goals that did not pass infancy because
they lacked structure. Even though I had envisioned the final product many
times, I had never put much thought into the process. This is not to say that
you should have it all figured out before you embark on your journey, it is
meant to prepare you for the bumps and doldrums in your journey and incite
proactivity.
The next step is to calibrate your goals
according to your propensities. I believe many people stumble in their journey
because of this step. They set goals that don't fit their "profile."
I love the saying "aim for the stars and if you miss, you'll land on the
moon." It is a great philosophy and approach to setting goals but there is
a part to this phrase that is missing. That part is "but make sure you've
hit all the bushes and trees surrounding you first." Like I've said, I am lazy!
It is a sad but true realization. An issue I had when I was younger was that I
would set magnanimous goals for myself when I had a hard time conquering the
simple tasks that surrounded me. My room was always untidy, I was usually
running late, I was unorganized, and my attention span was short. There were
few things that made me move, and even if they made me move, momentum was lost
quickly due to my laziness. Knowing this, it makes sense why i failed to
achieve most of my goals. I was setting goals that didn't fit my profile. The
goals I set spanned a long period of time and had few incentives. Most people
are in this boat, setting goals and failing to achieve them because
they lack the foundation to drive these goals. They have lived their lives in a
certain manner for multiple years and expect to do a 360 within a short period
of time. I'm not saying this can't be done, because I have heard stories of
people doing this, and I'm sure it took a lot of hard work and consistency.
These people were able to achieve such goals because they had tenacious characteristics. Those goals fit their profile.
If you are unfortunately failing to
achieve your goals, it will behoove you to follow the aforementioned steps and
check the compatibility of your goals with your character. My advice for
ultimately achieving your big goals (stars) will be to start with making
multiple small goals (trees and bushes) and conquering those. You will have to
be a creature of habit, finding little things in your life that you can build a
habit of accomplishing daily, and ultimately make part of your being. For
me, I've made it a habit of dressing my bed when I wake up, even if I'm late
and need to be somewhere. It might seem silly, but achieving these little goals
compiles and slowly transforms your character. You will have to be diligent, hitting at least 90% of your small goals daily. Don't waste your time setting magnanimous goals if you can't accomplish at least 90% of the smalls tasks that surround you! I am certain that if you take a
look at the lives of accomplished people you will realize they have mastered
the small tasks that surround them, allowing them to achieve greater goals. It is like running a marathon. Training does not guarantee you'll achieve a set
time, but it will help you get a hell of a lot closer to that set time than
winging it would. Training builds focus, endurance, and diligence! Train your being!
On that note, I will leave with these
words; shoot for the stars so hard that you clear all the bushes and
trees surrounding you, and if you don't reach the stars or the moon, you'll
have a clearer shot next time.
I hope this helps and that you will be
creatures of habit in 2015. I wish you all the best in your endeavors. Always
stay positive and enjoy life.
