PAUL CARR: But What Can I Do?

Open publication - Free publishing - More education

SIR KEN ROBINSON: CHANGING PARADIGMS

EVERY COUNTRY ON EARTH, AT THE MOMENT, ARE REFORMING PUBLIC EDUCATION.
THERE ARE TWO REASONS FOR IT:
1. HOW DO WE EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN TO TAKE THEIR PLACE IN THE ECONOMIES OF THE 21st CENTURY? GIVEN THAT WE CAN'T ANTICIPATE WHAT THE ECONOMY WILL LOOK LIKE AT THE END OF NEXT WEEK.
2. CULTURAL IDENTITY (I KNOW WHERE I AM FROM). GLOBALISATION (IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL).

HOW DO WE SQUARE THAT CIRCLE?
DOING WHAT THEY DID IN THE PAST...

Paradigma del Sistema Educativo from ATTAC.TV on Vimeo.

History of Education: Selected Moments of the 20th Century

Welcome to the website of Daniel Schugurensky
Selected Moments of the 20th Century

This is a site about education during the 20th century, organized by decades. It includes short descriptions of 'educational episodes' that took place in that period. The episode in question could be a policy, a court case, a piece of legislation, a scholarly article, a theory, a project, a research report, an incident, the release of a book, a speech, an empirical finding, a tragedy, an acomplishment, a conference, the opening or a closure of an institution, a movie, an anecdote, or anything, big or small, that tells us something about education theory, policy, politics, research or practice during the last century. Arguably, some of these episodes have been more historically significant or influential than others, and some may be more well-known than others, but each one uncovers a piece of that immense puzzle that was 20th century education. Education is understood here in its broadest sense, and not only as schooling. Although its current emphasis is on North American educational developments, there is an ongoing effort to include more international content.

Most entries have been written especially for this site (many of them by education students), although some consist of links to other webpages. Cross references are used to show connections between different moments. New entries are added regularly. If you would like to submit an entry, make a comment to improve this site, or suggest a link to a webpage to be added to this compilation, please send it to: dschugurensky@oise.utoronto.ca.

“But What Can I Do?”

“But What Can I Do?” Fifteen Things Education Students Can Do to Transform Themselves In/Through/With Education, by Paul R. Carr

1. Accept that No One Knows Everything, and That We Can Always Learn
If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. -Anatole France (1844-1924)

2. Content Is Never Devoid of Context
How can one not speak about war, poverty, and inequality when people Who suffer from these afflictions don't have a voice to speak? -Isabel Allende (b. 1942)

3. Work Locally But Make the Linkage With the International Milieu
A man of humanity is one who, in seeking to establish himself, finds a foothold for others and who, desiring attainment for himself, helps others to attain. -Confucius (551-479 BC)

4. Media Literacy Is Not a Sound-Byte
Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. -Paulo Freire (1921-1997)

5. History Is Not Uni-Dimensional
He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps perpetrate it. -Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

6. Culture Is More Than Sombreros, Tacos and Mariachis
One does not sell the earth upon which the people walk. -Crazy Horse (1838-1877)

7. Problematize War, and Fight for Peace
A country cannot simultaneously prepare and prevent war. -Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

8. Humility Is an Unbelievable Virtue
The life that is unexamined is not worth living. -Plato (427-347 BC)

9. Be Wary of Being a Follower
Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow; don't walk behind me, I may not lead; walk beside me, and just be my friend. -Albert Camus (1913-1960)

10. Accept That You Are a Political Being
Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral. -Paulo Freire (1921-1997)

11. Read and Write, and Seek Out Authors Far from Mainstream Culture
Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. -Buddha

12. Problematize the Discrepancy in Wealth, But Also the Importance of Money as an Indicator of Worth or Value
Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe. -Frederick Douglas (1818-1895)

13. Consider the Proposition That There Is Hope
There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world,
and that is an idea whose time has come. -Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

14. Examine Important Events, Personalities and Experiences in Your Own Education
Everything has been figured out, except how to live. -Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

15. Affirm That “I Can Do What I Can Do”
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

(Full Text)