Is Education A Necessary Evil?

For many, education is seen as a means to an end. A necessary evil. If you want to become a “professional _______”, you will need an education in that field of study. Prior to specialization in your chosen field, however, comes compulsory education. Years of drilling math formulas and verb tenses, most which will be forgotten over the summer and have to be reinstated the following year, alongside new material. It was put best by George Murchison in the classic American drama, A Raisin in the Sun, “You read books–to learn facts–to get grades–to get grades–to pass the course–to get a degree. That’s all–it has nothing to do with thoughts.” Sadly, the idea of learning for its own sake, holding intellectual curiosity in high regard, has fallen by the wayside in a world where the most important concern is getting yours before the other guy gets his. The education system has become about producing a product and not about the process by which it is produced.

I do not believe this is an effective way to teach students. In fact, I do my utmost to avoid reinforcing this message of “learning is to get a job, nothing else.” In my classroom, students would enter a safe haven of learning and respect, where they could feel comfortable exploring ideas and exchanging opinions about literature, philosophy, history, psychology, anything that tangentially relates to literature (and so many of the other disciplines do). As a person who loves learning for its own sake, I am constantly exploring ways to improve my lessons and make the novels and concepts I teach more interesting to students. Recently, I was watching a fascinating TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) lecture online, given by creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson. In this talk...

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...s insulting to their character and their intelligence. Though students complain and fight every step of the way, in the end, many of them have told me they have learned a great deal from me, at the conclusion of my long-term leave positions. Most importantly, I never ask more of students than I ask of myself.

It is my hope that you will consider me a successful candidate for an interview with the Niskayuna Central School District, as I feel I have so much to offer students as a teacher and a role model. The deep passion that I feel for my subject matter and the desire I have to share that passion with my students, I feel, has a very strong impact on My life experiences and personal philosophy regarding education and its role for our future citizens of the world would be an invaluable asset to your English department, and to the high school community as a whole.