the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over:
This really stood out to me because, he's is reminding us that we are responsible for what we learn. We pick what information we want retain.
Because it’s hard. It takes will and effort, and if you are like me, some days you won’t be able to do it, or you just flat out won’t want to.
Sometimes being the bigger person, the nicer, kinder, or the positive person can be hard. It can be hard being in good mood after a long stressful day at work and having to drive through crazy obnoxious traffic. But, if you train yourself to think positive through tough times, it will eventually come in easy that you won't even have to think about being positive or not letting things affect you.
As I’m sure you guys know by now, it is extremely difficult to stay alert and attentive, instead of getting hypnotised by the constant monologue inside your own head (may be happening right now).
This is something I can relate to. I find myself getting distracted really quickly and I find it hard to focus on what is actually being taught in front of me. I take a LOT of breaks while doing homework!
The point here is that I think this is one part of what teaching me how to think is really supposed to mean. To be just a little less arrogant. To have just a little critical awareness about myself and my certainties. Because a huge percentage of the stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, it turns out, totally wrong and deluded.
He makes a really important point here, he is saying that part of learning is knowing that you are not always right, and that what you believe is true, sometimes might not be true. I think that specially teens and young adults, can sometimes be really arrogant and think they know it all or that they know more than others. It is all about maturing and learning.
the exact same experience can mean two totally different things to two different people, given those people’s two different belief templates and two different ways of constructing meaning from experience. Because we prize tolerance and diversity of belief, nowhere in our liberal arts analysis do we want to claim that one guy’s interpretation is true and the other guy’s is false or bad.
I agree with this, I believe that it is okay to have different ideas than someone else. No one is wrong for having different beliefs . Sometimes we might perceive someones beliefs and ideas as wrong just because they are different than ours.
The Political Significance of Different Conceptions of Citizenship: Some Comparisons
"And Tamika put it this way: "Lots of people want to be nice, but if you don't got food for your kids, how nice is that?"
I agree with this, education starts at home. Parents need to teach their children boundaries, respect, manners, and love. I believe that if they learn all these morals, and with the education they receive at school, children will be successful in life.
Developing Justice-Oriented Citizens: Bayside Students for Justice; One Bayside class member reported,
"This class was more exciting because it was more real. We were out there instead of just with our heads in the books and I liked feeling like we could do something positive."
This is a really interesting point because it shows the importance of teachers incorporating different types of activities into their lesson and not making it solely based on textbooks and paper work. If all teachers were to incorporate different activities into their teaching lessons, students would be more engaged and it will be more impactful to students.
Collective Responsibility for Action
"[How] can I make a difference? One person with good intentions in a bad world cannot make a difference. This is what the structure of our society makes me believe. Yet I know that if I take the stand, others will follow"
I find this quote to be so true! How many stands of action haven't we had in the past few years? It all starts with ONE person, and the rest who support that person or their ideas will follow them and stand next to them to try to make a change with that person. It is likely that if more people were to have this same mindset, there would be more people standing up for the good.
The Personally Responsible Citizen
"The personally responsible citizen contributes to food or clothing drives when asked and volunteers to help those less fortunate."
I agree with the programs that help students be more engaged in volunteer activities, It makes students appreciate things more and can hopefully solve "serious social problems.
Attendance
what is "advanced" citizenship?
According to Parker, advanced citizenship builds on the progressive perspective but adds careful attention to take over tensions between pluralism and assimilation.
Questions I have: Does this add to the three conceptions on being a "good" citizen?