RSA Animation Vs. the oppressor

RSA Animation Vs. the oppressor

Alex Etienne                                                                                                                               8-30-11

                After reviewing both the RSA animation video on education and also the article known as “ Toward a pedagogy of the oppressor”, I was left with mixed feelings and various different questions; not only involving how I felt about the issues, but also where we, as a country, take our education system from this point moving forward.  Is it fair to say that everyone deserves an equal education, regardless of where you live or how much money you have?  Even better, is it a normal American civilian’s right to be able to say whatever they feel about a specific subject?  These are all questions that are currently being discussed in our nation and until a solution is found, these problems will continue to occur.

            For starters, in regards to the animation video made by RSA animations, I feel the author did an outstanding job representing where, we as a country currently stand in our education systems.  The video stated, “Education is modeled in the interest of industrialism.”  Obviously, this would first come over as a concern to most people, considering we model our education system as if we are building toys.  But, in the grand scheme of things, this is probably the best method in which we can teach children.  Start them out small, from the beginning.  Then, build upon that, year by year, grade by grade.

            Although you may feel that the previous issue is most important, there is also the issue of ADHD in our children today.  The question remains, how do we treat this?  Should children be medicated or should they simply have to focus naturally, even if they have hyper-active disorders?  According to the animation, children receiving medication for ADHD in today’s society is as easy a process as getting your tonsils taken out. 

            In regards to the article “Toward a pedagogy of the oppressor”, you can take it even farther than the idea of ADHD medication in our schools.  This article discussed issues including discrimination and how impactful it is in society today.  To be completely honest, I thought I was aware of how this was an issue, but I would never have guessed how bad it truly was until I read this piece.  Did you know that, “   To be white, or straight, or male, or middle class is to be simultaneously ubiquitous and invisible? You're everywhere you look, you're the standard against which everyone else is measured. You're like water, like air. People will tell you they went to see a "woman doctor," or they will say they went to see "the doctor." 

            Believe it or not, you can find a simple correlation or relevance between the animation and the article discussed by looking at the idea of a day in the life of a public school system student.  They are constantly surrounded by children medicated for ADHD, they are subject to the “industrialism” idea, and they also probably have seen or even experienced discrimination themselves.  The remaining question is this: How do we adjust our educational system for future students to the point where everyone is happy?  Or, better yet, is this even an eventual possibility?