World We Dare to Imagine Part 1

While I certainly don't know if this is the answer to all our problems, I do know that I am very passionate (like many of you) about education. I feel very lucky to have gone to the schools I've gone to and had the teachers I've had. My access to great education, and the people I've met at school, have been a huge part of  my success. But I've always wondered why the kid 10 miles down the street, the kid with the same hopes as me, would never have access to the same opportunities.

I realized a year or two ago that if I could be anything in the world, I would be a grade school teacher in a community that doesn't typically have the best teachers. At this point, I was already committed to a quarter of a million dollar education at USC, but I still hope that I will be able to do this someday.

Until then, the team I will be working with after graduation has a whole group that researches education and how technology can help (or hurt) child development. They also study how to make educational technology available to everyone, not just people that can afford it. One thing I am really good at is jumping to conclusions without much information, so I think this will be a good opportunity for me to really see if education holds some of the answers I am looking for.

 I had a mentor that used to say, "Just do the next best thing." I never knew what he meant by that but now I think about this quote all the time in small, everyday actions. 

Comments

  1. All about AlsApril 22, 2018 at 2:32 PM

    Hi Kelly!

    I completely agree. I feel like the way to bring better education to lower-income communities is to fund teacher training programs. Maybe this would be a way to equalize the system and bring the "best teachers" to these communities as well. What do you think?

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 22, 2018 at 3:59 PM

    Hi Kelly,

    I agree that we are privileged to have the "best teachers". I think one thing could help is to create a system in which the "best teachers" don't just always go to private schools where they get paid a higher salary and enjoy better resources. There should be more incentives so that the teachers can have faith in the public school system.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 22, 2018 at 10:02 PM

    Hi Kelly,

    I think a great start to providing all students with equal and proper educations would be to first implement a mentorship program where college students/mentors/parents are able to volunteer after hours to help students, who may not have the best teachers, complete their homework and study for tests.

    ReplyDelete
  4. KathyApril 23, 2018 at 11:14 AM

    Hi Kelly,

    You bring up so many good points that I have also thought about. It's a shame that education is not created equal. I have watched many documentaries on how some communities are trying to allow for better education in less socioeconomically well-off communities and have always come out of the documentaries angrier.

    I really hope that technology advances enough where every child is able to receive the same education via online courses. While that allows for the curriculum part of education to be somewhat solved, we also need to create more incentives for potential teachers so that more people would want to become one. We need more teachers who can be excellent role models, especially for children growing up in less privileged areas.

    ReplyDelete

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