I became aware of the problem early in my teaching career, in 1967 or so. We were doing a standard-definition exercise in a composition class, and a student was reading aloud her brief definition piece that began, “In the United States treason is” — and then merrily gave her own definition.

“Whoa!” I said, “Time out!” and made the “time-out” gesture. “If ‘treason’ is the word you want to define, you can argue for all sorts of definitions, but if you start a sentence ‘In the United States treason is,” you have to finish the sentence with the definition in the Constitution.”

(It’s Article 3, section 3, but I just looked that up; I couldn’t have given the citation from memory in 1967, and didn’t. But back to the story).

Blank stares from the class.

“It’s the one crime defined in the Constitution.”

More blank stares.

“You’ve got to know this!” I said; “You’ve all just passed an exam on the Constitution.” And indeed they had.

I was teaching at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, and my class was 100 percent students from, mostly, Illinois, with a few from New York. They had to pass the Regents’ Exam in New York, or the Public Law 195 exam in Illinois to get their high school diplomas, demonstrating among other things working knowledge of the U.S. Constitution.

“Right,” one of my students replied, “we passed the exam.”

“OK, so you have to know this,” I said.

Giving me the sympathetic look we insensitive people give the pathetically slow, the student repeated, with more careful enunciation, “We passed the exam.”

I had figured — like the legislators who mandated the exams — that high school graduates would pass a pretty thorough examination on the U.S. Constitution and, therefore, have a working knowledge of the Constitution. My student knew that they had passed the exam and, therefore, didn’t need to know the material any more, and probably wouldn’t.

I was starting to learn to take very, very seriously what has recently been called, “academic bulimia,” the process by which students “cram” for an exam and “regurgitate” the material on it.

When you regurgitate, you get some poison or irritant or excess out of your system.

Now an English-speaking student might, figuratively, chew on an idea, decide to swallow it, digest it and assimilate it. (We like eating metaphors for learning.)

The easier method, though, is cram and regurgitate, and that was what the fully certified high school graduates in my class had done to get to a major university, and that was back when U.S. education was in good shape.

They had figured out the system, played it and won: If not a top slot, they got a respectable niche in higher education.

The only problem is that they were U.S. citizens who had passed the exams and came out pretty much ignorant of the most basic way — an elegant theory, not messy political facts — their government worked.

Students in the 21st century will be equally proficient in gaming the system of high-stakes exams, and nowadays the schools have money on the line, too, and many schools will help with the game.

So, don’t expect much from high-stakes exams beyond more kids and their elders in the education business getting good at the various games of high-stakes exams.

What you can hope, wish and pray for is a change in American culture where education for citizenship and the life of the mind are respected by people important to kids, primarily by other kids.

Don’t hold your breath while waiting.

— Richard D. Erlich lives in Port Hueneme.

Source: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/feb/23/academic-bulimia-and-the-test-game/

These are some of the ideals that fuel the vision of Global Village School (GVS), an international K-12 homeschool diploma program based in Ojai, California. Founded in 1999, GVS represents a radically new model of education that combines alternative educational methods and philosophies with the goals and values of progressive social movements. GVS aims to effect change at both the personal and global levels by educating individual students about the problems and possibilities facing our planet.  The homeschooling model ensures that the resulting impact will reach beyond traditional borders since students around the world can participate.

Global Village cultivates a supportive atmosphere for many different kinds of students whose needs have not been met during their previous school experiences. Many are delighted to discover a school that shares (and can help them implement) their desire for a more just and peaceful world. Others choose GVS for academic reasons; some need to work at their own pace or want to delve deeper into subjects than traditional classroom settings permit.  Students who are branded with labels like ADD, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or “lazy” thrive when they take part in a program that adjusts to accommodate their interests, talents, and learning styles.  The GVS system allows young people to rediscover their natural abilities and love of learning.

New students take a learning styles profile that provides information about their disposition, modality (tactile-kinesthetic, visual picture learner, etc.), interests, and talents. Families choose between structured text and online curriculum, fully customized curriculum based on their individual interests, needs, and learning styles, or – for those already experienced homeschoolers – using their own curriculum. Global Village teachers provide support, review, and documentation.

Peace, justice, diversity, and sustainability themes are woven into core academic areas (English, Science, Math, etc.).  Students become familiar with effective strategies of inspirational role models like Gandhi, King and others through courses such as Reflections on Peacemaking, Global Spirituality and Activism, The History of Civil Rights in America, Literature of Diversity, Peacemakers, and Service Learning.  GVS Service Learning converts theory and idealism into meaningful action in the students’ local communities.

GVS students earn elective credit for many different kinds of life experiences, such as traveling, participating in cultural events, performing in community theater productions, pursuing a career in athletics or the film industry, or starting their own business. GVS youth engage in a wide range of activities, including: studying anatomy, holistic healing, and herbal medicine, working on a presidential campaign, volunteering at a botanical garden, publishing an alternative newspaper, learning their tribal language and traditions, organic gardening, and operating a home recording studio.

Traditional methods of schooling shut down students’ creativity; students are taught passivity and obedience to authority figures. It does great harm to children when their potential is stifled, and it does great harm to the planet when its future stewards are so numbed, pacified, and disempowered.

These are crucial times. We need people in this world who have the potency to take action when they care about something and the passion and commitment to see their efforts through.  This vision calls for a new type of education that empowers, informs, enlivens, and plants the seeds for a peaceful, just, and sustainable future.  Global Village School answers that call.

To learn more, visit the Global Village School web site.

Global Village School has provided an accredited, customizable K-12 homeschool diploma program to students around the world for 9 years. GVS offers online and text-based courses, personalized curriculum options, and individualized teacher services. Grounded in the belief that knowledge and understanding are the keys to a true global community, GVS offers a full diploma program and college preparatory classes that empower students to be wise and capable stewards of the planet and each other.

For more information, please e-mail Global Village School or call (805) 646-9792.

Resources for a Better World
Making a difference is easier than you think. Here is what you can find at Global Village Resources:

- Resources for Educators who are looking for peace curriculum, social justice curriculum, diversity curriculum, information on teaching current events, etc.

- Organizations that are making a difference: peace, justice, human rights, environmental organizations.

- How you can make a difference: get involved using online activism links and put your money where your values are through socially responsible shopping.

- Media - how to find out what’s really going on. Alternative media sources that provide an important balance to the corporate media.

- Books for all ages – books on alternative education, peace, justice, multicultural themes, activism, alternative colleges and careers, learning styles, how to build a better world, etc. We are pleased to offer these resources in partnership with Amazon.com. Each time you purchase books through this page a percentage of your purchase will go to support the work of Global Village School.

- Quotes - read some of our favorite quotes from Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Maria Montessori, Rumi, Krishnamurti, and more.

- Voices of Peace – writings by peacemakers from around the world such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Thich Nhat Hanh, The Dalai Dama, Maya Angelou, etc.

- War’s Impact on the Troops and Their Families – Important articles and resources for currently enlisted soldiers, veterans, their families, young people who are of draft age or are considering enlisting, and all those who care about them.

Global Village Resources is provided as a service by Global Village School, a K12 homeschool diploma program with a creative flexible approach and an emphasis on peace, justice, diversity, and sustainability.