I Am In The Current ~ The stream is digital.

Make sure to remove the “/param” code from the copied embed lines to enable the video to work on your blogs!

Public education systems in different countries have began to fall to the logic of market rule along with more and more market specific language under the pressure from various groups. The Specific Challenges of Globalization for Teaching and Vice Versa is the title of the second chapter in David Geoffrey Smith’s book Trying to Teach in a Season of Great Untruth (Sense Publishers in 2006) in which he evaluates if market logic is a sustainable model for human interconnectedness. David Geoffrey Smith is a professor in the Department of Secondary Education at the University of Alberta. He is the author of several published papers. Trying to Teach is his most recent publication apropos his recent focus point- the phenomenon of globalization. He merges an analytic understanding of the implications of globalization for teaching and curriculum with an appeal for alternatives, provided that people learn to live in the Now. While Smith’s argument makes for a fierce and gripping exploration, his contention is clear and compelling, that all should embrace truth and be domiciled within it.
Smith is worthy of praise for his efforts in keeping the two main subjects of the chapter- globalization and teaching, flowing in tandem rather then opposing one to the other. This allows the reader to explicate the argument for themselves without obvious bias from the author. The author first outlines the construction of globalization as a phenomenon, then offers a summary of globalization, and finally explains the implications of globalization for curriculum and teaching.
The author explores what is teachers’ work in relation to the process of globalization. This is both an interesting and important research question given the tremendous influence that economic groups such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Band exert on the creation of educational policies. Smith explains that ”market logic” has had a great influence on Western societies. Some highlighted are economic interest forcing the ”rewriting of taxation rules” while the ”quality of life for the average person declines”. The author explained that recently, thanks to neo-liberal economic theory, The Market has been repositioned as the preeminent concern of governments and that it should be protected from social and cultural interests such as public education. Referring to Smith’s historical account of teachers’ work in this chapter, it created the legitimization of Social Darwinism, produced elites that ruled at home and abroad, trained ”the masses to serve the machineries of capital and state”, indoctrinated the general public against undesired rivaling ideology, and at the same time corrupted a tiny minority of Indigenous peoples to be local leaders in the place of westerners.
In this chapter, the author presents empire, globalization, market rule, and previous state governments as being forces that have attacked educational institutions. He maintains that it is this attack that has commenced the end of Western academy as places of “free reflection and autonomous scholarly work, a process of devolution that is ongoing”. Furthermore, schools have been identified as being against global competitiveness- the goal of market rule and globalization, due to it’s inclusion of “soft” programs such as the arts, the environment, race, and gender inequality.
In this chapter Smith maintains that teachers and teaching are in a political (relating to government) and an epistemological (relating to knowledge and the transmission thereof) crisis. The author explains that teachers have traditionally played a major role in legitimizing and prevailing many of the basic ideas that allowed globalization to flourish from its origins without any formal concerns. Nevertheless, the current crisis, according to the author, is due to the fact that to some (even non-aboriginal people), the planet’s inhabitants and natural processes are interconnected, something that economists and globalists do not believe or even deny.
According to Smith, globalization has brought about detrimental changes both to teaching and to life on the planet, to which teachers voice their opposition. The author explains that there is no linkage between a healthy economy and quality of life for the average person. Profits are secured only for shareholders and CEOs on the backs of those who are often on opposite continents. To be able to wage war against schools, teachers and other social programs, globalists had to present them as “groups failing to work in harmony… of true global competitiveness”. After globalists skewed public opinion and changing social welfare and the public commons to be known as “special interests”, schools had to begin to compete for educational program funding. Throughout the chapter, Smith presents the possibility that perhaps the proliferation of globalization and market rule are to the direct detriment of others.
Should education be considered to be an institution of production whose commodity should be consumed? In this chapter, Smith states that schools ‘’serve the stable nation” while ”creating the solid citizen” ”providing it (the teaching profession) with public moral authority”. This practice is being undermined and transformed by ”constructing the citizen as nothing but a capital resource, with education nothing more than job training”. In recent history, education has become a specific commodity, purchasable, that through meritocracy has allowed social advancement. Smith explicates that this is no longer the case and that systematically public education has begun to fall to the logic of market rule. Later he stresses that teaching must seek truth, discover truth, and finally share truth. This can be easily negated if teaching is nothing more then ”an act of implementation”. There is nothing less gratifying for a teacher then going through the process of ”filling buckets” in the banking concept of education. Education must be a force that ”provides sustenance for Now” and energizes both teachers and students.
A sharp-witted and critical analysis of the current state of globalization is appropriate. Students develop as solid citizens when truth seeking and exploring the possible differences between the exploitation and decimation of peoples today from those in the past. A teacher working with their students, seeking truth, allowing students to untangle the historical record of western development and work through critical literacy to analyze the past and current structure of societal and economic frameworks will create the solid citizen. This truth exploration will ”light fires” (William Butler Yeates) in students and foster them to be responsible citizens.
The problems with Market Rule and Market Logic when applied to an education context are numerous. Leaning in this context is not ever valued for its own sake. Learning must constantly be justified and measured so that it can demonstrate teacher accountability and also justify that it is serving ”The Market”. In this education model, students are reduced to nothing other then ”human resource capitol” which Smith explains is extremely destructive to the common good of human societies. In an accountability framework of education, hyper-competitiveness exerts pressure both on students and teachers. The pressure on teachers reduces them to managers of a classroom environment. Experience is disregarded and rendered archaic and only organization and planning are valued. Students are subjugated to victims by constantly being measured and being informed of their inadequacies. They are constantly measured and told that they do not meet standards set by other students throughout the world. Intrinsically motivated, love of learning quickly becomes impossible for students who are told they are never good enough. Self-maximization- accumulation of material possessions is good and all members of society should engage in this endless consumption. The basis of neo-liberal economic thought is, always wanting more for yourself, but does not necessarily apply to student’s learning, according to the author. The end result is that both teachers and students live in constant fear of falling behind and begin to develop social paranoia of all others human beings. Finally, in this model of education, teachers and students never encounter each others’ beings through the development of real healthy human relationships. These problems can be enumerated by the voices of countless students and teachers who speak out against this oppressive trend in global education. Market rule and logic when applied in an educational context causes students to withdraw and does not create an open shared future nor an acceptable level of sustainable human togetherness. Learning should liberate and empower all students.
Smith explains that the authors of new educational policies disregard and remain unenlightened by the experience and expertise of teachers. According to Smith, teachers perceive themselves as being powerless and disconnected from the decision-making process. Smith’s research is particularly applicable to Saskatchewan teachers as witnessed at the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation Fall Council 2009 held in Saskatoon. Councilors who were elected from all local associations demonstrated the perception of alienation from the decision making process. Through several sessions, teachers expressed estrangement regarding their work-load and work-life. Teachers discussed how they felt a total disconnect from the process of writing educational policy. They expressed how crucial their experience and expertise are to the process of creating sound educational policy, and conveyed discontentment regarding the reduction of their role to mere implementation of programs and policies that they did not wholeheartedly support.
One of the cited sources for this chapter is Barlow and Robertson’s book: Class Warfare. The excerpts and information taken from this resource support the research question. For those interested in continuing the exploration of the effects of globalization, market rule, and the pressure that neo-liberal think-tanks apply on governments and education systems, this is an excellent resource.
Smith proposes that through globalization, a shared future of students, teachers, educational partners, and the general public must be negotiated. The world’s peoples have been culturally interfaced by questioning identity, the nature of the species, authority, and racial and gender biases. Together, he suggests, these groups must ”recover a future that is truly a future”.

In one of my classes, two students were upset about what one had said about them on Facebook over the weekend. These two students are obviously well versed with basic social networking but lacking in their understanding of digital citizenship. The Facebook insult spilled over beyond the digital network into their physical network- the classroom. We had a talk about digital citizenship, and best uses of time and energy online and in public. I’m sure this won’t be the last of their bumps along the way as they continue to develop their digital citizenship and shape their online behavior. Today when checking out a video of awilhelmscream Youtube video (be advised this video has objectionable language and this is me formally warning you!) I noticed that someone had posted a comment about one of my videos. Here’s what I found:

The comment made me laugh pretty hard. Good burn masterofhimself. I admit the video is pretty dorky. Also, might I add that it has brought me no murmurs of getting the online teaching job I had hoped to get. The above mention of the relevance of digital citizenship remains valid.

Sorry about the lack of updates on this blog. The house insurance stuff is slowly crawling along and it chews up every available moment. More to come.

ps. Have you checked out Monsoon House? Best radio show EVER!

I found this link in glemak’s (Mike Dunn) Flickr account.

During my session at the iT Summit 2009 I briefly discussed pod books but really didn’t have a great resource to share with the crowd. I wish I had found this resource last week. Take a minute to look around and see if there isn’t something interesting to listen to.

The direct application with students is obvious. I think what is most important is to offer students authentic audiences to validate their work. In turn the feedback from the audience will allow students to refine, enhance, and refine their work.

@CdnMathTeacher (Erin Remple) twitted this link this morning. My favorite slide is the Intership slide. Take a minute to laugh today.