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The quote from Orr’s speech that “education is no guarantee of decency, prudence, or wisdom” stuck with me and highlights the importance of social-emotional learning in schools and how service-learning can be an avenue for incorporating more of that.
Something else I thought about while reading was how easy it has become to obtain information and accordingly how easily misinformation and bias are spread in today’s technological and internet age. We are no longer forced to use problem-solving and critical thinking skills in the ways that were needed in the past. When we consider the original intent of traditional education, which was to impart knowledge on students, which is still the pedagogical approach used by many teachers and institutions around the world, and couple all that with the easy access to information on the web, many have become passive, apathetic and numb to learning. This does not bode well for the type of thinking and action that is needed to move towards a sustainable future.
That being said, I do feel change is coming. Schools are becoming more progressive, individual subjects are being dismantled, classroom walls, removed, skills being the focus over content, partnerships with the community being formed, but is it happening fast enough?