"It Takes a Village", Samoan Style

My call for change is that we need to take a fresh look at education in America. I took note of the changes that Tonga had made to its educational system, which had been heavily exam-oriented, and British (or Western) based, and I have now further expanded to look at Samoa (with the same British base), who revamped their educational system entirely.

Why my concern? As an inclusion aide for Special Education students, I watched with sadness as students from low-income and troubled, unstable families slogged their way through an educational system woefully unprepared to meet their needs on so many levels. Middle class kids showed me that they, too, were in danger of falling through the educational cracks…so much for the “no student left behind” notion. In my final year as an inclusion aide, I was moved from the elementary school to high school level, and assigned one student to work with. This young man came from an upper middle class Latter-day Saint family; he was the youngest of five boys. All four of his older brothers had met the family expectations (and then some), so the pressure was on for him to excel. But unlike them, he had some minor learning disabilities, and had developed a rebellious attitude to hide his disappointment in himself and shield himself from his family’s disapproval. It was a constant battle to try to help him realize that he could at least survive high school and then find an opportunity to do what he loved—work with his hands, something that wasn’t offered at the school he was attending. He began to gain ground, and then, suddenly, the attitude returned, he dropped out of school, and finally, in frustration, he killed himself. I was stunned, and left searching for answers.

Can I blame it all on the public school system? No. Yet through these experiences, and as I’ve studied the latest statistics, clearly something has to be done to improve the opportunities for ALL students to feel secure in themselves and in their abilities, be trained in something that they have an interest in, and which will prepare them to be successful in life, whether or not that success includes a college degree. As a “non-traditional” student at BYU, I know what it feels like to be a round peg trying to fit in a square hole. While some of my challenges are similar to the younger students, some are very unique. It is that variety in circumstances, background and identity that American public education needs to somehow, some way, take into account. As I spoke with Dr. Tavana, I found Samoa has found a way to do just that.

Once a German territory through expansionism, and then a British protectorate after WWI, Samoa is proof that a nation can experience a renaissance and rebirth in educational views and practices, grounded in cultural and societal mores. In gathering information from government, business, religious, education, and tribal leaders (village chiefs), everyone was given a voice in the needed reformation. After researching, conducting interviews, organizing, analyzing, and consolidating data and opinion, Dr. Tavana (see previous posts) was able to develop a culturally grounded, multi-faceted curriculum that enables all students to achieve their best growth and development, and one that could be supported by all major components of Samoan society. It is a fresh take and Polynesian twist on the African proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child”.

UPDATE:
    I'm grateful for the comments I received. What I am most concerned about is the lack of adequate opportunities for students to utilize their innate talents and abilities. Not everyone is going to wear a white collar and work in that type of setting. We need to form partnerships with business and education, INCLUDING vocational and technical skills that lay outside the realm of the white collar world. We also need to REVIVE the arts and consider them vital to living, instead of cutting them down to basically nothing, as if there is no place anymore in the world for creativity and working with our hearts and hands. The mind is only as expansive as we allow it to be; there is more to life than spewing out facts. As in Samoa, we need to be concerned with the total human being, and we will have enriched our society and added something valuable to the world. There is so much apathy, fear and loss of hope and purpose in too many students who can't find their place in the world. I worked with one of them, and he will forever remain a bittersweet memory.