The age of echo-chamber education

Introduction:

The news outlets have been reporting topics that pertain mostly to the conflicts around the world and the changing demographics of the political landscape. Yet, it is these small moments that eventually become those monumental moments, which impact the mainstream conversations of the future. So, in spirit of May Day, we will be talking about a small moment that will impact generations.

The Issue:

John Dewey once stated that “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." Even Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” So, I am hinting at the fact that Betsy Devos is the current United States Secretary of Education, who once remarked, “We think of the educational choice movement as involving many parts: vouchers and tax credits, certainly, but also virtual schools, magnet schools, homeschooling, and charter schools.” This attitude of parental choice and decision for their children’s future is detrimental, not only because of what John Oliver discussed, but it creates a system that fosters an echo chamber.

What is an ‘echo chamber’ and how is it fostered?

An echo chamber is a communication network where ideas just recycle throughout the network. Essentially, it strengthens the community's way of thinking about matters. This is what most likely will occur when parents are able to choose their education for their children, for example the controversial discussion that surrounds teaching sex education in school. In conjunction with issues of parents choosing education, in a free market system, companies will cater to people’s likes and dislikes. It is the basic survival of business. Therefore, naturally this will occur over time and people will educate their children on what they want their children to be educated in. This process is against democracy because the essential point of democracy is to create freethinking individuals that have a range of thoughts, which allows them to formulate many different ideas.

Solutions:

The March for Science was a great demonstration of support for science. But, we need more oomph to the call. People need to go and vote in every election they can participate in. You need to take your annoyance and apply it in the democratic process because each vote is a step towards the correct direction.

What you can do:

You can do several things, from talking about issues to concrete actions. One great option is to volunteer for your candidate and walk around knocking on doors to inform people about the candidate. Or, you can volunteer at your local elected officials office. There are many ways to become a civil servant - even volunteering to clean a park is a large leap one can take to helping the community. So, it is in the people to make the change. Go out there and start engaging in the civil servant community that we all belong to.