I am writing you as a concerned alumni of the San Diego Unified School District. In 2015, I graduated from La Jolla High School, the top high school in the San Diego Unified School District. When I walked across the stage on June 15, 2015 and shook your hand I was pleased to have received my hard earned high school diploma, but I was disappointed in the lack of educational discovery opportunities. As superintended of the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) I believe that you will be able to help address and rectify the concerns of myself and my fellow alumni.
I am currently a freshman at Gonzaga University, where I am studying the issues of the educational system in the United States. As we have analyzed and discussed the many problems within the educational system I have struggled with the lack of real learning occurring in and out of the classroom. When I say “real learning” I am referring to students learning about traditional subjects but also self-discovery, life skills, passions, and curiosity. In the intriguing article, How To Not Teach by Derrick Jensen, I am fascinated by his teaching style and passion for learning. He explains that “the only real learning is self-discovered, self-appropriated learning, I won’t try to teach you anything. It’s my job instead to create an atmosphere where you can teach yourself” (Jensen 193). This should be a statement that every educator and student should know because school is more than sitting in a classroom for seven hours a day, five days a week.
During my four years at La Jolla High School, I don’t believe I was given the opportunity to discover myself, instead I spent my four years, 720 days, 5,040 hours, and countless minutes of studying in front of a textbook struggling to memorize every word and concept on the page. I would then take a lengthy test and at the conclusion of the exam, immediately forget what I had just spend hours memorizing.
In my opinion, this process was ineffective.
Instead I should have been taught the information, then given the ability to explore, ask questions, challenge, and come to a conclusion that would make a difference in my learning. As I continued to memorize concepts and words I began to loose interest in my education which led to losing interest in finding myself. It wasn’t until I graduated from high school and came to college where I began to explore, question, challenge, and come to my own conclusions that I truly began to discover who I really am.
I believe the current state of education is at risk of producing unprepared students that will lack the tools necessary to question, challenge, and discover who they truly are as a learner. Embracing Derrick Jensen’s philosophy on education could inspire the educational system towards achieving a better outcome.
Sincerely,
Micaela Gotfredson
La Jolla High School Class of 2015