Blog 2-Chapters 1, 4, and 12

I read these articles in the order that they were assigned meaning I read chapter 4 first, entitled, "Educational Vision," by Henry A. Giroux. The idea of a teacher's vision seems to be a common subject among my education and even art education classes here at UNCG. I enjoyed this article specifically because the author seems to realize that teacher's need visions to guide them in their teaching, but he focuses on what aspects of our educational systems, that hender us from doing so... even though ultimately our goals for educators are to be critical thinkers that "struggle for principles of equality, freedom, and justice"(Giroux, 2009, 30). Does this not seem like a contradiction? I felt that several issues the author discussed here related to our class discussions directly also! For instance, he talks about how our govt. cuts spending for public schools and how this directly effects the poorest of our societies and keeps those students behind.. often being the people that need help and education the most! He also discusses President Reagan's program,the "Reagan commitment," and how he implemented topics like patriotism using the "cold war ideology of military preparedness" and concentrating on indv. achievement for the greater good of all(Giroux, 2009, 30). I wanted to pose several questions for you all from this perspective. Because these implementations on our systems have obviously not led us into a nation of peace, Why don't we teach classes on peace rather then war...or the benefits of togetherness and working in groups to create positive impacts on our society? It seems more logical to me, but does not seem to the case. Giroux goes on to discuss the 1990s and how our educational programs should ultimately be responsible for creating a better workforce in our country, but what about everything else our students need to be equip to do in order to survive and think for themselves? I often wonder if our educational aims, are too centered around problems facing the country currently and not the bigger picture of what theses programs will do in the long run!