Britain Seeks Its Essence, and Finds Punch Lines

This article was very interesting because I previously thought that I knew a lot about Britain, but it turned out that Britain had a lot of internal issues regarding having a decentralized government and a lack of nationalism/national unity due to differences in region, ethnicity, and religion. The author talks about how people in Britain feel that there is no such thing to be "British." This idea was very interesting to me because people who are not British know what a "British accent" is and what British people are like. Unlike being "American" where the U.S. is made up of a melting pot or a salad bowl, British people do not have an actual identity yet.
By implementing new policies and plans for British citizenship, bill of rights and duties, and a constitution, I think that the government can advance and create a new identity for British.
I think that this article applies to me personally because as a Korean American, I often question my identity as both a Korean and an American. However, I have come to realize that I can be both because I formed my own identity just as the British plan to form their own identities.

Italy - Teaching

In the article, I found that the process of becoming a teacher in Italy, unlike many other countries we have studied, is intensive, and qualifications are not helpful but required. Teachers and educational staff in Italy have shifted from a government responsibility to, the responsibility to the individual schools. They are highly trained at different levels of practice depending on their desired level of teaching. They are also required to attend four year college institutions (institutos Magistrales) and successfully complete the designed teaching training program including, theory, methods, and teaching practice. Aspiring secondary instructors must attend a two year specialty college (Scuole di Specializzazione) to obtain their designation of Abulitazione. In many countries around the world, teachers are not as qualified to teach the higher levels of education, while the lower level students also receive a subpar academic education. Outside of Italy such as in the United States, we often see instances in which teachers have problems accommodating to special needs, or handicapped students. Italian teachers receive training on the integration of these students in the classroom while also offering the normal specialization in these areas. The final distinction of Italian teaching is that unlike teachers in the United States, Italian private school teachers must meet the same qualifications as public school teachers. Throughout my high school experience I have had many teachers that may have been qualified, but did not have their teaching certificate. While our private schools are responsible for their own staff, Italy requires that all teachers prove their qualifications through certification. With one qualified teacher to every 11 students in a classroom setting, there is no confusion as to the reasons for the strong educational system and the 98% literacy rate in Italy.

Italy and Languages

I found it very interesting in the reading on Italy that the Ministry of Public Instruction mandated states teach other languages. This was stated as essential for educational and professional development. Elementary schools were reorganized to include modern languages and middle/upper school curricula included the study of foreign languages. I think learning different languages is extremely important and valuable. The Italian government was right when they said that the study of languages and culture are essential to meet the needs of immigrant populations as well as other reasons. We learned that language helps create a sense of national identity also. To combat obvious problems that arise with immigrant populations, the Italians have taken a hands-on approach to language. 

I think the teaching of multiple languages is something that the US doesn't look at as important and is something that should be reformed. Maybe it is because the US is secluded from many other countries unlike in Europe or perhaps its just a manifestation of the US as the best and not needing to take on other languages, but this thinking needs to change in my opinion. Just like the Italians were able to foresee, the importance of language is paramount for many reasons and is something I think the US Education system should look into reforming. 

Britain Seeks Its Essence / Studying Civic Education

Both Hahn’s article Britain Seeks Its Essence and Lyhall’s New York Times article brought up the question of what it means to be a citizen of one’s country. Lyall discussed the search for a motto to define what it means to be British and Hahn explored citizenship education within schools. Hahn explained that even though citzenship education is not as important in Brittan as it is in other western countries, a sense of citizenship is still instilled in the people. On a similar note, Lyall proved that the majority of the british feel that they are defined enough as a nation that they don’t need a motto to distinguish themselves.

            Unlike what Hahn says, I don’t feel that citizenship education was of central importance at all in my education. Being in a more eclectic community in college with people from all over the country has given me more of a sense of what being an American means, but before that I feel as though I identified more with my local area. It just seems very vague to me to say “I’m from the United States” and that it says more about me to say that I’m from New England or that I’m a Vermonter. Perhaps it is different in other schools around the country but I really do not think of the U.S. as a place that places a strong emphasis on citizenship education.    

Civic Education in the United Kingdom

I find it interesting how the idea of creating a statement of values is being received in Britain. When I think about the possibility of something similar here in America, had we been a nation with an evolution similar to Britain, my reaction would be very much like that of those in the article. But instead, our American sense of values and what it means to be a ‘citizen’ have already been instilled in a written bill of rights and constitution. These sentiments are implicitly, rather than explicitly, understood in the UK. Hahn mentions that it is perhaps for this reason, and the fact that the nation was not created out of a revolution, that the concepts of ‘citizen’ or ‘civic education’ are not as important in the UK as they are in the United States or other western democracies.

I think Gutek also makes an interesting point when he says British policy, society, and education has transformed as a result of evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, change. The idea of ‘Britishness’ is an idea that has simply evolved over time, as values and social standards passed down through the generations. But in an era when immigrant populations are on the rise, bringing in waves of people who have yet to be introduced to such standards and values, the reliance upon unwritten rules becomes less effective. So I can understand the necessity of creating such a “statement of values,” but I question its validity in a growing society where people find it easier to define themselves by differences than by similarities.

Gutek chapter 11

Gutek writes about the UK’s religion in schools.  In the maintained schools, each system follows an approved non-denomination format.  In fact, religion instruction is required in England and Wales. If there are enough non-Christian students in school, the parents can petition to have separate assemblies.  This has to do with the increase in the number of Muslims and Hindus, most likely from globalization. Voluntary schools also receive financial aid and have religious services.  They are based on the church that runs the schools.  Clearly, there are ties to church and state.

I went to a Catholic high school that was run and taught by monks.  The difference, however, is that it did not have any funding from the government.  Gutek touches on this when he writes that the state is not allowed to give taxpayers money to religiously affiliated schools. This difference in philosophies is a very important distinction.  I feel that while the church was involved in my education that was not the case for the majority of my peers.  In the UK, the church has a much bigger impact.  I am not sure if this is a good things or a bad thing, but I would prefer not to have religion in school. 

gutek chapter 11

Learning about the educational system and history of the UK is especially important because of the influence the UK has had on the formation of so many nations. We have already studied the US, Nigeria, Jamaica and India, all of which were originally colonized and governed by the British. Thus, many of the pillars of the British system have remained. One of the educational problems the British have experienced is the lack of vocational education due to the emphasis on the study of classics and general intellect rather than specific training. Recently, school curriculum has been nationalized, although administration of the schools remains local with national funding and supervision. As a constitutional monarchy that was once the seat of a great empire, Britain retains a strong sense of tradition and social stratification. However, the monarch is now merely a figurehead and the real power lies with the House of Commons and the Prime minister, who along with the House of Lords form the bicameral parliamentary system. As the UK has transformed from the seat of an empire to a modern european national, there has been a gradual trend toward reform that has extended oppurtunites for education and economic success to a larger part of the population. The economy now is firmly based on financial services rather than industry. I found this chapter particularly interesting, not only because the UK relates to our own educational context as Americans, but because of how the UK has adapted from a major colonial power to a succesful modern european nation.