In Pursuit of Dreams

Recently, as I traipsed through the catacombs of my heart I discovered my dreams. In the small recesses of this essential organ, and alone, my dreams laid in slumber.  Upon meeting my dreams, again, something like disgust travelled from my heart to my throat and emerged as grief.

When our students enter our schools and our classrooms, in essence, we begin the process of subverting their dreams.  We relegate them to chairs and desks, and deny them their natural impulse to explore.

At first, many children resist their parents and teachers.  "I don't WANT to go to school!"  is a common cry. In the end, most will submit to "the process".  What else is there?

Our country emerged from exploration, from risk-taking, and from innovation.  Today, our children turn to video games, not our schools, to mimic the pursuits experienced by our early ancestors.

Our education system has not failed our children.  We have failed our children. We have allowed their cries for change exhibited by drug use, suicide, and other forms of escapism to drown in the cacophonous sound of the machine we have built. The machine we call America the Beautiful.