Respond of the film Recycling the Gift
Recycling the Gift
is a wonderful film, which make me into the depth of the thinking. I never
thought our education system, or education itself, the only thing I do is just
going to school, listening to teachers, making notes and doing the homework. It
is just like Emily Mather said in the film, “it’s so competitive you kind of
lose the enjoyment of just learning”. Emily also said, “we are kind of just
taught to push our will onto other people and like we are right and therefore
we have the authority to do this but there’s not really any communication or
compromise that goes on in that”. It’s true. When we go to the school, we just
listen what teachers said and do what teachers ask us to do, but there is lack
of communication. It also just like we are the computer, teachers put into the
information, and we just receive the information and then do it. We don’t have
our own thought and values. We are teaching by their values, either from
teachers or from the parents, and also we are not allowed to have our own
thought or ideas due to the education system.
Everyone do the same, and why we are unique. Also like Alex Neikirk
said, “can you jump through all these hoops, that would make you a professional
person in today society?” what we are doing now, just like jumping each hoops,
from kindergarten, elementary school, high school and then jump into college.
We are told only after finish these steps, we can be successfully get a job,
then start our life. So we jump and jump, the goal is to jump into the college
as a final step. Especially in China, when we are born, we are already joined
in this system, and parents think as long as their children go into a good
college, then they will no need to worry about their future. So the goal is
already there for us when we are born. When you ask a pupil what is his or her
dream, he or she will tell you a good college is their dream. But after that,
what is our goal? So that is why most of us will get lost after graduation.
Maybe we start another competition, get a good job, make money, buy house, get
married, raise children, then support them go to the college, a totally new
circles again. We want to do something by ourselves, but we can’t as long as we
are under this system. So we always heard that someone quit from a very famous
university and start their own business, then they success and make a lot of
money. But can we? Most of us will not do this.
In order to reach
our goal, we are busy on our school work, focus on our own things. Just like
J.Doe said, “everyone is in their own business”. We don’t have time to take
care of others, if we want to join in this competition. Lots of works need to
be done. So I wonder when everyone just focus on his or her own business, what
the world will be. We live on the same plant, breath the same air, but we don’t
communicate with each other, we don’t take care of each other, then what’s the
point of the education? We are learned to how to be a human, how to live
together as a human in this plant, not just live our life alone. Like J.Doe
said, “nature has gifted us with a conscious intelligence and we should return
it in kind.” We need to take care of our plant, and other creatures in this
world. Like Jeff Duncan-Andrade said, “it’s not a factory; it’s not an
institution; it’s not a public service; it’s a community.” We need to
communicate with each other, both include human beings and other creatures in
this planet. Then we will learn so much from each other, which we can’t get
from school. “When a class becomes a class—not just a collection of
individuals.” Said Kate O’ Neill. Then we can learn not just knowledge itself,
but we can learn much more out of our imagination. So teachers should do a lot.
“Encourage classrooms to have a lot of diversity in them so that people can
share.” Said Ted Grudin. “One of my instructors here he makes it so that
everything is almost all discussion based and I’ve learned a lot more from
students than I thought could ever learn. ”
Bobby John said. If we are encouraged to think more, share more, then we
can enlarge our own world by listening other’s ideas. Just like Narration said,
“Creating an environment in which Organic learning flourishes does not mean
that the teacher is hand-off, or that whatever happens happens. On the contrary
the teacher pays Greater attention to the budding moments of learning in class.
And like a gardener of human potential, the teacher tends to these moments,
nurtures these moments, so that that blossoming of learning can occur. ” I kind
of agree this point, we are taught by teachers, so their teaching style and
their values will definitely influence us. If teachers create a comfortable
environment, then we are easy to be relaxed and to find ourselves. Then we can
have our own identity, which will help us to know ourselves and to offer
ourselves up to the world. Also we will have creativity. This will be much more
valuable, just like Jeff Duncan-Andrade said; “what would really push things is
that if kids left school with knowledge of self, critical problem-solving
skills because then no matter what the economy is they can plug and play.” Ted
Grudin also said; “there is a diversity of problems and there’s a diversity of
solutions. And that’s something that can be taught in the classroom.” We are
learning the solutions, the ability, not just the knowledge itself, or get a
certificate or degree. We are not just doing the test, and get the credit, but
we want to find ourselves, find our values, create our identity. The nature
give us so much, and I believe every one has his own talent, maybe we are not
good at anything else, but we must will be good at something. Maybe we can’t be
smart on everything, but we must have a certain kind of wisdom. The only thing
we need is to find ourselves. Don’t let school to become a factory, we need to
know this in our own mind. When school becomes boring, we need to find out the
reason and get a solution. “Students are angry and bored and tired of boring,
meaningless hours spent in a meaning less room.” Said Ted Grudin. When this
happen, we need to try to teach by ourselves, try to find the solution, not
just sit there to waste our time. We must keep this in our mind.
