I am a big believer in the old saying, "follow your dreams." We tell our own children that they should have some ambition in life and they should pursue those ambitions throughout their lives. We tell our children to be yourself, to find yourself, to be the best that you can be. We encourage our children to think positive about their future, work hard to accomplish your goals, and never give up. We tell them to keep on going, no matter what.
We tell our own children to follow their dreams and as parents we are there to help them succeed. This is a great message for every child and adult and this is a message we hear over and over again in the media. We see examples of people who have been successful and they tell us that we can also achieve our dreams if we keep trying. We are told that we can obtain our goals and we believe it. In reality, not everyone can win the gold medal and not everyone will get the money and personal benefits of being super successful. But, it is good to have a positive attitude about your own future, so that you don't give up. We might not always be the winner but the game can still be fun.
In our school system, we should also set educational goals for the children who are required to participate. A major goal for all children should be to follow their dreams. We want all children to have ambition and to have personal goals for their own lives. We want to help them to be successful in meeting their goals in life. However, presently the educational system does not encourage children to follow their dreams. Instead, our system mandates the goals for students and discourages their dreams. We tell them to do as they are told and we don't listen to them when it comes to the curriculum, instruction, and assessment we use in schools. On the one side, we say you can follow your dreams, but then we don't give them any time or opportunity to do so. We actually put up roadblocks for students so that they give up on their own dreams.
A constructivist approach to education is a way for us to establish an educational system that is much more aligned with individual goals and dreams. Students should be able to express themselves and their personal thoughts, feelings, and dreams about their future. They should be involved with setting their own educational curriculum and with how they will meet their goals. In a constructivist system, children with their parents and teachers establish their individual goals and how they will be successful in meeting those goals.
So, a constructivist approach is the only one in which we help children to follow their dreams. Let's change education so that we can become a nation of people who are following their dreams.
