Our children’s lives have become mired in a world placing disproportionate emphasis on global economic considerations.
While economics and material goods are indeed necessary for securing the immediate needs for our survival, excessive energies have gone into the institutional programming and marketing of activities that were previously peoples’ innate experience of belonging to a healthy human community.
Naturally diverse human cultures of the world are manipulated and programmed to behave in ways derived from global capital concerns.
Such woefully shortsighted profit-driven agendas must be balanced with investments in our children’s awareness and community participation - above and beyond global corporations.
In addition to appropriate computational learning, healthy learning environments at school must integrate qualities of enthusiasm, kindness, self-discipline, and love. Cultivating wise and sensible members of our community offers real hope, something incomparable to the sole pursuit of everyday low prices and the rest.
More than ever before, children need learning environments born of enthusiasm and empathy for the tremendous accomplishments and sufferings of mankind. But beyond cultivating this ability to grasp the wealth of ideas of humanity, students must learn to effectively communicate these personal discoveries — in the traditional forms of speaking and writing — and through the emerging communication technologies.
However, the notion that we should put more national wealth (actually debt) into our children’s computing power (and attendant energies and resources) for the sake of global economic competition (to paraphrase President-elect Obama) is worthy of further discussion by community members, both as taxpayers paying for it (more likely going into debt for it), and as the actual shareholders in our local community health.
Our human heritage necessitates that academic pursuits be integrated in a curriculum that maintains a healthy balance of mind, body, and spirit. Music, sports, art, and malama ‘aina (land stewardship) are essential aspects of healthy community.
Regardless of what political leaders say - competing in a global economy is a subordinate matter.