A Meassure of Success

In the last several classes we watched parts of The Up Series, a series that follows the lives of a group of participants at seven year intervals. To start, we watched the series for when the participants were seven and then the series when the participants were 28.

It bothers me to think that we measured success in terms of cars, houses, marital status, occupation, and so on.

Whether or not one lives in a society based on contest mobility or status mobility, defining success by cars etc simply means that an individual is buying into the hegemonic values. Essentially, these values are only valued because we are socialized to believe in their value.

What’s really the value in a car? Hardly a more destructive invention has there ever been. The car has brought on climate change, road systems that arbitrarily divide communities, suburbia, just to name a few. Is happiness really driving through two hours of rush hour five days a week? What does it really say about someone who has to define him/herself by the car s/he drives?

Why not find other ways to define success? Why shouldn’t success be measured by contributions made, smiling at a strangers, steps taken to reduce your carbon footprint, social norms challenged such as sexism, and the list could go on.

If one defines success by the rules of the game, especially in a contest or status mobility society, then one is not doing anything to better society. Conformity will never bring change. Fellow classmates have blogged on which society is better. But I say neither of them is better. Our “society” doesn’t work. Children are still going hungry. Countries would still rather drop bombs on each other than negotiate. Corporations are still telling teenagers what to wear. People still listen to Paul Anka, which is only a matter of taste.

If you play by the rules of society, you are doing nothing to change society.

I, Consumer

I look at the Tim Horton’s coffee cup sitting before me. I see the BC and Canadian governments supporting a corporation through my student loan. I think ahead to my first pay cheque as a teacher and see the same Tim Horton’s cup, but this time it has a Roll Up the Rim to Win, and still see a provincial government supporting a corporation through my pay cheque. Am I only a consumer? Destined to buy stuff (groceries, cars, a house) with whatever funding I have?

Is my sole purpose to consume? Whether I am a teacher, doctor, cab driver, or a bee keeper, I’ll earn a pay cheque, for whatever value my toils are worth, and then I’ll need to buy stuff to live.

If I spawn forth little me’s, will they be destined to the same fate as a consumer? I can inspire them and support them to become whatever they want just so that they can earn a pay cheque. With that pay cheque, they will purchase the necessities, or frivolities, of life.

Consumers.

Are we really anything more than consumers?

A Community of Bloggers

Are blogs creating a healthy, inclusive learning environment? From what I understand, blogs, discussion boards, and the Web 2.0 like, are changing the learning environment for students. Students that are not confident speaking in class might be more confident posting to a discussion board, which allows them to contribute to and participate in a form of class discussion.

One thing that I am noticing with our Education and Society blogs is that my classmates are making valuable, insightful, engaging, and sometimes humourous contributions on the lectures, class presentations, or other topics of interest. Great, fantastic even, please keep it up. However, what is the rest of the class doing? Are they losing out on this learning experience? Are these blogs creating another classroom? If so, this “other classroom” does not include our fellow classmates. Are our fellow classmates missing out?

Are we intentionally saving our contributions for our blogs and thus neglecting to bring them up in class? Are we doing a disservice to our classmates by not discussing these issues in class? I know that “other classrooms” may pop up when a group of classmates discuss a lecture or presentation over a beverage of sorts. So do I miss out on that learning experience? Or maybe my learning experience is enhanced when end up chatting with the professor after class. Does the rest of the class miss out?

I just find it interesting how we have this community of bloggers who are experiencing something different from the rest of the class. It also makes me wonder if there is any value in encouraging students to speak in class.