Before I get into details, here's the gist: I've been wanting to be an educator all my life. I studied communication and business instead, because in my early university years I did not like what I saw in current education systems. I've been locally educated in 5 countries: Indonesia, Australia, USA, Netherlands, and Belgium.
Education, more than anything is a means of transmitting culture from one generation to the next. However, it alarms me that the world's idea of a "good education" is becoming more and more Westernized. In non-Western developing countries, this situation makes it difficult for most young people to connect with the social realities around them that desperately needs addressing.
The reason why more affluent people in my country prefer Western-style international schools that teach in English is because the quality of local schools that teach in the national language tends to be inferior. Although I want my children to speak good English and be able to study and work anywhere in the world, I want them to be raised speaking a dignified level of our national language and develop a life philosophy that's rooted in our civilization so that they can address our social issues relevantly and become part of the solution. But it looks like I'll have to choose either/or.
Now that I'm in my final semester of college, I somehow wished that I studied education. I ended up studying communication because I believed that the first step to changing a culture is by changing the way people talk, the words they use, the perceptions they create, the ideas they convey, and their listening skills. I also studied some business because running a school takes great managerial skills, involves managing massive financial budgets, and marketing the educational philosophy and the community life around it.
I didn't go to teacher's college because people told me that teachers remain teachers for life. Some get to be principal later on, but that's different from actually founding a school system. Most teachers don't get paid enough to finance something like that, nor do they gain much power beyond the classroom. I was told that I if I made it big in the media or business, I can always fall back to teaching and teach based on my "real-world" experience. But if I start off as a teacher, it'd be harder to branch out.
I recently started my journalistic career, which I'm passionately committed to, but I'm not hanging around kids as much as I'd wish. I've never taught professionally, but have always done well in delivering lectures, teaching research skills to my teammates, counseling younger friends, and motivating people. I want to do something to someday lead my career to education, but in hindsight I also realize that the best teachers I had are not "practicioners from the industry", but those who have dedicated their lives to the discipline of teaching. I realize that I don't have what these great teachers have, i.e. mastery of the art of teaching, and experience.
But then some of the successful school founders that I know don't hail from education or teaching backgrounds. My mom's good friend started off in the palm-oil business, then used its profits to found this great international school in our city. My big boss owns not only the media group that I work for, but also massive real-estate satellite cities, a bank merger, malls, and a school system with 6 campuses and growing. My fiance's boss is one of this country's top lawyers who has a virtuous reputation for his stance in justice, and he too owns an IB World School.
So here I am, a journalist. Still a junior, but this is a field I have a passion for. I aim to be one of the best in my country's media, and use my works to enlighten the public, uphold justice, offer them hope, and instill pride in our country's history and culture. That is also what I intend to do in education. While I'm still early in my journalistic career, what goals should I make and what actions can I take to ensure that I also get to incorporate my devotion to education? What kind genres / themes can I look into? What activities should I be doing alongside my full time job? What kind of people should I surround myself with?
Thank you for reading! Looking forward to thoughtful, thorough answers
Education, more than anything is a means of transmitting culture from one generation to the next. However, it alarms me that the world's idea of a "good education" is becoming more and more Westernized. In non-Western developing countries, this situation makes it difficult for most young people to connect with the social realities around them that desperately needs addressing.
The reason why more affluent people in my country prefer Western-style international schools that teach in English is because the quality of local schools that teach in the national language tends to be inferior. Although I want my children to speak good English and be able to study and work anywhere in the world, I want them to be raised speaking a dignified level of our national language and develop a life philosophy that's rooted in our civilization so that they can address our social issues relevantly and become part of the solution. But it looks like I'll have to choose either/or.
Now that I'm in my final semester of college, I somehow wished that I studied education. I ended up studying communication because I believed that the first step to changing a culture is by changing the way people talk, the words they use, the perceptions they create, the ideas they convey, and their listening skills. I also studied some business because running a school takes great managerial skills, involves managing massive financial budgets, and marketing the educational philosophy and the community life around it.
I didn't go to teacher's college because people told me that teachers remain teachers for life. Some get to be principal later on, but that's different from actually founding a school system. Most teachers don't get paid enough to finance something like that, nor do they gain much power beyond the classroom. I was told that I if I made it big in the media or business, I can always fall back to teaching and teach based on my "real-world" experience. But if I start off as a teacher, it'd be harder to branch out.
I recently started my journalistic career, which I'm passionately committed to, but I'm not hanging around kids as much as I'd wish. I've never taught professionally, but have always done well in delivering lectures, teaching research skills to my teammates, counseling younger friends, and motivating people. I want to do something to someday lead my career to education, but in hindsight I also realize that the best teachers I had are not "practicioners from the industry", but those who have dedicated their lives to the discipline of teaching. I realize that I don't have what these great teachers have, i.e. mastery of the art of teaching, and experience.
But then some of the successful school founders that I know don't hail from education or teaching backgrounds. My mom's good friend started off in the palm-oil business, then used its profits to found this great international school in our city. My big boss owns not only the media group that I work for, but also massive real-estate satellite cities, a bank merger, malls, and a school system with 6 campuses and growing. My fiance's boss is one of this country's top lawyers who has a virtuous reputation for his stance in justice, and he too owns an IB World School.
So here I am, a journalist. Still a junior, but this is a field I have a passion for. I aim to be one of the best in my country's media, and use my works to enlighten the public, uphold justice, offer them hope, and instill pride in our country's history and culture. That is also what I intend to do in education. While I'm still early in my journalistic career, what goals should I make and what actions can I take to ensure that I also get to incorporate my devotion to education? What kind genres / themes can I look into? What activities should I be doing alongside my full time job? What kind of people should I surround myself with?
Thank you for reading! Looking forward to thoughtful, thorough answers