“What does a post-consumer society look like?” asks longtime Mount Madonna School (MMS) teacher Sri Gyan James McCaughan. “As educators, we need to be having this conversation. The current cultural emphasis on endless consumption and competition for limited resources is excluding too many people; and our educational paradigm needs to shift.”
McCaughan, who has taught 5th grade at MMS since 1983, will discuss these issues during an upcoming radio broadcast on KSCO’s Dr. Future program. His talk, “Imagination and Education: Isn’t It Time to End the War Against Our Children?” will broadcast live starting at approximately 3:05pm, on October 11. Dr. Future host Allan Lundell, a respected digital media pioneer, will interview McCaughan.
To listen to conversation, tune your radio to 1080 AM or listen online at www.ksco.com. A podcast will be available following the program at www.drfutureshow.com.
“I believe that if we don’t restructure the priorities of how we educate our children, human beings won’t have a future,” McCaughan cautions. “As I reflect on the state of education, I see two sets of poles. One is the continuum between learning and achievement; the second is citizen and consumer (and neither is mutually exclusive). Professional journals and articles continually stress achievement, and our national conversation is about how we can get consumption up to levels that are pre-2008 financial collapse.
Educational administrators and certainly politicians are whipping teachers and students to bring up achievement so that America can again set the standard for living in luxury. This creates unreasonable expectations for our children. In contrast, if children learn, the by-product is achievement. If children are taught citizenship then they become informed consumers. Questions like, “Did I bring my own shopping bag rather than have my groceries packed in single-use plastic bags?” become embedded in their consciousness.”
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Contact: Leigh Ann Clifton, Marketing & Communications Manager
Nestled among the redwoods on 355 mountaintop acres, Mount Madonna is a safe and nurturing college-preparatory school that supports students in becoming caring, self-aware and articulate critical thinkers, who are prepared to meet challenges with perseverance, creativity and integrity. The CAIS and WASC accredited program emphasizes academic excellence, creative self-expression and positive character development. Located on Summit Road between Gilroy and Watsonville.
