My teacher had described a world for us to imagine. A world that would be free - you and the people of that world could do anything you wanted to. Would you go? This question was something she asked everyone individually. Many said no and some said yes. I did say yes because if I could do anything, I could choose to come back to the real world if I did not enjoy it. I got to thinking more about this question and I got to realizing that this world (especially the US) is all about freedom. Their are laws - you can't scream "fire" in a movie theater, you can't speed in your vehicle, etc. BUT the thing is - yes you can! You can do whatever you wish - you just have to pay the consequences for it! I believe that in this imagined "free" world, it would be just the same! If you did something you enjoyed, and someone killed you because they did not enjoy what you did - you are paying that consequence and both of you got to enjoy that freedom, huh? The world she describes is those of people that are good and evil - so in other words...it is Earth. So why go? I do think it would be the same...if not worse!

I completely agree with you, Jessie. It is so hard to imagine what a perfect world would be like, but I don't want to live in it. I want to stay here and work with what I have. I think that as future teachers we have to accept the fact that there is a bunch of crap we have to deal with. BUT, instead of complaining all the time why don't we use it to our advantage or change it? We are a hot comodity right now. Also, I don't feel comfortable placing the entire responsibility of this perfect world on my shoulders! I know that our system isn't perfect, but I truly doubt that any one of us should make the decision of what is perfect alone. The fact is that we need to stop concentrating on "the man" and "the bs system" and start focusing on our kids and their needs. If I get fired knowing I helped at least one kid, I can leave happy.

I agree that I wouldn't want to go to a world completely "free." In class, I was unsure about where I'd go, but the more I've thought about this question the more I begin to realize that rules and order is good. I feel that in certain circumstances too many rules and regulations are placed on people. In the case of a teacher, they should be expected to follow certain conduct rules and teach a certain curriculum, but freedom should be allowed in their classroom instruction. I believe the rules we have in place now in our society do serve a good purpose. The only problem is that people have abused their power as authoritarians. This is why we need to fight as teachers for freedom in our classroom, instead of starting from scratch because a completely "free" society is not realistic.

I agree with Sarah on this subject. I have always thought of myself as a person who enjoys a little freedom and wouldn't mind for things to always be going my way. But when asked the question about having a world completely free where we could do whatever we wanted I immediately said no. As teachers, and as people, we need some rule in our lives. It is hard to imagine a world that would work where everyone was able to do what they wanted. Jessie mentioned that you CAN yell "fire" in a movie theatre but simply have to deal with the consequences. If we were all in a world where we could do what we wanted, would there be consequences? And if there were, they would be as other people chose them to be. You could get hung for yelling "fire" in a movie theatre. The concept of having my own world of freedom is unconcievable to me because I would not be able to deal with the rule-less society run amuck.

I think that it is interesting that we associate a world with total freedom as lawless and chaotic. Aren't Americans free?
Within our own world, I imagined that we would have the freedom to create boundaries of safety and equality just as we can in America. The fear of what we would do with real freedom only further supports the issue that we really are NOT free and wouldn't know what to do with it if it were an option. We are uncomfortable with not having restrictions and rules to govern our behavior. It scares me- what are we saying we are capable of without someone telling them what to do. We should be more confident that people will do the right thing with freedom!! And that you would do the right thing with your freedom in your own world too!! It might sound idealistic, but I hope that real freedom would not create murderous, angry mobs of individuals ready to strike as soon as they are given the opportunity.

I would choose to not go to the "perfect world". I do feel more comfortable with set rules and regulations. It would make teaching a class full of students with completely different background knowledge harder. The students all come from different teachers who taught them what they felt was appropriate. Some students woud be behind while others way ahead. If we find something we do not feel should be taught in schools, we should make an effort to have it changed. I think having the standard course of study helps children to have as much of the same educational background as they can. I agree with Meghan in that I would be afraid freedom would make the worst of some people. Having the freedom do whatever you wanted would come into conflict with something another person wanted to do. We need to have some sort of oder in our chaotic world. The world would be a scary place to live in and hard to teach in. I would rather fight to have something changed rather than have no rules in place at all.

I think my problem with this question of freedom and a world where we could do as we please...is the fact that I have a hard time imagining such a place. I have never been in a setting where there were no rules and an endless amount of freedom. I wish that I could experience this, but being too much of a realist I do not see this happening. The only times where people were presented with even a hint of this endless freedom were during time of revolution where they defied the rules, such as the French Revolution and our own American Revolution. And these revolutions only in the end led to more rules, and possibly a little more freedom in some areas, but less in others. I think Meg makes a good point that we should give people the benefit of the doubt that freedom could be used for good rather than bad. Yet, it seems that in the past, the freedom has turned into revolution, but who is to say that is bad?

Shelley wrote:


Who said anything about a "perfect" world?

I said this is a world in which you are free to do whatever you want. For you, does that equate to "perfect"? Just wondering...

I think I just assumed it was a perfect world. The world would be close to perfect if everyone was completely free and never did anything that went against how you would want to live. This is impossible because there is always going to be someone who does something that you do not agree with. The world where everyone had complete freedom would be more closer to chaos. Many disagree with some of the rules we have but they are necessary, especially in the school system. For there to be a perfect world, a lot of change in people would need to happen first.

I think the world that was described would not be a place I would want to go. Since I was like 3rd down the line in class to answer, by the time everyone had gone, and I had time to think about it, I was a a definite answer. I was not decided when it was my turn to answer, but someone else in class made a good point, that if you could do anything you wanted, if you went to this place and didn't like it- then you could just come back. I think that is a great point. But I still don't think I would like to go to a place where there are no rules or order. Everyone would go crazy, and there would be no way to stop it. There are just too many unknowns to this place and there is no sense of control. America has it's own freedoms within limits. I think it is a good system where people have the right to choose, but they have to be accountable for their actions and choices.

I would definitely go. I think American society has rules and regulations that are positive and beneficial. However, with some of the rule and regulations, I think that things we need to learn are limited as well. Here in the College Of Education, for example, we teach a constructivist approach to learn. However, there really is very little evidence of that in the classes, in the classrooms we observe and little practice. If you don't get a student teaching room that uses constructivism, you graduate without actually practicing the whole basis of the College. In a free world, I think opportunity is provided for a person to seek out and learn these concepts AND practice them until they are confident. There is no predetermined time schedule. Learning is personal and more tailored to the individual needs of the learner. To me, I would go to a free world for many reasons, but the opportunity to learn and explore freely is the factor that is most important to me.

When I first answered in class I said that I would not go, but the more I ponder this question I think that I would go to a place where we are all free. I think that we view freedom as obeying or breaking laws that are set in front of us. I want to think of a place more so where people are free to have their own opinions, questions, skills, or experiences without being judged or looked down upon because of them. Where students are free to express their feelings towards school and life in general. I do not know how everything would be in this world, but I do think that I would like to experience that type of freedom in the schools!