Education in Perspective: Victor Rios
Victor Rios in his talk, Help for Kids the Education System Ignore, argues that students should be defined based on their contribution rather than inability or what they lack. Likewise, the children who experience difficulties and are deprived of basic needs, such as education, should not be judged according to what they cannot deliver. Instead, the society should be focused on realizing their abilities and contributions, and then support them. Rios also interlaces the talk with his experience of persistence as an urban youth and identifies upfront strategies that shift different attitudes in education. Furthermore, Rios who is an educator, advice his colleagues to observe students who are at risk as individuals with promise and full of pliability, gravel, and charisma.
Rios starts his speech by trying to integrate diverse perspectives on the children that are stereotypically considered as dropouts by the society. He explains to the other educationalists how he follows the lives of dropouts whom the society disowns. The theoretical reasoning behind their incorporation is to let the audience have the aspiration to understand why various students regard school as prison. The author explains that some of the kids he associates with are regarded as troublemakers by his colleagues (Rios). For example, some adolescent engages in drug abuse during their school days. He challenges the audience to aid him to change the general context of “at risk to “at promise” for the children. Accord
ing to his teenage life story, Rios had lost hope in humanity after he lost his parents, relatives, and friends. At the age of 15 years, Rios’ father, uncle, and a friend were assassinated. He perceived the loss of his loved ones as an end to his future. However, a teacher by the name Ms. Russ saved his life from demise through supporting him as a parent would and enrolled him in college to further his studies (Rios). His journey to success has been a great inspiration to most of the juveniles with whom he interacts. Indeed, many of them have been able to transform their lives with his guidance. Through his persuasion, the teenagers can open their minds and express the challenges they undergo. Victor advises the audience and society to support the youth through providing them with resources whenever needed and believe in them through motivating them to succeed in their endeavors. If the society shows them love and mutual support, they would realize the benefits of education and thus reduce the dropout rate. However, if a child is not fortunate enough to pursue education, the society should not promote the perception that he or she is unwanted but to appreciate the contributive factors of the juvenile in the society and empower the abilities.
Victor’s talk opens the minds of the primitive and rigid individuals in the society who only contemplate that school dropouts are not accredited in the societal order. The society should take time to scrutinize their life histories and understand the challenges that they face. The renaissance in industrialization in the United States has aided the government to ensure that most of the students’ interests are appreciated and empowered. Many persons have decided to venture into different paths other than education careers, such as music and sports, which make them productive and role models in the society. Undoubtedly, industrialization has enabled the society to develop the talents, abilities, and interests of juveniles, and therefore empowering them through providing the resources necessitated and improved their skills (Bellei, Cabalin & Orellana, 2014). Notably, industrialization has created both a manifest and latent function. The manifest function is an obvious and intended function in the social order that is expected to cause beneficial results, such as educating the youth for a productive future generation. Indeed, it has enabled many persons in the society to benefit from industrialization irrespective of the education setting. The industrialization era necessitated innovative individuals rather than educative ones. In its latent function, industrialization has transformed the primitive minds of the societal order without a majority of the people’s knowledge.
According to my educational experience, my success has been achieved through the moral and mutual support obtained from the surrounding. Victor sees the challenges he underwent as a motivation for the solitary chance that Ms. Russ granted him, which changed his life for the best. Unquestionably, empowerment has largely contributed to my success, just like in victor’s story, even though our circumstances are not identical.
Undoubtedly, Victor’s idea is very influential and critical in the society since it challenges every person’s intellect. It impacts how one regards the future of the society’s children and what efforts to enforce to empower them. Moreover, can be essential in enabling the society to realize its roles and revoke the conducts of condemning and instead embrace the mentality of children being a collective social responsibility. The perception is significant because it helps understand the right connection between the education and society, and ultimately the role of the society in students’ education.
References
Bellei, C., Cabalin, C., & Orellana, V. (2014). The 2011 Chilean student movement against neoliberal educational policies. Studies in Higher Education, 39(3), 426-440.
Rios, Victor. “TED Education in Perspective: Victor Rios.” YouTube, November 2015.