In the Broken Model, Khan argues that our educational system was not inevitable. The hierarchies that bind us and our systems are forged by us and by the societies that we have created. In order to make educational change, we must first acknowledge that this system can be changed. Our teaching habits, as entrenched as they are, are just that: habits. And habits can always be changed, even if that work is difficult.
As I reflected on this argument, I found myself thinking of S.C.W.A.A.M.P. Just as our education system is constructed, our dominant ideologies are constructed. They are habits as well. This system of dominant ideologies, as outlined in S.C.W.A.A.M.P. has infiltrated our education system, making both seem inevitable and unchangeable, when we can, in fact, tap on and even break that glass.
A quote that deeply impacted me was, "The idea was not to produce independent thinkers, but to churn out loyal and tractable citizens who would learn the value of submitting to the authority of parents, teachers, church, and, ultimately, king." (76) In this section, Khan is referring to eighteenth-century Prussia. I found myself unpleasantly shocked that this idea applies just as much to our school system today as it does to Prussia in the eighteenth century. In school, we say the pledge. We are taught myths about the benevolent settlers of America. We are taught that our country is greater than all others. This acquiescence to the status-quo is what many schools seem to be created for. However, there are definitely some changes being made, in my classroom and others. Teachers are taking up the charge to inject social justice into the curriculums that they are offered.
I also reflected on how the book shows the realities of today. When I read, "the United States was faced with the issue of “Americanizing” large groups of immigrants from many disparate cultures" (78), I thought about how English is the dominant language of our educational system and all students are expected to learn it. Students might even be referred to speech services for an accent and learn to speak the way "Americans" speak. This quote supports Khan's argument because it demonstrates how our schools can act as an arm of the dominant ideology, creating citizens fit the mold, rather than critical thinkers who break that mold. This article, Supporting Young English Learners in the United States, describes how bilingual education could actually be more effective for multi-lingual learners and help them become truly bilingual without erasing their first language. Bilingual education is breaking the mold, showing us that the current English-only system is not inevitable, just as Khan argues.
Finally, I engaged deeply with the section on testing. Khan states that we are "labeling kids, squeezing them into categories, defining, and often, limiting their futures." (93) This section as a whole describes an arm of our school system that is forged by us and our society and accepted as fact, but often does not serve kids (for exactly the reasons listed in the quote). Khan goes on to argue that testing does not show us the potential that a student has or their true understanding. Testing does not have to be this way, but we have taken it as fact. According to Khan, there is great change to made in our testing system.
Overall, Khan argues that even though our educational system is deeply entrenched in the way our society works, that doesn't mean that we cannot and should not change it. We can and we should.
