“Schooling the World” Reflection

Kevin Josue Manrique Contreras “Diego”

Schooling the world: the white man's’ last burden was a documentary that challenge

and questioned the stance and influenced of the western culture. The main focus of this film

that the author pursues, is that, that the spread and influence of western societies and culture

such as The United States have a negative impact on other traditional cultures and

communities around the world. This video informs us on how schooling is impacting and

diminishing the culture and heritage of students and parents by changing their mentality of

success into the “american dream”, which would consist of having an amazing amount of

money, having big houses, having a phd or masters degree. As we see in the video, students

are taught to speak english as a primary language and not secondary because they are taught

to believe that it is the only was to survive in the 21th century.

I agree with the author’s point of view, which is that there should be further and

deeper dialogue with between communities and culture. I believe that dialogue can produce

new and more modern civilizations because a modern civilization does not consist of having

tall buildings, roads, cars, nor self driving cars, it consist on all parties to be happy. These

parties are: the people living in it, the environment(ecosystem), and the societies around it.

When all these parties are happy, we create a truly healthy modern civilization. As we see in

western societies, the worldview is more secular, were only men have to be satisfied, which

can be detrimental to the environment and the societies who rely on it. For example, a tree.

This tree may be seen by us as a wood or something that we use to build houses or tables, it

is seen as a benefit for human survival. However, the indigenous culture, this tree may be
seen as sacred, or a very sacred bird lives and reproduces in that tree, it may be seen as equal

to men or even something from God himself. If there was deeper dialogue between different

cultures, without influencing them, and we try our best to embrace them openly, all of the

knowledge from cultures will come together to form one great knowledge. I believe that

western civilizations and societies should embrace the knowledge of indigenous people and

communities, and make their knowledge a part of our knowledge and not separate or

another knowledge that should be ignored or diminished. Countries should not be

influenced by our way of living, it should embrace their own culture and grow in their

culture, which can create breakthroughs in how societies can be managed and grow in these

contemporary times. Therefore, I do agree with the authors point of view on how cultures

are being affected especially by the education they are taught.